Boston Spirit Nov | Dec 2019 by Boston Spirit magazine

NOV | DEC 2019

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Out country star Billy Gilman

Identity and Faith Taking our place

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Fenway # MeToo Healing an institution

Yuletide Pride ‘Untraditional’ traditions

Good News Best of 2019

Smoke and Mirrors RuPaul’s Sasha Velour

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From The Publisher It can’t be. It can’t be that we are already wrapping up another year. I know it sounds cliché, but boy did this year fly by. Then again, it seems like I have been repeating that sentiment for the past several years. Thankfully the magazine is still keeping us busy and we were able to have another year of bringing you some great stories and fun events. Back in the spring, attendees of our LGBT Executive Networking Night saw an amazing speech from Rhode Island Congressman David Cicilline. The congressman delivered an impassioned speech that implored all of us in the community to keep up the fight. As we all know, the current administration in The White House is a bit of a disaster but as Congressman Cicilline reminded us, we must keep the faith and never quit; brighter days are ahead. Following our event, Boston hosted a truly remarkable Pride parade and celebration as did our neighbors throughout New England. Pride month this year was both inspiring and uplifting and the perfect gateway into a gorgeous New England summer. In October, we held our first-ever Breaking the Double Pane Glass Ceiling event featuring a conversation with several of the area’s leading LBTQ business leaders. The event was a smash success and complete sell out. It was amazing to hear so many incredible stories from our panelists, Tiffani Faison, Elyse Cherry and Valerie Stone, as well as many of the attendees. And as you read this we are probably gearing up for our second annual Boston Drag Idol event. If you have read this note before around this time of year, my next request will be a familiar one. The holidays can be a rough time for many of our friends and neighbors. Please take an extra moment to check in on those who might be struggling this season. You’d be amazed at what a difference a quick call can make, or a note to let someone know you’re thinking of them, or stopping by for a visit. I know it is a busy time for everyone, but we all have a few minutes to spare. Let’s use those few minutes to help someone who might need a little pick-me-up. Finally, on behalf of everyone in the Boston Spirit family, we want to thank you for continuing to support our little magazine. We are coming up on 15 years (next April) and not a day goes by when we don’t fully appreciate all that you do for us. We hope you have a wonderful, safe, healthy and happy holiday season.

David Zimmerman Publisher

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Contribute your opinion: editor@bostonspiritmagazine.com

As We Go To Press I identify as a cisgender white American male. How about you? Am I queer? Am I queer enough? Joy Mosenfelder’s beautifully reported story, “Navigating the Alphabet: Love, Sex, Identity and Community Across the Intersectional LGBTQIA+ Rainbow,” asks important questions about who we are and say we are. As many of us navigate the increasing complexity of defining—or deciding not to define—who we are, a backlash grows from a large segment of society that wishes to define gender and sexuality back to some sense of what they think it used to be—namely heterosexual men and women, period. And so the edges are moving further afield. A gaping dichotomy opens wider. “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” It’s most noticeable in our politics. While most LGBT people in America enjoy basic freedom and dignity—marriage equality, workplace protections, and such—these are being seriously threatened and even taken away. Even as marriage equality for same-sex couples is the law of the land, our government is banning transgender people from serving in the military. While we have the first viable out, gay presidential candidate, Black, transgender

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women are being murdered at an unprecedented rate. Call it the law of unintended consequences. With wins, comes backlash. With success, come new trials. There are other gaps, perhaps less monumental, but compelling in their own way, further illustrating the divide between those benefitting from societal acceptance and those who aren’t. There are those who labored in obscurity and struggled to open doors for those who came after, many of whom have not fully benefitted from the promised land they helped others enter. Scott Kearnan’s fascinating story on the economics of being a drag performer illustrates this. I remember going to Matthew Kasten’s Boy Bar Beauties in Boy Bar in the East Village in the early 1990s, where RuPaul booked many of her first gigs with other drag performers, long before “Drag Race,” when drag was truly countercultural. I was there when the fluorescent lights clicked on, flooding the dance floor several hours before closing time, as police raided the joint. This was not television reality. This was real police action in a gay establishment. And it was frightening. Today, as drag goes majorly mainstream, it looks like fame is a great thing for drag performers. Look more closely, and you’ll see the big names drawing the money and

crowds, and those who are not so famous, picking up the crumbs. Sometimes the question about the degree of a person’s queerness comes couched in terms of how much a person struggled, or struggled to be able to fully inhabit their identity. If a person becomes famous and brings in the money, how queer are they? I don’t know how queer you need to be or how much one has to suffer in order to be queer enough. I do know that I’ve lived through scary situations because of my identity. And I know that I live quite well now. And so I find myself drawn to a quote by Toni Morrison that circulated widely in the wake of her recent passing. “I tell my students, ‘When you get these jobs that you have been so brilliantly trained for, just remember that your real job is that if you are free, you need to free somebody else,” she said. “If you have some power, then your job is to empower somebody else. This is not just a grab-bag candy game.” We’re all queer enough. When a person, like me, can comfortably say that, and live in that truth—and I know many of our readers can say and do that — then my job — our job — is to help free those who can’t. Let’s get ready for 2020. We’re gonna need to do a lot of freeing!

James Lopata Editor in Chief

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Contents NOV| DEC 2019 | VOLUME 15 | ISSUE 6

8 10 11 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30

Celebration and Conflict

Feature

Considering the complex relationship between LGBTQ+ identity and faith

Fenway #MeToo

How one organization is turning a crisis into an opportunity ‘to reflect, transition and heal’

A Salute to Scott

Local Heroes

Jonathan Scott, founding leader of Victory Programs, retires

Spotlight

LGBT Sports Hall of Fame has strong New England connections

Yuletide Pride

Good News

Traditionally untraditional holiday events and shows Some of our favorite stories from 2019

Culture

Glorious Acts of Effort

Local Screening Celebrates LGBT Silent Classic

Singing the Lavender Scare

Teach Your Children Well

Sasha Velour’s special brand of drag comes to Boston German film with live music by Billy Hough at P’town Film Society fundraiser at Strand

BLO presents Thomas Mallon’s ‘Fellow Travelers’ Drag queen Naomi Chomsky is still reading stories to kids

Boston Writer Isn’t Afraid of the Dark 74 Edwin Hill’s ‘The Missing Ones’ is his second Hester Thursby mystery

6 | BOSTON SPIRIT

Teach Your Children Well

Local Heroes

Lesbians and Truman and Judy, Oh My!

Backwards and in High Heels

Best LGBT-themed movies fresh from Toronto film festival KAIROS Dance Theater tackles objectification of women in new show

Seasonal

Good News

Celebration and Conflict

Calendar

New England Events

Summer Sports Tea Dance Canoeing for Clean Water Tribute to Jonathan Scott Harbor to the Bay 2019 H2B Team CRI Pride New Haven Come Out and Celebrate Event HistoryMaker Awards LBGT Asylum Task Force Gala Pride Vermont

83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 94

Coming Out Country

Scene

Coda

Rhode Island native Billy Gilman brings himself ‘Home for the Holidays’

Coming Out Country

GOOD CELEBRATES

Good shows love every day. For the sixth consecutive year, Eastern Bank has earned a perfect score of 100% on the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index and has been recognized as a Best Place to Work for LGBTQ Equality. Because we believe that making everyone feel welcome is a full-time job.

Join us to make a difference at joinusforgood.com

#JoinUsForGood

SPOTLIGHT Trending STORY Scott Kearnan

Hit List NEWS, NOTES AND TO-DOS FOR EVERY GAY AGENDA

REDISCOVER great works

of LGBTQ fiction thanks to ReQueered Tales, a new publishing venture that is rescuing novels—many decades-old—from potential obscurity. Its resurrected works include author Grant Michaels’ mystery series starring Boston hairdresserslash-sleuth Stan Kraychik. The first two installments, “A Body to Dye For” and “Love You to Death,” first published in 1990, were released by ReQueered Tales earlier this year. Get ready for “Dead on Your Feet,” the third entry, to find new life—and new readers—in December. More: requeeredtales.com.

SNATCH A TICKET to celebrate

“Christmas on Uranus,” the latest (and sure-to-behilarious) holiday musical from the Gold Dust Orphans,

‘Christmas on Uranus’

auteur Ryan Landry’s edgy and irreverent, Bostonbased theater troupe. The Orphans’ longtime venue, gay nightclub Machine, is slated for imminent redevelopment, so this will be the group’s first December-long show staged at the South Boston Lithuanian Club. Expect a mash-up of pop culture references—from “Lost in Space” to “Star Wars” to “The Golden Girls”—in this politically incorrect production about an intergalactic quest to rescue a kidnapped Santa Claus. More: golddustorphans.org

GET IN SHAPE at Queer Gym, a recurring pop-up series that personal trainer Justice Roe Williams has been hosting at CORE in Brookline,

Justice Roe Williams

Theater Offensive

Massachusetts. Williams wanted to create a fitness environment that feels inclusive, and takes away some of the intimidation that can confront LGBTQ people—especially trans and non-binary folks— at traditional gyms. “[Gyms] are hypermasculine, they’re toxic, they’re about an aesthetic,” Williams recently told WBUR. “To move in our bodies and to be in our skin should be a celebration.” More: facebook. com/onetrujus

CELEBRATE the single largest donation ever received by the Theater Offensive, Boston’s acclaimed LGBTQ arts organization. A $1 million gift from Ellen Poss of Brookline,

PUBLISHER David Zimmerman EDITOR IN CHIEF James Lopata MANAGING EDITOR Robert Phelps [rob@bostonspiritmagazine.com] ART DIRECTOR Dean Burchell CONTRIBUTING LIFESTYLE EDITOR Scott Kearnan [lifestyle@bostonspiritmagazine.com] CONTRIBUTING ARTS EDITOR Loren King CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Tom Joyce, Ryan M. Leach, Joy Mosenfelder , Natalie Nonken, Kim Harris Stowell, LuAnn Thibodeau CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS Joel Benjamin COVER PHOTO Julie Smith ON THE WEB [bostonspiritmagazine.com] TALK TO US [feedback@bostonspiritmagazine.com] EDITORIAL CONTACT [editor@bostonspiritmagazine.com] PUBLISHING AND SALES CONTACT [publisher@bostonspiritmagazine.com or 781-223-8538] THE FINE PRINT Boston Spirit magazine. A Division of Jake Publishing, LLC Published by Jake Publishing, LLC. Copyright

NOV| DEC 2019 | VOLUME 15 | ISSUE 6

2004 by Jake Publishing, LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this periodical may be reproduced without the written permission of Boston Spirit magazine. Neither the publishers nor the advertisers will be held responsible for any errors found in the magazine. The publishers accept no liability for the accuracy of statements made by advertisers. Publication of the name or photograph of any person, organization or business in this magazine does not reflect upon one’s sexual orientation in any way. Boston Spirit Magazine, 398 Columbus Ave. #395, Boston, MA 02116

8 | BOSTON SPIRIT

Massachusetts will help catalyze a new act for TO, which recently saw founder Abe Rybeck pass the torch to producing co-executive directors Harold Steward and Evelyn Francis. The institution has also adopted a new mission and strategic direction focus on works by, for, and about queer and trans people of color. “We want to make it clear that eradicating racism is central to our fight to combat homophobia as well,” said Steward in a statement. More: thetheateroffensive.org

yourself as well. More: kaionyx. com

HIT THE OPEN WATER with

“Local Drag at Sea,” a Bostonto-Bermuda cruise aboard the 2,300-person Norwegian Gem. Boston-based promoter Henry Paquin has organized the just-announced outing, which will feature Bay State queens such as Jacques Cabaret hostess Kris Knievil, Amanda Playwith, Victoria Obvious, and Lady Sabrina, to name a few. A “Bon Voyage Party” in Boston will precede the cruise, which will sails August 14–21, 2020. Reservations for the unique vacation are available now. More: localdragatsea.com

Ryan O’Callaghan

KaiOnyx

TACKLE AN IMPORTANT NEW BOOK by former New England

DO SOME HOLIDAY SHOPPING

at KaiOnyx.com, an online retailer of LGBTQ apparel and accessories—from t-shirts to jackets to beanies to coffee mugs. Whatever you buy, you’ll have the chance to select a charity partner to receive a portion of proceeds: PFLAG National, Gay for Good, Travel Project, and National Center for Trans Equality are among the organizations that might benefit from your purchase—so as you fill your shopping cart with presents for others, feel good about getting a gift for

Patriots lineman Ryan O’Callaghan. “My Life on the Line: How the NFL Damn Near Killed Me and Ended Up Saving My Life,” O’Callaghan’s just-released memoir, details the experiences of the once-closeted NFL athlete and how he navigated the field of play—as well as a minefield of internal struggle, homophobia, and addiction. Today, O’Callaghan also has a foundation that provides scholarships to out LGBTQ athletes. More: akashicbooks. com

SPOTLIGHT Food STORY Scott Kearnan

“I saw a tremendous opportunity to make a difference—40 million Americans struggle with food insecurity. Meanwhile, about 40 percent of all food produced in the US winds up in landfills.” Ashley Stanley Ashley Stanley with her wife, Kelly Ann Dennehy Stanley

Servings for All EVERY DAY IS THANKSGIVING FOR LOVIN’ SPOONFULS FOUNDER Ashley Stanley knew she’d never go hungry. So she taught herself how to feed others. Raised in the affluent Boston suburb of Wellesley, Massachusetts, Stanley says she was always aware that she “grew up in a tremendous amount of privilege.” And from an early age, her worldview was wide: She spent a lot time in New York City with her gay grandfather, the long-running

vice-president of Bloomingdale’s, who ran with “the Studio 54 crowd.” (Gloria Steinem once showed up at her birthday party.) But she also understands how twists of fate can change one’s fortune. After all, she was once a star soccer player with an eye toward the Olympics— until a college injury took her out of the game for good. Later, while working in the fashion

10 | BOSTON SPIRIT

industry in NYC, she became addicted to drugs; she’s now in long-term recovery. Stanley is also the granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor, and received the message at an early age that everyone has an “implicit responsibility” to care for others in their community. So today, Stanley does just that—and on a massive scale. Over the last decade, she has turned Lovin’ Spoonfuls, the nonprofit she founded in 2010, into the largest food rescue organization in New England. Every week, the operation’s

fleet of refrigerated trucks retrieves 75,000 pounds of perishable food from grocery stores, markets and other vendors—fresh, healthy items that are unsellable for superficial imperfections, like bruising. This food is delivered to more than 200 partner nonprofits, from homeless shelters to domestic violence agencies, feeding over 30,000 individuals in 40 cities and towns across Massachusetts. “I saw a tremendous opportunity to make a difference,” says Stanley of taking on the country’s hunger epidemic: 40

Karen Akunowicz PHOTO Jim Sullivan

Ultimate Tailgate Party Treat Lovin’ Spoonfuls’ Ultimate Tailgate Party, an annual fundraiser held this year on November 3, will be hosted by Food Network and Travel Channel star Andrew Zimmern, and feature all-you-can-enjoy bites from more than 25 of Boston’s hottest chefs. Want to create something for your own tailgate (or holiday) party? Check out this recipe from participant Karen Akunowicz, the queer chef behind South Boston’s super-hot restaurant, Fox & the Knife.

Chef Karen Akunowicz’s

ALEGGIO STUFFED FOCACCIA

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Pro tip: Have a plastic bench scraper handy Yields two focaccia rounds

14 oz warm water 7g active dry yeast (also equal to one packet of red star yeast or similar brand) 13g sugar 480g AP flour

120g bread flour 13g salt 4 oz evoo 2 T chopped rosemary 6 ounces taleggio cheese

million Americans struggle with food insecurity, she explains. Meanwhile, about 40 percent of all food produced in the US winds up in landfills. Given her high profile in local philanthropic circles, Stanley—who now lives with her wife in Boston’s Jamaica Plain neighborhood—also makes a difference as a prominent out member of the LGBTQ community. She makes a point to reflect diversity in Lovin’ Spoonfuls’ full-time staff of 20, and is working on ways to evolve the organization to address important

4 ounces shredded mozzarella Extra olive oil for drizzling 1 Teaspoon Maldon or sea salt

intersections between food insecurity, public health, and economic justice. “I’m an LGBTQ person, a person in recovery, a female, an American Jew,” Stanley says. “I’m all these things, and we are all the collective sum of our experiences. The key is finding a way to do something positive with them. That’s how you make them mean something.”

lovinspoonfulsinc.org

To start, combine yeast, warm water, and sugar in a pitcher. Whisk a bit to help dissolve sugar/yeast. Add flours and salt into a stand mixer bowl. Mix the flours and salt with your hand until evenly distributed. Fit the stand mixer with the dough hook and add the water mixture and oil to the bowl. Start the mixer on low. As it mixes, scrape down the bowl halfway through mixing. Make sure to get down all of the sides and towards the mound at the bottom of the bowl. This is where flour likes to live and it needs to get absorbed into the dough. Continue mixing on low until dough is thoroughly combined. Increase speed to medium and mix until dough is smooth and soft. If it is a little too wet add a touch of flour, but be careful not to overdo it. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and fold the dough once to the left and once to the right. Then, flip over so seam is on the table. Divide dough in half with a bench scraper, and loosely shape to a boule. Place each piece of dough in a pie plate oiled with olive oil. Add

one tablespoon of chopped rosemary to each dough. Next, dimple the dough with the tips of your fingers thoroughly through the whole pan making sure to pop any large bubbles. Add 3 tablespoons of olive oil to the top of the dough and lightly dimple again to incorporate the rosemary. Slide the pie pans into the pre-heated oven and bake for 25-35 minutes. Rotate halfway through, checking often during the last 10 min of baking. The focaccia should be completely golden brown; make sure to check the bottoms of the bread for doneness. Cool completely in pan, and then turn out onto a cookie sheet. When the focaccia is completely cool, slice evenly through the equator and add 3 ounces of taleggio and 2 ounces of shredded mozzarella to one side. Place on a cookie sheet and bake in the 425-degree oven for 8 minutes. When you pull the focaccia out, sandwich the halves together and cut into 6 or 8 slices. Drizzle with good olive oil and top with Maldon salt.

NOV| DEC 2019 | 11

SPOTLIGHT Fundraiser STORY Tom Joyce

Jingling All the Way SANTA SPEEDO OFFERS FESTIVE HOLIDAY PHILANTHROPY FOR YOUNG ATHLETES For many, the holiday season is a time when people are thankful for what they have and a time when some are extra generous in helping the less fortunate. It’s a time for people to ensure they have done some good deeds before the year comes to a close. In the LGBTQA community, this is also the case for many people and organizations. And who knows better than the LGBTQA community how to mix a fun time with raising money for a good cause? That is exactly what the Santa Speedo Run Boston has done on an annual basis since it began in 2000 and will do in its 20th run this December. Each year, about 700 LGBTQ+allied people ages 21 and over gather in Boston on a December weekend for a

half-hour jog down Newbury and Boylston streets wearing Santa hats and speedos. “There’s always a pretty large LGBT contingent,” said David Chen, a participant of the event for most of this decade. “I don’t know if that just speaks to the general philanthropy of the community. I do think there’s a greater sense of wanting to improve the community. But there’s plenty of straights who do it too.” “I think gays in general like good costumes and the opportunity to do something creative for a good cause,” he added. “A couple of friends and I usually come up with a good theme for the year. We like to do something different than the traditional red speedo.”

The course runs about 1 mile, but with little clothing and temperatures dropping below the freezing point (32ºF) some years, it has its own unique challenges; in 2017, it even snowed during the event. “There are years where it’s a warm sunny day, but the past few years have been particularly cold,” Chen said. “You start off at the bar and get a little liquid courage and that helps out a lot. We all party with friends beforehand and after.” The event is about more than just showing off one’s physique, however. It is a massive fundraiser with proceeds benefiting the Play Ball! Foundation. According to the foundation’s official website, the organization raises money to support middle school athletics in the Boston and Lawrence, Massachusetts communities. A 501c3-recognized charity, Play Ball! provides “competitive sports to over 1,200 Boston Public Middle School athletes in 22 schools with 57 teams offering boys’ football and baseball, girls’

volleyball and Double Dutch, ice hockey, and boys and girls soccer.” Annually, the event’s goal is to raise at least $100,000, but they have done better than that in recent years. In 19 years of the event, it has raised more than $2 million for various local children’s charities. In its early days, the event raised money for an array of causes but since 2012, the funds raised have gone exclusively to the Play Ball! Foundation. Chen said he and his team, Wrecking Ballz, hold a fundraising event one month prior to the one where they have computers and tablets set up for friends to donate to the cause. “It’s a big part of it,” he said of the charity aspect. “It’s one thing to just have fun doing it and another to improve the city we live in. We put a lot of time and energy into it. I think the majority of people in it realize it’s a great cause they want to help.”

“ There are years where it’s a warm sunny day, but the past few years have been particularly cold. You start off at the bar and get a little liquid courage and that helps out a lot. We all party with friends beforehand and after. ”

David Chen Each participant of the race raises a substantial amount of money to compete in the SSRun. There is a special deal for those under the age of 30 to raise a minimum of $250 to compete, but everyone else must raise at least $400. The top-15 fundraisers receive various prizes for their efforts. Although registration for the run has closed, spectators are

welcome—and you can still donate online at ssrunner. org. Plus everyone can cheer the runners along on Saturday, December 14. The run is expected to take place from 1 to 1:30 p.m., and afterwards its participants will partake in a post-run party. [x]

ssrunners.org

508.648.6861 robertpaul.com

REPRESENTING THE FINEST HOMES

FROM DOWNTOWN TO PROV INCETOWN NOV| DEC 2019 | 13

SPOTLIGHT Giving STORY LuAnn Thibodeau

[FROM LEFT:] Board President David Roth, State Rep. Natalie Higgins, Board Treasurer Deborah S. Rogers and Founder Judy Gentry.

Warmer Winters

LGBTQ+ organization,” Roth said.

WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS GROUP KNITS HANDCRAFTS TO WARM NEIGHBORS IN NEED As the holiday season approaches and the weather turns cool and crisp, keeping warm becomes essential. One group is making a big difference in the lives of many. On a chilly night in early October, Warmer Winters, a 501c3 corporation, held its annual meeting. Among the speakers that night were State Representatives Stephen Hay of Fitchburg and Natalie Higgins of Leominster, Sheriff of Worcester County Lew Evangelidis and Neil Zanni, founder of Operation Service, a local veterans organization, which distributes Trees for Troops. As the temperature drops, by early December, Sheriff Evangelidis partners with Warm Winters to help distribute warm clothing through an annual coat. Warm Winters is the vision of a woman from Leominster, Massachusetts named Judy Gentry. One day while on the bus, Gentry noticed folks that had no mittens or gloves, and this bothered her a lot. She

started to knit items to be given away, and the spark was ignited. She reached out to some others that she knew, and life began for Warmer Winters, as these folks began to knit their little hands off. Through word of mouth, the organization began to attract more members. Although not a knitter, David Roth, now president of the board of directors, brought his team organization experience as a member of the Fitchburg Human Rights Commission and an advocate to end sexual assault and domestic violence. Roth said that Warmer Winters is “so much more than an organization that ‘gifts’ handcrafted warmth to neighbors in need. It is a safe place for children, teens and adults of every orientation and background—religious, sexual, race, socio-economic, political, etc.—to be respected and valued.” Roth has “never had such a privilege to lead an organization such as ours that doesn’t just

tolerate differences but respects and loves those differences within our board and volunteer base,” he said. “I was so honored to be asked to officiate the public wedding of our founder and her wife a few years ago, and to be able to facilitate their connecting to another wonderful gay couple that I met in my professional job!” He went on to say that while Warmer Winters does provide a hand up, not a hand-out to those in need of warm items. The total volunteer group has hand knitted and crocheted over 13,000 in 13 years, all through donations. All money donated goes towards purchasing materials to make mittens, scarves, hats and sweaters. There are no paid staff and any expenses other than yarn and knitting needles are donated by board members. “We naturally are able to educate our volunteers and supporters about how people are people in a natural and organic way, as we work together to help others….since we are not ‘labeled’ as a human rights or

Another board member, Deborah Rogers, echoed these statements when she said that she “would like to see Warmer Winters work with local and regional organizations that target the needs of the LGBTQ community who have been cast aside, forgotten, or otherwise marginalized and may be homeless or without support. I believe the organization can bring a different kind of warmth to these people to keep them physically warm and know that someone cares.” The ideas and ideals of the organization were displayed at The Annual Dinner that Warmer Winters held on Monday, October 7, 2019. Among those that spoke at the dinner were State Representative Stephen Hay of Fitchburg, State Representative Natalie Higgins of Leominster, Sheriff of Worcester County Lew Evangelidis- whose annual coat drive partners with Warmer Winters to distribute warmth each December, and Neil Zanni, founder of Operation Service , a local veterans organization, which distributes Trees for Troops. [x]

www.warmerwinters.org

SPOTLIGHT Fête STORY Ryan M. Leach

A Gift for Giving TOYS4JOYS RETURNS TO ITS ROOTS IN 2019 It’s one of the brightest spots of the holiday season in Boston. Toys4Joys provides thousands of toys to underprivileged teens and children in need of some holiday cheer. T4J annually delights attendees as well, and on December 14 it’s making a return to its roots at the Artists for Humanity Epicenter, 100 W. Second Street, South Boston. Event founder James Rifino is especially excited about this return. “Our first four years were at Artists for Humanity, but it has transformed into a bigger venue. This is perfect as we had outgrown the [prior event] space. We are very excited to return back to this fantastic space as we partner with an organization who helps to serve similar populations as we do.” T4J is now in its 11th year. It is a major accomplishment for any event to surpass the decade marker. However, if you ask Rifino, Toys4Joys has been around for a little bit longer. “The event really started with a holiday gathering in 2002.

Everyone brought toys to donate to the Boston Housing Authority. This became an annual tradition, and then in 2009 we produced the first big event and it has evolved into what it is today.” says Rifino. Toy4Joys is now a thriving 501(c)3, charitable nonprofit organization; a far cry from a casual housewarming party/ fundraiser. The number of beneficiaries has grown as well. Gifts collected at the event are distributed by partner charities throughout the season. These charities include Eastern Service Workers Association, IBA—Three Kings, Joseph M. Tierney Learning Center, Multicultural AIDS Coalition, Teddy Bear Foundation for Foster Children and United South End Settlements. The centerpiece of every T4J event is the Christmas Tree surrounded by the thousands of presents offered by guests. Revelers can enjoy some cocktails and lite bites and the opportunity to visit with friends, family and coworkers. There is also a

16 | BOSTON SPIRIT

“ Our first four years were at Artists for Humanity, but it has transformed into a bigger venue. This is perfect as we had outgrown the [prior event] space. We are very excited to return back to this fantastic space as we partner with an organization who helps to serve similar populations as we do.” James Rifino Toys4Joys Founder

DJ, so once the cocktails kick in, the dancing can begin! Rifino now serves as president of Toys4Joys, Inc., the nonprofit entity that plans all year for the event. However, all the hours that it takes to produce the soiree are 100 percent donated by volunteers—from the organizing board to all the management and operating teams. This means that every dollar raised through ticket sales and sponsorships helps elevate and grow the gala to achieve its purpose of bringing the community together to help support children in need. Ticket prices can vary from $50 to $500, with the upper level tickets including a toy donation in the purchase price. There are also several sponsorship opportunities for organizations who want to share their brand and give back. Those range from $500 to $7,500. One of this year’s diamond sponsors is especially critical to the success of the event: Tito’s Vodka.

Rifino sees a future beyond toys and holiday parties for T4J. As the event and the organization grows, so do the opportunities to give back. In the future they hope to expand the scope of T4J to a new endeavor named Teens4Jobs. This would help match young people with employment opportunities, mentorship and job-skills development. “It made sense that T4J could also stand for something else that can benefit the young people in the community in a different way. We hope that this will be the next step in the growth of the organization’s mission.” says Rifino. In the meantime, T4J, will remain focused on toys and gifts for underprivileged kids in and around the Boston area. Volunteer opportunities are always available. And everyone is invited to join in the fun. [x]

toys4joys.org.

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SPOTLIGHT Community STORY Bob Linscott

Senior Spirit

3D rendering of proposed building’s courtyard for residents’ use.

This is the moment: LGBTQ-friendly senior housing in Massachusetts There are so many indicators that determine if a city is truly inclusive and welcoming to the LGBTQ community. For some, it is having an LGBT community center, while other cities boast about how many LGBTQ elected officials they have or the size of their Pride parade. But as we move past marriage equality, there is one benchmark that is gaining momentum as a true indicator of a cities’ commitment to the full life span of its LGBTQ community: affordable senior housing that is designated as LGBTQ friendly. Although Massachusetts has become a national leader for LGBT inclusive work at the city and state level, Boston has now fallen way behind the trend toward LGBTfriendly senior housing that other cities have developed, like Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, San Diego and Philadelphia, to name just a few. Actually there are over 20 cities that have designated LGBTQ-friendly senior housing buildings across the country

with none in Boston or anywhere in New England. Safe, affordable and welcoming housing is a real need. When the Massachusetts Special Commission on LGBT Aging did listening sessions across the state in their first year of legislative work, the number one concern echoed in every single community was “where can we go when we get older?” The need to develop LGBT-friendly senior housing became one of the LGBT Aging Commission’s first recommendations in their report to the legislature in 2015. Community leaders in any of the 20-plus cities that have designated LGBT-friendly senior housing buildings will tell you that this doesn’t happen overnight. In fact it takes years of planning and working with city leaders, developers and community members. LGBT “friendly” does not mean LGBT “exclusive” either. These buildings

are open to anyone, but they strive to be safe and welcoming residences for LGBTQ older adults who don’t want to go back into the closet at the end of their lives. These buildings bring LGBT and non-LGBT community members together in an environment where diversity and community are celebrated. For over five years a group of LGBT community members and leaders have been working tirelessly, first as the LGBT Senior Housing Task Force and more recently after incorporating as LGBTQ Senior Housing Inc. The organization is committed to facilitating access to safe, welcoming and affordable housing for low-income LGBTQ seniors, including through a formal role in the development of such housing; to define onsite housing services and programming that address the needs of LGBTQ seniors; and to support community space to serve seniors in the Greater Boston community.

This work has led us to submitting a proposal to acquire a decommissioned school building in Hyde Park, the William Barton Rogers School.

Safe, affordable and welcoming housing is a real need. When the Massachusetts Special Commission on LGBT Aging did listening sessions across the state in their first year of legislative work, the number one concern echoed in every single community was “where can we go when we get older?”

The stars couldn’t bring into alignment a better team to take on this project. This team includes Philippe Saad, an architect who is committed to building LGBTfriendly senior housing with Dimella Shaffer, a firm with expertise in senior living. The team also includes Lisa Krinsky and myself, from the LGBT Aging Project at Fenway Health bringing over 30 years of combined work with Boston’s Elderly Commission and with elder care providers all across the state. Many of the community members on the team represent the target population for the building including Aileen Montour, the board president who has dedicated every ounce of her time to this project. The board also hired the awardwinning development firm Pennrose, which developed The John C. Anderson Apartments, Philadelphia’s celebrated LGBTfriendly senior housing. This is the moment for all these players to come together and make all this hard work

into a reality for the city of Boston. This is a chance for the city to shine. There will be so many opportunities to build traditional senior housing, but when will this opportunity present itself again for a truly inclusive and welcoming building? It has been wonderful to see all the recognition other mayors have received after opening similar projects in their cities. At the opening of North Park, LGBT-friendly senior residences in San Diego, Mayor

Kevin Faulconer said, “This new development is open to all and provides a positive and supportive environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender seniors; a first for San Diego and one of only a handful in the nation.” Opening a truly welcoming and inclusive senior residence in Boston would be something our own mayor and city council could take great pride in along with the whole community. Three different proposals were submitted to the city for this building. All were focused on senior housing. The three teams presented their proposals in September to the Hyde Park community. Now we are in a period where folks are asked to write in with their support.

To support this initiative in Boston, contact the mayor’s office at mayor@boston.gov. For more information about this project, contact Aileen Montour aileenmontour@ gmail.com. [x]

Bob Linscott is assistant director of the LGBT Aging Project at The Fenway Institute

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From the Blog NEWS HIGHLIGHTS FROM BOSTONSPIRITMAGAZINE.COM PATS SPONSOR GAY FLAG FOOTBALL LEAGUES

Bryon Hefner [CENTER]. PHOTO Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff

HEFNER PLEADS GUILTY TO SEXUAL ASSAULT Bryon Hefner, whose sexual assault and misconduct case resulted in the resignation of his husband, former Bay State Senate President Stanley C. Rosenberg, pleaded guilty to one count of indecent assault and battery, one count of assault and battery and one count of disseminating a nude photo. At his September 10 hearing, Hefner was then given three years probation and a suspended one-year jail sentence, plus he must register as a sex offender. Suffolk Superior Court Judge Mary K. Ames also placed a series on conditions upon Hefner, including ordering him to abstain from alcohol and drugs. A series of other related charges were dismissed. “When we see sexual assaults, particularly sexual assaults of this nature, they are about exerting power over the victim and power over any other members of the community who may come to know about the assaults,” Ames said, according to The Boston Globe, which also noted that the judge took into account Hefner’s “strides” to get substance abuse and mental health treatment.

“Mr. Hefner, if you decide...to veer from the correct route in doing all of the things this court expects you to do, you will come back before me,” Ames warned. “And it will not be a pleasant conversation.” The Globe went on to report, “several of Hefner’s victims said Tuesday they were grateful that Hefner will face real repercussions for his actions, most notably that he is required to register as a sex offender. “‘The thing I was most concerned about in all of this was that this not happen again to anybody else,’ one victim told the Globe. ‘I was always concerned that he could just walk away from this and let it fall into the annals of history. And now it will follow him around for the rest of his life.’ Another victim told the Globe that Tuesday’s plea agreement was as “close to justice as our system allows us to get.” “‘I did not want him to go to jail, that didn’t seem like justice to me or public safety to me,” he said. “But I wanted there to be consequences, and there are.’”

20 | BOSTON SPIRIT

The New England Patriots announced yesterday that the reigning Super Bowl champs are sponsoring LGBTQ flag football leagues in both Boston and Providence: Boston FLAG (Friends, Lesbians and Gays) Flag Football League and Providence Gay Flag Football League. The sponsorship makes the Patriots the leagues’ largest sponsor. The funds will go to making both the Boston league of 24 teams, with more than 350 players, as well as the Providence league more affordable to all players, and toward the leagues’ participation in the 2019 Gay Bowl in New York City. “We’re happy to once again be partnering with the FLAG Flag Football league and are thrilled that there is now a Providence league as part of Patriots nation,” said Josh Kraft, president of the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation. “Both leagues represent the vision of LGBTQ inclusiveness and marriage equality that the Patriots embrace.” “It is truly an honor to be entering our 21st year of FLAG Flag Football with the unwavering support of the New England Patriots,” said FLAG Flag Football Boston Commissioner, Ken Westermann. “Our league, in its first year, has already had an incredible impact on the Rhode Island LGBTQ community,” said Duane Gosley, Providence Gay Flag Football League Commissioner. “With support from the New England Patriots, we will be able to increase our recruitment and outreach programs within our local community.

GEN-X ID BILL PROGRESSES IN BAY STATE One of the key bills Bay State legislatures have taken up this fall is the bill (S.2203) to allow state residents to opt for a nonbinary (“X”) gender identity on their driver’s licenses, birth certificates and other stateissued documents. A hearing on the bill was held on September 10, at the State House. In August, New Hampshire became the 13th state to issue a third gender option on its driver’s licenses and other state IDs. And as of October 1, Rhode Island’s department of health began allowing a nonbinary designation noted as an “X” on state-issued birth certificates. Back in April, the Bay State Senate approved the Massachusetts bill with a resounding 39 to 1 vote. A similar bill, however, passed the Senate but was killed in the House last year.

“This bill recognizes the reality of the lives of many non-binary citizens,” Massachusetts Gay Lesbian Political Caucus

Boston FLAG Flag Football

Cochair Arline Isaacson stated in April. “There is no value in pretending nonbinary or gender nonconforming people don’t exist and no value in misrepresenting them in official government documents.” Boston Spirit will follow and report on the progress of this legislation.

NEW SENOR STAFF AT BOSTON PRIDE

Pierce Durkin. PHOTO Boston Pride

In early October, Boston Pride’s board of directors made good on their strategic-planning mission to add additional staffing by 2020 with two new senior position hires: Pierce Durkin as director of operations and Reina Ysaguirre-Boersma as director of outreach and development. “As Boston Pride has been growing, the board of directors has been working on a strategic plan to add staff to the organization,” said Linda J. DeMarco, Boston Pride’s president in a press release. “Over the years to prepare for this move, we have been fiscally responsible in reserving funds to allow us to make this move.”

Reina Ysaguirre-Boersma. PHOTO Boston Pride “With the help of our connections with other Prides and speaking with other LGBTQ+ leaders, we were able to acquire strong candidates to fulfill the

needs of the organization,” DeMarco said.

with four more scoring as Top Performers.

Ysaguirre-Boersma has volunteered for 13 years at several Pride organizations including Boston and Bellingham, WA serving in various capacities in organizational management, strategic planning and fundraising. Previously, she worked in development at Housing Opportunities Made Equal, Inc. in Buffalo, New York.

A total of 680 facilities participated nationwide. A record-setting 403 met criteria for leadership status and 146 scored as top performers.

Durkin joins the Boston Pride team after 17 years of volunteering for Pride organizations. He served as treasurer of New York City Pride, where he played a major role in the recent successful World Pride celebration and in the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Inn Uprising. His former roles for Boston Pride include Logistic Chair, Chair of the Stuart Street Block Party, Chair of the Boston Pride Festival and served as Clerk of Boston Pride’s Board of Directors in 2005.

HRC’S HEALTHCARE EQUALITY INDEX Healthcare facilities in all six New England states earned spots on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2019 Healthcare Equality Index. Among these, 21 qualified as Healthcare Equality Leaders,

The national organization created the Index in 2007 “to meet a deep and urgent need on the part of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer Americans: the need for equitable, knowledgeable, sensitive and welcoming healthcare, free from discrimination,” states its report. “No one facing health concerns should also have to worry about receiving inequitable or substandard care because of their LGBTQ status.” To earn a leadership spot, participating facilities needed to meet a set of inclusive criteria, including nondiscrimination patient-centered, visitor and employment policies as well as staff training in LGBTQ patient care. To be a Top Performer, participants must have met 85–90% of these criteria. Find a HRC-rated health care facility in your area at www.hrc. org/hei. [x]

SPOTLIGHT News STORY Kim Harris Stowell

Newsmakers | Rhode Island This Just in from the Ocean State

marriage equality that the Patriots embrace.” The bulk of the sponsorship will be used to make the leagues more affordable to players who may not be able to participate otherwise. Additionally, funds will go towards the league’s participation in the 2019 Gay Bowl in New York City, keeping costs low in order to make the experience available to as many players as possible. For more: www.pvdgffl.org.

Governor Gina Raimondo [LEFT] and transgender activist

NONBINARY BIRTH CERTIFICATES As of October 1, the Rhode Island Department of Health has amended the sex field on state-issued birth certificates, which allows people to make a change to reflect their gender identity on their birth certificate. “It’s really just basic fairness so that everybody can be treated equally and recognized by their government for who they are,” Governor Gina Raimondo told ABC TV Channel-33. This new, nonbinary designation will be noted as an “X” for people born in Rhode Island who identify as nonbinary, or neither male nor female. People of any age can make this change; however, minors will need parental or guardian consent

to do so. Instruction at: health. ri.gov/records/about/changes/ sex/.

LGBT HISTORY CLUB

OLD LESBIANS A chapter of Old Lesbians Organizing for Change has formed in Rhode Island As part of a national network working to confront ageism in our communities and our country, as well as increasing lesbian visibility in a world that stifles it and threatens to erase it. Lesbians age 60-plus are invited to join the discussion; the next meeting is on 11/17. $10 suggested donation covers food, but no one is turned away for lack of funds. For more, write to olocinri@ gmail.com.

22 | BOSTON SPIRIT

Josh Kraft

PATRIOTS TEAM UP WITH PROVIDENCE AND BOSTON GAY FOOTBALL Commissioner Duane Gosley announcement that the New England Patriots will sponsor the Providence Gay Flag Football League and the Boston FLAG Flag Football League. Josh Kraft, president of the New England Patriots Charitable Foundation, said, “Both leagues represent the vision of LGBTQ inclusiveness and

During October’s SAGERI annual meeting, it was announced that an LGBT History Club will be held on the fourth Wednesday of each month from 2 to 4 p.m., at the Church of the Transfiguration, 1665 Broad St., in Cranston. This location is accessible, with ample parking and nearby bus routes. Topics of conversation will be determined by participants and light refreshments will be served. This informal gathering focuses attention on learning and preserving LGBT history. All are welcome – bring pictures, memorabilia and recollections.

New Urban Arts’ Unentitlement Project. PHOTO Courtesy Rhode Island Foundation

FOUNDATION AWARDS $53K TO LGBTQ NONPROFITS The Rhode Island Foundation has awarded $53,000 to share between eight LGBTQ nonprofits. The funding aims to support groups “engaged in efforts ranging from civil rights advocacy for families and youth to improving the delivery of health care,” states a recent Foundation release. “This important work is enhanced by strengthening alliances between nonprofits working to address the most critical needs of Rhode Island’s LGBTQ communities, including investments in health, education and the arts, as well as issues critical to young and elderly members of the community,” said Foundation grants program officer Adrian Bonéy. The funds are being portioned among: • Family Service of Rhode Island to support its Emergency Financial Assistance program for LGBTQ+ individuals living with HIV under its AIDS Project Rhode Island program; • Girls Rock! RI, to make the organization more

welcoming to trans and nonbinary participants and volunteers; • GLBTQ Legal Advocates and Defenders (GLAD), for its ongoing youth and civil rights advocacy; • New Urban Arts’ Untitlement Project, a summer program for low-income youth using writing and art to explore issues of identity, including gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression; • Project Weber/Renew’s Transgender Outreach Project to support a trans peer outreach worker focusing on high-risk trans individuals on the streets. • SAGE-Rhode Island to train nurses, social workers, community service providers and other healthcare staff working in long-term care, acute care facilities and community agencies’ • Sojourner House to provide shelder, housing and supportive services to LGBTQ victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking; and • Thundermist Health Center’s Trans Health and Wellness Program in Warwick.—RP [x]

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SPOTLIGHT News STORY Rob Phelps

Newsmakers | New Hampshire Headlines from the Granite State

Hampshire failed to join this important national effort.”

WHAT’S IN A NAME

Rep. Gerri Cannon Jennifer Horn PHOTO Gage Skidmore/ Wikimedia Commons

FORMER STATE PARTY CHAIR QUITS LOG CABIN NATIONAL BOARD Former Granite State GOP Party Chair Jennifer Horn quit her position on the Log Cabin Republican’s national board in protest to the national LCR’s endorsement of Donald Trump in a Washington Post op-ed. “There is no world where I can sit down at the dining room table and explain to my children that I just endorsed Donald Trump for president,” Horn told the Washington Post. “It is contrary to everything that I have ever taught them about what it means to be a good, decent, principled member of society.” Notes the Post, Horn wrote a letter to LCR chair Robert Kabel and vice-chair Jill Homan expressing her displeasure with the president’s “regular verbal assaults against women, immigrants, elected members of Congress, party members who do not agree with him on policy or principle and his willingness to stoke racial anger and unrest in order to advance his own political ambitions all subvert the founding principles of our great nation.” A week later, the Log Cabin Republicans’ executive director, Jerri Ann Henry, followed Horn’s lead, resigning from her post “over discontent with Trump and dissatisfaction with Log Cabin’s approach to defending its Trump endorsement in the media,” reported the Washington Blade.

NO SCOTUS AMICUS BRIEF All New England states except New Hampshire have signed onto an amicus brief calling for the US Supreme Court to uphold federal protections against workplace

Devon Chaffee

discrimination against LGBTQ people under the Civil Right Act. Reads the brief: “The states have a vital interest in the continued availability of Title VII as a mechanism for combating employment discrimination against the millions of our residents who identify as gay, bisexual or transgender. Such discrimination harms both its immediate victims and the states in which they live.” New Hampshire Solicitor General Dan Will told SeacoastOnline in September, “The brief was circulated and filed during the time Attorney General MacDonald had delegated his duties (while he was under consideration for nomination to the state Supreme Court)” before the July 2 deadline. So the Granite State did not weigh in. State Rep. Gerri Cannon of Somersworth, a transgender woman, told SeacoastOnline that recent state legislation already protects LGBTQ people. “In some ways we have protections; everywhere in the state of New Hampshire trans people are protected in terms of the workplace, housing and medical care, which is why they may not have wanted to send [an amicus brief ] to Washington,” she said. “The attorney general is driven by the governor who probably tells him what his thoughts are [to file a brief or not].”

