6/12/19 v10i24

local name global coverage june 12, 2019 vol. 10 // issue 24

2019

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6.12.2019 •

3

NEWS highlight

SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Campaign Urges Action to Honor the Victims of Pulse This week marks three years since the massacre in Orlando

T

- Brian Silva

Jesse Monteagudo

Correspondents

Dori Zinn • Donald Cavanaugh • Christiana Lilly • Denise Royal • David-Elijah Nahmod

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Dana Rudolph • Ric Reily • Terri Schlichenmeyer

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Pulse several months after the attack.

Photo credit: WalterPro 4755 via Flickr.

LGBT and Latinx communities by asking partners to provide events where volunteers can give back. Anything is possible. The second part encourages people to post about what they are doing with the hashtag #honorthemwithaction.

The posts and events will be displayed in real time. The campaign began as a way for the community to share on social media how they honored those impacted by Pulse by

MEMBER

taking actions in their community to combat discrimination.

All kinds of actions, from coming out to standing up for others, have been recorded in the past three years. This is the first year for public events by organizations where people can give back and make a difference where they live.

Millions of people have taken part since 2016.

There are several events honoring the Pulse victims in South Florida, including some at Stonewall Pride. You can find them at honorthemwithaction.org/events.

MEMBER

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Associated Press •

6 . 12.2019

Norm.Kent@sfgn.com

CEO • Pier Angelo Guidugli piero@sfgn.com Associate Publisher / Executive Editor • Jason Parsley Jason.Parsley@sfgn.com

Senior Features Correspondents

COVER: SFGN’S ANNUAL OUT50 EDITION. PHOTO VIA ADOBE STOCK.

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Publisher • Norm Kent

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his week marks three years since the massacre at Pulse in Orlando. In one of the deadliest shootings in U.S. history, 49 people were killed and 53 others injured.

In the aftermath, many looked for ways to honor the victims, survivors, and their loved ones.

That’s the motivation for #honorthemwithaction (HTWA), now in its third year. The national campaign is cochaired by Equality Florida, Contigo Fund, and the National Equality Action Team (NEAT).

“We want to honor the victims by doing something and taking action,” said Brian Silva, founder and executive director, NEAT. “We want to create a world where this type of hate and this level of violence will not be tolerated. This is the first year where we are going full into it. Any organization can register to take part.”

HTWA has two parts. The first part has a national week of service (June 8-16) to the

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2520 N. Dixie Highway • Wilton Manors, FL 33305 Phone: 954-530-4970 Fax: 954-530-7943

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Denise Royal

“We want to create a world where this type of hate and this level of violence will not be tolerated.”

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June 12, 2019 • Volume 10 • Issue 24

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All of the material/columns that appears in print and online, including articles used in conjunction with the AP, is protected under federal copyright and intellectual property laws, and is jealously guarded by the newspaper. Nothing published may be reprinted in whole or part without getting written consent from the Publisher, at his law office, at Norm@NormKent.com. SFGN, as a private corporation, reserves the right to enforce its own standards regarding the suitability of advertising copy, illustrations and photographs.

Copyright © 2019 South Florida Gay News.com, Inc.

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6.12.2019 •

5

NEWS local

Wilton Manors Celebrates Pride The parade takes place Saturday at 4 p.m .

Denise Royal

F

or two decades, Wilton Manors Stonewall Pride Parade has put on a celebration that attracts people from around the world.

But this year is the 50th anniversary of the colors from the Pride Flag. Those vibrant hues Stonewall riots, and the 20th anniversary of colorful ribbons will also be on display in of Wilton Manors Stonewall Pride, and the City Hall lobby. organizers are turning up the heat with The ribbons represent every unique entertainers, events, an over-the-top parade, individual exemplified by the varying colors, and much more. sizes, and lengths, embracing that all people “This year we added a Black Pride stage, bring their own uniqueness, differences, Latinx Pride, and many other areas aimed at diversity, and personality. This installation including a wider audience,” said Jermaine is made up of about six miles of ribbons to Clayton, vice president of operations for create this unique work.

Wilton Manors Entertainment Group. “We “Hopefully, people will pause to consider just want everyone to feel included. There’s the variety and differences of colors and something for everybody.” shape and the uniqueness of all humans it Wilton Manors Stonewall represents,” said Wilton Art’s Pride is designed as a time to Matthew Gil. remember the past, celebrate The activities pick up on the present, and commit to Wednesday, June 12 with Out the future. The Stonewall riots Social hosted by SFGN. It are among the past events to takes place at the Richardson commemorate this year. The House at 1937 Wilton Drive in riots were 50 years ago this Wilton Manors. month and sparked a pivotal On Friday, June 14, it’s moment in history. It was a the second annual “Our flashpoint igniting the modern Night Out” Party. This kickgay rights movement. What off celebration features began as an unannounced Todrick Hall, over-the-top - Jermaine Clayton Wilton Manors police raid became a resistance musical performances, Entertainment Group of oppression on June 28, 1969. celebrity entertainers, and Vice President of Three images from those six show stopping musical Operations days of revolution are displayed performances.

The on six window panels at Wilton extravaganza starts at 7 p.m.

Manors City Hall for the remainder of June. at the Crystal Ballroom at the Manor.

This display serves as a reminder of the General admission tickets are $20; VIP struggles of the previous two generations. tickets are $80. The Wilton Drive Art Walk Those who sacrificed years earlier fought also takes place on Friday — artists and for the freedoms many young LGBT people crafters will line the drive. now experience. It’s crucial to remember The main attraction of Pride is June 15 from that Pride isn’t only about partying. It’s about 3 p.m. until 11 p.m., with the Parade kicking off honoring those who fought for equal rights at 4 p.m. There is a $5 admission, payable at and making sure we continue to make strides the entry gate or you can pre-pay online. This in the future. admission helps to cover the cost of security There will be several other signs of Pride for the event. around Wilton Manors throughout the “This year many entrances to Wilton month. Gay pride is synonymous with the Drive will be closed off to help direct traffic

“We just want everyone to feel included.

There’s something for everybody.”

Wilton Manors Stonewall Pride Parade 2018.

Photo by JR Davis.

and increase security,” Clayton said. “We know that people are on edge after the Pulse massacre. We have private security in addition to Wilton Manors police.”

A pre-pay entrance bracelet includes a free frozen drink (must be 21 or over for an Absolut frozen drink).

“The main complaint we get is about the

heat,” Clayton said. “This year, we will set up additional water stations, where people can fill up and cool off. We want to make sure everyone stays hydrated. People can also go into any bars on the drive to cool down. We also added our VIP area back; it’s an air-conditioned area with designated seating.”

Here’s more information on the six stages and entertainment provided by the bars and restaurants of Wilton Drive: Iheart Radio / Iheart Media 93.9 CENTER STAGE: COMPANY B Live DJ / Producer Alex Ferbeyre Hosted by Shawn Palacious & Gigi 93.9 Hunter Wilton Manors STAGE: CeCe Peniston Live Ultra Naté Live Hosted by Nicole Halliwell The Manor STAGE: DJ JPS of Power96 Miami - 96.5 FM with After Party following DJ Kidd Madonny

LATIN STAGE: Various live instrumentalists & vocalists Rumors Bar & Grill STAGE Rails Marketing Group BLACK PRIDE STAGE: Tae Henry Live Nikki Blaq Live Joel Buckley Brent Love Live DJ Tpromix DJ Terry Hosted by MC Nic Nac

There will also be free HIV testing along Wilton Drive. For more information on Wilton Manors Stonewall Pride, visit wiltonmanorsstonewall.com.

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6.12.2019 •

7

NEWS national

All of Trump’s Anti-LGBT Actions Since Last Pride And a few welcome moves

Chris Johnson Washington Blade

Anti-LGBT activist Ginni Thomas with Trump’s national security adviser, John Bolton.

Photo via Facebook.

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resident Trump acknowledged Pride month via Twitter last week, but his well wishes for the LGBT community fell on skeptical ears following the extensive anti-LGBT actions of his administration.

In just the year since last Pride, the tally of anti-LGBT actions from the Trump administration dwarves the number of good things that have come from his presidency for the LGBT community.

With Pride celebrations underway, the Blade presents a list in no particular order of Trump’s positive and negative actions with direct impact on the LGBT community since 2018’s Pride celebration.

1. Embracing the Masterpiece Cakeshop decision

2. White House meeting with Ginni Thomas

President Trump continues to meet with anti-LGBT activists in the White House, including a recent highprofile discussion with Ginni Thomas, the wife of conservative U.S. Associate Justice Clarence Thomas.

The New York Times reported Trump met in January with anti-LGBT activists led by Thomas in the Roosevelt Room of the White House. As Trump was reportedly “listening quietly,” Denying the members of the group denounced transgender people serving in the transgender ban is, U.S. military. in fact, a ban; the In addition to decrying transgender military service, the anti-LGBT policy prohibits activists said women shouldn’t serve anyone who has in the military “because they had less muscle mass and lung capacity than undergone gender men.” They also said the Supreme reassignment Court ruling for marriage equality is “harming the fabric of the United surgery from States” and sexual assault isn’t enlisting in the pervasive in the military, according to the New York Times.

When the U.S. Supreme Court issued a narrow ruling last year in favor of Colorado baker Jack Phillips, many observers saw the decision as limited. After all, justices declined to find the First Amendment right Phillips asserted to refuse to make custom-made wedding cakes for same-sex couples. military.

But the Trump administration fully embraced the decision as a 3. Coming out win for “religious freedom.” White against the Equality Act House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the court “rightly concluded” the Colorado Civil Rights In the same week the U.S. House voted to approve Commission “failed to show tolerance and respect” for the Equality Act, legislation that would amend the Civil Phillips’ religious beliefs.

Rights Act of 1964 to ban anti-LGBT discrimination, Soon after, the Labor Department issued guidance Trump came out against the bill. to ensure enforcement of LGBT non-discrimination In an exclusive statement to the Blade, a senior rules complied with the ruling’s deference to religious administration official said Trump opposes the Equality freedom, even though the Trump administration wasn’t Act based on unspecified “poison pill” amendments to required to take that action. the legislation.

“The Trump administration absolutely opposes discrimination of any kind and supports the equal treatment of all; however, this bill in its current form is filled with poison pills that threaten to undermine parental and conscience rights,” the official said via email.

4. AIDS advisory council restaffed One year after firing all members of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS without explanation as first reported by the Blade, Trump restaffed the advisory body with 11 new appointees.

Carl Schmid, deputy director of the AIDS Institute, and John Wiesman, secretary of health in Washington State, were named as co-chairs for the advisory council. Months later, the Department of Health & Human Services named nine additional members to PACHA from a variety of professions, including the pharmaceutical industry, activism and academia.

5. Trans military ban implemented After the U.S. Supreme Court essentially green lighted Trump’s ban on transgender people in the military, the Defense Department implemented the policy in April.

Denying the transgender ban is, in fact, a ban; the

policy prohibits anyone who has undergone gender reassignment surgery from enlisting in the military and requires anyone who identifies as transgender to serve as their biological sex (which would be a small number of transgender people.) Although transgender people who were already serving openly won an exemption, individuals who are diagnosed in the future with gender dysphoria or obtain transition-related care would be discharged.

6. Brief against trans protections under Title VII In a brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court not to take up a case seeking clarification on whether antitrans discrimination is a form of sex discrimination under federal law, the Trump administration asserted the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals wrongly decided transgender people have protections under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. “The court of appeals’ conclusion that gender-identity discrimination categorically constitutes sex discrimination under Title VII is incorrect,” the filing says. “As discussed above, the ordinary meaning of ‘sex’ does not refer to gender identity…The court’s position effectively broadens the scope of that term beyond its ordinary meaning. Its conclusion should be rejected for that reason alone.” flip the page for more 

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6 . 12.2019

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9

NEWS national 7. List of anti-LGBT appointments grows

Trump announced the rule was final during a speech in the White House Rose Garden on the National Day of Prayer.

The U.S. Senate continues to confirm Trump’s 11. appointments, many of whom have long anti-LGBT records. The latest will reportedly be former Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, who once said homosexual acts are Weeks after “against nature and are harmful the conscience to society,” for a position at the Department of Homeland Security. rule was final, Other confirmations include U.S. the department District Judge Howard Nielson of Utah, who as an attorney argued announced a a gay judge shouldn’t be able to proposed rule decide the case against California’s seeking to undo Proposition 8, and U.S. District Judge Chad Readler of Ohio, who regulations as acting assistant U.S. attorney in health care general, penned his name to briefs against anti-trans in favor of the transgender military ban and against LGBT protections discrimination. under Title VII. 8. Includes a few appointments from the LGBT community A handful of Trump’s appointments are from the LGBT community. Among them is former Log Cabin Republicans Executive Director R. Clarke Cooper, whom Trump appointed to a senior position at the State Department for political-military affairs. The Senate confirmed Cooper in April.

Other new LGBT appointments are Mary Rowland, a lesbian with ties to the LGBT group Lambda Legal whom Trump named to a federal judgeship in Illinois and Patrick Bumatay, a gay federal prosecutor whom Trump named for a seat on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. Both nominations are pending before the Senate.

9. Draconian anti-trans memo leaked An explosive report in the New York Times last year exposed a planned memo within the Department of Health & Human Services that would effectively erase transgender people from federal law, igniting a massive outcry among transgender rights supporters.

The proposal reportedly asserts Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which bars sex discrimination in schools, doesn’t apply to transgender people and calls for government agencies to adopt an explicit and uniform definition of sex “on a biological basis that is clear, grounded in science, objective and administrable.”

A dispute about one’s sex, the New York Times reported, would have to be clarified using genetic testing.

10. Anti-trans ‘conscience rule’ is final The memo as described by the Times never came to light, but months later HHS did implement an anti-trans “conscience rule” allowing health care providers to opt out of procedures over which they have religious objections, including abortions or gender reassignment surgery.

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HHS seeks to undo trans health rule HHS wasn’t done. Weeks after the conscience rule was final, the department announced a proposed rule seeking to undo regulations in health care against anti-trans discrimination.

The Obama-era regulations asserted Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, which bars sex discrimination in health care, also covers discrimination on the basis of gender identity. Under the Trump rule, HHS would disavow those protections. (The Obama-era rule was already enjoined by a federal judge.)

12. Ending visas for unmarried partners of diplomats

The State Department last year cancelled visas for the unmarried same-sex partners of diplomats to the United States.

By canceling these visas for these partners, the State Department forced these partners to either marry or get out, which complicated matters if these diplomats are from countries where same-sex marriage isn’t legal. At the time of the decision, only 25 countries recognized same-sex marriage.

13. Proposal to gut trans protections at homeless shelters Despite assurances from Secretary of Housing & Urban Development Ben Carson LGBT non-discrimination rules for federally funded housing would remain in place, HUD has proposed a rule that would gut transgender protections at homeless shelters.

