Center Blog

Andres Hoyos (middle) receiving NASW-NYC Emerging Leaders Award

On December 1, Director of Center Wellness Andrés Hoyos, received an Emerging Leaders Award from the New York City Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW-NYC). Hundreds gathered at Jing Fong Restaurant in Manhattan to pay tribute not only to Hoyos, but a host of other influential social workers. Hoyos was joined by his Center colleagues Nicole Avallone, Director of Youth Services, and George Fesser, Director of Center Families.

Through its leadership awards, NASW-NYC recognizes social workers who demonstrate exemplary leadership qualities and a unique commitment to the improvement of social and human conditions, assuring a promising future for the profession and the communities they serve.

Andrés Hoyos is a gay Latino man, originally from Colombia, who has been working in the field of social services since he was a teenager. Hoyos began his career in his native Medellín, where he worked with an NGO to establish the first ever national HIV/AIDS hotline in Colombia.

Center Staff: Nicole Avallone, Dir. of Youth Services (left), Andres Hoyos, Director of Center Wellness (middle), George Fesser, Director of Center Families (right)

Since relocating to New York City in 2000, he has worked on a volunteer basis with several agencies and committees to improve the quality of life for our communities—such as GMHC, the NYC HIV/AIDS Prevention Planning Group, Queens Pride House, the Manhattan Alcohol and Substance Abuse Council, and the Cultural Diversity Committee of Association of Substance Abuse Provider NYS.

Hoyos has been working at the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center in NYC since 2003. In 2007, he founded and became director of Center Recovery, the first and only state licensed substance abuse prevention program serving the LGBT community in New York.

Hoyos currently serves as the Director of Center Wellness. Under his leadership, the program has provided vital support social services to tens of thousands of LGBT people.

Andres Hoyos, Director of Center Wellness, at NASW-NYC Awards

In 2009, Hoyos was selected along with 19 other people of color as new leaders of the LGBT movement nationwide, to be part of the inaugural “21st Century Fellows Program,” sponsored by Arcus Foundation, the Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund, and the Gill Foundation.

Andres Hoyos, Director of Center Wellness (left) and Nicole Avallone, Director of Youth Services (right)

Hoyos’ commitment to social justice has been infused throughout his work at the Center, his private practice, and most recently, as an Adjunct Professor and Faculty Advisor at NYU’s School of Social Work. The Center congratulates him on this well-deserved honor!

Guest Post by: Stephan Lherisson

On Friday, November 11, LGBT veterans and supporters came together for the Center’s LGBT Veteran’s Day Reception: A Celebration of Service, honoring the first Veteran’s Day since the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. Current and former soldiers of the United States armed forces from as far back as World War II, to as present as Afghanistan were available for an event to honor their sacrifices to the country as well as their ability to now serve openly and proudly as lesbian, gay, or bisexual.

Photo by Andy Duty

Alfred Eriksson, currently an antique prints and maps dealer, was one of those who served in the Second World War. Drafted in 1943 he served till 1946. He was a Sergeant in Army intelligence studying the Japanese army.  Of the repeal he said,” It’s wonderful.”

“During the actual war they didn’t pay attention to sexual orientation,”   he said when asked about attitudes toward sexuality in the army during that time. “Everyone was very discreet,” he added.

Ed Loecher who served as a Staff Sergeant in Korea from 1951-1955 echoed that sentiment. “I don’t think anyone cared too much. When you’re out in the field people don’t care as much.”

Morgan Cooley, an E5 Sergeant in the U.S. Army for six years in Afghanistan expressed her excitement over being able to attend multiple Veteran’s Day events openly now. She expressed the pressure she felt as a woman, especially in the military environment which can be as close as a family.

Photo by Andy Duty

The mastermind behind the event was Adrian Ogle, the Cultural Programs Coordinator. Why did he decide to make this his first event at the center? “Because following the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell repeal I came to the conclusion I was disconnected from the service.”

The event was marked by a performance from the Gay Men’s Chorus as well as speeches from speakers Zeke Stokes from the Service Members Legal Defense Network, Brenda “Sue” Fulton from Knights Out, Denny Meyer from American Veterans for Equal Rights and the Transgender American Veterans Association, Joshua Seefried from OutServe, and Anu Bhagwati from the Service Women’s Action Network.

