GAY RIGHTS

Solidarity Mural

In response to the racial equality protests across the United States in the spring of 2020, the “SOLIDARITY” mural was completed on July 2 on the Main Street side of Five Flags Center. In the mural measuring 28 feet high and 105 feet wide, artist Shelby Fry envisioned showed support for the Black Lives Matter movement and other segments of the community and to promote unity. Some of the symbols used as letters are meant to include those with disabilities (the wheelchair symbol), brain health issues (the first “i,” which is a semicolon, which are commonly associated with brain health), the LGBTQ community (the rainbow “D”) and transgendered individuals (the symbol serving as the “y”).GAY RIGHTS. The first gay march was held in Dubuque on September 19, 1987. Hecklers who shouted obscenities and threw eggs and rocks met an estimated thirty marchers. Organizers of the march included Stacie Neldaughter and Ginny Lynns.

The second gay march occurred in May 1988, with an estimated 575 participants. The third annual Gay/Lesbian Pride Rally / March was held Saturday, September 16, 1989. An estimated one-third of the participants in the 1988 march attended the event that included a march through downtown Dubuque and a rally in WASHINGTON PARK featuring a speech by Tammy Baldwin of Madison, Wisconsin. (1)

In 2017 recognition of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) Month, events were sponsored by local businesses and nonprofits. Pride Month was observed in June in recognition of the Stonewall Inn riots of 1969 in Manhattan. The site, later named a National Historic Site, was a gathering place for members of the gay community. CO DUBUQUE was founded to provide a local network for Dubuque's LGBT and allied community. (2)

Members of the Dubuque Human Rights Commission were angered and saddened to learn of anti-gay graffiti being found in the city. The offensive remarks were found on the sidewalk and a utility pole in the 1300 block of Cox Street. It was found on June 11th, one day and one year after the June 12, 2016 mass killing of forty-nine people at the Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. Kelly Larson, director of the City of Dubuque Human Rights Department noted that the city has an internal hate incident response plan. According to Larson, the city was technically the victim of the graffiti incident. It was not a hate crime, because it did not target an individual. Among the resources for those needing support or education, the MULTICULTURAL FAMILY CENTER offered youth support groups on the second Thursday of each month and adult groups on the fourth Thursday. There were also the Better Together Dubuque page on Facebook and ThisIsMeIowa.org website. (3)

The announcement was made in February, 2018 that a CLARKE UNIVERSITY social work student was organizing a storytelling project focusing on sharing the experiences of members of Dubuque's LGBTQ+ ((lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer) community. After interviews with storytellers, writers were to compose first-person accounts based on the conversations. The stories were to be collected and published in a book. Suzie Stroud, who partnered with INCLUSIVE DUBUQUE to organize the project called "Facing Diversity" which collected stories from Dubuque,'s Marshallese community, led the new project. She hoped to have the book published by June, "Pride Month," and then perhaps collect stories of local immigrants or refugees. (4)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YPv79pvotE Actual banner carried in 1987 stained with eggs thrown by hecklers. Image courtesy: Stacie Neldaughter.

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Source:

1. Stacie Neldaughter-interview 2/3/2014

2. Goldstein, Bennet. "LGBT Pride Month Events in Dubuque," Telegraph Herald, June 8, 2017, p. 5A

3. Rezab, Matthew. "Commission Responds to Anti-Gay Graffiti," Telegraph Herald, June 17, 2017, p. 3A

4. Goldstein, Bennet, "Project Will Highlight LGBTQ Dubuquers," Telegraph Herald, February 3, 2018, p. 3A