pgn Philadelphia Gay News LGBT NEWS SINCE 1976
Vol. 43 No. 9
Gender-free IDs to debut in Philadelphia PAGE 2
March 1-7, 2019
HONESTY • INTEGRITY • PROFESSIONALISM
Sandy Hook tragedy comes to Philadelphia stage
Family Portrait: Lori Schreiber has voters in her court PAGE 19
Newseum exhibition to display LGBTQ history
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Grand jury: Phila. detective ‘groomed’ young men and assaulted them
By Josh Middleton PGN Contributor
By Victoria A. Brownworth PGN Contributor
On March 8, the front pages of nearly a dozen national LGBTQ newspapers — including this one — will be lined up along the front of the Newseum in Washington, D.C. The presentation kicks off the opening weekend of a new exhibition at the newsand media-centric museum called “Rise Up: Stonewall and the LGBTQ Rights Movement,” which commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots and highlights how savvy activists around that the time utilized protest and their free-speech rights to fuel the crusade for LGBTQ equality. “In the early days, you had activists publishing their own newspapers in order to get the word out about activism and to make change,” said Patty Rhule, vice president of content and exhibit development at the Newseum. “So we thought [the Stonewall anniversary] was a great opportunity to show how everyday Americans used the power of the press and free speech to make change and [gain] equality for LGBTQ Americans — and to show how vibrant the First Amendment was then and still is now.” “Rise Up” spreads across multiple rooms on the sixth floor of Newseum. Viewers can reach it via dramatic glass elevators that open to a giant sculpture — almost like a tunnel — leading to a brick wall that emulates the iconic Stonewall Inn. “There we talk about the prelude to Stonewall — what life was like for a gay American during that time period, when showing affection could get you arrested, when you could lose your job if it was found out,” Rhule said. Those ideas are made real on a wall plastered with disturbing headlines from the 1950s and ’60s that show how pervasive negative attitudes about homosexuality were then. One from the Washington Post in 1950 blares, “Names of 200 Perverts Listed for Firing by U.S. Agencies,” while another, from the Coronet the same year, warns that homosexuality is the “New Moral Menace to Our Youth.” The story takes a decidedly more victo-
Among the sordid details in former Philadelphia Police Detective Philip Nordo’s multiple-count indictment was that he routinely sought “homosexual inmates” who were being prepared for release. A grand-jury report stated that Nordo “regularly volunteered to transport suspects or witnesses for other detectives.” He would use the time alone with these men to allegedly ask personal questions that might allow him to cultivate relationships, which he would then use to his own ends, according to the report. In one incident detailed by the grand jury, a victim reported in 2005 that Nordo began questioning him about the robbery for which he’d been arrested. Nordo told the man he “didn’t have anything to worry about.” But in what would be revealed by the grand jury to be the detective’s pattern in these cases, he shifted the questions to sex. The man said Nordo asked to see his BARBARA GITTINGS IN A SEGMENT OF THE LGBT EXHIBIT AT THE NEWSEUM Photo: Newseum
rious turn in the main exhibition hall, spotlighting the Stonewall riots that began in the wee hours June 28, 1969, and how the uprising turned the tide in the struggle for equal rights for queer Americans. Interactive displays dot the gallery, introducing viewers to well-known and obscure LGBTQ activists from throughout the decades — folks you may not find in history books, such as Barbara Gittings, who initiated the nation’s first gay protests in Philadelphia; civil-rights pioneer Frank Kameny; and San Francisco politician Harvey Milk. Rhule said curators scoured the country for artifacts to bring the story to life. Guests will find “gay Betsy Ross,” Gilbert Baker’s original prototype of the gay flag and the sewing machine he used to stitch it together. There is a button from the first Christopher Street Gay Liberation Day in 1970, an armband worn
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City promotes safer sex with new PrEP campaign PAGE 6
penis. When the suspect did not respond, Nordo asked “if he was too scared — and then he walked over to the suspect and began groping him,” the grand jury wrote. Nordo then allegedly told him to masturbate and watched as the suspect did. The man said the detective kissed him during the incident. When the masturbation ended in ejaculation, Nordo gave the man a cigarette. He was sent back to jail after that. The victim reported the incident to jail employees. He told police that the cigarette and a tissue with his semen on it could be found in the interrogation room. These items were tested for DNA and found to be that of the victim. The grand jury does not explain whether any disciplinary action was taken against Nordo at the time — a full dozen years before Nordo was fired. (The grand jury report noted the victim has since died in a homicide in 2015 and the case has not been solved.) Nordo, 52, last week was arraigned and ordered held without bail over the objection of his attorney, Michael T. van der Veen, who said PAGE 16
Donald Carter, ‘Mayor of the Gayborhood,’ dies By Lenny Cohen PGN Contributor Few people can simply be famous for being famous, by their wholeheartedness and friendliness. Donald Carter was one of those rare people. He was found dead Feb. 25 in his West Philadelphia apartment. Early reports indicate he had suffered a massive heart attack. Carter was 69. William Way Community Center (WWCC) executive director Chris Bartlett remembered Carter’s intelligence and appearance. “I have a very warm spot in my heart for Donald, who always showed up at every community event in his suit, tie and scarf,” Bartlett said. “He also was a font of knowledge about community history, and shared with me his personal file of obituaries when I was creating the Gay History Wiki.”
DONALD CARTER IN THE 2012 PRIDE PARADE Photo: Scott A. Drake
How popular was Carter? “Not only was Donald a cheerleader, but he was the pep rally,” said Philly Pride PAGE 7 Presents executive