PRIDE in Progress: Shaping America’s Legacy…past, present, and future!
Inaugural Festival September 19 & 20, 2025,
This programming is made possible by a generous grant from
Saturday September 20, 2025 – Presentation & Book Reading
featuring
Michael Bronski, Harvard Professor & Author
Robert Kesten, Executive Director Stonewall National Museum
Stonewall National Museum, Library & Archives (Inside ArtServe)
1300 East Sunrise Boulevard Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33304
1:00-3:30 P.M.
PRIDE in Progress: Shaping Legacy…past, present, and future! (PIP) is an original festival debuting September 19 – 20, 2025, at three Greater Fort Lauderdale area venues. Funded in part by Broward County Cultural Division, the festival events focus on American LGBTQ history, the sanctity of same sex marriage and the beauty of all families regardless of their composition. Events include Friday night’s opening night reception with round table discussion, art exhibit, a musical performances. Saturday afternoon features a lecture & book reading and Saturday night The Promise Salon concert at Wilton Manors newest venue The Gray Box Theater.
Festival programs highlight the contributions the LGBTQ community have made to American society. Performers, vendors & venues were selected for their commitment to the LGBTQ community. The festival is open to those interested in supporting and/or learning more about the challenges & triumphs faced by the LGBTQ community & the people who value them.
Schedule
1:00 -1:30 P.M. Robert Kesten, Executive Director, Stonewall National Museum, Library & Archives discusses the historic Stonewall will present a 30-minute lecture about the importance of the Stonewall Riot & other historically relevant issues. Robert has spent his career working tirelessly to promote the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and advance democratic principles around the world. One of Kesten’s notable achievements is his role in writing and producing an award-winning documentary on the Holocaust. In Ukraine, Kesten’s advocacy led to the decriminalization of homosexuality in Ukraine, making it the first Soviet Republic to achieve this milestone. This advocacy work not only advanced LGBTQ+ rights but also set a precedent for human rights in the region. In the United States, Kesten has been a driving force behind significant initiatives aimed at supporting those affected by AIDS. He produced events for the nation’s first AIDS day treatment center, providing critical support and services to individuals living with the disease. His work in this area underscores his commitment to health equity and social justice.
1:30-3:00 P.M. Professor Michael Bronski, Author, teaches Practice in Media & Activism in Studies of Women, Gender, & Sexuality at Harvard University. He will do a reading from his book A Queer History of the United States Book, lead a discussion about LGBTQ history, & take questions from the audience. A Queer History of the United States (2011) was awarded the Israel Fishman Non-Fiction Award for best LGBT book of 2010 by the American Library Association, as well as the Lambda Literary Award for the Best Non-Fiction Book of 2012.
His other works include Considering Hate: Violence, Goodness, & Justice in American Culture & Politics (co-authored with Kay Whitlock) (2015), You Can Tell Just by Looking & 20 Other Myths about LGBT Life and People (2013) (co-authored with Ann Pellegrini and Michael Amico), was nominated for a Lambda Literary Award for Best Non-Fiction. Culture Clash: The Making of Gay Sensibility (1984), The Pleasure Principle: Sex, Backlash & the Making of Gay Freedom (1998), and Pulp Friction: Uncovering the Golden Age of Gay Male Pulps (2003), which won a Lambda Literary Award for Best Anthology in 2004.
Bronski has written extensively on culture, politics, film, theater, books, sexuality, LGBT culture, & current events in publications such as The Village Voice, The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Advocate, Lambda Book Report, The Nation, Boston Review, Journal of Human Sexuality, Harvard Design Magazine, & Contemporary Women’s Writing.
Additional Support provided by
