Rev. Carl Bean, Kurt Cunningham and Wilson Cruz
Lincoln Aston did not go quietly into the night. He did not fall asleep one night never to awake. He was not surrounded by loved ones in his final hours. And his sudden death actually did come as a surprise. Lincoln, 61, was also tragically one of three gay men brutally murdered in San Diego that May of 1995, pre-Cunanan but post-Dahmer. But it was Lincoln’s death, perhaps because of his star turn as noted and respected architect, which would lead one day to a gala being named, in part, after him.
Hattie “Sunshine” Brooks couldn’t have been more different. Her presence wasn’t just more public, it was far more obviously civic-minded in nature and she was as much a part of San Diego’s DNA as anyone. She was a founding member of Price Club – later Costco – and created a scholarship for their employees and their children to attend college with a $1,500 grant to an accredited college or university. She was committed to the arts and owned a theater in Oceanside and left a $40 million dollar trust to some 15 San Diego charities including the San Diego AIDS Foundation.
Sunshine Brooks, who was described at birth as a ray of ‘sunshine,’ died after an extended illness in December of 1999. She was 91. Saturday, Nov. 7 at the San Diego Hilton Resort & Spa on Mission Bay some 400 friends, board members and supporters of the San Diego Human Dignity Foundation (SDHDF) gathered among rivulets of hand-passed canapes and a tsunami of free alcohol to celebrate the Aston-Brooks Awards Gala. The SDHDF, whose members recognize excellence in and among the LGBT community will be celebrating their 20th anniversary next year.
The event – which sparkled that night in hundred dollar plus haircuts, fine silk shirts and brilliant smiles – serves as a platform to donate funds to people and organizations who then further spread the largesse through, in many times, community-based projects. To date, SDHDF clarified at the dinner, they have already dispersed $750,000 in funds this year alone.
That’s a lot of outreach.
Saturday night, three awards were handed out. The first, The Sunshine Brooks HIV/AIDS Advocacy Award went to the Rev. Carl Bean, known as much for his musical talents as well as his founding of the Unity Fellowship Church of Christ, which in 1982, was groundbreaking. “Archbishop Bean has taken adversity and created inspiration for the disenfranchised,” said John L. Brown, executive director, SDHDF. “He knows first-hand the struggle and heartache people of color who live with HIV/AIDS experience and has created a safe, welcoming religious space so they feel loved and accepted.”
Honored for the memory and life of this generous philanthropist whose multimillion dollar legacy gift has benefitted HIV/AIDS charities in San Diego County for the last decade, Bean was being recognized with the award that honors an individual whose efforts have improved the lives of those living with HIV/AIDS. The Rev. Gerald Green and the Rev. Romie Wilford accepted the award on behalf of Archbishop Bean.
The next award to be presented was the Richard Geyser Community Leadership Award which is given to the person who best demonstrates ethics in community outreach and volunteerism. City Council Member Todd Gloria introduced self-described ‘Mayor of Hillcrest’ Nicole Murray Ramirez who spoke tearfully of Kurt Cunningham’s contributions. Although he was an avid advocate of mental health, Mr. Cunningham, unfortunately succumbed to his own mental health issues and took his own life Oct. 12.
Then Wilson Cruz, who looked flawless in a tweed jacket and low-cut sweater vest which accentuated his white shirt and black tie, spoke. With amazing force, rapidity and insight, brimming with intensity behind his black, horn-rimmed glasses, he blended a tale of quick success followed by long stretches of little-to-no work, which cast his fate as activist. “I’ve been so fortunate to have been of service to a community that I love. Early on, when I was a young person myself, it was really important to me to give voice to the concerns and fears of LGBT youth by speaking about my own experience as a young gay man of color. I never saw anyone like me on TV. It made me feel invisible and misunderstood. I longed to see someone with whom I could relate. When I was given the opportunity, I wanted to be that person for someone else. So many young people, to this day, are bullied into silence and shame. Back then, I wanted to give them hope and give them a sense of what was possible. Now, in my 40s, I’m no longer a young person, but I want to continue to empower them to use their own voices and encourage them to demand to be heard. We need them and their energy. We need to be listening to them so that we can assist them in making the world they want.”
San Diego LGBT Weekly caught up with Cruz prior to the event to talk about his career and what messages he has for today’s LGBTQ community. “In my work as an actor, I have never been happier than when my art can be an opportunity to shed light on our community and our issues in an authentic and entertaining way,” said Cruz. “I’ve always believed that when you know someone who is LGBT and you understand us for who we actually are – and not the lies told about us by anti-LGBT forces – it’s more difficult to stand against us or vote against us. I’ve seen the power of the stories told on television, film and theatrical stages and the effect they’ve had on a generation that were invited to experience our lives and empathize with our experience. I feel it’s been a great honor to have played a few of those roles. And I feel great pride in being the first gay person some young people ever knew. I like to think they carried those stories and those characters with them when they’ve walked into a voting booth or when someone in their own family, possibly their own child, came out to them.”
And for the next generation of LGBTQ members, Cruz had this to say: “My message to LGBT youth today is that, though we’ve experienced success, recently, in terms of marriage equality, this is no time for complacency. There is still so much work to be done in order to realize true equality. The work is not done. This is especially true if you are a person of color or if you are a trans person. And even more work to be done if you happen to be both! The world that my generation is handing over to them is one in which they’ll be called on to not only continue that work, but also to do two other things simultaneously. First, they will have to remain vigilante and safeguard against the attacks on the rights and protections we’ve gained, here, at home. Like abortion rights and voting rights, LGBT rights are surely to be attacked. We need only to look to Houston this past week, and to claims of so-called “religious freedom” for proof of what’s to come. Secondly, they must not turn their backs on our LGBT brothers and sisters around the world. The lives of LGBT people in places like Russia, China and the Middle East, just to name a few, are frightening. In these places, and in many more, you are faced with a VERY real threat to your life just because of who you love or your gender identity. It will be their generation that will be called on to share the lessons learned here and to act as allies by shining a bright light on the tragedies and injustices endured by LGBT people everywhere.”
The night’s entertainment was provided by Tony Houck on piano, Rae K. Henderson, Melissa Fernandes and Luke Jacobs. Broadway legend Andrea McArdle (Annie, Starlight Express) ended the night on a hopeful note.
“The individuals we honored at our gala event embody the mission of the San Diego Human Dignity Foundation,” said Brown. “Their work and dedication to equality, tolerance, wellness, well-being and human dignity transcends the LGBTQ communities, striving to bridge understanding throughout San Diego and beyond.”
Moving forward, 2016 promises to be another banner year for the San Diego Human Dignity Foundation as they progress with their ParkArts campaign to improve the facility that houses Diversionary Theatre and Lambda Archives, and work with their grant making partners to end new HIV infections throughout San Diego County. All this while they continue to sponsor and support the many wonderful LGBTQ Charities in the community.
For more information visit sdhdf.org
