Romaine Patterson
Encyclopedia
Romaine Patterson is an American
gay rights activist, radio personality
, and author
. She first received national attention for her activism at the funeral of murdered gay student Matthew Shepard
; the two were friends in high school. She is currently the co-host with Derek Hartley
of the Derek and Romaine show on Sirius Satellite Radio
's SIRIUS OutQ
channel 109 and XM Satellite Radio
channel 98.
, and one of them, Michael, died from AIDS
. She spent several summers during high school in Denver, Colorado
, living with her brothers and working at Diedrich's Coffee Shop.
Openly
lesbian
, Patterson lives in New Jersey
with her wife Iris and their first child, a daughter born July 2007, also named Romaine.
of the Westboro Baptist Church
during the trials of Russell Henderson and Aaron McKinney for the murder of Matthew Shepard. Patterson organized counter protests known as "Angel Action", in which groups of people dress as angels with extremely large wings that shielded the families from Phelps and his group. Patterson was later depicted in The Laramie Project
, a play about the event based on interviews with the participants. In the film version of the play, she was portrayed by actress Christina Ricci
. She wss portrayed by Canadian actress Kristen Thomson
in the TV movie The Matthew Shepard Story.
Patterson later worked at the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation
as a Regional Media Manager. She has written a book about her experiences as an activist since Shepard's death, called The Whole World Was Watching.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
gay rights activist, radio personality
Radio personality
A radio personality is a person with an on-air position in radio broadcasting. A radio personality can be someone who introduces and discusses various genres of music, hosts a talk radio show that may take calls from listeners, or someone whose primary responsibility is to give news, weather,...
, and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
. She first received national attention for her activism at the funeral of murdered gay student Matthew Shepard
Matthew Shepard
Matthew Wayne Shepard was a student at the University of Wyoming who was tortured and murdered near Laramie, Wyoming, in October 1998...
; the two were friends in high school. She is currently the co-host with Derek Hartley
Derek Hartley
Derek Hartley is an American talk show host, who serves as co-host of the Derek and Romaine Show, a talk radio show on Sirius XM Satellite Radio's Gay/Lesbian channel, OutQ. The show has a national audience with a potential reach of 18,000,000 listeners. The show can also be heard worldwide on the...
of the Derek and Romaine show on Sirius Satellite Radio
Sirius Satellite Radio
Sirius Satellite Radio is a satellite radio service operating in North America, owned by Sirius XM Radio.Headquartered in New York City, with smaller studios in Los Angeles and Memphis, Sirius was officially launched on July 1, 2002 and currently provides 69 streams of music and 65 streams of...
's SIRIUS OutQ
SIRIUS OutQ
OutQ is a news, talk and entertainment channel on Sirius XM Radio, geared for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender audiences. The channel is available to Sirius and XM subscribers in both the United States and Canada....
channel 109 and XM Satellite Radio
XM Satellite Radio
XM Satellite Radio is one of two satellite radio services in the United States and Canada, operated by Sirius XM Radio. It provides pay-for-service radio, analogous to cable television. Its service includes 73 different music channels, 39 news, sports, talk and entertainment channels, 21 regional...
channel 98.
Childhood and family
Patterson is the youngest of eight children. Three of her brothers are gayGay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
, and one of them, Michael, died from AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
. She spent several summers during high school in Denver, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, living with her brothers and working at Diedrich's Coffee Shop.
Openly
Coming out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
, Patterson lives in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
with her wife Iris and their first child, a daughter born July 2007, also named Romaine.
Activism
Patterson's best-known activist work was her response to the planned anti-gay protests by Fred PhelpsFred Phelps
Fred Waldron Phelps, Sr. is an American pastor heading the Westboro Baptist Church , an independent Baptist church based in Topeka, Kansas...
of the Westboro Baptist Church
Westboro Baptist Church
The Westboro Baptist Church is an independent Baptist church known for its extreme stance against homosexuality and its protest activities, which include picketing funerals and desecrating the American flag. The church is widely described as a hate group and is monitored as such by the...
during the trials of Russell Henderson and Aaron McKinney for the murder of Matthew Shepard. Patterson organized counter protests known as "Angel Action", in which groups of people dress as angels with extremely large wings that shielded the families from Phelps and his group. Patterson was later depicted in The Laramie Project
The Laramie Project
The Laramie Project is a play by Moisés Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project about the reaction to the 1998 murder of University of Wyoming gay student Matthew Shepard in Laramie,...
, a play about the event based on interviews with the participants. In the film version of the play, she was portrayed by actress Christina Ricci
Christina Ricci
Christina Ricci is an American actress. Ricci received initial recognition and praise as a child star for her performance as Wednesday Addams in The Addams Family and Addams Family Values , and her role as Kat Harvey in Casper...
. She wss portrayed by Canadian actress Kristen Thomson
Kristen Thomson
Kristen Thomson is a Canadian actress and playwright.Thomson was born in Toronto, Ontario. She is known for her one-woman play I, Claudia, which was adapted to film in 2004...
in the TV movie The Matthew Shepard Story.
Patterson later worked at the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation
Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation is a non-governmental media monitoring organization which promotes the image of LGBT people in the media...
as a Regional Media Manager. She has written a book about her experiences as an activist since Shepard's death, called The Whole World Was Watching.