Rufus Wainwright - singer/songwriter

b. July 22, 1973

"It’s important for famous people to be an example for gay teens."

Known for his unique style and daring artistic endeavors, Rufus Wainwright is one of the most accomplished singer/songwriters of his generation. He has produced six albums and is the recipient of two Juno Awards and five GLAAD Media Awards.

Wainwright’s musical talent was shaped by his folksinger parents, Kate McGarrigle and Loudon Wainwright III. He was born in Rhinebeck, New York, and holds dual United States and Canadian citizenship. After his parents divorced, he spent most of his youth with his mother in Montreal.

At age 14, Wainwright broke into the entertainment world with a song he composed and sang in the film "Tommy Tricker and the Stamp Traveller," earning him a Juno Award nomination for "Most Promising Male Vocalist of the Year." That same year, he was sexually assaulted by a man he met at a bar. Deeply disturbed by the attack, he remained celibate for seven years.

In 1998, following the release of his first album, Wainwright was named "Best New Artist" by Rolling Stone. He composes music for theater, dance and opera, and has contributed to numerous film soundtracks, including "Moulin Rouge" and "Brokeback Mountain." Additionally, he has acted in "The Aviator" and "Heights," among other films.

As a collaborator, Wainwright has worked on albums with music greats Rosanne Cash and Elton John. John hailed him as "the greatest songwriter on the planet." His first opera, "Prima Donna," premiered in 2009 at the Manchester International Festival and was the subject of a documentary film that premiered on Bravo! in 2010.

Despite fame and success, Wainwright struggled with crystal meth addiction, a habit he eventually recovered from in 2002. With two decades of performing under his belt, Wainwright assures his fans that he won’t be retiring any time soon: “I am a self-sustaining, vibrant, long-term artist, and I’m not going away!” 

Bibliography

• "About Rufus Wainwright.” The Official Community of Rufus Wainwright. 20 May 2010.
• "Kitty Empire talks to Rufus Wainwright." The Guardian. 21 May 2010.
• Brown, Lane. "The Inquisition: Rufus Wainwright.” Spin Magazine Online. 19 May 2010.
• Ganz, Caryn. "Rufus Wainwright.” Interview Magazine. 19 May 2010.
• "Rufus Wainwright Biography.” Contactmusic.com. 19 May 2010.
• "Rufus Wainwright Biography.” Biography.com. 19 May 2010.

Music by Rufus Wainwright

• Rufus Wainwright Albums
• “Moulin Rouge” Soundtrack
• “Brokeback Mountain” Soundtrack

Video of Rufus Wainwright

• All I Want: A Portrait of Rufus Wainwright

Websites

• Rufus Wainwright on MySpace
• Rufus Wainwright: NPR

Rufus Wainwright’s Social Network

• Rufus Wainwright’s Facebook Fan Page
• Rufus Wainwright’s Twitter Page 

Related articles

• More of the OUT 100 revealed: Actress Meredith Baxter, singer Rufus Wainwright and Tony winners Levi Kreis and Nathan Lane! (pinkbananaworld.com)
• An Incomplete History of Rufus Wainwright's Musical Pedigree (seattleweekly.com)
• Kylie Minogue & Rufus Wainwright Perform Together In NY (pinkisthenewblog.com)
• Rufus Wainwright Take Cues From Mozart, Nina Simone on Current Tour (spinner.com)

Patsy Lynch, Photographer

b. July 21, 1953

"If we don’t know our history we’re going to become forgotten."

Patsy Lynch is a trailblazing photographer whose work documenting several decades of the GLBT civil rights struggle has provided visibility to the movement and inspired activists worldwide.

A native of Washington, D.C., Lynch received her Bachelor of Arts from Elon University, where she started the college newspaper. She earned two master's degrees from Gallaudet University.

Working for both The Advocate and the UPI news agency in the 1970's and 1980's, Lynch was the first openly gay journalist with a White House credential. She was a founding member of the Washington, D.C., chapter of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association.

Through her lens, Lynch chronicled numerous milestones in the GLBT civil rights struggle. She was one of four official photographers at the 1979 Lesbian and Gay March on Washington. She captured lasting images of the AIDS activism movement, including a 1987 protest at the White House and a 1988 die-in organized by ACT UP in Washington.

Lynch served as the photographer for the "Community Pioneers" exhibit of Washington residents who contributed to the struggle for equality. "We need to let people know that we are here, and we’re not going away," Lynch said.

