Anita Bryant, a famous and outspoken anti-LGBTQ+ crusader, died last month at the age of 84.
In the 70s, Anita was a former American beauty pageant winner and minor pop star. In 1977, her campaign coined “Save Our Children,” led to the repeal of an anti-discrimination ordinance in Dade County, Florida. Galvanized by her win, she travelled across the U.S. and Canada and was able to roll back human rights gains in several other American states in addition to getting a legislated ban on gay adoption in Florida (this ban was only overturned in 2008).
She said during the campaign, “For several years I have been praying for God to revive America. And when word came that there was an ordinance in Miami that would allow known homosexuals to teach my children—God help us as a nation to stand in these dark days. There are many evil things that would claim—under the disguise of discrimination and under civil rights—would claim the civil rights of our children.”
Bryant’s crusade cost her dearly. By 1980, she was divorced, her sponsorship contracts dried up, and her career as an entertainer tanked. Ironically, many gay activists noted that Anita did more for their cause than anyone who had come before her. The Globe and Mail cheekily then concluded: “Closet doors open on Anita.”
A 2021 SLATE Podcast delved deeply into Anita Bryant’s war on gay rights. A new reveal was that Anita’s granddaughter Sarah is gay and had come out to her grandmother. Sarah said: “My partner and I have talked a lot about whether we want to invite her to our wedding. I think I probably will eventually just call her and ask if she even wants an invitation because I genuinely do not know how she would respond. I don’t know if she would be offended if I didn’t invite her. I really genuinely don’t know if she will come or not. I guess I’ll just say that I don’t hate my grandma. I just kind of feel bad for her. And I think as much as she hopes that I will figure things out and come back to God, I kind of hope that she’ll figure things out.”
In the same podcast, renowned lesbian historian Lillian Faderman said, “I think before Dade County, most gays and lesbians did not want to be political. Dade County woke us up. Dade County made us realize that we all had to be political. We all had to learn to fight homophobia. And I think that that really solidified the gay rights movement. Anita’s campaign galvanized the gay community….”
We noticed a wrinkle in the coverage after reading articles of her passing in several newspapers. Some modern-day culture warriors are changing the historical narrative about Anita’s crusade, declaring her a hero posthumously rather than a villain. Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, was quoted in Kentucky Today.
He said: “One of the techniques used to marginalize Anita Bryant was to treat her as a freak show, and that’s the threat that same movement would try to apply to every single person who would stand in its way. And if you dare to stand in opposition to that movement, guess what. You will end up on the front page of The New York Times as an obituary and the movement will claim that you deserve the ridicule. But let’s remember this …: the LBGTQ movement is not going to have the last say.”
Well, the Calgary Gay History Project intends to have the last say about Anita’s ignominious crusade stop in Alberta and the Calgary activists who challenged her. Our Past Matters!
In 1978, Anita swung through Canada as part of Renaissance International’s Christian Liberation Crusade. She made a tour stop in Edmonton on April 29th. Forty Calgary activists hurried north, joining activists there, to protest her cross-Canada tour.
The Coalition to Answer Anita Bryant (CAAB), which included feminist and labour groups, fired up the 300 protesters who marched to the Legislature: the most substantial pro-gay demonstration that Alberta had ever seen to that point. The Body Politic reported, “Bryant hits Canada; Canada hits back.”
Two Calgary activists, windi earthworm {he preferred lowercase letters when spelling his name} and Myra “My” Lipton, went independently of the loosely organized “Calgarians against Anita” delegation. They decided direct action was required to disrupt Bryant’s auditorium of 6000 supporters. My remembered: “We got in under the guise that we were students doing a study about the spaces people meet in. We scoped out the stage and decided on our spot. I helped Windi chain and lock himself.”
My then went into the seats to find a spot to generate a call and response disturbance with windi, but she turned back when she noticed audience members hassling him. She asked windi if he was OK. He replied, “Yeah, except these really kind Christian folk are ready to hang me,” by the chain around his neck.
Anita eventually appeared at the Northlands Coliseum under heavy police escort. windi screamed: “You have me in shackles, Anita!” She replied, “I love you, and I know enough to tell you the truth so you will not go to eternal damnation.” windi called back, “You love me so much you want me in prison.” The heckling continued intermittently throughout the event. The courageous Calgarians were detained briefly afterwards for questioning by police and were permitted to leave.
{KA}
Calgary Gay History 