Meet Rand Hoch, Esq., Political Activist & Tidal Wave

Each time a person stands for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, they send a tiny ripple of hope,” Robert Kennedy famously said. We spoke with Rand Hoch about his 56 years activism, which was more like a tidal wave of passion.

You are a highly respected mediation attorney, founder of the Palm Beach Human Rights Council, president of the organization’s board of directors. You served on the boards of directors of two national organizations: Lambda Legal and the National LGBTQ Task Force, formerly known as the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. And in 1992 you became Florida’s first openly LGBTQ+ judge. As a Democratic Party activist, you have chaired the Palm Beach County Democratic Executive Committee and have attended 17 Democratic National Conventions. In 2016, you represented Florida on the Democratic Party’s Platform Committee. Where did this drive come from?

I grew up in the 1960s when students took to the streets to protest the war in Vietnam and call attention to environmental concerns. In 1969 there was a special election in Massachusetts. Republicans ran State Senator Bill Saltonstall, whose family had been politically active in Massachusetts in the early 1600s. The Democrats ran anti-war State Representative Mike Harrington. Mike and I spent the summer knocking on doors, calling voters and attending campaign events.

The campaign caught national attention as a referendum against the Vietnam War and Richard Nixon. Much to everyone’s surprise, the district voted Democrat for the first time in over a half-century and Mike was elected. This was an empowering experience, and I believed that, by working together, young people might just change the world for the better.

Shortly after that campaign ended, I was recruited to be an organizer for a statewide campaign to lower the voting age in Massachusetts. In November, voters passed the initiative lowering the voting age in Massachusetts to 19. When I was invited by Governor Francis Sargent to attend the bill signing ceremony in his office, I needed to get a note from my mother to my high school principal so I could take the day off. At the ceremony, I was the youngest person in the room!

Tell us about the vision and mission statement of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council and why you founded it?

Our mission statement: The PBCHRC is Florida’s oldest independent, non-partisan, political organization dedicated to ending discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression. PBCHRC promotes equality through education, advocacy, direct action, impact litigation and community outreach. Over the years, PBCHRC has been responsible for the implementation of 160 laws and policies providing equal protections, rights and benefits for the LGBTQ+ community.

In 1974, I was a sophomore at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. That year, a bill was introduced in Congress to add “sexual orientation” into the nation’s civil rights laws. Over the years, various versions of the bill have been introduced in Congress, but after 50 years, the federal laws have not been changed to protect the rights of LGBTQ+ Americans.

In 1984, during the summer before my last year of law school, I clerked for a real estate law firm in North Palm Beach and was offered a position with the firm. I asked the managing partner, “How is my being gay going to affect my ability to become a partner five to six years down the road?” To make a long story short, the firm soon denied they had made me an offer, and I turned my attention during my last year of law school to labor law. My goal was to ensure that the discrimination I faced would become illegal in Florida. So, that was my impetus for founding PBCHRC in 1988.

You told me a story of being an early activist for gay rights, and about your television appearances. It made me laugh out loud because of the irony, and as archaic as your treatment was, it shows how far we have come. Can you tell us about those days and the title you were given under your name on interviews? What was your parents’ reactions, and how did it make you feel?

There had been no gay rights laws in Florida since 1977, when short a short-lived Miami-Dade County law was repealed following a hate-filled campaign by Florida orange juice spokesperson Anita Bryant. In 1989, PBCHRC geared up a campaign to get a countywide gay rights law enacted. As the lead advocate for the campaign, I did a lot of the media. (I appeared) on one local station in an interview that went well, but when I appeared on the screen, the caption identifying me read: “Rand Hoch, Homosexual.”

You would think they would have used “Gay Rights Activist.” My mom went from being initially hesitant to being really proud about this. She would cut out articles from the newspapers and send them to relatives up north with a note saying, “Look at what Rand and his friends are accomplishing here.” A true gay pride moment!

Do you and the LGBTQ+ community feel at home in Palm Beach as I do? What are your thoughts on this, now and moving forward from 2024?

Thanks to the work of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council, more than 150 local laws and policies now exist providing equal rights, protections and benefits for LGBTQ+ people. That is probably more than exists in Florida’s other 66 counties combined! Up until a few years ago, Palm Beach County was one of the best places east of the Rockies and south of the Mason-Dixon line for LGBTQ+ people to live, attend school, work, raise families and retire.

But then there was the initial passage of “Don’t Say Gay” laws in Florida. Once the legislative session ends, PBCHRC and other LGBTQ+ rights organizations in Florida will strategize on what can be done in Florida to best protect our community.

In a few words, tell us who that young man was who had the courage to register voters 56 years ago and to be seen as “out” for close to five decades. What is the importance of that?

To a great degree, I’m still the same young activist, despite the passage of time. I feel obligated to organize people to create positive change. At my 50th high school reunion, many told me how proud they were when “we” lowered the voting age, stopped the Vietnam War, and that I was still politically active.

Despite all the obstacles the LGBTQ+ community faces because powerful elected officials feel good about demonizing us, I’m not ready to throw in the towel. I take pride in my efforts to recruit and mentor young people to join the LGBTQ+ rights movement — and have no intention of stopping until all of us are treated fairly, regardless of our sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.

FINAL NOTE FROM THE WRITER

Finally, to make reference to Rand’s mom, I too had a gay pride moment after having drinks with Rand and some friends on Worth Avenue. Feeling comfortable proud and free, I tipped my glass to Rand, knowing that because of him and his activism and work, my life is bathed in his tidal wave activism. So, a toast to him, to “Out in Palm Beach” and to this publication.

Frank D’Agostino is a playwright, composer, executive producer, figure skater and active member in the Southern Florida community.