The HUD proposal would allow homeless shelters with sex-segregated facilities — such as bathrooms or shared sleeping quarters — to establish policy consistent with state and local laws in which operators consider a range of factors when determining where to place individuals looking to stay, including “religious beliefs.”

14. Trump announces HIV plan in State of the Union Trump in his State of the Union address announced an initiative to end the HIV epidemic by 2030, asserting “remarkable progress in the fight against HIV and AIDS” in recent years.

“Scientific breakthroughs have brought a oncedistant dream within reach,” Trump said. “My budget will ask Democrats and Republicans to make the needed commitment to eliminate the HIV epidemic in the United States within 10 years. We have made incredible strides.

Incredible. Together, we will defeat AIDS in America and beyond.”

The plan seeks to reduce new HIV diagnoses by 75 percent within five years, and by 90 percent within 10 years. Efforts will focus on 48 counties, D.C., and San Juan, Puerto Rico and seven states where the epidemic is mostly in rural areas.

hear, Trump said, “Alfred E. Neuman cannot become president of the United States.”

18. Recognizing global initiative to end anti-gay laws

15. Following through on HIV initiative announcement Trump’s budget request for fiscal year 2020 made good on his pledge in the State of the Union address, seeking $300 million in new funds for domestic HIV programs.

The bulk of the $300 million figure is an additional $140 million requested for HIV prevention at the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, which is a 19 percent increase in its overall budget from fiscal year 2019. The rest is $70 million for the Ryan White Health Care Program, $50 million for PrEP services at HRSA centers and $25 million to screen for HIV and treat Hepatitis C.

In his tweet recognizing June as Pride Month, Trump also acknowledged his global initiative to decriminalize homosexuality. Currently, same-sex relations are illegal in 71 countries.

The project is spearheaded

by U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell, the highest-ranking openly gay person in the Trump administration.

Previously, Trump seemed unaware of the project. Asked about it by "My budget reporters, Trump said, “I don’t know which report you’re talking about. We will ask have many reports.”

Democrats and Republicans to make the needed commitment to eliminate the HIV epidemic in the United States within 10 years."

19. No State Dept. recognition of Pride Month, IDAHO

In contrast to Trump, the State Department in 2019 issued no statement recognizing Pride Month, nor weeks before did it recognize the But the same budget sought to International Day Against Homophobia slash funds for the National Institutes & Transphobia.

- Donald Trump of Health, which conducts HIV In 2018, Secretary of State Mike President research, and global AIDS programs Pompeo issued statements recognizing like PEPFAR. Moreover, the plan sought Pride Month and IDAHO. Coming off to make Medicaid a block-grant program, even though a confirmation process in which he was criticized as 40 percent of people with HIV rely on it. Congress ended homophobic, Pompeo said “too many governments up rejecting the cuts, fully funding NIH and global AIDS continue to arrest and abuse their citizens simply for programs. being lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex.”

16. NIH and global AIDS programs slashed

17. Giving Pete Buttigieg nickname of ‘Alfred E. Neuman’ Consistent with his track record of giving his political opponents nicknames, Trump gave an unflattering moniker to Pete Buttigieg, the gay presidential candidate with growing support in the Democratic primary.

Trump dubbed him “Alfred E. Neuman,” the Mad Magazine character famous for the phrase, “What Me Worry?” In a dog whistle that perhaps gay people could

20. Refusing to recognize birthright of child to gay couple Consistent with the policy of cracking down on immigration, the Trump administration refused to recognize the birthright citizenship of the son of U.S.citizen Andrew Dvash-Banks and his Israeli husband Elad Dvash-Banks.

The couple had two twin boys conceived via a surrogate mother in Canada. The State Department, however, flip the page for more 

The Trump administration may soon introduce proposed regulations that could allow health care providers, hospitals and insurers to discriminate against transgender patients, according to equality advocates. They say officials at the Department of Health and Human Services are rewriting an Obamacare rule that exists to provide protection. Photo: India Hayes/CNN.

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6.12.2019 •

11

NEWS national required a DNA test to prove the children were related to the couple to provide them U.S. passports. One child, Aiden, was deemed a citizen because he’s the biological son of Andrew, but the other, Ethan, wasn’t because he’s the biological son of Elad.

21. State Dept. appealed a court ruling for the couple When the couple sued the Trump administration, a court sided with the couple in granting birthright citizenship to Ethan.

However, the State Department refused to accept the decision and appealed the ruling to the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, where the case remains pending. A mediation document reveals the State Department insists on its policy of “a biological relationship between a U.S. citizen parent and a child born outside the United States” to grant citizenship.

22. LGBT protections watered-down in USMCA An initial version of the USMCA trade agreement with Canada and Mexico contained at the behest of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau a call for countries to adopt policies “against sexbased discrimination, including on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.”

But Trudeau publicly buckled when asked about his commitment. After additional negotiations with the Trump administration, a footnote was added to USMCA stating Title VII in the United States, which bars discrimination on the basis of sex in the workforce, was sufficient to meet the requirements of the deal.

24. Hailing PrEP deal with Truvada as ‘great news’ The Department of Health & Human Services reached a deal with Gilead to make PrEP available for generic production one year earlier and to secure a donation of the medication for up to 200,000 individuals each year for up to 11 years.

Trump took to Twitter to hail the agreement: “Great news today: My administration just secured a historic donation of HIV prevention drugs from Gilead to help expand access to PrEP for the uninsured and those at risk. Will help us achieve our goal of ending the HIV epidemic in America!”

25. Deleting trans employee guidance on OPM website

In a little-noticed development over the holidays, guidance on the Office of Personnel Management’s website for federal workers who are transgender was deleted LGBT rights without explanation.

The Obama-era guidance supporters spelled out the definition of terms for transgender identities are viewing expectations for respecting with skepticism and transgender workers. The guidance ensured transgender people could a State dress according to their gender Department identity, be addressed by their preferred gender pronouns and proposal use restrooms and locker rooms consistent with their gender to create a identity.

“natural law” commission.

23. DOJ’s ‘Religious Liberty Task Force’ Before he was sacked by Trump, former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions held a summit at the Justice Department on religious freedom, featuring Masterpiece Cakeshop’s Jack Phillips and Catholic leaders.

At the summit, Sessions established the Religious Liberty Task Force. The goal of the task force was to ensure his memo on “religious freedom” — widely seen as guidance in support of anti-LGBT discrimination — was being implemented throughout the federal government.

26. U.S. joins OSCE in calling for Chechnya investigation

Under the Trump administration, the United States joined 15 allied countries at the U.S. Organization for Security & Cooperation in Europe in the creation of a probe to investigate alleged anti-gay human rights abuses in Chechnya.

The report concluded, as the United States and human rights organizations long believed, Chechen government officials engaged in human rights violations, including “harassment and persecution, arbitrary or unlawful arrests or detentions, torture, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial executions.” Victims were LGBT people, human rights defenders, journalists and members of civil society.

“Great news today: My administration just secured a historic donation of HIV prevention drugs from Gilead to help expand access to PrEP for the uninsured and those at risk. Will help us achieve our goal of ending the HIV epidemic in America!”

- Donald Trump President

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Karen and Mike Pence.

Photo via Facebook.

27. U.S. didn’t sign U.N. statement against atrocities Months later, the United States was nowhere to be found on a United Nations statement signed by more than 30 countries calling for a thorough investigation of the Chechnya atrocities. The State Department said the United States didn’t sign because it withdrew from the U.N. Human Rights Council “and no longer participates in its sessions.”

28. State Department proposes ‘natural law’ commission LGBT rights supporters are viewing with skepticism a State Department proposal to create a “natural law” commission, which is set to “provide fresh thinking about human rights discourse where such discourse has departed from our nation’s founding principles of natural law and natural rights.”

The term “natural law” has been used to express condemnation of LGBT identities in religious discourse.

29. Eliminating LGBT youth data question in foster care The Trump administration has proposed eliminating requirements for case workers to ask LGBT youth in foster care about their sexual orientation of youth for data

collection purposes.

Although the Department of Health & Human Services concluded it was “intrusive and worrisome,” LGBT rights advocates say the questions are necessary to ascertain disparities facing LGBT youth in the foster care and adoption systems.

30. Trump stands with anti-LGBT adoption agencies In a speech at the National Prayer Breakfast, Trump expressed solidarity with religious-affiliated adoption agencies, who are bristling over LGBT non-discrimination requirements to obtain federal funding.

“My administration is working to ensure that faithbased adoption agencies are able to help vulnerable children find their forever families while following their deeply held beliefs,” Trump said.

31. Trump defends Karen Pence teaching at anti-LGBT school In the same speech, Trump also defended second lady Karen Pence for her decision to teach art at a Christian school in Virginia, which has a policy against employing LGBT teachers or admitting LGBT students.

“She just went back to teaching art classes at a Christian school,” Trump said. “Terrific woman.”

Washington Blade courtesy of the National LGBTQ Media Association.

6.12.2019 •

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6.12.2019 •

15

Convictions

STONEWALL

Off The Wall

1969 - 2019

Pier Angelo

Stonewall Pride 2018.

SFGN File Photo.

T

he term “post-gay" was first used by British journalist Paul Burston in 1994 to connote the willful disassociation from certain stereotypes within gay culture. The term hit home with the American audience four years later, when Out Magazine Editor in Chief James Collard recycled the phrase to assert that gays need no longer define themselves by their sexuality.

Post-gay ideology is often used to define cultural assimilation (i.e. we are all the same) and is festering in current popular culture. While the march for equality necessitates some variance of post-gay ideology, considering queerness a non-issue (“baby you have come a long way"), it has become synonymous with a kind of status quo politics. It is as if society is moving toward a genderless-neutral ideology.

It does little to advance the cause of activists engaged in the, not yet completely won, battle for LGBT rights; nor does it do anything for those who still face real issues surrounding their queerness.

The old adage "be yourself or you will never know what life is," is becoming a dif-ferent philosophy, or state of being, in short: "be gay, but not toooo gay.”

In the last two dec-ades we have jumped over legal and social hurdles, we are free to marry, have kids, report dis-crimination and hate crimes, and serve in the military.

But at what cost?

We have certainly come a long way since Stonewall We are in the corner losing our identity; 1969. there seems to be a desire to conform, to standardize, almost to be part of a mono dimensional, opaque, homogenized world.

Fifty shades of beige.

In other words, we aim to be boring like everybody else. We have become more hetero in our demeanor and the lines are blurred. Gays acting like straights. That is what it has come down to. Borrowing identities in exchange for socially progressive gains. People should be multifaceted, diverse and complex so that our core identity can be whatever we wanted it to be.

That is the beauty of human kind.

Instead we shy away from it, we repudiate it. It is a new form of repression, and this

We are in the corner losing our identity; there seems to be a desire to conform, to standardize, almost to be part of a mono dimensional, opaque, homogenized world.

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time it is self-inflicted. As the evolution continues, the divide between straight and gay will begin to fade. It is true that the labels we have carried for centuries are the product of homophobia, legal and religious intolerance with a good dose of prejudice often ex-pressed with pejorative, insulting and contemptuous terms...but the end result of our long struggle will mean that defining oneself as gay will no longer be necessary and cease to have social relevance. As it is we have hit the pause button. The community no longer feels the need to stand out in rebellion.

Some say that in the “New Closet, love will transcend sexual orientation, alas, the price of ad-mission will be to turn off within us those traits that are typical of our personality, that make us special, killing

and hiding everything that is unique and diverse about us. Homosexuals have opted for a respectable accommodation with heterosexual society. We have been coopted by the very forces which suppressed us. There is still so much to be done.

My problem with today’s gay world is the absence of a fighting spirit replaced with a false sense of security and a large dose of apathy. In fact, we are not gay enough to care. The last time we seriously stood up for something was in the 80’s, at the height of the AIDS crisis, thanks to ACT UP. Since then we have acted down. The normalization of gay culture has in-duced a longing to bring back glitz, glamour and a little of the illicitness that homosexuality has lost. Otherwise stop the parade, I want to get off.

6.12.2019 •

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Christ Lutheran Church 1955 East Oakland Park Blvd.

Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33306 www.christlutheranfl.org

Sunday Service @ 10am Fellowship after Service

spirituality

LISTINGS

SouthFloridaGayNews.com

ALL SAINTS SOUP KITCHEN

Congregation Etz Chaim 2038 N. Dixie Hwy (Pride Center Building B), Wilton Manors 954-564-9232 - etzchaimflorida.org RabbiNoahKitty@etzchaimflorida.org Friday Night Shabbat Service 8p.m.

Free Meal 2-3:30 EVERY DAY Clothes & Medicine also!

Donations needed & accepted

(954) 801-8283 3460 Powerline Road

www.facebook.com/soup.kitchen.16

ChurCh of our Savior, MCC 2011 S. Federal Highway, Boynton Beach, FL 33435 Wherever You Are On God’s LGBTQIA Rainbow, You Are Welcome...

Sunday ServiCe 10 a.M. rev. Wendy Woodruff, Pastor

561-733-4000

www.ChurchOfOurSaviorMCC.org MCC, Transforming Ourselves as We Transform The World

Your Community Synagogue for 45 Years!

Friday Night Shabbat services ● Classes on Jewish Thought & History ● Holiday Celebrations ● Contemporary & Classic Films ● Social Events

Please join us for our

PRIDE SHABBAT & TORAH SERVICE

Friday, June 28th at 8pm We were created in the image of God Who delights in Our Creation!

2038 N. Dixie Hwy, Wilton Manors ● 954Ͳ564Ͳ9232 ● www.EtzChaimFlorida.org (On the Pride Center campus) Proudly serving our community since 1974

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DARSHAN CENTER FOR SPIRITUAL EVOLUTION 1410 NE 26th Street Wilton Manors, Fl 33305 917-579-3750 www. darshancenterwiltonmanors.org RevDrGTelesco@gmail.com Interfaith Spiritual Services on Sundays 6:30PM Spiritual Study Group Thursdays 7PM

Holy Angels Catholic Community 2917 NE 6th Avenue Wilton Manors 954-633-2987 - HolyAngelsFL.net Sunday Mass at 11AM

St. Nicholas Episcopal Church 1111 E. Sample Road, Pompano Beach (954)942-5887 - stnicholasfl.org office@stnicholasfl.org Sundays 8:00AM & 10:30AM (9:30AM only from Memorial Day through Labor Day)

Christ Lutheran Church 1955 E. Oakland Park Blvd., Ft. Lauderdale (954) 564-7673 - christlutheranfl.org pastordeborah@christlutheranfl.org Worship: Sunday 10:00am

First Congregational United Church of Christ 1415 North K Street, Lake Worth 561-582-6691 - fcclw.org office@lakeworthchurch.org Service Time: Sunday 10:30AM

Church of our Savior, MCC Church of Our Savior, MCC 2011 S. Federal Hwy. Boynton Beach. churchofoursaviormcc.org | 561-733-4000 Sunday Service 10AM

United Church of Christ Fort Lauderdale 2501 NE 30th Street, Fort Lauderdale (954)563-4271 - uccftl.org revpatrickrogers@gmail.com Service Times: Thursdays 10:30AM (Elliot Hall) & Sundays 10:30AM (Sanctuary)

A LITTLE BIT OF FAITH AND

PRIDE

SFGN is here for you, no matter who — or what — keeps you going. Read our Spirituality Section to stay in touch with your local religious LGBT community. The only requirement? Be yourself.

