Heroes of Pride

All during Pride Week last year I wrote of local people who have made a difference. One of the people I wrote about then was Felicia Alvarado Elizondo, who is still a hero of Pride. While many helped make yesterday's Trans March successful and a number of people worked on the project to rename a block of the city after trans performer Vicki Marlane, it was Felicia who shined as the star. Her hard work and determination never decreased and last night when she unveiled the street sign at Vicki Mar Lane, I flashed my smile up at a hero.

 

I can easily go on and on about Felicia, but there are other heroes of Pride.  Many of them aren't visible because they aren't trying to make a name for themselves - they are out trying to make a difference!  I have a friend named Joan who is one of those heroes.  I won't show her picture or tell you her full name - she deserves her privacy, but I will tell you that she has saved lived.  She has also worked tirelessly to keep people safe.

 

There are a number of just pain folks who bend into the scenery and you might not even notice but who make a huge difference.  I'm sure you know some of them.  Do feel free to write something about them in the comments below.  Heroes come in all shapes and sizes and I saw many of them last night and will see many more today and tomorrow.  Sadly there are also the Pride jerks - people who take away much more than they bring and who try to use LGBT Pride to promote something that does not reflect well for the community.  We won't talk about the negative though.

 

There is one more hero that I will mention by name.  I had only been writing this blog for a short time when I first met him five years ago and had the great pleasure of spending most of that year's Pride event near him.  He was somewhat famous for several years and I wrote a lot about him here over the years.  Dan Choi is someone who has made a huge difference and continues too although often you might not even know he is around.  It was nice spending time with someone last not who is not only a hero of Pride, but a friend.