June 3, 2024 • 18 mins
Aired May 26, 2024: June is PRIDE month. We are kicking it off with Jeff Consoletti, the producer of The Outloud Pride Fest in West Hollywood for WeHo Pride. Jeff and Lisa Foxx talk about all things PRIDE, the meaning and history of it in West Hollywood PLUS all that we can expect at this year's festivities. Find out more at wehopride.com
Also on this podcast, of the many non-profits who partnered with Pride this year, Lisa talks with Mason Funk...he is the Founder and Executive Director of The Outwords Archive. He has done more 300+interviews with LGBTQ+ trailblazers and folks who have helped pave the way for Gay rights as it continues to evolve.
Also on this podcast, of the many non-profits who partnered with Pride this year, Lisa talks with Mason Funk...he is the Founder and Executive Director of The Outwords Archive. He has done more 300+interviews with LGBTQ+ trailblazers and folks who have helped pave the way for Gay rights as it continues to evolve.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Hi is Lisa Fox and this isthe iHeart So Cal Show, our show
that puts the spotlight on charter oforganizations, nonprofits, people giving back,
and people bringing people together. That'sright, it's almost June. Happy Pride.
Next weekend kicks off the annual weHoe Pride festivities in West Hollywood.
The three day festival called out Loudis produced by Jeff Consoletti, who's on
(00:22):
with us, and one of themany nonprofits involved with Pride is Outwards.
It's essentially an archive of hundreds ofimportant LGBTQ plus stories. They're archived as
part of their history, all storiesdocumented by their founder and executive director,
Mason Funk. So I've got JeffConsoletti and Mason Funk on to dive into
all things Pride. Hi, guys, Happy Pride. Hi. Okay,
(00:48):
So Jeff, let's start with youas the producer of the out Loud the
West Hollywood Pride festivities. I mean, let's start with the history. I
mean, this is kind of theoriginal West Coast Pride celebration since the Stonewall
Riots over fifty years ago. Yeah. I mean when we think of Pride,
we think of West Hollywood for sure, especially here on the West Coast
and West Hollywood has just been astaple for just the LGBTQ community since their
(01:15):
inception, and like you mentioned,for many years, West Hollywood hosted other
Pride events, including longtime hosting LaPride in West Hollywood, but in twenty
twenty two began their own festivities,known widely as we Hope Pride Now,
and we kick off with a threeday weekend beginning May thirty first, June
(01:37):
first, and June second in WestHollywood with a huge assortment of free programming
as well as our flagship out Loudmusic festival, bringing some of the world's
biggest entertainers, right, so wehoo, Yeah, big big names.
But I mean, Jeff, you'vebeen involved in kind of putting this together
for how many years now, Imean more than I probably want to admit.
(01:59):
But we've we've worked on Pride inWhat Hollywood for fifteen years and have
really been instrumental in bringing growing theWeehel Pride brand since it's really become we
Hil Pride in twenty twenty two.Sure, and I think it's it's you
know, it's a team effort.It's I mean, the way the municipality
comes to that for this community andfor really want the investment that they make
(02:22):
in Pride as an event and asa movement is is you know, I
don't think something that you see prettymuch anywhere else in the world, and
I think that's a testament to howthe brand has grown so quickly. You
know. Yeah, we've been involvedwith Pride for you know, really since
since the beginning of my career inevents and entertainment, well and as an
(02:42):
ally of the gay community. Youknow, for some folks who think it's
woo party, party, party,Oh my gosh, those people get out
of control, which show some ofthat can can happen. But there's more
to Pride than just the party part. Touch on that, right, because
I feel like it's really a celebration, celebration of how far the gay came
has come since dom all, butalso acknowledging that there's more work to be
(03:05):
done in terms of everyone being accepted. Yeah, I mean, I think
Pride means something a little bit differentto everyone, and I think that's what
has made Pride so special, especiallyas it's grown, and especially as people
like especially a younger generation now kindof grows up with the ability to be
themselves much much earlier in life.You know, then, I think even
(03:27):
like you or I were accustomed toand certainly elders before us that were really
at the forefront of the Pride movement. But that said, like we still
have some history to teach. Wereally make room in West Hollywood for hundreds
of nonprofits and community outreach groups tocome together to showcase the ways that they
are advocating for this community and thedifferent resources that are available, whether it's
(03:53):
for youth or transgender community, orcare for women or elder care. Like
how how are all of these differentfactions of the community profile and how can
they get involved? And equal tothat is ensuring that there's a little bit
of a mix of celebration, right. We want to dance, we want
to be seen, we want tosing along to some of our favorite stars.
