Video Interview, Alan Davidson, August 2, 2012
- KEVIN INDOVINO: So let's start late seventies.
- I know that you came out later in life.
- You were married, had children.
- ALAN DAVIDSON: That's right.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: I don't really get so much into the coming out
- experience.
- I'm more interested in your experience
- as a gay man out in our community.
- What were you finding?
- What was it like in the late seventies social life,
- you know, beyond your professional life--
- ALAN DAVIDSON: Ready?
- Well, when I came out in the seventies,
- it was a very strange thing to me being a married man.
- And then my wife died.
- I turned to the gay scene just for an outlet,
- just to try something different, and when I came out,
- I had to be so secretive about it, so closeted.
- I was really scared to say anything to my friends.
- It made me very, very uncomfortable,
- but I decided to bite the bullet and go to a gay bar that night,
- and it was Jim's, and lo and behold,
- when I walked into Jim's, I saw at least a dozen people
- that I knew as friends that were there.
- So much to my demise, and much to my shock,
- I felt a little bit more comfortable.
- And they made me comfortable.
- And then, lo and behold, I left Jim's, and I got a phone call
- from one of the gentlemen, and asked me
- to come over to a dinner party.
- And I said sure.
- And, once again, 12 men sitting around a table having
- the same likes and dislikes that I have,
- I felt extremely comfortable and I felt more at ease.
- So I decided that I would tell a couple of my friends
- my experiences.
- And by doing that, I was relieved.
- I felt like a new person.
- And then, all of a sudden in the seventies, some lady
- by the name Anita Bryant came out,
- and she said such derogatory things about homosexual
- that it made me very aggravated and very concerned.
- And I said to myself, hey, this has got to stop.
- And we have to do something about this.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: I want to back up a little bit.
- So we don't rush through a lot of this.
- How did you find out about what was out in the gay community
- when you were first coming out?
- How did you find out about Jim's?
- How did you find out about some the other places
- that gay people were going to?
- How did you find the gay community?
- ALAN DAVIDSON: Well, when I first came out,
- it was very strange.
- When I was leading a straight life, we would drive by a bar
- by the name of Jim's, and we would yell,
- I would yell, out the window, look at those queers!
- At that time, queer was a very, very bad name.
- And I made fun of those people.
- And because of my experience with my own sexuality,
- knowing that Jim's was a gay bar,
- I then had enough strength to go there and see
- what it was all about.
- And lo and behold, a few years ago making fun of that,
- and now, seeing what I saw in there, just
- changed my whole opinion.
- I said, really, these people are human beings.
- They're just like me.
- They're just like you.
- They're no different.
- So I became very, very relaxed in that situation
- and I wasn't uptight, and I didn't
- feel that I was being pressured, and I really
- enjoyed my experience as being, quote, a gay man.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: So let me ask you this, how--
- back in that day and age, maybe even true still today
- a little bit, how important were places
- like Jim's for the gay community to seek solace
- and to seek companionship?
- ALAN DAVIDSON: Places like Jim's and other places
- that I found out by being introduced
- to by several friends was given me an outlook to be myself
- and not to be hiding in the closet, as we say.
- It gave me a chance for freedom, it
- gave me a chance to realize that, yes, there
- are other people like myself going through the same thing
- as we all did when we first came out.
- It wasn't easy.
- Especially in the seventies, it was very, very difficult,
- as a matter of fact.
- I had to be very, very careful in what I said and what I did.
- And I really didn't like that.
- I was the kind of person that's very outgoing
- and I really liked to express myself.
- And I feel that I was forbidden to do some of the things.
- And thank god there was the bars.
- There was the GAGV that somebody introduced me to.
- There was some discussion groups that I could go to.
- And there was activities that I could go to.
- I could go and just read books if I wanted to in the library.
- I could enjoy some card games with some friends.
- I could go to house parties where I would
- meet other people like myself.
- And it just became a little bit more
- easy to do that every time I made that step.
- And I was so thankful that I had people that really cared.
- And that was important to me.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: There came a moment with Anita.
- Talk to me about that first time that you turned down the TV,
- you heard something on the radio,
- about this woman named Anita Bryant and how
- that made you feel, how that propelled you to eventually
- become an activist.
