Rachel Maddow to deliver the 2010 Smith College Commencement Address May 16

Rachel Maddow's most recent local appearance
was last August at Jacob's Pillow.
When Smith College President Carol T. Crist announced to the senior class that MSNBC's political analyist and Berkshire favorite Rachel Maddow would deliver the commencement address, it was an event all by itself. Watch and enjoy:



Maddow's success story is one that began locally. A contest launched Maddow’s career in 2004. As the winner of a challenge for a new on-air personality in Holyoke, Mass., she addressed listeners for the first time. Meeting with success at the local level, she soon joined the newly created Air America and, a year later, MSNBC.

Maddow's success may seem somewhat serendipitous, but she worked hard to get where she is. Maddow earned a degree in public policy from Stanford University in 1994, was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship, and earned a doctor of philosophy degree from Oxford University.

Maddow undertakes a regular 190 mile commute home to her 1865 house in Western Massachusetts. She maintains a teeny 275' apartment in Manhattan too. She is a real person, too, with a real full time relationship.

Rachel's human side: "One of my liabilities as a broadcaster is sometimes I get a little teary. Having a handkerchief is handy. My partner, Susan Mikula, buys me cute ones."

Lucky Dog.

Four Honorary Degrees to be Awarded

Commencement is on May 16 at 10 AM in Northampton. Honorary degrees will be awarded to Maddow, renowned dance composer Martha Myers, record-setter Victoria “Tori” Murden McClure, environmental justice advocate Peggy M. Shepard and global activist Princess Basma Bint Talal of Jordan.

The complete commencement schedule indicates that students may invite as many guests as they want.

The Second Civil War for Equal Rights

Two hot issues for the LGBT community are enacting Gay Marriage Equality, and repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Even in America, it is an uphill struggle to gain equal rights for all, despite the founding fathers, the Constitution and our ability to petition the government for the redress of our grievances. For every leap forward, there is a step backward, such as what happened in Maine this week.

Those of us who have been around for awhile know that it takes work and commitment to advance the issues that affect the LGBT community, and tend not to let defeats stop our efforts. That would be exactly what those who wish to hold us down would like.

There are things you can do to help, and they start with being informed and up to date. A simple step is to bookmark the organizations that are leading the charge for our equality. The Civil War lives.

Bryant got a pie in her face.
Those of us who are old enough remember Anita Bryant and her initially successful 1977 efforts to deny our gay rights and existence. She was dethroned, and so will our current opponents, from Fox News to the religious right.

To help counter the defeat in Maine, and make a better case for same sex marriage, MarriageEquality.org is collecting "Happily Ever After" stories from married couples. It would be nice to have some from the Berkshires. You can read about this new effort on the Marriage Equality Home Page.


“We must continue to heed the advice of Harvey Milk and ‘come out’ to everyone we meet as supporters of marriage equality, as LGBT people, as sisters, brothers, parents and friends of gay people,” said Pamela Brown, Marriage Equality USA Policy Director. “Last night, we achieved victories in Washington State and Kalamazoo, seven openly gay candidates won in elections spanning the nation from St. Petersburg, Florida to Salt Lake City, Utah and two are in run-off elections in Houston, Texas and the 58th District in Georgia.

"As people witness same-sex couples happily married in six states, living their lives, mowing their lawn, paying their taxes and as our families become woven into the seamless web of community and citizenship, the injustice of separate of unequal treatment will grow more and more apparent.

To help highlight our common humanity, Marriage Equality USA is launching a stories project, particularly in states where marriage equality is a reality. We want to encourage same-sex couples, their families, straight allies, and other community members to share their experiences on the impact and importance of extending the freedom to marry to all loving, committed couples. The stories we collect will be presented through a digital stories project that we will release during February’s Freedom to Marry month.”


To keep up to date on Don't Ask, Don't Tell, go to Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. It's no secret that I was discharged from the Navy for being gay, well before DADT and it is an issue that still resonates deeply.

Gay Wedding Attracts Many to Berkshires

Do two men dare do this on the Ashtuwilticook Trail?

LENOX, Mass., June 16. -- This has been a gay week in Lenox on account of the Post-Adams marriage. Many young people who came up to the wedding have been members of various house parties, and informal dances and dinners galore have been given to them. Among those who have had house parties this week are George H. Morgan, William D. Sloane, Dr. Greenleaf, and Anson Phelps Stokes.

That was from the New York Times Archives of June 16, 1894. And today, as then, lesbian and gay weddings are routinely celebrated throughout Massachusetts, where they are legal and accepted. But can you think of any recent gay weddings in the Berkshires? Has the Berkshire Eagle or North Adams Transcript run any news of gay events, gay activities?
The Berkshires supposedly welcomes gays and lesbians. Yet try to find the word lesbian or gay anywhere on the thousands of Berkshire promotional materials.

Gays and lesbians in the Berkshires are still harassed by Jack Murphy whose hateful screeds are happily published, among others, by the weekly Advocate, the same basic vitriol he wrote the last time, and the time before that.

Are the Berkshires gay welcoming, or just the one place in Massachusetts you can't find a gay bar.

These and other questions will be explored in the weeks and months ahead. Your comments, opinions and insights are requested. Let's air out the Berkshires closet and deal with the dirty linen.

So, if you wanted to get married in the Berkshires, who would get your business, who would do the reception, where would your guests stay?