For all of its celebration the occasions was also used to remember the battles won but also the battles to come as event goers mentioned the continued plight of transgender soldiers who still cannot serve openly in the military.

One of our sister organizations, the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN), has asked the Center to help get the word out about its GSA Census.

Here’s direction from GLSEN on how you can get involved:

 Click Here to take the 2011 GSA Census and let your GSA’s needs in the safe schools movement be heard!

How many GSAs exist in the country? What kinds of support do GSAs need? We want to know and we need YOUR help! 

The GSA Census defines GSA as an umbrella term used to refer to all student clubs that bring LGBT youth and allies together to work on creating safe and inclusive school environments (e.g., Gay-Straight Alliance, Gay-Straight-Transgender Alliance, Queer-Straight Alliance, Rainbow Club). All GSA students and advisors/sponsors are welcome to take the GSA Census. 

All GSA Census participants will be entered in a raffle to win a www.glsenstore.org gift certificate!

Today is World AIDS Day, a time for the global community to remember those we’ve lost, contemplate ways to better help people living with HIV, and promote solutions to prevent the spread of this disease. This year marks 30 years since the first AIDS case was reported in the U.S.

Since our founding in 1983, the Center has been fully committed to providing HIV and AIDS services to our community, which has been profoundly affected by the AIDS epidemic. Tens of thousands of New Yorkers with HIV or AIDS have benefited from our help. Each year The Center provides more than 1,800 counseling and group sessions to people living with and affected by HIV and AIDS. More than 1,000 LGBT youth and young adults attend HIV prevention activities and leadership training.  Thousands more attend educational forums and conferences.

But our work to end the epidemic is far from over. According to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, “New York City remains the epicenter of HIV/AIDS in the U.S. More than 107,000 New Yorkers are living with HIV, but thousands more don’t know they’re infected. New York City’s AIDS case rate is almost 3 times the U.S. average, and HIV is the 3rd leading cause of death for New York City residents aged 35 to 54.”

African Americans, gay and bisexual men, transgender people and youth 13-29 continue to experience high and increasing rates of HIV infection in New York City. New York is not alone, since the first AIDS cases were reported, the global AIDS epidemic has become one of the greatest threats to human health and development.

The Center’s for Disease Control released new figures this year showing that ‘despite years of great progress in treating AIDS, the number of new HIV infections has remained stubbornly around 50,000 a year in the United States for a decade.

Today as we reflect on 30 years of HIV/AIDS, we remain optimistic in the knowledge that with continued activism, support, education, prevention programs and community building we can ultimately end this epidemic.

As part of World AIDS Day formerViva Glam Ambassador and M·A·C AIDS Fund spokesperson, Cyndi Lauper will join M.A.C Cosmetics at the Center. Lauper and M·A·C will assemble gift bags, with items donated from the New York Liberty, Contesta Rock Hair and MTV Networks,  for the LGBT Center youth and speak to press on the importance of this day. Lauper is well known for her exceptional voice and endless dedication to raising awareness for HIV/AIDS prevention and care. She recently attended the Center’s Women’s Event 14, introducing her friend and our honoree, out comedienne and activist Wanda Sykes.

The Center will also commemorate World AIDS Day by presenting documentarians Kate Kunath and Sasha Wortzel in conversation with Dennis Parrott and Linda King, owners of the legendary Starlite Lounge.

In 1959, a decade prior to Manhattan’s Stonewall riots, the Starlite Lounge opened in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, as a non-discriminatory establishment for gay people of color. A half-century later, the neighborhood and the gay community were shocked when the oldest, Black-owned, LGBT establishment was given notice to vacate and was ultimately forced to close in 2010.

In honor of World AIDS Day, The Center will focus on how the Starlite became a refuge and organizing point in response to the AIDS epidemic. The filmmakers will share key excerpts of their documentary-in-progress, Starlite, and talk with former resident performer Lady Jasmine and long-time patrons about what the Starlite meant to the community, especially in the early days of the epidemic.

Also featured at the event will be the organizers of the AIDS Memorial Park and learning center currently being proposed for the triangle site opposite the former St. Vincent’s Hospital. The proposed location sits in the middle of the neighborhood, the site of significant AIDS epidemic organizing: from the first AIDS ward at St. Vincent’s Hospital to the founding of ACT UP and other advocacy organizations at the Center.