(04:14):
Like all of that is what Ithink makes Pride such a special and
you know, colorful celebration. Italways is. Now layout because you're you
know, putting out loud on inWest Hollywood next weekend Friday, Saturday and
Sunday. How's it all going tobe laid out? You know? Nighttime
will be the big concerts with thename people will mention in a few but
when are the booths happening that peoplecan stroll through for free? When and
(04:35):
where is that part happening so peoplecan get access to all these nonprofits out
there that are offering help and information. Yeah, So the West Hollywood Street
Fair is free and open to thepublic on Saturday and Sunday, June first
and June second on Santa Monica Boulevardbetween Los Cienica and Doheaney. Like I
said, hundreds of exhibitor booths andsponsor activations to stages with a ton of
(05:01):
entertainment, a huge ferris wheel,and many many activities. On Sunday,
June second, of course, theIconic who Pride Parade marches down Santa Monica
Boulevard beginning from Crescent Crescent Heights,but right through the street Fair all the
way to Doheany, so you know, a two and a half mile route
or so for people to enjoy theparade. You can also tune in on
(05:25):
KTLA here in La, but evenyou can stream KTLA on any streaming service
nationally. So check out KTLA andthe parade this year with our icon Cindi
Lauper receiving the City's lifetime ally recognitionall of her work talk about colorful and
then of course we have a starsided lineup in West Hollywood Park at the
(05:46):
out Loud Music Festival and tickets arestill available at we areoutloud dot com.
Our headliner Kylie Minogue on Sunday night, Janelle Monnet Saturday night. Some amazing
other performances is by Doci, Trixie, mattel Key, Key Palmer, Big
freeda, Sophie Ellis Specster and somany more. So that is again a
(06:09):
ticketed event in West Hollywood Park rightadjacent to the Free Street Fair and Superstar
set. It a really exciting weekendin West Hollywood, plenty for everyone to
do. And Kasha and Adam Lambertthat's on Friday. Kasha and Adam Lambert.
I know he's just gonna we kickoff with at out Loud with the
City of West Hollywood at our cityof who presents free Friday at out Loud
(06:30):
Music Festival. Yes, by mydear friend Kesha Adam Lambert Monet Exchange.
That event, however, is soldout. It was free with a ticket
to register. Oh got it?And uh and we are fully at capacity.
But I mean we and we're closeto selling out of course for Kylie
and Janelle money as well, ButI mean, yeah, it's we We
(06:53):
really we really bring the stars towho that's for sure. But more importantly,
you know, out Loud really championsqueer voices and those that have been
very visibly involved with the queer initiativesand the lgbt community throughout their careers.
So that's what is most exciting tous about the how we pull together this
(07:14):
lineup and the talent that we profile. Oh yeah, I mean it's all
these you know, big famous namesand people we play on the radio,
but it's also people who have championedall people and champion love and champion the
LGBTQ plus community. And so they'rekind of, you know, heroes to
a lot of my gay friends.So we love their music but also love
what they stand form that's just foreveryone. Have never let us down,
(07:34):
yactly, They've really been there forthis community. Mean someone Mi Kylie has
has been you know, a worldwidesymbol for LGBTQ people for you know,
over her forty year career, andit's just amazing to watch like her researchings,
especially in the past year. Yeah, we're really honored to have her
with us. Exciting and exciting andagain a big part of out Loud in
(07:57):
the West Hollywood that we hope Prideevents taking place next weekend the thirty first
through June second, is what youtouched on, Jeff. The nonprofits and
one of the many nonprofits that youare working with is Outwards and the founder
executive director Mason Funk is on withus. Hi, Mason, Hello there,
How are you wonderful? Are yougoing to all the party stuff as
well as you know, getting theword out about your incredible organization. I
(08:20):
can't wait. Absolutely, such astar stud lineup, I Jeff said,
and I love how Jeff said,they've never let us down, and that
of course is also true of theelders of our community. So we're really
excited to profile some of them thisweekend as well. So, Mason,
you're an award winning writer, producerof nonfiction TV programs and documentary films.
