August 2, 1924
On this date in 1924, author James Baldwin (Giovanni’s Room), now honored on the Castro’s Rainbow Honor Walk, was born.
August 19, 1936
On this date in 1898, Federico García Lorca, a Spanish dramatist and theatre director honored on Castro’s Rainbow Honor Walk, died.
August 14, 1948
On this date in 1948, Carole Migden was born in New York City. She and Roberta Achtenberg were the first lesbians to serve on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, and she later went on to represent the City in the State Assembly and then the State Senate.
August 8, 1951
On this date in 1951, journalist/author Randy Shilts (The Mayor of Castro Street; And the Band Played On) was born in Iowa.
August 28, 1951
On this date in 1951, the CA Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Black Cat Tavern, who had been closed for serving homosexuals. The court ruled that homosexuals have a right to congregate and establishments could not be closed simply for serving them. In response, city officials passed laws banning gay behavior like dancing together, holding hands, and dressing in drag.
August 11, 1980
On this date in 1980, the Democratic National Convention opened in New York City, the first to have a gay rights plank in its platform.
August 28, 1982
On this date in 1982, Tina Turner performed at the opening ceremonies at the first Gay Games, held at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco. The games were originally called the Gay Olympics until they were sued by the U.S. Olympic Committee, represented by Vaughn Walker who would later be the judge who presided over the trial to overturn Prop. 8.
August 24, 1987
On this date in 1987, civil rights leader Bayard Rustin, openly-gay organizer of the 1963 March on Washington, died of appendicitis.
August 13, 1997
On this date in 1997, the Bay Area Reporter’s headline read “No Obits” due to medical treatments slowing AIDS deaths.
August 12, 2004
On this date in 2004, the California Supreme Court voided nearly 4,000 same-sex marriages that had been performed in SF.
August 9, 2007
On this date in 2007, Logo held the first presidential debate on LGBT issues. Six Democrats participate; none of the Republicans do.
August 27, 2008
On this date in 1921, Dorothy Louise Taliaferro “Del” Martin, a founder of the Daughters of Bilitis, died in San Francisco.
August 12, 2009
San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama.
August 21, 2009
On this date in 2009, Doug Murphy, co-owner of Moby Dick, 440 Castro, and Blackbird, unexpectedly died from H1N1, the Swine Flu.
August 4, 2010
Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker of San Francisco overturned Proposition 8, the 2008 referendum that banned same-sex marriage in California, on the grounds that it violates the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause. As an attorney, Walker had previously represented the U.S. Olympic Committee in their lawsuit against the Gay Games, then called the Gay Olympics.
August 19, 2013
On this date in 2013, Jose Sarria, the Widow Norton, First Empress of San Francisco, passed away at the age of 89 or 90.
