LGBTQ hate crimes in CA increase, AG’s report says
by Cynthia Laird
Despite an overall decrease in reported hate crimes in California last year, those committed against the LGBTQ community continued to rise, according to Attorney General Rob Bonta, who released the state’s 2023 report June 28.
According to the “2023 Hate Crime in California” report, reported hate crimes also increased against Jewish and Muslim communities.
Overall, reported hate crime events in California decreased by 7.1% from 2,120 in 2022 to 1,970 in 2023, according to the report.
“While it is heartening to see an overall decrease in hate crimes in 2023, some of our communities, including our LGBTQ+, Jewish and Muslim communities, continue to be targeted and endangered by hate at alarming rates. An attack against one of us is an attack against all of us – there is no place for hate in California,” Bonta stated in a news release accompanying the report.
According to the report, between 2022 and 2023, hate crime events motivated by sexual orientation bias increased by 4.1% from 391 in 2022 to 405 in 2023. Anti-transgender bias events increased by 10.2% from 59 in 2022 to 65 in 2023, and anti-LGBTQ+ bias events increased by 86.4% from 2022.
In the sexual orientation category, there were 231 anti-gay (male) 17 anti-lesbian, 151 antiLGBTQ+, and six anti-bisexual events.
Under gender, there were two anti-male, four anti-female, 65 anti-transgender, and 11 antigender-nonconforming events, the report stated.
Tony Hoang, a gay man who’s executive director of Equality California, the statewide LGBTQ+ rights organization, said the numbers aren’t a surprise.
“Hate does not happen in a vacuum,” Hoang stated in a news release. “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: antiLGBTQ+ laws and policies directly result in physical intimidation, harassment, and acts of violence,” he added. “No person should have to live with fear of being themselves, and we must be very clear that hate has no place in California.”
See page 13 >>
Sunny SF Pride parade ‘more magical than usual’
by John Ferrannini
The summer sun shone down on a packed Market Street for San Francisco’s LGBTQ Pride parade June 30, marking the end of a celebratory month and commemorating the 55th anniversary of the
Stonewall riots, which inaugurated the movement for queer liberation in the United States. The parade kicked off at 10:30 a.m. with the Dykes on Bikes roaring from Drumm Street, leading 50,000 people who were part of 220 contingents for several hours up Market Street to Eighth Street. Crowds also flocked to a few blocks away, in the Civic Center Plaza, for a celebration featuring grand marshal gay actor and singer Billy Porter, and an appearance by Congressmember Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), among others.
Russian River’s R3 resort put up for sale
by Matthew S. Bajko
One of the last remaining LGBTQ-focused resorts in Guerneville is being put up for sale. The listing for the R3 Hotel comes just as the busy summer tourist season in the Russian River area kicks into high gear, with crowds expected for the long, four-day Fourth of July holiday weekend.
The property went up for sale June 27 with an asking price of $4.564 million. The proceeds will be split among an investment group that numbers 17 people and will also benefit the LGBTQ nonprofits Face to Face based in Santa Rosa and the Desert AIDS Project of Palm Springs.
“Obviously, the new owners are entitled to make their own changes, but we would like to see it continue to be the gay and lesbian business in Guerneville,” said Glenn Dixon, 72, a gay man who is the chief financial officer for the resort.
Located at 16390 Fourth Street at Mill Street in downtown Guerneville about 90 minutes north of San Francisco, the R3 resort includes 23 guest rooms, a bar and restaurant, pool, and an event space. Dixon told the Bay Area Reporter that it is the only gay-owned full-service resort with such facilities under one roof in the U.S.
“It is important for me to leave that legacy behind for the future generations,” said Dixon. “I want to see it continue in some iteration of what it is today.”
Asked if that meant he and the resorts’ ownership
group want to see it remain an LGBTQ resort after it is sold, Dixon told the B.A.R. that is the goal. As for the prospects of selling the property this summer, with high interest rates hampering the property market over the last year, he was less certain.
“I wish I had a crystal ball,” said Dixon. “The difference here is we are looking for the right person and the right price. We don’t have to sell.”
Dixon had been friends with the previous owner, Ray Allen, for four decades and was named trustee of his personal estate, which included his stake in the
R3. (The moniker is derived from it formerly being called the Russian River Resort.)
Allen passed away in March 2020 right as the COVID pandemic began, and his partner of more than 25 years, Paul McBride, died on December 30 that year According to Dixon, the couple had been in talks to sell the resort in 2019, but when a flood damaged the property that February, the prospective buyers terminated the deal.
See page 12 >>
California Attorney General Rob Bonta spoke at the GLBT Historical Society Museum in San Francisco in 2021.
Christopher Robledo
The R3 Hotel in Guerneville,
John Ferrannini See page 8 >>
People danced as they carried the Latino Wellness Center banner in the June 30 San Francisco Pride parade.
Groups boycott Pride parade, protest Gaza war
by John Ferrannini
D
emonstrators took to the streets of San Francisco’s Castro and Mission neighborhoods June 30, boycotting the city’s Pride parade due to “sponsorship and participation” from politicians, groups, and corporations who didn’t call for, or opposed, a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip or who contract with the Israeli government.
The protest, “No Pride in Genocide: Queer and Trans March for Palestinian Liberation,” started at Church and Market streets and made its way down Church Street to the Mission before making its way to Castro and Market streets.
“We estimate somewhere between 1,000 and 1,500 people there, especially at the heart of the march,” Carla Schick, a queer and nonbinary person who is with Queers Undermining Israeli Terrorism!, told the Bay Area Reporter. “As we marched down Valencia [Street], people started to join in who hadn’t marched with us.”
Background on conflict
As the B.A.R. previously reported, the San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration Committee has been criti -
cized by groups on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which catapulted to the center of American political discourse after the events of October 7, 2023, when Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip (one of the two Palestinian territories),
killed 1,139 people in Israel in the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.
Since then, Hamas has been holding Israelis who were abducted October 7 as hostages in Gaza. (The number of hostages still being held
is 116 as of press time. Others have been released.)
Israel responded to the Hamas attack with an extensive bombing campaign in Gaza, and a ground invasion with the stated goal of destroying Hamas, which has led to the
deaths of over 37,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
The United States provides billions of dollars in military aid to Israel annually. The Biden administration has faced pressure from some Democrats and protesters to cut off that aid, or make it conditional on a ceasefire.
