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Playlist: OutLoud for Pride Month

Compiled By: StoryCorps

 Credit:

Celebrate Pride Month this June with StoryCorps by airing stories from our OutLoud collection - an effort to record, preserve and share voices from the LGBTQ+ community.

For additional materials visit https://storycorps.org/stations/storycorps-outloud/ (pw: Danny loves Annie). Reach out to radiostations@storycorps.org for more info or with any questions.

StoryCorps: Alexis Martinez and Lesley Etherly Martinez

From StoryCorps | 02:49

Alexis Martinez (L) tells her daughter, Lesley Etherly Martinez (R), about being a transgender woman.

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In the early 1960s, while growing up in a rough housing project on Chicago’s South Side, Alexis Martinez (L) had to hide that she was transgender.

Her name back then was Arthur.

At StoryCorps, she told her daughter, Lesley Etherly Martinez, how in the last few years, she has been able to live as a woman full time.

StoryCorps: Patrick Haggerty and Robin Bolland

From StoryCorps | Part of the StoryCorps series | 02:49

70-year-old Patrick Haggerty tells his daughter, Robin, about the day he first had a conversation with his father about being gay.

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Patrick Haggerty grew up the son of a dairy farmer in rural Washington during the 1950s.

As a teenager, Patrick began to understand he was gay–something he thought he was hiding well.

But as he told his daughter Robin, one day, when he went to perform at a school assembly, his father Charles Edward Haggerty, decided to have a serious talk with him.

StoryCorps OutLoud: Angela Stowe and Glenda Elliott

From StoryCorps | Part of the StoryCorps series | 02:56

Glenda Elliott, 75, tells her friend Angela Stowe about the love of her life, and what it was like to love another woman long before the gay rights movement.

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Glenda Elliott grew up in Mayfield, Georgia during the 1940s. Long before the Stonewall Riots launched the modern gay right movement she met the love of her life — another woman, named Lauree.

When Glenda sat down with her friend, Angela Stowe, she told the story of this life-long love that never had the chance to blossom.

StoryCorps: Dee Westenhauser

From StoryCorps | Part of the StoryCorps series | 02:25

Dee Westenhauser speaks to her childhood friend, Martha Gonzalez, about the one person in her life who saw her for who she truly was.

Westenhausersquare_small Dee Westenhauser speaks to her childhood friend, Martha Gonzalez, about the one person in her life who saw her for who she truly was.

StoryCorps OutLoud: John Banvard and Jerry Nadeau

From StoryCorps | Part of the StoryCorps series | 02:00

Military war veterans John Banvard (100) and Jerry Nadeau (72) live in a veterans home for seniors in Southern California. At StoryCorps, they talk about when they first met.

Nadeausquare_small Military war veterans John Banvard (100) and Jerry Nadeau (72) live in a veterans home for seniors in Southern California. At StoryCorps, they talk about when they first met.

StoryCorps: David Wilson and Robert Compton

From StoryCorps | Part of the StoryCorps series | 04:45

David Wilson and his husband Rob Compton, one of the first legally married same-sex couples in the US, talk about how they met and reflect on the significance of their wedding day.

Wilsonsquare_edit_small David Wilson and his husband Rob Compton, one of the first legally married same-sex couples in the US, talk about how they met and reflect on the significance of their wedding day.

StoryCorps: Sue McConnell and Kristyn Weed

From StoryCorps | 02:19

Best friends, Sue McConnell and Kristyn Weed, talk about their military service and their experience as transgender women.

Mcconnellnpr_small Best friends, Sue McConnell and Kristyn Weed, talk about their military service and their experience as transgender women.

StoryCorps: Walter Naegle and Ericka Naegle

From StoryCorps | Part of the StoryCorps series | 02:33

Walter Naegle tells his niece, Ericka, about the unconventional decision that he and his partner, Bayard Rustin, made to protect their union.

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On the heels of a historic Supreme Court ruling that upholds the right of LGBTQ people to marry, we look to the late 1970s--a time where this week’s ruling on marriage equality was unimaginable.

