Marching In Step With St. Louis’ Baton Bob
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"I have been so embraced by the straight community in this neighborhood and out on the street when I go down Kingshighway that it has been just unbelievable," stated Jamerson. "And to me that speaks volumes on a lot of different levels. The first thing they see is a black man — that’s a racial issue. The second thing they see is … ‘well, it must be a homosexual because I don’t know any straight man who would get out in the street in no tutu!’ That’s the homosexual element. So there’s several layers that people in this city are beginning to process and think about. Because those are two strong issues in this city as we speak today that are serious issues and it’s the reason this city isn’t moving forward and it needs to be addressed."

But Jamerson’s partner and circle of friends didn’t immediately embrace his newfound mission. "They were afraid that a group of thugs would gay-bash me," he said. "That was their fear but I didn’t have it."

In fact, aside from a brief encounter with a man in an SUV on Forest Park — one in which a group of construction workers/fans quickly came to his aid — Jamerson said he hasn’t had a bit of trouble strutting the streets of the Central West End. "The only real neighborhood in this town," he said.

Nonetheless, being the "Ambassador of Mirth" isn’t always easy. Jamerson was handcuffed, arrested and led away by police from this year’s Dogtown St. Patrick’s Day Parade, March 17. He was charged with demonstrating because members of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, which organizes the annual parade, told police they had warned Jamerson not to participate this year because "of complaints" about his appearance and that it was a "family parade."

"They told the police that they came to my house that Sunday night prior to the parade and told me not to show up because they did not want me in it," says Jamerson. "Which was a lie. I was coming home from an 8-day cruise in the Caribbean and we were on an airplane flying back from San Juan, Puerto Rico and didn’t get back until 9 p.m. that Sunday night."

As Jamerson explained, an unidentified member of the Hibernians had spotted him dressed in a hand-crocheted "Tina Turner-style" mini dress, Calvin Klein underpants and his trademark fishnet stockings, standing ready to march alongside the Banana Bicycle Brigade of Soulard. "He told me to get out of the parade — ‘we don’t want you in the parade,’” said Jamerson. Mike Wild, president of the bicycle brigade, who had invited Jamerson to march at the last minute, protested "Why, he’s with us?" "No, we don’t want him in the parade," reiterated the official.

Photo by Dr. Susan Pittman Bob Jamerson was arrested and led away by police from the March 17 St. Patrick’s Day Parade in St. Louis’ Dogtown.

Jamerson maintains that he was walking toward his car, stopping periodically along the way to answer participants’ questions about what had occurred, when he was arrested. Police stated that he jumped a barricade back into the parade route. Jamerson received a summons to appear in court April 30 on a misdemeanor charge of demonstrating.

Jamerson has been kicked out of other parades, including the St. Patrick’s parade downtown, but said he hadn’t had a problem with the Dogtown version.

"I was in it last year — just jumped into the parade and had no incident," Jamerson said. "There was one official that told me ‘we don’t want your kind in this parade,’ but I just bypassed him and went on around and came in on the other side … So they claimed to the police that they came to my house and told me not to show up. And by my showing up that gave them legal ramification to have me taken out of the parade because then I’m demonstrating. That’s the bull they used. That I didn’t technically go through the legal signup … The crowd was very upset about the arrest."

Photo by Dr. Susan Pittman Bob Jamerson was arrested and led away by police from the March 17 St. Patrick’s Day Parade in St. Louis’ Dogtown.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1995 that sponsors of a Boston St. Patrick’s Day parade had a free speech right to exclude anyone, including homosexuals, saying a parade is a form of protected expression.

Today, the "Ambassador of Mirth" says he’ll make sure he’s "invited" before he participates in a city parade, as he was last year in leading off the St. Louis Gay Pride Parade, but that the recent arrest hasn’t deterred him a bit.

"I feel that every person somewhere in their life needs to find something that they can do to give back to humanity," he concludes. "I am just a catalyst in the mix of it because I have got the balls and the courage to get out on the street and do it. And it puts it right in their face. They have to look at it. But you know what? There’s not a damn thing they can do about it. The only thing they have to do is respect people’s differences."

You can reach Colin Murphy at LKPythias@aol.com.

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