Tag Archives: LGBT History

NBC News reports: In 1971, gay couple Michael McConnell and Jack Baker applied for a marriage license from Blue Earth County, Minnesota. The clerk, not realizing one of the individuals listed on the application was male, issued the license — though stopped short of officially recording it. Nearly five decades later — after a prolonged legal battle to get their …

Fascinating project. Via press release: CyArk, a heritage preservation non-profit, has completed the first ever 3D digital record of the Stonewall National Monument in New York, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising. The project — the first of its kind to detail an LGBTQ historic site and national monument — uses data to create a photorealistic digital …

ABC News reports: World War II codebreaker Alan Turing has been named the most “iconic” figure of the 20th century, fighting off competition from international leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr and Nelson Mandela. The scientist was chosen in a public vote during a live broadcast of BBC Two’s Icons: The Greatest Person Of The 20th Century. One of …

Our friends at St. Martin’s Press have provided JMG readers with an exclusive first look at the coming memoir of late LGBT activist and marriage equality champion Edith Windsor: Edie Windsor became internationally famous when the Supreme Court ruled in her favor in her case seeking recognition from the US government for her marriage to her partner Thea Spyer. The …

As longtime readers know, there are four or five JMG entries that I repost every year. This is one of them. My dear friend Daniel Johnson, who threw the most kickass Groundhog Day birthday parties for himself, would have been 62 years old today. His was a life that burned brightly and I am illuminated still. Daniel Johnson, 1957-1997. I …

The CBC reports: The Royal Canadian Mint is releasing a new $1 coin design next year, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the decriminalization of homosexuality in Canada. Same-sex sexual activity between consenting adults was decriminalized in 1969, two years after then-justice minister Pierre Trudeau introduced amendments to the Criminal Code, famously declaring “there’s no place for the state in the …

People Magazine reports: The cast of Broadway’s The Prom musical gave the LGBTQ community something to be thankful for on Thanksgiving Day. Actors, including leads Caitlin Kinnunen and Isabelle McCalla, burst out of the theater and into the streets for Macy’s big holiday parade Thursday. Closing out their performance of the big number, Kinnunen and McCalla shared a kiss on …

ABC News reports: The ashes of Matthew Shepard were interred at the National Cathedral in Washington Friday, giving him a “home that is safe” 20 years after his brutal murder, his father said. “To the National Cathedral, I cannot thank you enough … for leading the way and showing acceptance and inclusiveness for any and all who enter these grounds,” …

The New York Times reports: For 20 years, the ashes of Matthew Shepard have not been laid to rest. Mr. Shepard’s killing in 1998, when he was a 21-year-old college student, led to national outrage and, almost overnight, turned him into a symbol of deadly violence against gay people. Mourners flocked to his funeral that year in Casper, Wyo., but …

Pink News reports: A street sign in honor of lesbian campaigner Edie Windsor was unveiled on October 7. “‘Don’t Postpone Joy’ today and take a stroll The Edie Windsor Way,” Windsor’s widow Judith Kasen-Windsor—her second wife—wrote on Facebook on Sunday, quoting one of the campaigner’s mantras. Windsor died in September 2017 aged 88 after spending most of the past decade …

The Jackson Heights Post in Queens reports: Ms. Colombia, a colorful and beloved figure in the Jackson Heights LGBT community, has been found dead, Council Member Daniel Dromm has announced. Ms. Colombia, whose birth name was Osvaldo Gomez, was found dead in the waters off Jacob Riis Park, Dromm’s office said. No foul play is currently suspected, although the Office …

Newsweek reports: The life and work of American music composer Leonard Bernstein is being celebrated with a Google Doodle marking the famed musician’s 100th birthday. In a statement, Google said its Doodle “celebrates Bernstein’s life set to one of his most iconic works—the score to West Side Story.” Bernstein, who died Oct. 14, 1990, aged 72, was the youngest conductor …

Gentle readers, today is Madonna’s 60th birthday. Below is a short story that first appeared on JMG on this day in 2006, a date which, as you’ll see, plays a role in the story. Ricky Loved Madonna Twenty years ago today, August 16th 1986, I was a few months into a new job with AMC Theatres, a position that I …

Via press release from the Democratic National Committee: “The DNC is proud to congratulate Christine Hallquist, Vermont’s Democratic nominee for governor and the country’s first-ever openly transgender nominee for governor, along with all of tonight’s Democratic nominees in the Green Mountain State. “Christine’s historic victory tonight is an inspiration to LGBTQ people everywhere, and we are excited to stand behind …

Twenty years ago today San Francisco’s Bay Area Reporter published its now-famous “No Obits” headline, marking the first time in many years that the paper had no AIDS-related deaths to report. The accompanying article’s author, Timothy Rodriques, who at the time had himself recently tested HIV+, reflects this week in the same paper: That the article had such an impact …

Sports New York reports: According to major league sources, the Yankees have been quietly planning significant events for next season to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, a seminal event in both the history of LGBTQ rights and New York City. While a Yankees spokesman said it was too early to confirm any specifics of the 2019 promotional …

CNN reports: There is something in the current “Notorious RBG” fervor that offers the perfect paradox for a woman whose early career was marked by rejection and work in the trenches of anti-discrimination law. Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s superstardom has not been fleeting, precisely because of what she did before and what she represents today. She made the law review at …

Variety reports: Tab Hunter, a former on-screen heartthrob and a gay icon, has died. He was 86. The news was announced on a Facebook page associated with the actor, but a cause of death was not included. With his blonde hair, piercing blue eyes, and toothy smile, Hunter rose to the top ranks of Hollywood leading men in the 1950’s …

The Virginia Pilot reports: When Franki Busitzky was 18 years old, she hitchhiked down Virginia Beach Boulevard and over to Sewells Point Road to visit a bar meant for people like her. She had just come out as a lesbian to her family, and they didn’t take the news as well as she had hoped. So Busitzky, looking to find …

Curbed New York reports: Nearly a year after it was first announced, New York City’s first official memorial dedicated to the LGBTQ community is set to debut in Hudson River Park. Governor Andrew Cuomo, along with City Council speaker Corey Johnson, Senator Brad Hoylman, and other elected officials, unveiled the monument, two years in the making, which is intended to …