Back then, the iconic civil rights leader Bayard Rustin and his partner, Walter Naegle, a man decades his junior, fell in love. They were together for many years.

As Bayard was getting older, they decided to formalize their relationship in the only way that was possible for gay people at the time--Rustin adopted Walter Naegle.

Here, Walter tells his niece, Ericka, what it was like to fall in love with Bayard, and the unconventional decision they made to protect their union.

StoryCorps: Chris López and Gabe López

From StoryCorps | Part of the StoryCorps series | 02:25

Gabe López, assigned female at birth, always felt like he was a boy. He came to StoryCorps with his mom to talk about growing up transgender.

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Chris López always knew there was something different about her youngest child Gabe. Assigned female at birth, Gabe always felt like he was a boy.

Gabe was always more comfortable in clothes traditionally worn by little boys (cargo pants and superhero shirts), but often switched back and forth between those and outfits often worn by little girls. Just after his seventh birthday, he convinced his parents to let him cut off his long hair and get a Mohawk—a haircut he had been wanting for years. This is also about the time that Gabe started dressing only as a boy and answering exclusively to “he” and not “she.”

At first, Chris was concerned that Gabe, being so young, might change his mind. She was scared of how people would treat him as he transitioned. But after seeing how Gabe responded to the changes in his hair and clothing, she felt confident that he had made the right decision.

Last summer, their family attended a camp for transgender, gender creative, and gender non-conforming youth in Tucson, Arizona. There, Gabe met similar kids and made three new best friends—Luke, Cooper, and Brock (who among other things taught Gabe how to pee standing up).

Gabe, who will soon be nine years old, has been attending the same school since kindergarten, and this past August when he started third grade, for the first time, he began having others refer to him by his preferred gender pronouns—”he” and “him.”

Gabe and his mother (pictured in the player above) recently came to the StoryCorps MobileBooth to talk about what it’s been like for him to be transgender, and his fears about the future.

StoryCorps: Darrow Brown and Juan Calvo

From StoryCorps | 02:52

Now, a conversation that reminds us how being a father can be about much more than biology.

In 2007, after volunteering to care for infants born to drug-addicted mothers in Baltimore, Juan Calvo knew he wanted to do more. So he and his husband, Darrow Brown, became foster dads. At StoryCorps, they remember the moment they met their first child and talk about the heartbreak and joy of being foster parents.

Two years later, they adopted their, son, Lucas, who is now 7 years old. They continue to open their home to foster children.

Calvonpr_small Now, a conversation that reminds us how being a father can be about much more than biology. In 2007, after volunteering to care for infants born to drug-addicted mothers in Baltimore, Juan Calvo knew he wanted to do more. So he and his husband, Darrow Brown, became foster dads. At StoryCorps, they remember the moment they met their first child and talk about the heartbreak and joy of being foster parents. Two years later, they adopted their, son, Lucas, who is now 7 years old. They continue to open their home to foster children.

StoryCorps OutLoud: Jennifer Sumner and Kaysen Ford

From StoryCorps | Part of the StoryCorps series | 02:40

Six years after Jennifer Sumner brought her 12-year-old Kaysen Ford to StoryCorps, the two reflect on Kaysen’s struggles and joy.

Fordsquare_small Six years after Jennifer Sumner brought her 12-year-old Kaysen Ford to StoryCorps, the two reflect on Kaysen’s struggles and joy.

StoryCorps OutLoud: Leslye Huff and Mary Ostendorf

From StoryCorps | Part of the StoryCorps series | 02:14

When they met in 1983, Leslye was open about her sexuality while Mary kept hers private. With a family Thanksgiving approaching, that all changed.

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Leslye Huff (left) and her partner, Mary Ostendorf (right), met in 1983. Leslye was open about her feelings for Mary and wasn’t shy about publicly showing her affection--even on their first date. Mary felt less comfortable with public displays of affection and had not told many people in her life about her sexuality, including her family.

