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COMMUNITY EVENT | READ FOR FILTH: CELEBRATING BANNED BOOKS & JAMES BALDWIN’S 100TH BIRTHDAY
Join the GLBT Historical Society and Books Not Bans for a celebration of banned books and the works of James Baldwin! A Black and gay writer, activist, and one of the most incisive and eloquent voices at the intersections of racial justice and queer acceptance, James Baldwin would have turned 100 this year in August, and we are highlighting his work, legacy, and impact on literature and queer history, amid a time when his work and other Black and queer creative legacies are being banned and challenged throughout the country.
Come to the GLBT Historical Society Museum for an evening of live readings from Baldwin’s works, drag performances inspired by Baldwin and the music and LGBTQ artists he surrounded himself with, and a discussion on the power of literature and performance toward liberation.
Fabulosa Books will be at the museum with a selection of James Baldwin books for purchase.
LOCATION
GLBT Historical Society Museum, 4127 18th St., San Francisco, CA 94114
ADMISSION
RSVP and purchase tickets here
PERFORMERS
Afrika America (she/her/hers) – Social Justice Warrior, Activist, Producer and Performer… These are just a few adjectives that characterize this phenomenal Drag Out the Vote Ambassador. She produces and performs in multiple shows throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, Chicago and around the country. Recently she won the title of Miss California Gold for the Ducal Council of San and was the Chairman for the Bay Area Queer Nightlife Coalition that pushed for diversity, equity and inclusion in all queer spaces! Having performed all over the world from Singapore to Cologne to Sydney, Australia and on America’s Got Talent…. She’s our DIVAlicious Dreamgirl …. Afrika America!!! @afrikaamerica
Anthony Rollins-Mullens (he/him/his) – is a native San Franciscan, performing here both on stage and in independent films for many years. His theatrical credits include the Narrator/Mysterious Man in Into the Woods, the Sheriff in the West Coast premiere of Groundhog Day, Willie in The View Upstairs, Caractacus Potts in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Toad in A Year With Frog and Toad, Louis Armstrong in Ella, the Musical, Tom Collins in Rent, Fred in Smokey Joe’s Cafe, Willie in Master Harold…and the Boys, and Waymon as Hunter Priestess in Good Goods. Anthony has had the joy of working with many storytelling companies, including American Conservatory Theater, Berkeley Playhouse, San Francisco Playhouse, New Conservatory Theatre Center, Oakland Theater Project, and Center REPertory Company. rollinsmullens.com
Coco Buttah (she/they) is a Non-Binary, Oakland based actor, dancer and drag queen, who performs all over the Bay Area and beyond. Coco grew up performing musical theater from a very young age. After being cast in a local production of La Cage Aux Folles they fell in love with drag and almost 10 years later, she is still going strong, she even chose her drag name from a broadway show. Coco likes to incorporate their love of theater, dance, comedy, and camp into her drag performances, and loves to spread joy and happiness when they perform. @cocobuttah85
Location
GLBT Historical Society Museum, 4127 18th St., San Francisco, CA 94114
Admission
Admission is free for members and $20 for non-members, though no one will be turned away for lack of funds. This event will likely sell out, so guests are encouraged to reserve their tickets early. Tickets are available here.
Join the GLBT Historical Society
Become a member of the GLBT Historical Society for free museum and program admission, discounts in the museum shop and other perks throughout the year.
As Mpox Numbers Rise, Officials Encourage Awareness, Vaccination
Cases of mpox are increasing in LA County, and it is important for residents of Los Angeles County to take precautions against this contagious disease.
Spread by personal contact, mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, is continuing to present as a sexually transmitted infection. Seventeen more cases have been reported by July 25th this year than had been reported by July 25th last year. (73 vs. 56 Year-to-Date reported cases).
Given the jump in cases since last year, officials from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health(Public Health) are urging residents to take precautions and reduce the risk of spread.
Sonali Kulkarni, Medical Director for Public Health’sDivision of HIV and STD Programs, said only 51% of the overall at-risk population for mpox has received the 2-dose regimenof the JYNNEOS vaccine, formulated to prevent transmission and reduce symptoms of infection. And of that population, only 22% of persons living with diagnosed HIV have received both doses.
Since its initial surge nationally in 2022, mpox has disproportionately affected gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men. Vaccination against mpox has shown to be protective against symptomatic mpox, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“We’re seeing a slight increase in cases relative to last year locally and nationally. Over the last six months, we have seen an average oftwo cases per week, but in the last 3 monthswe’ve seen 3.5 cases per week.There’s a lot of room for improvement in the at-risk population to vaccinate against mpox and prevent further cases. The vaccine is now available commercially and available at different sites, including public health clinics and mobile outreach teams, community clinics, and pharmacies.” Kulkarni said.