After almost 45 years, the Feminist Health Center in Concord has changed its name to the Equality Health Center. Since 1974, the facility has provided family-planning services, but over the years its success has expanded to offer more services to men, gender-nonconforming people and others in the LGBTQ community. According to a report in the Concord Monitor, the name change has been in the works for the past two years and was rolled out in late summer. “It’s so important what a name is, because it really represents you,” Executive Director Dalia Vidunas told the Monitor. “It really boiled down to, ‘what is feminism really about?’ and it’s equality.” Reports the Monitor, “Many of the center’s patients are low income—24 percent are on Medicaid and 19 percent are uninsured or underinsured and pay for services out of pocket using a sliding scale fee, or a cost based off a customer’s ability to pay. Dr. Robert Kelly, a family physician in Concord, a member of the LGBT community and a board member for the Equality Health Center, said places like the Equality Health Center are essential safe havens for people in minority health care groups. Not all general primary care practices are well-versed in LGBT health care, and not all LGBT people feel safe being out to their insurance providers, Kelly said. [x]

Devon Chaffee, executive director of the New Hampshire American Civil Liberties Union told Seacoast he found the state’s not filing a brief “bewildering”—especially given the advances in pro-LGBT legislation the Granite State has recently seen. “Passing state protections is an incredible step, but it is only the first step,” Chaffee said. “We can and must expect a continued commitment to fight for the rights of all Granite Staters, both at the state and federal levels. It is deeply disappointing that New Equality Health Center outreach

24 | BOSTON SPIRIT

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Newsmakers | Connecticut Articles from the Constitution State BISEXUALS, ALLIES GROUP IN NORWALK

Ahmad Abojaradeh way they need to be and live as their authentic selves.” Rep. Raghib Allie-Brennan and Attorney General William Tong. public accommodations in 1991. Gender identity was added to the law in 2011.

STATE LAWS ‘PROTECT US’ As arguments before the US Supreme Court in early October considered allowing discrimination against LGBTQ people in the workplace, Connecticut’s Attorney General William Tong held a public discussion in Hartford focusing on state-level protections against LGBTQ discrimination. “The laws in Connecticut here protect us,” Tong said. Along with Tong, speakers included openly gay state Rep. Raghib Allie-Brennan and LGBTQ advocate Shawn Lang. “Twenty-eight years after Connecticut barred discrimination in the workplace on the basis of sexual orientation, there are 29 states where it is legal to fire someone because they are gay or transgender,” reported the CT Mirror on the discussion. “Despite concerns about how the Supreme Court will rule, Connecticut is now ranked as one of the states with the strongest civil-rights protections for the LGBTQ community. The state banned discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in employment, housing and

“Passage of the Connecticut employment law in 1991 came after 18 years of pushing by a gay community that still was largely invisible. In 1989, when a similar measure failed, a Republican from eastern Connecticut told the House, “I rise in strong opposition to this bill, and it is not because I am discriminating against anybody. I honestly don’t know a gay or a homosexual person.”

The focus of the first workshop is “Youth Support and Empowerment” (Nov. 4–8 and Nov. 11) is on emotional intelligence. The second is “Loving and Supporting LGBTQIA+ Children” (Nov. 9 and 10) is geared toward friends, family and problems from lack of support. The third (Nov. 13–15) is “Transforming Community Support Programs,” on foundations of support. To register: newhavenpridecenter.org.

Says the TCC website, “BAFC seeks to build a stronger bi+ community and to increase the visibility and support of all who fall under the bisexual umbrella term. Closeted or out, monogamous or polyamorous, all are welcome to join as long as other members of the group are treated with respect and compassion.” Group members also plan and discuss events such as hikes, dinners, and movie nights. Attendees are encouraged to come with topics to discuss, or any questions they may have. Friends and family are welcome at this group as well. For more: ctpridecenter.org [x]

‘HEALING FRACTURED YOUTH HEARTS’ The New Haven Pride Center is partnering with the Waterburybased, peer-youth-led nonprofit Life in My Days to bring a series of workshops, “Healing Fractured Youth Hearts,” to Connecticut throughout November. Peer Support Specialist Ahmad Abojaradeh (they/them) leads the workshops. The workshops aim to “engage service providers, parents, and youth themselves, in creating safe spaces, healing, accepting, and supporting youth in every

26 | BOSTON SPIRIT

Norwalk’s Triangle Community Center is hosting a monthly, confidential support group for bisexual people and allies. Upcoming meetings of “Bisexuals and Allies of Fairfield County” are November 7 and December 5.

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Newsmakers | Vermont Green Mountain State Update A RECORDBREAKING FIRE TRUCK PULL Supporters of Outright Vermont raised over $120,000 at a fundraiser marking the LGBTQ youth organization’s 30th anniversary in late September. And they did it with a lot of grit, muscle and fun—pulling a 30,000-pound fire truck for 30 feet in the middle of downtown Burlington. “It is critical that folks know that they are loved, that they are supported, and that they have a community that is showing up, rain or shine, to make sure they know we are here for them,” Outright Vermont Executive

Director Dana Kaplan told NECN. And show up they did. The community broke through the group’s goal of $100,000 set for this year, far surpassing last year’s record-breaking $73K+ from the annual event. Since 1989, Outright has been providing support, advocacy and celebration of young queer people in Vermont, and they are still going strong! For more, go to outrightvt.org.

WEBSTER’S ADDS ‘BECHDEL TEST’ TO DICTIONARY Alison Bechdel—celebrated cartoonist of “Dykes to Watch Out

Outright Vermont Fire Truck Pull For” and author of graphic novel “Fun Home,” whose Broadway musical adaptation garnered multiple Tony Awards—is back in the news. This time, it’s MerriamWebster’s Dictionary honoring Bechdel, with “Bechdel Test” as one of 530 new words or phrases entered into its storied list of definitions this fall. The term first appeared in “Dykes to Watch Out For” in 1985. Webster’s defines the Bechdel Test as “a set of criteria used as a test to evaluate a work of fiction (such as a film) on the basis of its inclusion and representation of female characters.

NOTE: The usual criteria of the Bechdel Test are (1) that at least two women are featured, (2) that these women talk to each other, and (3) that they discuss something other than a man.” “I’m very, very excited to have anything to do with a dictionary,” Bechdel told Vermont’s Seven Days, adding that “This is the thing I’m most known for If I go speak at a college or something, kids don’t know my comic strip—they weren’t even born yet. But they’ve heard of this thing, and they’re sort of surprised that it’s some actual person connected to it.”

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BERNIE AND THE HRC/CNN TOWN HALL Despite his long record of supporting LGBTQ rights, Senator Bernie Sanders, citing scheduling conflicts, opted not to participate with other leading Democratic presidential candidates in the Human Rights Campaign’s LGBTQfocused town hall, “Power of Our Pride,” broadcast on CNN on October 10. With about twice as many campaign events as other frontrunners, according to MSNBC, his card was no doubt punched for the date; but criticism from the LGBTQ community—after he’d also cited schedule conflicts keeping him from GLAAD/Advocate’s LGBTQ forum in Iowa a month before—led him to change his mind, and by October 1 he accepted CNN’s invite. after

all. Then came the heart attack that sidelined him after all. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren was left the sole, strong representative from New England at the event. The event was scheduled to coincide (by one day) with National Coming Out Day (October 11). CNN said it captured the largest audience for any Democratic presidential town hall devoted to LGBTQ issues.

QUEER ACTIVISM IN SOUTHERN VT In September, the historic Brattleboro Museum and Art Center hosted a panel discussion on key individuals, organizations and the history of queer activism in southern Vermont from the 1980s to the present. “Looking Back, Moving Forward: Four Decades of Queer Activism in Vermont, was sponsored by The Samara Fund of the Vermont

Brattleboro Museum and Art Center Community Foundation in partnership with the AIDS Project of Southern Vermont and Out in the Open (formerly Green Mountain Crossroads) and the Museum and Art Center. This panel was presented in conjunction with “Performative Acts,” a retrospective of work by the acclaimed photographer and activist Dona Ann McAdams, which includes McAdams’ photographs of queer liberation and AIDS activism protests across several decades. Its panelists included therapist Michael Gigante, co-founder of the Brattleboro AIDS Project (now The AIDS Project

of Southern Vermont); Kate Jerman, director of the Prism Center, which serves queer and trans communities at the University of Vermont; William J. Lippert Jr., founder of the Samara Foundation of Vermont (now the Samara Fund for LGBT Vermonters, a component fund of the Vermont Community Foundation); John Scagliotti, a filmmaker and producer known for his work on the award-winning documentaries “Before Stonewall” and “After Stonewall”; and Lucy Webb, president of the board of directors of Out in the Open, he Brattleboro-based rural LGBTQ organization . [x]

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SPOTLIGHT News STORY Rob Phelps

Newsmakers | Maine

News from the Pine Tree State STEPHEN KING REMEMBERS CHARLIE HOWARD community bears no responsibility for the crime itself, BDN reported. “But it’s our town. We live here,” he said. “Which means we have to live with Charlie, and continue trying to make it right.”

KIDMAN TAKES ON COLLINS

Out in Maine’s Rainbow Ball Weekend Stephen King

afraid to roll up their sleeves, get their hands dirty, and work for us like like it’s their job.

Maine’s own mega-bestselling author Stephen King told The Bangor Daily News how important he feels it was to bring a hate crime against a gay man depicted in his book “It” to the big screen, in the recently released film “It: Chapter Two.” King’s depiction of the crime was based on the real-life murder in Bangor of 23-year-old Charlie Howard by three teens who threw him off the State Street Bridge in 1984.

“Friends, my sleeves are rolled up and I am ready to spend six years of my life reminding our legislators who they work for. I am ready to spend six years of my life focused on taking back our government from corporate special interests and putting it back in the hands of the people. I am ready to spend six years of my life working tirelessly for our rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

“At the time I started writing ‘It,’ the [Charlie] Howard murder had just happened. It was fresh in my mind and fitted my idea of Derry as a place where terrible things happened,” King told the Daily News. “And, maybe needless to say, I was outraged. It was a hate crime.” The book inspired a 1990 TV miniseries, a big box-office movie and now a film sequel, “It: Chapter Two,” released this fall. However the scene hadn’t made it into the miniseries or the first movie. On the 30th anniversary of Howard’s murder, King told the people of Bangor he believed the

Bre Kidman Defense attorney and legal social advocate Bre Kidman, a first-time political candidate who received her training from the national LGBTQ nonprofit Victory Institute, is aiming to become the first gender nonbinary queer person elected to the US Senate. Kidman is challenging Senator Susan Collins for her seat in 2020. “Mainers deserve a senator who cares more about finding real solutions to the problems we face than how they are going to fund their next run for office,” she writes on her website. “Mainers deserve a senator who will spend more time listening to our concerns than courting rich out-of-state donors. Mainers deserve a senator who isn’t

30 | BOSTON SPIRIT

For more: www.beekay4maine. com

NEW BOARD MEMBERS FOR OUT MAINE Out Maine—the Rocklandbased nonprofit supporting rural young people “of diverse sexual orientations, gender expressions and gender identities”—is welcoming five new members to its board of directors. “We are thrilled with this new infusion of energy and support for Maine’s LGBTQ youth,” said Out Maine in a recent press release.

The new members include: Melissa Bellew, the CEO of the Penobscot Bay YMCA, national vice chair of the YMCA’s LGBTQ+ Resource Network, and Rockport resident. Jess Anderson, director of The Leadership School at Kieve Wavus Education and Dresden resident. Maulian Dana, Penobscot Nation Tribal Citizen and Tribal Ambassador to the Maine legislature. Her work has included advocating for LGBTQ and Two Spirit Maine citizens through her platform as ambassador. Ned Kane, a retired crossfunctional nonprofit executive who splits his time between Maine and Palm Springs. Most recently, Kane was the development and operations director at the American Civil Liberties Union of Maine. Danielle Twomey, an active member of the queer and trans community for over 40 years, current manager of the Lab and QA Group for the Air Bureau, Maine Department of Environmental Protection and resident of Poland. [x]

Discover a fresh perspective on the artist and teacher widely considered a profound influence on American modern art.

Through January 5, 2020

hans hofmann the nature of abstraction Hans Hofmann: The Nature of Abstraction is organized by University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive. The exhibition is made possible with lead support from the Renate, Hans and Maria Hofmann Trust. Major support is provided by Bob and Dana Emery and Elissa Edelstein Warner. Additional support is provided by Charles and Naomie Kremer, the Terra Foundation for American Art, the Nancy and Joachim Bechtle Foundation, and an anonymous donor. Carolyn and Peter S. Lynch and The Lynch Foundation, Jennifer and Andrew Borggaard and Kate and Ford O’Neil provided generous support. We also recognize the generosity of the East India Marine Associates of the Peabody Essex Museum.

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Hans Hofmann, Indian Summer (detail), 1959. Oil on canvas. University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive. Gift of the artist, 1965. © The Regents of the University of California. Photo by Jonathan Bloom. Courtesy of the Renate, Hans and Maria Hofmann Trust/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

FEATURE Religion STORY Joy Mosenfelder

Salman

Celebration and Conflict Considering the complex relationship between LGBTQ+ identity and faith As the winter holidays approach, many LGBTQ+ people of faith face a heightened sense of conflict between their faith and queer identities. It’s a conflict by no means limited to times around religious holidays; but in this season of compassion, now is a good time to consider these concerns of queer people of faith from all religions, not just those celebrating the December holidays, and throughout the new year. What is it like being at the intersection of queerness and faith? “I don’t think either my queerness or my faith are opposed to each other,” shares Natalie, a white, bisexual, nonbinary, US-born individual living in the Boston area who was raised in and still practices Roman Catholic faith traditions. “It’s only when I’m in religious spaces or talking to religious people, or in queer spaces or talking to queer people that those two things become an issue.” Millennia of changes in cultural norms, physical and political landscapes, and

32 | BOSTON SPIRIT

scientific understanding have resulted in faith-based traditions as diverse as the people who practice them. For some, reconciling faith and LGBTQ+ identity is a traumatic process. Others derive resilience from spiritual practice.

Respecting the ‘other’ Members of Queer Muslims of Boston long for opportunities to practice their faith, Islam, in a way that honors queer identities. The group hosts regular community gatherings to practice their faith and discuss the roles that faith, sexuality, and gender play in their identities. “When you step into a queer Muslim space, they are much more accepting of different practices. They’ll say ‘show us the way you pronounce this word or do this ritual, we’ll follow you,’’’ explains Garrett, a white, cisgender, pansexual man born in the US, raised Eastern Orthodox, and now practicing Sunni Islam.

“When I realized I was gay, I also discovered I was ‘the other’ that was shunned from my religion,” shares Mohammed, a cisgender, Ethiopian, Muslim, gay man who now lives in Boston where he still practices Islam. “Somehow I had to accept myself, so in that process, I accepted ‘the other.’” “The practices in the faith pushed me towards coming out to myself,” shares Ayesha, a white, transgender, US-born woman who was raised Evangelical Christian before converting to Islam. “It’s not just about transitioning, but also about changing the social role I inhabit within my faith. Even those small differences, like the different ways men and women pray, feel very personal to me.” Garrett, Mohammed and Ayesha acknowledge there are challenges to practicing a faith dominated by a culture of heavy social censure. “People find their own ways to reconcile,” explains Mohammed. “Some people reinterpret, some pick and choose, others abandon as a whole; whatever works for each person.” For some, trying to reconcile an LGBTQ+ identity with a hostile faith community comes at too high a price.

“ Our goal is to help create a cultural shift so faith is accessible to everyone.... There is no such thing as neutral language when it comes to morality, equity, and faith. Ideologies of dominance are not set up to care about individuals, they’re set up to exert control. For a long time, the only option available to queer people of faith was finding a faith community that would do the least harm.” Alex, a Unitarian Universalist Church minister

Micha

Ven. Vimala

“I felt trapped because I had this spiritual identity forced onto me,” explains Justine, a black, queer ex-Muslim Maine resident born in the US. “I wanted to discover more about my identity and feel out what life could be like. I was also afraid that deep down, who I knew I was wasn’t acceptable because it went against Islam. I struggled with deciding between who I wanted to be versus who I was ‘supposed to be.’” “I was never so open about my sexuality, I didn’t have that freedom,” shares Salman, a genderqueer gay man raised Muslim in Pakistan, who now lives in New England and identifies as a spiritual atheist. “It was especially tough growing up in a society with so much religious intolerance and hatred, we don’t talk about diverse sexualities and gender because it’s taboo to do so.” Salman started questioning dogmatic beliefs in his faith community after carefully reviewing comparative religions and secular spiritual practices. “I have always been interested in learning from diverse faith traditions. That helped me

have a more secular understanding of my spirituality and to be at peace with my queerness.”

Safer spaces, welcoming places Violence motivated by homophobia and/or transphobia, and ascribed to prescriptivist religious dogma, is a global phenomenon. The institutionalization of exclusionary cultural norms within many faith communities poses a real threat to LGBTQ+ people and communities. “I was sexually assaulted because some shitty men found out I was lesbian,” shares Rebecca, a white, cisgender lesbian born in Eastern Europe and raised Eastern Orthodox. “I felt that alienated me from my faith of origin. I was taught the only way to move forward is to forgive

those people, which I won’t do, and to live my life as if that hasn’t happened to me.” Rebecca found healing in the Jewish faith community after moving to Boston. “I got to see folks who use religion, not as an opportunity to hate and be holier than thou, but instead to bring their community together and do some good for the world,” she explains. “I have no obligation to forgive the people who did that to me. Instead, I have an obligation to do good. I like that Judaism feels like a blueprint for navigating the world, rather than staying away from it.” When LGBTQ+ practitioners do feel welcome, it is transformative. “I felt a little bit more myself,” shares Micha, a white, nonbinary practitioner of Theravada Buddhism living in Germany. Micha describes wearing femme-of-center modest clothing to a temple for the first time: “I felt a little bit more freedom. I didn’t have to hide.” Ven. Vimala is a white, nonbinary person born in Holland. Ven. Vimala was raised Roman Catholic and was ordained as a Bhikkhunī, or Buddhist monastic, in

NOV| DEC 2019 | 33

Jules

2016. Within Theravada Buddhism, it is still very difficult for women to become ordained, let alone individuals who fall outside binary gender roles and heterosexual norms. This past January, Ven. Vimala established Tilorian Monastery in Belgium as an explicitly welcoming place for LGBTQ+ Buddhists. “I was attacked based on me being nonbinary and for wanting to open up the monastery for other LGBTQ+ people,” Ven.

Vimala explains. “I had not expected such a strong reaction. It was very shocking to me. When you read Buddha’s teachings there’s nothing said about sex or gender, it’s all about how to develop your mind.” Ven. Vimala has a few allies among fellow monastics who acknowledge the need for LGBTQ+ inclusive Buddhist practices and spaces. The movement is still very young though, and acceptance for LGBTQ+ practitioners and monastics still limited. Like Ven. Vimala, around the world and across every cultural barrier and rigid traditions, other LGBTQ+ faith leaders are

working to create welcoming faith-based communities and spaces. “When I experienced my first UU Christian service I just lost it,” shares Niala, a cisgender, black, bisexual woman born in the US. “I was sobbing.” Niala is now in seminary to become ordained as a Unitarian Universalist Christian chaplain. “I have a very strong interest in reproductive healthcare and justice,” explains Niala. “The Planned Parenthood affiliate I’ve worked with has done years of very dedicated outreach, making inroads into the faith community.” As a young, unchurched black woman, attending faith-based services gave Niala a deeper cultural connection to other African Americans in her community. But when Niala realized the congregation she’d been attending had strict gender roles that conflicted with her feminist values, she thought this meant Christianity was no longer an option. “For more than a decade, I thought this was a door that was closed to me. The emotional release was a response to the realization that, oh, yeah, that door isn’t closed.”

[CONTINUES 36]

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“ When I experienced my first UU Christian service I just lost it. I was sobbing. For more than a decade, I thought this was a door that was closed to me. The emotional release was a response to the realization that, oh, yeah, that door isn’t closed.” Niala, Unitarian Universalist seminarian

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“One thing I hear a lot is, ‘Why would you want to be part of a church that doesn’t accept you,’” says Niala. “And it’s like, well, this is kind of hard to explain if you are not a person of faith. There is something very fundamental about myself, my identity, and what gives me life that I would be walking away from. My Jesus is millennial activist Jesus, always salty and flipping tables and dragging the apostles for not understanding anything and cursing figs because figs are gross,” shares Niala. “He was killed as a political prisoner.” Alex Kapitan, a white, USborn, queer, nonbinary Unitarian Universalist lay minister living in Western Massachusetts, is part of a national interfaith coalition of LGBTQ+ leaders and educators. “Our goal is to help create a cultural shift so faith is accessible to everyone.” “There is no such thing as neutral language when it comes to morality, equity, and faith,” explains Alex. “Ideologies of dominance are not set up to care about individuals, they’re set up to exert control. For a long time, the only option available to queer people of faith was finding a faith community that would do the least harm.”

