Joe Altman Photographs of the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parades

Altman, Joe, 1945-1991

1979-1985

PC-040

Collection contains 77 black and white, gelatin silver print photographs of the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade (1979-1980) and the San Francisco International Lesbian and Gay Freedom Day Parade (1981-1985) taken by Joe Altman between 1979 and 1985. Collection also contains 69 contact sheets; 12 photocopies of contact sheets. Contact sheets were printed for every year between 1979 and 1985, but not all photographs represented in the contact sheets were included in this collection. Bulk of the photographic prints cover the 1979 San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade. The photographs of the 1979 parade show gay organizations participating in the parade including the Gay Atheist League; Sha'ar Zahav, a gay synagogue; Gay Latino Alliance; Society of Janus; gay members of the Libertarian Party; Harvey Milk Gay Democratic Club; San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Marching and Twirling Corps; Lesbian/Gay Cause of Butte County; Community United Against Violence; Golden Gate Business Association; Los Angeles Gay Freedom Band; National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights contingent; Gay People's Union at Stanford; Straights for Gay Rights; Gays Against Nuclear Power; Ministers for Human Rights; Dykes on Bikes; and the San Francisco Lesbian Mothers. Floats representing the following gay businesses are represented: Boot Rack; The Watergarden Baths; Blue Front Dely; Bulldog Baths; Club Bath Chain; I-Beam; DeLuxe Bar; and the Trocadero Transfer (represented in a float from the 1982 parade). Individuals identified in the 1979 parade photographs include: Guy Corry; Mr. National Gay Rodeo, 1979; George Bosque; Bob Ross of the Bay Area Reporter; Harry Britt; Leonard Matlovich; Ed Paulson, Mr. Gay Muscular Dystrophy; and Tim Phillips.

Joe Altman was born December 1, 1945 in New York state. He moved to San Francisco at age 21. Altman was a photographer, primarily capturing portraits of gay couples and important events in the gay community such as candlelight marches and Freedom Day parades. Altman died on April 4, 1991 in Santa Rosa, California.

https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8tm7hwp/