SEE MORE ONLINE AT SFGN.COM/TABLE/NEWS/RELIGION

FAITH & PRIDE spirituality

Our Place at the Table Rev. Patrick Rogers United Church of Christ

I

t is important to remember the story of Stonewall. The same way that Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat in the fight against racism, the LGBT person who refused to give up her seat at the Stonewall Inn because of homophobia also changed history. Both took a seat in order to take a stand!

In the gospel of Mark 7:24-30, we are told of another woman who had trouble claiming her seat. The Syrophoenician woman’s child was sick and needed healing. She crossed cultural, societal, religious and political norms and barriers to seek healing for her loved one. I am sure that when she told her family her intent to travel days to seek a man for help that she did not know and had only heard about, that they were not supportive in any way. Her husband probably forbade her to go and she went anyway!

And once she found the man they called Jesus, he initially turned her away from the table and refused to help her. There are many scholarly theories regarding why Jesus acted this way towards her. Yet, Jesus told her to leave. The Syrophoenician woman took a stand and insisted that she

was worthy to receive God’s blessing and after she did, Jesus then healed her child.

In other words, when she claimed her place at the table, Jesus invited her to not only sit down but to join him. He also broke all cultural, societal, religious and political rules, laws and norms in not only speaking to an unknown Gentile woman but helping her in any way.

Preachers don’t speak very often about this biblical text because Jesus’ initial behavior isn’t that of the Jesus we normally read about. But it’s a valuable lesson for all to take a stand against any type of oppression in any form.

And that’s what happened at the Stonewall Inn on June 28, 1969. The LGBT person made the decision to keep her seat in order to take a stand. Her stand began a movement that today has changed the world forever. It’s also a lesson for us to never doubt that a single person can make a difference. The fact that I can now either officiate a same-sex wedding or personally marry a same-sex person is part of that change and to her we must all be grateful.

We have more work to do, but it began at the Stonewall Inn so let’s not only celebrate this month but remember always!

6.12.2019 •

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21

Publisher's Editorial

Convictions

Pride is A Celebration of Our Successes and Sorrows

x

Norm Kent

norm.kent@sfgn.com

T

he other day at the Grille Restaurant, a very nice gentleman came up to me, and paid a compliment about SFGN. He said, “You should be very proud. Your newspaper is the voice for our community.”

No, it is not.

While I am very proud of SFGN, I do not pretend to speak for “our community.” There is no monarchy in our town. There is no King of the Queers, not in mayor’s seats or the chairs of executive directors running our collage of nonprofits.

We are all part of a community, and we represent a collection of individual voices.

They are divergent. Some believe Donald Trump should be jailed or impeached. Some think he is a national savior.

I have never believed that our paper speaks for one voice, or that our “community” represents a singular interest.

No, we are a multitude of colors and creations, none better than the other. Our “community” is as diverse as the many colors of our flag.

Our goal at this newspaper is to give the collage of voices the venues and opportunities to be published and heard. They can be critical and cutting, complimentary or celebratory.

But they won’t be censured or silenced. Not here. Not ever.

SFGN encourages discussion, debate, and dissent. We are not here to be potted plants for political correctness. We are not arm ornaments for city commissions, elected officials, executive directors, or nightclub owners. We will cheer your successes but report on your failures. We will dare to go where bar guides and celebratory city newsletters do not.

A newspaper reports not just on the planes that land successfully. It is our duty to tell the stories of the crashes. We give pages to tragedy as well as triumph, our warts and wounds, not

only our accomplishments and achievements.

Today, though, our “Out50” celebrates some of our best.

Still, SFGN’s mission is to give a voice to everyone, from the curmudgeons who dare say our city water is green, to the activists who say every politician is a crook.

The powerless and the powerful both have a right to a platform. The dissenters as well as the decision makers each have an equal right to be heard. Both have a home and a voice here at SFGN. I was thinking the easiest way to get published in this paper is to say something bad about us. I will move you to the head of the line.

The disagreeable and the disenchanted may not be polite, but they will not be gagged or silenced here.

Only cowardly federal judges do that.

As we applaud the achievements of this year’s class of Out50, I am thinking that it easily could be an Out 500. Our community has grown exponentially these past few years. There were far more nominees than names we could ultimately choose. The final tabulation represents our own diversity.

Our goal, frankly, has never been to single ‘out’ our stars and celebrities. SFGN’s goal has been to rather illuminate the multitude of persons who give light to our lives by living simply and justly each day. They represent individually who we are collectively.

Can we do well for ourselves and be right by others? That is our measuring stick.

Just because you are celebrating the names who made the list does not mean you can’t appreciate the good deeds of those who have not.

Pericles said it best hundreds of years ago:

The dissenters as well as the decision makers each have an equal right to be heard. Both have a home and a voice here at SFGN.

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Photo by Devon Sayers via CNN.

“The glory of Athens is won with decent citizens doing their duty each day.”

SFGN is midway through our tenth year and approaching our 500th issue. My hope is that we continue to serve you well, but as I said in the opening line, we represent your voice.

Hold us to the challenge, and 500 issues from now, we will still be there for you.

We don’t and can’t always agree with everyone or everything. We each have our own opinions and directions; our own flavors and tastes. The LGBT community knows that better than anyone. We should be the most accepting.

SFGN will commemorate our achievements and applaud our victories. But we will never be ashamed of our defeats. As we have in

the past, we will gather ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and march again and again until equality is within our grasp and justice by our side.

We have all come a long way. Never forget though, that while we are celebrating by the shore, there are still those treading water in the ocean.

Sunlight and transparency is what we really celebrate with gay pride. Our lives will not be denied. Our dignity will not be demeaned.

We will not hide in closets anymore. We will proudly hold hands and march in the streets.

One day, we will even serve in the White House.

May you find pride in your lives every day.

50 PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITY WHO DESERVE RECOGNITION

OUT 50 2019

SouthFloridaGayNews

@soflagaynews

SFGN.com

out 50

SouthFloridaGayNews.com

Welcometo SFGN’s Out 50 Welcome to SFGN’s sixth OUT50 list.

When we decided six years ago to move forward with this idea we thought it would be difficult putting together enough names.

It turned out the difficult part was narrowing it down to only 50 individuals.

Each year since, I’ve worried that we were going to start running out of people. But after six years the hard part is still cutting our list down. There are just too many LGBT people in South Florida who are making a difference.

We’ve already recognized 250 local LGBT leaders, activists, business people, artists and others.

Now we’re adding 50 more.

SFGN is proud to tell these stories and honor them in this year’s OUT50 list.

Stories of gay men like Scott Greenberg, who launched the Freedom Fund — an organization working to counter mass incarceration; lesbians like Teri Johnston, the newly elected mayor of Key West; a former drag performer like Misty Eyez, who is now the director of women’s program & education and case manager for transgender services at SunServe; and Carson Graham, a transgender activist who co-founded the Transinclusive Group.

Those are just four people in this issue. Make sure to read through them all.

These folks aren’t important because they are LGBT, they’re important because of their accomplishments and the work they do. But because they are LGBT they serve as role models for our community — and for future generations. These individuals prove that we are no longer a sideshow, but nowadays, the main show.

I hope these people inspire you — as they have inspired me.

So welcome to the 2019 South Florida OUT50, a list of activists, business leaders, organizers, and others who are out and proud members of our local LGBT community.

South Florida’s OUT 50 • June 2019 2520 N. Dixie Highway • Wilton Manors, FL 33305 Phone: 954-530-4970 Fax: 954-530-7943

Publisher • Norm Kent

Norm.Kent@sfgn.com Chief Executive Officer • Pier Angelo Guidugli Associate publisher / Executive Editor • Jason Parsley JasonEParsley@gmail.com

Editorial

Art Director • Brendon Lies Artwork@sfgn.com Digital Content Director • Justin Musial Webmaster@sfgn.com Copyeditor • Kerri Covington Arts/Entertainment Editor • JW Arnold JW@prdconline.com Social Media Manager • Tucker Berardi TBerardi2014@fau.edu

Sales & Marketing For ad placement in SFGN, contact 954-530-4970 Director of Sales & Marketing • Justin Wyse Justin.Wyse@sfgn.com Advertising Sales Associate • Edwin Neimann Edwin.Neimann@sfgn.com Advertising Sales Associate • Clark Rogers Clark.Rogers@sfgn.com Distribution Services • Rocky Bowell

Contributors

Kristen Grau, Denise Royal, Donald Cavanaugh, Damon Scott, Jesse Monteagudo, John McDonald, David Doriez, Sophie Siegel, James Watson, J.W. Arnold

ALL PHOTOGRAPHS SUBMITTED UNLESS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED Associate Publisher Jason Parsley (L), with his partner Aydin Koymen. Photo credit: Michael Cushman.

Accounting Services by CG Bookkeeping Copyright © 2019 South Florida Gay News.com, Inc.

Thanks to all of our contributors for this special issue...

MEMBER

Kristen Grau

John McDonald

Denise Royal

David Doriez

Donald Cavanaugh

Sophie Siegel

Damon Scott

James Watson

Jesse Monteagudo

SFGN.COM

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MEMBER

J.W. Arnold

And special thanks to everyone who submitted a photo!

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MEMBER

Associated Press MEMBER

Florida Press Association National Gay and Lesbian Journalists Association

out 50

Past Out50 Honorees 2014 Andy Amoroso Richard Alalouf Anthony Timiraos S.F. Makalani-MaHee Robin Bodiford Cindy Brown Charlie Fredrickson Craig Stevens Deidre Newton Dean J. Trantalis Emilio Benitez Elizabeth Schwartz William F. Collins George Castrataro Michael C. Gongora Glen Weinzimer Rand Hoch John Castelli Joe Pallant John Paul Alvarez Lisa Porter Jowharah Sanders Ken Keechl Kim Ehly Kristofer Fegenbush Lea Brown Robert Lee Lillian Tamayo Leslie Tipton Miriam Richter Michael McKeever Meredith Ockman Michael Rajner Mike Silver Nikki Adams Chuck Nicholls Noah Kitty Pat Burnside Tony Plakas & Jaime Foreman Pompano Bill Ralph Wolfe Cowan Robin Schwartz Sebrina Maria Alfonso Steve Rothaus Steve Stagon Toni Armstrong Jr. Tony Finstrom Tony Lima Victor Diaz-Herman William Green

2015

2016

Steve Adkins Jessica Aguilar Roya Amirniroumand Dan Bassett Nick Berry Vanessa Brito Brice Brittenum Mark Budwig Kerensa Butler-Gile Marsharee Chronicle Peter Clark Enbar Cohen Andrew Eddy Electra Stephen Fallon Luigi Ferrer Justin Flippen Debbie Frazier Jorge Gardela Jason Gibson Robert Griffin Ron Gunzburger Steve Haas Sabrine Johnston Brett Karlin Andrew Kato Jason King Nate Klarfeld Lea Krauss Aryah Lester AL Magdaleno Carol Moran Michael Murphy Penny Johnson & Julie Seaver Gary Richmond Gordon Roberts Luiz Rodrigues Rick Rose Lee Rubin Ted Scouten Victoria Sigler Carla Silva Theo Smith Will Spencer Melissa St. John Karen Stephens Nicole Waters Bruce Williams LJ Woolston Heather Wright

Christopher Bates Ruth & Connie Rodney Briguglio Katharine Campbell Leticia Carrazana Heather Carruthers Carly Cass Orlando Castellano Chapman/ Quattrone Danny Eguizabal Ken Evans Sue Gallagher Lacey Camper Rod Hagwood Dan Hall Tom Hantzarides Brenda Hartley Suzi Hollis Randy Katz Mark Kent Leland Kolbert PJ & Mary Jeff Lehman Velvet Lenore Arianna Lint Jacqueline Lorber Carol Lynn Listron Mannix Chad Matthews Cathy & Karla Mimi Planas Atticus Ranck Shanna Ratliff Lorenzo Robertson Andy & Michael Chris Rudisill Det. Sanchez Josue Santiago Rob Shore Heidi Siegel Mark Silver Paul Smith Steve Smith Terry Stone AJ Wasson Davy Whims Bryan Wilson Keith Hart

Want to nominate someone in our community for next year's Out50?

Visit sfgn.com/out50nominations

2017 John Adornato Paulette Armstead Chris Caputo Julie Carson Myron Davidson Harold Dioquino David Dunlap & Wesley Pennington Kezia Gilyard Emery Grant Mandi Hawke Jarad Gibson Robert Lamarche Julia Landis Marvin Shaw Morgan Mayfaire Miik Martorell Rajee Narinesingh Jodi Reichman Roger Roa Tom Runyan Tiffany Arieagus Tatiana Williams Denise Spivak Durrell Watkins Victor Zepka Caspian Cassidy Steve Torrence Susan Kent May Sifuentes Annie Segara Maria Dominguez Gabriel Garcia-Vera Victor Giminez Trey Jones Johnnie Mejia Parker Phillips David Richardson Charo Valero Johnathan Welsh Howard Grossman Jess Blackman Shirley Herman & Joan Waitkevicz Mason Phelps Tia Jolie Tonya Johnson Trent Steele Rolando Barrero Michael Grattendick Jana Panarites Michael Woods

2018 Michael Mendillo Rich Rodriguez Rachel Simpson Josie Smith Julie Slater & Karen Carroll Scott Herman Johnny Diaz Gary Santis Robyn Almodovar Casey Koslowski Naomi Cobb Denise Yoezle Tabatha Mudra Andis Tamayo Javier Gonzalez Donna Watson Bernadette Zizzo Tony Dee Gloria Stein Samantha McCoy Peter Kaldes Tim Martin Martin Childers Mark Ketcham Bryan Carstensen Emily Cohen Dawn Holloway Rev. Anne Atwell Camille Lewis Eddie Orozco Jack Lee Jordan Jason Hagopian Michelle Solomon Corey Davis Logan Meza Kishi Martin Tracy Young Herb Sosa David Mittleman Elayna Toby Singer Lee Edmondson Janis Kidder Steven Caras Adrienne Percival Myra Koutzen Sarah Malega Marcie Hall Sushi Laurie Thibaud Dennis Beaver

Read their stories, and see how this year's honorees compare.

