May 17, Annise Parker, Mayor of Houston

b. May 17, 1956

"The voters of Houston have opened the door to history. I know what this means to many of us who never thought we could achieve high office."

, 

In 2009, when Annise Parker was elected, Houston became the largest city in the nation with an openly gay mayor. Houston is the fourth most populous city in the United States.

Annise Parker was born and raised in Houston. Her mother was a bookkeeper, and her father worked for the Red Cross. Annise received a National Merit Scholarship to Rice University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in anthropology and sociology.  

After graduation, Parker began a 20-year career as a software analyst in the oil and gas industry. In 1997, she won a seat on the Houston City Council, making her Houston’s first out elected official. In 2003, Parker was elected city controller. She served two additional terms before being elected mayor.

Parker’s mayoral triumph didn’t come without a fight and controversy. Conservative groups criticized Parker for her “gay agenda” and distributed fliers featuring Parker and her partner, asking the question, "Is this the image Houston wants to portray?" Parker campaigned with her partner, Kathy Hubbard, and their three children.

Despite the attacks, Parker won the election in a city that denies its employees domestic partner benefits, and in a state where gay marriage and civil unions are constitutionally banned.

Parker was recognized as Council Member of the Year by the Houston Police Officers Union. In 2008, Houston Woman Magazine named her one of Houston’s 50 Most Influential Women. 

Bibliography

"Annise Parker.” Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 3 June 2010.

"Houston Elects Annise Parker.” The Advocate. 3 June 2010.

James, Randy. "Bio: Annise Parker, Newly Elected Mayor of Houston. TIME. 3 June 2010.

McKinley Jr., James C. "Houston Is Largest City to Elect Openly Gay Mayor.” The New York Times. 3 June 2010.

Olson, Bradley. "Houston Makes its Choice; Parker Makes History.” Houston Chronicle. 3 June 2010.

Videos of Annise Parker

Annise Parker on CNN

Associated Press: Houston Elects Openly Gay Mayor

Websites

Annise Parker for Houston

City of Houston Mayor’s Office             

Annise Parker’s Social Network

Annise Parker’s Facebook Fan Page

Annise Parker’s Twitter Page

George Herchmer Markland « The Drummer’s Revenge

b. 1790

d. May 17, 1862

George Herchmer Markland was the closest thing to royalty that existed in the Canadian colonies. Born in 1790 at Kingston, in what was still the Province of Quebec before it became Upper Canada, Markland grew up in ease and comfort, and was educated by the Family Compact’s patriarch himself, the Anglican Bishop John Strachan.

At 20, Markland was coming into elite society. The lawyer John Beverley Robinson – the same man who named Alexander Wood “the Inspector General of private Accounts” – said that Markland was, “a good fellow, and very friendly.”

Yet Markland made Robinson uneasy. The lawyer confessed, “I prefer seeing a person his age more manly and not quite so feminine in either speech or action.”

Markland was in training to be an priest, but changed his mind. In 1812, he went to war as an ensign in the Frontenac militia, defending Canada from American invasion. At some point he married, as all men of his class were expected to, but he and Anna Markland never had any children. In 1820, he went into politics. He ran in Kingston, but lost."

 The Drummer’s Revenge

Also:

Wikipedia

Out in Sport: Basketball Exec Rick Welts Steps Out of the Closet

Gay men and women exist in every field of human activity, but in some fields are less visible than in others, In male team sports in particular, the culture is hostile to openly gay sexuality, so the pressures are strong to remain closeted. The closet, though, has costs of its own, as Rick Welts, executive director of the Phoenix Suns basketball team learnt twice. First, on the death of his long-term partner, he was forced to carry his grief alone and in silence. Later, he lost a second partner who tired of sharing the closet with him. 

Now, he has come out publicly as described in a story from the New York Times. This is an extract:

Although he had opened up to his supportive parents and to his younger, only sibling, Nancy, Mr. Welts feared that if he made his homosexuality public, it would impede his rising sports career.

“It wasn’t talked about,” he said. “It wasn’t a comfortable subject. And it wasn’t my imagination. I was there.”

But this privacy came at great cost. In March 1994, his longtime partner, Arnie, died from complications related to AIDS, and Mr. Welts compartmentalized his grief, taking only a day or two off from work. His secretary explained to others that a good friend of his had died. Although she and Arnie had talked many times over the years, she and her boss had never discussed who, exactly, Arnie was.

Around 7:30 on the morning after Arnie’s death, Mr. Welts’s home telephone rang. “It was Stern,” he recalled. “And I totally lost it on the phone. You know. Uncle Dave. Comforting.”

Even then, homosexuality was never discussed — directly.

