Stonewall Festival 2011: Grand marshals introduced to readers

The 12th Annual Stonewall Street Festival and Parade, under the direction of Wedner and Friends, a Miami-based events and marketing organization promises many new surprises. We reported in the May 25 issue performers will be composed of local talent - to celebrate the area's artists. However, the parade will be marshaled by national figures.

The Grand Marshals are Thomas Roberts, of MSNBC, and his partner, Patrick Abner, of Merck and Co. John Duran, Mayor of West Hollywood, Calif. will also walk in the parade, uniting two very LGBT-supportive communities.

Roberts, an MSNBC dayside anchor since 2010, also served as a correspondent for CBS news, contributed to Entertainment Tonight and The Insider. The distinguished journalist was also a news anchor for CNN, and received an Edward R. Murrow award in 2001 for the documentary When Parents Don't Pay. He came out professionally in 2006, and currently resides with Abner in New York City.

"I came out professionally when I was working for an NBC affiliate in Norfolk, Virginia," said Roberts. "It was a huge deal to me to be honest with people I cared about...and I was very proud of Patrick and I wanted to share that. This was right before I joined CNN. So it was a great test ground that prepped me for my new colleagues in Atlanta. No one at CNN ever knew me as anything other than in a relationship with Patrick."

While many public figures fear coming out will damage their career, Roberts feels viewers are comfortable with his honesty. MSNBC, his current network, is also home to Rachel Maddow who is very public about being a lesbian.

"For a long time I have been the only male in cable news to own being a member of the LGBT community. Just recently Don Lemon at CNN came out and I am very proud and happy for him," said Roberts.

Both Roberts and Abner donate a great deal of their time to organizations supporting people with HIV and AIDS.

"We recently put together a team and raised several thousands of dollars for AIDS Walk NY," said Abner. Professionally he also works with HIV and AIDS issues as HIV Community Liaison for Merck and Co.

West Hollywood's Mayor, John Duran has served in that role since March of 2001. Through his Duran Law Group he advocates for LGBT rights and AIDS law. He has been active in the LGBT community since 1979. A native of Los Angles, he loves the city he serves, and even shared some WeHo history.

"The first massive immigration of the LGBT-community to West Hollywood took place in the 1950s," said Duran, and noted that many were escaping the label of communist, frequently used against non-conformist individuals at the time. "It's always been a community outside the norm. WeHo has been home to LA pride for the past 30 years."

Like Wilton Manors, and other "gay villages" in the United States, WeHo celebrates its diversity. In fact, it was Duran who approached the city to ask what he could do to show support for the festival taking place on June 19.

"I knew South Florida has thriving LGBT communities," Duran explained. "I already planned to be in Fort Lauderdale to meet a friend from Berlin. So, I called the city of Wilton Manors and told them the mayor of WeHo wants to bring a little love to the Stonewall Festival."

These national figures will lend a cosmopolitan feel to a festival serving not only Wilton Manors but the larger metropolitan Fort Lauderdale and South Florida region. It will increase the visibility of the local LGBT-community, raise the number of attendees, foster return visitors, and thus increase investment in the community.

"This is truly an event that brings the entire community together. We are preparing to celebrate and entertain a crowd of 30,000 revelers. This is very exciting, and we are so very honored to host the 12th Annual Stonewall Street Parade and Festival," said Wilton Manors' mayor, Gary Resnick of this year's event. It is the first time City Hall has officially sponsored the LGBT-pride celebration.