POV

Lee, 74.

I have to talk a little about this man as Lee is one of the most interesting gay people I've ever come across. 

I met Lee over 30 years ago; he was a friend of my partner, Joe.  Joe had met him in the late '60s at The Patch, one of the first gay bars in the South Bay area.  This was at a time when men could be arrested just for dancing with each other, and the local cops made frequent stops in the bar looking for any and all violations. 

Lee is one of those bigger-than-life characters who's been afraid of nothing during his lifetime.  He was, and is, a painter, a muralist, an interior designer, an actor/performer, an activist among others.    Joe and I had lost contact with Lee over a decade ago; and when I managed to re-locate him again just recently, he'd lost little of his bravado and charm even though he's been confined to a wheelchair for many years.

Back in the '60s Lee was very active in the civil rights movement, and spent much time in the South helping in any way he could.  During one of his visits to Selma, Alabama, the small group of people he was traveling with was jumped by the locals for being fags, and Lee was beaten severely; one of his friends was murdered right there on the street.  Lee was also at the forefront of the early Gay Liberation movement in the '60s and 70's, and we wouldn't be where we are without people like him.  A documentary about his life is in the works.

I'm going to be working with Lee more in order to try to capture his huge personality, as I feel there is so much I can do with Lee, but I'm so excited to have found him once more and get him back in our lives.