Photo credit: Benson Kua
As the 50th anniversary year of the Stonewall Riots quietly wanes, we now look back at progress and regress of LGBTQ rights the past twelve months have brought our community.
Kicking off the year, the first lesbian Rose Queen reigned over the Tournament of Roses Parade. It was the 500th anniversary of the death of artist and inventor Leonardo da Vinci, as well as the bicentennial of the birth of America’s great poet-humanist Walt Whitman. A trans guy won the Mr. International Leather title at Chicago’s annual IML convention. Merriam-Webster added non-binary “they” to its dictionary, declaring the pronoun Word of the Year. Our local Fox News, albeit at 10 p.m., aired a Transgender Day of Remembrance segment.
During 2019, black country rap singer Lil Nas X, NFL football player Ryan Russell and high-end escort Stormy Daniels, among dozens of other celebrities, came out as LGBTQ. The nation’s first housing facilities dedicated to senior LGBTQ citizens opened on Long Island, N.Y., and in New York City.
On the other hand, two dozen individuals were murdered in the USA for being transgender. Youth suicide and cases of prolicide by parents of LGBTQ children made the news too many times.
Meanwhile in Wisconsin, while the state Assembly dithered on a statewide conversion therapy ban, counties and municipalities passed local ones. Cudahy, Glendale, Shorewood, Racine, Superior and Sheboygan joined Milwaukee, Madison and Eau Claire in banning the practice. Appleton is set to decide in January 2020.
Nat Werth, a gay Sheboygan valedictorian, made international headlines when his Lutheran high school administration refused to allow him to give his graduation speech.
Milwaukee Ranks High
For the second year in a row, Milwaukee garnered a 100% score on the Human Rights Campaign’s municipal equality index. The Milwaukee Art Museum’s retrospective exhibit of works by trans artist Jamie Nares prompted a rare community conversation. Sponsored by philanthropist Joseph Pabst, the artist and UW-Milwaukee professor of sociology and director the LGBT Studies Program, Cary Costello, explored the transgender experience and artistic expression. As a result of an ACLU lawsuit against the state, Wisconsin’s Medicaid programs must now cover transgender health issues.
Historical landmark anniversaries were may. We walked in the 30th AIDS Walk, and PFLAG Milwaukee celebrated its 30th anniversary. It was the Pride Parade’s 15th year marching down South Second Street. The UWM LGBT Studies Program held its 10th Lavender Graduation, while Milwaukee Gay Volleyball Association and the LGBT Center of SE Wisconsin each marked their 10th anniversaries.
PrideFest set record attendance of 45,787 visitors, and the Wisconsin LGBT Chamber of Commerce membership rose to 667. Milwaukee-based Diverse & Resilient opened an LGBTQ resource and advocacy center in Appleton. Reflecting a national political trend, multiple LGBTQ candidates proudly declared their candidacy for Milwaukee alderperson and for county judge.
Obituaries included bartender Jed Reed, Brady East STD Clinic long-term volunteer William David Wacker and Carla Anne Ernst, Milwaukee transgender author, musician and community volunteer.
But throughout the past year, we also saw increase of anti-LGBTQ hate crimes and sustained attacks on LGBTQ rights and equality persist. The trans military ban, employment discrimination and adoption restrictions remind us of the nature of our continued struggle 50 years after Stonewall.
But we carry on, regardless.
