Raina Lea, aka Gary Taylor, not only founded Tarrant County’s first Gay Pride celebration, she left a lasting impression on everyone she met through her kindness and generosity. (Photo courtesy of Glenda Gardner)

As part of the ongoing Pride Month activities around DFW, YesterQueer, the Fort Worth Gay History Project, continues its series of Gay History Happy Hours on the topic “Remembering Raina, The Mother of Pride: Drag legend Raina Lea, aka Gary Taylor, left an indelible mark on our community and its history,” happening Wednesday, June 21, at 7 p.m. at Liberty Lounge, 515 S. Jennings Ave. (at Pennsylvania Avenue).

Local activist, community leader and beloved entertainer Gary Taylor — better known by his drag persona Raina Lea — was a key figure in the early creation and organization of Fort Worth’s LGBTQ community. He played crucial roles in the formation and success of local organizations, including the Imperial Court de Fort Worth/Arlington, the Cowtown Leathermen and the Tarrant County Gay Alliance.

But in the 1970s, following the Stonewall Riots in June of 1969 — which jumpstarted the LGBTQ Civil Rights Movement — Taylor was dismayed at the lack of local Pride celebrations. So he began hosting private gatherings in his own home and in a local park to commemorate the Stonewall Riots.

In 1982, those gatherings evolved into Fort Worth’s first Pride Picnic, leading to the formation of the city’s first Pride organization.
Lesbian activist/organizer and archivist Glenda Gardner was there for it all, and for the last several decades, Gardner has collected a treasure trove of information about our community, much of which she has loaned to YesterQueer for digitization, preservation and study.

In June of 1994, three years after Taylor’s untimely death from AIDS-related complications, Gardner interviewed dozens of local leaders to collect their memories of Raina Lea for an article in the Cowtown LGBTQ newspaper Alliance News. YesterQueer will be sharing that article, along with new material and photos, in two parts in the blog on their website beginning June 22. Watch for it at YesterQueerFW.com.

YesterQueer “is delighted to welcome Glenda (along with a few other special guests) to share their memories of Raina, who is fondly recalled not just for her contributions to our history and our culture but most passionately for her kindness and generosity to everyone she encountered. We’ll also discuss previous Prides and how Tarrant celebrations have evolved in the more than 50 years since Stonewall,” according to a press release about the Happy Hour event. “Join us for a look back at the extraordinary reign of Raina Lea and Prides past along with a pop-up exhibit of materials, posters, photos, buttons and clothing about her life and ongoing legacy.”

YesterQueer: The Fort Worth Gay History Project is “dedicated to preserving the stories, memories, photos and ephemera of the LGBTQ+ community of Tarrant County,” the press release notes. “Our goal is to share that information across a variety of digital channels as well as through public discussions and events designed to generate interest in our community’s rich history not only with the people who remember it but with future generations of queer youth, allies and anyone else who hopes to learn from it.”

— Tammye Nash