Why did it become important to youto start this organization Outwards and start documenting
(08:43):
the history and stories of the LGBTQplus community. You know, it was
exactly ten years ago this month,or June twenty fourteen. I was working
as a TV writer, producer,and you know, doing good programming and
enjoying myself. And then one nightI, for some reason I wouldn't sleep.
I tossed in turn and my mindstarted spinning, as our minds tend
(09:03):
to do in the middle of thenight, and I suddenly realized that my
life was as good and rich andfull as it was, including, for
example, lying next to the personthat I was legally married to, my
husband, who was sleeping soundly atthe time, and thinking, how did
this happen? How did I getfrom being a terrified gay teenager in the
nineteen seventies to a happy and fulfilledgay man in the mid two thousands in
(09:28):
the twenty ten And I realized theanswer is there's a whole host a generation
of people out there who built ourcommunity from scratch in a million different ways,
large and small, visible, invisiblein the big cities, in the
countryside. And I wanted nothing morethan to basically create a project so we
could run around the country recording theirstories professionally, professional quality recordings on camera
(09:54):
so you could see them telling theirstories, and we would create an archive
of these interviews that could be sharedfor generations to come with today and tomorrow's
change makers. So that's when theidea for Outwards was born, and it
actually took flight two years later inthe summer of twenty sixteen. And now
you've got how many interviews and howmany I mean, gosh, and you
guess how many people you've talked to? Yeah, we are at about three
(10:16):
hundred and twenty five two hour interviewswith queer elders all over the country,
specifically in forty two states and Washington, d C. We have it as
a goal over the next year toone to two years to knock off the
remaining eight states and literally capture theentire authenticity and reality of our community all
(10:37):
across the United States. Sure,because I mean, don't we all know
and agree, I mean, kindof where you grew up and how you
grew up how to played a hugerole in how you may or may not
have been accepted one hundred percent,And especially these days, you know,
living in parts of the country thatmay be a little less progressive, a
little less welcoming and accepting and celebratoryof queer identities. We want to make
(10:58):
sure that anybody anywhere in the UnitedStates can see someone who looks like him
or her or them, who haswho shares some of their cultural, ethnic,
racial community characteristics, and that theycan look to and they can say,
wow, thirty forty fifty years ago, this person essentially had my back
before I was even born. Thisperson was out there paving the way so
(11:22):
that I could live my life ina free and authentic way. And do
you have a way? You knowthat, And I want to ask,
of course, how people can accessthese stories, but do you have a
way that maybe somebody wants to see, maybe a young person out would say,
gosh, what was it like forother people who grew up in the
South or grew up in a veryconservative family. Do you have a way
(11:43):
that they can maybe find stories thatkind of hit a note, a personal
note with them and their story.Absolutely. So, we've built our website
as essentially like a digital library.You can walk in there with your fingertips,
the same way you would walk withyour feet into a regular public library.
And we've gone to enormous length andindex all of our interviews. They're
all uploaded the full two hours withtranscript, with personal photos, and everything
(12:09):
is tagged so that you can youcan kind of casually browse, just like
you might do in a library,or you can go in there looking for
a very specific kind of individual thatyou feel will speak to you and perhaps
inspire you. So we're really proudof how this incredible free resource exists for
anybody, not all in the US, but of course anywhere in the world.
(12:31):
And it all can be found atour website, which is the outwordsarchive
dot org, which is a mouthfulthe out words and you spell that words
archive singular dot org. But there'salso a shortcut that we recently created.
People can simply go to queerstory dotorg and that will point them straight to
(12:54):
our website. So that's a littlebit easier to remember queerstory dot org.
And you also you did a book, the Book of Pride. Yeah.
