T he oldest continuously-running foundation of its kind in the nation, it is estimated that the Dianas have contributed over $2 million to the local LGBTQ community. Closer to the center of town, The Pink Elephant, with its arguably brasher name and better real estate, would remain open for the following 48 years.īy the 1950s, enterprising gays and lesbians founded what would become the Diana Foundation. The Wagon Wheel Nite Club on Airline and Little York welcomed Houston’s alternative scene to its iconic drag shows for two years before burning down ( or being burnt down? We may never know ). Houston’s first two gay bars opened in 1936, when the city was but a moderate blip on the Texas map. Since the earliest days of the LGBTQ rights movement ( even pre-AIDS crisis ), the Bayou City has been at the forefront of queer activism in Texas. Houston just isn’t that into activism, r ight? While a healthy 22,000 protesters took to the streets of Space City during the 2017 Women’s March following Donald Trump’s election, this number paled in comparison to New York City (500,000), Los Angeles (750,000), or Washington, D.C. More than likely, Houston, Texas isn’t the first city you think of as being on the front lines of activism. , Berkeley, California, or, in terms of the LGBT Q equality movement, Stonewall in New York. When large activist movements take the national stage, we tend to think of places like Washington, D. Spectrum South would like to extend our utmost gratitude for his lifelong work for Houston’s-and the nation’s-LGBTQ movements. Editor’s Note: Activist Ray Hill passed away on Novem.