JYNNEOS is a two-dose series vaccine available at Public Health’s STD clinics or at any walk-up Public Vaccinating site. Ideally, the vaccines will be taken 1 month apart. The mobile outreach team will be on site at community events and festivals in the Los Angeles area to administer the first or second vaccines.
“We don’t anticipate mpox going away completely, but it’s something people should be aware of, so they know to take precautions and recognize symptoms,” Kulkarni said.
“Mpoxcan be spread easily through touch. If you know you are going to have more physical contact with people, especially with increased social activity this summer, it’s important to consider getting vaccinated against the disease,” Kulkarni said.
Symptoms of mpox can range from mild to severe and appear in the form of a rash that may look like bumps, pimples, blisters, sores or scabs, anywhere on the body. Other flu-like symptoms may appear such as fever, chills, exhaustion, head or muscle aches, and swollen lymph nodes.
If you are experiencing symptoms, it’s important to seek guidance from your healthcare provider as soon as possible. Cover all areas of the rash with clothing, gloves, bandages and wear a mask to minimize the risk of spreading the virus. Avoid aggravating the rash by touching or scratching it — to reducethe chancesthat it will become infected.
“Generally, people who are healthy can expect lesions to improve on their own over the course of three to four weeks. We recommend most people are treated for the symptoms they are experiencing — fever reduction, numbing medications for mouth lesions, pain relief. For people who are immunocompromised or immunosuppressed, or have other vulnerabilities, this can be a really serious infection,” Kulkarni added.
For more information and to schedule an mpox vaccine appointment near you, visit myturn.ca.gov or call the Public Health Info Line at (833) 540-0473, 7 days a week 8:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
A gay weed activist turned dispensary owner is ready to pass the torch
In 2021, Terrance Alan celebrated the long-anticipated opening of Flore, a well-appointed cannabis dispensary just across the street from the legendary and now-closed Castro hangout Cafe Flore, a victim of the COVID pandemic.
Thirty years earlier, at the height of another devastating health crisis, Alan was a regular at Cafe Flore with his husband, who was HIV positive and slowly succumbing to the effects of the disease.
“Cafe Flore was a stop on the underground railway line for experimental HIV drugs, and my husband and I would go and hang out,” Alan explained in an interview with Greenstate. “And certain people would come around, and we would learn about this, that, and the other thing. Of course, nothing worked, but at least we generated a little bit of hope every time we tried something.”
At the same time, cannabis was providing relief that conventional therapies couldn’t, and illicit grows were popping up all over San Francisco.
So Alan joined a wave of indoor growers dialing in lighting, temperature, humidity and everything else to make cannabis happy absent the sun. Over time, he helped cultivators across the city with set-ups for HIV-positive patients like his husband.
It wasn’t without risk.
One night, the couple woke up to a SWAT team at the door of their warehouse home in search of his grow room — he was arrested in possession of 120 plants.
According to Alan, he was accused of being a part of “Dennis Peron’s gay weed mafia.”
Peron was a legendary figure in both the LGBTQ+ and cannabis communities as an early proponent of medical cannabis in service of AIDS patients. He had arrived in San Francisco after serving in Vietnam and, as a “Yippie,” famously organized cannabis “smoke-ins” around the city. He was an early supporter of slain Supervisor Harvey Milk, and when the AIDS crisis struck he was selling illicit weed out of Castro Street storefronts.
The day after Alan’s arrest, Peron showed up at his door. A trip to City Hall to meet the power brokers who could help make legal weed in San Francisco and California a reality followed.
A few years later, Peron would author Proposition 215, which legalized medical cannabis in the state.
“Being around Dennis, you learned that you were either part of the solution or part of the problem,” Alan said.
Alan’s own evolution to activist occurred following another bust by SFPD. This time the cops showed up to a New Year’s Party Alan threw in 1995 in honor of his late husband.
“They were not happy,” Alan said of the cops called to one last bust just after four in the morning. “And they showed their unhappiness by taking my drag queen, transgender, and differently attired guests who were at my event and showing them off by making fun of them in front of the other police officers.”
Twenty-eight people were arrested and thrown in the drunk tank.
That confrontation with police, “over a memorial for my husband who just died,” was the moment that cemented Alan as an activist, he said.