View 2014 honorees online at SFGN.com/2014out50

View 2016 honorees online at SFGN.com/2016out50

View 2015 honorees online at View 2017 honorees online at SFGN.com/2015out50 SFGN.com/2017out50 View 2018 honorees online at SFGN.com/2018out50 6 . 1 2 . 2 019

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Ghenete “G” Wright Muir The Art Activist

Ghenete “G” Wright Muir said she felt she was living a “double life” during her marriage to a man. Years into her marriage, she realized she was a lesbian.

Wright Muir’s journey into the LGBT community was a rocky one, but one she’s now passionate about. The 46-year-old Fort Lauderdale activist founded Thou Art Woman, an annual open mic event series that’s “for women who love women and art,” she said.

“It’s important for me to create those spaces so people feel celebrated,” she said.

She also hosts a show

via Facebook called “Queer Qonversations,” where she interviews South Florida LGBT individuals about sexuality, politics, the arts, and more.

Her activism and outreach extends past the U.S. — she’s volunteered in Israel and Jamaica, too. She grew up in Jamaica when being LGBT was less accepted and saw the effects of stigma firsthand.

She still encourages others to be themselves, even if it’s hard.

“It was an assault on myself not to be myself,” she said.

– Kristen Grau

Photo courtesy of G Wright Muir.

Photo via Todd Thompkins, Facebook.

Todd Thompkins The Teacher

Some teachers inspire students in such a way you can tell it’s their calling, not just a job. Todd Thompkins is one of them. He teaches AP Physics and Honors Physics at Michael Krop Senior High. He won the school’s Teacher of the Year in 2017.

Thompkins is currently applying for the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. It’s the highest recognition a math or science teacher can receive in the United States.

“I really enjoy my job,” he told SFGN. “I read a study that learning physics helps develop logic and problem solving skills. Your IQ goes up when you learn physics.”

Being biracial and gay, Thompkins describes

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himself as a “minority two or three times over.”

Teaching advanced placement classes and honors classes at Krop seems a world away from where he grew up in Opa Locka. That’s part of the reason he works with the I Have a Dream Foundation, an organization that provides long-term mentoring, tutoring and tuition to children from low-income communities.

“It’s different than working with kids from Aventura who are going to Yale.” he said. “I know these kids and how to motivate them. I love giving them an opportunity to see that they can do something.”

– Denise Royal

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Dr. Russell Sassani, board-certified plastic surgeon, was born in Pennsylvania and raised in New Jersey. After completing much of his training he realized there was no work in the north and he relocated to Florida where there was plenty of opportunity. And he’s been taking advantage of it ever since.

When he started working with transgender clients he was often shocked hearing about the poor quality of work they had previously experienced. When people saw his work his business grew to the point that 75 percent of his work comes from gender reassignment surgery. “Most of the growth

ly

i

came from referrals,” he said.

Sassani is married to Michael Schneider, who is administrative manager for the practice called Take Shape Plastic Surgery P.A. The men met on an AOL dating service. They have been together for 19 years.

They were married in 2014 in San Francisco and have a 4-year-old daughter.

Sassani and Schneider are also very active within the LGBT community and belong to several different organizations, including the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Lambda Legal and World AIDS Museum to name a few.

– Donald Cavanaugh

Photo via Take Shape Plastic Surgery.

Photo credit: Graciela Valdes Fine Art Photography

Misty Eyez

The Entertainer Turned Activist

Misty Eyez is enjoying her second act.

The former drag queen (and SFGN Best Of winner for several years) traded in the nightlife at Lips, Boardwalk, and other top venues for a new career. She’s now the director of women’s program and education and case manager for transgender services at Sun Serve.

Her new role focuses on different areas of education — teaching people throughout the South Florida community cultural sensitivity and bias training — and linking trans services to Sun Serve clients.

“There are many hurdles and obstacles in a transgender person’s life, maybe

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it’s social support, job placement, or housing,” she said. “There are many things that transgender people need, that I can potentially help with.”

Her new career is not the only major change in Misty’s life. She’s coming up on her first wedding anniversary this summer.

As for her performing as a drag queen, Misty rarely goes on stage anymore, but if you’re lucky you may catch her at a fundraiser or special event. “There is a part of me that misses it, but my heart has shifted to helping my community in a different way.”

– Denise Royal

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Barbara Signer (L) and Fran Epstein.

Photo via Equality Florida.

Barbara Signer/Fran Epstein The Power Couple

Barbara Signer (not Singer) and her wife Fran Epstein, retired from careers in New York and moved to Florida in 2011. Almost immediately they engaged in a variety of visible causes, political and educational, including Democratic Party programs, the Point Foundation, Planned Parenthood, Our Fund and Equality Florida, to name a few of the 26 programs listed on their combined resumes.

Both in their 60s, Epstein was born in Brooklyn and Signer was born in the Bronx.

When they came out to their families, both in their 20s, Epstein’s mother said, “Just don’t tell your father.” Signer’s parents asked if she was a lesbian and when she said ‘yes’ didn’t speak to her for two years. After that they resumed a close family relationship.

The women met in Boston in 1986 and moved to New York together in 1989. They have been together for 33 years.

They have been married thrice: in Canada in 2003 while vacationing there when the law was changed; when Connecticut, a short ride from New York, made it legal in 2010; and finally in 2015 when the Supreme Court recognized same-sex marriage.

Both women said they admire the men and women who came out during the 70s and 80s when visibility could be dangerous. They recommend that LGBT people living today continue to be diligent and ready to stand up against people who would reverse what “we’ve got and prevent us from moving forward.”

– Donald Cavanaugh

David Warner The Dentist

“There’s so much craziness going on in the world right now.

My job is to entertain and poke fun at stuff.

Laughter brings people together.”

As the owner of Island City Smiles, David Warner said “attention to detail” is what separates his practice from others.

Warner took over an established practice 10 years ago. He frequently travels in a “continuing education” role to learn how to better provide patients with the highest level of general and cosmetic dentistry.

“Dental care is linked to whole body care,” Warner said, noting a healthy mouth can prevent strokes and heart attacks. “We know sometimes people are anxious about visiting the dentist. Our No. 1 goal is to provide a relaxing, Photo via Daisy Deadpetals.

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– John McDonald

Photo via David Warner, Facebook.

Daisy Deadpetals

The Drag Queen Legend Daisy Deadpetals is in full bloom this spring. The veteran drag queen puts on a show at Rumors, Lips, Boardwalk, and Camelot. Making people laugh keeps her inspired.

“There’s so much craziness going on in the world right now,” she said. “My job is to entertain and poke fun at stuff. Laughter brings people together.”

When she’s not mocking current events, Miss Deadpetals is a budding writer. She hopes to publish a memoir of the last 25 years in drag. Yes, there will be namedropping — including stories about some of the biggest names in entertainment including Gianni Versace, Elton John, and Sylvester

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stress-free, comprehensive dental experience.”

Island City Smiles offers many treatments and procedures from teeth whitening to dental implants. Warner is a member of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. He graduated from Indiana University School of Dentistry in 1994.

Warner, 51, calls Wilton Manors home. He has been with his partner Chris for 30 years. The couple plan to be married soon, Warner said.

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Stallone.

“There are some great stories,” Deadpetals said. “It’s exciting because what was once a pipe dream is now a possibility.”

Another possibility: winning the Queen of Florida award from Werrrk.com. It’s the inaugural year for this award. Online voters will determine the winner. Whether she wins or not, Deadpetals keeps her performances fresh as a daisy thanks to her pointed humor.

“With all the shit that’s going on, I have to poke fun of it,” she explained. “I still have something to say.”

– Denise Royal

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Photo courtesy of Ana Puga (R) and Requel Lopez.

Drs. Ana Puga and

Requel Lopes The HIV Doctors

Years ago, treating people with HIV brought Drs. Ana Puga and Requel Lopes together. At the time, Dr. Puga referred her patients to Lopes for acupuncture. But that was then.

Now, Dr. Puga is regional medical director for the Southern U.S. region with ViiV Healthcare. Her role involves medical education, research, and bringing the latest data to doctors around the country. She also practices medicine one day a week with Care Resource in Fort Lauderdale. She’s seen the fight against HIV evolve.

“It’s gone from attending funerals to attending graduations and celebrations. When I first started, none of my patients made it past the age of five,” Dr. Puga said.

“And now most of my patients are in their 20s and 30s, and they are surviving. That’s a big change from when I got started. But there’s still a lot of work to be done.”

Dr. Lopes continues running her practice and is also the executive director of the World AIDS Museum, where she helps to facilitate a community dialogue around

HIV and AIDS. “This takes my activism and involvement with the HIV/AIDS community to a different level,” Lopes said. “We’re documenting the history of HIV and talking about it in new ways.”

A lot of the museum’s work takes place in the school system, teaching young people about HIV. There are also community discussions to share information that people are going to hear, in a way that they can hear it.

Another priority is helping people realize that HIV and AIDS is not just a gay disease.

“There are a lot of similarities in our work. The work is very similar as far as what the museum tries to do and what I’m doing clinically. That includes us collaborating every day on how she’s growing the museum and what I’m finding out, so we can come together to make it work.”

They are engaged and will marry on the beach in June.

– Denise Royal

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Photo courtesy of Victor Warren.

VICTOR WARREN The Chairman

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Victor Warren is the current chair person of SunServe, a nonprofit social services agency serving the LGBT community in South Florida. Before being elected chair, Warren served for two terms as vice chair.

“President [Barack] Obama would always encourage people to get involved and he inspired me to do just that. I have Emerge Broward to thank for me ending up at SunServe.

I came through their Board Engagement program.”

As chair of SunServe, Victor Warren’s “biggest accomplishment is the diversity of our board. Our board is representative of the community we serve. Beginning when I became vice chair, it has been one of my main priorities to have a board that is representative of the population of very multicultural South Florida. As a person of color, I feel it is important for people of color to be able to see people who look like them holding positions of power. That is the only way to ensure that change will continue to happen.”

When Warren got on the Board, SunServe “had four or

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five employees and was a $350,000 a year agency. Now it has nine different program areas, 50 employees, and a budget that was just shy of $3 million.”

Warren has worked in the legal field for the last 14 years.

For the past seven years he has worked at and owned Ascent Support Services, “a lit support company that law firms hire to handle things that they don’t have the staff or knowledge today. Many times it’s more cost effective for the attorneys and paralegals to do what they are good at, and we will handle the rest. Depending on the client this can be as complex as data management in large litigation cases, to basic trial exhibit production.”

Warren is married to his husband Eric, with whom he has an Australian cattle dog named Qantas. He loves traveling — he has visited 45 countries — flying, airplanes and the weather. “Hurricane season is my favorite time of the year.”

– Jesse Monteagudo

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Photo via Sue Martino, Facebook.

Sue Martino The Pet Rescuer

Sue Martino, 64, was born and raised in New York City. In the mid-70s, she DJed at La Femme (later De Ja Vu), one of the first women’s bars in NYC. Coming out was not difficult for Martino and her family had no problem with having a lesbian in the family.

“I am married to Maggie Martino, my soul mate,” she said. “We have been together for 13 years. She is hotel manager of AQUA hotel at North Beach Village.”

Martino became a successful realtor in both the New York and South Florida markets. She came to Florida in 2006 to take advantage of the real

estate opportunities and someone introduced her to The Pet Project for Pets.

“I soon realized that this was my calling,” she said. “In truth I have never done anything more rewarding than the work I do at the Pet Project for Pets.

It not only saves the pets but it also saves the people too.”

As executive director Martino hopes to grow the nonprofit to national status.

A second warehouse in Deland and interest from pet food manufacturers give her hope going forward.

– Donald Cavanaugh

Yvonne Rohrbacher The Pride Center Founder

Yvonne Rohrbacher is a 60-year-old wunderkind who moved to Florida from Stow, Ohio in her mid-20s and almost immediately set about working to support the LGBT movement in its fight for recognition and equality.

From founding vice president of the Pride Center in the early ‘90s to her current position on the board of the Stonewall National Museum and Library, she has made history and preserved the LGBT community’s strides in many different ways.

“I’ve always engaged in sharing information and showing people how to use it,” she said.

“Even today I manage a training department

for a chain of medical centers that includes information on how to support LGBT patients.”

Rohrbacher chuckles when sharing her coming out story. Her parents were divorced and her father had his new wife send her a letter telling her that he was fine with it. Her mother took it badly but came around as years went by.

Her words of wisdom for the next generation: “Don’t be less than you are. Respect yourself and others. We’ve come a long way but there’s lots yet to be done and you can help.”

– Donald Cavanaugh Photo courtesy of Yvonne Rohrbacher.

Kris Drumm

The Spiritual Leader

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Kris Drumm, licensed clinical social worker and certified advanced hypnotherapist, came to Florida 14 years ago with her wife, Grace Telesco. The couple have been together 21 years and legally recognized for five.

“To be honest,” said Kris, “we came down here because of the weather. And we’re glad to be here.”

Kris is the founder, spiritual leader, and “beacon” of the Darshan Center for Spiritual Evolution, as well as the director of A Healing Space. She is also an ordained interfaith minister.

At 64, she has been an activist and an out lesbian for over 40 years. She speaks proudly

about being a feminist lesbian and about being attacked at a rally where threatened straight white men were screaming, “Commies!

Pinkos! Dykes!”

When she was 22, she had her first relationship with a woman. “And that was it,” she said. “I knew this was right for me. I had come home.” Her family was horrified and embarrassed and didn’t know how to respond.

But she persisted in letting people know.

Drumm advises younger generations of LGBT people to “Do everything with your heart and go with love.”

– Donald Cavanaugh

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Photo courtesyx of Scott Greenberg.

Scott Greenberg The Defender

Scott Greenberg came to South Florida to launch the Freedom Fund — an organization working to counter the disproportionate harm of LGBT mass incarceration. “[It is] overwhelmingly overlooked, and too few are working to address the problem,” Greenberg, 29, said.

Greenberg and his staff try to secure the release of LGBT individuals in detention, connect them to needed support services, and build a critical mass in opposition to “the cultures and policies of their excessive and unjust incarceration.”

The work is in Greenberg’s blood. He previously founded the Connecticut Bail Fund, the first nonprofit of its kind in the state.

“Sexual minorities are three times more likely than heterosexuals to be incarcerated, and they are 10 to

20 times more likely to be sexually assaulted in prison or jail,” Greenberg said. “A tangle of discrimination and poverty disproportionately traps LGBTQ people in cycles of incarceration.”

Greenberg said each day LGBT people, especially transgender individuals of color, are jailed for sexwork when they can find no other employment.

Additionally, LGBT youth are forced from home and arrested for sleeping on the street, he said.

“The sweep of such criminalization is extraordinary,” Greenberg said. “At some point in their lives half of homeless people are incarcerated and 70 percent of low-income LGBTQ people are homeless.”

