Meet Richard Liu, Our Pride Flag King of the 1996 DNC
Liu's joyful moments with the iconic rainbow flag at the DNC in 1996 captured that year's LGBTQ+ optimism.
In 1996, images did not have to “go viral.”
With cable in its infancy and the Internet so new Katie Couric, Bryant Gumbel and Elizabeth Vargas hadn’t been able to wrap their minds around it less than 24 months earlier, there were so few places to see news and receive new information that if something happened on TV, that was viral.
I’ll never forget watching the Democratic National Convention in 1996 on C-SPAN (which had existed since 1979) and seeing First Lady Hillary Clinton rhythmically clapping to the Bayside Boys Remix of "Macarena” by Los Del Rio. The phenomenally popular song, played immediately after General Public’s cover of “I’ll Take You There,” seemed to spread like wildfire among giddy delegates, who all started enthusiastically throwing themselves into doing the Macarena.
Never mind that the song is about infidelity and President Bill Clinton was a notorious philanderer, one who has at that moment carrying on a still-secret affair with an intern named Monica Lewinsky.
Right there, amid the staid attendees whoopin’ it up and executing the dance to varying degrees of success, was an adorable Asian man wrapped in a Pride flag getting his gay boogie on, and tossing in a saucy butt wiggle at the end.
There had been many gay firsts before Richard Liu, now 54, and his Pride flag, including many previous firsts on television. However, there was something raw and joyful and unedited about seeing an actual gay man in that sea of mostly straight delegates, and seeing that, in spite of some of the let-downs of Clinton’s first term (don’t ask and I won’t tell), our flag was still there.
Over the years, footage of the Macarena-powered DNC has gone viral multiple times, Richard’s segment in particular. His husband might be a little tired of living with the first meme, but Richard’s attitude remains very “bring it on!”
And how perfect it is that he now lives in Pennsylvania … the ultimate swing state.
As the DNC returns to Chicago for the first time since 1996, I reached out to Richard to reminisce a little about his never-ending moment in the C-SPAN sun.
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How did you become a delegate in the first place?
In 1995, I was approached by members of the Liberty City Democratic Club (a Philadelphia LGBT club) to run as an delegate for one of 12 delegate positions representing the 3rd congressional district in Philadelphia as a delegate committed to Bill Clinton’s re-election for president.
Other openly gay candidates were tapped to represent the other congressional districts in Philadelphia. It was part of a strategy to help bring out LGBT voters to the voting booths if they knew openly gay candidates were on the ballot. And it was a part of the Pennsylvania Democratic Committee’s goal to have broader representation, including openly gay delegates.
Myself and two others representatng all three congressional districts were the first openly gay candidates to ever be on a Philadelphia ballot — and we all won our delegate spots.
Thus, I was one of 12 delegates representing the 3rd congressional district in Pennsylvania to re-elect Clinton.
Did you ever aspire to be a delegate before?
Mind you, I was watching the 1992 DNC. I actually dreamed of being there one day, and I did it.
Why did you take a Pride flag to the DNC?
I forget what possessed me. I knew one factor was it was important for LGBTQ+ communities to have visibility. The flag wasn’t even mine! I borrowed it. And it came with me to the DNC.
Did the other delegates know what the Pride flag represented in 1996?
Many people seemed to know. Hard to tell, really, if people knew what it symbolized.
Were there many other LGBT delegates that year?
There was a record number of LGBT delegates in 1996. We had our own caucus, and I was elected one of four co-chairs of the caucus. I can’t find the actual number but there were more than 100 of us!
Was it the prevailing sentiment that Clinton was going to win?
Hard to say.
When “Macarena” played, the DNC looked — in the words of a later YouTube upload — “lit.”
So, the balloon drop happens and all the music is played. Of course, “Macarena” was the rage then, so I was in such a good mood, being it was the end of a long convention and Clinton’s big acceptance speech, of course it was festive. I was elated and charged up! Proud to be a gay delegate at this convention. Earlier in the week, I was in the press a number of times, interviewed by a number of Chicago and Philadelphia news organizations.
There’s no topping your Macarena, but what else sticks out in your mind about the experience that week 28 years ago?
During Clinton’s acceptance speech, he mentioned “gay” — that was a big moment. Appearing on the front page of The Chicago Tribune during the DNC, interviewed as an openly gay man. The relatively large meetings of the LGBT caucus. And being spotted by friends who watched the C-SPAN feed live and watched long enough after Clinton’s speech to catch me doing the Macarena — that’s how I knew I was on TV.
Looking back, were you happy with Clinton’s presidency?
I was satisfied. You always want more, but during his eight years in office, there were positive changes made.
What do you think of Kamala Harris, who could become the first woman, the first woman of color and the first person of South Asian descent to become president?
Kamala Harris — I love her. It’s incredible she may very well become president. That’s not something I would have thought would happen in 1996. But look at all the progress that has been made.
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What’s the weirdest part of going viral over and over from a dance you did in the ‘90s?
It’s amazing the GIF made of me. At one point, when you used the search word “Macarena,” I would come up in the top three or four, often second to Fiona from Shrek doing the Macarena.
And what are you doing now?
I’m happily married. We’ve been together since 2001. He’s quite sick of my GIF. I’m not! lol And I’m still a hardcore Democrat.