For weeks, Mr. Welts walked around the office, numb, unable to mourn his partner fully, or to share the anxiety of the weeklong wait for the results of an H.I.V. test, which came back negative.

Sometime later, he began opening the envelopes of checks written in Arnie’s memory to the University of Washington, and here was one for $10,000, from David and Dianne Stern, of Scarsdale, N.Y. In thanking Mr. Stern, Mr. Welts said they “did the guy thing,” communicating only through asides and silent stipulations.

“This was a loss that Rick had to suffer entirely on his own,” Mr. Stern said, reiterating that he was following Mr. Welts’s lead. “It’s just an indication of how screwed up all this is.”

When Mr. Welts left the N.B.A. in 1999, he was the league’s admired No. 3 man: executive vice president, chief marketing officer and president of N.B.A. Properties. By 2002, he was the president of the Suns who still kept his sexuality private — a decision that at times seemed wise, as when, in 2007, the former N.B.A. player John Amaechi announced that he was gay, prompting the former N.B.A. star Tim Hardaway to say that, as a rule, he hated gay people.

But again Mr. Welts paid a price. Two years ago, a 14-year relationship ended badly, in part because his partner finally rejected the shadow life that Mr. Welts required. “My high profile in this community, and my need to have him be invisible,” Mr. Welts said, with clear regret. “That ultimately became something we couldn’t overcome.”

 - NYTimes.com.

Out in Sport: Basketball Exec Rick Welts Steps Out of the Closet

Although he had opened up to his supportive parents and to his younger, only sibling, Nancy, Mr. Welts feared that if he made his homosexuality public, it would impede his rising sports career.

“It wasn’t talked about,” he said. “It wasn’t a comfortable subject. And it wasn’t my imagination. I was there.”

But this privacy came at great cost. In March 1994, his longtime partner, Arnie, died from complications related to AIDS, and Mr. Welts compartmentalized his grief, taking only a day or two off from work. His secretary explained to others that a good friend of his had died. Although she and Arnie had talked many times over the years, she and her boss had never discussed who, exactly, Arnie was.

Around 7:30 on the morning after Arnie’s death, Mr. Welts’s home telephone rang. “It was Stern,” he recalled. “And I totally lost it on the phone. You know. Uncle Dave. Comforting.”

Even then, homosexuality was never discussed — directly.

For weeks, Mr. Welts walked around the office, numb, unable to mourn his partner fully, or to share the anxiety of the weeklong wait for the results of an H.I.V. test, which came back negative.

Sometime later, he began opening the envelopes of checks written in Arnie’s memory to the University of Washington, and here was one for $10,000, from David and Dianne Stern, of Scarsdale, N.Y. In thanking Mr. Stern, Mr. Welts said they “did the guy thing,” communicating only through asides and silent stipulations.

“This was a loss that Rick had to suffer entirely on his own,” Mr. Stern said, reiterating that he was following Mr. Welts’s lead. “It’s just an indication of how screwed up all this is.”

When Mr. Welts left the N.B.A. in 1999, he was the league’s admired No. 3 man: executive vice president, chief marketing officer and president of N.B.A. Properties. By 2002, he was the president of the Suns who still kept his sexuality private — a decision that at times seemed wise, as when, in 2007, the former N.B.A. player John Amaechi announced that he was gay, prompting the former N.B.A. star Tim Hardaway to say that, as a rule, he hated gay people.

But again Mr. Welts paid a price. Two years ago, a 14-year relationship ended badly, in part because his partner finally rejected the shadow life that Mr. Welts required.

 - NYTimes.com.

Jasper Johns

Painter
b. May 15, 1930

“To be an artist you have to give up everything, including the desire to be a good artist.”

Jasper Johns is one of America’s most successful and influential contemporary artists. His paintings and prints, often incorporating objects and symbols from popular culture, inspired a new generation of artists and laid the groundwork for the Pop Art movement.

Johns was born in Allendale, South Carolina. “In the place where I was a child, there were no artists and no art,” says Johns. The son of divorced parents, Johns grew up being passed among relatives. It was such an unhappy childhood, Johns says, he was “dying” to get away from it.

In 1949, the aspiring artist moved to New York City. In New York, he explored the art scene and developed a circle of creative contemporaries, including composer John Cage, dancer Merce Cunningham and painter Robert Rauschenberg, with whom he developed a romantic and professional relationship.

In 1958, gallery owner Leo Castelli, who discovered Johns, was so impressed with the young artist that he offered him a solo show. At that exhibition, the Museum of Modern Art purchased three pieces, launching Johns as a major influence in contemporary art.

“Flag” (1954-1955) is Johns’s best-known painting and considered by many his most important work. His use of classical iconography—flags, maps, targets, letters and numbers—became the hallmark of his early works.

