The Power of Local Activism: A Short Essay on the History of the Alexandria Gay and Lesbian Community Association

by Hannah Lecomte, August 20, 2025.

Introduction

In May of 1983, gay and lesbian advocates in Alexandria formed the Alexandria Gay and Lesbian Community Association (AGLCA) after splitting from the Virginia Gay Alliance (VGA) headquartered in Richmond. The AGLCA was initially named the Alexandria Gay Community Association (AGCA) before adding “lesbian” to its name in 1990. ¹ According to the VGA president at the time, Tom DePriest, the AGLCA broke off of the VGA in order to focus its efforts “on the local level, not the state.” ² But according to Don Pretzer, the AGLCA chairperson in 1983, the break was not so amicable. Pretzer argued that the Alexandria chapter of the VGA “did not mesh well” with the statewide leadership and that the AGLCA formed as a distinct group due to “blunt, philosophical principles.” ³ The AGLCA was just one of the many local LGBTQ+ organizations that formed around the United States during a period known for the Gay Liberation Movement, or roughly, 1969 through the mid-1980s. These organizations sometimes collaborated with national organizations like the Gay Activists Alliance and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, but more often they focused on hyperlocal causes. Within its first year of operating, the AGLCA had about seventy members who lived in either Alexandria or Fairfax County. ⁴ Through their work in LGBTQ+ advocacy, public education, and social and community organizing, activists making up the AGLCA played an important role in fighting for LGBTQ+ rights in Alexandria.

LGBTQ+ Advocacy

From its inception, the AGLCA engaged in queer advocacy and raised awareness and support for LGBTQ+ friendly laws, measures, and candidates at the city- and state-wide levels. From September to October 1983, the AGLCA organized a poster campaign on city buses urging Alexandrians to register to vote for the November 8th elections that year. The group then hosted a forum on October 4th, where Democratic General Assembly delegate and candidate Bernard Cohen spoke about his support for legislative action to overturn Virginia’s sodomy ban. (Cohen was the only candidate running who attended the AGLCA’s forum.) The AGLCA’s platforming of Cohen signaled the group’s commitment to candidates that were actively fighting for LGBTQ+ issues at the state level. At the local level, the AGLCA worked with members of Alexandria’s Human Rights Commission to improve civil rights and the quality of life for LGBTQ+ Alexandrians. Beginning in July 1984, the group surveyed LGBTQ+ Northern Virginians on how they experienced discrimination living and/or working in Alexandria, and they held public hearings on the issue. ⁵ By the end of the year, the Human Rights Commission released a report titled “Report on Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation in the City of Alexandria.” The commission found that “discrimination based on Sexual Orientation exists in the City of Alexandria, most often in the areas of housing, social services, employment, and equal protection under the law.” ⁶ In October 1988, Alexandria’s City Council extended civil rights to LGBTQ+ Alexandrians by amending the city’s human rights code to “protect Gays from discrimination.” ⁷ The work of AGLCA advocates over multiple years proved to be integral to winning civil rights protections for LGBTQ+ Alexandrians at the local level. From the 1980s through the early 2000s, the AGLCA would continue to host fora for local political candidates, circulate information about voter registration, and collaborate with Alexandria’s city government to improve the lives of LGBTQ+ citizens. In April 1992 Mike Pisaturo, AGLCA president, was appointed by Alexandria’s City Council to serve on the Fair Housing Committee to help address “housing-related discrimination based on sexual orientation.” ⁸ The civic victories for LGBTQ+ people in the city of Alexandria ran parallel to shortcomings at the state and national levels. In the 1990s, anti-sodomy laws were on the books and federal marriage equality had not yet materialized. To support its non-local political advocacy, the AGLCA expanded its educational efforts.

Public Education

The AGLCA emphasized both political advocacy and public education within its first year as a standalone organization. Upon the AGLCA’s incorporation as a nonprofit in 1984, Our Own Community Press reported that the group’s mission statement was to “educate the public about homosexuality in order to foster an understanding and acceptance of homosexual persons.” ⁹ One of the group’s first initiatives involved a partnership with the Alexandria Public Library. In 1983, the AGLCA and the library teamed up to circulate a comprehensive bibliography of the library’s queer books. By 1984, the AGLCA and the library began a book drive, accepting book and cash donations to enhance the collection of queer books at the library. The partnership between the AGLCA and the library facilitated free circulation of regional and national queer newspapers, including the Washington Blade and Our Own Community Press (Norfolk, VA). ¹⁰ In the final decades before the internet boom, the AGLCA’s efforts ensured better access to queer scholarship and literature, and to local and national news pertaining to queer issues.
In addition to facilitating access to information, the AGLCA hosted speakers on a variety of topics at its monthly fora. For example, in March 1984, the AGLCA hosted speakers Alan Marsohke and Carol Brown to discuss “Alexandria City Substance Abuse Services.” Most importantly, beginning in the mid-1980s, the AGLCA hosted a number of public health speakers to discuss sexually transmitted disease prevention, specifically relating to HIV and AIDS. In August of 1984, an epidemiologist from the Alexandria Health Department addressed the topics with AGLCA members and provided information about city resources for STD testing. ¹¹ As many politicians and members of the public turned their backs on people who had contracted HIV and AIDS in the 1980s and 1990s, local groups like the AGLCA were immensely important in providing information and support for queer people.

The AGLCA’s advocacy in support of queer Alexandrians extended beyond the political and the educational to the social. LGBTQ+ Alexandrians felt discriminated against in multiple areas of life, whether it was housing, childcare and parenting, or employment. Until 1991, queer Alexandrians could not legally be served alcohol in public, nor could they work for an establishment where they served alcohol to patrons. ¹² There were, however, many local businesses and restaurants that were quite welcoming to queer Alexandrians.

The AGLCA used its connections to host events multiple times a month—from brunches, to benefits, to holiday parties, and more. In addition to the AGLCA monthly business meetings, the organization also hosted at least one monthly social event. These took place either in AGLCA members’ homes (especially in the 1980s when it was illegal for queer people to order alcohol in Virginia), or at local Alexandria bars and restaurants. Notable locations where the AGLCA hosted events were the French Quarter Café (beginning in 1991), the Metropolis Restaurant, the Calvert Grill, and Generous George’s Positive Pizza and Pasta. ¹³ These community events were important to keeping queer Northern Virginians connected and engaged with one another, especially at a time when aspects of their identities were criminalized.

Conclusion

Throughout the 1980s through the early 2000s, the AGLCA advocated for queer civil rights; facilitated public education opportunities particularly around queer news, scholarship, and public health relating to HIV and AIDS; and hosted social events to connect queer Alexandrians in an era when queer Americans often faced severe discrimination and did not have full civil rights. Multiple entities in the city of Alexandria—including its public libraries, members of City Council, and local bars and restaurants—proved to be allies to the AGLCA. However, the AGLCA story is not simply a story of inclusion. It took seven years for the group to add “Lesbian” to its title alongside “Gay,” and even then, the group did not publicly address issues related to transgender Alexandrians nor queer people of color in Alexandria. Despite this, the AGLCA made important progress in the fight for civil rights for gay and lesbian Virginians, as well as for building resilient local communities.

Notes