LGBT Heroes Across Generations (Photos)

More than ever, we need our elders. These are dark days for LGBT folks and, indeed, the whole country. It feels reassuring to lean on the wise advice of the seniors that got us to the days of marriage equality and trans visibility. To document the shared history, respect, and wisdom different queer generations offer each other, New York City-based photographer Levi Jackman Foster and social media strategist Michael Hoffman teamed up with Instagram phenomenon@LGBT_History to highlight the mission of Services & Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE), the country's preeminent organization for LGBTQ elders. The guys created a photo series, "The Families We Make," which serves as a promotion of SAGE Table, a special-one day event aimed at bringing together members of the community from across generations, it happens May 18 across the country. 

Edie Windsor

Edie Windsor is one of the most recognizable LGBTQ activists in the world.

In 1963, after receiving her master's in mathematics from New York University (and after a short-lived opposite-sex marriage), Edie met Thea Spyer in Greenwich Village, and the two started dating in 1965. In 1967, Thea asked Edie to marry her, presenting a circular diamond pin instead of an engagement ring in order to avoid Edie’s professional colleagues discovering her sexual identity. In July 1969, the couple returned from vacation to news of the Stonewall riots, and while they had not been particularly involved with the community beforehand, they soon were fixtures at gay rights demonstrations throughout New York City.

In 2007, after Thea had lived with progressive multiple sclerosis for 30 years, her doctors estimated she had about a year to live. Although the couple had hoped to marry in New York, marriage equality had not yet reached the state, so, on May 22, 2007, they married in Toronto.

After Thea died in February 2009, Edie was required to pay substantial federal estate taxes on the inheritance of her wife's estate, whereas a similarly situated surviving spouse in a heterosexual (i.e., recognized) marriage would have paid no taxes. In November 2010, Edie filed a lawsuit challenging section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, which provided that in the eyes of the federal government, the term "spouse" only applied to marriages between a man and a woman. On June 26, 2013, the Supreme Court of the United States, siding with Edie, declared section 3 unconstitutional, paving the way for 2015’s marriage equality ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges. 

Edie remains an extremely visible activist on behalf of, among many others, SAGE.

Raymond Braun

Raymond Braun is a media personality, activist, and entrepreneur recently named the Financial Times number1 young global LGBT leader, a Forbes 30 Under 30 “All Star,” one of MTV’s “Social Stars to Watch,” and one of the 100 most influential LGBT people in the world by Out magazine. Raymond’s passion is to bring coverage of politics, entertainment, current events, culture, and social media to a global audience leveraging traditional and new media.

As Logo’s inaugural political correspondent, Raymond helped establish the world’s largest LGBT television network as a key player in conversations about LGBT equality in politics through a combination of innovative social media reporting and TV coverage. His coverage has included anti-LGBT legislation, the one-year anniversary of the Supreme Court marriage equality decision, swing state politics, the presidential and vice-presidential debates, and both the Democratic National Convention and Republican National Convention. Raymond also traveled to Orlando the day after the tragedy at Pulse nightclub to provide heartfelt, on-the-ground reporting centered on LGBT stories. Raymond’s political coverage for Logo has also been shared and broadcast by VH1 and MTV News.

Based on his experience and thought leadership, Raymond was one of 30 media personalities to be invited by President Barack Obama to the White House's inaugural Digital Innovators Summit in January of this year to discuss how to leverage social media to encourage young people to engage in advocacy and politics.