For Jules Barnes, a white, nonbinary, queer, US-born interfaith minister, spiritual leadership is about bringing the healing qualities of faith into high-stress environments. “Part of the reason I became more spiritually engaged in my twenties was being up close and personal with heartbreak and resilience 24/7,” shares Jules. “It was hard to make sense of the trauma outside of a larger framework.” Jules weaves lessons from spiritual practice into the accompaniment work they do to support human services providers, peers, and advocates. The goal is to create intentional opportunities for holding and processing feelings. “I look at my own work and I think if I didn’t have my spiritual practice, I’d have burned out,” Jules shares. “My faith lets me release some part of feeling responsible for the whole world. It allows me to show up for work because it feels like I’m not in it alone. Some of it is about the people I work with. Some of it is about feeling like I am part of a larger web of creation. That my thread matters. That I am not holding the web up alone. Even if I can’t always see it or feel it,” Jules says, “it’s there.” [x]

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Provincetown’s Seasonal Rhapsody Invites You to Stay As the days grow shorter and the wind adds a chill to the air, you may long for the distinctive carefree spirit of summer. Here in Provincetown, that care-free spirit isn’t reserved for the summer months. It’s an attitude that lasts all year and can be even more alluring in fall and winter. Where else can you find charming inns, restaurants, and shops that offer indulgences and delights conjured up by the largest group of LGBTQ artists and entrepreneurs in the nation. Commercial Street is still the hub of activity and as you walk along this historic path, take note of all that is around you. Artists, musicians, poets,

and playwrights make for a bohemian rhapsody for every season. Parties, entertainment, and good old-fashioned bars welcome you to step in from the cold and gather with friends who share your love for romance and escapism. Provincetown is home to fine artists and retail shops that offer one-of-a-kind specialties, just right for that holiday gift. Listen to the stories told by the handmade items and you’ll be struck by just how rewarding it is to shop outside a big box or chain store where everything feels as if it is built on an assembly line somewhere else.

The long history of tourism in a town known for being a haven from the more fast-paced and commercialized cities has also led to uniquely personal lodging in Provincetown. Many of the buildings available for a stay are over 100 years old, providing all the charm of a historic establishment with all the thoroughly modern amenities one would expect in a comfortable seaside stay. Most locations have a homey feel, with owners or hosts on hand to answer questions and provide personalized assistance, such as advice on where to go and what to see during one’s visit. Many have indoor and outdoor common areas, which provide a shared space for visitors to chat and meet each other, providing a sense of community even amongst those who are just visiting this friendly town for a weekend. Each inn or bed and breakfast has something that makes it special and unique, be it specific offerings, the personality of the hosts, or the location. Some have art galleries with

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Quality not quantity is the mantra of the fall and winter seasons in Provincetown. Restaurants, galleries, bars and shops have special hours. Guest houses, inns and hotels are open with special rates and packaging.

rotating exhibits of different contemporary artworks. Others are food-focused with farm-to-table offerings and delicious small plates in the afternoon. Some offer meditation and yoga to complement their relaxation-oriented layouts and on-site spas. Many have pools, gardens, fireplaces, barbeque grills, hot tubs, complimentary beverages, and social amenities, such as cocktail hours and meet and greets. There are deluxe options with the finest luxury offerings, private cottages within a larger property, or quaint choices more focused on the community feel and location than fancy extras. The numerous options for unique accommodations in Provincetown become an integral part of any visit to this historic and cultured town. The lodging experience in Provincetown is part of what makes this town oneof-a kind. Book your stay in Provincetown today and experience all it has to offer.

Visit Provincetown in 2020 and commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Pilgrim Landing and Mayflower Compact. Join us for special events throughout the year.

For more information visit ptowntourism.com

‘Souper Saturday’ Fundraiser for Soup Kitchen in Provincetown 13-14

Outer Cape Chorale Concert 25

Christmas Day 12/17 – 1/2/20

First Light Provincetown

J A N UA RY 1

Polar Bear Plunge

18-20

Lighting of the Lobster Pot Tree

Martin Luther King Jr. Weekend

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14-16

N OVEM BER 9-11

Veterans Day Weekend 22-24

Lighting of the Pilgrim Monument 28

Thanksgiving Day

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Visit Provincetown in 2020 and commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Pilgrim Landing and Mayflower Compact. Join us for special events throughout the year.

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FEATURE Business STORY Rob Phelps

Staff from Fenway’s South End location. PHOTO courtesy Fenway

Fenway #MeToo How one organization is turning a crisis into an opportunity ‘to reflect, transition and heal’ Outrage comes easily from a national headline. Revelations of bad behavior by society’s leaders trigger traumatic responses in millions of people who never even met the offender in real life, and elicit anger and an ache for justice in just about everyone. The pain can feel even more poignant when the bad news breaks close to home. Two years ago, in December 2017, the Boston Globe reported that Fenway Community Health Center had allowed one of its most prominent physicians, Dr. Harvey Makadon, to continue working at the Boston facility for four years after they’d received the first of several serious sexual

40 | BOSTON SPIRIT

harassment and bullying complaints against him by Fenway staff. Makadon, then director of education and training at the Fenway Institute, denied the sexual harassment claims, though he admitted to the bullying. In 2016, Fenway paid a $75,000 settlement to one former male employee who claimed Makadon both bullied and sexually harassed him. The settlement was reached after the law firm Seyfarth Shaw was brought in to investigate and delivered their report. Seyfarth advised firing Makadon. But Fenway’s then CEO, Dr. Stephen Boswell, held the advice, along with the investigation itself, from

Fenway’s board of directors. Boswell chose instead to quietly discipline Makadon internally, despite Fenway’s “zero tolerance” policy adopted in 2015. Several months later, the board learned everything anyway, and on March 1, 2017, Makadon was forced to resign. By December 2017, Boswell followed Makadon out the door. Boswell had come to Fenway in 1994 as its medical director and earned the respect of its growing community of, today, about 500 employees and nearly 30,000 clients. He had played a major role in building Fenway up from its humble roots as a free clinic founded in 1971, open to anyone and everyone long

research at Fenway Institute, he co-edited the textbook “Fenway Guide to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Health,” and in 2016, he received the LGBT Health Award from the Massachusetts Medical Society, among his numerous accolades. Sadly, what happened with Makadon and Boswell at Fenway also proves, once again, that what the #MeToo movement aims to expose can happen anywhere. The question now becomes, once the facts are exposed, what can be done to turn things around?

A pledge to do better

Acting CEO Jane Powers at Fenway’s 2019 Dinner Party gala fundraiser. PHOTO Marilyn Humphries before the acceptance of gay, lesbian and transgender individuals at mainstream healthcare facilities. With its current $100 million annual budget, the community center is now the largest LGBTQ healthcare, research and education facility in the world. Without question, Fenway is

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among the greatest sources of pride in New England’s LGBTQ community. For his part, Makadon was no slouch either. The Columbia University–educated physician had been a Harvard Medical School faculty member since 1980. While leading the groundbreaking

“If internal leadership’s actions sent an inadvertent message to the Fenway Health community that this behavior is tolerated we offer our community not only an apology, but a pledge to do better,” wrote outgoing CEO Boswell in a statement with then Board Chair Robert Hale. Upon Boswell’s departure, M. Jane Powers, Fenway’s director of behavioral health, stepped in until a longer-term interim CEO could take over. This happened a few weeks later in early 2018, with

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Fenway’s Boylston Street Boston location. PHOTO Marilyn Humphries the appointment of Darlene Stromstad, former CEO of Greater Waterbury Health Network and Waterbury Hospital in Connecticut. Under Stromstad’s tenure, Fenway’s board held “listening sessions” with employees and clients as part of their work to scrutinize areas for improvement. As a result, they overhauled safety protocols and workplace compliance guidelines, added an anonymous reporting program through outside agency Red Flag Reporting, hired new human resources leadership and created an employee advisory council to give every staff member a stronger voice in the organization. “As an organization, we’ve reflected, we’ve transitioned and we’ve healed,” Stromstad wrote in a letter twelve months later announcing her departure to become president and CEO of the Mohawk Valley Health System in Utica, New York. In shortly less than a year, Fenway had turned its policies

around. But implementing policies, ensuring they work and restoring trust from a community typically takes a bit longer.

Restoring trust As the board’s executive committee focused, then narrowed its search for a permanent CEO—which they hope to complete by the end of this year—Powers returned as interim CEO in January 2019. “It’s really important that the board get this right,” Powers said. “They are taking the time to get this right. It’s more important to hire right than to hire fast, to take this thorough and methodical approach to make sure they find the right leader for Fenway’s future.” The board itself changed too. Of its 19 members, 14 of them came on during the past year and a half, Powers said. “There’s been substantial change on the board,” she said. “Most important for people to understand,” Powers said, “is that Fenway continues to

42 | BOSTON SPIRIT

deliver on our mission since the earliest days in 1971—that healthcare is a right and not a privilege, and that mission is just as relevant today, if not more so.” Throughout all that’s ensued since the bad news broke in 2017, she’s kept her eye on efforts to ensure that “client care has not been compromised despite what happened, and our clinicians are still delivering the highest quality care to everybody in our neighborhoods, especially to LGBTQ people and people living with HIV,” she said. “And that our researchers and scientists here continue to contribute to the fields of HIV care and prevention, and to gender-affirming care, and to creating and maintaining medical practices that are welcoming and supportive of LGBTQ people everywhere.” After Stromstad identified areas for improvements and created initiatives, it fell under Powers’ watch to see them up and running, and to pay close attention that they’re actually

doing the job they’re intended to: namely, to ensure a nurturing workplace culture for all that truly maintains that zerotolerance policy against sexual harassment, bullying and all forms of abuse. Powers points to the employment advisory council as an especially successful development toward this goal. “It’s made up of 20 staff members from across the entire organization, so we have all locations within Fenway represented. It’s one way for staff to bring concerns directly to Fenway leadership. The explicit charter is, ‘The EAC advises the leadership committee,’ and this group is a key partner in our efforts to build and maintain a truly diverse, welcoming and safe culture,” she said. Just one example from the EAC, says Powers, is an infographic “that articulates our values” called “Building the Best Workplace Culture.” And it’s more than a colorful piece of bulletin board art. Four key value categories detail not only “best-practice”

Fenway Health’s Interim CEO Darlene Stromstad in 2018. PHOTO Marilyn Humphries behavior but basic expectations everyone shares to maintain a healthy workplace. The four areas include safety; social justice and equity; respect and responsibility; and community, teamwork and innovation. New and improved policies, plus the confidential reporting hotline, are geared to ensure these values are put into practice every day across all levels of management. The chart has also become a great tool for recruiting and hiring for all positions—this has included the new board members as well as the new CEO. “To say, this is who we are as a workplace culture, and to ask, ‘Would you make a commitment to living these values here?’ We put it right out there,” she said. As for the Fenway Institute, Powers credits founder and long-term Medical Research Director Dr. Ken Mayer and Institute Co-Chair Dr. Jenny Potter for keeping the mission on course, along with Elizabeth Nahar, a new director of administration and planning brought in after the departure

of Makadon. Nahar “joined Fenway about 14 months ago, and I think she’s been a terrific leader who has engaged TFI staff in lots of employee engagement activities and initiatives focusing on values of transparency and healthy workplace communications,” said Powers. “I came here as the director of behavioral health in 2013,” Powers said, “and like so many here, walking in the door I was impressed with the culture of compassion and dedication. For me, it really comes back to the mission. People choose to work here out of the sense of living the mission, which is all about inclusivity, attention, compassion and a focus on equity—healthcare for everyone, standing with people who have been marginalized.” “This really is a special organization,” she said. “It’s important for people to understand that the work continues and we take pride in our work and in efforts to make Fenway the best organization that we can be.” [x]

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FEATURE Tribute STORY Kim Harris Stowell Jonathan Scott with Quito outside Victory Programs. PHOTO Victory Programs

A Salute to Scott Jonathan Scott, founding leader of Victory Programs, retires Boston Mayor Marty Walsh officially declared May 30, 2019, “Jonathan Scott Day.” (See photos on page 85.) For 43 years, Jonatan Scott was the steward of Victory Programs, a Bostonbased nonprofit organization dedicated to helping individuals and families who are homeless and may have substance use disorders, often accompanied by chronic

44 | BOSTON SPIRIT

health issues such as HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C and mental illness. A student at Boston College in 1976, Scott joined the school’s PULSE Program, whose mission was to educate students about social injustice by putting them into direct contact with marginalized populations. Scott found a placement at Victory House, a halfway house for men with alcohol addiction in Boston’s South End,

becoming its first volunteer. Little did he know that this experience would set the course for his life’s work. He quickly moved onto the staff and into leadership, assuming the role of Executive Director at Victory House in 1984. As he assumed leadership, the AIDS pandemic was raging throughout the United States. Within a short time, Victory House began to accept clients with a dual diagnosis of HIV/AIDS and substance use disorder, filling a much-needed gap in the service landscape of Boston at the time. His vision led to the transformation of the organization into Victory Programs, Inc., an umbrella encompassing health, housing and prevention programs. This allowed for a significantly broader mission, while still delivering on the early promise of an “open door policy.” Under Scott’s leadership, the organization worked to identify the unmet needs in the community and figure out ways to address them, either by expanding existing programs or, in many cases, finding vital service programs in danger and taking them under the Victory umbrella. These included the Boston Living Center, Serenity Supportive Housing, Shepherd House, ReVision Family Home and ReVision Urban Farm, many of which would have otherwise closed their doors. Over the many years of Scott’s leadership, Victory Programs merged with or acquired more than 30 programs, addressing such needs as substance use disorder, HIV/AIDS, homelessness, risk of infectious diseases, and more. A revolutionary model, this program helped individuals and families address critical challenges, allowing them to stabilize from crisis and move forward toward healthier futures. During his tenure at the helm of Victory Programs, Scott also served in key leadership roles at the Massachusetts Alcohol and Drug Association, the Mayor’s Special Housing Taskforce, Massachusetts Ryan White Planning Council, Mental Health and Substance Abuse Corporation of Massachusetts, Association for Behavioral

Healthcare, and on the first board of MassEquality. After an impressive 43 years with the organization, Scott has stepped down to focus on his health. At his retirement gala, the Victory Programs Board of Directors awarded Jonathan the honorary title of Founder & President Emeritus, and announced the formation of the Jonathan Scott Future Victories Fund. Proceeds from this fund will ensure that Victory Programs can continue to address critical issues. At the top of that list is infectious diseases like Viral Hepatitis and STIs, as well as continuing to replicate successful area models and establishing new housing opportunities. He has pledged to continue with Victory Programs as a volunteer consultant. He leaves a powerful legacy, opening vital doors to recovery for individuals and families facing homelessness, addiction and more, and his vision is often referred to as the organization’s “North Star.” He continues to be active in his Provincetown community, where he now lives with his husband Mike McGuill, their son Louis and their terrier, the beloved Quito.

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh [LEFT] and Jonathan Scott. PHOTO David Fox Here, in tribute, are just a few thoughts from some of those who worked closely with him:

‘On the front lines’ “I wish there was a way to clone him! There are so many programs, all around

the country, who could use a few dozen like Jonathan,” says Larry Kessler, founding member of AIDS Action Committee and director of the Boston Living Center. “He was on the front lines, setting up housing for people with HIV, at a time when we were all struggling with how to do just that. So many people were losing

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“He is a passionate and innovative leader, working with staff in consistently developing creative, leading edge programming that offered quality services. The proof is in the number of innovative programs that have been started or sustained under the Victory umbrella of services. He’s done this by working as hard as necessary to build the smartest plan, strongest board, and most talented staff in order to get the job done. He is a successful influencer, consistently able to line up the needed resources and community stakeholders. “I worked with Jonathan for over eight years at Victory Programs, and it was probably the one of the best gigs of my professional life.”

Jonathan Scott and his son Luis. PHOTO David Fox

‘A wonderful mentor’

Jonathan Scott. PHOTO David Fox their housing, losing that safe space. And Victory Programs said, ‘we’ll take you.' But beyond that, Jonathan saw that, if we were going to make headway on the HIV front, we had to address addiction. It was then that we began a wonderful relationship between AIDS Action and Victory Programs. We at AIDS Action knew how to care for people with HIV, and Victory Programs knew about treating addiction. Each group came to consider the other a key partner. “In the end, it was just extremely comforting to have Jonathan Scott running Victory Programs.”

‘A fierce advocate’ “If you want to talk about a fierce advocate, if I was ever going into a meeting with an executive or a political

46 | BOSTON SPIRIT

heavyweight or a committee or a legislative group and you asked me who would I want next to me in that meeting, it would be Jonathan Scott, hands down, every single time. He was always about what’s right, what’s just, we’ve got to do this,” says Elizabeth Dugan, a former chief operating officer at Victory Programs.

‘A passionate and innovative leader’ “Jonathan is always intensely focused on finding “a way” to effectively respond to the relevant issues, like HIV/AIDS, the needs of those experiencing homelessness, Housing First, Harm Reduction, the Opioid Epidemic and Food Insecurity, just to name just a few,” says Jim Pettinelli, who, like Duggan, is a former Victory Programs chief operating officer.

“I adore Jonathan! I worked for him for 17 years starting in 1988 when I was hired as the nurse for the Mobile AIDS Resource Team that went into halfway houses (as they were known then—today they are called treatment programs) to educate staff and clients about HIV/ AIDS,” says Marcia Chartier, former Victory Programs’ Wellness Center director. “Jonathan is an innovator, and he saw this huge need. These were very intense times; the confusion, ignorance and fear were palpable back then. There wasn’t a lot of hope, and people were dying. “I felt honored to do this work alongside him. His passion and insight into the epidemic, and what needed to happen, inspired me. He encouraged my interest in holistic health and wellness, and I eventually became director of the Wellness Center at VPI. He was a wonderful mentor—he has that unique gift of really being present. I always felt seen and heard by him. I learned from him that when you are passionate about something and keep at it, change can happen. “My life is better because I know him.”

‘Truly my hero’ “Twenty-five years ago, I was working with our then chairman of Wainwright Bank, Robert Glassman, creating an agenda for outreach to the gay and lesbian community,” recalls Pam Feingold, senior vice president at Eastern Bank. “We felt that this community was totally underserved and under respected and

we wanted to become an advocate for gay rights. When asking around for a person to speak to, everyone said we had to meet Jonathan Scot...and a marriage was born! “Through Jonathan, we met every advocate for the gay community, every housing and service organization for not only the gay community but for the low-income community as well. Jonathan paved the way for us, and he was our role model. No one is more eloquent and passionate than Jonathan; whenever he took the podium, his remarks would bring many of us to tears. He is a role model for his passion, compassion and love of life! “I love Jonathan like a brother and he is truly my hero.”

‘A visionary force’ “Jonathan is a creative, compassionate leader. Any organization would be lucky to have him carrying out their mission. He has been a visionary force propelling vital programs; his work mitigating the impacts of substance use disorder, HIV/AIDS, homelessness, risk of infectious diseases and so much more has touched the lives of

thousands of individuals,” says State Rep. Liz Malia (11th District, Suffolk). “Jonathan’s steady hand and winning smile have steered Victory Programs through 43 years of inclusive public health outreach, and are informed by a commitment to healthy, hope-filled communities. Our communities owe him a great deal of gratitude, as do I, for offering folks stability from crisis, and the opportunity to build a new foundation upon which to grow.”

diagnosis, which happened at the same time that our dog died. A family friend died then too, and Louis was struggling. Of course, Jonathan was too, but he put Louis first, making sure he got connected with an excellent therapist. He was the one who traveled to Ecuador to adopt Louis, and he was the one who made sure the Islamic student was able to pray during the middle school sleepover. I like to say, ‘He does everything like an executive director,’ but he really just steps up.”

‘The most amazing father’

The shoulders of a giant

“Jonathan’s commitment stands out among his qualities,” says Mike McGuill, Jonathan’s husband. “He was the victim of a shooting incident, many years ago, in the course of his work, and he suffered some PTSD as a result of it. Friends told him that he needed to get out of the job, but for him, it was a turning point, and made him more committed than ever." “Jonathan is also the most amazing father. He always puts (our son) Louis first, even when he had his cancer

“He also loves his quotes,” recalls Elizabeth Dugan. “When I think of Jonathan Scott, I often think of one particular quote from Isaac Newton, who said, ‘If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants.’ I think for many, many, many years, providers in Boston, and me included, were successful and are successful today because we had the opportunity to stand on the shoulders of Jonathan Scott.” [x]

Your financial needs are unique. Brian K. Gerhardson, CFP® Certified Financial Planner Private Wealth Advisor South End Wealth Management 546 Tremont St Boston, MA 02116 617.426.3416 brian.k.gerhardson@ampf.com SouthEndWealthManagement.com CA Insurance #0D35502 Ameriprise Financial is proud to be recognized with another perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index.

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Investment advisory products and services are made available through Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc., a registered investment adviser. Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC. © 2016 Ameriprise Financial, Inc. All rights reserved. (8/16) NOV| DEC 2019 | 47

Proudly Welcoming You to MASSACHUSETTS

The area from Boston, Massachusetts' doorstep extending to the New Hampshire border is a diverse and beautiful place with historical and cultural signiﬁcance. Distances are short, prices are reasonable, and the people are friendly and welcoming. Known for cozy hotels and inns, delicious restaurants, fascinating museums and great beaches, North of Boston, MA is the ideal vacation destination for everyone. Request a free travel guide and map.

Main Photo: Motif No. 1, Rockport © Tony Paglia Smaller Photos: Salem Town Hall © Jared Charney; Harbor Light Inn in Marblehead © Harbor Light Inn; Salisbury Beach © Gary Miles; Flag Carrier at the Fair © Topsfield Fair; Giant Lobster at Woodman’s of Essex © Ann Marie Casey/NBCVB

Placesto Visit

for a Day, Week, & Longer Cape Ann Area Massachusetts’ “other” Cape is a well-kept secret. For a relaxing day of sandy beaches, harbor walls, lighthouses, and lobster, visit the four communities of Gloucester, Essex, Manchester-by-the-Sea, and Rockport. Stop for fried clams where they were invented at Woodman’s of Essex, explore antique shops, or take a river cruise. Gloucester, America’s oldest seaport, features the iconic statue of “The Man at the Wheel,” commissioned in memory of the thousands of ﬁshermen lost at sea. Sail on a schooner or venture further out on a whale watch. Art ﬂourishes in this region at the Rocky Neck Art Colony and in Rockport’s Bearskin Neck. In nearby Manchester-by-the-Sea, the aptly named Singing Beach has sand that make a distinctive squeak when you walk on it.

Greater Merrimack Valley Area Once the hub of America’s industrial revolution, the Greater Merrimack Valley has become the newest mecca for creative talents and artists as former mill buildings and factories are transformed into lofts and gallery spaces. Don’t miss the historic home of the abolitionist poet John Greenleaf Whittier, and the Museum of Printing – both in Haverhill. The city of Lawrence, once home to Jack Kerouac and Robert Frost, oﬀers stories celebrating many immigrant cultures along with a melting pot of ethnic cuisines. Discover charming New England suburban towns, conveniently situated on major highway routes including 495 and 93.

