MoHoNews
WORLD AIDS DAY and the death of Bernice Horwitz
Borrowed Time: An AIDS Memoir by Paul Monette
For World AIDS Day, the Monette-Horwitz Trust wants to revisit Paul Monette's classic memoir, BORROWED TIME: AN AIDS MEMOIR. It's one of the first books written from inside a gay relationship devastated by the first wave of HIV/AIDS. Paul's partner of more than ten years, Roger Horwitz, was diagnosed in March of 1985 and died, at the age of 41, in October of 1986. Roger's beloved mother, Bernice Horwitz, died in late November, at the age of 101.
Roger's half brother, entrepreneur Sheldon Andelson, was also suffering with AIDS in 1986, and he wanted to conceal his illness from Bernice and her husband, Al. Paul and Roger went along with the silence for a while, but as Paul relates so eloquently in the memoir, they finally told Roger's parents, who couldn't have been more loving or supportive. At the end of the book, Paul describes their arrival at the hospital on the night of Roger's death: "When Al and Bernice walked in, they greeted Dr. Cope warmly, not looking toward Rog right away, thanking the doctor for all the long fight. Al gripped my shoulder and declared, his voice breaking, 'This boy took care of him like a mother.' Then Bernice went to the side of the bed, touched Roger's hand, and said, 'Good night, sweet prince.' But they held their tears, those two, because they had sworn since the very beginning of the end to be strong for me."
Paul painted a beautiful portrait of ideal parents in the age of AIDS. Bernice was also the mother of daughter Jaimee, and a grandmother and great-grandmother. She had a successful career in dance before marrying her husband of sixty years, Al Horwitz. Bernice was loved by all who knew her, and she will be dearly missed.
For World AIDS Day 2018, the Monette-Horwitz Trust wishes to express gratitude to the parents and friends who have supported PWAs and who continue to do so. The AIDS crisis is not over, and we remember.
Harvey Milk
Harvey Milk: His Lives and Death, Lillian Faderman
On November 27, 1978, gay rights pioneer and San Francisco City Supervisor Harvey Milk was assassinated in City Hall, along with his friend and ally, Mayor George Moscone. Supervisor Dianne Feinstein made the announcement to a shocked, devasted crowd. Milk had lived in San Francisco for just over five years. He ran a camera shop in the Castro, and he became involved in local politics right away. The native New Yorker and Navy veteran was part of the first generation of openly LGBTQ folks enjoying their lives in the promised land of San Francisco. Milk made a name of himself fighting the Briggs Initiative, California's Proposition 6, and he used a spirit of outreach and coalition building to win his spot on the Board of Supervisors in his third attempt. His insistence on people coming out and his extroverted exuberance made Milk a powerful, inspiring leader in our community.
Proposition Six was the California proposition that would have made it impossible for gays and lesbians to be school teachers.
His life has been told and celebrated in Randy Shilts's book THE MAYOR OF CASTRO STREET and later in the Academy Award-winning film MILK. Last year, Monette Horwitz Trust Award winner Lillian Faderman, author of ODD GIRLS AND TWILIGHT LOVERS and co-author with fellow MoHo award winner, the late Stuart Timmons, GAY LOS ANGELES wrote a new biography of Milk for Yale University Press's series on "Jewish Lives."
Faderman's book is the first to analyze the life and legacy of Milk from a Jewish perspective. You can read a review of her book here: How Harvey Milk's fight for social justice was fueled by Jewish tradition
Athlete Ally - Allies Creating Allies
Athlete Ally launches Champions of Inclusion
Athlete Ally, a 2013 Monette-Horwitz Ally Award recipient, launches the first comprehensive course on LGBTQ inclusion in athletics, focused on educating sport leaders (coaches, athletic directors, SWAs, trainers, and captains) at the collegiate, club, and K-12 level. This fantastic new program aims to educate coaches on LGBTQ issues.
Since 2011, we've sent Athlete Ally representatives to hundreds of campuses to speak about LGBTQ inclusion, allyship, and obstacles to inclusion in sport. We've met a lot of people who want to know more about the LGBTQ community and to better understand how to make their teams and athletic departments more inclusive. This new Comprehensive course on LGBTQ inclusion in athletics curriculum was designed to fulfill that need, while eliminating geography as a barrier to access.
Matthew Shepard
October 2018 marks the 20th anniversary of the death of Matthew Shepard in Wyoming. His gruesome murder caused outrage around the world and brought renewed attention to hate crimes and to the deadly impact of homophobia. In 2009, President Barack Obama signed into law the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. To recognize the contributions to the LGBTQ community and the important work of their organization, the Monette-Horwitz Trust honored the Matthew Shepard Foundation in 2017.
On October 26, 2018, Matthew's parents, Judy and Dennis Shepard, will take part in a ceremony in Washington, DC, honoring Matthew's memory. His remains will be interred in the Washington National Cathedral and some of his personal papers will be given to the Smithsonian.
For more on the family, the foundation, and the ceremony, see this story from NPR:
Jewel's Catch One
In 2015, the Monette-Horwitz Trust gave an award to Jewel Thais-Williams, a pioneer in the history of LGBTQ Los Angeles. CF Fitz and Trish Marbury and their team made a brilliant documentary that you can watch on Netflix. Here's a terrific review of this important film, which is such a worth portrait of a great hero to our community!
the Naz Foundation
The Supreme Court of India has just abolished Penal Code 377, decriminalizing gay people in India. The suit was brought to the courts by the Naz Foundation
In 2010, the Monette-Horwitz Trust awarded the Naz Foundation in India with a grant to help support their work regarding LGTBQ equality and HIV/AIDS education. We are thrilled for their success and are pleased to have been a small part of their fight!
een a small part of their fight!
For more about the Supreme Court decision click here.
For more about the Trust, visit our Facebook page.
For more on NAZ, visit their Facebook page.