One result was the San Francisco Late Night Coalition, which advocated for city entertainment and permit reform and led to the formation the San Francisco Entertainment Commission, now a crucial city regulatory body.
Another was Alan’s cannabis advocacy: he pushed for legalization in different forums and was serving as chair of the San Francisco State Cannabis Legalization Task Force when Prop 64, the initiative that legalized recreational cannabis in California, was passed in 2016.
His Castro cannabis outpost, Flore, soon followed, and the activist still has the small cultivators at the top of his mind.
“The deck is stacked against the small operator, the small farmer, and the legacy farmer,” Alan explained. “The consumers’ most important tool is their dollars. If they do not spend their dollars at stores on products that are well grown, well packaged, and well presented, then that part of the industry will not survive.”
From his perch in the purple-hued Flore storefront, Alan is now focused on passing his legacy — and Peron’s — onto the next generation of politically minded advocates.
“I’m at the stage where I would like to empower young activists,” Alan shared. “I’m not the activist anymore. I am the Dennis Peron knocking on your door, teaching you to be an activist.”
Gay San Francisco Supervisor candidate reveals he was the victim of alleged homophobic hate crime
An out gay man said he was the victim of a frightening homophobic assault while campaigning for a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
Trevor Chandler said he was about to canvass a street in his Mission District neighborhood on Sunday, July 23, when a man started yelling homophobic slurs at him.
He said he crossed the street to avoid a confrontation, but the man followed Chandler. The man then lifted what prosecutors described as a “four-foot A-frame sign” and hurled it at him.
It was at this point Chandler understood the seriousness of the situation.
“I realized it was more than just some random one-off situation,” Chandler told local NBC affiliate KNTV. “It was something much more serious and scary.”
Chandler used his cell phone to call the police while the man followed him. He was able to seek safety in the apartment of strangers. The man fled the scene on foot but returned while police were taking Chandler’s statement. He was immediately detained by the police.
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins on Thursday identified the man as Jeffrey Landon, 58, in a press release. He has been charged with one count of assault with a deadly weapon and an additional hate crime count.
“Hate crimes have no place in San Francisco and will be prosecuted,” Jenkins said in a statement. “We are proud of our diversity and will do everything we can to protect the safety of all our people. Hate crimes deeply impact individual victims and the larger community by sowing hate, mistrust, and division. We will not allow hate to flourish in San Francisco and stand for justice.”
Chandler, who was endorsed last week as the top pick of the San Francisco Democratic Party in the race for the District 9 Supervisor seat, told the Bay Area Reporter the attack was “pretty scary” and left him “shaken” despite his “fairly stoic” disposition.
But Chandler also said he remains undaunted, that the attacks underscore his focus on crime and safety issues, and that he will not stop canvassing streets.
“This is sadly too common,” he told the Reporter. “Too many folks in San Francisco are experiencing incidents like this, and it reinforces why I’m so serious about safety in my campaign and I’m grateful for the SFPD and the DA, Brooke Jenkins, very quickly acting on this, and I’m going to keep going door-to-door. Nothing’s going to stop me from going out to talk to voters.”
Landon pleaded not guilty to all charges. He is being held without bail. He is due next in court on August 6 for a preliminary hearing.
Transgender business program honored for helping people build economic power
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors recognized a local trans nonprofit this week for its program supporting trans and nonbinary entrepreneurs.
During its regular meeting at San Francisco City Hall on Wednesday, the board bestowed its Certificate of Honor to Transgender District in recognition of the group’s Entrepreneurship Accelerator Program, according to local LGBTQ+ outlet The Bay Area Reporter.
Citing a 2021 Center for LGBTQ Economic Advancement & Research study, which found that only four percent of small businesses in the U.S. are owned by queer entrepreneurs, out Supervisor Rafael Mandelman applauded Transgender District for addressing the disparity “by providing valuable support to trans entrepreneurs, who face significant barriers when following their small business dreams.”
Since its inception in 2020, Tenderloin-based Transgender District’s Entrepreneurship Accelerator Program has helped 37 trans and nonbinary people launch businesses. The annual four-month program provides webinars, mentorship, one-on-one coaching, and more, all free of charge to participants, as well as a $10,000 seed grant to those who finish.
Mandelman went on to praise some of the program’s graduates, who have gone on “to pursue a wide variety of business endeavors.”
“Thanks to support from the district, program graduate Jessica Lamb founded Open Doors HR, an LGBTQ+ and AAPI-led HR team. Avery Zeus started a catering company, Concept Kitchen, which works to create community through food, providing meals for many LGBTQ+ [individuals],” he said.