Much of the Gaza Strip is now under Israeli control, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu characterized the Gaza conflict as winding down in a recent interview on Israeli TV.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry determined both the Israeli government and Hamas have committed war crimes, and the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for the leaders of both Israel and Hamas. Biden denounced the ICC warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as “outrageous.” (This is separate from South Africa’s case in the International Court of Justice alleging that Israel is committing genocide in the Gaza Strip.)
The other Palestinian territory Israel has occupied since its victory in the Six Day War in 1967, the West Bank, is on the western side of the Jordan River from Jordan. The civil government there is the Palestinian National Authority, which is recognized by the U.N. and 145 countries as the government of Palestine.
SF march
The San Francisco demonstration was called because Mayor London Breed and other local politicians such as gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and gay supervisors Rafael Mandelman (District 8) and Matt Dorsey (District 6) didn’t support a January resolution at the Board of Supervisors calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. While Wiener did not vote on the issue, as he is now in the Legislature, Dorsey and Mandelman voted no on the measure, which passed 8-3. It took effect without the signature of Mayor London Breed.
Jesse Ehrensaft-Hawley is queer and gender-nonconforming and with Jewish Voices for Peace. They told the B.A.R. that another reason for the protest was because Amazon and Google participated in the SF Pride parade, and “they are designing technology used to surveil by the Israeli military the Palestinians in Gaza” and because the Jewish Community Relations Council, which also participated in the parade, was also opposed to the ceasefire resolution.
Breed, Amazon, Google, and JCRC did not return requests for comment.
Mandelman did not return a request for comment on the groups’ Pride boycott for a previous report. Wiener and Dorsey did, however. Dorsey stated before the parade he has “no specific response, other than that I’m looking forward to having a great time at Pride, where we celebrate our community and the wide diversity of opinions represented in it.”
Wiener, noting a poster for a June 23 gathering titled “Queer as in Intifada: SF Pride rides with genocide,” responded, “I don’t comment on hateful posts that literally contain the Hamas red triangle.”
As the B.A.R. previously reported, the board of SF Pride earlier this year called for a ceasefire in the conflict. A contingent from the Party for Socialism and Liberation was at the front of the city’s official Pride parade with a sign that read “Pride Means Fight Back! LGBTQ Solidarity with Palestine,” and chanting “stop the U.S. war machine!” The Pride committee did not return a request for comment.
for Palestine Sunday, June 30, in San Francisco. John Ferrannini
2024>>
Plenty of Pride on display at SF Trans March
by JL Odom
I
t was a sight to see: a multitude of light blue, white, and light pink horizontal stripes on clothing, signage, and flags of all sizes, including one that was more than 100 feet long.
Worn, carried, or waved, the three colors, uniformly representing transgender Pride, were prevalent throughout the crowd at the annual San Francisco Trans March held Friday, June 28.
“We are here, all of us, to represent the trans community,” said Arri Rodriguez, a participant who donned a trans Pride flag as a cape.
“And I’m here to say thank you to all of the people who have helped us and for the support that they’ve given to the community,” she added.
Thousands of attendees, including Rodriguez, gathered in Mission Dolores Park for what marked the 20th anniversary of the SF Trans March. A resource fair and live performances took place in the park prior to the march itself, which got underway just after 6 p.m.
“We had a bunch of amazing speakers and amazing performers and all spoke exactly how they felt.
Now we’re in the march and we have a huge flag. People want to be seen this year. So I think for the 20th anniversary, we did a big one, and I’m really happy with it,” said Trans March production organizer Niko Storment as he walked alongside the contingent.
This year’s Trans March – and Pride weekend as a whole – occurred during a critical time in history, with anti-trans legislation, discrimination and violence, an upcoming U.S. presidential election, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Palestine conflicts, and other key issues in the news and on people’s minds.
Storment, a queer trans man, spoke with the Bay Area Reporter about the local LGBTQ community and its influence in, and beyond, San Francisco.
“This year, we’re seeing a lot going on, both in the United States and in the rest of the world,” he said. “And the queer community here has always been a leader of the rest of the world, so we had a lot of pressure on us this year to represent that. But really, it’s the community here that already has that spirit within them, and all we really had to do as organizers was just amplify what’s already here.”
Rodriguez, who identifies as gay, had volunteered to help carry the massive Trans Pride flag featured in this year’s march and was holding
onto it as she spoke with the B.A.R. She commented that assistance and resources for the local trans and gender-nonconforming community should continue to be offered – and prioritized.
“Our sisters and brothers need help with a lot of things, like housing, jobs,” she said. “We have to find a good way through the hard [circumstances].”
In addition to the trans, nonbinary, lesbian, gay, and other Pride flags prevalent in the march, participants’ showcasing of Pride – and protest –included chants such as “When trans rights are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!” and signs reading “Protect trans kids” and “LGBTQ people stand against genocide. Free Palestine.” Several groups walked in the march, including one
with the banner, “Queer and trans health care workers stand with Palestine resistance.”
March organizers rode in a trolley that led the procession as it made its way up Dolores Street before turning right on Market, en route to the end destination: Turk and Taylor streets in the Tenderloin’s Transgender District, the site of the 1966 Compton’s Cafeteria riot.
That riot in August 1966 (the exact date is lost to history) was one of the first queer uprisings against police harassment and violence in American history, predating by three years the Stonewall riots in New York City that kick-started the modern day LGBTQ liberation movement. The San Francisco riot took place at what was at the time
Gene Compton’s Cafeteria, an allnight diner at the Turk and Taylor intersection frequented by LGBTQs. An officer reportedly grabbed at one trans woman in an attempt to arrest her. She retaliated, throwing a cup of coffee at his face. Then the fighting broke out.
Along the way to the historic intersection – the San Francisco Board of Supervisors designated it and the facade of the old cafeteria building a local landmark in 2022 – drivers on side streets honked their vehicles’ horns in support, and bystanders observed and cheered.
“We live along the route and just wanted to come out and cheer everybody on. We try to do it every year,” said Merg Gerwe, who stood on the sidewalk with friends, taking in the views as the marchers passed by.
