The next day, it’s time to fully immerse. The film will be shown in New York the next evening, making Key West its official premiere city. The film pays homage to the federal employees and civil servants who endured a 40 year “ban” on employment. Key West Film Festival and The Tropic make education easy with a screening of “The Lavender Scare” on Thursday, June 6. After all, the existence of this event is owed to some brave predecessors. Instead, the best plan of attack is to pick a few daily highlights to fill those dance cards. Even the most well-prepared, highly-caffeinated gay would have a nearly impossible time hitting every event. Pride Key West is filled with activities for everyone, ranging from the family-friendly parade, which sees kids fringing the sidewalks waiting to catch candy, to the very adult parties that rage each night long after the sun sets. Estimond said she always tells people to bring their kids and “raise them right, with as many rainbows as possible.” She also loves that the community embraces Pride as the family-friendly event it’s meant to be. Key West Business Guild Events Coordinator Fritzie Estimond said that she appreciates “the closeness of it all”, compared to celebrations in larger cities.
#KEY WEST GAY PRIDE WEEK 2021 FULL#
Key West Pride returns this week in full force and is a perfect culmination of years of struggles, setbacks and successes. We’ve just achieved what we wanted - to be fully integrated,” said Thompson.
Thompson feels strongly that Key West remains a vital LGBT home space and travel destination. Some worry that this quieter reaction signals that Key West is no longer the LGBT mecca it once was. “Back when I started with the gay lib movement,” Thompson said, “the goal was to be able to tell someone you’re gay and have them say, ‘So what?’” To someone “coming out,” a shrug can be even better than a hug. “It’s such a different inclusive environment in Key West,” she said, “those things don’t come to mind.” Johnston’s lack of concern echoes the desires of a generation of advocates. Immediately after her election, Johnston spoke to the Miami Herald about her place in Key West gay history. The legacy continued this past November, when Key West elected its first openly gay female mayor, Teri Johnston. Around the same time, the island elected one of the nation’s first openly gay mayors, Richard Heyman, and followed the precedent by appointing trailblazers like former Police Chief Donie Lee and several commissioners. The Key West Business Guild was founded in 1978 to ensure that gay-owned businesses would receive fair and equal representation and to promote Key West as an LGBT vacation destination. The AIDS memorial at White Street Pier reminds us of that turn. Scarred but strong, a new generation picked up the torch and turned Pride into an opportunity for steadfast visibility and a celebration of life. The ever-persistent Conchs preserved through illness and grief, advocating for greater awareness and support through groups like AH Monroe (formerly AIDS Help), which was founded in 1986 by a small group of individuals using their time, and their own money, to take on an invisible Goliath.
The island’s gay culture blissfully tore through the next few years until the AIDS crisis brought tragedy to our close-knit community. That year, roughly 20 people, without permission or a permit, started what would become Key West Pride. “We put balloons on our dogs’ collars and marched anyway”, said Thompson. “People said it wasn’t needed since gays were so accepted in Key West.” Thompson, whose friend had recently been assaulted because of his sexuality, knew the march was actually very necessary. “The first year, it was announced, two days beforehand, that the parade was canceled,” he said. JT Thompson, creator of the nonprofit “One Human Family,” recalls the early days of Pride in Key West. Key West wasn’t far behind in joining the movement - the first Pride parade took place on Duval Street in 1982. The early “celebrations” were more protest than party, fighting for LGBT equal rights. The first Pride celebrations began in New York, following the Stonewall Riots of 1969. History would ultimately remember Williams as the “Gay Grandfather” of Key West, ushering in a community that, thankfully, never left. The bars he frequented became the city’s first unofficial gay bars, and the parties he threw carried the most coveted invitations in town.
Gay culture in Key West reaches back more than half a century, about when Tennessee Williams came roaring onto the island. Key West has the distinction of being an early adopter of the Pride celebration.
Most cities in 2019 have awakened to the fact that equality matters and that, well, rainbows and glitter are the perfect formula for summer fun.