José Sarria: September Portrait of the Month September 01, 2013 Jose Sarria, 1999. José Julio Sarria (1922-2013) was a drag performer and activist for LGBTQ civil rights who is largely credited as being the first gay man in the United States to run for public office. He served in World War II and on his return to San Francisco ...

James Purdy: August Portrait of the Month August 01, 2013 James Purdy, 1987 Born and raised in Ohio, James Purdy (1914-2009) earned a masters degree in English from the University of Chicago. He frequented the underground salon of the painter Gertrude Abercrombie, where he became acquainted with such jazz legends as Sonny Rollins, Dizzy Gillespie, and Charlie Parker. His ...

RFD Managing Editors: July Portrait of the Month July 01, 2013 from left to right: Jim, Kulaya, David, Sr. Missionary P. Delight, Vera, Martin, and Stevie. Not present: Gabby Haze. RFD Magazine and website is a reader written journal for gay people, publishing since 1974, which focuses on country living and encourages alternative lifestyles. The journal fosters community building ...

Robert Giard Foundation Announces 2013-2014 Fellowship Winner May 31, 2013 Carmen Oquendo-Villar Receives $7,500 For Her Documentary Diana De Santa Fe Left to right: Guest Tony Kushner, 2013 Giard Fellow Carmen Oquendo-Villar, 2012 Fellow Cary Cronenwett, 2011 Fellow Yoruba Richen, and Board President Carl Sylvestre at the May 22 benefit. New York, NY (May 27, 2013) – The Robert Giard ...

Essex Hemphill: Portrait of the Month May 2013 May 01, 2013 Essex Hemphill at the Beams Philadelphia, PA, 1991 Born in Chicago in 1957, poet, writer, and activist Essex Hemphill was raised in Washington, D.C. and then settled in Philadelphia as a young adult. Hemphill’s early writings were published in Earth Life (1985) and Conditions (1986), but he gained significant ...

Pat Parker: Portrait of the Month April 2013 April 01, 2013 Pat Parker, Pleasant Hills, CA, 1989 Black lesbian feminist poet and activist, Pat Parker, was born Patricia Cooks in 1944 and raised in an impoverished African American community in the Third Ward of Houston, Texas. At seventeen, she left home and moved to Los Angeles, California, earning a ...

James Saslow: Portrait of the Month March 2013 March 01, 2013 James Saslow, 1986 James M. Saslow is Professor of Art History at Queens College and the Graduate Center, City University of New York, as well as an author and a former arts journalist, including many years as New York editor of The Advocate, America’s national gay and lesbian ...

Joan Nestle: Portrait of the Month February 2013 February 06, 2013 Joan Nestle, New York, NY, 1987 Born in the Bronx in 1940 and raised by her mother Regina, a single parent who worked as a bookkeeper in the New York garment industry, Joan Nestle learned early about work, resistance to bosses, and the power of erotic en- counters ...