LGBTQ history: Last News

Queering Rehoboth Beach: Beyond the Boardwalk, James T. Sears recounts an incident at a local restaurant in the Rehoboth Beach area where he and his husband dined out one night.Following their meal, Sears and his husband, a Nicaraguan green card holder, were confronted by a trio of straight couples from a neighboring table who accused them of being “cheap” when they upbraid their waitress for wrongly telling them that a discount would be applied to their meal.From there, the situation escalated to the point where Sears flipped the middle finger at the couples, one of the men hurled a string of epithets at Sears’ husband, and a second man told them to go home because this is a “family” restaurant.While Sears initially believed that the incident was motivated by racism, xenophobia, and homophobia, he wondered what led the couples to become confrontational.

Chris Dickerson was a bodybuilder who became the first Black man to win the Mr. America title, in 1970.Dickerson found his way to bodybuilding through an unusual route. He trained as a dancer, actor, and opera singer at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, and he began lifting weights at the suggestion of a vocal instructor who said it would expand his vocal range.

Steve Bronski was a co-founder of the British synthpop band Bronski Beat known for their hit song “Smalltown Boy.”Steve Bronski was a keyboardist/percussionist who formed the synthpop band Bronski Beat in 1983 with singer Jimmy Sommerville and keyboardist/percussionist Larry Steinbachek. The three band members were openly gay and wrote songs that reflected the difficulties of coming out.

Carl Bean was a minister, AIDS activist, and singer known for his 1977 dance club hit, “I Was Born This Way.”Bean, a gay man, was singing in gospel groups and appearing in Broadway shows when Motown Records asked him to record a cover of “I Was Born This Way,” first recorded in 1975 by Valentino.

Fez Whatley was a radio personality who co-hosted “The Ron and Fez Show” on Sirius XM along with Ron Bennington.Whatley was initially the producer of “The Ron and Ron Show,” starring Bennington and Ron Diaz. When that show came to an end, Whatley and Bennington teamed up and began their show in 1998 on WKRO in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Ari Gold was a singer, songwriter, and DJ known for songs including “Where the Music Takes You.”Gold grew up in an Orthodox Jewish family and began singing professionally as a child, including singing a song for the cartoon “Jem and the Holograms.” He released his self-titled debut album in 2001, beginning a career that included proudly speaking out about being gay and Jewish.

On October 11, 1994 AIDS activist John Kappers died in his own bed in Little Five Points surrounded by his partner and a few close friends. Although he had slipped into a coma, I whispered in his ear, “John, do you know what today is? It’s National Coming Out Day!”