We invite our community to be a part of our World AIDS Day events, help us pay tribute to all those we have lost and work strategically with us throughout the next decade in our continued efforts to end AIDS.

George Fesser, LMSW, Director of Center Families

On Wednesday November 16,  Director of Center Families, George Fesser, LMSW, received a Sol Award (Sun Award) from the Hispanic AIDS Forum. Community members gathered at Battery Gardens in lower Manhattan for the event. The Sol Award acknowledges extraordinary acts of compassion, courage and leadership that, like the sun, spread enlightenment, strength, and sustenance for a healthy life.

The Hispanic AIDS Forum created the Sol Award  in 2007 to honor individuals and entities who demonstrate compassion, courage and leadership in our shared struggle to eradicate HIV/AIDS and its root causes from our communities.  According to HAF:

The global AIDS epidemic has spread great misfortune among millions of people, showing us the widespread devastation caused by chronic illness.  As we fight AIDS and other chronic illnesses, it becomes increasingly clear that in the United States and throughout the world the gift of life often depends on one’s ability to buy healthcare. We, however, at HAF firmly believe that quality healthcare is an indiscriminately universal human right. In our profound appreciation of our partners who both share and practice this belief, we are proud to formally recognize their tireless work in the ongoing, collective endeavor to make the fundamental human right to healthcare a reality.

George Fesser at Sol Awards

George Fesser learned early on about dedicating himself to bettering the lives of others. At 19 years old and just out of high school in Miami, George joined the Missionary group “Amor en Accion” and went on missions to Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Guatemala, helping the poorest of the poor. This is also the time when he came to grips with being gay and learned that he was HIV-positive. Being honest and authentic with his fellow missionaries and family members about his status cost him his membership in this Catholic organization, and caused a break between George and his father which continues until today. This was his first stark experience with homophobia and bias against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) communities and those living with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

However, George did not give up. He pursued volunteer work at Miami Children’s Hospital and soon after was hired and worked for a number of years at the adolescent psychiatric ward helping social workers and nurses deal with suicidal teens, 40% of whom were LGBT. Simultaneously, George obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work at Barry University.

In 1998, George moved to New York City to pursue a Master’s Degree in Social Work. However, a Kaposi Sarcoma diagnoses delayed his plans to begin graduate school; instead he concentrated on beating his cancer and moving forward in his career as a prevention counselor at Streetworks Project, where he worked with homeless teenagers. After one year of chemotherapy, George beat cancer, and began to work for Montefiore Medical Center as a research associate for the New York Academy of Medicine.

Heriberto Sanchez-Soto, Exec. Director Hispanic AIDS Forum (left), George Fesser, LMSW, Director of Center Families (middle), Jesus Aguias, Exec. Director Aid for AIDS (right)

In 2002 he began to work at Aid for AIDS International. After this, George was a Prevention Counselor at the Western Queens site of the Hispanic AIDS Forum, where he worked for almost four years. He then moved on to The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center, and while working full time as the Coordinator of Substance Abuse Prevention & Immigration Services, completed his Master’s Degree in Social Work at Columbia University, School of Social Work. During his time at the Center George coordinated and provided direct support services to LGBT immigrants from over 50 countries. George also created the Center’s LGBT Immigrant Social Action Group which helps LGBT immigrants learn more about the laws that affect them and how they can use their stories to promote change in a system that does not recognize the unique needs of the LGBT immigrant population.

In his new role as Director of Center Families, George is responsible for organizing education and support services for prospective parents and families in the LGBTQ community, as well as overseeing the groundbreaking LGBTQ Foster Care Project. George is now engaged to JC his partner of 8 years, and they enjoy a great life together with their Terrier, Oxy.

George Fesser and his partner Juan Carlos Garcia-Lavin

We are proud to have George on our staff and congratulate him on receiving this prestigious award.

Wednesday and Thursday night it’s absolutely critical we show continued strong community support to build a memorial park and learning center at the former St. Vincent’s campus. This is absolutely the time to show that support.  If you missed the previous community board meetings, or came but didn’t speak, now’s your last chance.  If you’ve come before, please come again! On Wed Nov 16th the Parks Committee will review the “final” park plan by Rudin Management before sending on a recommendation to the City Planning Commission.  The Rudin park plan still includes no recognition to the AIDS Crisis and still calls for wasteful demolition of the basement space. We are also making a presentation at the same meeting about preserving the 10,000 sq ft basement to be redesigned with the park as a learning center to teach and exhibit the history and facts of the disease. Please come show your support by expressing your desire for significant memorial features to the AIDS Crisis AND for preserving and repurposing the basement!