- ALAN DAVIDSON: When I first heard about Anita Bryant,
- and even to this day, I don't even like to mention her name,
- but you know what, Anita?
- I want to thank you for what you did for me, because you gave me
- the insight how stupid and how narrow minded people are about
- homosexuality.
- Your statements, your comments, your activities, your actions
- were so juvenile and so stupid.
- And you were proven wrong, weren't you, Anita, because
- of certain people that got together
- and fought against you.
- You didn't think you were going to have that problem,
- but believe me, you did have that problem,
- and you know what?
- You might have won the battle, but we certainly won the war.
- And you made me so aggravated that I became an activist
- in the gay community.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: So talk to me about those first days
- as an activist.
- What were your initial thoughts and where did you start?
- ALAN DAVIDSON: Well, my initial thoughts
- when I became an activist was, I couldn't necessarily
- do this alone.
- But because I met so many interesting people
- in Jim's and other outlooks in the gay community,
- we formed a group called coalition for change.
- This was a group that was formed by gays and straights.
- And believe me, at that time, there were a lot of straights
- out there that were in favor of equal rights for everybody.
- It wasn't just equal rights for gays, straights, black, whites,
- pinks, it was equal rights for everybody.
- That's what we were fighting for.
- So we formed this group called Coalition for Change.
- And the way that we could make this work was our main purpose
- was to educate other people on what it means to be different.
- And when I say different, once again, whether it be black,
- whether it be white, whether it be gay,
- whether it be straight, just different.
- We were looking for equality, and that's
- why we called it Coalition for Change.
- And what we did, we gathered a nucleus of people,
- like I said, and arranged certain fund raising events
- to further education and promote equal rights for everybody.
- One of the things we did, we were
- very fortunate to find the number one
- military activist whose name was Leonard Matlovitch.
- Leonard Matlovitch was the first official officer
- in the military to come out.
- Well, we sent Leonard a letter asking
- him to come to a rally for rights
- that we were going to feature downtown at the Holiday Inn
- at the crossword park in Rochester.
- And lo and behold, he said, yes, he would come.
- Well, this was a tremendous feather in our cap,
- and we felt very honored and privileged
- that he would attend.
- He gave a keynote address that is still
- earth shattering today, and just his main purpose,
- and his main thoughts, were stand up for your rights.
- It's not going to be easy, but stand up for your rights,
- don't give in, don't let other people--
- and I'll use the word-- bully you now--
- because bully has become a big word.
- And he used that word back in the seventies,
- believe it or not.
- So that was an experience that was just
- a tremendous thrust in our movement for gay equality.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: Moving forward a little bit in your activism,
- you had some dealings with city council,
- getting the policy changes there.
- You had some opposition in city council.
- Talk me through that.
- Tell me the story about trying to make policy changes
- at the city level.
- ALAN DAVIDSON: It as an expression that's used,
- you can't fight city hall.
- Well, let me tell you something, where there's a will,
- there's a way.
- City of Rochester had on its docket in city council,
- a very important, anti-discrimination bill,
- which would have been anti-discriminate against
- housing, schools, benefits, anything
- to do with equal rights that other people had.
- And this was to free the gay movement.
- It was against the gays.
- In other words, the discrimination bill
- was against the gays.
- We were fighting anti-discrimination.
- And we had to go to city council as a group from the GAGV
- and talk to city council and make sure
- that they were going to vote this into the power.
- Rochester, New York became one of the first cities
- in the country to approve the anti-discrimination bill.
- And we made history by doing that.
- And once again, the way that we did it was strength in numbers.
- We didn't go one by one, but we went in numbers,
- and we went in a force.
- And it was a real, real battle.
- And fortunately, it was passed.
- And I think everybody in the Rochester community
- can certainly be thankful for that.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: You need to clear up for me a little bit.
- This Anti-discrimination Bill was strictly
- for anti-discrimination--
- ALAN DAVIDSON: Against gays.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: Against gays.
- ALAN DAVIDSON: Just gays.
- That's what it was for.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: OK.
- So who submitted his bill?
- ALAN DAVIDSON: Cal-- I don't know.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: OK.
- I'm just trying to figure out how did this bill get the city
- council to begin with?