There’s a Story in Every Mile in the 34 cities and towns that make up the North of Boston region. For more information or to download a sample 1-day itinerary, visit NorthofBoston.org/itineraries. The Greater Salem Area Salem surprises guests with its abundance of art and culture, Colonial history, beautiful architecture, and a thriving culinary scene. Save time for the Peabody Essex Museum, the House of the Seven Gables, and the National Park Service’s Salem Maritime National Historic Site. The Witch City’s infamous history can be explored at the Salem Witch Museum, Witch Dungeon Museum, Witch History Museum, and the and the Witch Trial Memorial. Discover neighboring coastal towns such as Marblehead, where the patriotic painting “The Spirit of ’76” hangs, or Beverly, which boasts Montserrat College of Art and North Shore Music Theatre. Inland towns oﬀer everything from quiet country roads, to fresh farm stands, to chic polo clubs and are well worth a leisurely drive.

The Greater Newburyport Area Follow the designated Essex Heritage scenic byway as it winds its way through beautiful landscapes north. In Ipswich, stop and explore one of the 59 First Period homes and the grand 1928 summer estate at Castle Hill, as well as the adjacent Crane Beach. The charming waterfront community of Newburyport hosts festivals throughout the year, and birding enthusiasts will ﬁnd pristine Plum Island minutes outside the downtown area. Further north, Salisbury Beach is a summertime favorite for swimming, family fun and camping, while the Blue Ocean Music Hall provides dining and entertainment

When Coming to the Area

Contact, call, or email to set up some time to discuss and plan your travels to the North of Boston region. Let us support and welcome you!

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Whether you are visiting and want something to do that is native to the area, or you live here and are wondering what to do for the weekend, the NorthofBoston.org website is the number one place to start! There is so much to do North of Boston in every season. Sign-up for our emails, visit our website, or read our blog for the latest information at NorthofBoston.org

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November 2, 2019

November 30, 2019

Newburyport Art Walk newburyportartwalk.com

Peabody Holiday Stroll & Tree Lighting livepeabody.com/events

November 2, 2019 National Native American Heritage Day Pow-wow Pingree School, South Hamilton mcnaa.org

November 9–10, 2019 Amesbury Open Studio Tours amesburychamber.com

November 22– December 7, 2019 Methuen Festival of Trees methuenfestivaloftrees.com

Salem Restaurant Week salem-chamber.org

December 5–8, 2019

March 20–29, 2020

Marblehead Christmas Walk marbleheadchamber.org

Salem Film Fest salemfilmfest.com

December 6, 2019

April 24–25, 2020

Haverhill Christmas Stroll haverhillchamber.com

Newburyport Literary Festival newburyportliteraryfestival.org

December 14, 2019

May–October 2020

Gloucester Lobster Trap Tree Lighting discovergloucester.com

Vintage Baseball & Sheep-Shearing Festival Spencer Pierce Little Farm Newbury historicnewengland.org

December 31, 2019

November 23– December 8, 2019

Rockport New Year’s Eve rockportnye.org

Sea Festival of Trees Blue Ocean Event Center salisburychamber.com

Salem’s So Sweet salemmainstreets.org

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Salem Holiday Happenings salem.org

February 7, 2020

November 29, 2019– January 1, 2020

February 15, 2020 Merrimack River Eagle Festival massaudubon.org

March 7, 2020

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Salt Marsh Antiques Christmas Open House saltmarshantiques.com

March 15–19, 2020 March 22–26, 2020

FEATURE Sports STORY Tom Joyce

Patty Sheehan

Jason Collins PHOTO Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images

Local Heroes LGBT Sports Hall of Fame has strong New England connections The LGBTQIA community has its share of heroes and role models, including a number of them in the sports world. The National Gay and Lesbian Sports Hall of Fame recognizes the accomplishments of such athletes and what they have achieved for the community. From 2013 to 2015, a combined 50 people and organizations were enshrined by the Chicagobased organization. These inductions included a handful of New England connections. Here is a look at the New England natives and one other strong Boston connection that earned the honor. Andrew Goldstein—At the time he came out, Goldstein was arguably the most prominent male pro athlete to have done it. The Milton, Massachusetts native was a standout Division I men’s lacrosse player at Dartmouth; the goalkeeper was even named All-American. Goldstein came out publicly in an Outsports story published while he was in college.

52 | BOSTON SPIRIT

Goldstein came out to his teammates in 2003, terrified of what they would think. After all, he had endured many restless nights and contemplated suicide in the past because of his sexual orientation. However, his teammates were generally receptive and apologized for frequently using “gay” as a pejorative in conversations. Drafted by the Boston Cannons of Major League Lacrosse in 2005, he ended up playing for the Long Island Lizards in 2006 and the Israeli national team in 2013. The 2013 Hall of Fame inductee currently works as an assistant professor of urology, molecular, cell and developmental biology at UCLA in California. David Pallone—A successful umpire from an early age, Pallone might be remembered best for the sad way his MLB career came to an end. The Waltham native was a rising star in his industry. He started umpiring minor league baseball games at 19 years old and less than a decade later, he made it

to the big leagues in 1979 during an MLB umpire’s strike. Initially not accepted because he crossed the picket line, Pallone established himself as a successful umpire, calling the 1983 All-Star game and 1987 National League Championship. However, in 1988, someone he knew and trusted outed him in a story to the New York Post for $100—and falsely claimed he was a part of a teenage sex ring. This ended his MLB career as the league accused him of “unprofessional” conduct and determined he was unable to “fulfill his duties,” so they fired him. The following year, he put out the New York Times best-selling book “Behind the Mask: My Double Life in Baseball.” Now, he works as a motivational speaker. Pallone was a member of the inaugural 2013 Hall of Fame class. Patty Sheehan—The Middlebury, Vermont native and 1993 World Golf Hall of Famer earned a spot in this Hall of Fame in 2013.

Andrew Goldstein

The highly talented golfer came out publicly in 1998, making her one of the first women’s pro golfers to say such. A young star in her sport, Sheehan joined the LPGA Tour in 1980, the year she turned 24 years old. Overall, her career was highly-successful. She won six major championships and 35 total events on the tour. Sheehan’s final PGA major victory came in 1996, and in the late 1990s, she stepped away from the game of golf to spend more time with her family. Sheehan and her partner have two adopted children. Currently, Sheehan heads the Patty Sheehan Foundation. The mission of the charity is “improving the lives of women and children in need in northern Nevada.” Cyd Zeigler—The Harwich native is a cofounder of the website Outsports, a site which was a part of the initial 2013 Hall of Fame class. Zeigler was a star track and field athlete at Harwich Senior High School from which he graduated in 1991. Alongside Jim Buzinski, Zeigler founded Outsports in 1999 as a website devoted to LGBTQIA issues in the sports world— amateur and professional.

The National Gay and Lesbian Sports Hall of Fame recognizes the accomplishments of LGBTQIA athletes and what they have achieved for the community, including several role models from New England.

The site has played an important role in keeping gay amateur sports leagues and athletes up-to-date on the latest happenings throughout the nation. It has also featured a number of coming out stories from trailblazing athletes in the community. In 2003, the site received the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association’s Excellence in New Media Journalism Award and in 2013, Vox purchased it, so it

is now a part of SB Nation’s vast network of sports websites. Jason Collins—Although not a native New Englander, Collins does hold an important place in Boston sports history, but not for anything he did on the basketball court. The center spent part of the 2012–2013 season as a bench player for the Celtics. Just after the season ended, he publicly came out in a Sports Illustrated cover story, becoming the first openly gay male athlete in one of the country’s four major sports leagues (NBA, MLB, NFL or NHL). In doing so, Collins risked his career. No team signed him during the offseason and it was not until late February 2014 that he got a contract. The Brooklyn Nets signed him; their head coach at the time was his good friend Jason Kidd. He played in 22 games for the Nets as an openly gay black man. Following the season, however, he once again could not find a job in the league. A pioneer for gay pro athletes, Collins was a part of the Hall of Fame’s inaugural class in 2013. [x]

NOV| DEC 2019 | 53

SEASONAL Holidays COMPILED Rob Phelps

Yuletide Pride Traditionally untraditional h oliday events and sh ows

Ryan Landry and The Gold Dust Orphans continue their tradition of splendidly subversive send-ups of the season with “Christmas on Uranus,” an all-new musical comedy set in the far reaches of outer space. The troupe’s previous holiday included “Silent Night of the Lambs,” “All About Christmas Eve” and “Whatever Happened to Baby Jesus.” The tradition started in 1995 with

What originally made these events especially exciting was their untraditional take on holiday traditions. A chance to slip away from that sentimental family-friendly fare and catch something subversive that celebrates queer cheer. Over the years, the untraditional has become our traditional. Which doesn’t make them any less subversive and exciting to slip away to again and again.

‘Christmas on Uranus’

“How Mrs. Grinchley Swiped Christmas.” And the inspiration for “Uranus” goes even further back: As Landry told Boston Spirit back in 2017, “I grew up in a trailer park, so Christmas was always a bit cramped. When dinner was over, I would turn my attention to the lights on the tree, staring at them for the longest time until my eyes crossed, praying the colors would turn into a space ship and carry me far, far away.” NOVEMBER 29— DECEMBER 22 Lithuanian Hall Theatre, South Boston; brownpapertickets.com

NOVEMBER 25

‘A Drag Queen Christmas’ B

College Street Music Hall, New Haven, Connecticut; dragfans. com

RuPaul’s “Drag Race” stars simply can’t be contained, and when the holidays come around their spirits runneth over in overdrive. This season, New England gets three opportunities to catch their national touring “A Drag Queen Christmas,” hosted by “Drag Race” 11th season sensation Nina West. Getting naughty with Nina and NYC’s Lady Bunny are “Drag Race” stars Latrice Royale, Thorgy Thor, Manila Luzon, Shuga Cain, and Roxxy Andrews. This one checks all our splendidly subversive boxes! NOVEMBER 21 Shubert Theatre, Boston; dragfans.com

NOVEMBER 26 State Theater, Portland, Maine; dragfans.com

‘Dolly Parton’s Smoky Mountain Christmas Carol’ C

Okay, it’s not gay per se, and Dolly herself isn’t scheduled to appear, but how can we go without a nod toward LGBTQ-friendly Dolly, writer of queer anthems like “I Will Always Love You” and “Rainbowland” (with Miley Cyrus)? Plus it’s just plain ol’ feel-good fun. It takes place in 1930s Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee and reimagines Scrooge as the owner of a mining company town, where his callous

D volunteers enjoy passed hors d’oeuvres, signature seasonal spirits and dancing under a state-of-the-art light show. Meanwhile, its mission has remained the same: “For too many children, the holiday season is not a time of giddy anticipation, indulgent parties and generous gift giving. While a new toy will not fix every problem, we believe it can change a child’s perspective. What starts as a smile and a silly laugh can lead to a positive, more hopeful outlook. And, from that more joyful place, the possibilities are endless.”

Pilgrim House and so much more that’s naughty and nice.

DECEMBER 3–29

It’s billed as family friendly, but it’s also super-”family” friendly. Peter DiMuro’s “Funny Uncle Cabaret” plus David Parker and The Bang Group’s “Nut/Cracked” bring us two untraditional holiday dance treats in one.

Holly Folly

It’s P’town at its jolliest. Every year, the Provincetown Business Guild hosts this extended weekend-long event, “the world’s only LGBT-focused holiday festival,” with fireplaces crackling in cozy guesthouses, piano sing-a-longs, champagne brunches, a sexy Jingle Bell run down Commercial Street, a gallery stroll, restaurant specials, clubbing, entertainment and shopping galore. This year’s treats include the annual A-House Snow Ball, Pajama Drag Brunch at Bayside Betsy’s, “A Super Gay Christmas” concert by the Boston Gay Men’s Chorus (see below), Drag Bingo at the

The Dance Hall, Kittery, Maine; thebanggroup.com DECEMBER 13–15 The Dance Complex, Cambridge; dancecomplex.org

‘Nut/Cracked’ / ‘Funny Uncle Cabaret’

Emerson Colonial Theatre; emersoncolonialtheatre.com

“Funny Uncle” is an alternative non-Nutcracker dance/theater performance celebrating families of choice through an LGTBQ lens. An intergenerational cast, professional and community performers alike, illuminates the adapted holiday celebrations of families we’re born to and families of choice through stories, through dance, a mirror ball and bit of glitter. “Nut/Cracked” is the international sensation performed by The Bang Group that celebrates the sounds of the holidays with tap and percussive dance, jazz renditions

Boston Gay Men’s Chorus: ‘A Super Gay Christmas’

DECEMBER 7–8

DECEMBER 6–8 greed blinds him to the joys and gifts of the season. There’s a snowstorm, three ghosts, Parton’s heartwarming songs and a rousing message of resistance for hard times. A fresh “untradition” in the making?

Artists for Humanity Epicenter, Boston; toys4joys.org

of the Tchaikovsky score and bubble wrap. Together, they’ve become a holiday tradition for LGBTQ family fun.

Provincetown; ptown.org/ holly-folly

DECEMBER 14

11th annual Toys4Joys Gift Gala

As mentioned in our Spotlight story on page XX, the 11th annual Toys4Joys gift gala is going back to its roots, hosting the annual festivities at Arts for Humanities in South Boston, where the first big shindig took place—after its popularity drove the first year’s event, hosted by the founder in his living room, to a bigger space. Before long, T4J outgrew the South Boston place too. But over the years, Arts for Humanities grew too! The Toys for Joys Gift Gala has grown into one of the most anticipated holiday events on the LGBTQA calendar year. Revelers full of the spirit of the season and loaded with presents for kids in need watch as thousands of donated toys pile high under a holiday tree. Guests and

Twinkling lights. Stocking stuffers. Disco Santa. 200 Boston Gay Men’s Chorus members singing traditional favorites and modern classics. Come out and see how the BGMC puts the Merry Christmas in its 2019 offering, “A Super Gay Christmas.” What makes this annual extravaganza so merry and gay? For starters, numbers like “Funk That Hall,” “A Virgin Unspotted” and “Disco Santa” on the program this year. This 200-strong sound machine delivers heart-felt classics too. They’re sure to tingle your sentiments; no one leaves a BGMC holiday show without a warmed heart and a certain secret twinkle in their eye. DECEMBER 7 Provincetown Town Hall, Provincetown; ptown.org/holly-folly DECEMBER 15–22 Jordan Hall, New England Conservatory, Boston; bgmc.org

NOV| DEC 2019 | 55

SEASONAL Year in Review COMPILED Rob Phelps

Good News Some of our favorite stories from 2019 It was a summer of Stonewall Prides. Celebrations held all over New England and across the country to mark the 50th anniversary of that hot night in Greenwich Village when gay people took a stand that only grew louder and prouder over the ensuing decades. We’ve got a lot to stand up for today, with the world seemingly at another major turning point. Climate change. Technology revolution. Human rights. Major needs for political grassroots rising up again to bridge and mend-over chasms of divisiveness. And yet a steady stream of good news persists. It may not always be enough, but it’s carried us through many a “moment.” And gives us hope. Reminding us to remind ourselves where we’ve been, what we’ve accomplished over those past 50 years and all we’ve still got to do in the New Year. Here’s some of that hopeful news from this past year, summarized to help us get through more of those “moments” to come.

56 | BOSTON SPIRIT

Steve Harrington. PHOTO Marc Davino

Boston Celtics host first Pride Night

39th annual trans/ gender conference

The Celtics hosted their first annual Pride Night on January 9, presenting Steve Harrington with a “Heroes Among Us” award for his contributions to the LGBT community. The team invited Outvets to present the colors and an openly gay singer to perform the National Anthem. The Green Team cheering squad performed in Celtics Pride shirts and a big Pride flag circled the court numerous times. Outside, the TD Garden rainbow lights lit up TD Garden. That evening, the Celtics beat the Indiana Pacers 135-108.

Expanded programming helped make the annual First Event trans/gender expansive conference the largest ever. A thousand attendees participated in the five-day conference, held in late January/early February. There were over 150 workshops, including tracks focusing on transmasculine, transfeminine, trans people of color, transgender youth and families and transgender wellness. Among four dozen vendors and sponsors were DCF seeking foster homes for LGBTQ youth and BAMSI offering free HIV/HCV/STI testing. Additional highlights included the annual fashion show featuring 40 transgender and

First Event fashion show model.

gender nonconforming models of all ages, the Love Disco Ball, a job fair hosted by the Mass. LGBT Chamber of Commerce and a rousing keynote by transgender rights and prison reform activist CeCe McDonald. First Event celebrates its 40th anniversary January 20 through February 2. For details: firstevent.org.

Rep. Jack Lewis, Rep. Sarah Peake, Deborah Shields, Rep. Kay Khan, a bill supporter, Holly Ryan, Arline Isaacson and Speaker Robert DeLeo after house votes to ban anti-LGBT conversion therapy. PHOTO Arline Isaacson

Byron Rushing honored at Fenway Men’s Event

Byron Rushing. PHOTO Marilyn Humphries

More than 1,100 gay and bisexual men, transgender people, friends, supporters and volunteers came out to support the 26th annual Men’s Event in March, raising more than $620,000 in cash and pledges to support the lifesaving services and programs of Fenway Health. The annual LGBTQ Impact Award went Byron Rushing, who served on Beacon Hill from 1983 to 2019 as a state rep from the South End.

Conversion therapy ban signed into Bay State law In early April, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed into law the bill to ban the harmful practice of conversion therapy on LGBT minors. The legislation had sailed through the state’s house and senate a month before with overwhelming support. “Being LGBTQ is not an illness or a disease that needs to be cured,” said Arline Isaacson, cochair of the Massachusetts Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus in a statement. “These fraudulent treatments are cruel and barbaric. And now thankfully, they are banned in Massachusetts.”

“Ultimately, we all know this bill will ensure that children receive therapy in a healthy, evidence-based and medically sound manner, not one which fosters an atmosphere of self-hate, prejudice and intolerance,” Rep. Kay Khan, instrumental in the bill’s passage, told WBUR before the vote in the house. “Massachusetts has always been a trailblazer in advancing civil rights and eliminating discrimination in health care settings for the LGBTQ community,” she said. “This bill is a

necessary extension of these historic commitments.” With Baker’s signature, Massachusetts becomes the 16th state in the country to ban the harmful practice on LGBTQ minors. Colorado’s house and senate recently passed a similar ban but still requires the signature of Colorado Governor Jared Polis, an openly gay man, to make it law. In New England, conversion therapy is now banned in all six states.

Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley honored at Fenway Men’s Event Almost 900 lesbians and bisexual women, transgender people, friends, supporters and volunteers gathered for a festive night in early April at the 2019 Dinner Party gala fundraising event for Fenway Health. Together, they raised nearly $450,000 in cash and pledges to support the life-saving

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US Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley. PHOTO Marilyn Humphries

Boston Spirit Executive Networking Night. PHOTO Allana Ta

Rhode Island Congressman David Cicilline. [CENTER]

services and programs at Fenway. US Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley received the Dr. Susan M. Love Award. Hosted by MC Dana Goldberg, the evening also featured a fabulous silent and art auction, dinner and dancing to DJ Susan Esthera.

Boston Spirit Executive Networking Night In early May, more than 1,000 LGBTQA attendees gathered with reps from more than 50 exhibiting companies at Boston Spirit’s 2019 Executive Networking Night, which also held professional and personal development sessions tailored for LGBTQ professionals.

US Congressman David Cicilline (Rhode Island), who tried valiantly to catch a plane from DC on a stormy night that blocked flights up and down the eastern seacoast, delivered his remarks live via broadcast onto a big screen behind the podium. Citing the civil rights background of his colleague US Congressman John Lewis (Georgia) and Lewis’s support for LGBT-rights legislation, Cicilline delivered an inspiring message for tough times.

US House passes Equality Act Introduced by Rhode Island Congressman David Cicilline,

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the US House of Representatives passed the LGBT Equality Act of 2019, with every Democrat plus eight Republicans voting in favor. The approval came on May 17—the 15th anniversary of the passage of marriage equality in Massachusetts. The legislation modifies existing civil rights law to extend anti-discrimination protections to LGBT Americans in access to employment, education, credit, jury service, federal funding, housing, and public accommodations. The most senior gay member of Congress and a cochair of the Congressional LGBT Equality caucus, Cicilline originally introduced the legislation in

Nicholas Bulman [CENTER]

2015 and has fought hard for it since that time. “The LGBTQ community has waited nearly 250 years for full equality in our country. Today, we’re one step closer to that goal,” Cicilline stated upon this week’s approval. “Equal treatment under the law and a commitment to fairness and equality are founding values of our country. Discrimination of any kind is wrong and no one should ever

Maine Governor Janet Mills and GLAD Civil Right Project Director Mary Bonauto [LEFT AND RIGHT, CENTER]. PHOTO GLAD

Taranto

In March, said the Times story, he underwent surgery to further his transition. “When I was getting fitted [for his prom tux], everything fit better,” he told the Times. Teachers at the Cape Cod high school selected the initial list of candidates for prom king and queen. “Adding Bulman to the roster for prom king was a no-brainer,” teacher and class adviser Lyn Vazquez told the Times. “He’s just an all-around great person.” “It was a really fun night,” Bulman said. “Everyone looked dapper and beautiful.” Bulman plans attend Bridgewater State University and study psychology in the fall.

be treated as less than equal because of who they are or who they love,” he said.

Barnstable High crowns trans teen prom king Prom-goers at the Barnstable High School crowned graduating senior Nicholas Bulman prom king at the Class of 2019’s late-may fête. Bulman’s

friend and field hockey teammate Abby Al-Asousi accompanied him to the prom. His friend Kalyani Clarke was crowned prom queen. Reported the Cape Cod Times, Bulman’s class rallied round the 19-year-old Bulman after he came out on Instagram last summer and started testosterone treatment at Boston Children’s Hospital Gender Management Service.

Maine passes conversion therapy ban On May 29, Maine Governor Janet Mills signed into law a bill to ban conversion therapy on minors in her state—making Maine the 17th state in the US to ban the harmful practice. The bill’s passage also means that all six New England states now equal one conversion therapy–free zone.

