LGBTQ Archives - Page 3 of 10 - StoryCorps

“I Was Going To Have Family Again:” How One Woman’s Path to Being Herself Led Her Home

Elizabeth Coffey-Williams was in her early 20s when she told her family that she was transgender. But back then, in the early 1970s, there were very few options for people who wanted to medically transition. 

She is now 71 years old. She sat down for a StoryCorps interview with her niece, Jennifer Coffey, to reflect on that journey. 

Elizabeth now lives in a LGBTQ-friendly housing complex for seniors in downtown Philadelphia. Hear more from Elizabeth and her neighbors on the StoryCorps podcast.

Top Photo: Elizabeth Coffey-Williams and Jennifer Coffey at their StoryCorps interview in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on April 8, 2019. By Jud Esty-Kendall for StoryCorps.

Originally aired August 16, 2019, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

“A Very Good Choice”: How One Woman Lost A Mom and Gained Two More

There are many people you may walk by every day and never know their story. Including people like Kathleen Payne, who’s worked here at StoryCorps for over a decade. Many of her colleagues didn’t know her story — until she brought Corinthia Isom to a StoryBooth in 2015.

Corinthia was only a child when her mom, DeSeane, died from an AIDS-related illness in the mid-90s.

DeSeane had been raising Corinthia alone, but before she passed, she’d arranged for her daughter to be cared for by a couple she’d met in an LGBTQ gospel choir in New York City.

Kathleen was one of the women who took Corinthia in, and they sat down together to remember DeSeane, and the start of their relationship.

Top photo: Kathleen Payne and Corinthia Isom at their StoryCorps interview in New York City, New York on September 29, 2015. By Carolina Escobar for StoryCorps.

This interview was recorded in partnership with the The Recollectors, a storytelling site and community for families left behind by parents who died of AIDS-related illnesses.

Originally aired July 12, 2019, on NPR’s Morning Edition. 

In The Final Days Of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Nation’s First Active-Duty Military Contingent Marches In Pride

In the final days of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Navy Operations Specialist Sean Sala decided to do what had never been done before: march with an active duty military contingent in a Pride parade. It was July of 2011, just two months before the end of the policy that barred LGBTQ people from serving openly in the armed forces.

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Sean teamed up with San Diego Pride organizer Fernando Zweifach Lopez.  At StoryCorps, they remembered how they pulled it off — and what it was like to see over 200 service members show up at the starting line. 

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Top photo: Sean Sala and Fernando Zweifach Lopez at their StoryCorps interview in San Diego, CA on January 5th, 2013. By Luis Gallo for StoryCorps.
Middle photo: Sean Sala and Fernando Zweifach Lopez (center) marching together at San Diego Pride on July 16, 2011. Courtesy of Fernando Zweifach Lopez.
Bottom Photo: Sean Sala (right) marches alongside fellow Navy service members during San Diego Pride on July 21, 2012. That year, the Pentagon issued blanket approval for service members to march in uniform in the San Diego Pride parade. Courtesy of Sean Sala.

Originally aired June 29, 2019, on NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday.

Remembering a Gay Icon in Mother Bryant

Alexei Romanoff is a Ukrainian immigrant who grew up as an only child in New York City. As a kid in the 1950s, Alexei knew he was gay — but it wasn’t something he spoke about openly.

Now 82 years old, Alexei came to StoryCorps with his husband, David Farah, to remember the person who taught him to be proud of who he is.

We’re sharing this story as part of Stonewall OutLoud, our national effort to look back on life before the Stonewall riots in 1969, and to ask people to use the StoryCorps App to help preserve the stories of LGBTQ elders before they’re lost to history.

Photo: David Farah (L) and Alexei Romanoff (R) at their StoryCorps interview in Los Angeles, California in June 2015. By Jill Glaser for StoryCorps.

Originally aired June 7th, 2019, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

How One of the First Legally Married Same-Sex Couples in the US Made it Down the Aisle

On November 18, 2003, in the case of Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, the Massachusetts Supreme Court declared that “…barring an individual from the protections, benefits, and obligations of civil marriage solely because that person would marry a person of the same sex violates the Massachusetts Constitution.” This allowed same-sex couples to be legally married in the state of Massachusetts, the first state in the United States to do so.

David Wilson (above left), one of the plaintiffs in that landmark case, was also one of the first to be married when the law went into effect on May 17th, 2004. In 2010, David first came to StoryCorps to reflect on his difficult path to get to his wedding day.

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Nine years later, David and his husband, Robert Compton, came to StoryCorps to reflect on their journey as they approach their 15th wedding anniversary.

Top photo: David Wilson and his husband Robert Compton at their StoryCorps recording in Palm Springs, California in 2019. By Jud Esty-Kendall.
Bottom photo: David Wilson, officiant Reverend Ms. Kim K. Crawford Harvie, and Robert Compton on their wedding day on May 17, 2004 in Boston, Massachusetts. Courtesy of David Wilson.

