BRATTLEBORO — In 2000, Vermont was the first in the nation to legalize civil unions for same sex couples, and in 2009, Vermont became the first state to allow same-sex marriage by legislation rather than by court ruling.
On Friday, Sept. 20, at 7:30 p.m., the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center, in partnership with the AIDS Project of Southern Vermont and Out in the Open (formerly Green Mountain Crossroads), presents a panel discussion on the key individuals, organizations, and moments in the history of queer activism in southern Vermont from the 1980s to the present day.
Sponsored by The Samara Fund of the Vermont Community Foundation, “Looking Back, Moving Forward: Four Decades of Queer Activism in Vermont” is free and open to the public.
Panelists will include therapist Michael Gigante, co-founder of the Brattleboro AIDS Project (now The AIDS Project of Southern Vermont); Kate Jerman, director of the Prism Center, which serves queer and trans communities at the University of Vermont; William J. Lippert Jr., founder of the Samara Foundation of Vermont (now the Samara Fund for LGBT Vermonters); John Scagliotti, a filmmaker and producer known for his work on the award-winning documentaries Before Stonewall and After Stonewall; and Lucy Webb, president of the board of directors of the Brattleboro-based rural LGBTQ organization Out in the Open.
This event is presented in conjunction with Performative Acts, a retrospective of work by the acclaimed photographer and activist Dona Ann McAdams, which includes McAdams' photographs of queer liberation and AIDS activism protests across several decades.
To learn more, call 802-257-0124 or visit www.brattleboromuseum.org.