Governor Mills, a Democrat elected in 2016, turned around the anti-LGBT position of her predecessor, the Republican former Governor Paul LePage, who vetoed a similar bill last year despite passage through the state legislature. “Conversion therapy is a harmful, widely discredited practice that has no place in Maine,” Mills said in a statement. “By signing this bill into law today, we send an unequivocal message to young LGBTQ people in Maine and across the country: We stand with you, we support you, and we will always defend your right to be who you are.” Earlier in May, the Maine House of Representatives had voted 91–46 in favor of the conversion-therapy ban. Five Republicans and five Independents joined 81 Democrats to support the legislation. The next day, the state’s senate, where Democrats hold a seven-seat majority, approved the bill. Rep. Ryan Fecteau, the openly gay house assistant majority leader from Biddeford, and also a Democrat, sponsored the bill.

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DeLaria opens P’town nightclub Starting Memorial Day weekend, DeLaria began performing in her own Provincetown nightclub. Back in early January, the award-winning actress, comic and soulful jazz singer purchased the Pied, a waterfront property in the town center that had long been the town’s sole lesbian bar, and got to work renovating the storied spot into a dinner-club-style venue. DeLaria bought it from longtime owner Susan Webster and, after revamping it into a swank nightspot, renamed the space The Club, with dining (a kitchen has been installed where the front bar was) and entertainment. All summer long, she performed regularly there with Broadway and jazz

A-listers showcased throughout the season. “I feel like I’m home. This is the club I’ve always wanted to see in the place where I always wanted it to happen,” DeLaria told Boston Spirit. “It’s something that’s been missing in the town.”

Bishop’s anti-gay Tweet backfires On June 1, the first day of Pride month, Rhode Island Bishop Thomas Tobin tweeted: “A reminder that Catholics should not support or attend LGBTQ ‘Pride Month’ events held in June. They promote a culture and encourage activities that are contrary to Catholic faith and morals. They are especially harmful for children.” The message went viral. Celebrities, including actress Mia Farrow, reacted to the tweet, calling Tobin a

“hate-filled hypocrite” and tweeting “kids are in far more danger at a catholic church than at a gay pride gathering.” Governor Gina Raimondo and Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza also pledged their support to the LGBTQ community. The Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island wrote, “We are reminded of the Israelites who fought for their freedom against Pharaoh. The story of Stonewall in 1969 reminds us of the story of Nachshon, the Israelite who first stepped into the Red Sea toward freedom even while under attack—hoping and taking action for a better world, even at a moment when all seemed lost.” Members of many faith communities, including Catholics, also gave voice to their support of the LGBT community. Rhode Island Pride organized a rally in Providence’s Cathedral

Square to give Rhode Islanders a chance to respond to Tobin’s message. In response to the backlash, Tobin issued another statement, which read in part, “I regret that my comments yesterday about Pride Month have turned out to be so controversial in our community, and offensive to some, especially the gay community…I also acknowledge and appreciate the widespread support I have received on this matter…I will be praying for a rebirth of mutual understanding and respect in our very diverse community.”

Drag queen story hour prevails in Waterville Also on June 1, more than 200 people came out to support a drag queen story hour in Waterville, Maine.

Lea DeLaria. PHOTO Tina Turnbow

Joe Lazzerini at Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul rally.

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Back in May, the “Drag Queen Story Hour” at Children’s Book Cellar had drawn a protest planned by anti-LGBT activists to be held outside the June 1 event. The story hour was an official activity of Central Maine’s Pride Festival, with drag queen Ophelia signed on to lead the event, which would be followed by arts and crafts. In response to the anti-LGBT protestors, a group of the bookstore’s patrons and local residents organized a counter-protest, called “Support the Children’s Book Cellar, a welcoming place!,” according to Midcoast Maine’s daily newspaper, The Times Record. “I just thought if they’re going to speak their minds, we should be there to demonstrate our support and not let them capture all the attention,” Waterville resident Elizabeth Leonard told The Times Record, calling for the counter-protest through a

Facebook page she created. “I think there’s massive support for the store and for LGBT pride, but we need to express it,” she said. The bookstore’s owner, Ellen Richmond, told The Times Record that she organized the event “as a way of embracing diversity and inclusion at the store.” “I’m not going to back down, because I know I’m right,” she told the Record prior to the event. When event time came, supporters filled the street. Protestors indeed gathered across the street from the bookstore, but according to the Bangor Daily News—and evidenced by the many photos and videos posted on social medial and the press— the “protesters were outnumbered by more than 200 counter-protesters supporting the event.”

“I am so full of love, and just gratitude to all of these people that are here saying thank you, what you’re doing here is important,” Richmond told News Center Maine, which reported that the event— which drew families with kids ranging from infants to teenagers—”was the largest crowd [Richmond has] ever had in her bookstore, surpassing crowds to Harry Potter book releases during the height of the series popularity.”

Bristol story hour planned, canceled, reinstated Meanwhile, over in Bristol, Rhode Island, threats of protests and violence from residents led the Rogers Free Library to cancel a planned Drag Queen Story Hour set to commemorate Pride Month. A similar event took place at a

library in Fall River, with local drag queen Naomi Chomsky reading two picture books and leading a crafting activity. It was so well-received, the library had to schedule three sittings to accommodate all the families. In the end, after receiving overwhelming support from members of the community, the Bristol event was reinstated. The library stated: “[We are] charged with the great responsibility of promoting the free exchange of diverse ideas and civil dialogue in an environment that is safe and respects the dignity of all people.” The statement also mentioned plans for logistics and protocol for the event, to “ensure a safe environment for children and their families.”

Ellen Richmond [LEFT] and Ophelia

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Carmen Carrera. PHOTO Samantha Barracca

Summer Sunset Cruise. PHOTO Joel Benjamin

Boston Spirit hosts Queer Me Out In early June, supermodel, reality television star and transgender rights activist Carmen Carrera took the spotlight at an exclusive Pride kick-off event, cosponsored by Boston Spirit, at the W Hotel Boston. Boston Spirit magazine Executive Editor James Lopata led the conversation, moderated by Boston Spirit’s Lifestyle Editor Scott Kearnan. “She was introduced to the world on the hit reality show ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race,’ back when she was still presenting to the world as a gay man,” Kearnan wrote in his intro to an exclusive interview with Carrera for Spirit. “Since then, Carrera, a transgender woman, has traded the ‘Drag Race’ main stage for fashion runways. She’s become a successful model signed to Wilhelmina, the industryleading agency that represents

Sunset Cruise

Boston Pride. PHOTO Rob Phelps

international entertainmentworld superstars, from Nicki Minaj to Nick Jonas. Carrera made history as the first transgender model to walk in famed Miami Swim Week.” An after party and opportunity to meet and chat with Carrera followed an audience Q&A.

Boston Pride Also in early June, a record crowd estimated at hundreds of thousands came out for Boston’s annual LGBTQ Pride Parade in early June this year on a beautifully blue-skied Saturday.

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About 50,000 LGBTQA people, representing more than 400 registered groups, marched along the two-mile route, which wound its way from Copley Square, into the South End, through Bay Village, along Beacon Hill, around the public garden and Boston Common, in front of the State House and into City Hall Plaza, where the festivities continued. The festivities ran all week long, from May 31 to June 11. Its theme, “Looking Back, Loving Forward,” saluted the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising, the spirit of love and empowerment from then till now, and hope moving on into the future.

Before the beautiful sunset it was all fresh breezes, blue skies—plus a rainbow!—and good vibes on Boston Spirit’s 12th annual Summer Sunset Cruise. Smack in the middle of June, hundreds of friends and firsttimers sailed around Boston Harbor on Bay State Cruise Company’s Provincetown II. Guests nibbled on tasty treats, made new friends and mingled with familiar faces, and danced to the amazing sounds of DJ Mocha. As always, 100 percent of the proceeds raised from this event went directly to benefit Fenway Health’s research and healthcare services.

Connecticut’s gay/ trans panic bill Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed into law on June 21 legislation banning the

Episcopal Bishop Thomas James Brown.

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont.

“gay or trans panic” defense in criminal cases. The means that defendants on trial for committing violent acts can no longer claim as a defense the sexual orientation or gender of their victims—in other words, the crime may no longer be blamed on the victim because the victim is LGBT. “Claiming that meeting or interacting with someone who is gay or transgender elicited some type of temporary insanity that is supposed to justify a violent crime is ludicrous, and quite frankly it is absurd that this tactic has ever been successfully utilized

in the court system,” Lamont said in a statement. Connecticut joins Rhode Island in becoming one of the few states in the country to pass this common-sense legislation. In Massachusetts, Senator Edward Markey and Congressman Joe Kennedy reintroduced similar legislation on the national level this year earlier this year.

Say Halleluiah In late June, the State of Maine has its first openly gay, married bishop. Reverend Thomas James Brown was named the 10th bishop of the Episcopal

Abe Rybeck. PHOTO Theater Offensive

Diocese of Maine, which represents 59 churches statewide, and sounds poised to bring a pretty progressive sensibility to the role. Before he was ordained to the priesthood, Brown even worked as director of education for Planned Parenthood of South Central Michigan.

In celebration of Abe Abe Rybeck, a leader and pioneer in Boston’s queer creative community, stepped down as founding director

of the Theater Offensive, the performing arts organization he launched in 1989. With Rybeck’s guidance, the Theater Offensive has continuously evolved to better serve underrepresented communities in the arts, even earning an award from the White House. The trailblazer received a formal send-off at a recent fundraiser, which garnered over $100,000 for the group.

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Blackstone’s new windows “Portland is a more welcoming place for the LGBTQ community today than it was 30 years ago.” So tweeted the Bangor Daily News in July, and to prove this assertion the BDN pointed to Blackstone’s, a popular Portland, Maine, gay bar that endured repeated homophobic vandalizing for years since opening in 1987. Since 1991, the management simply boarded up the smashed facade with plywood and plexiglass. Now, some 28 years later, plate-glass picture windows have replaced those boards. “It’s a pretty big deal. Everyone’s responding to it amazingly well. It changes the whole dynamic of the bar,” the bar’s manager Carl Currie told BDN. “We put the glass in because we’re at a point now where the bar is safe. It’s time

to open it up and acknowledge that.” “When you look at the broken glass, it’s important to recognize that those things happened—there was a huge issue of bigotry in this city—but it also reflects on how Portland [has now] accepted the LGBTQ community completely—or nearly completely. There’s been such broad acceptance. That’s why we’re the last [gay] bar,” Currie said.

Mayor Pete in P’town On July 5, Democratic Presidential candidate Peter Buttigieg, Mayor of South Bend, Indiana, addressed a crowd of hundreds at Provincetown Town Hall in early July. Buttigieg campaigned in P’town with his husband, Chasten Buttigieg. At the free public event at Town Hall, candidate Buttigieg took questions about politics

and the LGBTQ community, climate change, and the current administration. Reported the Boston Globe, “Without naming the president once, Buttigieg took the opportunity to argue that those opposed to the Trump administration are ‘probably under-reacting’ to the seriousness of the moment and its potential for changing the course of the country.” Said Buttigieg, “What it all adds up to is that it will fall to us, all of us who are alive and making decisions in this moment in American history, to decide what the rest of our lifetimes will look like.” Buttigieg talk served as the warm-up act for the LGBT youth program Camp Lightbulb’s variety show, which had previously booked the room but generously agreed to share the stage. He also attended a local fundraiser and made some surprise appearances,

including one at a local gallery where he posed beside a large portrait of himself by Provincetown artist Jo Hay.

Gender X state IDs Starting in January 2020, Granite State residents will have the option to select M, F or X to mark their gender on their state driver’s licenses and state-issued IDs. In July, Governor Sununu opted not to sign the bill (HB 669) along with the 42 others that he did sign. He let the Gender X bill pass by default without his signature. The bill’s passage into law “is a statement that even if the governor doesn’t necessarily fully agree with what was there, people’s will can be respected and the law can be put into place,” bill cosponsor and state Rep. Gerri Cannon of Strafford told New England Public Radio.

Blackstone’s

Portrait of Peter Buttigieg, by Jo Hay. PHOTO Marian Peck

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“For those people who identify as neither male nor female, this is an opportunity for them to have [an] identification document that recognizes them for who they are,” Cannon told NPR. Over in Rhode Island, as of October 1, the Rhode Island Department of Health amended the sex field on state-issued birth certificates, allowing residents to make a change to reflect their gender identity on their birth certificate. This new, nonbinary designation assigns an “X” for people born in Rhode Island who identify as nonbinary, or neither male nor female. Said Governor Gina Raimondo, “It’s really just basic fairness so that everybody can be treated equally and recognized by their government for who they are.” Meanwhile, in the Bay State, the Senates passed bill to allow residents list their

gender as “X” on state driver’s licenses—and soon to follow other documents, including birth certificates, back in April. The vote was a resounding 39 to 1, with Rep. Jo Comerford of Northampton introducing the legislation. Only Republican Senator Donald F. Humason of Westfield opposed the legislation, which moved over to the House for approval. “This bill recognizes the reality of the lives of many nonbinary citizens,” said Massachusetts Gay Lesbian Political Caucus Cochair Arline Isaacson. “There is no value in pretending nonbinary or gender nonconforming people don’t exist and no value in misrepresenting them in official government documents.”

First openly gay, Latinx woman for Boston city council The first openly gay and Latinx woman running for a councilor-at-large seat on the Boston City Council, Alejandra Nicole St. Guillen, earned voters’ support in September’s preliminary election. Voters selected St. Guillen among their top eight candidates from a pool of fifteen in the city-wide preliminary. This issue of Boston Spirit went to press before the November 5 election. If elected, St. Guillen will represent the entire city of Boston as councilor-at-large. “Alejandra has spent her career in service to others,” stated Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey. “She has perserved through great challenges in her life and these experiences have shaped her as a wife, a mom and a leader. We will all benefit from Alejandra’s fresh perspective on the Council and from her commitment to making Boston a more just place for all.”

Fresh Fruit reborn For a completely different take on the news, Fresh Fruit—a

New Hampshire Rep. Gerri Cannon.

drag-cabaret troupe that took over Boston’s Club Café in the aughties with deliciously double-entendre-filled skits and spoofy, satirical songs that lampooned everything from gay culture to American society— returned to the stage this fall for the first time in six years with a new show: “Fresh Fruit Is…Born Again!” “The world is screaming for this again,” said Fresh Fruit cofounder Michael Gaucher, whose Bitter Bitch Productions are seen frequently at Club Café, where the new cast of Fruits made their debut in October. “It’s like a live reality show going on in politics; it couldn’t be more absurd,” said fellow original Fruit Rodney VanDerwarker, speaking of all the group has to satirize. “If those freaks didn’t have their finger on the nuclear button, it would be funny how ridiculous it is.” “If you can access someone’s emotions rather than their emotional intellect, I think you can move them further,” Gaucher said. “It’s also a safety valve. People can come in and just laugh, and not feel so panicked, morose or despondent. They can laugh, and be like, ‘Yes! Thank you for making a joke out of this, because I can’t even handle it anymore.’” [x]

Mass. Attorney General [LEFT] with Boston City Councilor candidate Alejandra St. Guillen. PHOTO Alejandra St. Guillen

for Boston City Council At Large/Facebook

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CULTURE Entertainment STORY Loren King

Sasha Velour

Glorious Acts of Effort Sasha Velour’s special brand of drag comes to Boston Artist and performer Sasha Velour, winner of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” Season 9, is a fan of Boston’s drag scene. While earning her MFA at the Center for Cartoon Studies in White River Junction, Vermont, Velour often traveled to Boston to see shows at the popular drag club Jacques. “Boston drag has all the variety of every other major city. I meet up at festivals

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with queens from Boston and we talk about the local scene; there are so many like-minded drag artists working in Boston,” says Velour, citing Boston’s Neon Calypso as a friend who performs with “Nightgowns,” the acclaimed multimedia drag show produced by Velour, which ran in New York, London and Los Angeles, and still continues for holidays and special

events such as Pride and New York Fashion Week. Her connection to Boston—Velour, born Alexander “Sasha” Hedges Steinberg 32 years ago, even lived in Somerville for the first two years of her life—makes her onenight-only extravaganza “Smoke & Mirrors” at the Emerson Colonial Theatre on November 16 extra special. “It’s a dream show and I like to bring it to different drag performers and see what they think,” she says. The Boston engagement is part of the show’s 23-city North American tour, Velour’s first solo tour following her triumphant win on “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and sold-out engagements of “Smoke & Mirrors” in New York City, Los Angeles, London, Australia and New Zealand this year.

The acclaimed theatrical event is a showcase for Velour, who mixes conceptual performance art, camp, music and Velour’s personal narrative into a multimedia solo show that features lip-syncing to songs by queer icons including Judy Garland, Shirley Bassey, Barbra Streisand, Celine Dion and Sia. The eclectic show is in keeping with the artistic flair cultivated at the House of Velour, the Brooklyn-based queer artist collective that Velour founded with her partner Johnny Velour, and with the playfully transgressive sensibility that Velour brought to her season on “RuPaul’s Drag Race” in 2017. Velour describes “Smoke & Mirrors” as a hybrid magic show in which she’s the star and the behind-the-scenes conjurer pulling the strings. “Drag dabbles with ideas of illusion to begin with,” says Velour. “[Drag] used to be called ‘female illusion’ or ‘gender illusion.’ But, to me, that’s not the most important part. We use the language of pretend and magic, but the tricks don’t have to be stupefying; it’s not about reality or rules. For queer people, that’s important because the rules of gender are used to restrict or hurt us so it’s important to be fluid and transform from one thing to another or disappear in a puff of smoke. These magic acts feel like superpowers to help us, as queer people, navigate the world around us. That’s the idea and I try to take it to its furthest conclusion. “There are amazing illusions but at the same time—I hate the word, but it’s a deconstruction of a magic show. I’ll show the imperfections of the tricks; it’s clear I use video projection to create a trick. I cut myself in half [which is less challenging than] dancing with a video in perfect time. It’s complicated to create just for this little moment of fantasy. It’s a glorious act of effort. That’s what people want to see when they come to a drag show: glorious acts of effort and ambition.” Besides Boston, Velour’s family lived in California and Connecticut, but mostly her childhood was spent in Urbana, Illinois, where she lived from age 10 to 17. Velour describes those years as “mainly walking through cornfields dreaming of being a queen in a gown one day.”

Sasha Velour

“I started experimenting with gender as a kid; I wanted to be the witch or Cinderella, never the prince. Then in high school, I started performing in drag and sneaking into the local gay bar to see drag shows. So I discovered drag in the Midwest.” Velour shared her love for drag and performance with her parents “and as they learned more and more, they fell in love with it, too. My mom passed away before she got to see me fully embody my drag self. I really carry her support with me. She taught me how to sew, so I learned how to make things for myself in various ways and I’m still doing that with drag, by creating spaces, creating shows that tell my story and the story of people I care about. That’s really her legacy. My dad is a professor so now he’s a drag critic.”

Winning “RuPaul’s Drag Race” has brought more recognition and a larger audience, but Velour says what she values most is the opportunity it’s provided to improve as an artist and performer. The hardest part of the reality show experience, she says, “was the moment before I left [to appear on the show] when I was in the kitchen with Johnny sewing costumes and I felt like, ‘I don’t know what I’m doing. What am I getting into?’ I was full of fear and regret but then I just abandoned myself to the opportunity. “I dove deep into the experience. Before [the show], I never could give myself fully to my drag because I was working full time so it was just my hobby. To be able to work on it so hard, with all my energy and time, was such a gift.” [x]

artsemerson.org

NOV| DEC 2019 | 67

CULTURE Film STORY Loren King

Scene from "Different from the Others"

Billy Hough

Local Screening Celebrates LGBT Silent Classic German film with live music by Billy Hough at P’town Film Society fundraiser at Strand When the Provincetown Film Society was planning a celebration of the 100-year anniversary of cinema in the town’s Whaler’s Wharf location (now the Waters Edge Cinema), any number of silent classics or recent LGBT films would have been suitable. But when organizers discovered a recently restored silent German film from 1919, it ended up being the perfect fit. “Different from the Others” isn’t just any silent movie. It’s considered the earliest surviving feature film about LGBT people, and the only LGBT-themed movie from Germany’s progressive Weimar era (roughly 1918–1933) that survived destruction after Hitler took power. Directed by Richard Oswald and cowritten with psychologist and gay rights pioneer Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld, who ran

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the Institute for Sexual Science, the film stars Conrad Veidt, a German actor whose best-known roles include the somnambulist in the “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” (1920) and Major Strasser in “Casablanca” (1942), made after he’d fled Nazi Germany and emigrated to the US. Veidt plays Paul Körner, a successful violinist whose romance with handsome male student Kurt Sivers (Fritz Schulz) is threatened when a blackmailer, Franz Bollek (Reinhold Schunzel) threatens to expose the relationship and Körner’s homosexuality, then a crime under Germany’s notorious Paragraph 175 (which was the film’s original title). Enacted in 1871, the German criminal code’s Paragraph 175 sentenced thousands of accused German homosexual men to jail

terms for “unnatural vice between men.” Unlike nearly every other LGBT-themed film until the modern era, “Different from the Others” portrays homosexuality in general and the gay couple in particular sympathetically. It blames homophobia, represented by Paragraph 175, for the characters’ tragic outcome, not their sexual orientation. The film opened in the summer of 1919 to sold-out houses across Germany. It is credited with sparking the elimination of censorship laws that allowed artists to create works about formerly forbidden subjects. But shortly after its release, “Different from the Others” stirred controversy, and by 1920 censorship had returned and the film was banned. After the Nazis came to power, they burned the film and it was believed lost for more than 40 years. In 2012 the Outfest-UCLA Legacy Project, which is dedicated to preserving moving images with LGBT themes, took what footage had survived from the sole original 35mm print of the film and restored the film. Since much of the original footage was missing, the restoration included new English intertitles and the addition of recently found photos and film stills. “Different from the Others” was chosen by Outfest for restoration because “we have so little representation of the early queer community,” says Todd Wiener,

Scenes from “Different from the Others” Motion Picture Archivist at the UCLA Film and Television Archive. The PFS screening of “Different from the Others” was viewed as a celebration of film and LGBT history. “The story highlights the notorious law that had been on the books since the 1870s,” says Christine Walker, PFS executive director. “Shockingly, the film and the story are still relevant.” “Different from the Others” screened in June at the 60-seat Hawthorne Barn in Provincetown as part of the Twenty Summers program. The screening quickly sold out and Walker immediately wanted to take the program on the road to a larger

venue so more audiences could experience it. Boston will get that opportunity when “Different from the Others” screens December 5 at the historic Strand Theatre in Dorchester. “The Strand was built in 1912. When we visited, we felt it was the ideal venue,” says Walker. The 7 p.m. screening, followed by a panel discussion, is a fundraiser for the PFS and The Trevor Project. There is a VIP cocktail reception at 5:30 p.m. There’s also live music. For the “Different from the Others” Provincetown screening, Walker immediately thought of Provincetown favorites Billy Hough and