- EVELYN BAILEY: (unintelligible)
- ALAN DAVIDSON: You know what, Evelyn, I think you're correct.
- I mean, yes, Tim did.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: You know, actually,
- what I'm more interested in is that you
- got up on the floor of city council and spoke, right?
- ALAN DAVIDSON: Yes.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: Talk to me about that experience,
- talk to me about the kind of things that you said to them,
- and the argument that you were trying to make with them,
- and what that was for you as an experience.
- ALAN DAVIDSON: When we talked about the anti-discrimination
- bill with city council, I had the honor--
- I guess I could call it the honor--
- but I volunteered to speak out because I
- felt so strong about this.
- And when I got up, I was nervous.
- I was scared.
- But I also felt that what I was going to say
- was going to be important because they
- had to know that there were people out there that were
- being discriminated against.
- And that the only way that we, as the gay person,
- can have our equal rights is to pass this bill so we
- won't be discriminated against.
- And it was a rather hard thing for me to do,
- but I got up there, and I did speak,
- and they must listened to myself and other people,
- and the bill was passed.
- And we did have a bill that fights
- discrimination against gay people in Rochester, New York.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: That was under Johnson's administration,
- right?
- ALAN DAVIDSON: Pardon?
- KEVIN INDOVINO: Bill Johnson, he was the mayor?
- ALAN DAVIDSON: Bill Johnson was the mayor, yes.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: Where is the music coming from?
- Is somebody practicing out in the hall?
- [SIDE CONVERSATION]
- ALAN DAVIDSON: You've got good ears.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: All right, let's move on to early eighties
- and this thing called gay cancer starts appearing in the news.
- ALAN DAVIDSON: Called what?
- KEVIN INDOVINO: Gay cancer.
- ALAN DAVIDSON: Right.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: But ultimately is became known as AIDS.
- Can you remember the first time you heard about AIDS here
- in Rochester and what your initial thoughts
- were regards to how we were going to respond to this?
- ALAN DAVIDSON: Back in the eighties,
- I had a very good friend by the name of Don Scalia who
- lived in Rochester and he went to New York City
- and became a doctor.
- And one day Don called me up and he said to me,
- hey, Alan, have you heard about AIDS?
- And my answer to him was, yeah, of course, I have.
- It's the diet pill.
- Why?
- Do you take it?
- And he said, no, Alan, it's not the diet pill,
- but even though there is a diet pill called AIDS,
- we have something very important to talk about.
- I said, what is that?
- And he said that there is a sickness now
- in New York City called AIDS.
- It's a virus which is spreading rapidly to gay men.
- And for some reason, we don't have a cure for this,
- we don't understand it, and something
- has to be done about it.
- And he told me that he was coming to Rochester
- in a couple of weeks and would like to talk to me about it.
- He knew that I was active in the gay movement
- and he wanted to have a little sounding board.
- I said, sure.
- So what I did is I called a very good friend of mine Sue
- Cowell who was a nurse and who was also
- a great, great activist in the gay community.
- And I called Sue and told her what Don told me.
- And she said, well, when Don comes in, why don't you
- come over and we'll sit on my porch and we'll talk about it,
- because I don't know that much about it myself.
- And I said, great.
- So when Don came in, we went over to Sue's house
- and we talked about AIDS.
- That was the first time that I heard about it.
- It was a called a gay cancer, it was called an AIDS bug,
- it was called an AIDS virus, but what we all
- knew it was spreading rapidly and spreading rapidly
- in New York City especially and on the West Coast
- in California through gay men.
- This is what was proven at that time,
- but nothing else was known about it.
- And Don felt very strong that because
- of the spread of this that it was eventually going
- to affect the whole country.
- And Rochester, New York of course is part of the country.
- So he said, what can we do about this?
- So Sue and I got our heads together and we said, well,
- why don't we start forming an organization and we'll
- call ourselves AIDS Rochester?
- Well, we called a couple of friends, met a week a week
- later, and that was the beginning of AIDS Rochester.
- At that time, it was very, very hard to get funding.
- Grants had to be written.
- It was an uphill battle.
- But we fought that battle, once again,
- and, through the help of key people that wrote grants,
- we were able to get some funding and start to do
- things to raise awareness.
