One of the elders featured in the exhibit, Lujira Cooper, 72, lived nearly her whole life as an openly gay woman. "I faced more problems being a Black woman than I did as a lesbian," Cooper said in a documentary filmed for the exhibit. Lujira Cooper lived her whole life as an openly gay woman in New York City. That stigma still persists, but the elders and producers behind “Not Another Second” hope their project can help, even if just in a small way. The study’s authors found that the increased risk was partially due to higher rates of depression that older LGBTQ people experience due to workplace discrimination, shame and other stigma associated with their sexuality. Research published in the journal The Gerontologist last fall found that lesbian, gay and bisexual people have a higher risk of dementia and cognitive decline than heterosexual people as they grow older. “A lifetime of discrimination leads you to these disparities with your health, with your socioeconomic status, with how you can live your life across the board,” she said. Sharing the stories of LGBTQ elders is especially important now, DaCosta said, as the Covid-19 pandemic highlights disparities faced by older people and marginalized communities. It's hard for us to do, not because we don't want to - it’s because we almost can't, because of being in the closet so long.” Honoring those who ‘paved the way’
And then when you get older you see the gay pride going on and people totally enjoying themselves. “It's difficult for us, because so much of the time in our life was hiding. “We're from a generation that you dare not hold your partner's hand in public, and we kind of still have remnants of that,” Cunningham said. Even after coming out, they struggle to enjoy LGBTQ pride parades. you'd have a lesbian friend with you, or they would have a gay man on their arm or something, and it was a way of hiding.”Ĭunningham and Prescott met in the mid-'90s while working for a bus company, but they still didn’t come out because, according to Cunningham, “If you were gay, you were not promoted.” So they waited until they had both retired in 2001. “I can remember going on many dates with lesbian friends, because they felt they had to stay in the closet at that time, and we're still friends with a few of them today,” Prescott said. The fact that some people still weren’t ready to share their stories during Newby’s initial search speaks to “that compulsion to stay in the closet” that older LGBTQ people still feel, according to Christina DaCosta, director of communications for SAGE. “And in some cases, they were out, but they just didn't feel comfortable sharing their story.”Įventually, she found seven Watermark residents who were willing to participate and then partnered with SAGE to find five more. “I got a lot of responses from executive directors who said, ‘We do have someone living here, but they're actually not out in the community,’” she said. Ines Newby, senior marketing and creative director at Watermark, found the elders first by reaching out to dozens of the company’s properties to ask if they had LGBTQ residents who would like to share their story, but she said it wasn’t easy. After that, it will tour the country and make stops in Los Angeles Napa, California and Tucson, Arizona among other cities. The exhibit debuted Tuesday at The Watermark in Brooklyn Heights, where it will remain until March. “Not Another Second” is a joint project between SAGE, a national advocacy group for LGBTQ elders, and Watermark Retirement Communities. Alongside each portrait is the number of years the elder was closeted. Goddess Magora Kennedy, who participated in the Stonewall uprising, and Paul Barby, who ran for Congress as an openly gay man in 19. The other elders featured in the exhibit include the Rev.
Through video interviews and interactive augmented-reality technology, visitors can experience their stories. The two men, who are now married, shared their stories as part of “ Not Another Second,” a new multimedia art exhibit in Brooklyn, New York, that features 12 LGBTQ elders, many of whom spent most of their lives in the proverbial closet. Karsten ThormaehlenĬunningham spent the next four decades in the closet until he and his partner of 30 years, Richard Prescott, 78, came out after retiring in their 50s. They say that what brings them joy now is seeing young people celebrate pride and feel comfortable as who they are. They were in their fifties when they came out. Ray Cunningham, 82, and Richard Prescott, 78, have collectively spent 115 years in the closet. “What bothered me the most was having to talk to the guys that were being discharged, and they were not in a good state of wellness anyway, because at that time, it was illegal or considered mental problems to be gay,” he said.