A long-overdue Bent Alaska update — October 2013

Alan Cumming, actor (LGBT History Month)

Alan Cumming is an award-winning film, television and stage actor. He has appeared in more than 100 films and television series, as well as major theatrical productions in London and on Broadway. Bent Alaska presents his story as part of our celebration of LGBT History Month 2011, with thanks to the Equality Forum.

Alan Cumming

“We need to do everything we can to counteract hatred and shame and we need to be strong in this fight.”

Alan Cumming (born January 27, 1965) is an award-winning film, television and stage actor. He has appeared in more than 100 films and television series, as well as major theatrical productions in London and on Broadway.

Cumming grew up on the east coast of Scotland, the son of a forester and a secretary. As a teenager, he began appearing in high school plays and local theater productions. In 1982, he enrolled at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, where he received a B.A. in dramatic studies.

After graduation, Cumming worked in Scottish theater and television before moving to London. In 1985, he married fellow acting student Hilary Lyon. The couple divorced eight years later.

In London, Cumming performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal National Theatre. He received two Olivier Awards, including Best Actor in a Musical for playing the Emcee in “Cabaret.” In 1998, he reprised this role on Broadway, receiving a Tony Award and a New York Drama Critics award for his performance.

Cumming’s many film credits include “Golden Eye,” “Emma,” “Eyes Wide Shut,” “Nicholas Nickleby,” “X2,” and “Burlesque.” On television, he has appeared on “Frasier,” “The L Word,” “Sex and the City,” Logo’s “Rick & Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple in All the World,” and on the hit series “The Good Wife” as conniving campaign manager Eli Gold.

In 1998, Entertainment Weekly named Cumming one of the 100 Most Creative People in the World. In 2008, he received the Trevor Hero Award from The Trevor Project for being “a true role model for gay and questioning youth through his spectacular and highly successful career.”

Cumming and his longtime partner, Grant Shaffer, entered into a civil partnership at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich, London. Cumming and Shaffer live in New York City.

Alan Cumming as the Emcee and the cast of the Broadway revival of “Cabaret” peformed “Wilkommen” at the Tony Awards in 1998. Watch:

For more about Alan Cumming, visit his website, LGBT History Month page, or Wikipedia article.

Photo credit: Alan Cumming during the 2011 New York Fashion Week, 11 Feb 2011. Photo by Christopher Macsurak (cropped from original); used in accordance with Creative Commons licensing.

Bent News, 10/10/11: Herman Cain’s choice

Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain chooses every day not to be gay; and more in this edition of Bent News.

Aaron Copland, composer (LGBT History Month)

Aaron Copland was a world-renowned composer, teacher, writer and conductor. He was a key figure in forming the early 20th century American style of music and composition. Bent Alaska presents his story as part of our celebration of LGBT History Month 2011, with thanks to the Equality Forum.

Aaron Copland

“To stop the flow of music would be like the stopping of time itself, incredible and inconceivable.”

Aaron Copland (born November 14, 1900, died December 2, 1990) was a world-renowned composer, teacher, writer and conductor. He was a key figure in forming the early 20th century American style of music and composition.

The youngest of five children, Copland was born in Brooklyn to Eastern European Jewish immigrants. Encouraged by his mother, he became interested in music. His older sister taught him to play the piano. At 16, Copland began lessons with composer Rubin Goldmark, who introduced him to the American style of music.

After graduating high school, Copland played and composed works for dance bands. Inspired by modern European music, he moved to France and attended the American Conservatory at Fontainebleau. There he studied under Nadia Boulanger, who was his muse throughout his time in France.

Copland’s compositions are famous for rejection of the neo-Romantic form and his creation of a unique American style. He composed a wide variety of music, including piano and orchestral arrangements, ballets, and Hollywood film scores. His compositions for film include “Of Mice and Men” (1939), “Our Town” (1940) and “The Heiress” (1949), which won him an Academy Award for best score. His score for Martha Graham’s ballet “Appalachian Spring” (1944) earned him a Pulitzer Prize.

During the communist witch hunts of the 1950s, Copland was brought before Congress and questioned about whether he was affiliated with the Communist party. Although he was cleared of charges, Hollywood blacklisted him. His composition “A Lincoln Portrait” was withdrawn as part of the inaugural concert for President Eisenhower.

Copland dedicated the remainder of his life to composing, conducting and teaching. He had a major influence on the style of the next generation of American composers. His protégé, Leonard Bernstein, is considered the best conductor of Copland’s work.

