Iscee Information

The court is a social and community service organization. The court system was founded in San Francisco when Jose Sarria and a group of gay bar owners formed a Tavern Guild in early 1965 as a means to stand in solidarity with one another under the pressure of police harassment. The Guild put on the first large public drag ball in San Franciscos history called the Beaux Arts Ball. In its third year Jose Sarina was declared the Queen of the Ball and with that the Imperial Court System was born. Joses unique combinations of talent, influence and vision guided the start of what would one day be an international organization. From that camp beginning we derived our titles: Emperor, Empress, Prince and Princess, as well as our yearly gala function Coronation. In 1974 a small group of people in Eugene, Oregon gathered to discuss forming a community based organization after the model in San Francisco and Portland, Oregon. In that meeting Sharon and Cherrisse were elected our first Emperor and Empress I of the Imperial Court of the Emerald Empire. It should be noted that Sharon was the first woman Emperor in the Imperial Court System and we should be proud of that ground breaking step against sexism in the LGBT community. In 1985 the name of the organization was changed to the Imperial Sovereign Court of the Emerald Empire (ISCEE) Today most of the major cities in the western United States have a court system in their community. In Oregon we have three courts: Portland, Salem and in Eugene. We are all independent chapters of an international organization. As representatives of our court, our primary goals are to further relationships with businesses and organizations within our local community, to hold functions and fund raisers for the enjoyment of the community, and to help those in the community who are in needs of assistance. Each year our organization contributes thousands of dollars to local community services. Our members assist other courts throughout the United States and Canada with fund raising by attending ...