Tucson, Arizona – May 29, 2014 – Arizona Public Media presents an extensive lineup of special programming during June in observance of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month (LGBT Pride Month.) From history to performing arts to independent film, PBS 6, WORLD, the UA Channel and ReadyTV offer viewers the opportunity to explore the observances of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender history, along with the history of the gay rights and related civil rights movements.
LGBT Pride Month, currently celebrated each year in the month of June, honors the 1969 Stonewall riots in Manhattan, New York City. The Stonewall riots were a tipping point for the Gay Liberation Movement in the United States. In the U.S. the last Sunday in June was initially celebrated as “Gay Pride Day,” but the actual day was flexible. In major cities across the nation the “day” soon grew to encompass a month-long series of events.
Today, celebrations include pride parades, picnics, parties, workshops, symposia and concerts. Memorials are held during this month for those members of the community who have been lost to hate crimes or HIV/AIDS. The purpose of the commemorative month is to recognize the impact that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals have had on history locally, nationally, and internationally.
A recent story posted on azpm.org by AZPM’s Inès Taracena told of the difficulties that LGBT refugees seeking asylum in the United States must face. "The story showed that for one gay man from Brazil, asylum was his only choice. He didn't have a family or a community to support him, he faced only persecution. I never thought about how devastating the lack of social support in other countries can be, and I was proud to know that that man was finding help for his situation here in Arizona." Read about “LGBT Global Persecution Leads to Asylum Seekers in Southern AZ,” along with other related stories.
The weekly radio series on NPR 89.1, Arizona Spotlight, continues to feature the diversity of the Southern Arizona community by including lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender stories. In 2014, producer and host Mark McLemore, plans to embark on a new series of short fiction by transgender authors, inspired by an anthology co-edited by local poet TC Tolbert called Troubling the Line: Trans and Genderqueer Poetry and Poetics. Arizona Spotlight can be heard on NPR 89.1 on Fridays at 8:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. and Saturdays at 5 p.m.
Program highlights include:
The Grove – Premieres on PBS 6, WORLD, the UA Channel and Ready TV More Americans have been lost to AIDS than in all the U.S. wars since 1900. And the pandemic has killed 22 million people worldwide. But few know about the existence of the National AIDS Memorial, a seven-acre grove hidden in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. The Grove chronicles this garden's transformation from a neglected eyesore to landscaped sanctuary to national memorial. The film shows how a community in crisis found healing and remembrance, and how the seeds of a few visionary environmentalists blossomed into something larger than they could have imagined. But as the Grove's stakeholders seek broader public recognition through an international design competition, a battle erupts over what constitutes an appropriate memorial for the AIDS pandemic. What does it mean to be a national memorial? And how do we mark a time of unimaginable loss?
Independent Lens: The New Black – Premieres on PBS 6, WORLD and the UA Channel Centering on the historic fight to win marriage equality in Maryland, this film takes viewers into the pews, onto the streets, and provides a seat at the kitchen table as it looks at how the African American community grapples with the divisive gay rights issue.
The Day it Snowed in Miami – Premieres on PBS 6, WORLD and the UA Channel The Day it Snowed in Miami traces the political activism behind an equal-rights statute in Miami, and how it galvanized the gay rights movement in Florida and beyond. Thirty five years ago, as snowflakes prepared to dust palm trees in a city known for its warmth, an addendum to the county's existing anti-discrimination legislation was proposed, which sought to prohibit discrimination in housing, public accommodations or employment based on the basis of "affectional or sexual preference." On Jan. 18, 1977, a throng of conservatives led by singer and Florida Orange Juice spokeswoman Anita Bryant packed downtown commission chambers in protest. The commissioners ultimately passed the ordinance by a narrow 5-3 margin, but Bryant vowed to lead a repeal - and succeeded. The ordinance set back the gay-rights movement for decades; it took more than 20 years for Miami-Dade to revive and pass the law. The film also chronicles the tragic effects of the AIDS pandemic in South Florida, and the ironic, compassionate turn in public opinion towards the gay community.
Independent Lens: Love Free or Die – Premieres on PBS 6, WORLD and the UA Channel Faith, love, marriage, homosexuality and the Episcopal Church collide in the first openly gay Bishop Gene Robinson of New Hampshire. Robinson is a man whose two primary passions are in direct conflict: his love for God and for his partner Mark. His consecration by the Episcopal Church in 2003, to which he wore a bullet-proof vest, caused an international stir. He becomes the focal point as American churches debate whether or not lesbian and gay people are equal to heterosexuals in the eyes of God, while the United States at large struggles with legal equality for gays and lesbians.
A complete list of programs, dates and times can be found here.
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