Yarmouthport resident David Bermudez is the oldest living veteran of the Stonewall Rebellion of June 28, 1969, when gay, lesbian and trans patrons of the Stonewall Inn fought back against a police raid at the New York City gay bar.
David and his husband Robert Isadore are the grand marshals for the second-ever Lower Cape Pride Parade this Saturday.
CAI's Gilda Geist spoke with David and Robert to learn more.
Gilda Geist David, what do you remember from that night at Stonewall?
David Bermudez I lived in Manhattan after a divorce, and while I was in New York City, I got to meet people and all, and I still wasn't out. There's a park that we used to always sit at and lay down to get sun, the guys and all that. We used to have a little radio, and while we were sitting there, we heard that Judy Garland passed on. And we were shocked because Judy was a very good friend to all the gay people. And my friend said, "hey Dave, let's go to the Village and let's celebrate her life." I said, "all right." So, we got on the subway and we hit all the bars. We were across the street from the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, and my friend said, "Come on, let's go to the Stonewall. Let's have a drink." So, I said, "Okay." So, we went in, we ordered our drinks, and in the bars there was always a little red light that would go on that [meant] there's a cop in here or something like that—split, don't touch each other, don't kiss. We saw that. We went, "Holy, what? What's going on?" So, we split. And then all of a sudden, a big bright light goes on. There was a bright, bright white light that used to go on that [meant] the cops are coming in. They're going to raid us.
Robert Isadore Even in the 1960s in New York City, it was illegal to serve gay people alcoholic beverages in bars.
DB Bars were raided all the time, even lesbian bars and all, you know. But this time, a lady cop in uniform, with a man, and then two plainclothes [officers came in]. And while they came through, they were calling us fags and queers and all that stuff, which was horrible. And the four of us there are going, "Oh my God, we're going to get arrested or we're going to get beat up." It just became crazy and we wanted to get out. So, when I was getting out of the bar, I saw a young man who had a billy club and I saw him choking this kid. And I went to jump—and my friends were pulling me out—because I thought they were going to kill the kid. I couldn't get him off, you know, it was such a big riot going on. At the end of it all, the kid that they were going to murder or whatever, he turned out to be the head of the Stonewall Association in New York City. Bob and I met him. We were shocked because for years I was wondering if this boy was killed.
GG And then a year later was the first ever pride parade, and you were there for that as well. Can you tell me about it?
DB In 1970, at the anniversary of Stonewall, we all got together and said, "We can't let this go. We have to march." It was like, I think 10 of us. By the time that parade got to Central Park, it was thousands. Remember, at that time, women's rights, that was big. Vietnam was very, very big. The Black movement, right? Very big. And who comes in? Us gays! We're the next ones. I'm the oldest Stonewall veteran alive today. A lot of the guys, I want you to know, died of AIDS—a lot of the guys that were at Stonewall.
GG Robert, why don't you tell me about how you and David met and how you both ended up on Cape Cod?
RI This was in 1974. I used to work at Saks Fifth Avenue. And I was off that day and I was on 14th Street and this guy came walking along. He was looking at me and I sort of looked at him and then he went into Chock Full of Nuts, which was right next door. And he had ordered two coffees, two sandwiches, two pies thinking I was going to come in, but I didn't. About a half an hour later, I went into the stereo store. And who comes walking in? Him. We talked a little bit, went out, we had coffee and he said he was going to contact me. I never heard from him. One day at Saks, I was on the floor checking some inventory and David came walking in again and he said, "You know, I've been looking everywhere for you." And I said, "Well, I told you I worked at Saks." He says, "Well, I asked everybody, 'do you know a Bob Duncan?'" And I kind of quickly said, "Who's Bob Duncan? It's not me." Well, this guy is very fast on his feet. "Oh, I was reading the book about Isadora Duncan and I got the names mixed."
DB His last name is Isadore.
RI So, we went out on some dates together and kind of dated for a year. And then ever since we've been together.
DB We are now celebrating 52 years together. [We] lived in Puerto Rico, we lived in California, and back to Cape Cod. I used to own a business here. I said, "Let's go to Cape Cod." I'll never forget this, right? I said to him, "Bob, can you see yourself getting old in Cape Cod?" And he said, "Sure." And here we are.
GG So, you guys are both pretty politically active here on the Cape. Robert, can you tell us more about what that looks like?
RI David has, since we've been here, he's done a lot of speaking engagements. We both do some together. We do local schools and churches. David, you know, it's his thing with the speeches and he really can connect with younger folks. My thing was on a different channel. I, at one time, was a chairman of the board of directors at the Yarmouth Council on Aging. We started a pilot program where we publicly opened the center and welcomed the LGBT community, the seniors. We did workshops with the police, the fire department, all the emergency services, to come in and listen to our concerns. We had attorneys come in and listen and talk about what we could do to protect ourselves. But I think the most rewarding thing for me was that we established the first hospice program for gay people on the Cape and the first bereavement group. [It] must have been 22 years ago, and both are still running.
GG What have been your biggest takeaways seeing how mainstream American attitudes toward LGBTQ+ folks have changed over the years?
DB When I speak and somebody says to me, "Well, you know, Dave, that was then. That could never happen now." And I'll go, "Oh, really?" Because I say, take care of yourself. Make sure you all are familia. Familia means family. Whatever you call yourself, we are one family. Yes, I'm a gay man, you're transgender, whatever. You must always help each other because the day is going to come when you're going need help. You have to be familia, and I use that word very loosely being Latino, but still, we all know what it means. I did [a talk at] Sturgis. The teacher lives over here in Yarmouthport, and I've known him since he was a kid. He invited me and I said, "How many people?" He said, "About 25." Almost 80 kids showed up. It was unbelievable. When it was all over, you know, they come over and they want our signature and they ask other questions and all that. I get a card. Every one of them wrote something on the card. It was so, so beautiful. This is where we are.
The Lower Cape Pride Parade starts at the village green in Orleans at 10 AM Saturday, June 13, but pride events are happening on the Lower Cape all month long.
