Great Wall Institute: The Process of the Great Wall of Los AngelesMain MenuResearch of the DecadesResearch1960s Illustration DevelopmentIllustration DevelopmentPlaylists of the DecadesPlaylistssparcinla.org185fc5b2219f38c7b63f42d87efaf997127ba4fcGreat Wall Institute - Social and Public Art Resource Center (SPARC)
1970 Reverend Troy Perry at First Los Angeles Pride Parade
1media/Screen Shot 2023-03-27 at 2.05.07 PM_thumb.png2023-03-27T21:07:19+00:00Gina Leonf0ac362b4453e23ee8a94b1a49fbeeafde2a0a4913Troy Perry in L.A.'s first Pride parade, 1970. In 1968, after a suicide attempt, and witnessing a close friend being arrested at The Patch Bar, Perry felt called to return to his faith and to offer a place for gay people to worship God. Perry put an advertisement in The Advocate announcing a worship service designed for gays in Los Angeles. Twelve people turned up on October 6, 1968 for the first service, and "Nine were my friends who came to console me and to laugh, and three came as a result of the ad." After six weeks of services in his living room, the congregation shifted to a women's club, an auditorium, a church, and finally a theater. In 1971, their own building was dedicated with over a thousand members in attendance.plain2023-03-27T23:48:23+00:001970Gina Leonf0ac362b4453e23ee8a94b1a49fbeeafde2a0a49