Copland died in North Tarrytown, New York (now known as Sleepy Hollow). His estate established the Aaron Copland Fund for Composers, which annually bestows over $500,000 in grants.

“Fanfare for the Common Man” is one of Copland’s most famous works, written in 1942 for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra under conductor Eugene Goossens. Here is is performed by the New York Philharmonic. Listen:

For more about Aaron Copland, visit his website, LGBT History Month page, or Wikipedia article.

Photo credit: Aaron Copland. Library of Congress.

Dan Choi, soldier & activist (LGBT History Month)

Lt. Dan Choi is a West Point graduate, Iraq War veteran and Arabic linguist. He was the nation’s leading activist for the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT). Bent Alaska presents his story as part of our celebration of LGBT History Month 2011, with thanks to the Equality Forum.

Dan Choi

“Action and sacrifice speak much more loudly than the best crafted, eloquent speech.”

Lt. Dan Choi (born February 22, 1981) is a West Point graduate, Iraq War veteran, and Arabic linguist. He was the nation’s leading activist for the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT).

Choi was born in Orange County, California, and raised in an evangelical Korean-American household. His father is a Baptist minister; his mother is a nurse. Inspired by the film “Saving Private Ryan”, Choi decided to attend West Point.

After graduating from West Point with degrees in Arabic linguistics and environmental engineering, Choi served as an Army infantry officer in Iraq. In 2008, he transferred from active duty to the Army National Guard. That same year, Choi and a group of West Point alumni founded Knights Out, an organization supporting the rights of LGBT soldiers.

In 2009, Choi appeared on the “The Rachel Maddow Show” and said something that would change his life forever: “I am gay.” Within a month, the U.S. Army notified him that he was being discharged under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

When he received his discharge papers, Choi knew he had to fight back. He wrote an open letter asking President Obama to repeal the policy and reinstate him, calling his discharge “a slap in the face.”

Choi sent his West Point graduation ring to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. It was a reminder to the senator of a promise he made to repeal the ban on gays and lesbians in the military.

Choi became the leading activist and national spokesman for the repeal of DADT. His media savvy drew attention to the issue. In 2010, he was arrested three times for handcuffing himself to the White House fence during protests.

Later in 2010, Choi was invited to the White House to witness President Obama signing the bill repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” into law. Afterward, Senator Reid invited Choi to his office, where he returned Choi’s West Point ring.

“The next time I get a ring from a man,” Choi responded, “I expect it to be for full, equal American marriage.”

Choi continues to advocate for LGBT civil rights and for veterans’ health benefits. He is a graduate student at Harvard University. He resides in New York.

In March 2009, Lt. Dan Choi said “I am gay” on Rachel Maddow’s MSNBC show. Watch:

Lt. Choi was interviewed again by Rachel Maddow in May 2009, after he was discharged from the Army for being gay.  Watch:

For more about Dan Choi, visit his website, LGBT History Month page, or Wikipedia article.

Photo credit: Lt. Dan Choi at New York City pride march, 27 June 2010. Photo by Boss Tweed (on Flickr); used in accordance with Creative Commons license.

Juneau Pride Chorus presents gay & lesbian film festival for National Coming Out Day

Juneau Pride Chorus — “a chorus of mothers, daughters, sisters, lovers and grandmothers bonded by love of singing and desire to celebrate diversity” — will celebrate National Coming Out Day this coming Tuesday, October 11, with a festival of gay and lesbian short films from some of the country’s top film festivals. The Pride Chorus will sing at intermission.

Admission is free, but donations are not only welcomed but encouraged: Pride Chorus is raising funds in hopes of going, for its first time ever, to the Gay and Lesbian Association of Choruses (GALA) International Chorus Festival, which will be held in Denver in July 2012. GALA’s festival happens only once every four years.

National Coming Out Day (NCOD) is an internationally observed civil awareness day observed by members of the LGBTQA communities on October 11 every year (or October 12 in the United Kingdom).  Its date was chosen in commemoration of the Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights, held on October 11, 1987.  National Coming Out Day is also an important for another reason, the Juneau Empire reports: the Juneau Pride Chorus held its very first rehearsal on National Coming Out Day in 1997.

The Juneau Empire continues,

Pride Chorus lays claim to the title of Juneau’s only year-round chorus, not counting church choirs. It rehearses every Tuesday from 5:30–7 p.m. at Resurrection Lutheran Church, open to the (female) public—to listen or to sing.