Carlo Gomez Arteaga, co-executive director of Transgender District along with Breonna McCree, accepted the honor Wednesday, surrounded by participants in the 2024 program as well as Transgender District program director Sam Favela, and members of the San Francisco Office of Transgender Initiatives, including Transgender District co-founder Honey Mahogany.
“Our programs are vital,” Arteaga said, noting that of the four percent figure cited by Mandelman “an even smaller percentage of those are trans-led or nonbinary-led businesses.”
“So we really want to uplift the importance of what this funding and these opportunities mean for our community,” he continued, “especially during these years where we’re ‘otherized’ and many in our community are criminalized for just existing when we just want dignity and the ability to have civil rights and liberties as anyone else in the U.S.”
Arteaga noted that San Francisco’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development, which provides funding for the program, has been “instrumental in helping us not only further the ideas into fruition of our entrepreneurs but also funding the next stages of what that looks like for us.”
Arteaga went on to highlight the confidence Transgender District’s program builds in its graduates as well as the importance of “the leadership of a city like San Francisco that can work towards expanding the tapestry of what our community businesses look like, and extending that opportunity to our community’s most vulnerable and marginalized residents.”
As The Bay Area Reporter noted, the 2024 Entrepreneurship Accelerator Program is already well underway, concluding next month. Mandelman recognized participants in this year’s program present at City Hall on Wednesday, telling them, “I am so excited to watch you thrive and, in turn, contribute to San Francisco’s vibrant small business community.”
California is 1st state to ban school rules requiring parents be notified of child’s pronoun change
California became the first state to bar school districts from requiring staff to notify parents of their child’s gender identification change under a law signed Monday by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The law bans school rules requiring teachers and other staff to disclose a student’s gender identity or sexual orientation to any other person without the child’s permission. Proponents of the legislation say it will help protect LGBTQ students who live in unwelcoming households. But opponents say it will hinder schools’ ability to be more transparent with parents.
The legislation comes amid a nationwide debate over local school districts and the rights of parents and LGBTQ students.
“This law helps keep children safe while protecting the critical role of parents,” Brandon Richards, a spokesperson for Newsom, said in a statement. “It protects the child-parent relationship by preventing politicians and school staff from inappropriately intervening in family matters and attempting to control if, when, and how families have deeply personal conversations.”
The new law comes after several school districts in California passed policies requiring that parents be notified if a child requests to change their gender identification. That led to pushback by Democratic state officials, who say students have a right to privacy.
But Jonathan Zachreson, an advocate in California who supports the so-called parental notification policies, opposes the law and said telling parents about a student’s request to change their gender identification is “critical to the well-being of children and for maintaining that trust between schools and parents.”
States across the country have sought to impose bans on gender-affirming care, bar transgender athletes from girls’ and women’s sports, and require schools to out trans and nonbinary students to their parents. Some lawmakers in other states have introduced bills with broad language requiring that parents are told of any changes to their child’s emotional health or well-being.
The California law led to heated debate in the state Legislature. LGBTQ lawmakers have shared stories about how it was difficult for them to decide when to come out to their families, arguing that transgender students should be able to share that part of their identity on their own terms. State Assemblymember Bill Essayli, a Republican representing part of Riverside County, is an outspoken opponent of the law. He has criticized Democratic leaders for preventing a bill he introduced last year — that would have required parents to be told of their child’s gender identification change — from receiving a hearing.
In Northern California, the Anderson Union High School District board approved a parental notification policy last year. But the teachers union recommended that teachers not enforce the rule while the union is involved in a labor dispute with the district over the policy, said Shaye Stephens, an English teacher and president of the teachers association at the district.
The notification policies put teachers in an unfair position, Stephens said.
“It’s kind of a lose-lose situation for teachers and administrators or anybody that’s being asked to do this. I don’t think it’s safe for students,” she said. “I do not think that we are the right people to be having those conversations with a parent or a guardian.”
Equality California on the Passage of AB 1955, the SAFETY Act
Equality California, the nation’s largest statewide LGBTQ+ civil rights organization, issued the following statement from Executive Director Tony Hoang in response to the passage of AB 1955, the SAFETY Act, through both houses of the California legislature following a successful 60-15 vote in the Assembly:
“With LGBTQ+ young people under attack in California from extremist politicians and school boards seeking to prevent them from safely being themselves at school, the SAFETY Act could not be more timely or necessary. We are thrilled to see it headed to Governor Newsom’s desk.
