Stonewall OutLoud Archives - Page 5 of 6 - StoryCorps

Sue Larson and Clela Rorex

In late June 2014, county clerks in Colorado challenged a ban on same-sex marriage by issuing marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples. The state attorney general has ordered them to stop, and the case has reached the Colorado Supreme Court.

But few know that this is history repeating itself.

rorex1Back in 1975, Clela Rorex was the newly-elected County Clerk in Boulder when she began issuing marriage licenses to same sex couples.

At StoryCorps, Clela (right) told her friend, Sue Larson (left), that it started one day when two men came to her office door.

On the day this story was broadcast, the Colorado Supreme Court ordered County Clerks in the state to stop issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Originally aired July 18, 2014, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Photo courtesy of the Boulder Daily Camera.

A Good Man

Bryan Wilmoth and his seven younger siblings were raised in a strict, religious home. At StoryCorps, Bryan talks with his brother Mike about what it was like to reconnect years after their dad kicked Bryan out for being gay.

Para subtítulos en español, haga click en el ícono de YouTube en la esquina derecha, y escoja “Spanish” bajo la opción de “settings” y “subtitles/CC.”

The Road Home

Eddie Lanier struggled with alcoholism for over 40 years, until his 28th stint in rehab finally led to sobriety. Homeless and hungry, Eddie found a friend in David Wright, a passerby whose frequent donations stood out. Four years after they shared Eddie’s remarkable story with StoryCorps, David persuaded Eddie to move into his home. They still live together to this day.

“The Road Home” is part of StoryCorps’ first-ever half-hour animated special, Listening Is an Act of Love, which premiered November 28, 2013 on the PBS documentary series, POV. Watch the special for free on our YouTube channel. Now also available for download on iTunes—or purchase the DVD!

Listening Is an Act of Love

The first-ever animated feature from StoryCorps, Listening Is an Act of Love, presents six stories from 10 years of StoryCorps, where everyday people sit down together to ask life’s important questions and share stories from their lives. Framing these intimate conversations is an interview between StoryCorps founder Dave Isay and his nine-year-old nephew, Benji.

Listening Is an Act of Love premiered November 28, 2013 on the PBS documentary series, POV. Watch the special for free on our YouTube channel. Now also available for download on iTunes—or purchase the DVD!

Para subtítulos en español, haga click en el ícono de YouTube en la esquina derecha, y escoja “Spanish” bajo la opción de “settings” y “subtitles/CC.”

Alexis Martinez and Lesley Martinez Etherly

Growing up in the 1960s in a housing project on the South Side of Chicago, Alexis Martinez (left) knew that she had to hide from others that she is transgender.

At StoryCorps, she told her daughter, Lesley Martinez Etherly (right), about growing up, parenthood, and now living as a woman.

Originally aired May 5, 2013, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Michael Wilmoth and Bryan Wilmoth

Bryan Wilmoth (right) and his seven younger siblings were raised in a strict, religious household. When Bryan’s father found a love letter from a man in his box of things, he drove him into the countryside and dropped him off in the middle of the night with a five dollar bill.

All of the siblings at Bryan and Michael's sister's wedding in June 2007. From left: Jude, Mike, Pam, Bryan, Amy, Curtis (groom), Chris, Luke-Henry and Josh.Over the years, all of Bryan’s siblings either ran away from or were kicked out of their family home. He made efforts to reconnect with them, but many were initially resistant, so it took a long time for their relationships to grow.

At StoryCorps, Bryan and his brother Michael (left) recall how their family grew close.

Click here to watch “A Good Man,” a StoryCorps animation of Bryan and Michael’s conversation.

Originally aired January 25, 2013, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Above: The Wilmoth siblings at Bryan and Michael’s sister’s wedding in June 2007. From left: Jude, Mike, Pam, Bryan, Amy, Curtis (groom), Chris, Luke-Henry, and Josh.

Matthew Merlin and Michael Levine

Update: On June 24, 2016, President Barack Obama designated a new national monument at the site of the Stonewall Uprising, the first national monument to recognize the fight for LGBT rights.

levine_1969In the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, in New York City’s Greenwich Village, police raided the Stonewall Inn. What followed was a series of demonstrations and protests—sometimes violent—by members of the LGBT community.

Considered to be the birthplace of the modern gay rights movement in the United States, the Stonewall Uprising played a significant role in beginning the process of unifying and organizing activists fighting for LGBT rights.

One of the patrons in the bar at the time of the raid was Michael Levine (above right). He was there on a date drinking and dancing when the “lights went up, the music went off and you could hear a pin drop.”

Michael came to StoryCorps with his friend Matthew Merlin (above left) to recall the night of the Stonewall Uprisings and how it changed him as a person and his outlook on the world.

Originally aired June 25, 2010, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Above: Michael Levine pictured in 1969. Photo courtesy of Michael Levine.

Les, Scott, Thea, and Amanda GrantSmith

In 1997, Les and Scott GrantSmiths’ marriage was on the rocks. They had been together for ten years and were raising two children. But Les was hiding something: although he was born female,  he felt like a man in the wrong body. Keeping this secret caused Les to fall into a deep depression and withdraw from the rest of the family.

Finally, Scott confronted Les, and the GrantSmith family changed forever.

Les also spoke with his daughters, Thea and Amanda, about what his transition was like for them.

Originally aired March 7, 2012, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Nathan Hoskins and Sally Evans

Nathan Hoskins knew from an early age that he was gay, but growing up in rural Kentucky in a family that did not tolerate homosexuality, he learned to keep it a secret.

At StoryCorps, he tells his friend Sally Evans a harrowing story of just how dangerous life was for him.

Originally aired January 13, 2012, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Rob Littlefield

Rob Littlefield remembers being bullied in junior high school for being gay.