On Thurs Nov 17th the Full Community Board will actually vote on its final park design recommendation to the City Planning Commission. We want this recommendation to include explicit memorial features AND preserve the basement space for reuse as a learning center dedicated to the ongoing history of the AIDS crisis.  Please come, sign up and give public testimony. We will stand up together as a group – it’s easy!

Meeting Details – Help Spread the Word

Parks & Open Space Meeting – Discussion of park design

*Presentation by AIDS Memorial Park Campaign

Date:  Wednesday November 16

Time:  6:30 PM

Location:  St. Anthony’s of Padua, 151-155 Sullivan St. Lower Hall

Full Board Meeting and Vote on Park Recommendation
Date:  Thursday November 17

Time:  6:00 PM

Location:  Public School 3 Auditorium, 490 Hudson Street

SPEAKERS CAN ONLY SIGN UP FROM 6:00 TO 6:30 PM 

See you tomorrow and Thursday! 

Chris and Paul  

NYC AIDS Memorial Park Campaign

Center Staff from left: Migdalia Santiago, Cristina Herrera (LUNY Award Winner) and George Fesser

On Saturday October 15, the Center’s Gender Identity Project Counselor, Cristina Herrera (pictured in middle, photo above left) received the prestigious Latinos/as Unidos de New York  (LUNY) Award, along with several other community leaders in New York City. Latinos/as Unidos de New York, Inc. bestows the honor on individuals for their outstanding contributions and service to Latino and Latina LGBT people in New York City.

Community members gathered at the Church of the Holy Apostles in Manhattan for the festive event.  Herrera identifies as TransLatina and has been working in the field of HIV prevention, advocacy and community organizing for over 11 years.

In her current position at the Center her primary focus is working with transgender and gender non-conforming communities. She facilitates the TransLatina Group in Western Queens and co-facilitates the Feminine Spectrum Group at the Center. In addition, Cristina is the Chair to the Transgender Advisory Group at the Prevention Planning Group for the NYC Department of Health, where she brings awareness to issues that are affecting transgender populations.

We are proud to have her on our staff and congratulate her on receiving this distinction.

DeEbonie Swindell

The Center is pleased to announce that four young people from our Youth Enrichment Services (YES) Program are featured in the new “Amplify Your Voice!” anti-LGBT bullying public service announcement campaign created by The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD).

Devin Greene

The campaign includes dozens of celebrities speaking out about the harms of bullying and each PSA is introduced with a personal bullying story from our YES participants, who have all found strength and empowerment through our program. The young people featured are 18-year-old Antonio Fernandez, 20-year-old Dillon Seebalack, 22 year old DeEbonie Swindell,  and 22 year old Devin Greene.

The campaign coincides with National Bullying Prevention Month and Spirit Day on October 20. You can read much more here in GLAAD’s official press release:

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), the nation’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) media advocacy and anti-defamation organization, today announced an initial list of participants in Spirit Day as well as the launch of its “Amplify Your Voice!” public service announcement (PSA) campaign featuring celebrity talent and young people speaking out against anti-LGBT bullying.The PSAs urge viewers to take a stand against anti-LGBT bullying and direct viewers to GLAAD.org for resource kits offering best practices to parents, teachers and students. The free kits feature resources from the American Federation of Teachers, GLSEN, the National Center for Transgender Equality and The Trevor Project, among others.

Celebrity participants in GLAAD’s ‘Amplify Your Voice’ campaign — a project developed with the American Federation of Teachers — include: Chaz Bono, Kristin Chenoweth, Vinny Guadaginino, Rashida Jones, Dustin Lance Black, Sandra Lee, Mario Lopez, Shaquille O’Neal, Amy Poehler, Naya Rivera, Tori Spelling & Dean McDermott, Ariel Winter, and the cast of ABC Family’s Pretty Little Liars. The campaign also features the personal stories of young people from New York’s LGBT Community Center (the Center). The Center’s Youth Enrichment Services (YES) Program is open to LGBT and questioning people between the ages of 13 and 22, and provides them with community support to foster healthy development in a safe, affirming and drug-free environment.

