Darrell and Kenny went to a concert to celebrate four years of marriage. What stayed with them was a painful moment — and the strangers who chose to respond with kindness.
In a Facebook account reported by Queerty, Rev. Darrell Goodwin says he and his husband attended John Violinist’s November 7 show at The Bushnell in Hartford, Connecticut.
The musician, also known as John Randolph, invited couples celebrating anniversaries to stand. Goodwin says they joined the other couples, but were left unacknowledged while those around them received congratulations.
According to Goodwin, audience members pointed towards the two men, yet they still were not recognised. Eventually, they sat down.
The woman who crossed the room
Goodwin described feeling humiliated, as though their marriage had become invisible in a room full of people.
Then a woman from the front row approached. She embraced the couple, told them she saw and loved them, and wished them a happy anniversary.
Others nearby offered congratulations as well.
“The audience did what the artist would not,” Goodwin wrote.
He also made clear that he could describe the experience and its impact without claiming to know the performer’s intentions.
That distinction matters. His account concerns how the couple were treated and how it felt to them.
A marriage they invited others to celebrate
There is a meaningful history behind this anniversary. The couple’s 2022 wedding announcement invited the public to their ceremony at Asylum Hill Congregational Church in Hartford.
Goodwin and Kentavis “Kenny” Brice wanted to celebrate Black gay love and the connections between Black, LGBTQ+ and faith communities. Their ceremony took place on October 29, 2022.
Goodwin serves as Executive Conference Minister and President of the Southern New England Conference of the United Church of Christ. The conference’s biography describes his work leading nearly 600 congregations across Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
For a couple who had welcomed a community into their wedding, being acknowledged during an anniversary celebration was a simple request.
Private apologies, and a request for more
In an update to Queerty’s report, Goodwin said Randolph had apologised privately. He said The Bushnell had also apologised and promised a refund, and both had offered to meet.
The couple were still seeking public statements in that update. Goodwin’s position was that a public hurt deserved a public response.
Alongside that unresolved request, there is a gesture worth remembering: a woman saw two people feeling excluded and went over to affirm their marriage.
She gave them a hug, congratulations and a moment of recognition when they needed it.
📷 Rev Goodwin