So five years ago we celebrated thefiftieth anniversary of Stonewall, you know,
this monumental uprising in New York Citythat is regarded justifiably as kind of the
starting point of the modern day gayrights revolution. At that time, we
(13:15):
had been in operation about three yearsago, and we were lucky enough to
strike a book deal with HarperCollins andwe put out We gathered seventy five of
our interviews and created a book outof them called The Book of Pride,
and it was published five years agoon the fiftieth anniversary of Stonewall and is
still available where anybody gets their booksa local bookstore. Online you can find
the Book of Pride wonderful. Andyou also had a collaboration with the Santa
(13:37):
Monica History Museum. Is that stillgoing on? Not anymore? This was
last year. We had our firstever museum exhibit at Santa Monica History Museum,
which was really fun, and weplan on doing more because the beauty
of that is it's a small exhibitwhere people can physically walk in and be
kind of surrounded. We featured eightof our elders and it was kind of
(13:58):
an immersive experience where you're both withother people but also having an individual experience.
And we're looking to build more ofthese exhibits in the future, including
some that could travel around California andeven beyond. Love It Okay and again
for all the information, the outwardsarchivedot org for more to dive into all
those incredible stories. Mason. Iknow you've done three hundred plus interviews already,
(14:22):
but is there one story you canmaybe mention an inspiring story you could
mention for people listening, Well,one of my favorites. It just touches
my heart. When we were startingout, I think this was in twenty
eighteen, we decided to send atrip a camera operator and a producer to
the Upper Midwest. We're talking Wisconsin, Minnesota. So I'm like, okay,
so who was there up there?And we stumbled across the story of
(14:43):
an African American woman named Donna Burkett, and way back in the early nineteen
seventies, she and her then girlfriendMononia decided we want to get married,
and they marched into the county courthouseup to the window and they said,
you know, good day, ma'am, we'd like to apply for a marriage
line. Well, the chutzpah thatit took to do that was obviously immeasurable,
and they were actually not physically runout of the courthouse, but sort
(15:07):
of chased out of the courthouse oryou told to leave. And there was
a subsequent wave of publicity. Itwas all negative. It essentially ruined their
relationship. Mononia lost her job,and Donna Briquette, you know, as
an incredible bold pioneer way back then, who could have known that more than
(15:28):
fifty years later, her actions wouldbe cited in a brief to the United
States Supreme Court that led to installingmarriage equality as the law of the land.
Look at that. So Donna's storywas largely lost and when I called
her, She's like, who areyou? Where are you calling from?
But we built trust. She sharedher story with us, and now it's
(15:52):
available at the Outwards Archive dot orgas well as within the Book of Pride.
Wow, look at that. I'mjust going to do this. See
so so many pioneers, so manyincredible stories of trailblazers, essentially gay trailblazers.
So one hundred percent all those storiescan be found. Like Mason said
on the website, the Outwards Archivedot org and Jeff the big producer of
the out Loud, we have Pridefestivities kicking off next Friday night, May
(16:15):
thirty first through Parade Day June secondin West Hollywood with the Free Street Fair
and all those nonprofits involved during thedaytime, then all the stages and there's
still took us left to see thebig star studded nighttime shows with Kylie Minogue,
Janelle Monet and more. Right,Yes, yes, there certainly are.
And you know, Pride wouldn't bepossible without the incredible stories that Mason
(16:40):
and his team are collecting. AndI think that's what that's what makes Pride
so special, you know, asit evolves and as making sure that we're
we're hearing the places that we camefrom and how we're evolving. But yes,
come down and celebrate and learn andyou know, enjoy. You can
find out all the details about everythingthat's happening in West Holly. It all
(17:00):
month long and over we ho PrideWeekend at Weehopride dot com. You can
get tickets to the out Loud MusicFestival on Saturday, June first or Sunday
June second, or exciting weekend passat we areout Loud dot com. You
can learn about we Hope Pride PresentsFriday Night at out Loud foth at out
Loud and weehoe Pride dot com andand yeah, give us a follow on
(17:23):
socials and uh and just see whatwe have in store. You know,
this wee Hoo is really just gettingstarted. When it comes to setting the
standard for what the future of Pridelooks like. Well, I'm thinking of
both of you for all that youdo, I mean year round. Obviously,
Pride is not just about three days. It's about how we live our
lives and what we do year roundto support the community and just like I
said, support love and support allpeople who just want to be themselves and
(17:48):
be loved and accepted. So thankyou for what we know. We'll see
you in the streets, so weho. Lisa, that's it. Well,
I'm all about that love. Wecan't wait. Jaff and Mason,
thank you so much again for allthat you do, and we'll see you
Pride. Happy Pride guys. We'llsee you next weekend. Thank you mister,
Thank you, Jeff.
