This time last year, Barrett L. Brick was being honored by Immigration Equality with the group's Global Vision Award as a ''consistent voice in speaking out on behalf of LGBT immigrant families.'' From the former Soviet Union, to Argentina, to the State Department, Brick was a consistent voice, indeed.
That voice, however, was silenced Sunday, Sept. 22, when Brick, 59, died of cancer, his husband Antonio Ruffini at his side. It had been a long-term illness that Brick often mastered, still making appearances and otherwise taking part in Washington's LGBT community, which he did so much to build. Brick's interest in global LGBT issues, after all, was only one interest of the man who had a great enthusiasm not only for social justice, but for science fiction, soccer, the stars and his Jewish faith. And the Immigration Equality honor was hardly isolated, with Brick recognized as a Rainbow History Project ''Community Pioneer'' and by the nonpartisan Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington, D.C. (GLAA), with its 2000 Distinguished Service Award, among other plaudits.
Barrett Brick
Ward Morrison/File photo
''He was really multidimensional,'' says Ruffini, a South African, whom Brick met at the 1999 World Science Fiction Convention in Melbourne, Australia. Until Brick's illness began to dictate the couple's plans, there was hope of the two settling into retirement in Johannesburg, where Brick would often visit. ''Coming to South Africa was getting away from D.C., a break from the politics. We'd go and see local soccer matches. He had his little telescope that he used to bring over.''
With that telescope, in Ruffini's garden, Brick enjoyed new celestial vistas of the Southern Hemisphere. The two also explored the country together and Brick, past president of D.C.'s Bet Mishpachah congregation for LGBT Jews and past executive director of the World Congress of Gay and Lesbian Jewish Organizations, found more intimate ways to express his faith.
''It's all fairly Orthodox,'' Ruffini, also Jewish, says of South Africa's Jewish community, noting there is no equivalent of Bet Mishpachah in Johannesburg, but that the two marked the High Holy Days together, making new traditions. ''I think Barrett enjoyed that, the different experience.''
Still, so much of Brick's life, with much of his career spent working as an attorney with the Federal Communications Commission, was focused on getting things done. His activism surely occupied as much time as his other interests, as evidenced by his three years as GLAA president, for starters.
''Barrett stepped forward and did things,'' says current GLAA President Richard J. Rosendall, a regular opinion writer for Metro Weekly and longtime friend of Brick's. ''He transformed belief and advocacy into direct action, approaching people and getting the ball moving. Barrett focused on the issues and would work with whomever he had common ground. He was always building bridges. GLAA is very significantly one of his legacies.''
Rosendall shared some thoughts he penned shortly after Brick's death, writing, ''Barrett's contributions were many and varied. He was an early voice for inclusion of the faith community in LGBT movement strategizing – decades before that was a key part of our strategy for marriage equality in D.C. As a science-fiction fan, he helped organize a Gaylaxicon convention. As a soccer fan, he helped organize a gay football world cup. He often led services at Congregation Bet Mishpachah, and worked to build bridges between gay Jews and Muslims.
''Just in the early 1990s, he pressed successfully for gay inclusion in the State Department's annual country human rights reports, pressed for gay inclusion in the Holocaust Memorial Museum, and intervened personally with the president of Argentina on behalf of a gay rights group there.
''At a personal level, he was a close collaborator and sounding board for virtually every issue I worked on as a leader of GLAA. He was smart and wise and funny, and was very good at keeping things in perspective.''
Rosendall adds that Brick did much of this work in a signature style that was unassuming, yet impressively effective.
''He didn't particularly promote himself. He was so stoical and uncomplaining,'' says Rosendall, recalling a quote that seems to fit perfectly: ''There's no limit to what you can accomplish if you don't need to get credit for it.''
Ruffini also points to that sort of modesty that leaves many thinking of Brick as refreshingly gracious, mentioning that few knew Brick graduated Columbia Law School as ''one of the top graduates, if not the top.''
That was just one of the things Ruffini got to know of Brick as the two began a long-distance relationship following the 1999 conference. After that Australian week, during which Ruffini found himself immediately attracted to Brick's intellect, he was entirely uncertain there was more to come. Back home in Johannesburg, however, he received a card from Brick, was sparked an email correspondence of sometimes several messages a day. Then, some months later, a trip with the American Bar Association had Brick headed to London. Ruffini was able to coordinate work travel of his own, and the two reunited and realized that there was something deeper than simply an intellectual attachment. That love led to the two being married in South Africa in 2009.
Ruffini says that while the two made plans for Brick to retire in South Africa, illness demanded otherwise. Still, today, as Ruffini executes his responsibilities as widower, his many trips to Washington to visit Brick have helped to build a supportive circle of friends.
''I've been traveling to D.C., so I've gotten to know a couple of people,'' Ruffini says on his way to New Jersey for Brick's funeral, traveling with a few of them. ''Some of them have become friends of mine, as well. People are really being great.''
