Savannah LGBTQ+ changemaker shares how she helped bring first pride celebration to Savannah

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - It‘s Pride month in Savannah and WTOC is highlighting the voices in the Coastal Empire’s LGBTQ+ community.

One woman that played a critical role in bringing Pride to the hostess city says she’s proud of the work she does.

“A lot of people call me the grandmother of gay Savannah, and I’m proud to wear that title,” said Pam Miller.

Pam Miller is one of the original board members that helped start pride in the hostess city.

“The first pride was at the Railroad Museum,” said Miller. “And we did it there because we could coordinate off, because we really weren’t sure about safety and security issues.”

Savannah’s first pride was in a closed-off space not open to the entire community like pride celebrations nowadays.

“We were somewhat isolated so that’s one of the things I’m looking forward to this year about being in Forsyth Park,” said Miller.

Back then, Miller remembers how hard queer representation was to find.

“I had no role models,” Miller expressed. “I mean, I didn’t even know a gay person.”

She also remembers how limited gay rights were.

“I married and had to go out of state to do it,” Miller said. " I actually went to Massachusetts to get married."

Now, some consider her a hero to the LGBTQ+ community here in Savannah.

Through a new queer senior support group called “Third Act” Miller is using her experience to help other seniors in the gay community find connections and thrive.

“The reason is, is we‘re not done yet, and we got a long way to go, and there’s no final scenes for us now,” said Miller.

The details of the group are going to be up to it’s members. Miller wants to get to know everyone to see how to best meet the needs of this community.

“What resources do they need? We want to be able to help them figure out where they need to go to get the things they need to be successful, happy, healthy, LGBTQ seniors in Savannah,” Miller said.

From social gatherings to meaningful discussions, Miller says she’s looking forward to continuing her impact on Savannah’s older queer community.