At its annual HistoryMaker Awards, New England’s own History Project annually recognizes community members and organizations who make LGBTQ history every day.
This year’s shindig takes place from 6 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, October 3, 2019, at the St. Botolph Club, 199 Commonwealth Ave, in Boston. For tickets, starting at $100 with scholarship discounts available, go to historyproject.org.
The 2019 HistoryMaker Award goes to to Cambridge City Councillor Denise Simmons. Plus, the Project’s 2019 Lavender Rhino Award will go to Reverend Mary Martha Thiel and Rabbi Sara Paasche-Orlow of the LGBTQ Seniors Initiative at Hebrew SeniorLife.
“Denise Simmons is a fixture in our community,” says Joan Ilacqua, co-chair of The History Project’s board of directors. “She’s a historically-minded, community-focused, and passionate advocate for her constituency, for the LGBTQ community, and for communities of color.”
In their event press release, The History Project says:
In 2008, Denise Simmons became Mayor of Cambridge, Massachusetts, and the nation’s first Black, openly lesbian mayor. From her early work as the Executive Director of the Cambridge Civic Unity Committee, to her leadership as a member of the Cambridge School Committee and City Council, to her terms as Mayor of the City of Cambridge and her continued work to support and understand and advocate for her constituents, Denise Simmons has had an unmatched impact on Greater Boston’s and our nation’s LGBTQ community. Please join us in honoring an advocate and leader in civic engagement and civil rights.
The History Project has presented the HistoryMaker Award since 2009 to those whose lifetime achievements have had a significant and positive effect on Boston and Massachusetts’ LGBTQ communities. Past recipients of the award include Congressman Barney Frank, State Representative Byron Rushing, GLAD’s Civil Rights Project director Mary Bonauto, BAGLY executive director Grace Sterling Stowell, Abe Rybeck from the Theater Offensive, journalist Susan Ryan-Vollmar, Larry Kessler of AIDS Action Committee, and activist and community organizer Orlando Del Valle. …
Hebrew SeniorLife’s LGBTQ Seniors Initiative began in 2015 with workshops at several senior living communities and a HSL Hospice Care team training on caring for LGBTQ seniors. This program seeks to create an environment where LGBTQ seniors feel accepted, supported, and don’t delay care because they fear discrimination. It also helps seniors in our communities feel at ease and open about the LGBTQ children, grandchildren, and friends in their lives. In 2017, HSL trained more than 450 staff to care for LGBTQ patients. A unique chaplaincy education unit – Spiritual Care of LGBTQ Elders – was incorporated into HSL’s Clinical Pastoral Education program. HSL also created an organization-wide employee task force to help HSL become a welcoming and inclusive organization for LGBTQ residents, patients, and family members, as well as become a truly accepting environment for LGBTQ employees.
Named after one of the early symbols of the Gay Liberation movement, the Lavender Rhino Award is presented to an emerging activist or organization whose impact on the local LGBTQ community deserves recognition. Previous Lavender Rhino honorees have included the LGBT Elders of Color, activist and organizer Corey Yarbrough, musician and composer Omar Thomas, and attorney Allison Wright.
Not a subscriber? Sign up today for a free subscription to Boston Spirit magazine, New England’s premier LGBT magazine. We will send you a copy of Boston Spirit 6 times per year and we never sell/rent our subscriber information. Click HERE to sign up!