Johns is widely recognized for the distinctive surface treatments of his paintings. With the use of media such as encaustic (paint mixed with melted wax) and plaster relief, his innovative techniques and experimentation made Johns a breakthrough artist.

In 1998, Johns’s “White Flag” was sold to the Metropolitan Museum of Art for more than $20 million. In 2006, his “False Start” sold for $80 million—the highest price ever paid for a painting by a living artist.

Johns is among the leading artists of the 20th century, with works in major museums worldwide.

Bibliography
"Jasper Johns – About the Painter - American Masters." PBS. 26 June 2009
“Jasper Johns: A Retrospective." MoMA | The Museum of Modern Art. 26 June 2009
"Jasper Johns - Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History.  The MetropolitanMuseum of Art. 26 June 2009
"Jasper Johns." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 26 June 2009
Vogel, Carol. "Jasper Johns Obituary." The New York Times. 26 June 2009
Books
Figuring Jasper Johns (1994)
Jasper Johns: Gray (2007)
Jasper Johns: Universe of Art (1997)
Exhibitions
The Metropolitan Museum of Art- Special Exhibitions: Jasper Johns: Gray
Films about Jasper Johns
PBS American Masters - Jasper Johns: About the Painter
Jasper Johns: Ideas in Paint (1992)
Interviews
Interview with Jasper Johns (2004)

Videos
Jasper Johns: An Allegory of Painting, 1955 - 1965
Jasper Johns: Gray at the Metropolitan Museum

Kevin Jennings, Educator/Activist

b. May 8, 1963

"We know that students learn best in a school where they feel truly safe. I am here to make that happen for more kids."

A monumental leader and crusader, Kevin Jennings has dedicated his career to ensuring safe schools for all students. In 1990, he founded the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), the nation's first organization combating discrimination against GLBT students. Jennings currently serves as the assistant deputy secretary for the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools at the U.S. Department of Education.

The youngest of five children, Jennings experienced a childhood deeply rooted in conservative ideology. Poor and in a continual state of transition, his family moved so often that Jennings attended 11 schools in four states. While he displayed impressive academic aptitude, he suffered daily from mental and physical abuse by classmates. “School was a place I both loved and hated,” recalls Jennings. “I loved it because I loved learning. I hated it because I was targeted at a pretty young age for bullying and harassment.”

In 1985, Jennings earned a bachelor's degree magna cum laude from Harvard University, becoming the first member of his family to graduate from college. Later, he earned master's degrees from both Columbia University and New York University.

Following his graduation from Harvard, Jennings pursued a career in education. In 1988, while he was a history teacher at a Massachusetts high school, Jennings spearheaded the country's first Gay Straight Alliance (GSA), a coalition of students fighting against harassment based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Two years later, Jennings expanded the movement to encompass parents, teachers and community members, creating GLSEN.  Beginning as a grassroots volunteers group, GLSEN has developed into a national organization with more than 40 chapters and over 4,500 schools nationwide.

As co-chair of the Education Committee of the Governor's Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth, Jennings challenged the Massachusetts State Board of Education to adopt new policies protecting GLBT students. In 1993, his efforts led to the country's first state law prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation in public schools.

Named by Newsweek one of the top 100 people likely to make a difference in the 21st century, Jennings has authored six books and received a Lambda Literary Award for "Telling Tales Out of School." He co-wrote and produced the documentary "Out of the Past," which won the 1998 Sundance Film Festival Audience Award for Best Documentary.

"The process of change is like a relay race," says Jennings. "My job is to ensure that we're further ahead in the race and, like a good relay team member, ready to pass that baton to the next person with a lead toward the end goal of a safe school for every child.”

Bibliography
Archibold, Randal C. "Public Lives: A Gay Crusader Sees History on His Side. The New York Times.6 July 2010.
"Kevin Jennings, Assistant Deputy Secretary for Safe and Drug-Free Schools.” U.S. Department of Education. 6 July 2010.
"Kevin Jennings.” KevinJennings.com. 19 May 2010.
"Kevin Jenning’s Biography.” GLSEN: Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network. 9 June 2005.
Thomas, Katie. "When Tradition and Taunts Collide: Gay Hockey Fans Criticize Garden.” New York Times. 6 July 2010.
Books by Kevin Jennings
Becoming Visible: A Reader in Gay and Lesbian History for High School and College Students(1994)
Telling Tales Out of School (2000)
Always My Child: A Parent’s Guide to Understanding Your Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered or Questioning Son or Daughter (2002)
One Teacher in 10 (2005)
Mama’s Boy, Preacher’s Son (2007)
Websites
Department of Education
GLSEN
Kevin Jennings Social Network
Support Kevin Jennings Fan Page

7th May: David Huebner, US ambassador

Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa
b. May 7, 1960

“I can imagine no higher honor and privilege than to serve my country.”