For more, go to lgbtqfund.org.

– Damon Scott

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Toni Barone

Photo courtesy of Toni Barone.

The agend and Bar Owner Toni Barone retired from Sears and went to work. After 23 years of retail, including executive management, she found a new challenge in owning and operating bars and night clubs and raising funds for nonprofit agencies. Today she’s an agent with Patricia Burnside Realty, specializing in bars, nightclubs and restaurant properties. She’s still raising money for a range of causes.

“I never experienced harassment for being lesbian,” she said. “I knew I was gay when I was 10. Family and friends were OK with it. It was no big deal. I never felt any problems at Sears.”

After retiring from Sears, Barone owned five bars over the next 28 years. She also helped hundreds of fundraising programs for all kinds of

nonprofit causes, LGBT or not.

“Hundreds and hundreds is more like it,” she said. She’s worked on Hurricane Katrina relief, The Pet Project, Tuesday’s Angels, Poverello events, and more.

“I’ve worked on so many I couldn’t begin to count them all,” she said.

Barone and her wife, Rain Thut, were married in 2014 in Washington D.C. They’ve been together for 18 years.

Her words of wisdom: “Be yourself, be nonjudgmental, respect others and be sure they respect you.”

– Donald Cavanaugh

Photo courtesy of V. Jean Johnson.

V. JEAN JOHNSON The lifetime Activist

Verla Jean Johnson’s lifetime of activism is one of the most diverse in our community. Born in Carthage, Mississippi, Jean joined the Air Force during the Korean War, though she was not allowed to fly. Not until she left the service and moved to Florida did Jean learn to fly and get her private pilot license. Jean also became a real estate broker and served on the Miami Board of Realtors for 42 years until she retired in 1998.

Unlike most retirees, Jean Johnson devotes her time to community service. As she puts it, “I have worked harder since I’ve retired than I ever did before. I am very dedicated to my volunteer work.”

Johnson served on the board of SAGE for many years, including two terms as president and still serves on that group’s Advisory Council. She is a life member of AVER — American Veterans for Equal Rights — serving as a board member for several years and as a member of the group’s Honor Guard. She also served as AVER’s chaplain for several years.

Johnson joined the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) in 1972, though she did not really get involved with the church until after her retirement. Later she volunteered to work in the Sunshine Cathedral office,

filling pews, folding programs, etc. She also took courses and was ordained as the Reverend Deacon Jean Johnson a decade ago. Prior to being ordained, Johnson served on the Church’s Board of Directors. She also conducted services at Presidential Place Outreach for two years and after being ordained she continued serving as chaplain for three more years.

Johnson enjoyed a 26-year-long partnership with Betty Priscak, who passed away in 2009. Together, Johnson and Priscak were inducted into the Dr. Nan S. Hutchison Broward Senior Hall of Fame (2005). After Priscak’s death, Johnson met and became partners with Norma Wingo, with whom she shares a home in Plantation. Johnson has received numerous awards in recognition for her community work, most recently from the Dolphin Democrats.

She lists her hobbies as “reading, traveling and most of all, serving aging people who cannot speak out for themselves. I feel blessed to be a part of the Sunshine Cathedral.” Now in her mid-eighties, Jean is as active and energetic as ever. “I advise anyone that the secret to staying young and healthy is to stay involved.”

– Jesse Monteagudo

Julian Cavazos

The Activist for the Youth Julian Cavazos had to be convinced.

After declining last year’s nomination, Cavazos relented this year and accepted his place on the annual SFGN OUT50 roster.

A gay man and AIDS survivor, Cavazos has said in the past he did not feel his contributions to the community were significant or sufficient.

But there are stories to the contrary.

“Julian is a real credit to our community,” said a peer who participated in the LIFE program with Cavazos at Pride Center in Wilton Manors. “He shared a whole lot during our program, was always very compassionate and thoughtful, and that was a big help to me at that critical point in life when I was newly diagnosed.”

The peer, whose identity is withheld due to their

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active status with the U.S. Department of Defense, said meeting Cavazos “made me very appreciative of the effort and sacrifice behind the progress on HIV-related issues so far.”

Cavazos is a Texas native, U.S. Navy veteran, and community activist who has organized fundraising events such as “Reverse Quinceanera” and “Bunnies on the Bayou.” In 2017, Cavazos created Julian’s Fountain of Youth, an LGBT youth organization on the Sanctuary Church campus in Fort Lauderdale.

The Fountain of Youth, Cavazos said, strives in “quenching the LGBT youth’s thirst for acceptance, knowledge and betterment.”

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Photo courtesy of Julian Cavazos.

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Carson Graham

Photo via Carson Graham, Facebook.

The Trans Activist

Carson Graham was born April 11, 1993 in Pembroke Pines. By age 2, he knew there was something different about him. When he was 19, he came out to his mother who threw him out of his home. His father was Jamaican and had died a few years earlier; he was surprised that his Jamaican family members were more supportive than his mother.

Graham attended Florida Technical College, studying information technology.

He develops websites and is enthusiastic about graphic design and development.

When he came out, Graham was surprised at how little support was available for trans people so he and his partner, Tatianna Braxton, co-founded the Transinclusive

Group in 2016.

According to Graham, “Transinclusive Group is a grassroots organization that advocates for equality and services for the LGBT community.”

Asked who his heroes are he immediately responded with Bishop S.F. Makalani-Ma Hee (died 2017) and Marsha P. Johnson (died 1992), both of whom were outspoken advocates for human rights and civil equality for LGBT people.

Graham expressed gratitude to SFGN for past coverage of the group and especially its annual Transinclusive Prom.

– Donald Cavanaugh

Howard Cunningham and Steve Vianest

“I’m just happy to be part of their journeys.

It’s about seeing the process and seeing them grow.”

The Dads

Howard Cunningham and Steve Vianest are an ideal couple. They are celebrating 30 years together — five of them married. They are parents to 13-year-old Brad. Being dads has changed their lives completely.

“We are a family now. We don’t go out on Friday and Saturday nights now,” Cunningham said. “We eat dinner at the same time around the dining room table. We do homework every night.”

The couple is known for their stability.

“Among our son’s group of friends, we are the only married couple,” Vianest said. “Other straight parents are divorced and in new relationships.”

“We are actually the most stable

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– Denise Royal

Photo via YouTube.

Photo via Steve Vianest (L), Facebook.

Sobourney Barnes The Youth Leader

Sobourney Barnes has been involved in serving the LGBT community since college — and doesn’t plan on stopping any time soon.

The 26-year-old is the current lead youth life coach at SunServe, a LGBT social service agency. Before that, she was the two-time president of her college’s Gay Straight Alliance.

She also volunteers for various LGBT non-profit organizations in her spare time.

“I love the job,” Barnes said, “because I get to be the person I wanted to have when I was young.”

As lead youth life coach, Barnes is responsible for facilitating support groups each week. But out of passion

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household among his friends; which is kind of odd when you consider what we’d be accused of by a good portion of our country,” Cunningham added.

Vianest is now retired after 40 years in the shoe industry. Cunningham is the founder of Oakland Park Dental — a warm, welcoming office to gay and straight patients.

“I didn’t set out to make this a gaycentric practice,” he said. “It just sort of happened over time. I was one of the few openly gay dentists in town who welcomed people who were gay and treated them with respect. No one has to hide who they are here.”

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for her job, she makes herself available outside of her SunServe hours for those who need her.

The group and SunServe host unique programs, like their recent LGBT-specific sex ed bootcamp.

Barnes appreciated how it differed from traditional curriculums, where LGBT sexual health is often overlooked, she said.

She finds herself assisting her group with its LGBT-unrelated needs, too — like its members’ college applications and resumes.

“I’m just happy to be part of their journeys,” she said. “It’s about seeing the process and seeing them grow.”

– Kristen Grau

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Photo courtesy of Nik Harris.

Nik Harris The Trailblazer

Nik Harris is Florida’s first LGBT consumer advocate.

The newly created position began in April. The role will address discrimination and fraud while raising awareness about opportunities for LGBT residents in the agriculture industry.

“I’m trying to blaze this trail and figure out other ways in which we can be of assistance,” Harris said.

“I also view the role as something of a one-stop state government referral resource.”

Harris is no stranger to state politics. She serves on the HRC Board of Governors and is co-chair of HRC’s South Florida Steering Committee. She’s vice president of the Dolphin Democrats and vice president of Florida’s

LGBTA Democratic Caucus.

Most recently she served as senior attorney at the Florida Department of Transportation and was previously the assistant general counsel at FDOT and as claims administration director for the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority.

Looking ahead, Harris has no plans, for now, to run for elected office. Currently, she’s focused on her new job.

“I’m passionate about politics and the ways in which we can use government and those offices to help our community,” she said. “I’m all for that.”

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– Denise Royal

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Virginia “Ginny” Apuzzo

Photo via Virginia Apuzzo, Facebook.

The Pioneer

Legend. Trailblazer. Pioneer.

All of them describe Virginia “Ginny” Apuzzo.

The New York native played a pivotal role in LGBT civil rights and the fight against AIDS. A former nun, Apruzzo came out after Stonewall and never looked back. She joined the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and served for many years as its executive director, working to include LGBT issues in the 1976 Democratic Party platform. In 1978, she co-founded the Lambda Independent Democrats.

During her tenure with New York City’s Department of Public Health, Apuzzo became one of the earliest, most vocal female AIDS activists in the country. She was also a part of Gov. Mario Cuomo’s administration in New York State and served as executive director of the New

York State Consumer Protection Board, where she investigated products touting a a cure for AIDS. In 1997, President Bill Clinton appointed her to the White House senior staff as assistant to the president for administration and management, making her the highest-ranking out lesbian in the federal government.

Her long list of honors includes: • The first Human Rights Campaign Fund Award • Special citations from the Gay Men's Health Crisis and the New York Civil Liberties Union • The Victory Fund Award

Now retired, Apuzzo calls South Florida home.

– Denise Royal

DOUG PEW

The Choral Singer Doug Pew got involved in South Florida’s gay choral movement thanks to his partner, Don Croxton. Croxton was a member of the Fort Lauderdale Gay Men’s Chorus for several years and was among a dozen men who organized The Gay Men’s Chorus of South Florida in the summer of 2010.

Pew, a lawyer, volunteered to incorporate the company and secure not-for-profit charitable status. Pew and Croxton donated $5,000 to GMCSF during those early months, a sum matched by Pew’s former employer UTC. Initially involved as a result of Don’s interest and passion, Pew’s involvement took on a life of its own.

Pew served as chairman of the Board of Directors for seven years, during which time he ensured the Chorus’ success, both financially and structurally. He continues to serve on the Board of Directors.

In addition to the Chorus, Pew and his partner have supported, to a smaller degree, numerous LGBT groups, including Our Fund, Equality Florida, Lambda Legal, Stonewall Library & Museum, the Pride Center and others.

Speaking of Our Fund, Pew notes that it “has proven

itself capable of preserving the assets given to it and extremely qualified to provide valuable guidance to those in the LGBTQ community who may not have the time nor resources to evaluate the many deserving organizations in our area. Our Fund, which currently oversees over $10 million, is an ideal depository for anyone wishing to leave a legacy that may continue for many years after one’s life is ended.”

This year Pew and Croxton celebrate their 50th anniversary. They met in 1969: the year of Stonewall, Woodstock and the first moon landing. They met in a bar with a back door alley entrance, were married in Toronto, Canada on the first weekend that gay marriage was legalized there, and committed to each other in a quiet corner of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. A lifelong Democrat, Doug is addicted to politics. Always enjoying travel, Pew has been able to pursue his enchantment with the world around us.

– Jesse Monteagudo

Photo courtesy of May Reign.

Photo via Doug Pew, Facebook.

May Reign The Poet

May Reign is a poet, activist, wife, mother, grandmother, daughter, sister, author and entrepreneur. She fulfills all of those roles with passion and enthusiasm.

“Poetry is what I’m most engaged in,” she said.

One of her main projects is Ink Therapy — a monthly, open mic night she hosts in Pembroke Pines, every third Wednesday each month. “It’s an LGBT safe space for spoken word,” she said. “I’m proud of the work we do.”

Reign brings workshops to South Florida high schools to discuss self-esteem and other issues confronting young women.

“We talk about cultural differences, peer pressure, self-love, and what it takes to overcome your inner critics. I’m really enthusiastic about

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teaching young girls self-love.”

She also does workshops about activism through art and poetry. In addition, she has three books in circulation including a guided journal titled, “The Journey Begins With You.” Reign is working on a new book about women and relationships.

Reign created her candle company Moonflower in 2011 when she was a single mom who was struggling financially.

“It’s become a beautiful way for me to express my art in another way,” she said. “It’s now well known throughout the United States.”

You can learn more about May Reign at MayReign.com.

– Denise Royal

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Photo courtesy of Lora Tucker.

Lora Tucker The Leader

The LGBT center movement is alive and well with new ones popping up in communities around the U.S. Their success is due in part to CenterLink and the leadership of its CEO Lora Tucker.

“The employees here are so talented,” she said.

“I just manage their incredible energy and passion.

They bring it every single day and they are the success of CenterLink.”

Tucker recently marked her second anniversary at the helm of CenterLink as the organization celebrates its 25th anniversary, showing no signs of slowing down. With about 240 members, CenterLink recently added 13 new centers that will benefit from Tucker’s experience.

In addition to being an ACC certified leadership coach, Tucker’s distinguished career includes serving 25 years as a soldier and officer for the U.S. Army and CEO for the Girl Scouts in Kentucky and southern Indiana.

The move to South Florida was the right one.

“My wife and I love living in Wilton Manors,” Tucker said. “It’s an incredible city. I feel like I’m living the dream. What we do at CenterLink is helping centers thrive. I feel like I’ve been embraced by this community and I try to make a difference every day.”

– Denise Royal

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Miami-Dade Rafa Carvajal The Publisher

Wire Magazine (WireMag) is a Miami-based publication catering to the LGBT community. Rafa Carvajal, purchased the magazine 10 years ago and serves as its publisher and editor in chief. He manages to circulate 10,000 issues on a biweekly basis, and the magazine has done so for the past 28 years. This is an impressive feat considering the publication is totally free. Carvajal also ensures it provides a great snapshot of sociocultural options in Miami.

Some years prior, claims were made by other magazines that Miami is no longer the epicenter

of gay life in South Florida.

WireMag fought back tirelessly to defend Miami and the crown.

Perusing WireMag shows Miami still has much to offer those seeking dining, music, local nightlife, or festivals in the South Florida area. As a conscious addition, WireMag also devotes full pages to offerings of healthcare and HIV/STD testing in the area. This inclusion is an important reminder of personal health, especially the needs of the LGBT community.

– David Doriez

Photo courtesy of Rafa Carvajal.

Lynare Robbins The Journalist

Journalist and human rights advocate, Lynare Robbins strives to help members of the LGBT community not just locally, but internationally.

