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Curated playlist

LGBTQ rights activists from New York (state)

  • Lady GagaLady Gaga's name may have come from a phone typo. Producer Rob Fusari said autocorrect turned "Radio Ga Ga" into "Lady".
  • Andrew CuomoAndrew Cuomo, the 56th governor of New York, once held a distinction that is easy to overlook. From the 4th of January 2021, he was the longest-serving sitting governor in the United States, with 3,887 days in office. Within months, that…
  • Bernie SandersBernie Sanders delivered a speech in the United States Senate on the 10th of December 2010 that lasted 8 hours and 34 minutes. His target was a tax bill that would extend the Bush-era rates, which he argued favored the wealthiest…
  • Christina AguileraChristina Aguilera sang "A Sunday Kind of Love" on the television contest Star Search in 1990 and was eliminated in the semi-final round. That loss decided nothing. She would go on to sell more than 100 million records worldwide, and…
  • Russell SimmonsRussell Simmons said a 1977 Harlem rap show was "the invention of the wheel." He went on to build Def Jam and Phat Farm.
  • Audre LordeAudre Lorde answered questions about her feelings by reciting a poem. She was a nearly blind child in Harlem.
  • Bruce VilanchWhen Jack Palance did one-armed push-ups at the 1992 Oscars, Bruce Vilanch wrote new jokes on the spot.
  • Idina MenzelIn 1992, a young singer named Idina Menzel recorded a demo of a song called "In Your Eyes" and was paid $75 for the job. The song went on to win the Eurovision Song Contest in 1993, sung by the Irish performer Niamh Kavanagh. That story…
  • Alexandria Ocasio-CortezAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez, known widely as AOC, won a Democratic primary in New York's 14th congressional district on the 26th of June 2018. She collected 15,897 votes to 11,761 for Joe Crowley, a ten-term incumbent who chaired the…
  • Vince LombardiVince Lombardi, the football coach, once dreamed of becoming a priest. He attended Mass every day of his adult life.
  • Vanessa WilliamsVanessa Williams arrived in the world with a birth announcement that read: "Here she is: Miss America." She was born on the 18th of March 1963 in Tarrytown, New York, a suburb of New York City. The line was a family joke at the time. It…

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