Bruce Brockway, ca. 1980. Brockway co-founded the Positively Gay Cuban Refugee Task Force with Thom Higgins in 1980. The name of the task force was adopted from the Minneapolis newspaper Positively Gay, which Brockway published between 1979 and 1980. From the Thom Higgins papers, Manuscripts Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul.

Gustavo Gomez, who immigrated to the United States from Cuba in 1961, talks about helping the newly arrived Marielitos (Cuban refugees) in Minneapolis in 1980, and his friend John Yoakam’s experience as a sponsor. The Positively Gay Cuban Refugee Task Force helped to find homes for gay Marielitos in Minneapolis. Interview conducted by Britt Aamodt, May 18, 2019. Used with the permission of Britt Aamodt and Gustavo Gomez.

Anthony Trelles recalls his trip to Fort McCoy, Wisconsin with Thom Higgins. He also recalls the visit made by Jeanne Sanders, his mother, to meet and talk to the Cuban refugees being held there. Interview conducted by Britt Aamodt, May 18, 2019. Used with the permission of Britt Aamodt, Kristen Trelles, and Anthony Trelles.

Alan Lessik talks about Rene Valdes’s experience at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, and his disastrous interview with the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Interview conducted by Britt Aamodt, October 8, 2018. Used with the permission of Britt Aamodt and Alan Lessik.

Alan Lessik discusses Rene Valdes’s life in Cuba and the persecution of gay people that led him to join the flood of Cubans immigrating to the United States during the Mariel Boatlift. Interview conducted by Britt Aamodt, October 8, 2018. Used with the permission of Britt Aamodt and Alan Lessik.

Ira Jones with Cuban refugees at Camp McCoy in Wisconsin. Printed in GayLife, Friday, August 8, 1980. Original caption: "Ira Jones (second from left) chats with refugees and sponsors from Minneapolis. Communication was sometimes a problem, but the universal language of gay love always prevailed."

Calixto Martinez, Mike Bergeron, and Edwardo Rodriguez at Fort McCoy in Wisconsin. Printed in GayLife, Friday, August 8, 1980. Original caption: "Calixto Martinez (left) and Edwardo Rodriguez (right) pose with Gay Life's managing editor, Mike Bergeron. Calixto and Edwardo are lovers. Calixto cut all his pants into shorts only to discover that the other refugees in the camp recognized him as being gay. Several of the non-gay refugees tried to rape Calixto and lover Edwardo stepped in to protect him. Edwardo was stabbed. A Minneapolis sponsor attempted to get both Calixto and Edwardo out together. Ultimately, they were represented by two different agencies. The agency representing Calixto allowed him to leave with the sponsor. The agency representing Edwardo would not allow him to go. Calixto refused to leave without his lover. Eventually, Calixto was convinced that he should leave and they would continue the attempt to get Edwardo released. A tearful moment came for the GayLife staff members when Calixto boarded a bus for Minneapolis. Edwardo just sat down in the corner of the yard, sighed, and watched his lover leave without him." Thom Higgins papers, Manuscripts Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul.

Stephen Kulieke (center bottom) with Cuban refugees at Fort McCoy, WIsconsin. Printed in GayLife, Friday, August 8, 1980. Original caption: "GayLife's Stephen Kulieke became the darling of the refugees. They followed him all day as he shot all the photos of Fort McCoy." From the Thom Higgins papers, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul.

Descendants of Norwegian immigrants to Minnesota pose by the sloop on which their ancestors came to America at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds, 1925.