20 LAPRIDE.org1987:AIDS Healthcare Foundation founded by Michael Weinstein and ChrisBrownlie. Now the nation's largest HIV/AIDS service provider. 1988:Torie Osborn becomes the LA Gay & Lesbian Center's first female ExecutiveDirector.1989:Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) formed to overseeHollywood and media portrayals of gays and lesbians.1989:Oscar de la O founds Bienestar to address of HIV / AIDS in the LatinoCommunity.1989:The Asian Pacific AIDS Education Project forms, winning HIV preventionfunds specifically for API individuals in Los Angeles County. 1991:Pride Behind The Badge, the first LAPD Gay & Lesbian police employeeorganization is formed, following LAPD officers officially coming out.1992:Kellii Trombacco creates the first trans-specific HIV / AIDS Education andPrevention Hotline.1993:Jackie Goldberg becomes first lesbian and first out member elected to LosAngeles City Council; proposing a domestic partnership law for City employees, oneof the first of its kind.1993:Gay Sergeant wins harassment lawsuit against the LAPD. As a result, ChiefWilliams develops discrimination policy based on sexual orientation.1994:Sheila Kuehl elected Assembly Member for the 41st District, becoming thefirst openly LGBT person in the California State Legislature.1998:Project 10, which supports GLBTIQ youth in the Los Angeles Unified SchoolDistrict, is founded by Dr. Virginia Uribe. 1998:Los Angeles City Council votes to support the Hate Crimes Prevention Act,adding sexual orientation and gender identity and expression to the list of cate-gories protected by federal hate crime law. 1999:The Black AIDS Institute is founded under the leadership of Phill Wilson.2000:First Trans-Unity PRIDE held, becoming the largest annual celebration ofthe transgender community in the country.2001:The Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law is established to researchissues related to sexual orientation. 2003:City of Los Angeles dedicates Morris Kight Square in Hollywood.2004:Los Angeles City Council votes to oppose a proposed constitutionalamendment to ban gay marriage. Council also supports legislation to allow citizensand legal residents to sponsor their partners for residency in the United States.2004:The African-American LGBT community holds the first gay marriage rallyin Leimert Park.2005:Bill Rosendahl becomes first openly gay man elected to the Los AngelesCity Council. 2008:LGBT Angelenos launch a massive protest and rally of over 20,000 peoplein reaction to the passage of Proposition 8, raising the profile of the LGBT move-ment on an international scale.2010:Christopher Street West/LA PRIDE turns 40, one of the longest LGBT serv-ing organizations in the country. 2010:Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa hosts the first-ever LGBT event at Getty Houseto celebrate the 40th anniversary of Christopher Street West / LA PRIDE. 2011:Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa declares the first LGBT Heritage Month in theCity of Los Angeles and adds LGBT Heritage Month to the City's official calendar.* this is a small sampling of FIRSTS in the greater Los Angeles LGBT community.Please pardon any omissions.Los Angeles City Hall has been a friend to the LGBTcommunity, and has many amazing advocates throughoutits corridors. Included is the first openly-gay elected mem-ber to the Los Angeles City Council, Bill Rosendahl, who in2007 reinvigorated what heritage means by proclaiming aLGBT Pride Day in City Council and recognized several com-munity leaders for their efforts and volunteerism."When I was elected as the first openly gayCouncilmember in the City of Los Angeles, I saw this as mymoment to share the political stage and shine a spotlight onmembers of the community who are setting a standard ofexcellence for the next generation of LGBT leaders," saidCouncilmember Rosendahl. "Just as Asians, AfricanAmericans, and Latinos applaud exceptional work in theircommunity, I wanted to do the same, and also show LGBTyouth that it's ok to stand up in a public setting, as an open-ly gay man or woman, and talk about others in the gay com-munity in a positive light. For me, this recognition is allabout instilling a sense of confidence and pride in ouryounger generation."For CSW, the opportunity to be a partner in the firstLGBT Heritage Month for the City of Los Angeles is a privi-lege and honor. I think about some of the milestones in myown life: my coming out, my struggles finding a place in thecommunity, my personal climbs as an individual. I thinkabout the times that I have leaned on other people - mycommunity, my friends, my colleagues, and I realize thatI've created my own family over time - people I love, andwho love me, because of who I am, not in spite of who I am.Just a few days ago, I sat in a small auditorium onthe University of Southern California's campus for a screen-ing of Glenne McElhinney's documentary On TheseShoulders We Stand. McElhinney, this year's LA PRIDE PatParker Awards Award recipient, beautifully depicted somuch of the history of the LGBT movement. Yes, there werechallenges and struggles and hardships. But through it all,there were historic wins, new family and friends gained,and a newfound respect and acceptance for an embattledminority.CSW helps build communities and families, repre-senting the community's collective spirit in carrying LGBTpride throughout all that we do every day of the year. Thatis why I choose to dedicate my time to CSW, as a boardmember, a volunteer, and a friend.Recognition of Los Angeles' LGBT Heritage Monthis a symbol of acknowledgement for the challenges theLGBT community has faced and overcome. It is an appreci-ation for and understanding of a community, and its history,long discarded and forgotten. For me, the opportunity to bea partner in this is a privilege and honor. It reminds us thatwe have done much, but also that there is still so muchmore to do.LGBT Heritage Month is for the young teenagerwho might have grown up without a family's love andunderstanding, and for the young adult who continues tosearch for community acceptance, and for the grieving indi-vidual who has lost a loved one to AIDS or other illness. It isfor all of us who live and breathe as LGBT individuals. Thisamazing recognition will help us to remember that our livesare ours, and that we should remember, respect, and mostimportantly, rise up and live ours lives.<<< 18