Videos and resource kits are available here: www.glaad.org/amplifyyourvoice. Media interested in posted the videos can find instructions here. Comcast will serve as a leading media partner for the PSA campaign, contributing $3 million in national airtime and bringing this important message to more than 20 million homes over the next year. Additional videos to be released in coming weeks.

GLAAD also announced initial participants who will join millions of Americans by wearing purple on October 20, 2011, to take a stand against anti-LGBT bullying and show support for LGBT youth on Spirit Day. GLAAD is working with organizations including GLSEN, GSA Network and the Trevor Project as part of National Bullying Prevention Month to inspire individuals, schools, organizations, corporations, media professionals and celebrities to wear purple.

For a list of celebrity participants, media outlets, TV networks, organizations and corporations visit www.glaad.org/spiritday. Additional participants will be announced in coming days.

Hosts from the CNBC, CNN, E!, the Dr. Drew Show, MSNBC and The View will be wearing purple on-air.

MTV will be turning the on-air logo purple along with their Facebook, Twitter, MTV.com and MTV Act logos.

Celebrity participants include: Tamra Barney (Bravo, Real Housewives of Orange County), Laura Bruce (WE, Downsized), Andy Cohen (Bravo), Aisha Dee (Fox, I Hate My Teenage Daughter), Drew Ginsburg (Bravo, Most Eligible Dallas), Carson Kressley (ABC, Dancing With The Stars), Padma Lakshmi (Bravo, Top Chef), Kristi Lauren (I Hate My Teenage Daughter), Katie Leclerc (ABC Family, Switched at Birth), Vanessa Marano (ABC Family, Switched at Birth), Shay Mitchell (ABC Family, Pretty Little Liars), Mary Murphy (So You Think You Can Dance), David Nadelberg (Sundance Channel, The Mortified Sessions), Matt Nordgren (Bravo, Most Eligible Dallas), Rosie Pope (Bravo, Pregnant in Heels), Garo Sparo (Sundance Channel, Unleashed by Garo), Steve-O, TJ Thyne (Bones), Diann Valentine (WE, I Do Over), Kathy Wakile (Bravo, Real Housewives of New Jersey), Joe Zee (Sundance Channel, All on the Line with Joe Zee), and the cast of Sundance Channel’s Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys are among celebrities who will participate by wearing purple or changing Twitter and Facebook photos for the day. Participants in 2010 included Cyndi Lauper, Ricky Martin, Khloe Kardashian, Ryan Seacrest, Perez Hilton, Kristin Chenoweth, the Dixie Chicks, cast members from of Glee, Joan Rivers, among dozens of others.

Companies including American Airlines, AT&T, B|W|R Public Relations, Comcast, Facebook, Goldman Sachs, McGraw-Hill, NBCUniversal, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, Verizon, Yahoo! and Yahoo! Pride will participate in 2011. Participating companies will be distributing information to employees about wearing purple. Some have also pledged to turn logos purple for the day. For more information on specific plans visit: http://www.glaad.org/spiritday/corporate.

The Sundance Channel employees will be participating and the Sundance Channel social media logos will turn to purple on Spirit Day.

LOGO will air a Spirit day purple ribbon on the channel to drive viewers to NewNowNext.com to increase awareness against bullying. Additionally, their Twitter (@LogoTV) and Facebook photos will ‘go purple’ and pictures of staff, fans and talent will be posted to Tumblr throughout the day.

Here Media will turn logos on Advocate.com, Out.com and SheWired purple for the day.

Spirit Day coincides with GLSEN’s ‘Ally Week’ (October 17-21), a week for students to organize events that serve to identify, support and celebrate Allies against anti-LGBT language, bullying and harassment in America’s schools and communities. GLSEN has partnered with GLAAD to promote Spirit Day as an event for students to participate in during ‘Ally Week.’ For more information about ‘Ally Week’ visit www.allyweek.org.