In fact, Pride Chorus prides itself, no pun intended, on its unrestrictive admission policy, which does not limit membership by audition, voice part or even sexual orientation.

“You don’t have to be LGBT to be a member of Pride Chorus, just supportive of our causes,” [Pride Chorus director Leslie] Wood said, who estimates that a third of the women in the chorus are lesbian, a third bisexual and a third, allies.

“You don’t have to be able to sing, either, but it helps.”

Juneau Pride Chorus holds an annual concert in April and also performs annually at Alaska Folk Festival and sometimes for World AIDS Day.

If you’re in Juneau, make time next Tuesday evening for some terrific films and terrific music. As one of Bent Alaska’s friends — a Pride Chorus member — wrote on our Facebook wall yesterday, “Come hear us sing — it will be a blast!”  And don’t forget to chip in to help the Pride Chorus on its way to GALA 2012!

• Date/time: Tuesday, October 11, 6:30 to 9:30 PM
• Location: Gold Town Nickelodeon Theater, 171 Shattuck Way, Juneau, AK (see map)
• Cost of admission: Admission is free; donations accepted and encouraged: this is a fundraiser for Juneau Pride Chorus.
• Further info: see Facebook events page

Rita Mae Brown, author (LGBT History Month)

An author and screenwriter, Rita Mae Brown is best known for her semi-autobiographical lesbian-themed novel, Rubyfruit Jungle. She is a groundbreaking activist for lesbian and civil rights.. Bent Alaska presents her story as part of our celebration of LGBT History Month 2011, with thanks to the Equality Forum.

Rita Mae Brown

“Don’t ask to live in tranquil times. Literature doesn’t grow there.”

An author and screenwriter, Rita Mae Brown (born November 28, 1944) is best known for her semi-autobiographical lesbian-themed novel, Rubyfruit Jungle. She is a groundbreaking activist for lesbian and civil rights.

An only child, Brown was adopted and raised in York, Pennsylvania. At age 11, her family moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Brown’s interest in political activism began with the black civil rights movement. In 1964, after losing her scholarship at the University of Florida due to her involvement in a rally, Brown was forced to drop out of school. She hitchhiked to New York where she lived in an abandoned car before enrolling at New York University (NYU).

At NYU, Brown cofounded the Student Homophile League. In 1968, she joined the National Organization of Women (NOW). She worked there until a schism over whether or not to support lesbian issues caused her to resign in February 1970. She says she was “kicked out” for raising the gay issue.  Betty Friedan is largely blamed for Brown’s expulsion from NOW. Years later, Friedan publicly apologized and admitted her actions were wrong.

After severing ties with NOW, Brown became a member of Lavender Menace, an informal group of radical lesbian feminists formed to protest the exclusion of lesbians and lesbian issues from the feminist movement at the Second Congress to Unite Women in New York City on May 1, 1970. Brown was also a member of the Redstockings, a radical feminist group. She helped form the lesbian feminist  newspaper Furies Collective. Thereafter, she earned a Ph.D. in political science from the Institute for Policy Studies, a progressive think tank in Washington, D.C.

Brown’s coming-of-age lesbian novel, Rubyfruit Jungle, sold over 70,000 copies and made her a champion of lesbian rights. The book’s success encouraged her to author other lesbian novels.

In addition to more than 50 books, Brown has written numerous television screenplays. She received Emmy nominations for the variety show “I Love Liberty” and the miniseries “The Long Hot Summer.”

Brown lives on a farm outside of Charlottesville, Virginia. She is a Master of Fox Hounds and advocates for animal rescue.

In December 2009, Rita Mae Brown sat down with Emmy-winning interviewer Ernie Manouse (InnerVIEWS) for a wide-ranging discussion on her memories of the Civil Rights Movement, the qualities that go into being a good writer, and her often rocky relationship with the National Organization for Women. Watch:

For more about Rita Mae Brown, visit her website, LGBT History Month page,  Wikipedia article, or 2008 interview in Time Magazine.

Photo credit: Rita Mae Brown at Carroll Community College, Westminster, Maryland, 12 Nov 2005. Photo by Bryan Costin (bcostin on Flickr); used in accordance with Creative Commons license.

White Trash Party in Fairbanks this Saturday

Your Grande Duke and Duchess XIX of Fairbanks invite you to:

The White Trash Party

Daphne DoAll LaChores will be back again hosting the event, and DJ 50/50 will be spinning the tunes.