Gerwe, a lesbian, touched upon the importance of being there to support trans and gender-nonconforming individuals. “It’s an election year,” she said. “We’ve got to stand up for everybody’s rights that could be in danger.”
Another spectator, Diane Dittbrenner, described the march as “very empowering and endearing.”
“I love to see the gay community, the transgender community, banding together and empowering each other and marching and being proud of themselves,” said Dittbrenner, a lesbian.
She noted that a gathering like the Trans March enables LGBTQ people to collectively demonstrate their Pride, while feeling safe doing so.
“I feel like the crowds every year are getting bigger and bigger and more people are becoming braver. We need to have a voice; we need to be out there and help and protect each other,” she said. t
San Francisco Trans March participants stood beside a giant trans flag that was carried during the June 28 event.
JL Odom
Lawmakers send outing students ban to Newsom
by Matthew S. Bajko
California lawmakers have sent Governor Gavin Newsom a bill aimed at prohibiting public school officials in the Golden State from outing transgender students to their parents or guardians without their permission.
A little over a month ago gay state Assemblymember Chris Ward (D-San Diego) had revived the legislation after pulling it last fall amid a lawsuit against one school district that had adopted such an outing policy and concerns from educators who wanted the bill’s language tweaked. Ward used the gut-and-amend approach to rewrite his Assembly Bill 1955 to insert the language banning the forced outing of transgender students by state public school officials unless doing so was needed to protect the youth from self-harm.
The bill, titled the SAFETY Act for Support Academic Futures & Educators for Today’s Youth Act, then sailed through the Legislature. The Senate adopted it June 13 on a 29-8 vote with three abstentions.
The Assembly passed it by a 60-15 vote Thursday, June 27, but not without some drama on the floor of the chamber. Gay Assemblymember Corey A. Jackson, Ph.D., (D-Perris) got into a heated exchange with Republican Assemblymember Bill Essayli (R-Corona), who last year had co-authored a bill that would have forced the outing of trans students but died in committee.
Tony Hoang, a gay man who is executive director of the statewide LGBTQ+ civil rights organization Equality California, thanked Ward and the Legislative LGBTQ Caucus members for pushing
through the bill, which was vigorously opposed by anti-LGBTQ groups as an attack against the rights of parents. Hoang also called out Essayli in his statement he released shortly after the Assembly passed AB 1955.
“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,” stated Hoang. “This serves as a stark reminder that though we have a proequality majority in Sacramento, our opponents will continue to use bigoted rhetoric and political circus stunts to attack our community.”
In a lengthy post on X, Ward wrote he was “relieved” that AB 1955 made it out of the Legislature. The married father thanked those who had spoken
out in support of the bill over the past five weeks.
“I want to thank everyone who was respectful and debated this bill on its merits without using inflammatory rhetoric and hurtful language,” wrote Ward. “I also want to thank the LGBTQ+ students in school districts that have enacted forced outing policies for their bravery as the Legislature weighed in on this important issue.”
If enacted into state law, it would supersede any outing policies adopted by school districts and make them null and void. The bill also includes a provision protecting teachers who oppose such policies from retaliation by school district officials.
It would still allow school employees to disclose such information if they believe it will benefit a student who is experiencing a mental health issue or is at
risk to themselves or others and requires additional support or services than what the school can provide them.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta had filed a lawsuit last year against a Southern California school district in San Bernardino County that adopted such an outing policy. Amid the legal fight, the Chino Valley Unified School District Board of Education rescinded it in March after the San Bernardino County Superior Court issued a preliminary injunction order against it carrying out the transphobic policy.
Yet, because school officials have continued to say the policy is needed, Bonta is now seeking a final judgment to ensure the district cannot adopt it in the future. He noted such policies are a “hot issue” during a June 20 Zoom call with LGBTQ journalists, as the B.A.R. reported.
Bonta said his office is awaiting a final court decision “that could be helpful statewide.” There are at least seven pending lawsuits filed in either state or federal court pertaining to the outing policies, with some seeking to overturn those already adopted by school boards and others filed by parents or school employees in support of seeing their schools implement the policies.
On the LGBTQ media call Bonta noted his office has “shared with the court other policies. We need an order statewide that enjoins such policies from being implemented.”
Ward’s bill will be sent to Newsom for him to either sign or veto in the coming days. EQCA’s Hoang “strongly urged” the governor to sign it as soon as possible.
“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,” stated Hoang. “We are thrilled to see it headed to Governor Newsom’s desk.” It is the second of the LGBTQ caucus’ priority bills sent this month to Newsom. As the B.A.R. reported online June 26, Newsom signed into law that Wednesday Senate Bill 1278 requiring whoever occupies California’s gubernatorial office to annually proclaim December 1 as World AIDS Day.
Gay state Senator John Laird (DSanta Cruz), who ran an AIDS agency in Santa Cruz County during the height of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, authored it. It takes effect January 1. t
CA will officially recognize World AIDS Day
by Matthew S. Bajko
California will now officially recognize December 1 as World AIDS Day in perpetuity. It becomes the third such day of remembrance related to the LGBTQ community to be celebrated by the Golden State.
On June 26, days ahead of annual Pride celebrations in San Francisco, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Senate Bill 1278 that requires whoever occupies California’s gubernatorial office to annually proclaim December 1 as World AIDS Day. He did so without comment.
Gay state Senator John Laird (DSanta Cruz), who authored the bill, told the Bay Area Reporter his bill will take effect January 1. Thus, the proclamation requirement will begin with World AIDS Day in 2025.
In a news release his office sent out, Laird noted, “Establishing
World AIDS Day signifies California’s ongoing commitment to the fight against HIV.”
In a news release his office sent out, Laird noted, “Establishing World AIDS Day signifies California’s ongoing commitment to the fight against HIV.”
During the height of the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, Laird led a nonprofit service provider that cared for people infected with the disease in Santa Cruz County, as the B.A.R. noted in a story last month.
“When I was executive director of the Santa Cruz AIDS Agency in the 1980s, my mission was to keep people alive,” Laird recalled. “We are 40 years into the AIDS epidemic, and it is clear our efforts to educate and spread awareness are as important as ever. World AIDS Day allows us to stand with those currently living with an HIV or AIDS diagnosis and honor all the lives we have lost.”
