F R I E N D S O F T H E P I N K T R I A N G L E

The following is information about the Friends of the Pink Triangle:

We have placed a giant pink triangle on top of Twin Peaks, a mountain in the center of San Francisco, for every Pride Parade weekend for the past seven years. It is almost 200 feet across. We feel it is important to tell the story of the pink triangle. The pink triangle was used by the Nazis in concentration camps to identify and shame homosexual prisoners. This symbol, which was used as in an attempt to label and shame has been embraced by the gay community as a symbol of pride.

To many, the pink triangle is just a brightly colored, graphic image, which has come to represent the gay movement, and there is often not a connection to how the symbol came about. We realized its history of hate was being forgotten and wanted to inform as many people as we could of its significance. Our project can be seen 20 miles away.

Seven years ago, the pink triangle started out as a renegade crafts project, which went up in the dark of night so the police wouldn’t catch us. It has now grown into something large that is appreciated enough for the mayor and many of the city’s other elected officials to acknowledge and celebrate.

It has been officially embraced by the city. Mayor Willie Brown christened the triangle on three occasions with a bottle of pink champagne. Numerous members of the Board of Supervisors have been present for pink triangle events over the years, they have included Board President Tom Ammiano, Mark Leno, Leslie Katz, Aaron Peskin, Sue Bierman and Treasurer Susan Leal. Also attending and speaking have been our Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, Assemblywoman Carole Migden and the Majority Leader of the California State Assembly, Kevin Shelley. Governor Gray Davis’ office issued an ornate proclamation and former President Clinton, Senator Feinstein and Senator Boxer each send supportive letters. In the past, the mother of Allen Schindler, Dorothy Hajdys-Holman, spoke on what happened to her son and why the Hate Crimes Act is important. Allen was in the Navy when he was beaten to death for being gay.

It seems the lessons of the Holocaust and the Pink Triangle have been lost on many. As they say, “Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it”. That is why we have our display. It is important to keep alive the memory of all of the Holocaust victims to help educate people to what can happen when hatred goes unchecked.

The list of systematic, deliberate and well-orchestrated exterminations is a long one. The Armenian Genocide of 1915 - 1918 in the Ottoman Turkish Empire, the Holocaust, the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia and numerous other genocidal campaigns are testament of the world’s complacency. However, one of the groups targeted for extermination by the NAZI’s continues to be under attack to this day, not just verbally but physically, all over the world. They are homosexuals. The fact that gays were put in German concentration camps is not known by many. The stories of the survivors reveal an unimaginable cruelty and suffering.

The Pink Triangle display is not only is a reminder of what the Nazi’s did, but its display is also intended as an instrument to initiate discourse concerning hate crimes. We want to help prevent others from experiencing the results of hatred that Matthew Shepard, Allen Schindler, Brandon Teena and countless others have been subjected to. If we can help prevent additional crimes like those committed against them, we will have been successful in our attempt to inform the public.

The Friends of the Pink Triangle is a group of friends who wish to bring the message of the pink triangle to the world. The message being what can happen when hatred and bigotry become law. The next display will be June 28 & 29, 2003. Christening to be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday June 28.