San Diego Pride honors LGBTQIA+ leaders at Spirit of Stonewall Rally

San Diego LGBT Pride honored members of the LGBTQIA+ community Friday night in Hillcrest at its annual Spirit of Stonewall Rally as part of ongoing Pride festivities.

The rally is named after and honors those who rose up against police brutality in 1969 at the Stonewall Inn in New York City.

San Diego Pride leaders said the “origins of the global Pride movement can trace their roots” to what’s often called the Stonewall uprising or Stonewall riots.

“Why we’re here today is because of an uprising,” Marcus Bush, a city councilmember in National City who is bisexual, said during his keynote speech at the rally. “An uprising against a hateful, homophobic and transphobic society. An uprising against police forces who implement our society’s hateful, homophobic (and) transphobic laws.”

Bush, who said his father is Black and his mother Mexican, said the “root cause of all that hate is White supremacy.”

Bush was one of the region’s many elected leaders from the LGBTQIA+ community who attended and participated in Friday’s rally.

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, the city’s first openly gay mayor and first mayor of color, presented the Champion of Pride award to Dwayne Crenshaw, a former San Diego LGBT Pride executive director who is now president and CEO of The Humanity Movement. The organization’s mission is “to inspire people to eradicate racism and advance liberty and justice for all humans,” according to its website.

“Dwayne has been a force in San Diego,” Gloria said. “I can tell you that as mayor of this great city, Dwayne’s work has helped shape San Diego into being a more inclusive city.”

The theme of this year’s Pride events is “Resilient,” and Toni Atkins, president pro tempore of the California state senate, said it marked her 35th Pride celebration in San Diego.

“Our community knows resilience,” said Atkins, who came out as gay in college. “We’ve been resilient this last year and a half as this pandemic has been upon us, but this is a community that understands how to be strong. It’s a community that understands what it takes to come together as family to support each other when we don’t always have the support that we would hope from our own families.”

Atkins presented Moe Girton, a longtime employee and owner of several Hillcrest bars and restaurants, with the Community Grand Marshal award.

The other 2021 Spirit of Stonewall awardees are:

• Stonewall Service Award — San Diego Black LGBTQ Coalition
• Inspirational Relationship — Jamie Arangure & Frannya Tuchman
• Larry T. Baza Arts & Culture Award — Matt Morrow
• Stonewall Philanthropy Award — The Burgess Family
• Community Service — Ana Laura
• Light of Pride — Strong Hearted Native Women’s Coalition
• Friend of Pride — County of San Diego Board of Supervisor Chair Nathan Fletcher