Community Announcements

the Trump administration rolled back health care protections for people who are transgender, so now doctors and health care facilities can legally discriminate against our transgender brothers and sisters. This is not acceptable.

June 13, 2020

Dear LGBTQ+ Community of New Orleans,

As former board members of Pride New Orleans, we would like to publicly apologize for the Facebook post made on June 6th. We fully endorse Black Lives Matter and we know that Pride is political. Many of us posted on our personal and business social media pages sharing our outrage regarding social injustice and police brutality in full support of the Black Lives Matter movement. Pride New Orleans should have as well. We also recognize that posts aren’t enough. Many of us have been individually active within the community and marching in the streets with our brothers and sisters of color. Sadly, the organization we were involved with was not.

NEWS & COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS Letter from Former Board Members of Pride New Orleans

We need to ensure that our elected officials work to protect all people of color and LGBTQ people from all discrimination. We all need to be engaged in the upcoming presidential election. This is not the time to sit on the sidelines. We all need to work together to support Black Lives Matter because black lives do matter and this includes black trans lives. Let us all do our part, as there is much work to do before we are all truly equal.

Chris Leonard, former Executive President of New Orleans Pride, published the Facebook post without consent from the Board, asking the community how they were celebrating Pride at home this year but stating, in the last sentence, “absolutely no politics allowed.’ After a considerable backlash from the community, Leonard took the post down as well as the Pride New Orleans Facebook page. Later, it was reactivated.

On Sunday, June 7th, a Board meeting was scheduled for Tuesday, June 9th. The meeting was called to discuss Leonard’s actions, how we wanted to respond to the community, and how the Board would like to move forward in a different direction--highlighting the need for diversity; advocating for activism; ensuring we were all aligned with the Black Lives Matter movement; and that, moving forward, we would be political, within the rules of being a 501(c)(3).

On Tuesday, June 9th, Leonard publicly resigned via his personal Facebook page, after sharing with potential performers for Pride and other third parties involved with the organization, again without consulting or communicating with the Board. Leonard did not attend the Board meeting later that evening to answer for his actions. The current Board asked for full transparency of the organization’s bank records and to dissolve the Executive Board. We asked for Leonard to be removed from all social media. We also asked Louisiana’s Secretary of State to remove him as Pride New Orleans’ Executive President of the Board.

Because of the incidents above, the undersigned Board Members have decided to resign and have asked for the current Executive Board to dissolve. We look forward to seeing a new, diverse, and transparent organization in the future, totally separate from the Executive Board under which we had served. We hope that the LGBTQ+ community can unify and come back together in the future, stronger than ever, to celebrate all of our unique qualities.

The Leadership and Board of for equality across the spectrum, but CrescentCare recognizes the trauTrustees of CrescentCare strongly dewe focus urgently and strategically on ma caused by systemic racism, police nounce the recent murders of Breonna protecting Black lives at CrescentCare. brutality and racial injustice. These Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd CrescentCare supports protesters factors make this a public health isand so many before them who died at who are exercising their freedom of sue that we will continue to address to the hands of racial injustice. speech and expressing their constituimprove health outcomes in the Black CrescentCare is a culturally humtional right to identify and reject injuscommunity. ble health care facility that welcomes tices. CrescentCare acknowledges that all in the community; however, we want CrescentCare recognizes that we we cannot make right all the wrongdoto make a strong statement to the New continue to look inward and deal with ings nor can we fix or change hundreds Orleans community (and communities racial inequality. We need to celebrate of years of oppression. What we can across America) that Black Lives Matour successes, and own and make do is commit to doing our part to reter to us. right our failures. spect the race, culture, and rights of all, As an organization, CrescentCare is committed to particularly at this moment, in the Black CrescentCare commits to a weltraining all staff to become more culturcommunity. coming, safe and respectful environally humble and understanding so that We see you. We hear you. And we ment for the Black community. we can better serve our patients, the will fight and stand with you against raCrescentCare will continue to fight community and each other. cial injustice. E X T R A C A S H E A R N Apply Now! Send your CV to info@ambushpublishing.com If you are looking for additional income, Seeking Self-Starters with Reliable Transportation for Magazine Distribution and Ad Sales 6 · The Official Gay Magazine of the Gulf South™: www.AmbushMag.com · June 16 – 29, 2020 · Official Southern Decadence Guide™ · www.SouthernDecadence.com

A Statement from CrescentCare on Black Lives Matter

We are asking that any remaining funds be donated to The New Orleans Workers’ Center For Racial Justice, GLSEN and The Trevor Project.