Originally aired May 17, 2019, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

By the Power Vested in Me

On November 18, 2003, in the case of Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, the Massachusetts Supreme Court declared that “…barring an individual from the protections, benefits, and obligations of civil marriage solely because that person would marry a person of the same sex violates the Massachusetts Constitution.” This allowed same-sex couples to be legally married in the state of Massachusetts, the first state in the United States to do so.

In this episode of the StoryCorps podcast, we’ll hear from David Wilson, one of the plaintiffs in that landmark case, who was also one of the first to be married once the law went into effect on May 17th, 2004. He came to StoryCorps several years later to reflect on his difficult path to get to that day and what being part of that historic case meant to him.

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Next, we catch up with David and his husband, Robert Compton, as they get ready to celebrate their 15th wedding anniversary. We’ll also hear from a gay couple married 50 years before David and Rob.

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Top photo: Artwork by Michael Caines.
Second photo: David Wilson and his husband, Robert Compton, in 2019 at their StoryCorps interview in Palm Springs, California. Photo by Jud Esty-Kendall.
Third photo: Michael McConnell and his husband, Jack Baker, in 2017 at their StoryCorps interview in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Photo by Jhaleh Akhavan.

Released on May 14, 2019.

Like the music in this episode? Support the artists:

“Overture” by Patrick Wolf from the album Sundark and Riverlight
“Periodicals” and “City Limits” by Blue Dot Sessions from the album Albany, NY
“Vittoro” by Blue Dot Sessions from the album Aeronaut
“Elegiac” by Bryan Copeland

Longtime Friends Reconnect in a Homeless Shelter

Longtime friends Barbara Parham and Jeanne Satterfield first met during the 90’s — two native New Yorkers who had moved to Boston and found a sense of community and camaraderie in the city’s LGBTQ scene.

The pair ran in the same social circle for a number of years, but gradually drifted apart. Barbara had moved back in with her mother and was caring for her during a serious illness. And Jeanne was working full-time as a drug and alcohol counselor.

They’d see each other on occasion — sometimes at the doctor’s office, once at a memorial service for a mutual friend — but for the most part they were leading separate lives.

It wasn’t until 2017, when Barbara and Jeanne really reconnected; this time, at a place neither one of them expected to be: the Pine Street Inn homeless shelter.

Top Photo: Jeanne Satterfield (left) and Barbara Parham (right) in front of the Pine Street Inn homeless shelter in Boston, Massachusetts. By Jud Esty-Kendall for StoryCorps.

Originally aired December 21, 2018, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

A Married Couple Remembers Those They Lost to AIDS

Over the years, many people have come to StoryCorps to remember those who have died of AIDS. And for those left behind, how to move forward is never an easy path.

Larry Dearmon and Stephen Mills met in 1992, during the height of the AIDS epidemic in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Together for 26 years, the two came to StoryCorps to remember the loss that eventually brought them together.

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Larry and Stephen have been together for 26 years. The two were married in 2013, a day that Larry calls “the best day of my life.”

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Top photo: Larry Dearmon and Stephen Mills at their StoryCorps interview in Little Rock, Arkansas in 2015. By Natalia Fidenholtz for StoryCorps.
Middle photo: Michael Braig poses for a photo in Frankfurt, Germany. He succumbed to AIDS in 1991. Courtesy Larry Dearmon.
Bottom photo: Stephen Mills and Larry Dearmon pose for a photo on their wedding day at Lake Tahoe in 2013. Courtesy Larry Dearmon.

Originally aired November 30, 2018, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Transgender Child Tells Mom ‘It Shouldn’t Be Scary To Be Who You Are’

Parents and children often come to StoryCorps to share the most important moments in their lives. That’s just what 12-year-old Kaysen Ford had in mind when they came to StoryCorps with their mother, Jennifer Sumner.

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Growing up in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Kaysen is the youngest of seven children.

At StoryCorps, the two sat down to reflect.

Top photo: Jennifer Sumner and her child, Kaysen Ford, at their StoryCorps interview on April 17, 2015 in Birmingham, AL. Photo by Christina Stanton for StoryCorps.
Bottom photo: Kaysen Ford and Jennifer Sumner at their home on October 24, 2018. Courtesy of the Ford family.

Originally aired October 26, 2018, on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Best Friends and Vietnam-era Vets on Their Shared Sisterhood

Sue McConnell and Kristyn Weed are best friends and Vietnam-era veterans. Although they didn’t serve in the war together, they share a story of courage — on and off the battlefield.

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At StoryCorps, they talked about their other shared sisterhood.

Top photo: Sue McConnell (left) and Kristyn Weed at their StoryCorps interview in Tucson, Arizona. By Mia Warren for StoryCorps.
Bottom photo: Sue McConnell (left) and Kristyn Weed are regulars at Denny’s in Tucson, Arizona, where the best friends say they often talk for hours. Courtesy of Kristyn Weed.

A version of this story aired June 30, 2018, on NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday. It was rebroadcast on August 17, 2018, on NPR’s Morning Edition.