LGBTQ history Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

On October 11, 1994 AIDS activist John Kappers died in his own bed in Little Five Points surrounded by his partner and a few close friends. Although he had slipped into a coma, I whispered in his ear, “John, do you know what today is? It’s National Coming Out Day!”

Chris Dickerson was a bodybuilder who became the first Black man to win the Mr. America title, in 1970.Dickerson found his way to bodybuilding through an unusual route. He trained as a dancer, actor, and opera singer at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, and he began lifting weights at the suggestion of a vocal instructor who said it would expand his vocal range.

Steve Bronski was a co-founder of the British synthpop band Bronski Beat known for their hit song “Smalltown Boy.”Steve Bronski was a keyboardist/percussionist who formed the synthpop band Bronski Beat in 1983 with singer Jimmy Sommerville and keyboardist/percussionist Larry Steinbachek. The three band members were openly gay and wrote songs that reflected the difficulties of coming out.

Carl Bean was a minister, AIDS activist, and singer known for his 1977 dance club hit, “I Was Born This Way.”Bean, a gay man, was singing in gospel groups and appearing in Broadway shows when Motown Records asked him to record a cover of “I Was Born This Way,” first recorded in 1975 by Valentino.

James Hormel was a philanthropist and the heir to the Hormel Food fortune who became the first openly gay ambassador representing the U.S.Hormel served as dean of students and director of admissions at the University of Chicago Law School in the 1960s. Later, he became one of the founders of the Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBTQ advocacy group in the U.S.

Fez Whatley was a radio personality who co-hosted “The Ron and Fez Show” on Sirius XM along with Ron Bennington.Whatley was initially the producer of “The Ron and Ron Show,” starring Bennington and Ron Diaz. When that show came to an end, Whatley and Bennington teamed up and began their show in 1998 on WKRO in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Kay Lahusen was an activist and photojournalist who chronicled some of the earliest U.S. protests for LGBTQ rights.Lahusen and her partner, Barbara Gittings, were key members of the early movement to secure equal rights for the LGBTQ community.

Alix Dobkin was a singer and songwriter whose 1973 album “Lavender Jane Loves Women” was a milestone for the lesbian community.Dobkin began playing music in Greenwich Village coffeehouses in the 1960s. Married to a man at the time, she came out as a lesbian in 1970 and began playing music that boldly talked about the lesbian experience, which was rare at the time.

Patrick O’Connell was the founding director of Visual AIDS, where he developed programs for HIV/AIDS awareness including the red ribbon.O’Connell was a member of New York City’s gay community in the 1980s, when AIDS was ravaging that community but was rarely talked about elsewhere. The government was largely silent as the then-misunderstood disease killed many.

Ari Gold was a singer, songwriter, and DJ known for songs including “Where the Music Takes You.”Gold grew up in an Orthodox Jewish family and began singing professionally as a child, including singing a song for the cartoon “Jem and the Holograms.” He released his self-titled debut album in 2001, beginning a career that included proudly speaking out about being gay and Jewish.

Sophie Xeon, known professionally as Sophie, was a Scottish Grammy-nominated musician and producer known for her electronic hyperpop music.Sophie released her debut single, “Nothing More to Say,” in 2013, and a few months later, she received critical acclaim for her follow-up single, “Bipp.”  Her 2014 single “Lemonade” was widely considered one of the best singles of the year and was later used in a McDonald’s commercial.

Monica Roberts was a transgender rights advocate who was the founding editor of TransGriot, a blog focusing on trans women of color and the issues that concern them.Roberts founded TransGriot in 2006, breaking new ground for the trans community. The “griot” in the blog’s name is a West African term meaning “storyteller.” TransGriot became a beacon to the trans community and particularly to Black trans women.

Lady Red Couture was a comedian and singer who cohosted the popular YouTube show “Hey Qween!”Couture was a beloved member of the Los Angeles drag scene and a mentor to younger drag performers, performing at clubs including Hamburger Mary’s. Couture, whose real name was Kareemia Baines, identified as a transgender woman and maintained her drag persona at all times.

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Image courtesy BBC News.

Photo courtesy Tom of Finland Foundation/Copyright by Peter Berlin