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Commentary
AIDS. Remember me?
On the morning of my 30th birthday, I checked my then-partner, Shane Sawick, into the hospital. He would not come out. Shane died just two weeks later, suffering from Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy (PML); one disease, among many, battled in his long war against AIDS. Once in the hospital, the illness quickly progressed, and in just a matter of days, he could no longer speak, blink, nor respond in any way. Through it all, though, his mind still raced, and processed, and thought…
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Remembering lost brothers, sisters this 16th Transgender Day of Remembrance
Today is the 16th Annual Transgender Day of Remembrance, a solemn tribute to those who have lost their lives to anti-transgender hatred or prejudice, and a day to raise awareness of the constant threat of brutality faced by the transgender community.
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Ex-Massachusetts Episcopalian Bishop Thomas Shaw dies
BOSTON — Thomas Shaw, a gay monk who served as bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts for nearly two decades and championed Palestinian, minority and other causes, has died. He was 69.
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Commentary
For Matthew Shepard and countless others, the work to erase hate continues
Sixteen years ago, on the night of October 6, 1998, two men lured Matthew Shepard, a 21-year old college freshman at the University of Wyoming, from a bar in Laramie. He was kidnapped, robbed, brutally beaten, tied to a fence and left die on the cold Wyoming prairie. Matthew was discovered 18 hours later, and for the next five days, the world held vigil while Matthew lay in a coma in a hospital in Colorado. And on this day in 1998, at 12:53 a.m., Matthew died — his family by his side.
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Commentary
The memory and meaning of Matthew Shepard, 16 years later
On October 7, 1998, Aaron Kreifels was riding his bike through a field in Wyoming. He wasn’t expecting that day to be different from any other beautiful sunny afternoon in the vast plains surrounding Laramie, but that day would change many lives. Aaron spotted what he initially thought was a scarecrow next to a fence. Then he noticed a glisten of blood…
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Transgender teacher who fought N.J. school boards dies
LITTLE EGG HARBOR, N.J. — Lily McBeth, the teacher whose battles with school boards in conservative areas of New Jersey made her a reluctant symbol of the transgender rights movement, has died. She was 80. McBeth died Sept. 24 near her home in Little Egg Harbor after a long illness, her daughter Maureen said. “She was very much at peace with her life…
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Gay music legend Bob Crewe dead at 83
Bob Crewe, the veteran producer, singer and songwriter who penned a string of hits for the Four Seasons died Thursday at the age of 82. Crewe’s brother, Dan, confirmed the songwriter’s death, reports Rolling Stone:
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NYC Gay Men’s Chorus performs at star-studded funeral for Joan Rivers
NEW YORK — Howard Stern delivered the eulogy, Broadway singer-actress Audra McDonald sang “Smile” and bagpipers played “New York, New York” at Joan Rivers’ funeral Sunday, a star-studded send-off that — like the late comedian herself — brought together the worlds of Hollywood, theater, fashion and media. At a funeral befitting a superstar, the New York City Gay …
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Longtime LGBT ally Joan Rivers dies
NEW YORK — Joan Rivers, the raucous, acid-tongued comedian who crashed the male-dominated realm of late-night talk shows and turned Hollywood red carpets into danger zones for badly dressed celebrities, died Thursday. She was 81. Rivers was hospitalized last week after she went into cardiac arrest at a Manhattan doctor’s office following a routine procedure. …
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Remembering LGBT health advocate Andrew Cray
Last Thursday, August 28, the LGBT movement suffered a terrible loss with the passing of Andrew Cray. Andy had been struggling with cancer since October 2013. But before his diagnosis, and even during his treatment and the period of remission that was all too brief, Andy was a pivotal figure in the struggle for LGBT rights. Despite the too few years we had with him, he was a champion…