José Sarria

#JoseSarria (December 13, 1922 – August 19, 2013): Born in #SanFrancisco to Columbian parents of Spanish and Columbian origin, Sarria was a political activist who fought for the rights of #LGBTQIA people. Though also known as a drag performer and the creator of the #ImperialCourtSystem (now the second largest LGBTQ organization in the world), he was the first openly gay candidate for public office in the United States when he ran for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1961 (the same seat that #HarveyMilk eventually won in 1977). Born in San Francisco, Sarria served in World War II as part of the Signal Corps. Owing to homophobia in the military at the time, Sarria was officially attached to the Signal Corps but was ordered to train as a cook and served as a major’s orderly in occupied Germany. He was discharged in 1947 with the rank of Staff Sergeant and returned to San Francisco. Finding work as a waiter, he began singing arias one night as he delivered food and began performing regularly, being called “The Nightingale of Montgomery Street.” During his time as a performer, the bars he worked at were frequently raided by the police and Sarria fought against police brutality with many in the community throughout the 1950s. In the early 1960s, he formed the #LeagueForCivilEducation which gave educational programs on homosexuality and support for those arrested and outed in police raids. In 1964, Sarria was crowned Queen of the Beaux Arts Ball by the Tavern Guild, an LGBTQ business association Sarria had helped found two years earlier. Here Sarria proclaimed himself “Her Royal Majesty, Empress of San Francisco, Jose I, The Widow Norton” (the last part an homage to #JoshuaNorton, a fellow San Franciscan who in 1859 proclaimed himself Emperor to the United States and Protector of Mexico). Sarria arranged pilgrimages to Joshua Norton’s gravesite in Colma (CA), and himself was buried adjacent to the plot with full military honors when he passed in 2013 from adrenal cancer at the age of 90.  #PrideMonth #LGBTQIA #LGBTQIAPride #Pride #LegendsOfPride #YouCannotEraseUs