She joined the Navy upon graduating high school, which led to her view of human rights on a global scale.

Robbins sometimes tackles these issues as a freelancer at SFGN. Whether the discussion is on local preservation of the Everglades, or the safety of the LGBT community at large, she addresses the most imminent threats.

She currently works as deputy director with Global Ties Miami, an organization working with the U.S. Department of State to foster professional exchanges with other nations. This

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represents an overarching goal of Robbins’ — breaking down barriers. Her work with the local non-profit 4Ward Miami, also demonstrates this same drive. She programs its “Americas LGBTQ Human Rights Symposium,” which celebrated its inauguration in 2019 and is set to return in 2020.

This year, the symposium brought speakers from nations across Central/South America, including an independent activist from Cuba. In 2020 the symposium will return, and focus on the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights. For these many reasons Robbins is chosen as a true OUT champion of South Florida.

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Photo via Global Ties Miami, Facebook.

June 28, 1969:

February 1987: June 1999:

September, 2011: June 26, 2015:

May, 2016:

The Stonewall riots spark the LGBT movement.

nonprofit AHF is founded in los angeles

“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in the military is struck down.

Obama publicly supports Trans students.

first annual Stonewall Pride Parade and festival

Love wins! Same-sex marriage becomes legal in the U.S.

Tomorrow:

?

Photo credit: OutClique.

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James Miille and Alex Mitow The artists

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James Miille and Alex Mitow create “full-scale, professional art fairs, without the BS.” They are codirectors of the Superfine! Art Fair phenomenon, and an LGBT power couple. Art collectors themselves, they saw traditional fairs as expensive and at times elitist.

In response, they debuted the Superfine! Art Fair in December of 2015.

The Superfine! Art Fair seems to be making art more accessible. The duo strives to keep prices affordable, which allows more people to grow their own collections.

The collectors then represent a variety of backgrounds and interests. At the fairs, Miille and Mitow are present

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and sharing narratives on the art being exhibited. Many local artists make the jump to a national market by partaking in the Superfine! Art Fair.

Mitow and Miille are excited to be presenting their fifth iteration in Miami this coming December. Mitow states they have “built amazing collector and cultural relationships within and outside of the LGBT community and are excited to grow [their] ties to South Florida as [they] continue to expand in New York, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle.”

– David Douriez

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Patricia Hernandez represents the legal minds of Miami-Dade. She is a founding partner of Rotella & Hernandez, an immigration and family law firm. Her specialty is helping immigrants and the complex battles they face, but her specialty is focusing on how these issues affect the LGBT community.

Hernandez has spoken extensively on immigration as it relates to same-sex marriage, and on how transgender identity influences an individual’s immigration experience.

In 2018, the Dade County Bar Association recognized Hernandez’ work with the LGBT community by presenting her with the Visionary Award.

Exemplifying leadership, she is also a board member and the chair of the LGBTQ committee of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, South Florida chapter. Patricia is also on the board of the Aqua Foundation for Women.

On the gratifying nature of her work, she said “by far the most gratifying aspect of my work is when I am able to obtain legal status for a client who has lived in the U.S. for many years undocumented, because their life and that of their family will forever be changed by no longer having to live in fear of being deported.”

– David Douriez

Photo courtesy of Patricia Hernandez.

Photo via Daniel Tilley, Facebook.

Daniel Tilley The legal director

Daniel Tilley has certainly taken action in his career.

Tilley, 35, is the legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union Florida. The Cartersville, Georgia native is a gay bachelor who got into law for impactful purposes.

“The commitment through my work is to make a real and lasting difference for people,” Tilley said.

In Florida, the ACLU, Tilley said, remains committed to defending the rights of LGBT people. He cites cases involving transgender prison inmates, same-sex marriage rights and gay-straight middle school clubs as examples of his work.

“It’s not a quiet sit at your desk kind of job,”

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Tilley said. “You dig into problems, see what you can undercover and look to make a difference.”

Tilley got his law degree from the University of Georgia and interned in Africa at the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. Before arriving in Miami, Tilley clerked in Atlanta at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia and in Washington D.C. at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces.

Tilley credits his college piano instructor at NYU with putting him on the proper path to help people. In his spare time, Tilley enjoys film, volleyball, piano and hiking.

– John McDonald

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Damian Pardo’s professional resume is impressive to say the least. He is vice president at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, but also serves as chair of 4Ward Miami — the non-profit organization which hosts the Gay8 Festival.

True leadership is exemplified in the roles Pardo plays beyond his own professional duties.

As co-founder of the Gay8 festival, Damian is proud of what it has accomplished in a few short years.

With an estimated 80,000 attendees, Gay8 has become the largest Latino/Hispanic LGBT festival in the nation. It occurs annually on Miami’s historic Calle Ocho, Spanish for eighth street.

On its mission Pardo states: “it serves as a platform for people to come as they are,

Photo credit: Carina Mask.

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and help blur the lines that divide our neighborhoods by experiencing great food, art, music, dance and special performances together. It is a celebration of inclusion and diversity.” Those that have attended the festival can testify to the rich diversity that exists on that day, where music from various cultures crowds the streets.

The 4ward Miami group, patrons of the festival, also aims to advance the progress and empowerment of the LGBT community. It has expanded its undertaking by hosting a Human Rights Symposium at a similar time as the festival. continued growth in the coming years is very much anticipated.

– David Douriez

Astrid Rodriguez Carranza The Mentor

Astrid Rodriguez Carranza is a managing director of investments at Wells Fargo, which she joined in 1997. Astrid earned her bachelor’s degree in finance at Barry University. Notably, she is on the board of the Aqua Foundation for Women. This organization supports the LBT community in the South Florida area, and she plays an integral role in the Foundation’s ability to support its grants, scholarships, and initiatives.

Aqua Foundation also spearheads a strong mentorship program. Each year the group sponsors women pursuing academic degrees and helps them pay for that education. It pairs younger members with Photo via Astrid Rodriguez Carranza, Facebook.

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senior members and helps them navigate the many professional milestones of their careers. In doing so, this group is shaping future LBTQ leaders of South Florida.

On Carranza, the Foundation stated “her passionate support of Aqua’s work is something she believes in strongly and [they] are fortunate to have her on [the] board.”

Beyond her mentorship, Astrid’s extracurriculars demonstrate her desire to give back; as a volunteer at the Labrador Retriever Rescue of Florida (LRROF) she fosters cute Labrador pups.

– David Douriez

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Palm Beach Michelle Sylvester The advocate

Michelle Sylvester decided to run for office after 20 years of leadership under the same party.

“They have removed funds that were marked for Everglades restoration,” Sylvester said. She ran because she said “there’s no plan,” for the future of climate change and the environment.

Now, Sylvester holds the seat for the Palm Beach Soil and Water Conservation, Group 1.

“I will be relentless in vocalizing the science that demands we do better, and I will be constant in my drive to push to ensure clean, safe, and secure water supplies for all South Florida residents and visitors alike,” she said.

Sylvester said that being in the LGBT community serves as “a great honor,” to her.

Sylvester has said she is “out and proud.” (Sylvester noted she’s not speaking in her role as a Palm Beach Soil and Water Conservation board member.)

“I have been out since my days of leading the Pride march in Miami when Anita Bryant was raging her campaign against us.”

Bryant founded the “Save Our Children” foundation, which was an opposition movement to the gay rights movement, according to PBS. Sylvester’s advice to others who are concerned about the world we live in? Take action. “I think more of us need to take action and get involved in the world at-large.”

– Sophie Siegel Photo courtesy of Michelle Sylvester.

Photo via Compass.

Dylan Brooks

The HIV Coordinator Dylan Brooks is a voice for the voiceless, but he’s no cliché.

“There are people out there who can’t speak out because of their jobs, or they are not out to their families,” he said. “I advocate for people who can’t advocate for themselves.”

Brooks should be no stranger to SFGN readers. He was named Best LGBT Activist in our 2018 “Best Of” edition. He’s also traveled to Washington D.C. to speak about youth homelessness and culturally competent sexual education.

He describes himself as just a “sassy little gay boy” from Northeast Georgia, but in reality, he’s

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much more. As HIV Testing and Mpowerment Coordinator at Compass, Brooks is someone who works diligently to make the world a better place.

“I’m rewarded by seeing a client’s smiling face because they know they are in a safe space and judgment-free zone at Compass where they can live their true selves,” Brooks said. “I’ve also counseled people newly diagnosed with HIV who quickly spiraled out of control after hearing the news, only to see them months later living their full authentic lives, knowing that having HIV doesn’t define them.”

– Denise Royal

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Michael D. Fowler

Photo courtesy of Michael D. Fowler.

The Gay Exec

Michael D. Fowler is the executive sponsor for the LGBT employees’ group at NextEra Energy Resources where he is vice president of information management for Florida Power & Light, an important and very visible position.

Fowler was born and raised in rural Michigan. “It was a truly rural place with rural values,” he said. “Just hours after graduation from high school I was on a plane to Baltimore to study information technology at Johns Hopkins University.”

Fowler was 20 when he was outed by a gay family member who left the phone message “the bomb has dropped.” In retrospect

Fowler felt that it worked to his benefit because the family had time to absorb the news while he was away. His parents turned out to be very supportive which gave him the kind of self confidence needed to succeed in the business world.

Although not married, Fowler and his partner, eye surgeon David Mittleman, have been together for six years. They are both committed to supporting youth and education and engage with a number of programs that support their cause.

– Donald Cavanaugh

Kevin Muth The Democrat

A mainstay on the Palm Beach political scene, Kevin Muth has witnessed history he never thought possible.

“I never thought in my lifetime I’d see same-sex marriage in the United States,” said Muth, in a slow Southern drawl that pulls out his Kentucky roots.

Muth arrived in South Florida in 1993 and got involved in politics a few years later at the encouragement of Michael Albetta, then president of the Dolphin Democrats. Muth and Albetta were delegates to the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte during the re-election of President Barack Obama.

“Kevin Muth is a dynamic people’s person,” Albetta said. “Knowledgeable, witty, and has his feet on the ground but reaches for the stars. He asks questions and moves with talent. If you have Kevin Muth on YOUR team, guaranteed you will succeed.”

Long before his Palm Beach life, Muth fondly recalls going to Democratic club meetings with his parents.

“I was exposed to community activism as a young child,” Muth said, telling a story of how — as a toddler — his mother would bring him into the voting booth as she cast her vote.

Presently, Muth serves as president of the Rusty Gordon LGBTA Democratic Caucus of Palm Beach. The caucus is named in honor of the late feminist lesbian Rusty Gordon. Engaging voters and continuing the fight for civil rights remains the major focus of Muth’s activism.

“It’s great that we can get married, but there are still places in America where we could get married on the weekend and come in to work on Monday and be subject to dismissal,” Muth said.

In tandem with his political work, Muth has a direct marketing consultant service and is a realtor.

Muth, 60, lives in Delray Beach with his life partner Joseph Vergoglino. He enjoys baking, cycling, gardening and raising orchids.

Photo via Kevin Muth, Facebook.

– John McDonald

Haye Moon

Photo via Haye Moon, Facebook.

The Non-Binary Educator “It hit me like a ton of bricks,” said Haye Moon, thinking back to when it became crystal clear being binary was not in the cards.

Moon, then six or seven, was having a family lunch when father said Moon would grow up to be feminine, beautiful and a woman. “Yuck,” said the youngster.

“I could grow up to become what I want,” recalled the Stamford, Connecticut native, who grew up in New York.

“My family was understanding and supportive,” but when it came to finding resources to guide the way, the primary ones were the non-binary community and friends who were transactivists.

In 2007, at the age of 14, Moon’s mother moved them to South Florida to live with the teenager’s grandmother and put down roots. Moon did just that, continuing a journey through the transitioning process that

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included a new name, identity — and never looking back.

By 22, Moon had come out.

Moon identifies as agender, one of several terms — among them, gender neutral, genderqueer, genderfree, ungendered — that fall under the umbrella of non-binary.

While being a sign language interpreter may pay the rent, Moon, a resident of Lake Worth Beach, cultivates a passion for educating others about the non-binary lifestyle through classes and seminars at Compass in Lake Worth Beach, SunServe in Wilton Manors, and elsewhere.

“I value having a non-binary community locally I can be a part of.”

– James Watson

Photo via Compass.

Lorenz The HIV

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When it comes to educating people about HIV, Lorenzo Lowe is a rock star. As HIV prevention and education director, Lowe manages 35 condom distribution sites, 15 different outreach locations including college campuses, testing and education venues. “This is a community in need of a lot of services,” Lowe told.

His favorite part of the job is dealing with people.

“I have been at Compass for eight years,” he said. “I’ve had amazing encounters with community members.

Unfortunately, I have to tell people when they are HIV positive, but I am also there to support them and show them a way to tomorrow —

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while holding their hands the whole way. That’s the actual work. It’s seeing clients who I told them of their status when I first started, and seeing them live well now. That part of the job keeps me humble and gives me gratitude.”

The Palm Beach County native acknowledges that helping others as they learn to live with HIV can be exhaustive. Lowe, a selfproclaimed “man-baby” likes to unwind by playing video games, writing poetry, socializing with friends and family, and listening to music. Pink is his No. 1, go-to performer.

– Denise Royal

David Thall

The Hospitality King

Photo via David Thall, Facebook.

Treating others with care is in David Thall’s pedigree.

“I was raised by a mother who loved to entertain and was the consummate hostess, and my father owned and managed restaurants. In a home where warmth and genuine care was given to all, my parents were all about making people feel comfortable as soon as they walked in the door,” Thall said, who was born and raised in Belle Mead, New Jersey.

He added, “This is my professional and personal value system.”

Thall, who received his bachelor’s degree in hospitality in 1992 from Widener University in Chester, Pennsylvania, arrived in Delray Beach in 1999 at the age of 29.

“Previously I had spent a number of years working in various locations in Asia, including Seoul, Hong Kong, Singapore and Bangkok,” said Thall, who joined The Breakers Palm Beach in Autumn 1999 as one of the opening managers for Echo, an Asian restaurant.

In Autumn 2013, he was promoted to assistant director of food and beverage with direct responsibility for Echo, HMF and The Italian Restaurant.

“Thanks to David’s efforts, Echo has consistently been a leading sponsor of PBCHRC major events year after year,” said Rand Hoch, founder and president of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council.

Said Thall, “I have been supporting the cause for many years and it is so important, especially now, that we all pay attention, educate ourselves and make good decisions at the polls. We have made great strides in equality, but don’t want to lose traction in our advances, so we must be vigilant as to who we are putting in office and that their policies are in alignment with ours.”

After hours, Thall downshifts at his mid-century home in Lake Worth Beach.

“I recently remodeled my kitchen and I love to cook, so I put on music, prepare a great meal, open a bottle of wine and relax with my two pomeranians, Drake and Michi,” said Thall.