In addition to GLSEN, GSA Network and The Trevor Project, dozens of local and faith-based organization are also participating in Spirit Day including: Basic Rights Oregon, COLAGE, Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry, Pacific School of Religion, Coalition of Welcoming Congregations of the Bay Area, DignityUSA, Equality Hawaii, Equality Michigan, Equality Utah, Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC), Human Rights Campaign’s Religion & Faith Program, Institute for Judaism and Sexual Orientation at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Keshet, Lutherans Concerned/North America, More Light Presbyterians, Nehirim: GLBT Jewish Culture and Spirituality, PROMO, Religious Institute: Faithful Voices on Sexuality and Religion, Women’s Alliance for Theology, Ethics and Ritual (WATER), United Church of Christ Office for LGBT Ministries, Straight But Not Narrow.

Spirit Day was started in 2010 by teenager Brittany McMillan as a way to show support for LGBT youth and remember those lives lost to suicide. Millions of teachers, workplaces, media personalities and students wore purple, which symbolizes spirit on the rainbow flag.

“From Hollywood to corporate America, it’s clear that an overwhelming number of Americans today support LGBT youth and believe that no one should be bullied for being who they are,” said GLAAD Acting President Mike Thompson.  

“On Spirit Day and with our new ‘Amplify Your Voice!’ campaign, some of the greatest Hollywood, news and sports voices will be brought into America’s living rooms, reminding millions that no matter who you are, you have the power to make a difference.”

You can read more here in a blog post by GLAAD and view the videos featuring YES youth.  You can also learn more about their individual bullying stories in GLAAD’s “Amplify your Voice” Resource Kit.

Dillon Seebalack

The Center is honored to be a part of this vital campaign and sends a heartfelt thank you to GLAAD for including our inspirational youth voices!

Antonio Fernandez

LGBT Pioneer Activist Frank Kameny

The Center learned tonight that our community had lost a giant in the LGBT movement for full equality. Frank Kameny died in his home this evening in Washington, DC, fittingly on National Coming Out Day. He was 86.

Dozens of media outlets have published stories about Kemeny’s passing, including Metro Weekly, which reported:

”It is with great sadness that I must report the death of Dr. Franklin Kameny, an activist and friend of the LGBT community,” Metropolitan Police Department Capt. Edward Delgado wrote in an email to media outlets on Oct. 11.

Speaking about 8 p.m. Oct. 11 from Kameny’s home, a designated historic landmark, Charles Francis confirmed that Kameny died in his bed and that his body was being removed. Others on the scene included Bob Witeck. Both Francis and Witeck were part of the effort to have Kameny’s personal papers installed in the Library of Congress.

Marvin Carter, board member of the organization Helping Our Brothers and Sisters, which aided Kameny, says he was contacted by Kameny’s housemate about 5:30 p.m. Oct. 11 and given the news that he had discovered Kameny’s body.

”It appears to have been of natural causes,” says Carter.

Kameny’s beginnings in advocacy work came after he was fired from his job as an astronomer for the Army Map Service because he was gay in 1957. He challenged the firing, though, and took the case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Although the court declined to hear the case, an activist was born.

Kameny went on to become one of the leading advocates for lesbian and gay equality in the years before — and since — Stonewall. In 1961, he co-founded the Mattachine Society of Washington. In 1965, he and others with the group famously picketed the White House in shirts and ties, sending a letter to the White House explaining their presence.

Along with Barbara Gittings, Kameny successfully worked with experts in the field and others to convince the American Psychiatric Association to remove homosexuality from its list of disorders in 1973. The next year, he and Gittings served as counsel to Otis Fancis Tabler, Jr., successfully keeping the Defense Department employee from having his security clearance revoked due to being gay.

Witeck talked with Metro Weekly on Oct. 11 after returning from Kameny’s house, saying, ”When I was in high school 43 years ago – there’s nothing, nothing. No internet. Library books were atrocious. The only thing I knew was Frank Kameny’s name, from the newspapers, and the Mattachine Society. And I called the Mattachine Society, and I didn’t know it at the time – but that was Frank.

”Frank was the first gay person I spoke to in all of my life,” he says. ”And I wasn’t the only one with the story.”

Despite the many victories for equality of which Kameny was a part since, it wasn’t until June 24, 2009, that he received a formal apology from the government for his firing. In a letter that called the firing ”a shameful action,” the director of the Office of Personnel Management wrote to him, ”Please accept our apology for the consequences of the previous policy of the United States government, and please accept the gratitude and appreciation of the United States Office of Personnel Management for the work you have done to fight discrimination and protect the merit-based civil service system.”

