LTC 259-2021 Motion by the LGBTQ Advisory Committee MIAMI BEACH
City of Miami Beach, 1700 Convention Center Drive,Miami Beach,FL 33139,www.miamibeachfl.gov
OFFICE OF_Ti-iF_c-rry AI A Al.-r--
LTC # 259-2021 LETTER TO COMMISSION
TO: Honorable Mayor Dan Gelber an• M=mbers of the City Commission
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FROM: Alina T. Hudak, City Manages `'
DATE: June 21, 2021
SUBJECT: Motion by the LGBTQ Advisory Committee
The purpose of this Letter to Commission (LTC) is to inform the Mayor and the Commission of the
motion made by the LGBTQ Advisory Committee at their meeting on June 8, 2021.
MOTION:
The LGBTQ Advisory Committee recommends that the Mayor and City Commission consider the
three people listed below for any future street namings, as they have all made a significant positive
impact on a local, national, and international level.
Motion Made By: Herb Sosa
Motion Seconded By: Riki Wilchins
Motion Passed: 10-0
Members in favor: Anthony Michael, Danny Diaz, Gayle Durham, Herb Sosa, Mark Wylie, Michael
Bath, Paul Thomas, Riki Wilchins, Robin Schwartz, Sunny Weber
HENRIETTA ROBINSON 1 1941-2020
For six decades, Henrietta Robinson was a beloved Miami Beach socialite and South Florida
LGBTQ icon. Her signature old-Hollywood style and blond bouffant established her as a universally
recognized presence around town and in South Beach gay bars. Twist nightclub on Washington
Avenue was considered her second home, where the same seat at the bar was always reserved for
her. "Mother of Miami Beach," regulars called her. Robinson, who is widely regarded as among the
first out transgender women in South Florida, died in 2020 after being diagnosed with COVID-19.
After undergoing an unrelated procedure, Robinson was being treated at Mount Sinai Medical
Center. She was 79 years old.
MICHAEL TILSON THOMAS 1 1944-
Michael Tilson Thomas is Co-founder and Artistic Director of the New World Symphony, America's
Orchestral Academy, Music Director Laureate of the San Francisco Symphony; and Conductor
Laureate of the London Symphony Orchestra. In addition to conducting the world's leading
orchestras, MTT is also noted for his work as a composer and a producer of multimedia projects that
are dedicated to music education and the reimagination of the concert experience. Thomas has won
eleven Grammys for his recordings, is an Officier dans I'ordre des Arts et des Lettres of France, a
member of the American Academy of Arts, has been awarded the National Medal of Arts and was a
recipient of the 2019 Kennedy Center Honors. In 2014, Michael Tilson Thomas and Joshua Mark
Robison, partners for 38 years, were married at the home of former San Francisco Symphony board
President, Nancy Bechtle. This is the first marriage for both men. This year marks Thomas's 70th
birthday and his 20th anniversary as Maestro of the San Francisco Symphony.
BAYARD RUSTIN 11912- 1987
Bayard Rustin was a proud Black gay man who was an indispensable architect of the Civil Rights
Movement. His most noteworthy achievements include serving as chief organizer of the historic
1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, mentoring the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,
and helping to form the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). As an effective bridge
builder across a broad range of demographics, he spent more than 60 years involved in social,
racial, economic, class, labor, anti-war and other justice movements, both domestically and
internationally. Despite his crucial work, Rustin was often relegated to the shadows of the movement
because he openly identified as a gay man following a 1953 conviction for"sex perversion" with
another man. This made him a target of both segregationists hoping to discredit the movement and
conservative black leaders who were uncomfortable with his sexuality.
Later in his life, Rustin began to focus on the economic issues that working class and unemployed
black individuals faced. As founder and director of the A. Philip Randolph Institute, he helped create
rapport with formerly majority-white unions and assisted the AFL-CIO's advocacy for economic
justice and civil rights. In the 1980s, Rustin turned his attention to the struggle for gay rights. He
advocated for New York State's Gay Rights Bill, stating that, as gay people were the most
vulnerable members of society at the time, they were the best way to judge how equal the U.S.
really was.
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