- That was our first concern, raising awareness and educating
- people about this and how serious this was.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: I want to go back.
- That following week after you met with Dr.--
- what was his name?
- ALAN DAVIDSON: Scalia.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: Scalia.
- You and Sue got together and talked.
- Then a week later, you got together the board of people,
- right?
- Again, was that on Sue's porch a week later?
- ALAN DAVIDSON: It was again on Sue's porch that time.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: Was Dr. Valenti there?
- ALAN DAVIDSON: No, he was not.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: Who was there?
- EVELYN BAILEY: Don Scalia
- KEVIN INDOVINO: Let him tell me.
- ALAN DAVIDSON: Don Scalia, myself, Sue, Mark Elingwood--
- I'm trying think who else--
- Buddy Wegman.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: OK, you don't have
- to go through all the names.
- Just give me a sense of what it was like sitting on that porch
- that evening, what the conversations were like, what
- was going through your heads about how we were going to do
- this enemy we haven't seen yet.
- ALAN DAVIDSON: This was very confusing to us
- sitting on the porch.
- We really didn't know where to go or what to do.
- And we were very confused because we
- didn't have the avenues of thrusting out for help.
- It was so brand new.
- And not knowing the cause and not knowing what was happening
- made an even more perplexing.
- But we knew that it was a serious problem.
- We realized that until we could educate
- people of what was going on we'd be fighting a losing battle.
- So the first thing we had to do was somehow
- educate and get the word out through flyers,
- through discussions, through people
- that we could feel that would be interested in talking
- to us about this, schools, industry, businesses,
- and people like that.
- So we called.
- We sort of had like a telephone hotline
- calling people up, informing them what our plan was,
- and they said that they would be interested in talking
- to us further some of them.
- And that was really the beginning of what we did.
- And once we got the understanding,
- that we learned more about the disease,
- we were able to tackle more serious problems
- like fundraising, which was a very big concern
- because there wasn't any money that was established for this.
- So we decided that we would do a fundraising event at Friar's
- Inn on Monroe Avenue.
- This was the first AIDS benefit in the city
- and it was very, very successful.
- We raised hundreds and hundreds of dollars.
- We had an outpouring of people coming to the bar,
- having a good time, but realizing what they were there
- for was to fight this disease.
- So this was the beginning of really the AIDS funding
- and that helped AIDS Rochester at least get some kind of grass
- root movement going.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: I want to talk about the impact of AIDS
- on the social scene in Rochester,
- particularly the bar scene.
- Later on, you actually wound up owning your own bars,
- but you became very involved with a lot
- of the establishments in Rochester.
- What were you seeing over the course of the eighties
- and early nineties?
- What was happening to gay men?
- What was happening to our community?
- What was happening to our social life?
- ALAN DAVIDSON: Well, during the times
- of the eighties and nineties when AIDS ran rampant, really
- out of control, some people in our community
- would be very serious about it.
- And unfortunately, some people would just laugh it off.
- We had to take a step for safety in sexual orientation,
- sexual movement.
- And it was very hard to prove to people that this is happening,
- and look at the figures, and look at the stats.
- It's becoming an epidemic.
- And if we don't do something through education
- and through stopping this, it's going
- to be devastating to everybody.
- So it was really an uphill battle to educate people.
- And some people listened and some people didn't.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: Talk to me about working
- with AIDS Rochester, and Jeff Kost,
- and getting that AIDS walk together.
- ALAN DAVIDSON: One of the things we
- did to raise some money was we decided
- we would have an AIDS walk.
- And Jeff Kost, who was very active
- in AIDS Rochester at that time, said, that's a great idea.
- So we organized our first AIDS walk.
- And it was just a tremendous, tremendous event
- where we expected maybe one hundred people.
- We had about 300 people.
- Yes, it doesn't sound like a lot right now,
- but three hundred people at that time was excellent.
- And I'm going to brag a little bit,
- but I was the number one contributor for our donations
- for the first walk and brought in the most money.
- And it was a very gratifying and rewarding thing.
- And that really started the beginning of many,
- many more AIDS walks because they were so successful.
- And each one was more successful than the next one.