When Mary introduced Leslye to her mother, Agnes, they did not immediately reveal to her the nature of their relationship, but during that meeting Leslye felt a connection with Agnes. “I liked her. She was short like me, and pretty vivacious. She and I sat and talked and I thought the makings of a pretty good friendship was beginning.”

Later that year, days before they gathered for Thanksgiving, Leslye picked up the phone and told Agnes the truth about her relationship with Mary.

At StoryCorps, Mary and Leslye discuss what happened after the phone call and how their relationship with Agnes changed in the years that followed.

Originally aired November 27, 2016, on NPR’s Weekend Edition.

StoryCorps OutLoud: Drew Cortez and Danny Cortez

From StoryCorps | Part of the StoryCorps series | 02:35

Pastor Danny Cortez and his son, Drew, recall the sermon Danny gave to his church congregation after Drew told his father that he was gay.

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Danny Cortez was the founder and pastor of the New Heart Community Southern Baptist Church in La Mirada, California, in 2014 when his 16-year-old son, Drew, told him that he was gay. Up until that time, Danny’s church would either recommend celibacy or reparative therapy--a widely discredited form of treatment that identifies homosexuality as a mental disorder with the goal of converting people to heterosexuality--to congregants who identified themselves as gay or lesbian.

Even before Drew’s coming out, Danny had slowly begun to reevaluate his views on homosexuality and whether he was doing more harm than good. When his neighbor invited him to visit the HIV clinic where he worked, Danny was introduced to a community of people he had not previously known much about. This began, for him, a gradual change of heart.

Years later, as he was driving Drew to school, “Same Love” by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis came on the radio. Danny liked it a lot but didn’t understand that it was a celebration of LGBT love. Drew, encouraged by his father’s affection for the song, then revealed to him that he was gay.

Realizing that they could no longer keep this secret from those they love, Drew posted a video online, and a week later, Danny delivered a sermon to his congregation about his changing views on homosexuality. As a result of the sermon, the Southern Baptist Convention cut ties with Danny’s church and his congregation split leading he and other members to form a separate LGBT inclusive, non-denominational church.

Danny and Drew came to StoryCorps to remember the sermon that changed their lives.

Originally aired on August 28, 2016 on NPR’s Weekend Edition

StoryCorps: Rita Fischer and Jay Fischer

From StoryCorps | Part of the StoryCorps series | 02:29

Rita Fischer (90) and Jay Fischer (65) recall the moment that Jay came out as gay.

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90-year-old Rita Fischer and her son Jay interviewed each another at a StoryCorps booth in New York City.

They recalled a conversation they had back in the 1980s, when Jay first told Rita he was gay.

Warning: This clip features senior citizens dropping ‘f’ bombs.

Rita Fischer has walked in New York’s AIDS Walk since 1986. She has raised more than $800,000 in that time. 

StoryCorps: Christopher Harris

From StoryCorps | 05:45

StoryCorps Legacy gives people with serious illnesses the chance to share their stories.

At Grady Hospital in Atlanta, Christopher Harris recorded his memories from the early days of the AIDS epidemic.

In the early 80s, his marriage fell apart after he came out as gay. He was diagnosed with HIV in 1988. At the time, there was only one drug approved to treat the disease, and a diagnosis often meant a death sentence.

With StoryCorps, Harris remembered how he came to work with the Atlanta Buyers Club, which distributed medications from the black market to people with HIV before the drugs had been approved by the FDA.

Harrissquare_small StoryCorps Legacy gives people with serious illnesses the chance to share their stories. At Grady Hospital in Atlanta, Christopher Harris recorded his memories from the early days of the AIDS epidemic. In the early 80s, his marriage fell apart after he came out as gay. He was diagnosed with HIV in 1988. At the time, there was only one drug approved to treat the disease, and a diagnosis often meant a death sentence. With StoryCorps, Harris remembered how he came to work with the Atlanta Buyers Club, which distributed medications from the black market to people with HIV before the drugs had been approved by the FDA.