Sincerely, Michael Musa, Ryan Tardino, Sarah Manowitz, Tracey Deroche and Andrea Halstead

Letter to the Editor

Editor’s Note: The following letter ated, I thought. Boy, was I wrong. was sent to Jim Meadows of SAGE I was fi ne until DT’s election. AfNew Orleans. It is reprinted here with ter Trump’s election, I became “woke”. his and the author’s permission. The images of those alt-right men marching with tiki torches in Charlot

When asked if I’m ok, I usually give tesville, VA, were seared in my mind. the short answer. “I’m ok,” I typically reThere were hundreds of them. Wow! I ply. Here is the long answer. thought there are people out there who

For me, what is troubling is not really hate us and don’t want me and knowing whom to trust. Pre-Trump, I my family here. And now they’re emthought white attitudes were limited boldened by DT’s election. to benign neglect. Once I was called Then DT appointed Jeff Sessions, the “n” word by a guy in the Marigny. a southern Republican known for his We were casually conversing and out racist decisions as Alabama’s Attorney of the blue, he called me the “n” word. General and support of Confederate After the shock wore off, I didn’t think “ideals”. much of it. An apparent provocateur, I Then Steve Bannon was appointconcluded trying to provoke a hostile ed. reaction from me. With Don Trump in offi ce, I feared

The complaints of racism by family, for my friends and family. I feared that friends and co-workers were exaggerthings would regress back to segregation and Jim Crow days. For a time, I could not sleep without fl ashbacks and nightmares about Jim Crow lynchings and the Redemption Era and the Tulsa, Oklahoma, massacre. Images of Emmett Till’s savagely beaten body, once submerged in my subconscious, became conscious.

I have a nephew who looks just like Trayvon Martin. He is college-educated but does not trust the police at all. Could he be next? Once in New Orleans, he was stopped by police, driving while black. The police offi cer had his gun drawn because my nephew didn’t stop right away. Fortunately, he did not resist, and it ended well, this time. I fear not so much for myself, thinking (perhaps foolishly), that this gray hair might offer some degree of protection. Rather, I fear for the younger black men in my life.

These days, I am relieved. Relief came after attending a recent protest march for George Floyd. There were black people and white people and men and women and straight and gay people and young and old. (More young whites participated than blacks) My faith in American people and values have been cautiously restored with the outpouring of support. Many people are sick and tired of black lives being destroyed whether thru mass incarceration, health disparities or murder, and are realizing that police brutality and systemic racism are American problems, not just African American problems.

CrescentCare, a community Testing takes place at CrescentHalperin believes testing children is tested more than 1300 patients with health center, has started testing chilCare’s Walk-In Clinic located in the critical and important at this stage of 209 testing positive for COVID (a 15.7 dren 1 years of age or older for the ground fl oor garage at 1631 Elysian COVID. “As our city begins to open percent positivity rate). According to COVID-19 virus. Just like with adults, Fields Avenue from 9 am until 4 pm, and, especially as camps are now in Katherine Conner, linkage to care coorthe child must be showing signs or Monday–Friday. Please bring a picture session, it is essential to test all sympdinator, in the last week CrescentCare symptoms of the virus such as fever/ identifi cation and insurance card if you tomatic members of our community tested 111 people with only 5 testing chills, dry cough, stomach issues, have insurance. There is no-pay or deincluding children. CrescentCare recpositive (a 4.5 percent positivity rate). loss of taste and/or smell, sore throat, ductible collected. If you do not have ognizes the importance of testing as Dr. Halperin says he does see things headache, diffi culty breathing, muscle insurance, there is no out-of-pocket key to the process of re-opening and “trending in the right direction” but we or body aches. Symptoms may appear cost. we are here to serve our community.” still need to be cautious. from 2-14 days after exposure. Infectious disease doctor Jason Since March, CrescentCare has

To submit a letter to the editor for consideration, email our editor at reed@ambushpublishing.com.

CrescentCare begins testing children for COVID-19

Kenneth Mitchell