While today’s Assembly floor vote was successful, anti-LGBTQ+ politician Bill Essayli took the opportunity to be disruptive, attempt to delay the process, and spew misinformation harmful to LGBTQ+ youth and their families. This serves as a stark reminder that though we have a pro-equality majority in Sacramento, our opponents will continue to use bigoted rhetoric and political circus stunts to attack our community.
We are thankful to Assemblymember Ward and the Legislative LGBTQ Caucus for spearheading this legislation and to the diverse coalition of partners that has supported this effort.
This critical legislation will strengthen protections for LGBTQ+ youth against forced outing policies, provide resources for parents and families of LGBTQ+ students to support them as they have conversations on their own terms, and provide critical safeguards to prevent retaliation against teachers and school staff who foster a safe and supportive school environment for all students.
We strongly urge Governor Newsom to sign this urgently needed bill as soon as possible.”
Equality California on the Release of 2023 Hate Crime in California Report
Equality California, the nation’s largest statewide LGBTQ+ civil rights organization, released the following statement from Executive Director Tony Hoang in response to the release of the 2023 Hate Crime in California report by the Office of California Attorney General Rob Bonta:
“The report released today by the Attorney General reveals that, although overall hate incidents have decreased across our state, those targeting the LGBTQ+ community saw a sharp increase.
Among the disturbing findings in the report are:
• A 4.1% increase in hate crimes motivated by sexual orientation bias
• A 10.2% increase in hate crimes motivated by anti-transgender bias
• An 86.4% increase in hate crimes targeting the broader LGBTQ+ communityThese statistics aren’t a surprise. Hate does not happen in a vacuum. Over the past several years, we have seen a sharp increase in anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric being expressed by far-right extremists and hate groups. This year alone, more than 600 pieces of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation were introduced across the country, including right here in California. The data in this report makes it clear: anti-LGBTQ+ laws and policies directly result in physical intimidation, harassment, and acts of violence. No person should have to live with fear of being themselves, and we must be very clear that hate has no place in California.
Ensuring that LGBTQ+ Californians know their rights and have the proper resources to report a hate incident is one of our top priorities. Through our Stop the Hate program, in collaboration with the California Department of Social Services, Equality California has developed and provided comprehensive, affirming resources and support for survivors of hate crimes. Equality California will continue to work with our legislative allies in Sacramento to support initiatives and legislation that aim to increase the safety of LGBTQ+ people and the diverse communities in which we belong.
We are grateful to Attorney General Rob Bonta for his steadfast support for all LGBTQ+ Californians, especially LGBTQ+ youth who continue to face unprecedented attacks simply for being who they are.”
If you or someone you know has experienced a hate incident, please visit eqca.org/stopthehate.
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Equality California is the nation’s largest statewide LGBTQ civil rights organization. We bring the voices of LGBTQ people and allies to institutions of power in California and across the United States, striving to create a world that is healthy, just, and fully equal for all LGBTQ people. We advance civil rights and social justice by inspiring, advocating and mobilizing through an inclusive movement that works tirelessly on behalf of those we serve. www.eqca.org
This church has two giant red ribbons to let “the community know they were loved and accepted”
If you’ve ever driven into Hollywood south on the 101 freeway, following signs for the Hollywood Bowl and Highland Avenue, then you were met with the sight on your right of the iconic Gothic bell tower at the Hollywood United Methodist Church.
Dedicated in 1930, as Hollywood boomed and Los Angeles stretched west to the Pacific, the church has been “a sanctuary of hope” since the first congregants started to organize in 1909.
That tradition famously took the form of two enormous red ribbons hung on the bell tower in the 1990s.
“Our church has been proud supporters of our LGBTQIA+ family for decades,” Associate Pastor Devon Jones tells LGBTQ Nation. “Especially back in the early 1990s during the AIDS crisis, when people were being turned away from family and friends.”
In response, “We put two huge red AIDS ribbons on our bell tower, letting the community know they were loved and accepted.”
For years, the Hollywood United Methodist Church has pulled out all the stops for the annual LA Pride Parade, which stepped off a stone’s throw from the church on a route through the heart of Hollywood in 2023.
They requisitioned a double-decker Hollywood tour bus for the occasion, spreading a message of joy and celebrating 30 years since they raised those iconic red ribbons that are a clarion call for love and acceptance in the Southland.
“We want everyone to know there are communities of faith like ours that celebrate and are affirming of our LGBTQIA+ family,” Jones says.
“We are the LGBTQIA+ community, and we also have many allies who love and support us. We believe in a loving God who made us all just how we were meant to be.”