Washington Gay Asians Celebrate Anniversary

Here's news from the Washington (D.C.) Blade:

Asian gays mark milestone
Pride & Heritage celebrates 10th anniversary this weekend

May 01, 2009
By Amy Cavanaugh

One month before Capital Pride celebrations turn D.C. into a glittery rainbow, gay Asian Americans are coming together to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Pride & Heritage as part of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month in May.

Pride & Heritage is a coalition of four local groups for LGBT Asian/Pacific Islanders: API Queer Sisters, an organization for gay Asian and Pacific Islander women; API Queer United for Action, a group that predominantly caters to Asian men and works to promote advocacy, education, outreach and social events; KhushDC, a support, social and political group for gays who have ties to South Asia; and the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum which is not LGBT but includes a lesbian, bisexual and transgender arm that addresses issues of importance to gay Asian-American women.

When the coalition formed 10 years ago, it was a chance for organizers to bring the API community together in discussions about sexuality and heritage.

“When we first started, it was always a challenge of invisibility,” Ben de Guzman of the Pride & Heritage committee says. “The first guest speaker at the first event was Helen Zia … who talked about how Asian/Pacific Islanders have always been missing in history.”

He says the community has dealt with “Asian Americans who would rather be in denial about the LGBT people in their communities or LGBT organizations who aren’t willing to look at what constitutes gay issues,” but now “in many ways I think we have moved past that. I think people are beginning to realize that all gay folks aren’t white and that all Asian people aren’t straight.”