by Mark Segal
And as would be expected, PGN was the first to have the governor’s decision up online.
Philadelphia County began issuing marriage licenses to couples on May 20, 2014. Ron Donatucci, the man in charge of this process, deputized me that day and allowed me to work with the applicants and issue licenses myself. It was the ultimate joy to sit down in a cubicle and have two happy people ushered toward me.
As Jason was helping me deal with all of this, our friend City Councilman Jim Kenney appeared and said he just wanted to be present to observe this historic time. Then he asked, “What about you two?” Jason and I looked at each other and said, after ten years together, why not?
We had just agreed to get married. That fact alone was overwhelming enough. But a problem arose as Jason and I walked up to the register. “That’ll be eighty dollars in cash, please.”
We stared at each other, dumbfounded. Neither of us had any cash on us. We turned to Jim, who, along with Ron, was chuckling. The two of them fished out their wallets and split the fee, forty dollars each—an engagement gift. We posed for some celebratory pictures and then joined the massive celebration outside City Hall.
When we got home that evening, Jason noticed a line in small print at the bottom of the marriage license. “Do you realize we have sixty days before the license expires?” We had two months, basically amounting to zero time, to make wedding plans. My head was spinning.
* * *
A few weeks later, back in Harrisburg for the meeting with the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association, it dawned on me to take a close look at my calendar for the immediate future. Each day was filled with appointments, fundraisers, events, or meetings with developers. The John C. Anderson project was so successful that developers were lining themselves up at my door, pitching similar projects in New York, Washington, DC, and other cities.
Looking at that full calendar and the numerous opportunities ahead, a wave of memories came rolling back, and suddenly I’m standing outside Stonewall again, a boy who didn’t know who he was or where he was going, living at the YMCA with no money and no prospects. The reality is that I had feared becoming one of those homeless kids that Gay Youth helped.
I noticed that I had two upcoming visits to Washington scheduled. The following Friday, I’d go with Philadelphia Gay News staff to the annual banquet of the Society of Professional Journalists at the National Press Club to accept the 2014 Investigative Journalist Award along with the Wall Street Journal. Then, on the last Friday of June, it was back to the White House for the president’s reception in honor of Gay Pride Month.
The John C. Anderson project had taken me to the White House and Executive Office Building a number of times in the last few years, but there are two visits that stand out. The first was at the White House after a long day of meetings on Capitol Hill and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. I was joined by Richard Barnhart, one of the owners of Pennrose Management Company. Richard is a very successful man; he’s the Ted Turner style of executive, impeccably dressed and often escaping to his retreat out West. At times, he presents a bit of a waspy, holier-than-thou attitude. He was doing that routine as we entered the White House, so I turned and asked him if he’d ever been there before on business. He looked around in amazement and said he hadn’t. I replied, “You mean it took a pushy Jew faggot to get you in the White House?” He simply smiled.
The other visit that stands out was when I had the opportunity to introduce Jason to the president and Mrs. Obama. We were at one of the president’s holiday parties. As is tradition, the president and first lady pose for pictures with their guests. When it was our turn, the immaculately uniformed Marine introduced us: “Mr. President, may I present Mark Segal and his guest, Jason Villemez.”
The protocol is for the invited guest to stand next to the president and their spouse or guest to stand next to the first lady. Me being Mark Segal, I said, “Mr. President, I have enough pictures of us together, but I have none with the beautiful first lady, so I hope you don’t mind if I stand next to her.”
Laughter came from behind the camera. It was Reggie Love, the president’s personal aide who had helped usher the plans for the Anderson project. He gave a thumbs-up.
That was the only time I’ve ever witnessed Jason in total awe. Nothing, and I mean nothing—with the exception of my driving skills—had ever fazed him before. To see that side of him was a joy.
With all my memorable trips to the White House, I was almost dreading another visit to Washington. But surprises—delightful ones at that—seem to always pop up if I simply keep my eye on the target.
* * *
At the gay pride reception at the White House in June 2014, Jason and I stood near the back of the East Room with the photographers and journalists, giving others a chance to be close to the president. Midway through the president’s speech, I thought I heard him say, “We must do more with affordable housing for our LGBT seniors.” I did a double take, thinking I might be imagining things. But after the speech, one of the president’s assistants, Gautam Raghavan, came over and said with a big grin, “Did you notice we got your line in?”
Later, Jason and I headed to the portico entrance, where the Marine band was playing, and we danced in the White House. The following Saturday, July 5, we got married in a private ceremony with Jason’s sisters as best women and my nephew Jeffrey as best man, and my friend Judge Dan Anders presiding over the ceremony. Jason’s parents were there too; in our pockets we each had a piece of his mother’s wedding veil which she had given us for the ceremony.
* * *
Mom, I’m now sixty-four years old, and I finally have a response to that concern you expressed when I first told you I was gay. Rest assured, I’m not lonely. When people ask me, “Mr. Segal, what was the happiest day of your life?” I get to say, “The day Jason and I married.”
It has been a long road from 2333 South Bambrey Terrace, from that lonely guy who escaped to New York with seemingly no future. While I haven’t accomplished my father’s dream of getting a degree, there is no doubt that he would feel very good about what I’ve done in lieu of that.
At the ribbon cutting of the John C. Anderson Apartments, each and every public official spoke about how I was a pain in the ass to deal with. What’s nice is that they all said it with pride. That’s a compliment I welcome.
