Episode 7: The Law One

Episode 7 is here! In this episode: two stories of people navigating the world of Law and Law enforcement.

First, Mark Gonzalez shares stories about his early years of organizing in the 80’s and early 90’s.   Mark has lived in the Bywater neighborhood for over 25 years and works as an attorney in private practice. His initial involvement in the gay community was as a founding member/organizer of Gay Fest New Orleans where he was an officer for two years. He was also a very active member and organizer with ACTUP, an AIDS advocacy group in New Orleans for many years. Additionally, Mark is one of the organizing/founding members of AIDSLAW of Louisiana. We borrowed some of Mark’s bio from www.lgbtarchiveslouisiana.org; this organization does probably exactly what you think they do. Mark serves in that organization as a board member.

Mark’s story was produced by Owen Ever, a social historian, performer and theater maker who works at the New Orleans Pharmacy Museum. Visit Vagabondinventions.com and Goatintheroadproductions.org to learn about upcoming projects.   Music for this piece by Ruth Ex, who is part of the band Special Interest.  Ruth’s bandcamp is psychich0tline.bandcamp.com

Mardi Youngblood was one of our earliest contributors to our Dyke Bar oral history project.  She became an ancestor in 2017, at the age of 71.  In this piece, Mardi details some of her run ins with the law in the 70’s. Her special telling of tall tales and her sense of mischief, humor and caring are greatly missed as her chosen family and friends remember the enthusiasm she had for her many favorite activities: fishing and football.  She left a treasure trove of memories for the women who helped to care for her during the many months of her illness and the many friends she gathered during her life. To many, her legacy serves as a reminder to laugh, love and live the gift of life to its fullest each moment of each day.  We adapted Mardi’s Bio from her obituary which was published on TheNewOrleansAdvocate.com.

This loving audio tribute was produced by Erin Roussel, an educator and culture bearer from South Louisiana. Erin has been a member of Last Call since 2015 and is so grateful for the beautiful connections this project has brought into her life.  She scored her piece using the Youtube Free Music Library

additional music for this episode by free feral.