The staging of the Lemon Grove Pride Festival is a wonderful example of how our community is existing and thriving outside of the traditional gayborhood of Hillcrest.

Five years ago this kind of event would have been almost unheard of in Lemon Grove, not to mention dangerous to organize or attend. Rainbow flags and open support of the GLBT community would have been next to non existent.

Lemon Grove Pride is significant, not only because of the event itself, but the fact that the Lemon Grove Council took it a step further and issued a proclamation declaring July 10 as Pride Day at your Lemon Grove library. The proclamation was signed by Lemon Grove Mayor Mary Teresa Sessom and council members Jerry Selby and George Gastil.

Let’s not forget that there was a time, even in Hillcrest, when people from other parts of the city would “visit” the area, as they had heard that this was where “fags and dykes” hung out. They would have made a night of it, taunting from car windows, throwing eggs, yelling slurs and walking the streets harassing those they thought were gay. At times they would even go as far as to pick fights in bars or beat up anyone they perceived to be GLBT.

Thankfully, these days, occurrences like that in Hillcrest are rare. Over the years a variety of people have slowly mixed with our community, through friends, good food, shopping and a general realization that we are people that actually have a great deal to offer. Our gay neighborhoods were not always so acceptable and chic. A lot of people, activists, politicians and leaders have invested a huge amount of hard work into making Hillcrest and our community what it is today.

So much of this change started when the GLBT community finally got fed up with being treated so badly, even in our own neighborhoods. We started working together to make change happen. In many ways, this is what Pride is all about. It is a positive event that is inclusive of everyone. It is an event where all can have a great time, learn and understand. So much prejudice is driven by fear and a lack of knowledge. With knowledge comes understanding, with understanding comes acceptance, with acceptance comes tolerance and with tolerance comes integration and so on.

When Lemon Grove decided to hold a Pride celebration, the city essentially decided to banish the negativity and positively change their city and the opinions of those around them. It is a stand and a message that is crystal clear, particularly after the events of last year when Ron deHarte fell victim to a hate crime while participating in the Equal Rights Torch relay in Lemon Grove.

A year hence and the city could have easily forgotten about this incident and brushed it under the rug. Instead, they have turned their efforts towards creating change and facilitating a positive and progressive environment. It sends a message to the GLBT community, and in fact everyone, that Lemon Grove will not tolerate discrimination of any sort. This is powerful and progressive, not only for Lemon Grove, but for the whole of San Diego as well.

The Lemon Grove Pride Festival was organized by librarian, Jennifer Teitelbaum, and a handful of local people. The point is this, change happens from within and more often than not in the simplest of ways. Taking positive action for your community does not have to be costly. It just takes will and the determination to see it through.

As a community we are branching out, becoming more visible and more mainstream. This means we are no longer so limited in where we can live, where we can go and what we can do. This change, however, does not just happen by magic. It comes from all of us. A thought or an idea turns into an action that gains momentum and changes the way things are.

Let’s all look at the example the city of Lemon Grove has shown us, and the individuals who have been active in putting this event together, and think how we too can effect positive change in our community.