It's been almost 15 years since R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe came out as queer. Tonight, he will appear on Logo's Trailblazers, an event that honors the ones that stood, and continue to stand, at the forefront of the LGBTQ movement. At the event, Stipe introduced John Abadallah Wambere, a Ugandan civil rights activist who co-founded "a non-profit organization that provides medical services to gay Ugandans living with HIV and AIDS."
Wambere's organization is the Spectrum Uganda Initiatives.
In the below video, the musician explains that as a young queer – Stipe has identified himself not as gay, but as queer – under the Reagan-Bush administration, he found himself in fear of having his civil rights stripped of him, of "quarantine" and "the threat of internment camps" should he was found being tested for HIV. "I waited five years to get my first anonymous test. I am happy that attitudes have matured and changed, and I feel lucky that I live in a country where acceptance, tolerance and policy toward HIV-ADS and LGBTQ issues have advanced as far as they have."
Currently, it is illegal to be homosexual in Uganda.
After being introduced to the stage, Wambere stated, "Thank you. Today in Uganda, this even would be illegal. We would be all arrested or closed. This event would not be here. I'm here standing before you to celebrate what I did not expect. Because, to me, I did what I felt was part of me and who I am and for the people I care about."
Trailblazers is a one-hour event that airs tonight on Logo at 9p.m. EST. In addition to Wambere, the event will honor Jason Collins, the first openly gay athlete, and the series Orange Is the New Black for what it has has done for the civil rights movement.