- And it was a lot of fun to do, but more important,
- it was a very rewarding experience
- for everybody and anybody that participated in it.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: What did you feel
- when you saw all these people coming to walk?
- That first one, you weren't expecting that many people,
- but then, over the course of years,
- it just kept growing, and growing,
- and growing until we got thousands of people.
- What does that say about Rochester and our response
- to the whole AIDS epidemic?
- ALAN DAVIDSON: Rochester, New York
- can really have several feathers in their caps.
- It's a community that, when something happens, it really
- bonds together.
- The support that people gave Rochester with the AIDS problem
- was a major, major thrust that made
- us really known in the map.
- We have people that told us, Rochester, AIDS
- was like the top three in the country
- as far as grants, as far as donations, as far as giving,
- and as far as education.
- And we're very proud of that fact.
- And Rochester, New York is known today
- for being one of the outstanding gay communities
- in New York state, if not, the country.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: AIDS quilt, you worked during the AIDS quilt
- here for the first time?
- ALAN DAVIDSON: Yes.
- The AIDS quilt was a wonderful way
- to remember somebody that unfortunately died of AIDS,
- and it gave a tremendous outlook, and deep feeling,
- a way to grieve.
- I personally made, with help of friends, two quilts.
- Should I mention their names or no?
- I made two quilts.
- And they are now being shown with the AIDS quilt.
- We thought it would be a wonderful idea--
- this is when I was with the GAGV--
- if we could bring the AIDS quilt to Rochester.
- It wasn't that easy to do because you
- had to fill out a lot of paperwork,
- naturally, send it in, get approval, and lo and behold,
- they did approve Rochester, New York for the quilt.
- At that time, there was about ten thousand panels.
- Today, there's forty-seven thousand panels.
- We were able to bring in almost ten thousand panels showing
- at MCC for the first time in New York state.
- This was the first viewing in New York state.
- So it was a tremendous, tremendous feeling,
- and especially to see the quilts that a lot of people
- worked on locally were on this display.
- And it was just mixed emotions of good feeling and, of course,
- a sad feeling over people that we lost to AIDS.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: Why did you think
- it was so important to bring it to Rochester?
- ALAN DAVIDSON: I thought it was important to bring
- to Rochester because Rochester had worked so hard in the AIDS
- movement.
- And this was one way to show the results that have happened
- with what we were working on.
- And it was a very eventful occasion.
- Yes, this is how people have answered some of their needs,
- some of their grieving, some of their
- are calling for what's happened with some of their loved ones.
- And it was very important to bring it to Rochester.
- Not only for Rochester, but surrounding areas
- that could come to Rochester and also see it.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: So in the middle of all of your AIDS activism,
- you also became the president of the Gay Alliance.
- Like you didn't have enough to do.
- Talk to me about the deadlines at that time, '86, '87.
- You know, what was it like?
- What purpose was it serving in the community?
- And then we'll get into your involvement with them.
- ALAN DAVIDSON: OK.
- The Gay Alliance was one avenue that gay people could
- come to if they needed help with housing, if they needed help
- with education, if they needed to help with attorney fees,
- if they needed any kind of help where other people would look
- at them and say, oh, you're gay, I can't help you.
- So the alliance was there to help people.
- I think when I was there, one of the important thrusts that we
- had was youth.
- Because we realize that eventually we
- were going to be going on in years,
- but the younger people were going
- to be having to take over with their ideas and their thoughts.
- So it was very important that we really strive
- for the youth to get involved.
- And we did set up some youth programs for them,
- where we had them come for social events like bowling
- and movie night, and cards and become active
- in the gay movement, because they
- were, once again, like I was when I first came out, scared.
- And they needed an avenue to come to.
- And we provided that avenue for them.
- And I think the alliance did an outstanding job with that.
- Today, they are very successful in the gay movement.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: So talk to me about becoming
- the president of The Gay Alliance and talk to me
- about that experience.
- More importantly, what do you think you greatest achievement
- under your direction?
- The Gay Alliance--
- [SIDE CONVERSATION]
- ALAN DAVIDSON: When I took over for The Gay Alliance,
- I was on the board, and there came an opportunity for me
- to run for president.