Sue Goldberg to compose and perform a soundtrack. Their band “Scream Along with Billy” has performed to enthusiastic crowds in Provincetown since 2006. Hough and Goldberg signed on right away, says Walker, and “created a score that is so moving and beautiful. It nods to the 1920s but still brings it into a modern context.” Goldberg was not available for the Strand event, but Hough will perform a live set with the collaboration of a vocal ensemble including Grammy-winning tenor Jason McStoots. [x]

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NOV| DEC 2019 | 69

CULTURE Opera STORY Loren King

“Fellow Travelers,” Minnesota Opera cast. PHOTO Dan Norman

Singing the Lavender Scare BLO presents Thomas Mallon’s ‘Fellow Travelers’ When author Thomas Mallon discovered that there was interest in turning his 2007 historical novel “Fellow Travelers” into an opera, his first thought was, ‘You mean the book’s not gay enough already?’ On the surface, “Fellow Travelers,” a political thriller set during the McCarthy era of the 1950s when men and women suspected of homosexuality could be blackmailed and purged from their US government positions, might seem an odd choice for an opera. But, says Mallon, the more he talked with librettist Greg Pierce and Kevin Newberry, the show’s original director, the more it made sense to him. “There is something outsized about the emotions in the book. They’re heightened generally because everything in

the book is so claustrophobic; everything takes place behind closed doors, with drawn shades. There are necessarily furtive aspects of the romance that in some ways heighten the emotions,” says Mallon in a phone interview from his home in Washington, DC. With music composed by Gregory Spears, “Fellow Travelers” the opera details Mallon’s tale of the furtive romance between powerful State Department executive Hawkins “Hawk” Fuller and young Washington, DC transplant Timothy Laughlin that begins after Hawkins secures the young man his first job as a speechwriter. Hawkins’ circle of friends and colleagues may—or may not— be keeping his secret from the prying eyes of the House Un-American Activities

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Committee. Timothy, whom Mallon says he based loosely on himself, struggles to reconcile his political convictions and his Catholic faith with his forbidden love for Fuller—an entanglement that will end in a stunning act of betrayal. Mallon, who earned his undergraduate degree at Brown University, spent five years at Harvard where he “got to see bits and pieces of Fuller’s rich, WASP world in comparison to Timothy’s. I identified with Timothy, but I’d seen enough of each world to be able to attempt the fiction of it,” he says. “The opera did a superb job with the fact that even with all the political factors in this story—and obviously it is a highly political piece of material—one of the reasons it works as opera is it is still just a story, a romance. I discovered over the years that virtually every gay man has, at one point in his life, dated a Hawkins Fuller—a guy who is

mesmerizing but not good for them, ultimately.” After nearly 10 years developing the project and raising the funds, “Fellow Travelers” debuted in 2016 at Cincinnati Opera. A minimalist chamber opera, it was hailed by critics as “Mad Men” meets “House of Cards” and has now been performed all over the country, including productions in New York City and Chicago. Washington DC will get its own production in 2020. Area audiences will get to see the New England premiere of “Fellow Travelers” when the Boston Lyric Opera stages its own production November 13-17 at Emerson Paramount Center. Peter Rothstein directs the opera, by composer Spears and librettist Pierce, which will be conducted by Emily Senturia. The BLO production stars Jesse Darden as Timothy; Jesse Blumberg as Hawkins; and Chelsea Basler as Mary

“ It was bipartisan. If you look at [gay rights pioneer] Frank Kameny, the responses he’d get in the late ’50s, early ’60s from Democratic liberals are as hair-raising from right wing Republicans. You are talking about a group [gays] almost entirely friendless, politically. ” Thomas Mallon Johnson, Hawkins’s assistant and best friend. “I was aware when I sat down to write about Timothy, I was trying to imagine what my life would have been like if I’d been born 20 years earlier,” Mallon says. “The only thing I asked Greg [Pierce] was ‘don’t make religion and politics into a joke.’ I miss my religion to this day. Homosexuality, probably more than anything else, came between me and my religion. That’s a real thing; it’s not a cliché about Catholic guilt … Timothy doesn’t see why he can’t be a conservative and Catholic and still love who he wants to love. The book’s pivotal scene is when he has his first sexual encounter with Fuller and then races to confession on Capitol Hill and realizes he can’t confess it. He thinks it is a gift from God. That’s him; he’s a braver character than the more worldly Fuller.” Mallon’s literary successes span nonfiction, including many New Yorker essays, and historical novels that seamlessly blend fictional and real-life characters. That’s especially true of “Fellow Travelers,” in which many politicians from both parties are quick to jump on McCarthy’s bandwagon. The

Red Scare was “accepted across the board” in 1950s Washington, says Mallon. “It was bipartisan. If you look at [gay rights pioneer] Frank Kameny, the responses he’d get in the late ‘50s, early ‘60s from Democratic liberals are as hair-raising from right wing Republicans. You are talking about a group [gays] almost entirely friendless, politically.” After writing a trilogy of political novels—“Watergate,” “Finale” and this year’s “Landfall”—Mallon jokes that he is “pulling a reverse Ronald Reagan and forsaking politics for show business.” His next book, which will be published in 2022, is a novel about reallife gay actor Dick Kallman who was murdered in 1980 at age 46. “It’s a ‘70s New York story; it’s one of these stories that just grabbed hold of me,” Mallon says. Kallman “had some success on Broadway and in television. The novel spans 1951 to 1980 so, in gay terms, you see this character living from Kinsey through the Lavender Scare up through Stonewall and on threshold of AIDS.” That sound like rich material for an opera, so stay tuned. [x]

blo.org

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CULTURE Reading STORY Loren King

Teach Your Children Well

Drag Queen story hour with Naomi Chomsky. PHOTO Steve Alquist

Drag queen Naomi Chomsky is still reading stories to kids Providence, RI-based drag performer and activist Joshua Kilby is no stranger to being on the front lines. He’s been involved with LGBT and social justice causes since high school. After all, anyone who chooses the drag name Naomi Chomsky wears their progressive politics proudly. “I wondered when I first started, will anyone get this name? I’m pleasantly surprised at the number of people who do,” says Kilby who started reading renowned historian and social critic Noam Chomsky while a student at Tiverton. It was during the Bush administration and the Iraq War and Kilby was not only coming out but also finding his voice as an anti-war activist. “I didn’t start doing drag until I was 30. I’m 34 now, so I started little later than most and I wanted a name that reflected my politics,” he says, “I was going to

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change it to Karla Marx but there are a few of those in the drag world, so I’m glad I stuck with [Naomi Chomsky].” But even with a background in activism, Kilby wasn’t prepared for the controversy that erupted when it was announced that Naomi would read a book to kids as part of Drag Queen Story Hour. Created by author and activist Michelle Tea and RADAR Productions of San Francisco, DQSH is now a global network of local organizations, each of which is independently managed and funded, that bring local drag queens and kings to libraries where they read books to youngsters. In June, Fall River Pride invited Chomsky to read to kids at the Fall River Public Library. When he “naively said yes,” Kilby says he didn’t realize that several incidents would converge into a perfect storm. First, a small group of extremists protested separate story hours in Fall

River and in Bristol, Rhode Island, with a different drag queen. Around the same time, Providence Bishop Thomas J. Tobin warned his congregants via a Tweet not to support or attend LGBTQ Pride Month events because they “are contrary to Catholic faith and morals. They are especially harmful for children.” “A lot of factors came together at once that fueled the controversy and I somehow became the face of it.” says Kilby. “Fall River [organizers] told me ‘we were never cancelling.’ If anything, they worried I would pull out. But I was never going to. They stuck by me. The mayor and city council, they were all supportive.” In the end, the event was a huge success. “I had to do three sessions to accommodate them all,” says Kilby, adding that Fall River’s positive community response likely helped Bristol decide to reinstate its own

[CONTINUES 75]

NOV| DEC 2019 | 73

CULTURE Books STORY Loren King

Boston Writer Isn’t Afraid of the Dark Edwin Hill’s ‘The Missing Ones’ is his second Hester Thursby mystery Boston writer Edwin Hill describes himself as “the most boring person in the world. It would put everyone to sleep if I [created] characters like me.” Instead, the characters in Hill’s second mystery novel “The Missing Ones” (Kensington) are drug smugglers, junkies, cops, missing kids and sleuthing librarians. “You wind up writing what you like. I like character-driven mysteries; those are my favorite stories and I like those with some grit to them,” says Hill, who lives in Roslindale with his partner, Michael, a lawyer. “The Missing Ones” is the second in a mystery series that began with last year’s “Little Comfort.” Both books feature the short-in-stature but long-ondetermination Hester Thursby, a Harvard research librarian who lives in Somerville and who is skilled at solving crimes.

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Hill, who grew up in Duxbury, knew from childhood that he wanted to be a writer. He loved mysteries, but it took him a while to figure out that even a mild-mannered author could explore the dark side of human behavior. “When I was young, my family would go on month long camping trips. We used to drive around in a Yellow Bronco and all sleep in a tent together. I did a lot of reading on those trips. When I was probably 11 and making the transition from children’s literature to adult literature and didn’t quite know what to read, we stopped a gas station—this is when you could still buy paperbacks at gas stations—and my mother or father, I can’t remember, bought Agatha Christie’s ‘The Seven Dials Mystery’ which is one of her early books. It’s set in the 1920s at a manor

house, very glamorous. I loved the puzzle of it, I loved the language… I finished it and thought, ‘Well, this is exactly what I want to do with rest my life.’ It took me about 36 years to figure it out.” After earning his BA at Wesleyan University, Hill worked in high tech in San Francisco for a while before returning to Boston to pursue his MFA from Emerson College. Shortly afterward, he began work on a novel. “I focused on a writing a literary mystery. I got an agent but it didn’t sell,” he says. In 2010, Hill’s career in educational publishing led him to be named vice president and editorial director for Bedford/St. Martin’s, a division of Macmillan Learning. Writing had been moved to the back burner, but it still simmered. “In the mid 2000s, I read ‘Case Histories’ by Kate Atkinson and that really inspired me to try again. I’d given up. She was doing what I was trying to do: character driven

mystery novels. Her Jackson Brodie series broke some of the conventions of mystery novels. That was the impetus I needed to get going,” he says. About the same time, Hill became intrigued with the Clark Rockefeller case in which Christian Gerhartsreiter, who’d assumed the identity “Clark Rockefeller” and falsely claimed to be a relative of the famous family, abducted his daughter while in Boston in 2008. He was eventually convicted on numerous charges including a murder committed in 1985. After years of writing sporadically, Hill began the transition from hobby to vocation. The result was “Little Comfort,” published last year by Kensington. Hill’s character Sam Blaine was, he says, “inspired by Clark Rockefeller. I always loved Patricia Highsmith’s novels, so there was a bit of Tom Ripley in him as well.” As a foil to Blaine, Hill invented librarian, Somerville resident and sleuth Hester Thursby.

“ You wind up writing what you like. I like character-driven mysteries; those are my favorite stories and I like those with some grit to them. ” Edwin Hill

He quickly followed up with his second Hester Thursby mystery, “The Missing Ones,” set on a remote island off the coast of Maine. Hester Thursby is struggling with self-doubt as she cares for a fouryear-old, when she’s summoned to the island to investigate the case of a missing child. Hill recently left his position in publishing to write full time and has just

completed the first draft of his third Hester Thursby mystery, about a for-profit university in Boston where students have gone missing or are turning up dead and it’s up to Hester Thursby to unravel why. After two novels in rural New England, Hill wanted to challenge himself with an urban locale so his new novel, due out in 2020, is set mostly in Jamaica Plain and Roslindale. “A lot of the action takes place around Jamaica Pond,” he says. The third novel, as yet untitled, will also feature a prominent lesbian character, Angela White, who appears in “The Missing Ones.” “Readers like her, so in the third book, she’ll be a major driver of the story and have a point of view,” Hill says. Hill will read from “The Missing Ones” and sign copies on November 10, at 3 p.m., at Ink Fish Books in Warren, RI and on December 8, 2 p.m., at the Duxbury Free Library. [x]

[DRAG STORY HOUR FROM 72] DQSH, which went off without a hitch, after local organizers initially bowed to protests and cancelled it. “Far from confusing children, I think [Drag Queen Story Hour] is clarifying for [queer] children to see themselves. They get to see someone like me who’s living a real life and happy but it’s also good for non-gay kids. It normalizes the whole thing,” says Kilby, who works as a supply purchaser for a Providence nursing facility. He says his coworkers and employers are supportive of his drag and activism. “I’m at a point where can’t hide it even if I wanted to,” he says. The two are very much entwined for him. “One of the biggest surprises of my life is how much I enjoy children. They love seeing this larger than life figure in front of them. They take pictures. It’s fun for me and it challenges me to do something different—I read rather than lip-sync someone’s songs in front of a semi-sober or semi-drunk crowd.” He still does plenty of that, though, hosting shows at Bobby’s Place in Taunton and performing at Providence’s The Dark Lady and in Worcester where, he says, “a big drag renaissance is

Naomi Chomsky happening.” With four other local drag queens, Kilby as Chomsky performs original skits with political commentary such as a recent show about a “dystopian Oz.” His social justice activism also continues, such as working to get the Providence Community Safety Act passed last year.

“It has helped police not collaborate with ICE and also expressly prohibits officers from interfering with people recording them. I also protest the fascists when they come to town. We’re an ad hoc group that makes sure they don’t come unopposed.” He plans to continue participating in DQSH, which suggests kids’ books for the drag queens to read but by now Chomsky has his own favorites. “I had zero familiarity with children’s literature before this. A lot are LGBT [positive] that are aimed at kids” such as “Julian Is a Mermaid” by Jessica Love. He chose “Come with Me” by Holly M. McGhee about a girl whose father shows her how she can make the world a better place for a reading in Peace Dale, Rhode Island. At his most recent DQSH in July at the Rochambeau Library in Providence, Chomsky read “Neither” by Arlie Anderson to “two sessions of elated children and parents.” “It builds a better world,” says Kilby of DQSH. “If we have to change a few minds, so be it.” [x]

NOV| DEC 2019 | 75

CULTURE Film STORY Loren King Renee Zellweger as Judy Garland in “Judy”

Noémi Merlant and Adèle Hanel star in “Portrait of a Lady on Fire”

Lesbians and Truman and Judy, Oh My! Best LGBT-themed movies fresh from Toronto film festival Among the nearly 250 movies, from Hollywood blockbusters to independent foreign films, that screened at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival were three of the best LGBT films of the season. First, “Judy,” released a little earlier this fall and anchored by an astonishing performance by Renee Zellweger; French director Céline Sciamma’s sensual and razor-sharp “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” is due in theaters in December; and the lively documentary “The Capote Tapes,” had its world premiere at TIFF. In her first musical performance since “Chicago,” Zellweger delivers a comeback role for the ages that puts her way in front of this year’s best actress Oscar race. “Judy” is an alternately haunting and inspiring look at Judy Garland’s 1968

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extended engagement at Talk of the Town in London, which took place just months before she died in June 1969, which coincided with the uprising at the Stonewall Inn and the birth of the LGBT civil rights movement. Aided by superb costumes, makeup and hair styles, Zellweger transforms herself into Garland. Not only does she do all her own singing of Garland’s signature songs such as “Come Rain or Come Shine,” “By Myself” and a heart-wrenching “Somewhere over the Rainbow” that will leave many weeping, she uncannily channels Garland’s vulnerability, quick humor, intelligence and survival instinct. Flashbacks show how Hollywood turned Garland, who started performing in vaudeville as a toddler, into a drug addict.

MGM mogul Louis B. Mayer kept her working nonstop, instructing his underlings to keep the young actress on a steady diet of pills and robbing her of a childhood. If you thought “L.B.” was mean to Joan Crawford in “Mommie Dearest” with Howard DaSilva playing Mayer as a paternal authoritarian, “Judy”’s characterization of him as a mercenary predator who caresses young Judy’s chest, forbids her to eat a hamburger, and generally abuses and exploits the hardworking, eager to please Garland will make your skin crawl. By the time of the London engagement, Garland survived a nearly five-decade career. But she’s broke and battling ex-husband Sid Luft (Rufus Sewell) for custody of their young children, Lorna and Joey (Liza, her daughter with director Vincent Minnelli, is already a young woman with her own blossoming career). She’s about to marry her fifth husband, the younger Mickey Deans (Finn Wittrock).

Truman Capote

At just 47, she is still a monumental talent with a loyal fan base but an emotional wreck who needs to keep working to pay her bills after Luft mismanaged all the money she earned after years of films, concerts and TV appearances. Her London shows are alternately brilliant and disastrous, and Zellweger manages the feat of portraying Garland’s singular gifts clouded by insecurity and drug dependency. Judy shares some DNA with last year’s too-little-seen “Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool,” with Annette Bening pitch perfect as actress Gloria Grahame, most famous for “In a Lonely Place” and her Oscar-winning role in “The Bad and the Beautiful” and who had her own share of marriage woes and career setbacks. In both films there’s a subtext about lack of agency that even stars of this magnitude had in the Hollywood in the ’40s, ’50s and ’60s. If sexual harassment, pay discrepancy and misogyny are rampant in Hollywood today, it boggles the mind to think about what accomplished, fearless women like Grahame and Garland were forced to endure in a system that was male-dominated from top to bot-tom. Garland, of course, was a premiere gay icon and “Judy” pays homage to that, with a gay London couple who are Garland devotees and who attend many of her Talk of

the Town shows. One night, after chatting with them at the stage door, the earthy Judy invites them to supper but they can’t find a restaurant that’s still open. Judy ends up hanging out with the couple in their flat and sings an impromptu “Get Happy” that brings one of her new friends to tears. Judy learns that the men missed her 1964 London concerts because one of them was jailed for being gay—England didn’t decriminalize homosexuality until 1967. “They hound people in this world,” is Judy’s quiet, empathetic response. Directed by Rupert Goold, known primarily as a theater director—he was nominated for a Tony this year for “Ink,” about Rupert Murdoch and tabloid journalism— “Judy” sometimes drifts into tortured artist/booze and dope clichés. But Zellweger is so mag-netic as she nails why Garland is considered one of the world’s greatest entertainers that she makes the film a show biz survivor story and a heartbreaking celebration of Garland’s guts, talent and humanity. French director Céline Sciamma, whose credits include the superb “Tomboy” and “Girlhood,” has created a masterpiece with “Portrait of a Lady on Fire,” a sumptuous lesbian romance set in 1770s France. A painter, Marianne (Noémie Merlant), arrives on the coast of Brittany, commissioned to create a wedding portrait of an upper class young woman, Héloïse (Adèle Haenel, of the AIDS drama “BPM”), who’s fresh out of a convent and unhappily betrothed to an Italian she’s never met. It’s Héloïse’s mother, a French countess (Valeria Golino), who’s hired Marianne because the previous male painter failed to execute the portrait. Marianne is instructed to be Héloïse’s companion and to paint her only secretly, purely from memory. What ensues is a textured, complex but engaging tale of friendship, romance, class differences, how women navigated love and lust under a strict patriarchy and, most brilliantly, the female gaze: Marianne struggles to capture an accurate representation of Héloïse. Finally, she sees her; and Héloïse allows her herself to be seen. “Portrait of a Lady on Fire,” winner of the best screenplay award at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, is an unforgettable love story that unspools at a slow burn until the final act, which blazes with an incandescence. The women don’t

end up together—no surprise, given the times, and the outcome is hinted at by the film’s opening scene. But through artistic images of one another—those they recorded, what they revealed—they keep alive a precious, private memory. For anyone too young to recall writer Truman Capote’s frequent appearances on late night talk shows such as Dick Cavett’s, the new documentary “The Capote Tapes” will be a revelation. Capote was flamboyantly gay at a time when few celebrities were and this vital, entertaining film serves as both a tribute and an expose. Making his feature directing debut is Ebs Burnough, a former White House deputy social secretary. He interviews dozens of Capote’s friends and colleagues, including Kate Harrington, the daughter of John O’Shea, the married alcoholic that Capote met at a New York bathhouse and with whom the “In Cold Blood” author had a tempestuous romance. Harrington became Capote’s adopted daughter, and she reveals fascinating tidbits about Capote’s difficult childhood as a gay boy abandoned by his mother and raised by his aunts in Alabama; his long partnership with Jack Dunphy; his estranged relationship with his mother who later committed suicide. Out writers Colm Tóibín and Dotson Rader; former American editor-at-large of Vogue André Leon Talley; and writer Norman Mailer are among the many others who share stories about Capote. Mailer’s anecdote about the fear he felt walking into a working-class Irish bar with the diminutive Capote, who swished his way past the guys at the bar, ends with Mailer saying that was the moment he understood the courage it took for Capote to simply live as he was. Capote became a kind of court jester to New York high society, escorting women such as Babe Paley, Slim Keith and Lee Radziwill to balls and parties. But that ended unceremoniously in 1975 after Esquire published “La Côte Basque, 1965, ” an except from his long-promised novel “Answered Prayers,” a thinly disguised, ultimately self-destructive exposé about Paley, Keith and their social circle that Capote left unfinished upon his death in 1984 at 59. Or did he? That’s one of the subjects speculated about in this engrossing, irresistible, ultimately sad film. [x]

NOV| DEC 2019 | 77

CULTURE Dance STORY Loren King

Backwards and in High Heels KAIROS Dance Theater tackles objectification of women in new show “My mission is to give the audience an immersive experience, like the feeling you get from listening to music or watching a film: it’s story, it’s sensory,” says Pellecchia, a Boston native and acclaimed dancer and choreographer. But Pellecchia also wants to make modern dance accessible and entertaining to everyone. She and her company of women dancers have rolled all this ambition and desire into KAIROS’s new show “Object,” a multimedia event that explores gender objectification in all its complexities and layers. Object will premiere November 15–17 at the Boston Center for the Arts Plaza Theatre. It’s a three act show that encompasses dance, film, sound design including songs by such artists as Ani DiFranco, Fiona Apple, Annie Lennox, Beastie

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Boys, Robert Palmer and others aimed at examining women’s experiences in a culture that persists in sexualizing nearly everything, the spectrum of gender, and the resilience of survivors. These are themes that Pellecchia has wanted to explore for a long time. Working on the pieces in collaboration with KAIROS dancers began in earnest four years ago. “I’m interested only in doing work that is vulnerable and that touches people and reaches people,” says Pellecchia who since 2000 has been a principal dancer with internationally acclaimed New Yorkbased Paula Josa-Jones / Performance Works. “I depend on my dancers to dig deep and make themselves vulnerable.” During the research and exploratory process, says Pellecchia, there was a seismic

shift: Donald Trump was elected president and #MeToo exploded including allegations of rape and sexual harassment against Trump and many other powerful men. “We work collaboratively and do a lot of improvising. After Trump and #Me Too, all of those improvisations got much more intense,” she says. Pellecchia recalls one of her young dancers coming into the studio the day before the 2016 election. She’d been harassed by a man on the subway, a common enough occurrence, and responded by flipping the man off. She told Pellecchia and the other members of the company how the man had yelled at her, “As soon as Trump gets elected tomorrow, I’ll be able to grab you by the pussy all I want.’’ When Trump won, “it was like someone died. Humanity did die in some real way, so everything felt heightened from that point,” Pellecchia says.