What’s a good White Trash costume look like?  Overalls, Daisy Dukes, wife beater, cut-off blue jeans, John Deer hat, beer guts hanging out, mullets, big hair (for ladies) — be creative!  Discount given to total outfit, $100 prize for best costume.  There will also be a silent auction, cake walk, etc.

• Date/time: Saturday, October 8. Doors open at 7 PM; show starts promptly at 8:00 PM
• Location: Blue Loon, 2999 Parks Highway, Fairbanks, AK (see map)
• Cost of admission: General admission $15; $10 if you come in costume.  All proceeds benefit the Imperial Court of All Alaska.
• Further info: see Facebook events page

Keith Boykin, commentator (LGBT History Month)

Keith Boykin is a political commentator, a New York Times best-selling author and a veteran of two presidential campaigns. He is the editor of The Daily Voice and has appeared on CNN, MSNBC and BET. Bent Alaska presents his story as part of our celebration of LGBT History Month 2011, with thanks to the Equality Forum.

Keith Boykin

“I’m not on a show with a pink triangle or rainbow flag—which means that being gay is just a part of who I am.”

Keith Boykin (born August 28, 1965) is a political commentator, a New York Times best-selling author and a veteran of two presidential campaigns. He is the editor of The Daily Voice and has appeared on CNN, MSNBC and BET.

Born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, Boykin became politically focused working on local campaigns while in high school. At Dartmouth he was the editor of the daily newspaper and graduated with a B.A. in government.

After college, Boykin worked on the Dukakis presidential campaign. Thereafter, he attended Harvard Law School and continued working on campaigns, including the 1992 presidential campaign of Bill Clinton. Boykin worked as special assistant to the president and served as President Clinton’s liaison to the LGBT community.

In 1994, Boykin became the executive director of the National Black Lesbian and Gay Leadership Forum and completed his first book, One More River to Cross: Black & Gay in America. In 1997, he served with Coretta Scott King and the Rev. Jesse Jackson on the U.S. presidential trade delegation to Zimbabwe.

Boykin wrote two other books, Respecting the Soul: Daily Reflections for Black Lesbians and Gays (1999) and Beyond the Down Low: Sex, Lies, and Denial in Black America (2005). His work shed light on AIDS, internalized homophobia and black men on the “down low.”

Boykin is a commentator on major political talk shows. In 2004, he starred on Showtime’s “American Candidate” and hosted BET’s “My Two Cents.”

Keith Boykin is working on a fourth book, For Colored Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Is Still Not Enough. He lives in New York City.

Joe Hawkins, host of Keeping It Real Online TV, interviewed Keith Boykin in 2008. Watch:

For more about Keith Boykin, visit his website, LGBT History Month page, or Wikipedia article.

Photo credit: Keith Boykin. Associated Press, licensed for LGBT History Month via the Equality Forum.

Dustin Lance Black, screenwriter (LGBT History Month)

Dustin Lance Black is a screenwriter, director and producer. In 2009, he received an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for “Milk,” about openly gay San Francisco politician Harvey Milk. Bent Alaska presents his story as part of our celebration of LGBT History Month 2011, with thanks to the Equality Forum.

Dustin Lance Black

“I heard the story of Harvey Milk and it gave me hope that I could live my life openly as who I am.”

Dustin Lance Black (born June 10, 1974) is a screenwriter, director and producer. In 2009, he received an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for “Milk”, about openly gay San Francisco politician Harvey Milk.

Black grew up in a devout Mormon household in San Antonio, Texas. After his mother remarried, he moved to Salinas, California. As a young boy, Black knew he was gay. He believed he would be “hurt and brought down” because of it and that he was going to hell. He says his “acute awareness” of his sexual orientation made him gloomy and sometimes suicidal.

In high school he fostered a love of the dramatic arts and began working on theatrical productions. He enrolled at UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television and graduated with honors. In 2000, he wrote and directed two gay-themed films, “The Journey of Jared Price” and “Something Close to Heaven.” Black was the only Mormon writer for the HBO series about polygamy, “Big Love”, for which he received two Writers Guild of America Awards.

Captivated by the story of Harvey Milk, Black researched Milk’s life for three years, culminating in a screenplay. Academy Award-nominated director Gus Van Sant signed on with the project. In 2009, “Milk” received eight Academy Award nominations and won two. Black received an Oscar for his screenplay and Sean Penn won for best actor.

