Youth Under 18 Barred from Awards Exhibit over 10 LGBTQ-Elder Photos

Plus, New Hampshire town may ban all art in all public spaces

These are crops of photos by Hannah Reyes Morales, originally published in the New York Times and recently named as award winners by the prestigious World Press Photo group. See the photos in full here.

Before I write about youth being barred from viewing photos of LGBTQ elders, let me briefly explain why this issue is so close to my heart.

When I was young in 1990, I volunteered at SAGE, a support group for LGBTQ elders that my husband Lenny loved. Lenny was 20 years older than me, but we both knew he would not live to become elderly. Maybe that’s why he identified so much with the elderly queer folks at the SAGE tea dances we helped with every month at Congregation Beit Simchat Torah, sometimes called Manhattan’s unofficial gay synagogue.

The 10 years Lenny and I spent together passed so quickly. They often passed in the company of queer people from SAGE, some of whom became my friends, confidants, and mentors.

Like a disproportionate percentage of aging LGBTQ people today, many were impoverished and/or alone without biological family for support. Thanks to SAGE and informal friend groups, people I loved — like Hilda, Reggie, Lev, and Mary — supported one another and worked together to overcome loneliness, isolation, and even food insecurity.

Oh, the holidays we spent together! Passover seders, Thanksgiving feasts…