David Huebner is the United States ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa. He is the third openly gay ambassador in United States history.

A native of Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania, Huebner graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University, where he studied at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. He earned a J.D. from Yale Law School. While at Yale, he served as a special assistant to the Hon. Koji Kakizawa, the former Japanese foreign minister.

Licensed to practice in three United States jurisdictions as well as England and Wales, Huebner was chairman of Coudert Brothers, an international law firm. He was later hired as a partner in the Shanghai office of Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton, where he led the firm’s Chinese operations and its International Disputes practice. He has taught courses on intellectual property and international arbitration at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law.

President Obama nominated Huebner as an ambassador on October 8, 2009. With his partner by his side, Huebner was sworn in by Vice President Biden, who told the newly confirmed Huebner, “You’ve lived the American dream. I can think of nobody better to represent our nation to the people of New Zealand and Samoa than you.”

Huebner has a long record of public service. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger selected him to chair California's Law Review Commission. Huebner served as president of the Los Angeles Quality & Productivity Commission. He was a founding board member and chief counsel for GLAAD.

When not on diplomatic assignment, Huebner and his partner of more than 20 years, psychiatrist Duane McWaine, live in Los Angeles.

Bibliography
“David Huebner: Obama's First Openly Gay Ambassador Nominated." The Huffington Post. 7 October 2009.
Eleveld, Kerry. "Gay Man Sworn in as U.S. Ambassador." The Advocate. 5 December 2009.
"Former Sheppard Mullin Shanghai Managing Partner Appointed U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa." Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP. 8 December 2009.
"Huebner, David." U.S. Department of State. 25 May 2010.
"Written Statement of David Huebner." Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. 5 November 2009.
Website
David Huebner’s Official Blog
David Huebner’s Social Network
David Huebner’s Twitter Page

May 3: Emanuel Xavier, Latino Poet

b. May 3, 1971  

"Being Latino and gay gives me much to write about. Anything that oppresses us as artists is always great fodder for art."

Emanuel Xavier is a poet, author and editor. He is one of the most significant openly gay Latino spoken word artists of his generation. 

Xavier was born in Brooklyn, New York, the child of an Ecuadorian mother and a Puerto Rican father who abandoned the family before his son was born. When Xavier was three, he was sexually abused by a family member. At 16, when Xavier came out to his mother, she threw him out of the house.

A homeless gay teen on the streets of New York, Xavier soon turned to sex and drugs for money. He became a hustler at the West Side Highway piers and sold drugs in gay clubs. After landing a job at a gay bookstore, A Different Light, Xavier began to write poetry and perform as a spoken word artist.

"Pier Queen" (1997), Xavier’s self-published poetry collection, established him in the New York underground arts scene. "Christ Like" (1999), Xavier’s novel, was the first coming of age story by a gay Nuyorican (Puerto Rican living in New York) and earned him a Lambda Literary Award nomination. Fellow author Jaime Manrique said, "Once in a generation, a new voice emerges that makes us see the world in a dazzling new light. Emanuel Xavier is that kind of writer."

"Americano" (2002), another poetry collection and Xavier’s first official published work, advanced his prominence within the literary community of color. Xavier edited "Bullets & Butterflies: Queer Spoken Word Poetry" (2005), for which he received a second Lambda Literary Award nomination. 

In 2005, Xavier was the victim of a random attack by a group of young men. As a result of the beating, he lost all hearing in his right ear, but continued to write and perform.

Xavier reflects on the assault in his poem "Passage":



Bibliography
“Emanuel Xavier Bio.” Emanuel Xavier Official Site. 22 June 2010.
"Emanuel Xavier.” Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 22 June 2010.
Johnson, Ramon. "Profile of Emanuel Xavier." About: Gay Life. 21 May 2010.
Books by Emanuel Xavier
Pier Queen (1997)
Americano (2002)
Bullets & Butterflies: Queer Spoken Word Poetry (2005)
MARIPOSAS: A Modern Anthology of Queer Latino Poetry (2008)
Christ Like (2009)
If Jesus Were Gay & other poems (2010)
Article about Emanuel Xavier
A&U Magazine Cover Story on Emanuel Xavier (2010)
Recordings by Emanuel Xavier
Legendary: The Spoken Word Poetry of Emanuel Xavier (2009)
Videos of Emanuel Xavier
Emanuel Xavier on Def Poetry: Nueva York
Emanuel Xavier on Def Poetry: Tradiciónes
Legendary (The E-Mix) Music Video
Websites
Emanuel Xavier Official Website 

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