In 1990, the National Gay Press Association named Lynch Photographer of the Year. In 2006, she received a Distinguished Service Award from the Gay and Lesbian Activist Alliance. The following year, she received the Community Pioneer award from the Rainbow History Project. Recently, Lynch has worked on assignment for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), where she documented Hurricane Katrina and the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

A resident of the Washington area, Lynch is also a skilled sports photographer, landscape photographer and portrait artist.

Bibliography

• "About Patsy Lynch." Patsy Lynch Photography. 26 May 2010.
• "Brick presents award to Patsy Lynch." Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance. 1 June 2010.
• Najafi, Yusef. "Facial Expressions: Rainbow History Project offers pioneer portraits." Metro Weekly.27 September 2007.
• "Patsy Lynch." The Rainbow History Project. 26 May 2010.

Websites

• Patsy Lynch Photography
• The Rainbow History Project 

Related articles

• GLBT History Month 2010 (mlp.org)

Tony Kushner, Playwright

b. July 16, 1956

"The world should be striving to make all its members secure."

Tony Kushner is an award-winning political playwright and activist. He is best known for his epic play, “Angels in America.”

Kushner was raised in Lake Charles, Louisiana. His parents were classical musicians who encouraged their children's interest in the arts; they paid one dollar for every poem the children memorized and recited.

Kushner earned a B.A. in medieval studies from Columbia University in 1978 and an M.F.A. from New York University's graduate acting program in 1984.

Kushner's longtime involvement with activist groups like the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) is reflected in his writing. The characters in his plays often deal with oppression related to their being Jewish, black or gay.

In 2002, Kushner wrote the book and lyrics for the musical “Caroline or Change,” about racial turmoil at the end of segregation. The story is told through the relationship of a black maid and her Jewish employers.

“Angels in America” follows two couples that are linked to Roy Cohn, a lawyer involved in the McCarthy trials. The play depicts the characters’ struggle with homosexuality and AIDS during the Reagan administration. HBO later adapted the stage version into a miniseries starring Meryl Streep, Emma Thompson and Al Pacino.

Kushner's long list of commendations includes two Tony Awards, an Emmy Award, a Pulitzer Prize for Drama, an Oscar nomination, an Arts Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a Spirit of Justice Award from the Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, and an honorary doctorate from Brandeis University.

In 2003, Kushner exchanged vows with his partner, Mark Harris, editor at large of Entertainment Weekly, in a commitment ceremony. They were the first gay couple to be featured in The New York Times "Vows" column.

Bibliography 

“Tony Kushner.” Biography. July 2, 2008

Merwin, Ted and David Zax. “Out and About with Tony Kushner.” The World Congress of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Jews. July 2, 2008

“Tony Kushner.” Steven Barclay Agency. July 2, 2008

Selected Works

Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes (1993)

A Bright Room Called Day (1991)

Caroline, or Change (2004)

Homebody/Kabul  (2001)

Slavs! Thinking About the Longstanding Problems of Virtue and Happiness (1995)

Sharon J. Lubinski, U.S. Marshal

b. July 11, 1952

"Hopefully my coming out will dispel any myths that you can’t be gay and in uniform."

In 2010, Sharon J. Lubinski became the USA’s first openly gay United States Marshal. She is the first female to hold this post in Minnesota. 

A native of Green Bay, Wisconsin, Lubinski received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin in 1974 and a master’s degree from Hamline University in 1992.  She has served 32 years in law enforcement, including 12 years of command experience as precinct commander of downtown Minneapolis and deputy chief of patrol. From 2006 to 2010, Lubinski managed the Minneapolis Police Department’s daily operations as assistant chief of police. 

David Hockney, Artist

b. July 9, 1937

It is very good advice to believe only what an artist does, rather than what he says about his work.

Initially famous for popularizing British pop art in the 1960s, David Hockney grew more influential as he showcased exceptional artistic flexibility. From oil paintings to lithography, photomontage to computer sketch, Hockney demonstrated an uncanny ability to adapt his creative talents to various media. The Hockney exhibit in the National Portrait Gallery in London from October 2006 to January 2007 was one of the Gallery's most successful exhibitions.

9th June: Anthony Romero, Civil Rights Activist

b. July 9, 1965

“When you’ve seen prejudice, you understand that we aren’t finished, that we’re still perfecting this American experiment.”

Anthony Romero is the first openly gay person and the first Latino to become executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the nation’s largest public-interest law firm.

