Miles has gone the extra mile to reach out to Calgary's LGBTQ2S+ community

It's been over three decades since the city first recognized the LGBTQ2S+ community, and a lot has changed.

At the time, Mayor Al Duerr's statement on behalf of the council was controversial.

“All Canadians should enjoy basic human rights and should not be discriminated against.”

It recognized the queer community's commitment to basic human rights.

“You could lose your job, you could get evicted. And there was a lot of violence — the year I came out — there was a lot of violence on the streets of Calgary, a lot of gay bashing, especially on the Beltline,” Kevin said. Allen.

About 400 people attended the first march for rights, and they were met by spitting protests.

A man with three dogs tried to walk through the crowd before the police took him away.

It took courage.

Police have raided clubs – most famously the 2002 Goliath Bath raid, for which police apologized in 2018 and cleared criminal records for 17 men arrested last December.

“It was like the whole town was against us … there was a lot of emotion, a lot of tension and a lot of fear,” said former Texas Lounge bartender Keith Purdy.

Lois Sabo Park on the Belt Line is a reminder of the trail and hope of those early days.

Club Carousel, founded by Szabo, was one of the safer places to gather.

“In the early 70s, they had about 700 members. It was a real battleground,” Allen said.

Sabo is expected to attend Sunday's Pride parade, which now features major corporate sponsors and community participants.

Despite the victories, the long journey is far from over.

Pride flags and sidewalks were vandalized in many parts of Alberta.

The drag incidents were met with aggressive protests.

“We're seeing new successes all the time, and it's just a matter of being vigilant and continuing to make that progress and not be the same,” said Jonathan Niemchak with Pride of Canada. Historical society.

“We're going to see about 60,000 people, including parade participants and people watching our parade this year,” said Marissa Gell with Calgary Pride.

“We've grown significantly.”