Thread by @dems4equality

With a heavy heart, we sadly inform you about the passing of Larry T. Baza, a longtime member of our @dems4equality club who served as President from 2009 to 2011.

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A San Diego native, Larry Baza dedicated his life to the arts and social justice movements. He helped collect donations towards establishing Chicano Park in Barrio Logan, and participated in @UFWupdates strikes/boycotts providing non-perishable foods to farmworker families.

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He was recruited by Christine Kehoe to join San Diego LGBT Pride's 15/20 Committee in the late 1980's, becoming Co-Chair of @SanDiegoPride along with Vertez Burks in 1992 -- historically marking the first time Pride was led by two people of color.

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In 2011, @LambdaArchives honored his decades-long activism within the LGBTQ community, and was named an LGBT History Month Honoree by @KPBSnews, featured in this video highlight here: kpbs.org/news/2012/may/…

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In 2016, then-Assembly Speaker @toniatkins first appointed Larry to serve on the California Arts Council, and was reappointed in 2020. Last December, he was elected by his colleagues as Chair, and is a past Chair of the City of San Diego's Arts and Culture Commission.

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Throughout his career, he owned Noel-Baza Fine Art in with his husband Tom, and directed/managed a number of local arts organizations and businesses including Centro Cultural De La Raza, Sushi Performance and Visual Arts, Fingerhut Gallery, and Community Arts of San Diego.

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Within our @dems4equality club, Larry was a respected voice and advocate for inclusivity, and a champion for progress. He was elected and served a number of times as a delegate to our state and national conventions.

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We hope you will join us in keeping Larry Baza, his husband Tom Noel in your thoughts as we remember our friend, and our brother.

Larry leaves us a legacy of advocacy and culture to aspire to, live up to, and continue fighting for.

May he rest in power. #RIP

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