The seventh annual Dyke March and Festival, an event designed to increase the visibility of the GLBT human rights movement specifically within the lesbian community, took place Saturday, Oct. 23. The march began with a protest rally on the steps of the Hall of Justice in downtown San Diego, continued along Broadway and up Sixth Avenue and ended at Balboa Park, where the festival lasted into the early evening.

The 11:00 a.m. rally in front of the Hall of Justice drew approximately 150 participants, many holding signs, chanting in unison: “What do we want? … Dyke rights! … When do we want it? … Now!” and “No one is equal, till we all are equal, lesbian visibility!”

With megaphone in hand, guest speaker Pat Washington delivered a powerful speech energizing marchers.

“Let us take a moment to remember why we are marching today,” she said. “We are marching because it’s going to help us defend our lives. … This is a party, but it’s not really a party; this is a demonstration, but it’s not really a demonstration; this is a parade but it’s actually much more than a parade: It’s a fight. It’s a fight to defend our lives, it’s a fight to defend our constitution.”

Following Washington’s speech, Dyke March co-facilitator Willow Winters explained the five-point mission statement of Dyke March: breaking stereotypes, equality, humanity, freedom and exposure.

“By marching, we expose ourselves to the media and open the eyes of the larger community to our existence, our needs and our strength as a group,” Winters said. “As we all know, if nobody talks about it, it's like it never happened. We need to inform and educate the larger community. We need to take a stand against centuries of oppression. We need exposure.”

The small, yet highly visible group attracted attention from tourists, weekend shoppers and downtown traffic as they marched toward Balboa Park shouting anti-discrimination chants.

Winters reported one incident of harassment in which members of a local bar came out onto the streets yelling, “Bush was right!” and “You need to go back into the closet!” This prompted the marches to be even more vocal, eventually overpowering the hecklers, she said.

“Lesbian and dyke visibility is huge for Dyke March,” said Sarah Charron, co-facilitator of Dyke March ’04. “In the first five years of the Dyke March, we always had [the Dyke March] in our own neighborhood or in University Heights, but we choose to do it downtown now for more visibility and to do it in a mainstream neighborhood.”

The organization responsible for Dyke March, V.A.G.I.N.A. – Vibrant Activist Girls Invoking National Attention – has put on the event for the past seven years in attempts to increase the visibility of the lesbian community and empower women. Over 100 members strong, V.A.G.I.N.A has formed events such as Dyke March to foster a cohesive San Diego lesbian community.

“V.A.G.I.N.A. is a progressive feminist group,” Charron explained. “Basically, our goal is to take care of the female community.” V.A.G.I.N.A. also organizes other events, including Vagina Fest, a free women’s health fair that takes place in February.

The festival in Balboa Park following the march boasted nearly 600 participants. The afternoon was filled with entertainment and speakers, including keynote speaker Assemblymember Christine Kehoe.

Kehoe discussed the importance of the upcoming election and encouraged the crowd to vote.

“In many cases, our civil rights are on the line,” Kehoe said. “… This is about whether you want to vote to protect your civil rights, whether you get to keep your house if your partner dies, whether you get to keep your child if you get separated, whether you get to have your retirement fund rewarded to your partner when you pass away. Things that can maybe mean a lot to you right now but may mean even more to you in 10 to 20 years.”

Kehoe cited the Bush administration’s push for a Federal Marriage Amendment banning same-sex marriage, effectively making the GLBT community second-class citizens.

“Our Constitution has only been amended in the last 200 years to expand civil rights. … This is the first time that the president is saying it is OK to marginalize one group of people … simply because of who they are,” she said.

Kehoe wrapped up her speech saying, “I am a message to everyone here that you can be anything you want to be in this city. You can run for office, you can teach, you can be a mom, you can be a cop, you can be a firefighter. That’s what it’s all about, that’s what this march is about here today.”

Entertainment headliner Tribe 8, along with performers Alicia Champion, the San Diego Drag Kings, the Lesbian Health Clinic’s founder, Suzanne Gage, and spoken-word artist L-Train provided a party-like environment for people to gather, discuss politics and spend time getting to know members of the lesbian community. Nearly 20 vendors attended the festival, including the San Diego Democratic Club, The Center, The Center’s Women’s Resource Center and Equality California.

The evening closed with a performance by the San Diego Women’s Drum Circle and a fire-eating demonstration by the eight members of V.A.G.I.N.A., symbolizing the lesbian community’s struggle for civil rights.