Mazer Oral Herstory Project, "Ruth Sullivan and Claudia Brick, Part 2 of 4", Ruth Sullivan and Claudia Brick, Their Home, 2011/07/21
[holds marriage certificate]
Interviewer: OK, all right, now it’s… we’re rolling again. [laughter.] A little choppy.
Brick: We got married in West Hollywood Park. And the city of West Hollywood had set up a bunch of little white cabanas in the park to accommodate all the people that wanted to get married, and wanted to do it quickly because we suspected, and was proven a correct suspicion, that other people in the state would try and shut that down. So, Ruth had just came out of a coma. [Brick and Sullivan hold hands] And I asked her if she’d marry me. And she said, “Well, we can’t get married!” I said, “Well, things changed while you were out, dear! You know?” So we were able to get married, and… married in the park in West Hollywood, and the city had deputized a bunch of people to perform wedding ceremonies. And so it was kind of fun.
Sullivan: It was hot.
Brick: It was hot. Small ceremony. Small -- you know, small group of people. And hot!
Sullivan: But, um, we had…
[END OF VIDEO]
Ruth Sullivan and Claudia Brick were partners for 17 years and legally married for 3. Claudia grew up in Berkeley, CA, where she discovered her sexuality in a teenage affair with her coworker. She began to flourish when she went to college in Portland and joined the all lesbian Lavender Menace softball team in 1972; she became a star player and met lifelong friends like Maryetta Russell. Ruth Sullivan grew up in Baton Rouge LA, and came out during the AIDs epidemic when her coworker at Concorde-New Horizons made violent homophobic remarks. Claudia worked at the Santa Monica Police Department for over 20 years and felt accepted in the male dominated environment. In 1994 Claudia picked up Ruth at the Connection bar, and they soon moved in together and developed a lasting relationship. After 20 years of police work, Claudia worked at the City Attorney’s office for the last 4 to 5.5 years of her career. Tragically, in 2007 Ruth developed Ovarian cancer, a fatal disease common among lesbians. She went through 20 surgeries and chemotherapy treatments. On June 16, 2008 the state of California began to issue marriage licenses to same sex couples, and Claudia proposed to Ruth who was recovering from surgery. On June 21st, the couple was legally married alongside other couples in West Hollywood Park. Ruth passed away approximately three weeks after the interview.
Ruth Sullivan and Claudia Brick give an oral history of their lives. They talk about getting married in West Hollywood after it was legalized in California. Recorded July 2011.
Interviewee: Ruth Sullivan
Interviewee: Claudia Brick
Interviewer: Marcia Schwemer
Transcriber: Janice C.
Transcriber: Diana K.
Formatter: Serena R.
Recording Date: July 20, 2011
Release Date: May 9, 2020
Location: Unknown
Interview Length: 00:01:11