#vitorusso

Vito Russo (July 11, 1946 – November 7, 1990) was an American LGBT activist, film historian and author. He is best remembered as the author of the book The Celluloid Closet (1981, revised edition 1987), described in The New York Times as "an essential reference book" on homosexuality in the US film industry. In 1985 he co-founded the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, a media watchdog organization that strives to end anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, and advocates for LGBTQ inclusion in popular media. In 1983, Russo wrote, produced, and co-hosted a series focusing on the gay community called Our Time for WNYC-TV public television. This series featured the nation's first GLBT hard news and documentary video segment produced and directed by social behaviorist D. S. Vanderbilt. Russo's concern over how LGBT people were presented in the popular media led him to co-found the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), a watchdog group that monitors LGBT representation in the mainstream media and presents the annual GLAAD Media Awards. The Vito Russo Award is named in his memory and is presented to an openly gay or lesbian member of the media community for their outstanding contribution in combating homophobia. Russo was also actively involved in the AIDS direct action group ACT UP. -Wikipedia (artwork by @elijah.haswell) #PeopleOfPride #VitoRusso #octoberislgbthistorymonth #lgbthistorymonth #historymonth #EliHaswell #loveislove #lgbt #lgbtq #rainbow #gay #lesbian #transgender #bisexual #pansexual #asexual #genderqueer #male #female  #love #acceptance #diversity #lovewhoyouwant #youareamazing #youarebeautiful #hernandopride #hernandoflorida https://www.instagram.com/p/B4GB0NkBGvJ/?igshid=hyyx9h763fph

L039A Bette Midler at 1973 Gay Pride March and Rally 6-24-1973 with watermark

Kenny Baker (R2-D2), Vito Russo, and Mark Hamill, Los Angeles, c. 1977. Hear an incredible archival interview with Vito Russo on this week's episode of @makinggayhistorypodcast! #lgbthistory #HavePrideInHistory #VitoRusso #RogueOne

From the archives - there’s more at KAOS.

"GAY BALLOONS -- 25¢," Vito Russo (July 11, 1946 - November 7, 1990), Gay Activists Alliance Street Fair, Second Annual Christopher Street Liberation Day festivities, June 26, 1971. Photo by Richard C. Wandel, @nyplpicturecollection. #lgbthistory #lgbtherstory #lgbttheirstory #lgbtpride #queerhistorymatters #haveprideinhistory #vitorusso (at Christopher Street)

Vito Russo (July 11, 1946 - November 7, 1940) and comedy icon, actress, activist, LGBT pioneer, and longtime friend of Russo, Lily Tomlin, c. 1978. Photo by Richard Amsel. #lgbthistory #lgbtherstory #lgbttheirstory #lgbtpride #queerhistorymatters #haveprideinhistory #vitorusso #lilytomlin

"SILENCE=DEATH," Vito Russo (July 11, 1946 - November 7, 1990), ACT UP demonstration, Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C., October 10, 1988. Photo © Rick Gerharter. There are few people who had as much of an impact on the course of gay history as Vito Russo, who would turn seventy today. As a Stonewall rioter, a founding member of the Gay Liberation Front, the Gay Activists Alliance (GAA), the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (@glaad), and ACT UP, Russo was among those who led the modern gay liberation movement through its most trying decades. And, importantly, Russo was among those who consistently called for an inclusive approach to gay liberation, in that he recognized that "gay" liberation necessarily meant "queer" liberation. While in the GAA, Russo screened classic Hollywood films as social events at the GAA Firehouse, starting a decades-long pursuit to catalog and analyze queer representation in film; this work ultimately led to the groundbreaking lecture series, book, and film, "The Celluloid Closet." In 1983, Russo created and co-hosted one of the first LGBT-focused news series, "Our Time," for WNYC-TV. Russo's expertise in queer representation in media made him particularly well-suited to co-found GLAAD in 1985, which began in response to the New York Post's defamatory AIDS coverage. That same year, Russo was diagnosed with HIV, and he subsequently became one of the most visible and powerful figures in ACT UP. Vito Russo died of AIDS-related complications on November 7, 1990; he was forty-four years old. #lgbthistory #lgbtherstory #lgbttheirstory #lgbtpride #queerhistorymatters #haveprideinhistory #vitorusso (at U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)

Vito Russo, Christopher Street Liberation Day Parade, New York City, June 29, 1975. Photo by Fred W. McDarrah. In 1985, in response to the New York Post's defamatory and sensationalized coverage of the AIDS epidemic, Vito Russo and other LGBT activists formed the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. The organization, which later changed its name to GLAAD to reflect a more inclusive approach, has worked for over three decades to put pressure on media organizations to combat homophobic, transphobic, and otherwise anti-LGBT media representation. Tonight, April 2, 2016, GLAAD celebrates its 27th Annual Media Awards, honoring leaders in the fight for equal representation in the media. #lgbthistory #lgbtherstory #lgbttheirstory #gay #bi #trans #lesbian #pride #vitorusso #glaad #glaadawards (at Christopher Street)