Launches Exclusive Multimedia Report on its Lasting Impact and America's 50+ LGBT Community
WASHINGTON (June 24, 2009) –To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, a defining moment for the Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual and Transgender (LGBT) movement, AARP today announced the launch of a multiplatform media campaign consisting of exclusive new online, television, radio and print content that includes contributions from many of the nation’s most prominent and outspoken members of the LGBT communities (available online at www.aarp.org/stonewall).
The exclusive online interactive features will include interviews and quotes from prominent leaders and 50+ members of the LGBT community including Martina Navratilova, Bishop Gene Robinson, Frank Kameny (gay rights movement pioneer), Joe Solmonese (President of the Human Rights Campaign), Michael Adams (Executive Director of SAGE (Services & Advocacy for GLBT Elders)), Kate Clinton (celebrated humorist and author), Hilary Rosen (CNN contributor and Huffington Post editor at large), Sabrina Sojourner (the first openly Lesbian African-American to hold the title of U.S. Representative for Washington, D.C.), John Cepek,National President of PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays), David Carter (author of Stonewall: The Riots That Sparked the Gay Revolution), Martin Duberman (author of Stonewall), Eric Marcus (author of Making History: The Struggle for Gay and Lesbian Equal Rights, 1945-1990), Michele Balan (comedian and finalist on “Last Comic Standing”), among others.
AARP TV will broadcast an episode of its national lifestyle program My Generation called “Stonewall: Milestone Remembered” and AARP Radio will feature an interview with Frank Kameny.
“AARP is a trusted resource and advocate for all American’s 50+ and that includes LGBT Americans,” said Dave Singleton, Director of Planning and Promotions at AARP Publications. “At AARP, we always reflect on the historical moments that changed our members’ lives and, for many of our members, the Stonewall Riots marked a pivotal moment in the fight for equality.”
· “Stonewall: Milestone Remembered,” a video report including a walking tour of the Stonewall site, as well as interviews with LGBT leaders, historians, authors, and Stonewall riot participants.
· An online photo timeline of LGBT history since AARP was founded in 1958, including the Stonewall Riots.
· Q&A’s with prominent LGBT figures Bishop Gene Robinson and political humorist/author Kate Clinton.
· Several articles in AARP’s publications (AARP The Magazine, AARP Bulletin, and AARP Segunda Juventud)addressing LGBT aging concerns and a first-person essay on the significance of the Stonewall Riots to an LGBT boomer about to turn 50.
· “Hispanics and the Fight for LGBT Civil Rights,” a special online feature on AARP Segunda Juventud’s, Web site.
· AARP Radio interview with civil rights pioneer Frank Kameny, now 84.
· Quotes from LGBT 50+ leaders about Stonewall.
· Interactive features on what visitors think of prominent LGBT figures. Who is most influential? Who’s done extraordinary things in the past 40 years, since Stonewall?
· A link to AARP’s LGBT online social network.
· “Coming Out at 50;” one man’s personal story.
· Original video features including “Stonewall: Milestone Remembered” and “A Conversation with Martina Navratilova.”