- And I took that reins and I said, yeah,
- I would like to run for president
- and see if I can do a little bit more as reconstruction
- and construct certain things.
- It wasn't easy at that time, because, once again, we're
- talking about a lot of closeted things,
- and a lot of things that just aren't said and done.
- But because strong people on the board, we were able,
- and I was able, to accomplish things
- like the discrimination thing.
- I mean, that was during my tenure
- when I was president of The Gay Alliance.
- And I really think that that was a tremendous accomplishment.
- It was just trying to get equal rights.
- Not asking for a lot, but just equal.
- That's the difference between begging and asking
- or the difference between equal.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: Well, of course, we
- can't talk about The Gay Alliance
- without talking about the gay picnics.
- It's a big part of what they do.
- First, tell me about your experiences at the gay picnic.
- Why is this such a great event for Rochester to have?
- ALAN DAVIDSON: The gay picnic is a real great event
- for Rochester and a couple of folds.
- Number one, it brings people together.
- Men, women, straights, gays.
- It brings the whole community together now.
- It used to be just, quote, a gay thing, if you know what I mean.
- But now, it's just a happy, happy occasion for everybody.
- And by bringing everybody together,
- it just brings a wonderful feeling of unity.
- When you go to the picnic and come home from the picnic,
- I don't think anybody doesn't feel a side of them that
- is unified and feels strong about who they are
- and what they are.
- And it really just rejuvenates everybody and gives everybody
- a wonderful feeling.
- That's one feature of the picnic.
- The second and just as important feature
- is raising money, money that has to be raised for the GAGV
- to continue, and for the businesses, like the business
- organizations that support the alliance, to continue, also.
- One of the things that I really enjoyed about the picnic, even
- though it was a lot of work, is I was called the raffle man.
- I would have raffle tickets around my neck
- and I am going to use the word pester everybody until they
- bought a raffle ticket from me.
- But yet, we raised hundreds and hundreds of dollars
- through those raffle tickets.
- And the raffle, very fortunate, brought
- in a lot, a lot of money.
- So besides being a good feeling about the picnic,
- it's also an extremely important fundraiser
- for the city of Rochester and for the alliance.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: So I'm just going
- to throw some names at you.
- I just want your own personal feelings or experiences
- with these people.
- The first one goes way back, Gordon Urlacher.
- Talk to me about Gordon and the kind of work
- that he did for the gay community.
- ALAN DAVIDSON: Gordie Urlacher was, of course,
- a the chief of Police.
- I, in my business opportunities, owned several bars
- in the city of Rochester.
- It was so important to have the police be
- a liaison with us working in the bars and with the police.
- Gordon and I and all the other bar owners
- would get together on a monthly basis and talk about problems
- and talk about what is going on so they, the police department,
- were involved and in tune to what was happening,
- and in turn, they would tell us what is going on,
- how we could possibly improve the safety
- and make it more accessible for people to come to the bars.
- So there was a very close, close contact
- with Gordon Urlacher and the bar owners.
- And I felt very honored, very privileged to have him
- in our corner.
- And he did fight for the gay community.
- He was a very, very honest, sincere man.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: Tony Green.
- ALAN DAVIDSON: Tony Green.
- Oh, it's going to bring a smile to my face,
- because that's what Tony Green is all about.
- When I see Tony, I have to laugh,
- and I have to smile because the had
- wonderful jokes, wonderful sense of humor,
- and he was just down to earth Tony Green.
- And God bless him.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: Well, back to AIDS Rochester--
- Jackie Nudd
- ALAN DAVIDSON: Jackie Nudd
- KEVIN INDOVINO: She got the organization going.
- ALAN DAVIDSON: Jackie Nudd we could put on a pedestal
- because she was really the flower child, I would call her.
- She was an activist.
- She was friendly.
- She was smart.
- She was low key.
- Where we would all get excited and nervous,
- she would come out with her hand and say, stop, and just
- put a stop to everything that was going on, and calm us down.
- She had a calming effect.
- She really did.
- She made us feel very strong and very tall.
- And she was the pillar, I would say, really, the pillar.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: Well, I'm going to ask this,
- I mean, I wasn't going to go there, but what happened?
- Eventually she had to step down.
