BODY FREEDOM CONTINGENT AT GAY PRIDE PARADE on SUNDAY, JUNE 29th:

Parade Contingent Application Number # 11280
Line-Up Number: 192
Assembly Area Location: Q1 – Beale between Market & Mission – West Side
Contingent Should Be in Place by: 12:15 PM
Let’s gather at 11:30 AM

Dear body freedom supporters,

let’s celebrate the 238 anniversary of San Francisco by honoring Saint Francis –

THURSDAY, JUN 26TH @ 12:30 pm @ International Shrine of St Francis at 610 Vallejo St, SF

San Francisco was named after Saint Francis who was a Catholic preacher and a noted nudist. Body freedom is our birth right!

Join us for a body freedom parade and rally to commemorate Saint Francis on the 238th anniversary of San Francisco.

Walk down Vallejo Street to the International Shrine of Saint Francis of Assisi at 610 Vallejo from the dead end of Vallejo St between Kearny and Montgomery St

GYPSY TAUB’S SPEECH AT THE SAINT FRANCIS RALLY:

Dear body freedom supporters,

We gather today to celebrate Saint Francis on the 238th anniversary of San Francisco.
San Francisco was named after the Italian Catholic preacher Saint Francis of Assisi. In Italian his name was San Francesco. He was born between 1181 and 1182 and died in 1226).

Francis’ father was a prosperous silk merchant. Francis lived the high-spirited life typical of a wealthy young man, even fighting as a soldier for Assisi. While going off to war in 1204, Francis had a vision that directed him back to Assisi, where he lost his taste for his worldly life. On a pilgrimage to Rome, he joined the poor in begging at St. Peter’s Basilica. The experience moved him to live in poverty. Francis returned home, began preaching on the streets, and soon amassed a following.

Though he was never ordained to the Catholic priesthood, Francis is one of the most respected religious figures in history. He is known as the patron saint of animals, the environment, and is one of the two patron saints of Italy.

Saint Francis served lepers, preached to poor people, and even to animals. He renounced possessions, and rebuilt small churches.
“I shall go naked to meet my naked Lord.”
These were the words St Francis of Assisi addressed to his father in one of the most well-known scenes from his life.
Francis had taken some of his merchant father’s finest materials to raise funds to rebuild the Church of St Damian. For this act his father brought him before the court on charges of theft and of rebellion against parental authority. And so the famous scene unfolded. The trial took place before the bishop and his court in the presence of merchants and townspeople.
In response to the charges laid against him, Francis proclaimed: “I return not only my money, but also my clothes. I shall go naked to meet my naked Lord.” At which he stripped off all his clothes, threw them to his father and walked off naked.
When he preached in the nude, the townspeople in Assisi first laughed at him and then were won over by his words.

Saint Francis was one of the most passionate early body freedom activists.

Considering his quest for enlightenment, his freedom from materialism, his kindness towards people regardless of their social rank, his kindness to animals, his disdain towards authority and his rebellious passion I think it is safe to say that Saint Francis would have been a prominent figure in the hippie movement had he reincarnated during the 60-s, which he even may have. May be there is a deeper connection between the spirit of Saint Francis and the San Francisco born hippie movement, which was one of the most liberating and healing movements in the history of our planet.

It’s funny that even back in the 12th century Saint Francis didn’t get apprehended in any way for stripping naked in front of the court and the whole town. Apparently, neither the local authorities nor the Catholic church had any issues with Saint Francis practicing public nudity. Even his preaching in the nude did not get him cited nor arrested, nor excommunicated from the church.

Yet in today’s San Francisco 800 years later Saint Francis would end up in jail for expressing himself the way he did freely back in early 12th century. Apparently, 800 years ago in Italy there was way more freedom of self-expression and way more tolerance toward the human body than there is in today’s America.

So we named our city after Saint Francis. Let’s take a look and see how loyal we have been to his ideals and his teachings. How does the City of San Francisco treat poor people?

In today’s San Francisco people are being evicted and thrown into the streets and then thrown out of town altogether. Thanks to the fascist corporate take over that we have been witnessing in our city, it is now illegal to sit or lie on the street, it is illegal to sleep in the park – the fine is $500. People are being treated like garbage and greed has been elevated to divinity.

Is it any wonder that the same Supervisor who introduced a 1-year jail sentence for the nude human body, is also spearheading the efforts to throw the poor out of the city and to sell it to the highest bidder? Shame on Scott Wiener! I guarantee you that Scott Wiener has no idea who San Francisco was named after and why. And if anyone ever told him about Saint Francis and his legacy, Scott Wiener would probably spit in their face the way he has been spitting in our faces ever since he bought himself his Supervisor seat.

We need to remember who we are and why we are here. We need to return to the beauty of the heart that Saint Francis shared so generously with the world. We don’t have to be cogs in the wheel, we don’t have to live in a fascist corporate hell. Let’s take back our city! Let’s stop the dehumanization of the human race! It is our birth right to be free to be ourselves, to pursue our dreams and to follow our heart! We are blessed to live in a city that was inspired by Saint Francis. We are blessed to have each other, we are blessed to share the love that we share for each other and for our city so beautifully named San Francisco.

Today we stand up together for body freedom.

The San Francisco nudity ban is a shameful act of outrageous hypocrisy especially in light of our cultural and spiritual history.

We will be marching naked in solidarity with the holy man who was such a beacon of inspiration to our people that our city was named after him. Saint Francis was a nudist in the 12th century. It’s time that our society catch up with his ideals and his vision.