What pride means to me: Chuck Griffith

Who is Chuck
Chuck Griffith is the founder of Roaring Leo Productions, a diverse film and television company that recently released “Best of Breed: Volume 1″, a compilation of award-winning LGBT short films. Learn more at http://www.roaringleo.com/bestfriends/.

What does pride mean to you?
My first gay pride was in 1996 in San Francisco. I had only been out for a year and was surprised to see hundreds of thousands of people at the parade. That pride was particularly special to me because I saw straight family members, church goers, dykes on bikes, and leather daddies all celebrating the diversity of our community in a city that had seen more funerals than birthdays back then. Now, pride means a time to be proud of how far we’ve come and serves as a reminder of how far we have to go. Gay pride means to be proud that we can have a voice, but also its a time to find ways to make sure that our voice is heard.

What are you doing for pride this year?
New York pride. I go to the bar Pieces on Christopher Street. It’s just a block from the corner of Christopher and Gay Streets! I pay my five dollar cover charge with friends and we drink, dance, go out and cheer the parade, then repeat. I’ve never been much of a circuit dance guy, so I tend to focus on fun in the sun with my gay family.