“Everyone should feel special, genuinely looked after, and cared for.”

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– James Watson

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She worked in Foggy Bottom under Secretaries Hillary Clinton and John Kerry and captured the Democratic Party’s nomination in the 2018 U.S. FL-18 congressional election.

Lauren Baer is a rising star in Palm Beach County.

“Running as the Democratic nominee in the 18th district was truly an honor and a privilege of a lifetime,” Baer said.

“It was such an honor and privilege because it was an opportunity to fight for my community and not just to fight for some people but all people in Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast.”

Baer’s path to the State Department started in Palm Beach County where her family founded Baer’s Furniture. A high school

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valedictorian, young Lauren was educated at Harvard, Oxford and Yale.

“What has motivated my career choices is a desire to serve my community. To serve my country and to make this world a little bit better place for all of us,” Baer said.

Baer, 38, derives joy from her family – wife Emily and their two-and-half-year-old daughter Serena. She loves to play tennis, cook and take their dog Biscuit to the beach for a “good run around in the sand and surf.”

Although she came up short in her first congressional bid, Baer is not ruling out another run.

“I have every intention of staying in the arena,” she said.

– John McDonald

Photo via Lauren Baer, Facebook.

Clarence Brooks The Dancer

Clarence Brooks said that he started dancing by accident.

Brooks needed a physical education credit at his local college. Brooks got to take part in a dance class. He realized that “this was a workout,” and later, Brooks got to use dance as his gym credit.

Brooks, now a professional dancer and associate professor of dance at Florida Atlantic University, has created numerous dancing programs, and formed the FAU dance program, 16 years ago.

“I like being other,” Brooks said about his identity. “As I get older, I like it even more because I am adding ageism to the other now….I like the Photo via Clarence Brooks, Facebook.

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ageism, the black, the queer, being open.”

Brooks also sits on the Board of Compass, the LGBT community center of the Palm Beaches.

Recently, Brooks was choreographed by Demetrius Klein in a dance, using James Baldwin’s “Pin Drop” speech.

Brooks said the solo was dynamic and was a challenge. It was also “understanding what this straight white male was getting from this speech and then, putting it on this black, queer body using a black, queer voice,” Brooks said. “It was just this wonderful bit.”

– Sophie Siegel

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The Keys Teri Johnston The Mayor

Key West Mayor Teri Johnston celebrated alongside Dar, her partner and wife of 35 years and mother of their two daughters at this year’s Pride festivities.

“We have always attended Key West Pride with our entire family,” said Johnston, who set a record in November 2018 when she became the first out lesbian to be elected mayor of Key West.

Hailing from Conrad, Iowa — which had “one stop light, no crime and an entire community to raise you properly” — Johnston arrived 20 years ago in what then was a gay destination.

“Dar and I were drawn to Key West by the ‘feel.’ Nowhere had we experienced the sense of community, inclusiveness, caring and activism that we felt when we crossed the Cow Key Bridge into Key West. You could share a glass of wine with a billionaire and a homeless local and have the most engaging, intellectual conversation that you have had for years,” recalled Johnston, who, with her wife, owns a small design/build company.

Two decades after her arrival, Johnston says Key West has grown into an “all

Photo courtesy of Teri Johnston.

welcome” destination. Each year, 4 million visitors to this environmentally sensitive island check out attractions ranging from the classic to the contemporary, including the rainbow crosswalk at the intersection of Petronia and Duval Streets.

“Actually, it was Hurricane Wilma that projected me into politics,” said Johnston, who served two terms as a city commissioner before she was elected mayor, the second woman to hold this office in Key West.

Then, in 2017, Hurricane Irma roared through. “There is no community that you could ever be a part of, however, that meets these weather events with more resolve and a fierce protection of our neighbors and neighborhoods. We are up and moving with lightning speed.”

Johnston is quick to point out, “We make sure that inclusivity is ingrained in all of our legislation, but more importantly, we live it every day.”

“Everyone contributes and supports the entire community,” proclaimed the mayor – James Watson

JT Thompson the creative

Key West’s JT Thompson is an artist and graphic designer. He’s also working to make the world a better place with One Human Family. It’s an all-volunteer non-profit with a simple message: “We are all different — like fingers on a hand — but also a part of each other. Like fingers on a hand, we are designed by our Creator to work together as one.” Its slogan is “All People Are Created Equal Under One Human Family.”

It’s the official philosophy of Key West and Monroe County and the mantra is now global.

“I have given out over 3 million free stickers and 250,000 free wristbands to virtually every country on the planet,” Thompson said. “Teachers use it in classes; corporations

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use it in diversity training. The Dalai Lama and Pope Francis have also written about it. President [Barack] Obama used it several times in speeches.”

One Human Family is not affiliated with any business, government, or religion. It started more than 40 years ago when Thompson attended an Anti-Anita Bryant rally in Los Angeles. He marched alongside the NAACP. “I was impressed how they were there to support a different segment of society and realized that when minorities stand shoulderto-shoulder, we become a powerful force for change,” Thompson said.

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Photo courtesy of JT Thompson.

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Photo via Mark Ebenhoch, Facebook.

Mark Ebenhoch is a force to be reckoned with — he’s a Marine vet, an actor, film advisor, and a national and state LGBT activist. He’s also the keeper of the flag. Well, at least part of it. We’re not talking about just any old flag. Section 93 is a portion of what was once the 1.25-mile-long “Rainbow 25 Sea To Sea Flag” created to stretch across Key West in 2003.

Since then, this flag has crisscrossed the globe — traveling to the U.S. Supreme Court to celebrate the legalization of gay marriage, Morehead, Kentucky (when Kim Davis tried to block gay marriage), Starkville, Mississippi (for its controversial first-ever Pride Parade),

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Australia, and to the White House at President Barack Obama’s invitation.

To help Section 93 fly around the world as a symbol of pride, Ebenhoch founded the nonprofit Hope, Unity, and Global Equality (HUGE). Now, he is working to have the flag installed at the Smithsonian Institute in the LGBT History Collection.

“Section 93 is a part of that flag that has been seen and touched by more human beings than any other LGBT flag anywhere on the planet. It’s almost like a Betsy Ross flag. It has an historic value that should be kept at the Smithsonian forever.”

– Denise Royal

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Arts & Entertainment Joseph Cox

The Naturist-Turned-Executive Ask the Museum of Discovery and Science’s (MODS) new executive director Joseph Cox how he ended up in his career and he’ll share a funny story: “It was completely by accident,” he recalled. “I was trying to put off working as long as possible.”

Cox, then an undergrad environmental science major in his native England, happened by his advisor’s office and “saw a poster of a guy in khaki shorts holding a snake and talking to a group of kids.

Outside the window there were palm trees. Six weeks later, I was on a British Airways plane bound for Naples (Florida),” where he took an internship at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida Nature Center.

Within four years, he was promoted to director. Cox was then recruited to found the Golisano Children’s Museum in Naples,

where he led the design, fundraising and construction of a $25 million, 30,000 sq. ft. facility. Most recently, he was president of the EcoTarium in Massachusetts, New England’s leading science and nature museum.

But, Cox couldn’t pass up the opportunity to return to Florida 18 months ago.

“I love the energy, the vibrancy of the community, the growth and collaborative nature,” he said of his new home. “Everyone is willing to roll up their sleeves and work together and that’s always been my approach to things.”

Since coming to MODS, Cox has overseen a comprehensive program to make the museum welcoming for LGBT families and his staff is planning the first Pride Family Day on June 22.

– JW Arnold

Photo via Shawn Palacious, Facebook.

Photo via Joseph Cox, Facebook.

Shawn Palacious

The Entertainer Extraordinaire On any given weekend, he can be seen appearing as his glamorous and equally outrageous drag alter ego, Kitty Meow, at Georgie’s Alibi / Monkey Bar in Wilton Manors. Surf the internet and you’re liable to find him hosting Hotspots Live!, a weekly internet entertainment newsmagazine produced by the publishers of Hotspots.

Flip through the channels on your TV and you may catch him promoting one of many parties and fundraisers throughout the year: Palacious was the onstage host at the White Party in Miami, Pride Fort Lauderdale on the beach in February and the AIDS Walk this spring.

And then there are his prolific social media accounts.

To be tagged in one of his Facebook or Instagram posts is to be associated with the glitterati of South Florida’s LGBT community.

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Palacious came to the U.S. from his native Bahamas for school and never looked back. Despite the support of his family, the Bahamas is still a dangerous place for LGBT people, especially performers like Palacious.

That’s one reason why he takes his role as entertainment director with Pride Fort Lauderdale so seriously.

He looks forward to the opportunity to promote a safe space for LGBT people to live their truths and express themselves at events like Pride. Palacious is especially proud to have helped organize the fifth annual Caribbean PrideFest in Huizenga Plaza this year, a larger festival that celebrated the culture, music and food of the islands and lent visibility to an often overlooked segment of the LGBT community living here in South Florida.

– JW Arnold

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You don’t have to be Dr. Phil—or Dr. Ruth, as a matter of fact—to figure out that playwright Ronnie Larsen is more than slightly obsessed with sex.

His works include the Off Broadway sensation “Making Porn,” the story of a straight man who finds himself sucked into the world of gay porn; “All-Male Peep Show,” the story of sex workers in seedy 1990s Times Square; “The Penis Talk Show,” a hilarious live comedy act in which audiences get to ask three anonymous naked guys anything about their male organs; and another two dozen plays that have been performed in theaters around the world.

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theater during high school in the 1980s in Bakersfield, California. The first chance he got, he headed to New York. He was fascinated by the city’s diverse theater community, but even more by the at-the-time seedy Times Square with its porn theaters and arcades. The experiences would inspire many of his later works.

After several years living in Tijuana, Mexico while his husband (and part-time set designer and carpenter) Melqui qualified for a green card, Larsen decided to relocate to South Florida.

Audiences at Empire Stage and, now, Wilton Theater Factory love his racy plays and the prolific writer has not disappointed them.

– JW Arnold

Mark Traverso and Conor Walton The Arts Power Couple

During the height of the South Florida arts season, Mark Traverso and Conor Walton are like two ships passing in the night: Conor, an award-winning actor, singer and dancer is heading to a rehearsal or performance anywhere between Jupiter and Coral Gables.

Mark, a very successful marketing executive by day, is likely chairing a board meeting of Slow Burn Theatre Co. or making a curtain speech at one of their performances at the Broward Center.

“I enjoy working and I’m lucky in this community to work almost all the time,” said Walton, an Actors Equity member who also cherishes the quiet times with his husband.

“We often don’t see a lot of each other. By the time I get home at night, he may be asleep.”

“We enjoy taking short trips together to Photo via Mark Traverso (L), Facebook.

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recharge,” Traverso explained. “We like to go to the Bahamas and we love to go to Alaska during the summers.”

Traverso enjoyed theater, but he had no idea the role it would occupy in his life when he and Walton met more than a decade ago.

He enjoys lending his business acumen to Slow Burn and has shepherded the growth of the company from a small, “almost community” theater performing in a Boca high school auditorium to an Equity house that produces critically acclaimed, big budget shows at the Broward and Aventura Centers.

“We have our routine, but at the end of the day, we always end up back at home in Boca,” said Walton.

– JW Arnold

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Off The Wall

FORGIVE ME FATHER, FORGIVE ME SON Pier Angelo

R

eligion, the root of all evil, was the biggest factor that prevented me from ever being close to my father.

A deeply religious man, who truly lived according to Christian values, he had a tough time deal-ing with his first born, who, from an early age, proved to be rebellious, independent, stubborn, and gay.

I never bought into the religion claptrap no matter how many hours I had to spend in church or taking part in family prayers.

I had an adversarial relationship with religion, an inborn mistrust and dislike of the whole concept. I did not hesitate to express it loudly. Being punished for skipping Sunday services did nothing to deter me.

In fact, it became very easy to "lose my religion,” to my father’s life-long dismay. As time went by, our differences spilled into politics, social issues, lifestyles, education and career choices; we never agreed on anything and always carried a tremendous amount of tension anytime we were in the presence of one another.

Ironically he never found it difficult to get on well with strangers, with his nephew, or other people's kids.

During my childhood I feared and obeyed him. I was always reading his temperament, assess-ing his mood when he arrived home from work, constantly preparing myself for our daily battle around the dinner table.

Much later I came to the realization I loved him, but sadly I never got to know him.

Looking back I can now say it was a waste of lives. Mine and his, plain misery for the

sake of some ancient superstitious belief in an unknown god. I kept arguing with him that there was no convincing evidence our world was created by divine intervention, that a god intercedes in hu-man affairs, or the complete absence of proof there is life after death for that matter. The more I went on the further apart we grew.

I know he truly loved me and cared for me, but he had no idea how to reach out or bend his stern views of what I should be or do.

And I never made an effort to extend an olive branch. I never compromised. According to my mother we were two faces of the same coin.

My father was the strong and silent type — with an emphasis on the silent. That is, until his short fuse exploded in anger. Very much like some people describe aspects of my personality. He was a stranger for most of my life. I left home at a very early age to get away from him, to discover and explore the world on my own terms. To his credit he gave me the freedom I needed and craved.

He probably realized the battle was lost and therefore did not oppose my living halfway across the globe.

For my part I chose to live with “no regrets.”

Again, to his credit, he never lost touch with me. For 30 years, not a week went by that I didn’t receive from him a handwritten letter.

It didn't matter that most of the times I didn't bother to reply. They kept coming. He never gave up on me.

Many of us are able to forgive our parents for perceived childhood wrongs once we see

The gratitude, surprise and happiness I saw in his eyes and face, after I uttered those three magic words, instantly healed all the wounds of the past.

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Photo by Danielle MacInnes on Unsplash.

them as normal human beings who did the best they could raising us. When my father started to age he began to soften and my defenses dropped because I feared him less.

But it wasn’t until I saw him as an old man slowly preparing for his own death that I was able to summon the strength to go up to him and tell him that I loved him. It was the first time in my life I ever said that to him. The gratitude, surprise and happiness I saw in his eyes and face, after I uttered those three magic words, instantly healed all the wounds of the past, on both sides. It was a brief moment, on a train station platform, but it reconciled a lifetime of turmoil, friction and pain.

I think timing is everything when initiating a step toward reconciliation, and you don’t have to wait decades before doing it. I know that now. There might not be a tomorrow.

My father passed away five years after our milestone moment.

Knowing that I had already said the things that needed to be said actually helped a great deal during the grieving process. Nothing was left unsaid, hence, leaving no room for regrets.

Now when Father’s Day comes around, only good memories accompany the tears.

I only wonder what our lives could have been if religion hadn't kept us so far apart for so long.

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Tom Jones

Our Fund’s mission is to promote responsible philanthropy in order to make South Florida the most livable community in the country for LGBT people.