- You know, so many people talked so fondly about her
- and what she did to get that organization going.
- How did that change?
- What happened?
- ALAN DAVIDSON: Unfortunately, in organizations, there's
- a lot of politics involved.
- And Jackie might have done things
- that rubbed people the wrong way even though she was right.
- But there is also the right way--
- and also, when I mention the word wrong way, it's not wrong,
- it's just a different way of doing things.
- Because Jackie was such a forceful,
- inside kind of person, she stepped on some people's toes.
- And unfortunately, those toes got hurt
- and they were stronger as far as the politics involved.
- And Jackie stepped down.
- (piano playing)
- Does that pick up everything?
- KEVIN INDOVINO: Yeah, it does a little bit.
- But we'll work around it.
- You talked about you were doing the first AIDS fundraiser
- at Friar's.
- Was Jesse Vulo around?
- ALAN DAVIDSON: Jesse certainly was around.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: Tell me about Jesse and what kind of person
- he was.
- ALAN DAVIDSON: Oh my god.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: --who he was to work with.
- ALAN DAVIDSON: Jesse Vulo was, and I'm
- going to say still is, one of my best friends.
- As a matter of fact, he's the one
- that really made me do a lot of activism.
- I became very, very close with Jesse.
- And he really was the first person in Rochester
- to be diagnosed with AIDS.
- And unfortunately, I have to say, he passed away.
- I made a quilt for Jesse and I can still see it to this day.
- It's with musical notes.
- It's with a disk jockey playing.
- It's with a picture of him in the middle.
- And he was a very special man and would do anything
- for anybody, and I mean anybody.
- He was very, very special to me, that's for sure,
- and I really thank him for everything that he did for me.
- Love him.
- Love him.
- Love him.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: Looking back at the years, whether it's
- your involvement with political activism, AIDs
- activism, the GAGV, what is your fondest memories?
- ALAN DAVIDSON: Oh, boy.
- You know, it's hard to say what my fondest memory is,
- because I have so many of them.
- When I attend events, for example, I
- become really emotional, and really, it
- gives me a chance to look back in the past
- and look to the future and see where we've come.
- But I would say one of my fondest memories or the memory
- that I'm really the proudest of, I would say,
- would be one of the co-founders of AIDS Rochester,
- knowing how we started from a little talk on a certain Sue's
- porch to what AIDS Rochester has become today.
- I would really say that was really my fondest memory.
- Among all the other things that when I go to gay events,
- and just see what's happened, it gives me the time
- to reflect and say, thank God.
- Thank God.
- And we haven't even talked about the pinnacle, or the top thing
- that's happened recently, and that's gay marriage.
- And that's something way back way I never, in my lifetime,
- and I can honestly say this, in my lifetime,
- would think that this would happen.
- And New York state made me believe.
- And because of that, it just rejuvenated me
- and I'm ready to go and fight again if I have to.
- That's how I feel.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: And what do you think
- we still have to fight for?
- ALAN DAVIDSON: Well, there's no question about it,
- gay marriage is in New York State,
- but what about the whole country?
- I mean, we still have people on the roadsides with picket
- signs, and bigoted signs, and just
- recently we had a restaurant, I won't even mention their name
- to give them publicity, of how stupid
- and how ignorant people can be when it comes to that.
- So the battle is not over, but we're
- going to win the war, as I said.
- And we certainly are going to win the war.
- We still have a lot to fight for.
- We still have a lot of equal things to fight for.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: When history looks back
- in your life, what do you want them to know about who you are
- and what you've done?
- ALAN DAVIDSON: Oh boy.
- That's a good question.
- I just want them to know that I've just
- enjoyed my life to the fullest.
- I'm happy today.
- I've had great family, great friends, and I don't know,
- I just want them to remember me as the person that
- had fun at things.
- I think that's it.
- I want to have fun.
- I enjoy life.
- I love life.
- And to have fun, you have to suffer some of the hard times.
- But if you can get over the hard times and continue,
- then fun is out there.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: Thank you.
- ALAN DAVIDSON: OK.
- That's it.
- KEVIN INDOVINO: Good.
- ALAN DAVIDSON: Good.
- Ah.
- CREW: Let's get that off of you.