As of 2022, 142,772 Californians were living with an HIV infection diagnosis, according to an annual report by the California Department of Public Health. In that same year, 4,882 Californians were newly diagnosed with HIV, and 2,169 Californians with HIV infections died.
Yet, unlike with countless other days recognized with gubernatorial proclamations, one for World AIDS Day has not been issued by a California governor. Last December marked the first time the dome of the State Capitol was lit red for World AIDS Day since its founding in 1988, according to Laird’s office.
Newsom will now be the first to issue a gubernatorial proclamation for the event observed across the globe. He was sent Laird’s bill after the state Assembly passed it June 13 by a 77-0 vote with two abstentions; the state Senate had passed it May 13 on a 36-0 vote.
A legislative analysis of SB 1278 noted that in his 2023 proclamation proclaiming December 1 as World
AIDS Day, President Joe Biden (D) had “encouraged the governors of the United States and the American people to join the HIV community in activities to remember those who have lost their lives to AIDS and to provide support, dignity, and compassion to people with HIV.”
Statewide LGBTQ advocacy organization Equality California was among a number of groups that supported SB 1278.
“Recognizing World AIDS Day every year is an opportunity to honor those we’ve lost and reaffirm our support for people currently living with and affected by HIV,” stated EQCA Executive Director Tony Hoang, a gay man. “We are grateful to Senator Laird for his leadership on this bill, which will help raise awareness, reduce stigma, and reinforce California’s commitment to funding lifesaving research, prevention, and treatment programs. It’s a vital reminder to continue working towards ending the HIV epidemic and creating
a world where everyone has access to the care and support they need.” Due to previous legislation enacted into law, California governors have been required to annually proclaim May 22 as Harvey Milk Day, in honor of the late gay San Francisco supervisor, the first out person to hold elected office in the state, and November 20 as Transgender Day of Remembrance, an event launched years ago by Bay Area Reporter Transmissions columnist Gwendolyn Ann Smith to honor those trans and gendernonconforming individuals killed in the U.S. in a given year.
California governors also are required to annually declare June as LGBTQ+ Pride Month.
All 12 members of the Legislative LGBTQ Caucus had signed on as co-authors of Laird’s bill. It was one of a number of priority pieces of legislation it aims to pass out of the Legislature this summer and see Newsom sign into law. t
Assemblymember Chris Ward introduced his SAFETY Act at a May 22 news conference. The bill has been sent to Governor Gavin Newsom.
Courtesy Ward’s office
The California Capitol was lit in red last year for World AIDS Day.
Courtesy KCRA-TV
Pride 2024>>
Dems shrug off Biden debate flub at Pride event
by Cynthia Laird
Speakers at the Alice B. Toklas LGBTQ Democratic Club’s annual Pride Breakfast largely ignored President Joe Biden’s underwhelming debate performance even as they emphasized the importance of reelecting America’s chief executive in November.
The White House dispatched second gentleman Doug Emhoff, husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, to the event, held Sunday, June 30, at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco. He did not mention the debate during his prepared remarks except to say “nothing has changed.” Biden was widely panned for his halting performance during the June 27 face-off with former President Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee.
The B.A.R. was later shooed away from Emhoff as he took photos with supporters as a reporter tried to ask if he had a comment about the debate. He did not do a media availability with reporters.
But Emhoff did tell the audience of about 600 that Trump “is still unfit for office.”
“This is a binary election – binary, which means you just have one or the other,” Emhoff said. “And on one side of the ledger, you still saw that at the debate – the lies, the deceit, just the things coming out of his mouth as a former president, let alone someone who wants to have office again.
“Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are the most pro-LGBTQ administration ever,” he added. “We know that all goes away” if they are not reelected.
Congressmember Nancy Pelosi (DSan Francisco), the former House speaker, did acknowledge Biden’s missteps when she addressed attendees at the top of the event.
“The other day wasn’t a plus for us. You have to be honest about that,” Pelosi said. “But on the other hand, what we saw on one side of the screen – if you see a splitscreen – is integrity, concern for people, answers to questions. What we saw on the
other side was dishonesty, misrepresentation, and no concern for people.”
Malcolm Kenyatta (D), a gay Black man who’s a Pennsylvania state representative running for statewide auditor general in November, told the audience that the election is “not going to be decided by the debate.”
“You ask what’s going to save democracy,” he said. “Look at the front of your [phone] camera. It’s you, my friend.”
San Francisco Mayor London Breed said she was ready to vote for the Democratic presidential ticket.
“We need to make sure Biden and Harris are elected so that we can save democracy,” she said.
Project 2025
Several speakers referenced the rightwing’s “Project 2025,” a massive transition plan led by the conservative Heritage Foundation and numerous other groups that critics say would strip rights from people. The plan could also be put to use by conservative political leaders even if Trump falls short at the ballot box.
It promotes a conservative administration and impacts the rights of marginalized
groups such as women, people of color, immigrants, and the LGBTQ community.
For example, Project 2025 states, “The next conservative President must make the institutions of American civil society hard targets for woke culture warriors. This starts with deleting the terms sexual orientation and gender identity (‘SOGI’), diversity, equity, and inclusion (‘DEI’), gender, gender equality, gender equity, gender awareness, gender-sensitive, abortion, reproductive health, reproductive rights, and any other term used to deprive Americans of their First Amendment rights out of every federal rule, agency regulation, contract, grant, regulation, and piece of legislation that exists.”
Gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) said that while Pride weekend was a “joyous” time, “let’s remember the work ahead ... and this Project 2025 BS.”
“They’ve actually done us a favor by telling us what they’re going to do,” he said, adding that anti-LGBTQ actions and laws in other states “are just a dry run” for the policies included in Project 2025. Emhoff also mentioned the document, calling it “a blueprint for fascism and authoritarianism.”
Repeal Prop 8 language
Kelley Robinson, a queer Black woman who’s president of the national Human Rights Campaign, gave a spirited speech in which she mentioned the importance of California residents voting to repealxthe “zombie” Proposition 8 language that is embedded in the state’s constitution despite the
2008 initiative later being overturned by federal courts. That led to the resumption of same-sex marriage in the Golden State in 2013.
