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MJ met her partner in the early 1990s. Her partner had been married to a man and raised children.

MJ soon embraced her new extended family, especially her granddaughter, 12-year-old Genna Alperin.

MJ tells Genna what happened once she fell in love.
Originally aired February 12, 2010, on NPR's Morning Edition.

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MJ met her partner in the early 1990s. Her partner had been married to a man and raised children. MJ soon embraced her new extended family, especially her granddaughter, 12-year-old Genna Alperin. MJ tells Genna what happened once she fell in love. Originally aired February 12, 2010, on NPR's Morning Edition.

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On the heels of a historic Supreme Court ruling that upholds the right of LGBTQ people to marry, we look to the late 1970s-a time where this week's ruling on marriage equality was unimaginable.

Back then, the iconic civil rights leader Bayard Rustin (left) and his partner, Walter Naegle (right), a man decades his junior, fell in love. They were together for many years.

As Bayard was getting older, they decided to formalize their relationship in the only way that was possible for gay people at the time-Rustin adopted Walter Naegle.

Here, Walter tells his niece, Ericka (pictured above, left), what it was like to fall in love with Bayard, and the unconventional decision they made to protect their union.
Originally aired June 28, 2015, on NPR's Weekend Edition.
Photo courtesy of Walter Naegle.

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On the heels of a historic Supreme Court ruling that upholds the right of LGBTQ people to marry, we look to the late 1970s-a time where this week's ruling on marriage equality was unimaginable. Back then, the iconic civil rights leader Bayard Rustin (left) and his partner, Walter Naegle (right), a man decades his junior, fell in love.

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How One of the First Legally Married Same-Sex Couples in the US Made it Down the Aisle

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How One of the First Legally Married Same-Sex Couples in the US Made it Down the Aisle

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David Wilson and Robert Compton

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On November 18, 2003, in the case of Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, the Massachusetts Supreme Court declared that "...barring an individual from the protections, benefits, and obligations of civil marriage solely because that person would marry a person of the same sex violates the Massachusetts Constitution." This allowed same-sex couples to be legally married in the state of Massachusetts, the first state in the United States to do so.

David Wilson (above left), one of the plaintiffs in that landmark case, was also one of the first to be married when the law went into effect on May 17th, 2004. In 2010, David first came to StoryCorps to reflect on his difficult path to get to his wedding day.

Nine years later, David and his husband, Robert Compton, came to StoryCorps to reflect on their journey as they approach their 15th wedding anniversary.

Top photo: David Wilson and his husband Robert Compton at their StoryCorps recording in Palm Springs, California in 2019. By Jud Esty-Kendall.

Bottom photo: David Wilson, officiant Reverend Ms. Kim K. Crawford Harvie, and Robert Compton on their wedding day on May 17, 2004 in Boston, Massachusetts. Courtesy of David Wilson.
Originally aired May 17, 2019, on NPR's Morning Edition.

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How One of the First Legally Married Same-Sex Couples in the US Made it Down the Aisle

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On November 18, 2003, in the case of Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, the Massachusetts Supreme Court declared that "...barring an individual from the protections, benefits, and obligations of civil marriage solely because that person would marry a person of the same sex violates the Massachusetts Constitution."

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Chris López always knew there was something different about her youngest child, Gabe. Assigned female at birth, Gabe felt like he was a boy.

Gabe was always more comfortable in clothing traditionally worn by little boys - cargo pants and superhero shirts - but switched back and forth between these outfits and those often worn by little girls. Just after his seventh birthday, he convinced his parents to let him cut off his long hair and get a mohawk - a haircut he had been wanting for years. Around this time period, Gabe started dressing only as a boy and answering exclusively to "he".

At first, Chris was concerned that Gabe, being so young, might change his mind. She was scared of how people would treat him as he transitioned. But after seeing how Gabe responded to the changes in his hair and clothing, she felt confident that he had made the right decision.

Gabe, who's nine years old now, has been attending the same school since kindergarten. In the fall of 2016, when he started third grade, he began having others refer to him by his preferred gender pronouns -"he" and "him" - for the first time.

In 2015, the López family attended a camp for transgender, gender creative, and gender non-conforming youth in Tucson, Arizona.

Gabe and his mother came to the StoryCorps MobileBooth to talk about how that camp transformed his life.
A version of this broadcast aired May 1, 2016, on NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday, and was rebroadcast on March 3, 2017, on NPR's Morning Edition.
Middle photo: Gabe López. Courtesy of Chris López.
Bottom photo: The López family.

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Chris López always knew there was something different about her youngest child, Gabe. Assigned female at birth, Gabe felt like he was a boy. Gabe was always more comfortable in clothing traditionally worn by little boys - cargo pants and superhero shirts - but switched back and forth between these outfits and those often worn by little girls.

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very heartwarming.

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How little (young) Gabe is
His fears are real (where did he hear that?)

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Walter's mother signed away her parental rights. The age difference was kind of icky (decades??).

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Things were so bad they needed protectio

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What did this make you think? What is the speaker's message?

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What did this make you think? What is the speaker's message?

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What did this make you think? What is the speaker's message?

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What did this make you think? What is the speaker's message?

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That I want to "always have your back" too!
"I love you because of all that you are" - Sam Laiso

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What did this make you think? What is the speaker's message?

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What did this make you think? What is the speaker's message?

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When he told people "we've lost Baird" shows he was part of a larger community

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What did this make you think? What is the speaker's message?

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What did this make you think? What is the speaker's message?

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How did this make you feel? How would this affect your approach in the classroom?

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How did this make you feel? How would this affect your approach in the classroom?

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How did this make you feel? How would this affect your approach in the classroom?

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How did this make you feel? How would this affect your approach in the classroom?

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All the feels
Our students know we love them for all they are

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How did this make you feel? How would this affect your approach in the classroom?

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How did this make you feel? How would this affect your approach in the classroom?

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Um... I would teach students about consent and the signs of grooming?

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How did this make you feel? How would this affect your approach in the classroom?

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How did this make you feel? How would this affect your approach in the classroom?