Details for a Washington memorial service honoring Barrett L. Brick will be added to this story, as well as to glaaforum.org, once announced.
...moreFormer D.C. Councilmember Carol Schwartz (R-At large), Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett (D) and Jay Fisette, vice chair of the Arlington County Board, will be hosting an event celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Metro D.C. chapter of Parents, Families & Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) on Tuesday, Oct. 1.
The fundraising party, which will be held at Schwartz's Kalorama home, is dedicating all proceeds to support PFLAG's local efforts to promote LGBT equality.
''They asked me to be one of the regional co-chairs, and I gladly said yes, because I've been a member of PFLAG for at least 20 years,'' says Schwartz. ''I think it's a wonderful, worthwhile organization.''
Schwartz, who had an extensive pro-LGBT record during her time on the D.C. Council, said that when PFLAG began it was a ''cutting-edge'' concept, but is now fully embraced by the community. Schwartz added that her own ties to the group have strengthened throughout the years. Originally, she started out as a straight ally, or ''friend'' of PFLAG, but later became a more fully fledged member after her daughter, now married to a woman, came out as bisexual.
''A few years ago, when I used to march in the Capital Pride parade, one of the groups that received much enthusiasm was PFLAG,'' says Schwartz. ''I think the community appreciates a group that says, 'We support you and we love you.'''
PFLAG Metro DC's 30th Anniversary Party, at the home of Carol Schwartz, 2029 Connecticut Ave. NW, runs 6 to 8 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 1. Tickets, $30, may be purchased online at pflagdc.org or by calling 202-638-3852.
...more
Even after a few years of watching it grow, I still find myself fascinated daily by my Facebook feed. The thousand or so ''friends'' I have — those aren't sneer quotes, just acknowledging the hilarity of the idea of my introverted self having an actual 1,000 friends — encompass quite the range of opinions and interests. I regularly bounce from progressive Green Party propaganda to libertarian denunciations of Obama's transgressions, from foodie pics at Le Diplomate to ultra-country recipes calling for Pillsbury and American cheese.
America's a funny place in cross section.
No, not so much.
But while I enjoy watching the parade, there's one thing from the past few months that continually sticks in my craw. Not anti-gay stuff — those people get booted from my list at roughly the same speed with which Johnny Weir spouts stupid quotes. No, it's the ''Ready for Hillary'' folks who are trying my patience.
To be clear, because I must before a horde of Hillary-ites shows up outside my door, I don't harbor some hatred for Hillary Clinton. I opposed her in 2008 pretty vociferously but I found myself admiring her stint as secretary of state. I stand by my opinions at that time though, because I am deeply uncomfortable with the increasingly dynastic tone of American politics. We've had two Bushes and there's always a danger of another one of those popping up at any moment. Once we've had two Clintons, our political cults of personality will begin yearning for Chelsea. Then we could come back around to the Obamas, with a first lady and two cool daughters waiting in the wings.
I supported Barack Obama in 2008 because I believed he would be better on rolling back the overreach of executive power that reached fearsome levels under Bush-Cheney. And as disappointing as Obama has been overall — with some notable exceptions — I don't see how anyone could reasonably believe Clinton would have been better. In short, if the progressive Democrats I see getting ''Ready for Hillary'' are looking for some change of course then Clinton isn't the ship to take.
But the broader and more important point here is that it's 2013, people. We have three more years until the next presidential election and about two more years before we start suffering the long, soul-deadening slog through Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. It is beyond too early for Democrats to be engaging in this effort to make Clinton the ''inevitable'' candidate for the White House (a position she's held before and we all saw how that turned out). To her credit, Clinton sees this problem herself, telling New York magazine, ''This election is more than three years away, and I just don't think [the speculation is] good for the country.''
Given the current situation in Washington, with the wilder fringes of the Republican Party throwing an entire governing system into chaos and economy-destroying threats, I think Democrats have better things to focus on than 2016. Don't think that having Clinton in the White House would break the fever of the irrational Obama haters — they'll rediscover their Clinton-hating ways in a flash.
And a lot can happen in three years (again, see the 2008 Democratic primary season). Clinton isn't the only woman in the Democratic Party; I'm perplexed that more progressives getting ready for Hillary aren't making noise for Elizabeth Warren, who's cutting her own interesting and effective path through the Senate. Vice President Joe Biden supposedly has his eye on the rung above him, which would be entertaining in that special Biden way even if I hope he chooses not to.
Anyway, don't make up your mind yet. In 2013, the best approach is to be ready for anything.
Sean Bugg is editor emeritus of Metro Weekly and the executive director of the Next Generation Leadership Foundation. Follow him on Twitter @seanbugg or email him at seanbugg@gmail.com.
...moreBrian Brown claims to be the victim, but he and his organization have bullied so many people in the past.
Just because the federal government will recognize same-sex marriages doesn't make everything easier.
A school board in Johnstown, Pa., declined to override school administrators' decision not to let Kasey Caron be listed as a king candidate.
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