DENVER — The very first director of the Center on Colfax, which provides resources, programs and services for Denver's queer community, recently released a new book titled "LGBTQ Denver." The book aims to educate people on Denver's LGBTQ+ history, dating back to at least the 1970s.
In his lifetime, Phil Nash has worked as a gay rights activist, reporter, photojournalist, communication strategist, and most recently, author. His work has shaped gay rights to what they are today.
"I read in OUT FRONT (Magazine) that there was a group of people who had come together to start a gay community center in Denver. And I thought, I want to be part of this," said Nash.
After about a year of volunteering with The Center, he was selected to be their first director.
"The biggest impact was... we were there to help people come out. One thing that gave impetus to The Center and the whole movement here in Denver occurred in June of 1977. That was the Save Our Children campaign down in Florida," he said, referring to the campaign led by singer and former Miss Oklahoma Anita Bryant.
The goal was to overturn a county ordinance in Miami that protected gay people from job and housing discrimination. Bryant’s involvement brought national attention to the anti-gay movement, and was the catalyst for gays and lesbians to work work together nationally to fight back.
In the early 1980's, Nash left The Center and began reporting for OUT FRONT Magazine.
"We already had begun to hear about this new disease that was affecting gay men. Gay publications began running obituaries. It became a service to the community to report on people who died of AIDS, because many people wouldn't otherwise know what had happened to their friends. This really fueled the right-wing religious anti-gay sentiments that are still around today, but very prominent in the 1980's," said Nash.
By 1990, Nash began working for Denver's first Hispanic mayor, Federico Peña, as a speechwriter. Peña's election was pivotal for Denver because it proved that a candidate could win an election with support from the LGBTQ+ community.
"Peña built a coalition of Latinos, Blacks, women, environmentalists, LGBT people and surprised everyone by winning that election, and it ushered in a whole new vision for the city of Denver," Nash said. "You couldn't find politicians who wanted the help of the gay and lesbian community. We were the kiss of death for anybody in politics."
In 1992, Coloradans voted to pass Amendment 2, which would nullify current civil rights protection based on sexual orientation and prevent any new protections to be implemented.
"It was devastating to to our community. It was like your people began to question whether their own family members had voted to take away their rights," said Nash.
Not deterring activists here in Denver after the amendment passed, a lawsuit was brought against it and a Denver judge ruled it unconstitutional. This was taken all the way to the United States Supreme Court, where they agreed with the Denver judge that Amendment 2 was unconstitutional.
"If that constitutional amendment had been successful here, the religious conservatives would have brought it to other states and tried to pass it," Nash said. "In my lifetime, I've gone from having no knowledge about what it means to be gay, to living a life of making it easier for gay people to come out and live whole and complete and happy lives."
Phil Nash's book "LGBTQ Denver" can be purchased in book stores or through his publisher, Arcadia Publishing.
