In 2009, President Barack Obama became the third American President to invite Rev. Troy Perry to the White House.
In 2009, President Barack Obama became the third American President to invite Rev. Troy Perry to the White House.
Rev. Troy D. Perry is a renown international LGBTQ+ human rights activist and a pioneer in social equality, legal protection and spiritual justice for LGBTQ+ people. Troy conceived the world's first Gay Pride Parade and co-founded the Christopher Street West organization to launch the first LA PRIDE event in 1970. From those early days of the 1960's and 70's in the struggle for LGBTQ+ acceptance, Troy has continued to lead the way in building a worldwide movement and played a critical role in paving the way for marriage equality.
Rev. Troy Perry (right) with husband Phillip De Blieck
Rev. Troy Perry's visionary step in the creation of the first Metropolitan Community Church in 1968 would be historic: the first church to recognize the need to minister to the needs of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people. Despite fire bombings of its sanctuaries and murders of its clergy, Rev. Troy Perry has led this movement and the expansion of the denomination to become one of the world’s largest LGBT organizations with hundreds of churches in countries around the world.
Only two months after founding Metropolitan Community Church of Los Angeles (now Founders MCC), the 28-year old Rev. Troy Perry performed what Time Magazine described as the first public same-sex wedding ceremony in the USA, marrying two Latino men.
The idea of a Gay Pride Parade came to Rev. Troy Perry as a commemoration of the 1969 Stonewall uprising. Along with Mr. Morris Kight and Rev. Bob Humphries, both community leaders, the three founded the Christopher Street West organization in Los Angeles and held the Gay Pride Parade on June 28, 1970. As a direct outgrowth of this visionary action, LA PRIDE today is today the oldest gay pride parade in the world with Pride Parades held in cities and towns all over the world.
Rev. Troy Perry was the first openly gay person to serve on the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations.
In 1977, Rev. Troy Perry was invited to the White House by the administration of President Jimmy Carter to discuss gay and lesbian civil rights.
As a leading activist and protester , Rev. Troy Perry held a 16-day fast in 1978 on the steps of the Federal Building in Los Angeles in his winning battle against the Briggs Initiative, which was written to ensure gay and lesbian teachers would be fired or prohibited from working in California public schools.
“I believe we can change the world... So, for me, my legacy, I hope, will be inside and outside of my community... He was faithful and he was fearless."
Rev. Troy Perry, 2007