Everyday Philanthropist As South Florida’s only LGBT community foundation, Our Fund Foundation improves people's lives by providing various ways to give and supporting causes within the LGBT community. Every month we will feature a local philanthropist and ask them about what inspires them to give, hopefully inspiring new everyday philanthropy.

Tom Jones, another one of our committed supporters, talks about what inspires him to give to South Florida causes:

LEGACY GIVING AGENCY FUNDS DONOR-ADVISED FUNDS BUSINESS PARTNERSHIPS

Where are you from, and where do you consider home?

I am from Cincinnati. I started coming here in 2002, becoming a resident in 2006. I’ve been full time for the past three years.

When did you first begin giving, and what inspired you to do so? What was the first organization you gave to?

I started giving about 5 years into my career getting actively involved with a local LGBT political group in Cincinnati. Then the AIDS crisis hit and it was natural to give to our HIV/ AIDS groups since my friends were becoming sick and dying.

Which causes and organizations do you support with your time and resources?

Now, my giving is broader in nature. I split recipients between organizations in Cincinnati and groups here in Fort Lauderdale. In Fort Lauderdale, my giving focuses on our LGBT community. I have been focusing on Latinos Salud because I’ve seen them in action stepping up to the plate when new needs are identified (and I love the enthusiasm of their volunteers!); Stonewall Museum and Archives because I really like libraries; SunServe and the Pride Center because of the breadth of services they provide; and Our Fund because it is in a unique position to identify many smaller organizations that provide much-needed services to our community.

What do you find most rewarding about giving to the causes you care about?

Most rewarding for me is seeing the “personalization of results” from organizations I support. It’s helping the young transgender individual learn the coping skills to prepare for getting that first job; it’s helping the HIV positive guy get his meds when otherwise he couldn’t

OUR FUND FOUNDATION afford them; or providing bus fare for an elderly gay man to be able to go to a senior service center; or provide books so LGBT youth can appreciate their heritage and be proud of who they are. Somebody once said, “If you’ve done well, you should do good.”

What sort of guidance would you give to someone considering giving back to their community?

I think my guidance would be listen to stories of the underprivileged or underserved. Then do a little research. Find the best way to help fix it. Ask around as to what group is working to solve that problem. See who their leaders are, ask about their mission. Make a judgment as to whether you think they would be good stewards of your time and or money. Then donate or volunteer. Do you feel proud of what they are accomplishing? If so, up your game with them. If not, try another avenue to give back. We all need to sit in the lobbies of our local LGBT/HIV service organizations to watch everyone who comes through those doors needing help or resources. Then pick the doors that are most important to you to keep open.

supports projects that serve the LGBT community in a number of different fields:

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Convictions

Jesse’s Journal

Stonewall at Fifty Jesse Monteagudo

I

n 1999, I wrote an article, “Stonewall at Thirty,” where I discussed the Stonewall uprising and what the event meant for us 30 years later. In 2004 I wrote another column, “Stonewall at ThirtyFive,” which was basically a rehash of the 1999 piece. I also wrote about Stonewall for an encyclopedia, Youth, Education, and Sexualities, edited by James T. Sears (2005), not one of my best efforts.

Though I still think of Stonewall as the most important event in LGBT history, its meaning has changed as we changed over the years, both as individuals and as part of an LGBT community. What used to be a truly subversive event — queers resisting police oppression — has become banal; a way to sell products or services or an excuse to throw a party.

Fifty years ago, I was a 16-year-old high school student in Miami, and I did not learn about Stonewall until I read my first gay newspaper two years later. Today, almost every high school student in America knows about Stonewall. What was once unmentionable is now part of our country’s political and social history. Former President Barack Obama brought Stonewall, and the LGBT movement that it represents, up to the level of the feminist and civil rights movements when he named it along with the Seneca Falls Convention (1848) and the Selma March (1965) as major events in the history of American freedom. (The fact that all three events start with an “S” helped.) History books that once would have ignored the Stonewall uprising and the LGBT movement now mention both, if briefly. In 2011, PBS first broadcast the Stonewall uprising as part of its “American

Experience” series, giving the event its seal of approval. Then in 2016, the Stonewall Inn and its surroundings became a national monument. All this happened during the Obama years, a period of history when, to use the title of a book by Ta-Nehisi Coates, “we were eight years in power.”

Donald Trump and his evangelical base would never allow a Stonewall national monument, though the fact that there are no fossil fuels below Greenwich Village means that the monument will continue to exist, at least for now.

Though the memory of Stonewall brings the LGBT community together once a year, if only to party, the event continues to create controversy within our community.

Even the make-up of the Stonewall rioters leads to many arguments: were they young, mostly white, gay men or young, mostly black or brown, trans women? In a way I think the debate is a healthy one, if only because it finally gives a Stonewall veteran like Miss Major GriffinGracy the recognition that she deserves. On the other hand, arguing the presence of this or that person or group can get tedious, like the debate on what trans Latinx activist Sylvia Rivera was actually doing on June, 28, 1969: challenging the cops outside the Stonewall Inn or passed out on a nearby bench. I think the distinguishing mark of the Stonewall rioters was mostly economic and not racial or gender. These people — women or men, trans or cis, black or Latinx or white — hung out at the Stonewall because they had nowhere else to go, unlike the well-off gays who were enjoying the weekend on the West Side or on Fire Island.

Though the Stonewall uprising was by

Though the memory

of Stonewall brings the LGBT community

together once a year, if only to party, the event continues to create

controversy within our community.

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no means the start of the LGBT movement, it happened at the right place and the right time: in Greenwich Village at the tail end of a tumultuous decade. Stonewall only happened because of Selma and Seneca Falls Convention (and their aftermath).

Events like the Compton’s Cafeteria Riot in San Francisco (1966) or the Black Cat Riot in Los Angeles (1967) did not get the attention that Stonewall did. It helped that

activists like the late Craig Rodwell saw the Stonewall uprising as a useful tool and worked to make its anniversary a symbol of queer resistance and community. In any case, we should continue to honor Stonewall for what it was and what it represents, though always remembering those who made Stonewall possible. If Stonewall never existed, another event would surely take its place.

Jesse Monteagudo is a freelance writer and journalist. He has been an active member of South Florida's LGBT community for more than four decades and has served in various community organizations.

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A&E theater

Photo: The Boys in the Band, Facebook.

The Boys in the Band Pier Angelo

T

he Boys in the Band won the 2019 Tony Awards for best revival of a play on Sunday, June 9.

The revival production premiered last year, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of Mart Crowley’s groundbreaking play, which premiered off-Broadway in 1968.

The show depicts a group of gay male friends getting together for a birthday party in New York City, predating the Stonewall riots in 1969.

Crowley accepted the prize, alongside producer David Stone, and emotionally dedicated it to the original cast.

“I’d like to dedicate the award to the original cast of nine brave men, who did not listen to their agents when they were told that their careers would be finished if they did this play,” Crowley said. “They did it, and here I am.” The play was groundbreaking for its portrayal of gay life.

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A&E theater

New Doc ‘State Of Pride’ Gives A Voice To The Next Generation David-Elijah Nahmod

I

n “State Of Pride,” a new documentary now available on YouTube, gay activist and YouTube personality Raymond Braun travels to three diverse cities to chat with young people about what Pride means to them. The answers Braun gets may not always have been what he expected.

“State Of Pride” was directed by the filmmaking team of Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, who took home the coveted Oscar for the 1984 documentary “The Times Of Harvey Milk.” That film recalled Milk’s rise to political power, his brief tenure as one of the first openly gay elected officials in United States history, and the aftermath of his 1978 assassination. With “State Of Pride” the auteurs, and Braun, are taken on a journey which poses the questions: What is Pride? What does it mean? And why is Pride viewed so differently in different cities?

The film opens with a recollection of the Stonewall riots. On June 28, 1969, patrons of the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City, fought back against the constant police harassment they had endured for many years. The rioting and demonstrations continued for several days and is credited with launching the modern gay rights movement. Fifty years later, LGBT people the world over celebrate Pride and hold parades every June in commemoration of what happened at Stonewall. And now, all these years after Stonewall, Epstein, Friedman and Braun have wondered what younger people might have to say about Pride.

Braun begins by Skyping with young LGBT people in different parts of the country. He hears points of view which are as diverse as the people he chats with.

“Coming from D.C., there’s two Prides, there’s Black Pride, and then there’s everyone else’s Pride,” said one black gay man from Los Angeles. “If you don’t identify with one particular group then you don’t have a place where you fit.”

“It’s just so wonderful to see so many people similar to you in one place in support of each other,” said a gay Asian man from San Francisco.

“Pride is the reason I’m alive,” said a young trans woman, but another trans woman has a decidedly different point of view.

“A lot of people don’t want trans women of color to even have a platform, so they’re not going to promote where people of color’s voices can be heard,” she said.

Hearing such differing views regarding Pride inspires Braun to take a road trip.

He visits large cities and small towns, in conservative and liberal states, to get a better idea of what Pride means to young people 50 years post-Stonewall.

His first stop is Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where he finds LGBT people living in communities that don’t accept who they are. The Tuscaloosa portion of the film is especially powerful as it serves as a reminder of how far the LGBT movement still has to go. Alabama is one of the country’s most conservative states — the state made

Image via YouTube.

“State Of Pride” can now be viewed on You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_J48BIRaG7A 36

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Image via YouTube.

headlines recently when Gov. Kay Ivey happily and proudly. signed one of the most restrictive abortion Braun’s last stop is in Salt Lake City, Utah, bans in the country. home base to the anti-gay Mormon church Braun chats with Meredith, a lesbian in — 10 years ago the church had donated a Tuscaloosa who recalls the area’s first Pride great deal of money to help pass Proposition parade in 2014.

8, California’s now overturned ban on same“It was adorable,” Meredith said. “It was sex marriage. about 50 folks. People who grew up here While in Salt Lake, Braun spends a were just shook, they were amazed that considerable amount of time with Carson, there was a Pride festival downtown, openly, a young gay man confined to a wheelchair without disaster happening.” because of a spinal cord injury. Carson feels The other people that Braun talks to that it’s easier to be disabled than to be gay, underscore how real such and it’s clear as to why fears are in the state. One he feels that way — he young lesbian who works left the Mormon church as a barista in a local café due to lack of acceptance. spoke of a customer who But Carson is blessed didn’t want to be served with a loving family. by her because of who she Grace is said at the table is. Another interviewee, before a family dinner, a transgender man, said after which Carson talks that the Pride festival to the family about his is the only place where sexuality. He asks them he feels safe kissing his to fly a Pride flag in front girlfriend. of the house and invites A completely different them to join him for tale is told in San the Pride parade. They Francisco, considered accept the invitation. by some to be the center Towards the end of of the LGBT universe. the film Carson’s father - Meredith Pride is a big deal in the raises the rainbow flag in Documentary participant city, with no less than front of the family home, three parades taking as Carson smiles joyfully. place: the Trans March, the Dyke March and “Right where it should be,” he said. the general Pride Parade. Rainbow flags are “State Of Pride” packs a lot of material into everywhere, and everyone is out, loud and its short, 71-minute running time. The film proud. beautifully illustrates how much progress Among the San Franciscans Braun chats LGBT people have made, but it also shows with is Subhi, a young gay man from Syria how much work still needs to be done. As who fled his homeland in fear for his life. In Braun said in the film: “As long as LGBT San Francisco he can be who he is openly people are facing any form of discrimination, — Subhi kisses his boyfriend on the street Pride is still relevant.”

"People who grew up here were just shook, they were amazed that there was a Pride festival downtown, openly, without disaster happening."

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A&E theater Behind the Scenes:

Tony-Winning Costumes are Real Stars of Slow Burn’s ‘Priscilla’ J.W. Arnold

“C

hristmas” came a little early for Rick Peña. Literally.

Like an eager child rushing to the tree to unwrap presents, Slow Burn Theatre Co.’s award-winning costume designer found himself in the Broward Center’s Abdo New River Room three weeks ago, opening more than 65 boxes of costumes for the upcoming production.

But this wasn’t just any production and inside there weren’t just any “costumes.” The show is “Priscilla, Queen of the Desert,” a disco-inspired romp about three drag queens driving across Australia in a beat-up pink bus, and the Tony Award-winning costumes are iconic examples of campy drag at its most extreme. Slow Burn won the rights to the regional premiere in Fort Lauderdale, June 13 – 30.

“It took days to go through all the boxes and inventory and inspect all the costumes,” recalled Peña, who shared the adventure with artistic director Patrick Fitzwater in real time on social media. “It’s a massive show, all around.”

The creative duo’s friends and followers got sneak peaks at the giant flowered wigs, ostrich headpieces and shimmery bell bottoms that first won rave reviews in the 1994 indie film and later on Broadway in a clever 2011 adaptation.

“We had so much to do,” he said of the more than 600 pieces. “And it was still a challenge to figure out which rack [of costumes] would work best for all the ensemble actors.”

But, the hardest job was still yet to come.

Peña, a Florida International University theater grad, first fell in love with costume design as a boy in Miami and was taught to sew by his grandmother. He had to begin the equally massive task of altering the costumes to fit the 25 cast members.

“I prefer designing and constructing the costumes,” he explained. “I have more control that way. Let’s just say it’s much easier to take in a costume than to find room to let it out.”

It’s not unusual for Peña to both design and sew hundreds of costumes for Slow Burn’s big budget musicals. This season’s fun spring production of “Legally Blonde” had a cast of 25 and each character had an average of eight costume changes.

Slow Burn Theatre Co.’s Rick Peña and Patrick Fitzwater model some of the costumes that just arrived for their upcoming production of “Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.” Credit: Facebook, courtesy Rick Peña.

“You do the math,” he quipped.

Once the show finally makes it to the stage, Peña said the audience never notices the most critical aspect of the production — the quick costume changes backstage.

The designer and three other dressers are hustling backstage to help actors into and out of their wigs, frocks and platform heels.

“There is just as much — maybe a bigger show — happening back stage as on stage,” he said, also noting that star Michael Ursua even undergoes a seemingly miraculous onstage transformation. “But, you will not see me.”

One question audiences always ponder is how the drag queens can get into and out of their makeup so quickly.

That’s simple, Peña revealed. The actors wear special masks with the makeup painted on and, from the house, itappears as convincing as if it were applied by hand.

There are more than 70 makeup masks and each is coordinated to specific costumes, adding yet another twist to the tricky quickchange scenario.

“There’s a lot of excitement,” Peña said as he departed for the first design run at the Broward Center, the first time actors will rehearse the show in the costumes. “I think the cast is the most excited.”

Slow Burn Theatre Co. presents the regional premiere of “Priscilla, Queen of the Desert,” June 13 – 30, in the Amaturo Theater at the Broward Center in Fort Lauderdale. Tickets start at $47 at BrowardCenter.org.

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