Hi is Lisa Fox and this isthe iHeart So Cal Show, our show
that puts the spotlight on charter oforganizations, nonprofits, people giving back,
and people bringing people together. That'sright, it's almost June. Happy Pride.
Next weekend kicks off the annual weHoe Pride festivities in West Hollywood.
The three day festival called out Loudis produced by Jeff Consoletti, who's on
(00:22):
with us, and one of themany nonprofits involved with Pride is Outwards.
It's essentially an archive of hundreds ofimportant LGBTQ plus stories. They're archived as
part of their history, all storiesdocumented by their founder and executive director,
Mason Funk. So I've got JeffConsoletti and Mason Funk on to dive into
all things Pride. Hi, guys, Happy Pride. Hi. Okay,
(00:48):
So Jeff, let's start with youas the producer of the out Loud the
West Hollywood Pride festivities. I mean, let's start with the history. I
mean, this is kind of theoriginal West Coast Pride celebration since the Stonewall
Riots over fifty years ago. Yeah. I mean when we think of Pride,
we think of West Hollywood for sure, especially here on the West Coast
and West Hollywood has just been astaple for just the LGBTQ community since their
(01:15):
inception, and like you mentioned,for many years, West Hollywood hosted other
Pride events, including longtime hosting LaPride in West Hollywood, but in twenty
twenty two began their own festivities,known widely as we Hope Pride Now,
and we kick off with a threeday weekend beginning May thirty first, June
(01:37):
first, and June second in WestHollywood with a huge assortment of free programming
as well as our flagship out Loudmusic festival, bringing some of the world's
biggest entertainers, right, so wehoo, Yeah, big big names.
But I mean, Jeff, you'vebeen involved in kind of putting this together
for how many years now, Imean more than I probably want to admit.
(01:59):
But we've we've worked on Pride inWhat Hollywood for fifteen years and have
really been instrumental in bringing growing theWeehel Pride brand since it's really become we
Hil Pride in twenty twenty two.Sure, and I think it's it's you
know, it's a team effort.It's I mean, the way the municipality
comes to that for this community andfor really want the investment that they make
(02:22):
in Pride as an event and asa movement is is you know, I
don't think something that you see prettymuch anywhere else in the world, and
I think that's a testament to howthe brand has grown so quickly. You
know. Yeah, we've been involvedwith Pride for you know, really since
since the beginning of my career inevents and entertainment, well and as an
(02:42):
ally of the gay community. Youknow, for some folks who think it's
woo party, party, party,Oh my gosh, those people get out
of control, which show some ofthat can can happen. But there's more
to Pride than just the party part. Touch on that, right, because
I feel like it's really a celebration, celebration of how far the gay came
has come since dom all, butalso acknowledging that there's more work to be
(03:05):
done in terms of everyone being accepted. Yeah, I mean, I think
Pride means something a little bit differentto everyone, and I think that's what
has made Pride so special, especiallyas it's grown, and especially as people
like especially a younger generation now kindof grows up with the ability to be
themselves much much earlier in life.You know, then, I think even
(03:27):
like you or I were accustomed toand certainly elders before us that were really
at the forefront of the Pride movement. But that said, like we still
have some history to teach. Wereally make room in West Hollywood for hundreds
of nonprofits and community outreach groups tocome together to showcase the ways that they
are advocating for this community and thedifferent resources that are available, whether it's
(03:53):
for youth or transgender community, orcare for women or elder care. Like
how how are all of these differentfactions of the community profile and how can
they get involved? And equal tothat is ensuring that there's a little bit
of a mix of celebration, right. We want to dance, we want
to be seen, we want tosing along to some of our favorite stars.
