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Founded in 1993 with the intention “to educate, engage, encourage and celebrate LGBT inclusion, pride and acceptance for all people,” Santa Fe’s Human Rights Alliance is steady in its efforts to build lasting relationships with civil rights groups across New Mexico. A sample of this will be evident this weekend during Pride festivities. Chicago native Richard Bell is the HRA board president.
How was it that you became affiliated with the alliance?
Well, one I am a gay man, and I wanted to be involved with the Santa Fe LGBT+ community. During my research, it was the Human Rights Alliance that came up. I liked the idea that they were founded in '93 to, you know, help people to have rights as far as housing and jobs, so that appealed to me.
What does the word Pride mean to you?
When I think of Pride, I think of Stonewall, and I think of gay people and transgender people and drag queens standing up to homophobia and the abuse that they were receiving on a regular basis at the hands of the authorities—the people who were supposed to protect them. This particular time, they decided to fight back. They said, 'No, not this time. We're not gonna stand for this any longer.' And out of that is where gay rights developed.
Pride here has its own distinct flavor. How would you describe it to somebody who's never been a part of it?
Well, I think [that] when people think of gay pride, they often think of San Francisco, Chicago or New York and those situations, they're not necessarily family friendly, with people celebrating their sexuality, their rights and so forth. Here in Santa Fe, it has always been welcoming to and has been appealing to straight people and to families and to anybody who is a resident of Santa Fe, because the whole promotion is equality, celebrating where we came from and where we are today.
Santa Fe Reporter