Long Beach Pride, which organizes the city’s annual Pride Parade & Festival, bid farewell to local LGBTQ legend Bob Crow — who was the nonprofit’s last surviving founder — with a procession and tribute ceremony on Saturday, Nov. 11.
Crow died in late September. He was 78.
The tribute kicked off on Saturday morning at Bixby Park, where Crow’s friends, family and community members gathered to take part in a procession featuring the Long Beach Pride float.
“We are indeed united by the common thread of humanity, of love, and the pursuit of a more inclusive and passionate world,” said Rev. Sunshine Daye, a local consultant, speaker, facilitator and author.
“And Bob’s life, of course, was a testament to the power of purpose, a purpose driven by love by acceptance, and by the belief that diversity is the cornerstone of a stronger, healthier society,” added Daye, a past Long Beach Pride grand marshal.
The procession traveled from the park down Broadway — a commercial corridor with a rich history as an LGBTQ cultural hub — toward Harvey Milk Promenade Park and Equity Plaza, where Crow’s farewell tribute took place.
Community members, LGBTQ activists, families and friends convened together to celebrate Crow’s life at Harvey Milk Promenade Park. Daye, Sunshine Daye, Vice Mayor Cindy Allen and Long Beach Pride President Tanya Martin spoke in tribute.
Rows of chairs were lined up in front of a stage filled with three large white and red flower bouquets and a Pride flag poised above Crow’s photo.
“He would always advocate behind the scenes eventually getting his way when it came to Pride,” Martin said. “Bobby (was) a man who never gave up on Long Beach Pride — (he) never gave up on his family.”
Crow died of Stage 4 lung cancer on Friday, Sept. 29, at his Long Beach home, which he shared with his husband, Tony Almeida-Crow. He had been diagnosed with the disease in 2018.
The news was a blow to the Long Beach community…
Read the full article here