Along with statewide LGBTQ+ rights group Equality California, HRC is one of the organizations leading the campaign to vote for the Freedom to Marry initiative that will appear on the November 5 ballot. Gay Assemblymember Evan Low (D-Cupertino) and Wiener co-authored Assembly Constitutional Amendment 5 last year; the Legislature passed it and it now moves on to voters, who have the final word.
Robinson referenced the 2004 “Winter of Love” in San Francisco when then-mayor Gavin Newsom ordered city officials to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Newsom, now California’s governor, was in San Francisco in early June to launch the Northern California campaign to repeal the outdated and homophobic Prop 8 language that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.
“I’m ready to repeal Prop 8 once and for all,” Robinson said. t
Second gentleman Doug Emhoff, center, posed for a photo with board members of the Alice B. Toklas LGBTQ Democratic Club after addressing the group’s annual pride breakfast June 30.
Cynthia Laird
Pennsylvania state Representative Malcolm Kenyatta spoke at the Alice B. Toklas LGBTQ Democratic Club’s Pride breakfast June 30.
Bill Wilson
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Getting past Biden’s bad night
President Joe Biden did not have a good night last Thursday when he gave a fumbling debate performance against former President and presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump. But given the stark choice between the two men, and the unlikelihood that Biden will drop out of the race at this late stage, it’s critical that LGBTQ voters continue to support the president. As second gentlemen Doug Emhoff said at the Alice B. Toklas LGBTQ Democratic Club Pride Breakfast last Sunday, “This is a binary election – binary, which means you just have one or the other. And on one side of the ledger, you still saw that at the debate – the lies, the deceit, just the things coming out of his mouth as a former president, let alone someone who wants to have office again.
“Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are the most proLGBTQ administration ever,” he added. “We know that all goes away” if they are not reelected.
It’s true. While there are a handful of third-party or independent candidates seeking the presidency, none will win. Most threaten to take votes away from Biden, though polls show Robert F Kennedy Jr. siphoning off some votes from Trump’s base as well. In other words, the choice – even as many Americans are not happy about it – is between Biden and Trump.
Far more important than Biden’s halting debate performance is the real danger being unleashed on this country by the U.S. Supreme Court. That’s why we disagree with those who say there is no difference between Biden and Trump. The former president is a threat to the very foundation of our country, even more so after Monday’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling that gives presidents substantial immunity for “official acts,” which ties back to Trump’s working, as president, to try and overturn the 2020 election. Should he be elected, Trump’s reach will know no bounds, as the justices greatly expanded presidential power.
President Joe Biden was energized when he spoke in Raleigh, North Carolina the day after his faltering debate performance.
He cannot be trusted. His comment during last week’s debate that “everybody” wanted Roe v. Wade overturned is just one example. According to a May report from the Pew Research Center, “Currently, 63% say abortion should be legal in all or most cases, while 36% say it should be illegal in all or most cases.” Yet it was Trump, with his appointment of three conservative Supreme Court justices, that led to the overturning of Roe and the constitutional right to abortion two years ago.
People in this country should know by now that Trump will lie, cheat, and bully his way into power.
The justices Trump has appointed – Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett – have worked to curb administrative power to the point that real lives could soon be endangered. Last week, those three joined Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito in a 6-3 decision that sweeps aside long-standing precedent. Known as the Chevron doctrine, it allowed “specialized agencies to fill gaps in ambiguous statutes to establish uniform rules in their areas of expertise, a practice they say was contemplated by Congress,” as the New York Times reported. The Environmental Protection Agency,
labor agencies, health care, the treasury department, and the IRS are all likely to be affected. In rejecting the Chevron precedent, it will be the courts that will now decide these issues, which will probably take years to litigate. The conservative legal movement and business groups have long wanted this decision, the Times noted, in part because they are hostile to government regulation and that the agencies should only operate under power that Congress explicitly gave them. We don’t see Congress suddenly developing specific regulations for all the federal agencies; these days Congress doesn’t do much at all except stoke the culture wars.
As for the Times editorial board calling on Biden to drop out of the race – the paper should have called for Trump to withdraw after he was convicted on 34 felony counts. One poor debate showing does not equal criminal convictions. The Times is doing the same thing to Biden that it did to Hillary Clinton in 2016 – in his case, obsessing over his age. (Biden, at 81, is only a few years older than Trump, 78.) In Clinton’s case, it was the paper’s maniacal fixation with her emails. Meanwhile, Trump gets to spout off lies and misleading statements with no effort to fact check him in real time by CNN or its debate moderators.
The day after the debate, Biden acknowledged the obvious. “Whether young or old, here’s what I know,” Biden said. “I know how to tell the truth. I know right from wrong. I know how to do this job. I know how to get things done, and I know what millions of Americans know, when you get knocked down, you get back up. Folks, I would not be running again if I did not believe with all of my heart and soul that I can do this job because, quite frankly, the stakes are too high. Donald Trump is a genuine threat to this nation.”
One bad night certainly doesn’t mean voters should abandon Biden. If anything, they should empathize with him and focus on the many things he and his administration have done over the past three years to help improve people’s lives. t
Amid extremism, LGBTQs should prepare
by James Sears
Lastmonth, we commemorated the 1969 Stonewall Rebellion through a kaleidoscopic set of events. I have participated in these for a half-century. This year, as democracy is on the ballot with liberty in the balance, I am less celebratory and more cautionary; less optimistic and more pragmatic.
As a gay educator and historian, I bear witness to us dancing to a memory of Stonewall, often forgetting, ignoring, or rejecting these rebellious queers’ gritty agendas and street tactics. Now, when most needed, their manifestos of sexual freedom are but dust blowing in the wind. What might we learn from this Stonewall history and its aftermath in the era of Trumpism?
Heirs to the early 1950s Mattachine’s socialist founders, gay liberationists, lesbian feminists, and transvestite revolutionaries advocated sexual freedom. Albeit short-lived, Stonewall was the predicate for the first March on Washington –just as the radical Mattachine Foundation had created an opening for the assimilationist Mattachine Society, the first national gay organization that was effectual through the 1960s.