(04:14):
Like all of that is what Ithink makes Pride such a special and
you know, colorful celebration. Italways is. Now layout because you're you
know, putting out loud on inWest Hollywood next weekend Friday, Saturday and
Sunday. How's it all going tobe laid out? You know? Nighttime
will be the big concerts with thename people will mention in a few but
when are the booths happening that peoplecan stroll through for free? When and
(04:35):
where is that part happening so peoplecan get access to all these nonprofits out
there that are offering help and information. Yeah, So the West Hollywood Street
Fair is free and open to thepublic on Saturday and Sunday, June first
and June second on Santa Monica Boulevardbetween Los Cienica and Doheaney. Like I
said, hundreds of exhibitor booths andsponsor activations to stages with a ton of
(05:01):
entertainment, a huge ferris wheel,and many many activities. On Sunday,
June second, of course, theIconic who Pride Parade marches down Santa Monica
Boulevard beginning from Crescent Crescent Heights,but right through the street Fair all the
way to Doheany, so you know, a two and a half mile route
or so for people to enjoy theparade. You can also tune in on
(05:25):
KTLA here in La, but evenyou can stream KTLA on any streaming service
nationally. So check out KTLA andthe parade this year with our icon Cindi
Lauper receiving the City's lifetime ally recognitionall of her work talk about colorful and
then of course we have a starsided lineup in West Hollywood Park at the
(05:46):
out Loud Music Festival and tickets arestill available at we areoutloud dot com.
Our headliner Kylie Minogue on Sunday night, Janelle Monnet Saturday night. Some amazing
other performances is by Doci, Trixie, mattel Key, Key Palmer, Big
freeda, Sophie Ellis Specster and somany more. So that is again a
(06:09):
ticketed event in West Hollywood Park rightadjacent to the Free Street Fair and Superstar
set. It a really exciting weekendin West Hollywood, plenty for everyone to
do. And Kasha and Adam Lambertthat's on Friday. Kasha and Adam Lambert.
I know he's just gonna we kickoff with at out Loud with the
City of West Hollywood at our cityof who presents free Friday at out Loud
(06:30):
Music Festival. Yes, by mydear friend Kesha Adam Lambert Monet Exchange.
That event, however, is soldout. It was free with a ticket
to register. Oh got it?And uh and we are fully at capacity.
But I mean we and we're closeto selling out of course for Kylie
and Janelle money as well, ButI mean, yeah, it's we We
(06:53):
really we really bring the stars towho that's for sure. But more importantly,
you know, out Loud really championsqueer voices and those that have been
very visibly involved with the queer initiativesand the lgbt community throughout their careers.
So that's what is most exciting tous about the how we pull together this
(07:14):
lineup and the talent that we profile. Oh yeah, I mean it's all
these you know, big famous namesand people we play on the radio,
but it's also people who have championedall people and champion love and champion the
LGBTQ plus community. And so they'rekind of, you know, heroes to
a lot of my gay friends.So we love their music but also love
what they stand form that's just foreveryone. Have never let us down,
(07:34):
yactly, They've really been there forthis community. Mean someone Mi Kylie has
has been you know, a worldwidesymbol for LGBTQ people for you know,
over her forty year career, andit's just amazing to watch like her researchings,
especially in the past year. Yeah, we're really honored to have her
with us. Exciting and exciting andagain a big part of out Loud in
(07:57):
the West Hollywood that we hope Prideevents taking place next weekend the thirty first
through June second, is what youtouched on, Jeff. The nonprofits and
one of the many nonprofits that youare working with is Outwards and the founder
executive director Mason Funk is on withus. Hi, Mason, Hello there,
How are you wonderful? Are yougoing to all the party stuff as
well as you know, getting theword out about your incredible organization. I
(08:20):
can't wait. Absolutely, such astar stud lineup, I Jeff said,
and I love how Jeff said,they've never let us down, and that
of course is also true of theelders of our community. So we're really
excited to profile some of them thisweekend as well. So, Mason,
you're an award winning writer, producerof nonfiction TV programs and documentary films.