Black’s recent works include the screenplay for “Pedro”, profiling AIDS activist and MTV personality Pedro Zamora. He is the screenwriter for “J. Edgar,” a film about FBI director J. Edgar Hoover, directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Leonardo DiCaprio.

In 2010, he narrated the documentary film “8: The Mormon Proposition”, a documentary about the involvement of the LDS church in anti-marriage equality Proposition 8 in California.

In 2009, Black topped The Advocate’s list of the “Forty under 40” most influential openly gay people. He is an outspoken LGBT activist, serving on the boards of The Trevor Project and the American Foundation for Equal Rights. Black frequently speaks about gay rights to college students across the country.

He resides in Los Angeles.

In May 2008, YouTube videographer castrointhestreets ran into Dustin Lance Black at the unveiling of Harvey Milk’s new statue in San Francisco’s City Hall, and interviewed him. Watch:

For more about Dustin Lance Black, visit his website, LGBT History Month page, or Wikipedia article.

Photo credit: Dustin Lance Black at the 81st Academy Awards, 22 Feb 2009. Photo by Greg Hernandez (greginhollywood on Flickr), used in accordance with Creative Commons license.

Bent News,10/4/11: Booing a gay soldier — presidential politics, post-DADT

Post-DADT presidential politics, as illustrated by continuing reaction to the booing of an active-duty gay soldier at a Sep. 22 GOP candidates debate; and more in this edition of Bent News.

(Based on @bentalaska tweets and Facebook shares from October 2–3, with supplementation.)

Presidential politics, post-DADT

• Cain says he should’ve defended booed gay soldier; McCain says all GOP candidates should’ve. (via @AMERICAblogGay) http://t.co/EirAGYud #

Nearly two weeks after audience members at a Republican presidential debate booed Stephen Hill, a gay soldier serving in Iraq who asked if GOP candidates planned to “circumvent” the repeal of DADT, Republican candidates and politicians are defending — or not defending — their lack of response to the disrespect shown an active-duty servicemember.

Herman Cain said he should not have stayed silent, and Sen. John McCain agreed that none of the candidates should have; whereas Mitt Romney said,

I don’t know when they booed and I don’t know why they booed. But I will tell you, that the boos and applause hasn’t always coincided with my own views, but I haven’t stepped in to try and say, ‘this one is right, this one is wrong.’ Instead, I focus on the things I think I will say.

ThinkProgress reports that “Rick Santorum, Jon Huntsman, and Herman Cain are the only candidates to publicly distance themselves from the jeering after last month’s debate.”  Both Rick Santorum and Herman Cain have stated they would reinstate Don’t Ask Don’t Tell if elected president.

President Obama, by contrast, told the audience at the annual Human Rights Campaign fundraising dinner last Saturday,

We don’t believe in the kind of smallness that says it’s okay for a stage full of political leaders — one of whom could end up being the president of the United States — being silent when an American soldier is booed. We don’t believe in that…

“We don’t believe in standing silent when that happens. We don’t believe in them being silent since. You want to be commander in chief? You can start by standing up for the men and women who wear the uniform of the United States, even when it’s not politically convenient. We don’t believe in a small America. We believe in a big America — a tolerant America, a just America, an equal America — that values the service of every patriot.

Audience members gave the President a standing ovation.  ThinkProgress has video — watch:

ThinkProgress also has analysis and text of President Obama’s full speech at the HRC dinner.

Huffington Post reports,

Notably at Saturday’s dinner, there was a table filled with servicemembers — both active-duty and retired — wearing their uniforms. HRC spokesman Michael Cole-Schwartz said it was a first for active-duty members to do so, since it’s also the first post-DADT dinner.

However, President Obama is “still working” on his views about same-sex marriage, and is still stopping short of advocating for full marriage equality, though he endorsed the end of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

Other tweets

• Week in Review of LGBT news from @gaycivilrights Wall Street, Saudi women suffrage, DADT cases, Obama at HRC http://t.co/48RLl1GG #
• Why do conservatives oppose military chaplains’ religious liberty? (via @TPEquality) http://t.co/R5QfrMSp #
• @afterellen tells us about five documentaries to watch during LGBT History Month http://t.co/OKvFUFeG #
• Country singer Toby Keith OK on same-sex marriage? Yep! Whaddaya know. Good for him. (via @TheAdvocateMag) http://t.co/QFwfC3lN #
• South Africa: So-called “corrective rape” of lesbians — & now a serial killer may be stalking gay men. The Advocate http://t.co/AK5sDIBM #