New inductees on the San Diego Wall of Honor Oct. 17

By Nicole Murray Ramirez

San Diego’s LGBTQ people has had many pioneers, trailblazers and heroes. I have had the honor to have known so many of them since our community started to organize and began to build itself and become more visible in the early 1970s. And coming up on Thursday. Oct. 17 at our San Diego LGBT Community Center will be the official inductee ceremony of eight outstanding pioneers, trailblazers, and heroes that will be put on our community’s prestigious and historic San Diego LGBT Community Wall of Honor. The inductees are Chris Shaw and Doug Snyder, Teresa Oyos, Connor Maddocks, Maureen Steiner, Julia Legaspi, Andrea Villa, Tracie Jada O’Brien and Venice Price “Lady Pepper.” Many of these honorees have been our champions since the 1970s and still are.

I founded the Wall of Honor and the “Benjamin F. Dillingham, III and Bridgette Wilson LGBT Veterans Wall of Honor so that you, the community and generations to come will never forget whose shoulders we stand on and many who were our champions when it was illegal to be in a “homosexual act” and you could be sent to a state mental hospital and be subjected to electric shock treatment or lobotomies. Sadly, I knew many who were, and they never were the same again. So when you see any of these eight heroes stop and thank them as well as any of the honorees on the Wall. The inductee ceremony is open to all. 6 p.m. at The Center!

44th Annual Nicky Awards: Dec. 8

Yes, what ABC-News 10 has called  the “Gay Academy Awards” of San Diego will roll out the red carpet on Sunday Dec. 8 for the 44th Annual Nicky Awards to be held at the beautiful Marriott Hotel at Liberty Station. The Nicky Awards honor outstanding achievement in our LGBTQ Community and this fun exciting night of celebrating 2019 achievements has been sold out the last 6 years. So stay tune and get your tables and tickets early. For more information on the 2019 Nicky Awards call 619-254-6372 or 619-288-1183.

Scott Carlson & Dan Ferbal Community Thanksgiving Dinner

Yes, plans are already on their way for the 31st Annual Scott Carlson/Dan Ferbal Community Thanksgiving Dinner. Sponsored by the Imperial Court de San Diego and held at our San Diego LGBT Community Center on Thanksgiving Day, this event is for the homeless, seniors, those ill or in need or those alone. Everyone is welcomed and at times we have had up to 600 people go through those doors. So we need your help and donations as we also give dinners, pies out to seniors, families in need, and HIV/AIDS patients in hospitals. For information call 619-817-9926, 619-921-3775, or 619-972-6369.

The Center and security

I wish to most sincerely thank the so many of you who have reached out to me with your mutual concerns and incidents at our community center and the growing transient problems upfront that make many of you afraid to even go to The Center. Also, your concerns about security when it comes to staff and clients as the rise of hate crimes and shootings makes us all more concern for our Jewish synagogues, temples, churches, Latino centers, and our other LGBT organizations and allies. Also, let me make this very clear. We need our LGBT center as our community is growing and more of our youth are coming out. The Center saves and changes lives every day, but we need to feel safe and peaceful and I strongly support The Center getting Security. Maybe our Stonewall Citizens Patrol — something. Thank you for listening.

New changes coming to Gay San Diego

You will really want to pick up the next issue of Gay San Diego as there will be many new announcements of changes and additions to our paper and website. This is very exciting and a new beginning for this award-winning publication. So stay tuned…

— Nicole Murray Ramirez has been writing a column since 1973. He has been a Latino/gay activist for almost half a century and has advised and served the last seven mayors of San Diego. Named the “Honorary Mayor of Hillcrest” by a city proclamation, he has received many media awards including from the prestigious San Diego Press Club. Reach Nicole at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @Nmrsd2.

Editor’s Note: The opinions written in this column are the author’s own and does not necessarily represent the opinions of the staff and/or publisher of Gay San Diego and/or its parent company, San Diego Community News Network (SDCNN). The newspaper and its staff should be held harmless of liability or damages.