Why did it become important to youto start this organization Outwards and start documenting
(08:43):
the history and stories of the LGBTQplus community. You know, it was
exactly ten years ago this month,or June twenty fourteen. I was working
as a TV writer, producer,and you know, doing good programming and
enjoying myself. And then one nightI, for some reason I wouldn't sleep.
I tossed in turn and my mindstarted spinning, as our minds tend
(09:03):
to do in the middle of thenight, and I suddenly realized that my
life was as good and rich andfull as it was, including, for
example, lying next to the personthat I was legally married to, my
husband, who was sleeping soundly atthe time, and thinking, how did
this happen? How did I getfrom being a terrified gay teenager in the
nineteen seventies to a happy and fulfilledgay man in the mid two thousands in
(09:28):
the twenty ten And I realized theanswer is there's a whole host a generation
of people out there who built ourcommunity from scratch in a million different ways,
large and small, visible, invisiblein the big cities, in the
countryside. And I wanted nothing morethan to basically create a project so we
could run around the country recording theirstories professionally, professional quality recordings on camera
(09:54):
so you could see them telling theirstories, and we would create an archive
of these interviews that could be sharedfor generations to come with today and tomorrow's
change makers. So that's when theidea for Outwards was born, and it
actually took flight two years later inthe summer of twenty sixteen. And now
you've got how many interviews and howmany I mean, gosh, and you
guess how many people you've talked to? Yeah, we are at about three
(10:16):
hundred and twenty five two hour interviewswith queer elders all over the country,
specifically in forty two states and Washington, d C. We have it as
a goal over the next year toone to two years to knock off the
remaining eight states and literally capture theentire authenticity and reality of our community all
(10:37):
across the United States. Sure,because I mean, don't we all know
and agree, I mean, kindof where you grew up and how you
grew up how to played a hugerole in how you may or may not
have been accepted one hundred percent,And especially these days, you know,
living in parts of the country thatmay be a little less progressive, a
little less welcoming and accepting and celebratoryof queer identities. We want to make
(10:58):
sure that anybody anywhere in the UnitedStates can see someone who looks like him
or her or them, who haswho shares some of their cultural, ethnic,
racial community characteristics, and that theycan look to and they can say,
wow, thirty forty fifty years ago, this person essentially had my back
before I was even born. Thisperson was out there paving the way so
(11:22):
that I could live my life ina free and authentic way. And do
you have a way? You knowthat, And I want to ask,
of course, how people can accessthese stories, but do you have a
way that maybe somebody wants to see, maybe a young person out would say,
gosh, what was it like forother people who grew up in the
South or grew up in a veryconservative family. Do you have a way
(11:43):
that they can maybe find stories thatkind of hit a note, a personal
note with them and their story.Absolutely. So, we've built our website
as essentially like a digital library.You can walk in there with your fingertips,
the same way you would walk withyour feet into a regular public library.
And we've gone to enormous length andindex all of our interviews. They're
all uploaded the full two hours withtranscript, with personal photos, and everything
(12:09):
is tagged so that you can youcan kind of casually browse, just like
you might do in a library,or you can go in there looking for
a very specific kind of individual thatyou feel will speak to you and perhaps
inspire you. So we're really proudof how this incredible free resource exists for
anybody, not all in the US, but of course anywhere in the world.
(12:31):
And it all can be found atour website, which is the outwordsarchive
dot org, which is a mouthfulthe out words and you spell that words
archive singular dot org. But there'salso a shortcut that we recently created.
People can simply go to queerstory dotorg and that will point them straight to
(12:54):
our website. So that's a littlebit easier to remember queerstory dot org.
And you also you did a book, the Book of Pride. Yeah.
So five years ago we celebrated thefiftieth anniversary of Stonewall, you know,
this monumental uprising in New York Citythat is regarded justifiably as kind of the
starting point of the modern day gayrights revolution. At that time, we
(13:15):
had been in operation about three yearsago, and we were lucky enough to
strike a book deal with HarperCollins andwe put out We gathered seventy five of
our interviews and created a book outof them called The Book of Pride,
and it was published five years agoon the fiftieth anniversary of Stonewall and is
still available where anybody gets their booksa local bookstore. Online you can find
the Book of Pride wonderful. Andyou also had a collaboration with the Santa
(13:37):
Monica History Museum. Is that stillgoing on? Not anymore? This was
last year. We had our firstever museum exhibit at Santa Monica History Museum,
which was really fun, and weplan on doing more because the beauty
of that is it's a small exhibitwhere people can physically walk in and be
kind of surrounded. We featured eightof our elders and it was kind of
(13:58):
an immersive experience where you're both withother people but also having an individual experience.