[AT RIGHT AND OPPOSITE]

KAIROS dance theater. PHOTO Golden Lion Photography

“ It brought up conversations about who holds the power. You bring something into the world and the culture looks and sees something else. Who in that moment is in power? That’s the question I’m asking in this piece. ”

Pellecchia From there, OBJECT started to gel. “The more we talked about it, I saw it was material for a piece. Around the same time, I took a pole dancing class. I’m an aerialist and I loved it; it’s about feeling great in your body and having fun but once you post [photos] publicly, it immediately becomes sexualized and something that it’s not… It brought up conversations about who holds the power. You bring something into the world and the culture looks and sees something else. Who in that moment is in power? That’s the question I’m asking in this piece.” The veteran KAIROS creative team— fashion designer Carlos Villamil, filmmaker Lindsay Caddle Lapointe, lighting designer Lynda Rieman and New York-based visual artist Corinne Chase— contributed visuals and audio that adds dimensions of texture and imagery that, Pellecchia says, “intensifies the physical story-telling.” “The first two acts are showing you what it looks like from the outside; the last act is showing what it feels like from the inside,” she says.

The playful and provocative experience starts when the audience walks through the doors. They’ll see a “Garden of Femme,” three performers in the BCA lobby. One is dressed as a femme fatale; another a nonbinary drag queen; the third, a beauty pageant contestant, all “moving statues” weaving around that challenge gender notions, says Pellecchia. On the main stage, “two badass pole dancers” will perform before the show begins. The pole dancers are barefoot while the KAIROS dancers are in seveninch stilettos, notes Pellecchia, to show the athleticism it takes to dance in them. The high heels are later weaponized to underscore their symbolism as tools of sexual provocation. “The whole thing is flipping the script. Pole dancers are misunderstood. Why can’t they be sexy and strong? Why only one or the other? This is about dismantling stereotypes.” OBJECT has already sparked some controversy. In an early KAIROS performance of the first two acts, the theater wanted to issue a warning about the content, says

Pellecchia. “There’s not an ounce of nudity, nothing; that’s part of the point of the piece,” she says. “The dancers are doing this intense, athletic dance in stilettos and behind them are fashion magazine images promoting violence against women. This information is out there and available to everyone including children. You’re telling me that because I’m making you look at it, it’s not acceptable? Nobody is preparing them when they open Vogue. We show [clips of ] old Mickey Mouse and Betty Boop cartoons that are sickening because I’m putting it in a particular context. … We agreed to use langue about how the intense images can be triggering.” It’s bold and provocative, but Pellecchia also wants the audience to have fun. “I make contemporary dance accessible, like sitting down to watch TV or a film. It’s entertaining as hell,” she says. “There is amazing dancing and I like to make people laugh before I make them cry.” [x]

bcaonline.org

NOV| DEC 2019 | 79

Calendar Sasha Velour ‘Smoke and Mirrors’

Coleslaw’s Corner If you’re looking for an out-of-this-world drag show, fix your coordinates on the Charles Haydn Planetarium at Boston’s Museum of Science. Over the last year, the 360-degree venue has become a (somewhat unlikely) host to performances accompanied by eyeblasting visual projections. Coleslaw’s Corner, the eponymous queen’s award-winning series, will bring the planetarium one last lineup of acts for the year—and bring your tip money, because they’re bound to be the boldest, most provocative specimens in this museum.

Illusion is the essence of drag—so it makes sense that, for her globe-trotting one-queen-show, “RuPaul’s Drag Race” winner Sasha Velour would want to unleash her inner Houdini. Velour, who proved to be quite the performance artist during her climb to the crown in season eight, will incorporate elements of magic in “Smoke & Mirrors.” From vanishing acts to sawing herself in half, each trick—set to tunes by Whitney Houston, Judy Garland, and more—will also offer Velour’s smart takes on topics like gender and fame.

WHEN

WHERE

HOW

WHEN

WHERE

HOW

Thursday, November 21

Museum of Science, Boston

mos.org

Saturday, November 16

Emerson Colonial Theatre, Boston

emersoncolonialtheatre.com

Kim Petras Clarity Tour Thanks to a slew of infectious, danceable singles—like “I Don’t Want It All” and “Heart to Break”—that channel the bubblegum energy of Britney or Christina in their hit-making prime, Kim Petras became a breakout pop singer even before her first album dropped. Now, it’s out—and “Clarity” is quite a vision, indeed! Petras, who first made headlines in her native Germany for her public transition at an early age, will promote this debut full-length album with two shows in Boston. And who knows? Even though Halloween is over, maybe she’ll toss in a track or two from “Turn Off the Light,” her justreleased second album of spooky synth-pop.

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WHEN

WHERE

HOW

Fri.–Sat., November 22–23

Royale, Boston

kimpetras.com

Big Freedia ‘Azz Across America Tour’ You’ve got to have big love for Big Freedia. After all, she’s been a major force in bringing bounce, a New Orleans-rooted style of high-energy hip hop music, to the mainstream. On top of that, she done it as a queer Black performer who defies easy definitions and lives entirely on her own, unapologetically authentic terms. Get ready to dance during her “Azz Across America Tour,” when she’s joined by Low Cut Connie, an acclaimed indie-rock band that updates the piano-slapping, 1960s rockabilly of Jerry Lee Lewis for the urban-hipster era. WHEN

WHERE

HOW

Saturday, November 2

Royale, Boston

bigfreedia.com

‘A Drag Queen Christmas’ Seven swans-a-swimming? We’d rather have seven drag queens-a-crackingwise, thank you very much. Spend the days before Christmas hanging with fan-favorite contestants from “RuPaul’s Drag Race” when this holiday show hits several New England cities. Hosted by Nina West, “A Drag Queen Christmas” will also star “RuPaul’s” alums Latrice Royale, Thorgy Thor, Manila Luzon, Shuga Cain, and Roxxy Andrews—as well as NYC icon Lady Bunny. Expect plenty of puns about—ahem, bulging packages—under the tree. WHEN

WHERE

HOW

Thurs., Nov. 21 (Boston); Mon., Nov. 25 (New Haven); Tues., Nov. 26 (Portland)

Shubert Theatre, Boston; College St. Music Hall, New Haven, CT; State Theatre, Portland, ME

dragfans.com

Jonathan Van Ness ‘The Road to Beijing’ As the grooming expert of “Queer Eye,” Jonathan Van Ness makes a mark with his trademark tresses and dramatic handlebar mustache. Now he’s looking to put his stamp on standup comedy. “The Road to Beijing,” is inspired by Van Ness’s commitment to mastering figure skating—he’s a big Michelle Kwan fan, and she cameoed in a trailer for the tour. So expect a night of inspiring belly laughs about the prideful moments and embarrassing pratfalls that come with pursuing a dream, plenty of behind-thescenes dish, and—who knows!—maybe even a hairdo tip or two. WHEN

Friday, November 8

WHERE

Orpheum Theatre, Boston

HOW

ticketmaster.com

Toys 4 Joys Want to brighten the life of a less fortunate child this holiday season? Take part in this annual gay-founded toy drive, which doubles as a snazzy soiree, back for its 11th installment. Toys 4 Joys attracts hundreds of attendees every year, and has raised thousands of gifts that have been distributed to underprivileged kids through half a dozen different organizations: from the Multicultural AIDS Coalition to United South End Settlements. To take part, register online and sign up to bring some toys. Then, don your festive attire and bask in the satisfaction of contributing to true holiday spirit. WHEN

WHERE

HOW

Saturday, Dec. 14

Artists for Humanity Epicenter, Boston

toys-for-joys. ticketleap.com

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Boston Gay Men’s Chorus ‘A Super Gay Christmas’ Even the most Grinch-like gay heart will grow three sizes thanks to the glorious seasonal spirit of the BGMC. With this “super” show, the jolly gents will regale audiences with holiday tunes, from classic carols to disco delights. It’ll be more festive fun than you can shove down a chimney or stuff in a stocking. WHEN

Sun., Dec. 15 and Fri.–Sun., Dec. 20–22 WHERE

Jordan Hall, New England Conservatory, Boston HOW

bgmc.org

‘Fellow Travelers’ The eras of MAGA and McCarthyism have a lot in common: Crooked government, political scapegoating, and very public persecutions, to name a few. “Fellow Travelers,” then, feels like a particularly timely contemporary opera. The 16-scene libretto tells the story of two men, government employees, in love during the “Lavender Scare,” a mass firing of gay Feds in the 1950s. From their meet-cute on a park bench to terrifying moments in an interrogation room, the tale unfolds with powerful, bittersweet passion.

Holly Folly Sure, you may mainly think of Provincetown as a gay summer resort town — but it’s also a magical place to spend the merriest, gayest time of year. Before the Christmas rush hits, head down to for Holly Folly, an annual multi-day marvel featuring piano singa-longs, dance parties, drag brunches, holiday shopping markets, and even a morning fun run to benefit local organizations (while ogling athletic Santas in Speedos). It’s a fantastic way to get into the season’s spirit—and score some truly unique gifts from P-town boutiques while you’re at it. WHEN

WHERE

HOW

Fri.–Sun., Dec. 6–8

Throughout Provincetown

ptown.org/holly-folly

WHEN

WHERE

HOW

Wed.–Sun., November 13–17

Boston Lyric Opera, Boston

blo.org

SCENE Fundraiser PHOTOS Patrick Lentz

Summer Sports Tea Dance dBar | Dorchester, MA | August 26, 2019

Victory Programs’ annual Summer Sports Tea Dance raised nearly $24,000 for vital stabilization, support, housing and treatment programs to help individuals and families face challenges like homelessness, substance use disorders and infectious diseases like HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C and STDs. This year’s event featured an ’80s revival–themed dance part with games, raffle prizes, and a silent auction including six bachelors paired with date night packages. Victory Programs thanks all the supporters, volunteers, attendees and friends for making this year one of our most successful tea dances yet!

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SCENE Volunteering PHOTOS Courtesy G4G Boston

Canoeing for Clean Water Charles River | Newton, Waltham, MA | July 27, 2019

G4G volunteers helped the Charles River Watershed Association on Saturday by removing invasive water chestnuts. These aquatic weeds grow prolifically throughout the Newton and Waltham Lakes District. If allowed to reproduce freely, water chestnuts cause a myriad of issues for the ecosystems and waterways they inhabit. For more on Gay for Good Boston, and how you can volunteer with them, go to gayforgood.org/boston.

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SCENE Tribute PHOTOS David Fox

Tribute to Jonathan Scott The Grand | Boston Seaport | May 30, 2019 Victory Programs bid farewell to Founder and President Emeritus, Jonathan Scott, with a celebration to honor his 43 years of leadership, advocacy and service to some of the most vulnerable individuals and families in the Greater Boston area. Guests enjoyed a lavish selection of small bites and were treated to a program packed with surprises, including a world premiere solo performance by Boston Ballet’s principal dancer John Lam choreographed for the event, speakers representing milestones in the agencies history, a performance by Verna Turbulence and remarks by Massachusetts State Senator Sonia Chang-Díaz, former Director of the Office of National AIDS Policy Douglas Brooks and Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh, who presented Jonathan with a Revere Bowl and declared May 30, 2019 “Jonathan Scott Day” in the City of Boston.

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SCENE Bikathon PHOTOS Jeremy Winnick

Harbor to the Bay 2019 Boston to Provincetown | September 14, 2019

Hundreds of riders and crew took to the streets for the 17th annual Harbor to the Bay bike ride to raise funds—more than $5 million since the first ride in 2013—for four AIDS service organizations in Massachusetts: Fenway Health, AIDS Action Committee, the AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod and Community Research Initiative. The full route runs some 125 miles from Boston to Provincetown, but cyclists can also opt to take a 68-mile alternate route from the upper Cape to P’town. For more: harbortothebay.org.

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SCENE Fundraiser PHOTOS Jeremy Winnick, Christine M. Hurley and CRI staff

H2B Team CRI Boston to Provincetown | September 15, 2018

Community Research Initiative once again sported their own team of riders, crew and volunteers— including their signature rest-and-water stop for all riders en route in Eastham—for the 17th annual Harbor to the Bay bike ride, which raises hundreds of thousands of dollars annually for four AIDS service organizations in Massachusetts, including Fenway Health, AIDS Action Committee, the AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod and CRI—the New England community-based nonprofit dedicated to HIV and hep C clinical research, treatment education, and financial assistance for approved drug treatments and health insurance coverage. For more, visit crine.org

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SCENE Pride PHOTOS Megan McGory Gleason and NHVdrag/Daniel Eugene

Pride New Haven All over town | New Haven | September 15–22, 2019

Over 7,500 (nearly 10,000 counting unofficial events) queer folks participated in PRIDE New Haven’s LGBTQ+ Pride Event this September. This years’ event, which spanned eight days, featured more than 100 LGBTQ+ speakers and artists and included a variety of events from socials to arts & culture events to an 8-hour block party! Pride New Haven really includes something for everyone. Check out more photos and information on this years’ line up at pridenewhaven.org.

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SCENE Gala PHOTOS Leise Jones Photography

Come Out and Celebrate Event Crowne Plaza Hotel | Natick, MA | September 28, 2019

OUT MetroWest honored Perry Cohen, founder and executive director of The Venture Out Project, at this year’s annual Come Out & Celebrate event, which raises funds for OUT MetroWest’s LGBTQ youth programs. In his keynote speech, Cohen told the story of coming into his identity as both a transgender man and as a community leader. He encouraged audience members to consider the ways one can align one’s passions and values with everyday life. Cohen’s speech drew a standing ovation from the crowd of 250 guests. The event raised $150,000 to support these programs, thanks in part to sponsorships from organizations such as Avidia Bank, Boston Children’s Hospital, Eastern Bank, MullenLowe, and Vertex.

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SCENE Awards PHOTOS Matt Kurkowski

HistoryMaker Awards St. Botolph Club | Boston | October 3, 2019

The HistoryMaker Awards event, presented by The History Project, celebrates Boston’s LGBTQ history and recognizes the community members and organizations who make history every day. The 2019 HistoryMaker Award was presented to Cambridge City Councillor Denise Simmons at The HistoryMaker Awards. The 2019 Lavender Rhino Award went to Reverend Mary Martha Thiel and Rabbi Sara Paasche-Orlow of the LGBTQ Seniors Initiative at Hebrew SeniorLife. For more: historyproject.org

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SCENE Gala PHOTOS Dylan Azari

LBGT Asylum Task Force Gala DCU Center | Worcester | October 5, 2019

The LGBT Asylum Task Force hosted its third annual gala, themed “Building Bridges of Hope.” It was a sold-out event at which 500-plus supporters dined, danced and heard about the remarkable journeys of some of the LGBTQ asylum seekers that the Task Force is supporting. The Task Force offers housing, food, connection to pro bono attorneys, and medical and mental health resources for LGBTQ people fleeing persecution in their home countries. For more: lgbtasylum.org.

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SCENE Banquet PHOTOS Pride Across Generations

Pride Across Generations Framingham State University | Framingham | October 11, 2019

BayPath Elder Services and Framingham State University cosponsored the third annual Pride Across Generations Banquet, an evening of dinner, dialogue and entertainment celebrating the varied journeys, lived experiences and accomplishments of the LGBTQ community across all living generations. This year’s banquet was held on National Coming Out Day and marked the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising. Each year, the event acknowledges the efforts and strides of each generation to promote equity, challenge structural and systemic barriers to equality, and to simply live truthful and authentic lives. For more on BayPath Elder Services, visit baypath.org.

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SCENE Pride PHOTOS Owen Leavey Photography

Pride Vermont Pride Center of Vermont | Burlington | September 8, 2019

Celebrating and supporting Vermont’s LGBTQ community of all ages, over 4,000 people—a record crowd—filled the streets of Burlington for Vermont’s annual Pride Parade, which spilled into Battery Park for the Pride Festival. Since 1983, thousands have come together to celebrate the rich diversity that is the LGBTQ community of Vermont. Organizers are already gearing up for next year’s Pride Vermont, which will take place on September 13, 2020.

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SCENE Festival PHOTOS LOCS Collective

Melanin Pride Festival II Boston/Cambridge | October 11–13, 2019

The Lesbians of Color Symposium (LOCS) Collective, Inc. hosted the second annual Melanin Pride Festival (MPF) in Cambridge and Boston. A renaissance in celebration and recognition of LGBTQIA+ people of color in film and visional arts, the weekend-long event featured film screenings, an art exhibition and talks. The event included feature-length and short films from around the globe and an art exhibition dedicated to the resilience, innovation and narratives of the community. The Museum of Fine Arts, The Brattle Theatre, ArtsEmerson, and Wicked Queer cohosted the film screenings. The festival sponsors included The Fenway Institute and Roxbury Innovation Center. MPF’s mission is to magnify the visibility of underrepresented and marginalized populations. Through partnerships and collaborations, MPF create a network that aims to expand the importance of creating spaces and sustaining platforms for LGBTQ+ POC filmmakers and visual artists. Melanin Pride Festival III will return October 9–11, 2020.

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CODA Song Scott Kearnan Billy Gilman [SPIRIT] Tell us about the meaning of “Soldier.”

Coming Out Country

[GILMAN] It’s on behalf of fighting against discrimination and for equality, of course—I’ve been singing those themes throughout my career. But when I sing it, I’m also singing about my career. I could never get over past relationships with people—for whom I made a lot of money—that just go away when you’re not needed anymore. You’re a huge person in this industry, you love what I do, you believe in what I do and sing, but you’re not going to help. I just couldn’t get over that. It’s a fight, business-wise. But I will always be a singer and find success. [SPIRIT] Do you think the country-music industry turned its back because of your sexuality? [GILMAN] I don’t know all the real

reasons. I remember sitting in a record label meeting once—I had this great Rhode Island native Billy Gilman brings himself ‘Home for the Holidays’ song, and of course the lyrics were about “she” and “her.” Maybe they saw through [SPIRIT] How did you come to realize you were gay? that—I didn’t see it, at that point in my life—because they looked at me and said, With “One Voice,” Billy Gilman made his[GILMAN] Honestly, I was a personality “Our roster is already heavily male right tory. The first single from his 2000 debut before I was a person. I was so delayed now.” I said, “There’s always room for one album not only earned him a Grammy in coming into who I was—what I liked, more!” And they said, “We just don’t like nomination—it made Gilman, then 12 what I didn’t like. I’d get recognized; my our men in country singing like Carrie years old, the youngest male artist in guard was always up. When I started Underwood.” Bingo! And that began my history to score a solo top-40 hit on the songwriting, that’s when things started soul searching: What am I gonna do with country music charts. Soon, he was travel- to change for me. In my formative years, my voice, that doesn’t really fit in here? ing the world—and on top of it. I knew something was different. I tried But then his career cooled. He grew up. the formula, being with a girl—but it [SPIRIT] You recently performed the National His voice changed. There were whispers didn’t feel right. I didn’t equate that with Anthem at GLAAD’s 2020 Presidential about his sexuality in the country-music Candidate Forum on LGBTQ Issues. being part of the LGBTQ community. industry, and record execs stopped calling. That didn’t enter my brain until I What was that like? And do you think it’s So what did he do? He spoke his truth. important to be political in your music? was a little older. I was fitting into a Gilman came out as gay in a YouTube script. I had to shove things down. [GILMAN] I could probably be out there video in 2014, earning even more fans for stronger, more in-your-face and fingerhis courage and candor. Two years later, [SPIRIT] Why’d you come out via YouTube? pointing. Right now, the White House repositioned in a more pop-music mold, [GILMAN] I got wind that a magazine wanted is a circus. It’s astonishing, in a negative he reintroduced himself to audiences way. But I’m not going to go there. At the to spew it. I said, “I’ve got to do this. I on NBC’s hit reality singing show, “The end of the day, I know many Republican don’t want to do a magazine cover or big Voice.” (How appropriate!) He earned gays who voted for Trump, which is crazy. article—it’ll look like I’m desperate, or standing ovations, placed runner-up, and But I remain Switzerland. I will tell you, people are going to think I’m using this started making music again—including it was absolutely awe-inspiring, to hear to push a record.” I thought, I’ll just do a “Soldier,” his new, anthemic single about Kamala Harris speak. She is a woman on YouTube video; if it goes viral organically, standing your ground and fighting back. a mission. And seeing Mayor Pete stand so be it. It had 4 million views in less On Sunday, December 15, the Rhode there, with a ring on his finger, I thought— than 72 hours. What was crazy was the Island native—who still keeps a place in that’s my ring, that ring embodies my response I got from kids that don’t have Providence—will get merry and gay for life too. I never had the back of my hair the fortunate situation I did. You know, “Home for the Holidays,” a concert of stand up about something political. [x] I’m not a sheltered person. All I’ve done seasonal classics and other favorite songs is work and travel, my entire life. But you billygilman.com; thevetsri.com to Veterans Memorial Auditorium in don’t realize how sheltered you are until Providence. But before he sings, he spoke you hear these stories. They don’t even with Spirit. sound real, that’s how scary they are.

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