by Kelly Rogge
Kansas City Kansas Community College is wrapping up its celebration of Women’s History Month with a presentation of “Bridegroom.”
“Bridegroom” is based on a YouTube video, “It Could Happen to You,” created by Shane Bitney Crone after his partner Tom Bridegroom unexpectedly died. The 10-minute video released on the one year anniversary of Tom’s death focuses on Shane and Tom’s story, particularly the injustice Shane faced after his partner died. The video went viral, garnering more than 4 million hits and was later turned into a full-length documentary.
There will be two presentations of “Bridegroom” – 11 a.m. to noon and noon to 1 p.m., both on Wednesday, March 25 in Room 2325 of Lower Jewell. Crone will be the featured speaker and will be showing parts of “Bridegroom” as part of his presentation.
“Shane and Tom’s story is very moving,” said Barbara Clark-Evans, director of the Intercultural Center at KCKCC. “It is a story of love, courage and resiliency. Additionally, bullying, marriage equality and the power of social media are all current topics in today’s society.”
Crone, who grew up in Kalispell, Mont., is an activist, speaker, writer and filmmaker. He moved to Los Angeles to pursue his dream of working in the entertainment industry after he graduated from high school. Today he travels throughout the United States to promote “Bridegroom” as well as to campaign for LGBTQ rights. The program is co-hosted by the Intercultural Center, the Women’s Resource Center, Women’s Studies, Workforce Development, the Campus Art Committee, AAUW and the OQS Diversity Club, the gay-straight alliance at KCKCC.
Directed by Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, who created the hit television series “Designing Women,” “Bridegroom” tells the journey of Shane and Tom as two young men in a loving and committed relationship. Unfortunately, that relationship was tragically cut short after Tom’s accidental death. The documentary was released in 2013 and showcases the couple’s life together while also exploring the consequences of marriage bans. It has received numerous awards including those at the Tribeca Film Festival and the Los Angeles Outfest Film Festival.
“It is important to have diversity events on this campus so that our college community has the opportunity to learn about differences and find commonality in our experiences,” Clark-Evans said. “This presentation provides the audience with the opportunity to engage in conversation about these topics, as well as internalize outcomes through Shane’s experiences.”
Kelly Rogge is the public information supervisor at Kansas City Kansas Community College.