Legendary leaders honored during WPB Pride 2019 Exhibition in Florida.
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| Portrait of Ruth Berman and Connie Kurtz by Rolando Chang Barrero |
Legendary leaders honored during WPB Pride 2019 Exhibition in Florida.
Elder equal rights activist, Ruthie Berman to attend Box Gallery Pride 2019 Exhibition representing late wife artist and activist Connie Kurtz.
The Box Box Gallery
811 Belvedere Road
June 15, 2019 7-10 PM
2nd Annual The West Palm Beach Pride 2019 Exhibition
RSVP:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/west-palm-beach-pride-2019-exhibition-tickets-61928786668
WEST PALM BEACH— On June 15, 2019 at The Box Gallery, members of the community will be coming to visit and pay honor Ruthie Berman and her late wife artist Connie Kurtz at the West Palm Beach Pride 2019 Art Exhibition where Connie’s work will be displayed alongside that of visual artist couple Earle Jay Goodman and James John Goodman. The reception for the exhibition, which is close to sold out, begins promptly at 7 pm, with New York City DJ Marcia Levine and followed by an After Party at Roosters Bar next door to The Box Gallery where the iconic drag queen Melissa St. John will host the the rest of the evening.
Iconic Melissa St. John performing at Roosters Bar by Rolando Chang Barrero
WEST PALM BEACH— On June 15, 2019 at The Box Gallery, members of the community will be coming to visit and pay honor Ruthie Berman and her late wife artist Connie Kurtz at the West Palm Beach Pride 2019 Art Exhibition where Connie’s work will be displayed alongside that of visual artist couple Earle Jay Goodman and James John Goodman. The reception for the exhibition, which is close to sold out, begins promptly at 7 pm, with New York City DJ Marcia Levine and followed by an After Party at Roosters Bar next door to The Box Gallery where the iconic drag queen Melissa St. John will host the the rest of the evening.
Ruthie and Connie, as a couple, successfully sued the New York City Board of Education for domestic partner benefits, winning such benefits for all New York City employees in 1994, as well as, started branches of Parents, Friends and Family of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) in Florida and New York, and in 2000, they began serving as co-chairs of the New York State NOW Lesbian Rights Task Force. Recipients of the SAGE Pioneer award, they also founded The Answer is Loving Counseling Center (they are both certified counselors) and worked there for over twenty years. They were religiously married in a Jewish wedding on May 20, 2000, when it was still illegal for lesbians to marry in a civil wedding. They were legally married on July 26, 2011, two days after marriage for same-sex couples became legal in New York State. Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum, senior rabbi of Congregation Beit Simchat Torah, officiated at both ceremonies. The story of their love and of their activism is captured in the award-winning documentary "Ruthie & Connie: Every Room in the House." Their papers are preserved as the collection "The Ruth Berman and Connie Kurtz Papers" in the Sophia Smith Collection of Women's History at Smith College.
The couple retired to Palm Beach County, Florida, where they have been continually active in Democratic, LGBT, feminist, and #BlackLivesMatter politics. In recognition of their activism, The Ruthie and Connie LGBT Elder Americans Act is named in their honor and was introduced into Congress in November 2017.
Curator of the 2nd Annual The West Palm Beach Pride 2019 Exhibition and former Act-Up Chicago member, Rolando Chang Barrero believes it is his responsibility to remind us all that the festivities of the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots are not only about parades and parties, but a time to reflect, recognized, and continue to resist the marginalization of the LGBT people, specifically the Trans people who as of recent have been the focus of attacks and discrimination.
Commemorating 50 years of activism and struggles of the LGBT community since The Stonewall Riot is not easy there are tears and so much sadness for many lives lost.
Most historic key figures the Gay Rights movement have long past away. The AIDS pandemic took many of their lives, and those that lived through that horrifying period have simply past from old age. While few elder pioneers of the gay rights remain alive, younger activist have stepped up to fill the heroic footsteps for throughout the years to continue the work towards equality and justice for the next generations. The angst and pain of this period of history can never be understood even by the new activists as they forge fearlessly forward to address some of the old and some the new challenges of the LGBT community.
A revealing moment on Netflix’s episode 4 of “Tales of the City” where the the generational schism is addressed at a dinner party where the use of the word “tranny” illustrates new frustrations and pain in the intergeneration fight for equality.
The couple retired to Palm Beach County, Florida, where they have been continually active in Democratic, LGBT, feminist, and #BlackLivesMatter politics. In recognition of their activism, The Ruthie and Connie LGBT Elder Americans Act is named in their honor and was introduced into Congress in November 2017.
Curator of the 2nd Annual The West Palm Beach Pride 2019 Exhibition and former Act-Up Chicago member, Rolando Chang Barrero believes it is his responsibility to remind us all that the festivities of the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots are not only about parades and parties, but a time to reflect, recognized, and continue to resist the marginalization of the LGBT people, specifically the Trans people who as of recent have been the focus of attacks and discrimination.
Commemorating 50 years of activism and struggles of the LGBT community since The Stonewall Riot is not easy there are tears and so much sadness for many lives lost.
Most historic key figures the Gay Rights movement have long past away. The AIDS pandemic took many of their lives, and those that lived through that horrifying period have simply past from old age. While few elder pioneers of the gay rights remain alive, younger activist have stepped up to fill the heroic footsteps for throughout the years to continue the work towards equality and justice for the next generations. The angst and pain of this period of history can never be understood even by the new activists as they forge fearlessly forward to address some of the old and some the new challenges of the LGBT community.
A revealing moment on Netflix’s episode 4 of “Tales of the City” where the the generational schism is addressed at a dinner party where the use of the word “tranny” illustrates new frustrations and pain in the intergeneration fight for equality.
Figurative Drawing by Earle Jay Goodman
Iconic Melissa St. John performing at Roosters Bar by Rolando Chang Barrero
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