And we're looking to build more ofthese exhibits in the future, including
some that could travel around California andeven beyond. Love It Okay and again
for all the information, the outwardsarchivedot org for more to dive into all
those incredible stories. Mason. Iknow you've done three hundred plus interviews already,
(14:22):
but is there one story you canmaybe mention an inspiring story you could
mention for people listening, Well,one of my favorites. It just touches
my heart. When we were startingout, I think this was in twenty
eighteen, we decided to send atrip a camera operator and a producer to
the Upper Midwest. We're talking Wisconsin, Minnesota. So I'm like, okay,
so who was there up there?And we stumbled across the story of
(14:43):
an African American woman named Donna Burkett, and way back in the early nineteen
seventies, she and her then girlfriendMononia decided we want to get married,
and they marched into the county courthouseup to the window and they said,
you know, good day, ma'am, we'd like to apply for a marriage
line. Well, the chutzpah thatit took to do that was obviously immeasurable,
and they were actually not physically runout of the courthouse, but sort
(15:07):
of chased out of the courthouse oryou told to leave. And there was
a subsequent wave of publicity. Itwas all negative. It essentially ruined their
relationship. Mononia lost her job,and Donna Briquette, you know, as
an incredible bold pioneer way back then, who could have known that more than
(15:28):
fifty years later, her actions wouldbe cited in a brief to the United
States Supreme Court that led to installingmarriage equality as the law of the land.
Look at that. So Donna's storywas largely lost and when I called
her, She's like, who areyou? Where are you calling from?
But we built trust. She sharedher story with us, and now it's
(15:52):
available at the Outwards Archive dot orgas well as within the Book of Pride.
Wow, look at that. I'mjust going to do this. See
so so many pioneers, so manyincredible stories of trailblazers, essentially gay trailblazers.
So one hundred percent all those storiescan be found. Like Mason said
on the website, the Outwards Archivedot org and Jeff the big producer of
the out Loud, we have Pridefestivities kicking off next Friday night, May
(16:15):
thirty first through Parade Day June secondin West Hollywood with the Free Street Fair
and all those nonprofits involved during thedaytime, then all the stages and there's
still took us left to see thebig star studded nighttime shows with Kylie Minogue,
Janelle Monet and more. Right,Yes, yes, there certainly are.
And you know, Pride wouldn't bepossible without the incredible stories that Mason
(16:40):
and his team are collecting. AndI think that's what that's what makes Pride
so special, you know, asit evolves and as making sure that we're
we're hearing the places that we camefrom and how we're evolving. But yes,
come down and celebrate and learn andyou know, enjoy. You can
find out all the details about everythingthat's happening in West Holly. It all
(17:00):
month long and over we ho PrideWeekend at Weehopride dot com. You can
get tickets to the out Loud MusicFestival on Saturday, June first or Sunday
June second, or exciting weekend passat we areout Loud dot com. You
can learn about we Hope Pride PresentsFriday Night at out Loud foth at out
Loud and weehoe Pride dot com andand yeah, give us a follow on
(17:23):
socials and uh and just see whatwe have in store. You know,
this wee Hoo is really just gettingstarted. When it comes to setting the
standard for what the future of Pridelooks like. Well, I'm thinking of
both of you for all that youdo, I mean year round. Obviously,
Pride is not just about three days. It's about how we live our
lives and what we do year roundto support the community and just like I
said, support love and support allpeople who just want to be themselves and
(17:48):
be loved and accepted. So thankyou for what we know. We'll see
you in the streets, so weho. Lisa, that's it. Well,
I'm all about that love. Wecan't wait. Jaff and Mason,
thank you so much again for allthat you do, and we'll see you
Pride. Happy Pride guys. We'llsee you next weekend. Thank you mister,
Thank you, Jeff.
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