Capacity Crowd -- Including Grammy Award Winner Melissa Etheridge -- Attends Gala Opening For Historical Society of Long Beach LGBT History Project

(Feb. 24, 2013) -- A capacity crowd including city officials -- and Grammy Award winner/former LB resident Melissa Etheridge -- attended the Feb. 23 gala opening of the Historical Society of Long Beach's LGBT History Project.

Ms. Etheridge at left. Photo credit: Joe Mello

Photo credit: Joe Mello

LBREPORT.com's Joe Mello was on-scene and hosted LIVE webcast video coverage of the event, and has on-demand video, audio and photo coverage below.

Photo credit: Joe Mello

The exhibit includes a display of the Gold LP that Ms. Etheridge donated to Que Sera on Anaheim St., a well known Long Beach lesbian entertainment bar where, along with the Executive Suite on Pacific Coast Highway, Ms. Etheridge performed locally.

Photo credit: Joe Mello

Ms. Etheridge with Marsha Naify, HSLB LGBT History Project steering committee member former President of the LB Lambda Democratic Club. Photo credit: Joe Mello

HSLB Exec. Dir. Julie Bartolotto with Ms. Naify, who served on the committee that organized the exhibition. Photo credit: Joe Mello

Since publicly coming out in 1993, the award winning performer has been an outspoken advocate of gay and lesbian rights.

Melissa Etheridge spoke and was awarded a special recognition. Video of her remarks on receiving the recogition is below:

Among those attending was Mayor Bob Foster, who received a hug from Ms. Etheridge (screen save photo right).

Mayor Foster later shared his perspectives on the event with LBREPORT.com. The Mayor's comments can be heard by clicking here.

Also attending was Councilwoman Gerrie Schipske, Long Beach's second openly gay elected official (Dan Baker was first) who addressed the crowd. She later commented to LBREPORT.com's Joe Mello that she recalled a time when "most elected officials wouldn't be seen with us; now they can't be seen without us" and said a stigma against LGBT elected officials has now been lifted. (Screen save from LBREPORT.com live webcast)

Councilman Patrick O'Donnell [who's formed a fundraising Committee but hasn't announced his candidacy to seek the LB Assembly district seat to be vacated by Assemblywoman Bonnie Lowenthal in 2014] told LBREPORT.com's Joe Mello that as chair of the Council's State Legislation Committee he plans to bring an item seeking Council support for SB 323. (Screen save from LBREPORT.com live webcast).

As previously reported by LBREPORT.com, SB 323 (introduced Feb. 19 by state Senator Ricardo Lara (D., LB-Huntington Park) with co-authors including Assemblywoman Bonnie Lowenthal (D., LB)) would add sexual orientation, gender identity and religious affiliation to discrimination categories that would bar youth groups (like the Boy Scouts) from receiving exemptions from the payment of state corporate tax and payment of certain sales/use taxes.

Also attending were Long Beach Councilmembers Al Austin and Gary DeLong, Vice Mayor Robert Garcia, Signal Hill Councilmembers Mike Noll, Ellen Ward and Larry Forester, Congressman Alan Lowenthal...

Congressman Alan Lowenthal mingles with the crowd. Photo credit: Joe Mello

..., Assemblywoman Bonnie Lowenthal, former Councilman (and HSLB Board co-president) Evan Anderson Braude, Cory Allen (LB Lambda Democratic Club).

Former Councilman and HSLB Board co-president Evan Anderson Braude with Carmen Viramontes . Photo credit: Joe Mello

The Center in Long Beach Exec. Dir. Ron Sylvester (right) greets Dr. Kaye Briegel (HSLB Boardmember/Project historian). Photo credit: Joe Mello

The Long Beach Historical Society announced its LGBT History Project in August 2012 to show the struggles and contributions of the LGBT community in Long Beach.

The resulting multidimensional exhibit features an interactive timeline that documents the contributions of the Long Beach LGBT communities with photographs, documents and archival materials. The project included collecting recorded oral histories and the making of a documentary video. All of the project items will become part of the Historical Society’s permanent collection and public archives.

Photo credit: Joe Mello

The project's seventeen member steering committee was co-chaired by Julie Bartolotto (Executive Director of the HSLB) and Marsha Naify (former President of the LB Lambda Democratic Club). Dr. Kaye Briegel was the project's historian.

The exhibit will remain open for a year and is free to the public at the Historical Society of Long Beach, 4260 Atlantic Avenue in Bixby Knolls.