Stonewall radicals’ messages of “Gay is Good,” manifestos like Woman Identified Woman, Gay Liberation Fronts in 36 states, and Gay Liberation Day marches transformed public awareness and sparked activism among queers as well as fears among national women’s and religious groups. In 1977, singer-activist Anita Bryant’s Save Our Children campaign successfully overturned Dade County, Florida’s anti-discrimination ordinance. Like dominoes, referenda initiatives in other cities repealed similar ordinances. California’s Proposition 6 promised to ban homosexuals (and their allies) from public school work. It was rejected at the polls in 1978, crippling anti-sexualist momentum while galvanizing queers. The next year, when at least 75,000 people marched on Washington, lesbians and gay men held elective state and federal offices, 24 states had repealed sodomy statutes, and multiple municipalities and counties had enacted non-discrimination ordinances.
Coupled to an emergent AIDS crisis, sexual minority organizations mushroomed in mid-size cities during the 1980s. I was active in Columbia, South Carolina as were many others in fledgling groups throughout the country. During this first decade of AIDS, President Ronald Reagan abjectly failed to address the public health crisis, and
his administration provided meager funding (the 1986 budget proposal reduced funding by 11%).
Outreach efforts were further crippled by the 1987 Helms Amendment prohibiting any federal monies to “promote homosexuality.” The situation did not require more lobbying; it demanded direct action. A new iteration of queer radicalism emerged.
During this age of madness and malaise, AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) confronted those deemed complicit. The largest protest since the Vietnam era shuttered the Food and Drug Administration for a day. Activists chained themselves inside the New York Stock Exchange to protest AZT’s exorbitant price. Other anarchic actions among the loosely confederated 148 chapters occurred within inland states and small cities. Meanwhile, mainstream national organizations painted a mural of humanity on the interminable wall of heterodoxy distancing degeneracy from decency.
The effectiveness of direct action coupled to conventional tactics was apparent: The Ryan White CARE Act, enacted in 1990, provided federal funding for people with AIDS; persons with AIDS gained access to experimental treatments; funds for needle exchange and emergency housing were available. As in other civil rights struggles, in this brief but critical moment, radicals roused assimilationists, intensifying the struggle.
Such synchronicity, however, was rare – nationally or locally. After years of lobbying Congress, national gay and lesbian organizations settled for President Bill Clinton’s compromise Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, in 1993, creating more problems for many uniformed queers. Locally, Washington Post Magazine ran the headline “Showdown in Rehoboth.” The homeowners’ association of this Delaware beach town had distributed bumper stickers pledging Keep Rehoboth a Family Town, confronting an “invasion” of queers. While teenage vigilantes terrorized the fledgling queer community, local gay leaders collaborated with city officials to deescalate tensions. These leaders also joined homeowners in support of the raid on a lesbian-owned shop that housed discretely sold sex paraphernalia, while ACT UP-inspired Lesbian Avengers marched to “free the toys.” Engaging in earnest dialogue and sharing heartfelt experiences, Rehoboth gay leaders sought to “Create A More Positive Rehoboth.” They believed that sharing relevant “harm-related personal experiences” rather than disgorging “facts” is more likely to foster respect for those holding different views on moral issues, especially if there is willingness and ability to communicate.
The Kaiser Permanente contingent had a message of “love” marching in the June 30 San Francisco Pride parade.
Steven Underhill
t Politics >>
SF Democrats aid lesbian Nevada Senator Harris
by Matthew S. Bajko
As she seeks reelection this year in a redrawn district, Nevada state Senator Dallas Harris is receiving a boost from her fellow Democrats in San Francisco. The lesbian married mom is one of several out-of-state candidates being aided by the local get-out-the-vote effort.
In addition to making phone calls and providing support on the ground this fall, the Bay Area party members have been hosting fundraisers for the various candidates running in the swing states of Nevada and Arizona. They are also aiding two Central California Democratic congressional candidates, Rudy Salas and Adam Gray, this cycle as they attempt to flip the seats blue and help Democrats retake control of the House.
Dallas, 38, who is the Democratic chief majority whip in her legislative chamber, told the Bay Area Reporter in a phone interview last month that she isn’t concerned about facing political attacks due to having help from Bay Area Democrats.
“I am a gay Black woman. Support from San Francisco probably shouldn’t throw off anyone who is willing to support me in the first place,” said Harris. “I don’t see that as an argument that is going to persuade folks away from me.”
She was in San Francisco in midJune for a fundraising swing during Pride Month co-hosted by a number of LGBTQ and Democratic groups. As she didn’t draw an intraparty challenge, Dallas avoided a primary race on her state’s June 11 ballot and advanced automatically to the November 5 contest.
She is fending off a challenge from attorney and married mom Lori Rogich, who won her Republican primary race in the state’s 11th Senate District centered in Las Vegas. The state’s Republican governor, Joe Lombardo, endorsed her, and her husband, Sig Rogich, has served as a consultant to a host of state and national Republicans and was named U.S. ambassador of Iceland, where he is from, by the late President George H.W. Bush.
Along with sections of the infamous Sin City, the district includes parts of Clark County, where Harris lives in an unincorporated area. It was redrawn to include more GOP voters and is a top pick-up target this year for Silver State Republicans.
“I went from having a (roughly) plus-17 to plus-7 in Democratic voter registration,” said Harris, adding she expects a tough general election campaign. “I think they will come after me and give it their best shot.”
In a likely boost for her electoral chances, this week it was reported that Nevada residents in November will vote on whether to protect the right to abortion in the state. Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade two years ago, ballot measures protecting the right to abortion in various states have been a winner for Democrats.
Both the Sister District Project San Francisco chapter and the Bay Area Coalition are aiming to see Harris win reelection to a second full term. Appointed to fill a vacancy in December 2018, Harris won a four-year term in 2020 with 58.6% of the vote.
“Dallas will need to introduce herself to new portions of this district and push back against the farright attacks against her to win this purple district in November,” the local Sister District Project noted in a backgrounder it put together about Harris and her race.
Martha Knutzen, a lesbian and longtime Democratic Party activist in San Francisco, has been helping to coordinate the weekly phone banking on behalf of Harris for the coalition that includes more than 40 grassroots groups based in the Bay Area. She was among the roughly 40 people who turned out for the June 22 fundraiser held for the candidate at an event space in the city’s Marina district.