Romero was raised in New York City by parents who emigrated from Puerto Rico. When he was young, his father faced discrimination for a job promotion. A lawyer hired through his father’s union won him the promotion, and the extra earnings helped the family purchase a new home and their first car.

Romero was the first member of his family to finish high school. He graduated from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public Policy and Stanford Law School. In 2003, he was named Stanford’s first Public Interest Lawyer of the Year.

Four days before the 9/11 attacks, Romero took over as executive director of the ACLU. In response to post-9/11 government policies, he helped create the ACLU’s “Keep America Safe and Free” campaign, which aims to protect basic freedoms during times of crises. The campaign was successful in its opposition to the USA PATRIOT Act and litigation regarding the torture and abuse of detainees in U.S. custody.

Under Romero’s direction, the ACLU has achieved its highest level of membership and tripled its budget. This growth allowed the organization to expand its efforts to champion causes such as lesbian and gay rights, racial justice and reproductive freedom.

Romero was named one of TIME magazine’s 25 Most Influential Hispanics in America in 2005. He received an honorary doctorate from the City University of New York School of Law and coauthored “In Defense of Our America” (2007), about America’s fight for post-9/11 civil liberties.

Bibliography
“Anthony D. Romero.” American Civil Liberties Union. May 2007
http://www.aclu.org/about/staff/13279res20030205.html
Coates, Ta-Nehisi Paul. “Anthony Romero.” Time. August 13, 2005
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1093634,00.html
Rosenblatt, Joel. “Publicly Interested: Anthony Romero, the Openly Gay ACLU Leader, Realizes His Lifelong Devotion to Standing up for People.” San Francisco Daily Journal. December 5, 2003
http://www.law.stanford.edu/news/details/667/Publicly%20Interested:%20Anthony%20Romero,%20the%20Openly%20Gay%20ACLU%20Leader,%20Realizes%20His%20Lifelong%20Devotion%20to%20Standing%20up%20for%20People/
Articles
Gutierrez, Mariana. “Fighting for What is Right.” Latino Leaders: The National Magazine of the Successful American Latino. May 2007
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0PCH/is_3_8/ai_n27258304?tag=content;col1
Books
In Defense of Our America: The Fight for Civil Liberties in the Age of Terror (2007)
http://www.amazon.com/Defense-Our-America-Liberties-Terror/dp/0061142565/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1214840272&sr=8-1
Other Resources
American Civil Liberties Union
http://www.aclu.org/

Anthony Romero, Civil Liberties Activist

b. July 9, 1965

“When you’ve seen prejudice, you understand that we aren’t finished, that we’re still perfecting this American experiment.”

Anthony Romero is the first openly gay person and the first Latino to become executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the nation’s largest public-interest law firm.

Romero was raised in New York City by parents who emigrated from Puerto Rico. When he was young, his father faced discrimination for a job promotion. A lawyer hired through his father’s union won him the promotion, and the extra earnings helped the family purchase a new home and their first car.

Romero was the first member of his family to finish high school. He graduated from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public Policy and Stanford Law School. In 2003, he was named Stanford’s first Public Interest Lawyer of the Year.

Four days before the 9/11 attacks, Romero took over as executive director of the ACLU. In response to post-9/11 government policies, he helped create the ACLU’s “Keep America Safe and Free” campaign, which aims to protect basic freedoms during times of crises. The campaign was successful in its opposition to the USA PATRIOT Act and litigation regarding the torture and abuse of detainees in U.S. custody.

Under Romero’s direction, the ACLU has achieved its highest level of membership and tripled its budget. This growth allowed the organization to expand its efforts to champion causes such as lesbian and gay rights, racial justice and reproductive freedom.

Romero was named one of TIME magazine’s 25 Most Influential Hispanics in America in 2005. He received an honorary doctorate from the City University of New York School of Law and coauthored “In Defense of Our America” (2007), about America’s fight for post-9/11 civil liberties.

Bibliography

“Anthony D. Romero.” American Civil Liberties Union. May 2007

Coates, Ta-Nehisi Paul. “Anthony Romero.” Time. August 13, 2005

Rosenblatt, Joel. “Publicly Interested: Anthony Romero, the Openly Gay ACLU Leader, Realizes His Lifelong Devotion to Standing up for People.” San Francisco Daily Journal. December 5, 2003

Articles
Gutierrez, Mariana. “Fighting for What is Right.” Latino Leaders: The National Magazine of the Successful American Latino. May 2007

Books
In Defense of Our America: The Fight for Civil Liberties in the Age of Terror (2007)

Other Resources
American Civil Liberties Union