IRS NTTE:
* Civil Rights, Social Action, and Advocacy N.E.C. (R99)
* Lesbian/Gay Rights (R26)
* Community, Neighborhood Development, Improvement (S20)

Rainbow Advocacy was inspired by revolutionary Rev. Troy Perry,  founder of Metropolitan Community Churches, and dedicated to Civil Rights, Social Action and Advocacy.
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Rainbow Advocacy (formerly Metropolitan Community Charities) was established in 1996 by Rev. Nancy Wilson, then Senior Pastor of Metropolitan Community Church Los Angeles (now Founders MCC), along with local community organizers such as leading Los Angeles LGBTQ community pioneer Ivy Bottini.

Conceived as the AIDS epidemic was continuing to ravage lives throughout the city, the mission was to provide educational, cultural and social services to gay, lesbian and bisexual youth and seniors and to persons living with terminal and chronic illnesses. 

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Today, we continue
to carry the torch
lit by Rev. Troy Perry
​and speak our truth:
​"We're not afraid anymore."

Speaking & Standing OUT Against Fear

It was March 1969.  We began by picketing against an injustice which involved a gay man's loss of employment.

​One of our fellows holding a sign was so frightened that his hands practically had to be pried loos from his stick after walking for an hour on the picket line.

​Conditioning ourselves against fear was an important aspect of the beginning of lesbian and gay emancipation.

The next time we demonstrated, we were bolder.  My favorite picket sign read:
"WE'RE NOT AFRAID ANYMORE!"  

That slogan has been with us ever since and the words, which at first were written primarily to bolster our own courage, today are a statement of fact.  

​Not only do they apply to those of us who are gay, but also to a percentage of friends, church members, and clergy who are not homosexual.

- From the book "Don't Be Afraid Anymore" - Troy Perry

​The idea for a Pride Parade was conceived by Rev. Troy Perry in 1970, one year after the Stonewall Riots on Christopher Street in NYC. 

 Together with legendary community leaders Mr. Morris Kight and Rev. Bob Humphries, the Christopher Street West organization was born with film producer Pat Rocco as President.

The corner of Hollywood Boulevard and McCadden Place is where the first Pride Parade began on June 28, 1970.  A commemorative plaque (right) was placed there in a ceremony on June 28, 2005.