Illustration by Marcos Chin. Courtesy of the Los Angeles Times.

Our Queerest Century: A Conversation with the Los Angeles Times

October 4, 2024, 8:00-9:30 PM
Panel Conversation, All Ages
Renberg Theatre

1125 N McCadden Pl
Los Angeles, CA 90038

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The 2024 Circa: Queer Histories Festival opening plenary, “Our Queerest Century: A Conversation with the Los Angeles Times,” will discuss The Times‘ groundbreaking retrospective of the last 100 years of queer politics, life, and culture, published in June 2024.

Moderated by Times staff writer Kevin Rector, the panel will feature a discussion with writers who contributed to the project, delving into their pieces and reflecting on the exceptional contributions of LGBTQ+ people through history. The plenary will also cover the findings of a national poll on American perceptions of LGBTQ+ people, conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago with funding from The California Endowment, which was published as part of the project, and highlights the current political landscape for queer people ahead of a critical November election.

The opening plenary will be held at the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Renberg Theater on Friday, October 4, 2024, 8-9:30 p.m., followed by a reception with the panelists in the Center’s courtyard.

This program is suitable for all ages.

Panelists

Matt Brennan is the Los Angeles Times’ deputy editor for entertainment and arts, leading the newsroom’s pop culture coverage. He was previously The Times‘ television editor. 

Jaclyn Cosgrove covers the (great!) outdoors at the Los Angeles Times. They started at The Times in 2017 and have written about wildfires, culture, protests, crime and county government. In 2022, they managed “For Your Mind,” a yearlong mental health project. Cosgrove is originally from rural Oklahoma and is a proud Oklahoma State University graduate. They fell in love with the Southern California landscape when they moved here in 2017. They are always looking for the next adventure and welcome your ideas. If their phone goes straight to voicemail when you call, it probably means they’re in the mountains with their beloved dog, Maggie May.

LZ Granderson is an ABC News contributor and the host and producer of ABC Audio’s first LGBTQ-focused podcast Life Out Loud with LZ Granderson. In the podcast, Granderson draws from his own lived experience as a gay, Black father to host thought-provoking, poignant and engaging conversations with some of the most influential and inspirational people in the LGBTQ+ community. Life Out Loud received a Special Recognition Award from GLAAD in 2022 and Spotify selected it as one of the “Best New Podcasts of 2021.” Granderson is also an Emmy Award-winning journalist as well as an op-ed columnist for the Los Angeles Times. In 2021 the Equality Forum listed Granderson among its “LGBTQ History Month Icons,” and in 2016 he was inducted into the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association Hall of Fame. His TED Talk, “Myth of the Gay Agenda,” has more than 1.7 million views. Granderson received recognition for his work from major LGBTQ+ organizations in the nation, including the Human Rights Campaign, GLSEN and GLAAD. The Advocate, the nation’s most prominent and oldest LGBTQ+ magazine, frequently includes him as one of the 50 most influential LGBTQ voices in media.

Patrick Hruby is an art director at the Los Angeles Times. He is a native Angeleno who graduated from ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in illustration and design. His passions include being active in the LGBTQ+ community and advocating for mental health. His work has been recognized by American Illustration, Communication Arts, and Wallpaper Magazine. (Photo credit: Mariah Tauger)

Eva Recinos is an arts and culture journalist and creative non-fiction writer based in Los Angeles. Her reviews, features, and profiles have been featured in the Los Angeles Times, KCET, The Guardian, Hyperallergic, Aperture, Poets & Writers Magazine, The Creative Independent and more. Her essays have appeared in Gulf Coast, Blood Orange Review, Air/Light, Electric Literature, and more. She was a 2023 Tin House Winter Workshop and 2024 Kenyon Review Writers Week attendee. She is less than five feet tall. (Photo credit: Elaine Torres)

Kevin Rector is a Los Angeles Times reporter currently covering the 2024 presidential election. He has written extensively about LGBTQ+ issues and previously covered legal affairs and the LAPD for the Times, which he joined in 2020. Rector previously worked for the Baltimore Sun, where he was a police and investigative reporter and part of a team that won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize in local reporting.

Erika D. Smith is a former columnist for the Los Angeles Times who wrote about the people, politics and quest for a more equitable California. She joined The Times in 2018 as an assistant editor, expanding coverage of the state’s homelessness and affordable housing crises. She previously worked at the Sacramento Bee as a columnist and editorial board member. Before the Bee, Smith wrote for the Indianapolis Star and Akron Beacon Journal. She is a graduate of Ohio University and a native of Cleveland.

This panel conversation is organized by One Institute and co-presented with the Los Angeles LGBT Center, in collaboration with the Los Angeles Times, as part of the 2024 Circa: Queer Histories Festival, presented by One Institute. The event is sponsored by Ares Management.

  • The Los Angeles LGBT Center is a safe and welcoming place where the LGBTQ+ community finds help, hope, and support when it is needed the most.

  • Looking back on the century since the 1924 founding of the nation’s first gay rights organization, Our Queerest Century explores data behind evolving public opinion about the LGBTQ+ community, offers six personal essays by queer writers and provides a curated timeline to put it all into context.

  • Founded in 1952, One Institute is the oldest active LGBTQ+ organization in the country and the proud presenters of Circa: Queer Histories Festival. It's mission is to elevate queer and trans history and embrace emerging stories through collaborative education, arts, and cultural programs.

    Each year, One Institute produces one-of-a-kind exhibitions and public programs connecting LGBTQ+ history and contemporary culture to effect social change. Through unique K-12 teacher trainings, lesson plans, and youth mentorship programs, One empowers the next generation of teachers and students bringing queer history into classrooms and communities. As the independent community partner of ONE Archives at the USC Libraries, One Institute helps promote the largest collection of LGBTQ+ materials in the world.