Photographs
The official White House picture of President Obama’s first state visit to Philadelphia in 2010, for which I was one of the hosts. Photo courtesy of the White House.
The president and I engaging at the event. Photo courtesy of Mark Segal.
My grandmother Fannie Weinstein, the suffragette.
Wedding photo of my parents, Martin and Shelley Segal.
Mom and Dad on honeymoon in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Eight-year-old me at 2333 South Bambrey Terrace.
The receipt from my first arrest in 1970.
Mark Segal, taxi driver.
The picture that appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer the morning after I held a party in Arlen Specter’s office in October 1973. Photo courtesy of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
My first meeting with Governor Milton Shapp in 1974. Photo courtesy of Mark Segal.
Disrupting Nixon’s reelection fundraiser on November 1, 1972. Courtesy of Temple Universtiy Libraries; photo by the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Handcuffing myself to the camera during a live taping of the Mike Douglas Show. Photo by Harry Eberlin, courtesy of PGN.
Addressing Douglas and his guests Helen Hayes and Tony Bennett. Photo by Harry Eberlin, courtesy of PGN.
The Walter zap (December 11, 1973). Photo courtesy of Mark Segal.
Publicity shot from one of my appearances on the Phil Donohue Show. Photo courtesy of Mark Segal.
President Clinton and I in a photograph taken by Governor Ed Rendell. Photo courtesy of Mark Segal.
Befriending Republicans along the way. George W. Bush’s Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge and
my old friend City Councilman Thacher Longstreth. Photo courtesy of Mark Segal.
Patti LaBelle, my diva, dedicates a song to me at the mayor’s official LGBT inaugural gala on January 3, 2004.Photo courtesy of Mark Segal.
Patti LaBelle with her new backup singers, Governor Ed Rendell and Mayor John Street, wearing blue feather boas as I look on. Photo courtesy of Mark Segal.
Looking from above the stage at the Philadelphia Art Museum on July 4, 2005, and realizing for the first time that we had over a half million people on the Parkway. Photo by Bill Fraser.
Sir Elton John and I at the official July 4, 2005 ceremony at Independence Hall. Photo courtesy of George B. Feder, Top Gun Corporate Photography, Ltd.
Congressman Barney Frank, Elton, and Mayor John Street.
At the Independence Hall ceremony in 2005, I became the first out LGBT person to speak publicly at this annual event.Photo by Jason Villemez.
Robert Key of the Elton John AIDS Foundation and I make our entrance into the Freedom Ball at Philadelphia’s Museum of Art. The Philadelphia Boys Choir sings on either side of us as we descend. Photo by Jason Villemez.
Dedication of a Pennsylvania state historical plaque at Independence Hall, honoring the pioneering LGBT public pickets of 1965–69. (L to R) Lilli Vincenz, William B. Kelley, Randy Wicker, Ada Bello, Barbara Gittings, me, Frank Kameny, and Kay Lahusen in the chair. Photo by Jason Villemez.
Original participants from the first gay pride march in 1970, which was then called Christopher Street Gay Liberation Day. Members of my New York Gay Liberation Front family reunited for this photo on Pride Day 2013 in front of the Stonewall. Photo by Jason Villemez.
Gay Youth reunion. John Chiafalo, Mark Horn, Tom Approbato, and me.
Michael Knowles, Mark Horn, Jeff Hochhauser, and me. Photo by Mark Horn.
Messing around at a fundraiser at my home: Congressman Barney Frank dancing with Congressman Bob Brady. Photo courtesy of Mark Segal.
Soon-to-be Mayor Jim Kenney with Jason and me after he paid for our wedding license (yes, he really did). Photo courtesy of Mark Segal.
At home talking policy with California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom. Photo courtesy of Mark Segal.
Our wedding on July 5, 2014. (L to R) Jason’s sisters Jennifer, Ryan, and Lill, Jason’s parents Clyde and Rosalina, Jason, myself, Judge Dan Anders, my cousin Ilene, and my nephew Jeffrey.Photo courtesy of Mark Segal.
Jason meets President Obama and the First Lady for the first time. Photo courtesy of the White House.
Gay History Month, front page of the Philadelphia Daily News, October 13, 2011. Photo courtesy of the Philadelphia Daily News; photograph by Alejandro A. Alvarez.
MARK SEGAL has established a reputation as the dean of American gay journalism over the past five decades. From the Stonewall demonstrations in 1969 to founding the Philadelphia Gay News in 1975, along with his more recent forays into TV and politics, his proven commitment as a tireless LGBT advocate has made him a force to be reckoned with. Respected by his peers for pioneering the idea of local LGBT newspapers, he is one of the founders and former president of both the National Gay Press Association and the National Gay Newspaper Guild. Segal was recently inducted into the National Lesbian & Gay Journalist Association’s Hall of Fame and was appointed a member of the Comcast/NBCUniversal Joint Diversity Board, where he advises the entertainment giant on LGBT issues. He is also president of the dmhFund, though which he builds affordable LGBT-friendly housing for seniors. He lives in Philadelphia. Author photo courtesy of Peter Lien
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, by any means, including mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written consent of the publisher.
Published by Akashic Books
©2015 by Mark Segal
Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-61775-410-4
Paperback ISBN: 978-1-61775-399-2
e-ISBN: 978-1-61775-427-2
Library of Congress Control Number: 2015902762
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