“Dallas Harris is a great candidate,” Knutzen told the B.A.R., adding that she is also running “a good campaign” this year.
Through the phone calls local activists make between 1 and 3 p.m. every Wednesday, a list is compiled of the names of those voters in Harris’ district who are undecided about the race. It is then passed along to Harris so she can reach out to them directly, explained Knutzen.
“A lot of times state races are won by one vote or 40 votes,” she said. “We want to make sure we retain the Democratic majority in the Nevada Legislature.”
Washington, D. C. and graduated in 2015 from the George Washington University Law School.
For two years Harris worked as a policy extern at Public Knowledge, a D.C.-based nonprofit that advocates for expanded broadband access and consumer protections. In mid-2019 she moved back to the Las Vegas area after being hired as an admin istrative attorney at the Public Utili ties Commission.
Today, Harris is an attorney fo cused on energy law with the firm Davison Van Cleve. She and her wife, Summer Thomas-Harris, who is a social worker, have a daughter, Delaney Harris, 3, and a son, Lawrence Thomas, 12, whom her wife had from a previous marriage. The couple has been together since December 2017 and married in August 2019.
Harris serves part-time in her state’s legislature, which is in session in odd years unless called back by the governor for an emergency session. She wants to continue serving in the Legislature because her work there isn’t done, said Harris.
“I think there is just more to do,” she said. “The role of state government, I don’t think, has been more important in recent history given the fact that Congress is either unwilling or unable to grapple with some of the really large issues that affect Americans on a day-to-day level. A lot of that work is happening on the state level.”
Democrats currently control both chambers and have a two-thirds majority in the House. They would like to hold on to it as well as secure such a threshold in the state Senate in order to have the power to override vetoes by the governor.
“It would allow us to override the governor when he vetoes our legislation, which he is keen to do,” said Harris.
Come November, Knutzen said she expects to see Harris be elected to another term.
“We pick winnable campaigns if we do this work,” she noted. “I am just really proud we got to adopt her.”
Dallas told the B.A.R. she is just as proud to have the support from San Franciscans and wasn’t surprised to be paired with them by the Sister District Project.
“San Francisco has a very long history of political activism and caring about issues and people, and being willing to not just talk about it but be about it, so to speak,” said Harris. “I am honored to have a little bit of that history working on my behalf as well.”
It was the first fundraiser Harris has held in San Francisco, though she told the B.A.R. she has been to the city on previous trips. The Las Vegas native moved to Southern California after graduating from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 2009 with a B.A. in computer science. (She had earned a B.A. in psychology from the school the year prior.)
She lived in the Inland Empire through 2012 while attending Claremont Graduate University where she earned a master’s degree in public policy. From there she moved to
She pointed to her and her colleagues working to protect reproductive rights, LGBTQ rights, and providing support to students who may be feeling suicidal or need assistance addressing other issues.
“I have really enjoyed doing that,” said Harris. “I have a master’s degree in public policy and a law degree, so my mind and background is somewhat suited to legislation and solving problems. So that is what I do.”
Not only does she find serving in the Legislature to be “rewarding” and “fulfilling,” Harris knows she serves as a role model by being a state senator.
“I think it is really important for other Nevadans to see people who look like them in these types of positions. If I am not there, they may not see that,” she noted.
The number of out colleagues she has at the state Capitol is decreasing from five to perhaps three when the next legislative session begins in February, said Harris. One member is termed out this year, and a second opted against seeking another term this fall, plus an out candidate lost their primary race last month.
“Our numbers are getting smaller,” said Harris.
She is allowed to serve 12 years in the state Senate (and could spend another 12 in the lower chamber).
Asked about seeking higher office, Harris didn’t rule it out in the future.
“I never thought I would be a state senator, and so, all of those additional opportunities are again something I never felt were within my grasp,” Harris told the B.A.R. “If I get lucky and an opportunity presents itself and is right for me, I will take it. Just being able to serve the time I have in the state legislature has been a blessing.”
To learn more about Harris and her candidacy, visit her campaign site at dallasharrisfornevada.com
For more information about the work the Bay Area Coalition is doing to aid Harris and other candidates, visit its website at bayareacoalition.org. t
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Nevada state Senator Dallas Harris speaks at an event.
Courtesy the candidate’s FB page
SF gay biz president indicted on fraud charges
by John Ferrannini
Afederal grand jury has returned a fraud indictment against the president of America’s first LGBTQ chamber of commerce related to the alleged embezzlement of over $1 million from law firms he worked for.
Tony Archuleta-Perkins, 48, has been the president of the Golden Gate Business Association since 2022. He was indicted June 26 on eight counts of bank fraud, eight counts of engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity, and a forfeiture allegation. Archuleta-Perkins was arrested July 1, according to a news release from the United States Attorney’s office for the Northern District of California. He’s alleged to have embezzled over $1.2 million from local law firms
The Dykes on Bikes were followed by a Resistance contingent and a contingent from the Party for Socialism and Liberation with signs that read “Pride Means Fight Back! LGBTQ Solidarity with Palestine,” and chanting “stop the U.S. war machine!” As the Bay Area Reporter also reported, some pro-Palestinian groups boycotted the Pride parade, due to the participation of politicians, including Mayor London Breed, who opposed a resolution calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war earlier this year and groups that demonstrators said supported or worked with Israel.
Nguyen Pham, a gay man who is president of the San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration Committee’s board of directors, which puts on the festivities, told the B.A.R., “We all should be proud of what we achieved this past Pride week, including our successful SF Pride weekend. Our tireless staff deserve particular flowers on a job supremely well done.”
SF Pride officials said there were no major delays in the parade this year. Contingents ranged from proPalestinian groups to Jewish groups to churches, nonprofit organizations, the popular Everyone Loves A Corgi group, and plenty of people dancing on floats.
Pham continued that many longterm attendees asserted this year’s Pride was the “greatest in the organization’s history.”
he worked for.
The GGBA, which was founded in 1974, is the San Francisco Bay Area’s LGBTQ chamber of commerce. GGBA declined comment pending issuing a statement.
The association, which Archuleta-Perkins has been with in a volunteer position since 2018 (when he was treasurer for four years before his time as president, according to his LinkedIn profile), was not mentioned in the indictment.