The director, John Berry, is an out gay man and the highest ranking out LGBT official in the Obama administration.

Kameny’s death was noted quickly and felt widely across the LGBT community.

Rick Rosendall, who knew Kameny for the past 33 years through their work with the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance, told Metro Weekly, ”Frank was a force of nature. His level of courage and ferocity in standing up for his principles was amazing at a time when he had no backups.”

In his email, Delgado noted, ”Dr. Kameny is a friend of the Metropolitan Police Department’s Gay and Lesbian Liaison Unit; which he advised during it’s infancy stage. My condolences go out to the Kameny family and the entire LGBT community.”

Richard Socarides, who served as the lesbian and gay liaison to President Clinton, told Metro Weekly, ”Frank was such a brave person. To do what he did when he did it. A shinning example for us all. An amazing, inspirational figure who stands out among the giants of our movement.”

On June 10, 2010, a crowd gathered on 17th Street NW for the unveiling of the street sign naming the stretch of the street between R and Q Streets ”Frank Kameny Way NW.”

A little more than six months later, Kameny was present for another landmark moment – the signing of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act. The World War II veteran told Metro Weekly he was overjoyed to be attending because, as he said, ”I didn’t think I’d live to see it.”

Human Rights Campaign president Joe Solmonese noted in a statement, ”From his early days fighting institutionalized discrimination in the federal workforce, Dr. Kameny taught us all that ‘Gay is Good.’ As we say goodbye to this trailblazer on National Coming Out Day, we remember the remarkable power we all have to change the world by living our lives like Frank — openly, honestly and authentically.”

Witeck echoed that, saying, ”Frank also, truly, truly, was a lifelong lesson in being principled. It’s just an amazing gift – and an annoying gift. All of us have doubts; Frank didn’t have a one. If he did, he didn’t tell anyone.”

Talking about Berry’s role at OPM, the repeal of DADT and other successes of recent years, Witeck says, ”Every single thing that we have touched, Frank had been there before.”

A public memorial will be held, Witeck told Metro Weekly, noting that Nov. 15 is the 50th anniversary of the Mattachine Society of Washington and that, accordingly, plans were being considered to hold the memorial that day. He noted, though, that Kameny often said that he did not want a religious ceremony and that, as such, it would not be religious and would be held in a public place.

The Center joins the entire LGBT community in mourning the loss of this true legend in our movement.

Don’t Ask Don’t Tell is history. Today, September 20, 2011, marks the official end of the law that prohibited gay, lesbian and bisexual people from serving openly in the U.S. Armed Forces.  President Obama signed the law repealing  “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” last December.

More than 13,000 gay and lesbian military personnel have been expelled from the armed services for coming out about their sexual orientation since the law took effect in 1993 under then-President Bill Clinton.

Servicemembers Legal Defense Network released this statement, applauding the end of the discriminatory law:

“Today marks the official end of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ and is an historic milestone along the journey to achieving LGBT equality in America’s military. Thanks to veterans, active duty, leaders, allies and supporters everywhere, this is a monumental day for our service members and our nation. Indeed, we have taken a tremendous leap forward for LGBT equality in the military.

“Our work is far from done, but today we pay tribute to the service and sacrifice of our patriots as we look forward to a new era of military service – one that honors the contributions of all qualified Americans who have served or who wish to serve.”

SLDN reports that one hundred events are taking place in all 50 states as repeal supporters celebrate the end of this law. Here is information about the event taking place in New York City:

New York City
September 20, 2011: 7 until 9 p.m.
http://www.sldn.org/NewYorkEvent
Stonewall Inn, 53 Christopher Street, New York, NY 10014

Special Guests:
Speaker Christine C. Quinn (D – District 3 – New York City Council)
Brenda S. “Sue” Fulton, West Point ’80, Executive Director of Knights Out
Katherine Miller, OutServe Board of Directors, former West Point Cadet
Randy Barbato and Fenton Bailey, Producers/Directors, “The Strange History of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” premiering on HBO, Tuesday, September 20
Mati Weiderpass, SLDN Board of Directors, former US Army Captain
Darren Manzella, SLDN client, former US Army Sergeant

The Center congratulations all of the activists whose tireless efforts led to this historic day, and pays special tribute to the LGBT people who have served and continue to serve courageously in our military.