Archuleta-Perkins did not return a LinkedIn message from the B.A.R. seeking comment.
His attorney, Ken White of Brown White and Osborn LLP, reached out to the B.A.R. after the LinkedIn message stating, “We will be addressing the government’s allegations against
“Mother Nature must be queer, as she lovingly bathed San Francisco in glorious sunshine all weekend,” Pham stated, adding “San Francisco is truly a Beacon of Love,” referring to this year’s theme.
Ashton Oleary, a 23-year-old gay San Diegan, went to the parade and celebration. It was his first time in San Francisco.
“I always wanted to see San Francisco but never knew when the time was right,” he said. “After meeting
Mr. Archuleta-Perkins in court and will have no further comment.”
According to prosecutors, Archuleta-Perkins started a nonprofit entitled Murrieta Valley High School 1994, or MVHS 1994, in 2013. From 20172023, he worked for two law firms in various roles, eventually becoming the chief financial officer of one of them (the Veen Firm, according to his LinkedIn, as the firms are not identified in the indictment).
“As the CFO, Archuleta-Perkins was in a position of trust and had access to the law firms’ end-to-end payments automation platform,” the release stated. “The indictment alleges that from at least May 2018 through December 2023, Archuleta-Perkins used the access he had as an employee in a position of trust at the law firms to cause the law firms to make false and fraudulent payments to MVHS 1994 that had not been authorized by the law firms’ management and were not
for any legitimate business purpose.”
These included a $41,663.69 made out to one of the firms, which he deposited into an MVHS 1994 account, from which he wrote a check to himself in the same amount, prosecutors stated.
“The indictment further alleges that Archuleta-Perkins used the stolen money for personal expenses, including payments on Best Buy and Home Depot credit cards, and towards the purchase, renovation, and improvement of at least three properties in California,” the news release stated.
Archuleta-Perkins appeared in federal court July 1 and was released pending trial on a $500,000 bond. His next court appearance is scheduled for July 31.
Archuleta-Perkins wrote a piece in the San Francisco Bay Times LGBTQ newspaper, including in the most recent issue titled “What Pride Means to Me.” Bay Times publisher Betty Sullivan told the B.A.R. that she wanted
to “clarify for you that Tony does not have a column in our newspaper.”
Sullivan said that GGBA has a page in the Bay Times that has been running since 2018. “That is a feature of GGBA – it is not of Tony,” she said. “It has several parts to it. One part is a statement of leadership – anybody who they choose to have say something. This is not Tony’s column. It never has been.”
Asked if Archuleta-Perkins’ work would be featured on the page again, Sullivan said “that’s up to the board, because they are the ones who have that feature with us.”
Sullivan added that GGBA is a “long-standing and important organization,” and that it has been “going on now way before Tony became president.”
Archuleta-Perkins is also the sitting treasurer of the LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance. The alliance did not return a request for comment. t
new faces from San Fran in other areas for Pride, I knew that would be my reason to go, during Pride. It was a win-win for the first time exploring San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Painted Ladies, and beautiful parks and streets with the sound of nice breeze blowing in the summer heat, as well as the new astonishing pride events and new faces I’ve met during the weekend.”
Oleary said he looks “forward to coming again soon.”
Gay state Senator Scott Wiener
(D-San Francisco) waved to the crowd wearing a pink windbreaker atop a truck surrounded by supporters.
“The parade was even more magical than usual,” Wiener told the B.A.R. “Such a strong showing by the community – displaying joy and love – during some tough times politically. I’m so proud of San Francisco and everything this city stands for.”
Gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman agreed that “this week-
end’s Pride celebration was a blast and reinforced what we already knew – no one does Pride like San Francisco!”
Mandelman, who represents the Castro on the city’s Board of Supervisors, continued, “It’s an opportunity for us to share our queer culture and values with the world – it’s also a huge economic boon for our city and local businesses – especially for our bars, restaurants, retailers and hotels.”
See page 12 >>
Spectators lined Market Street to watch the June 30 San Francisco Pride parade.
Steven Underhill
GGBA President Tony Archuleta-Perkins
From GGBA’s FB page
Celebrity grand marshal actor Billy Porter waved to the crowd during the June 30 San Francisco Pride parade.
Steven Underhill
LGBTQ officials celebrate Pride at OAK
by Cynthia Laird
The roar of jet engines and planes taking off and landing at San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport were among the highlights for about two-dozen East Bay LGBTQ and allied officials as they got a tour of the facility June 28 during a Pride Month event.
The Port of Oakland, which operates the airport, provided the tour, dubbed Out at OAK. It was co-sponsored by Equality California, the statewide LGBTQ civil rights organization.
In May, the Port Commission voted to change the name of the now-former Oakland International Airport to include the geographic reference to San Francisco Bay, which it and its runways abut. Oakland airport’s new name is already on a giant screen that greets people when they enter the roadway leading to the terminals and parking lots.
The city of San Francisco has filed a lawsuit over the rebranding, saying the new name infringes on San Francisco International Airport’s name and could confuse passengers. SFO is located across the bay in San Mateo County.
Queer Port Commissioner Jahmese Myres told the Bay Area Reporter that her tenure so far has been good. The paper spoke with Myres last fall after the Port of Oakland offered a similar tour of the port to LGBTQ leaders and allies.
“We voted on the new name of the airport. It’s been interesting to be part of so many decisions,” said Myres, the first out woman to serve as a port commissioner.
Myres was appointed to the commission last July by Mayor Sheng Thao. She declined to comment on the recent FBI raid of Thao’s home that is apparently in connection with California Waste Solutions, which has the recycling contract with the city. The residences of CWS owners David Duong, and his son, Andy Duong, were also raided, as were the CWS offices. Authorities are reportedly looking into a trade trip Thao and about 50 other politicians took to Vietnam last summer that included the Duongs and Danny Wan, a gay man who is executive director of the Port of Oakland. Wan did not attend the Out at OAK event.
Michael Colbruno, a gay man who also serves on the port commission, likewise declined comment.
Bus tour
During a bus tour that went near the main commercial runway, airport operations manager Matt Davis noted that Southwest Airlines is the airport’s largest tenant. It operates out of Terminal 2 and uses part of Terminal 1,
Corrections
he said. Other airlines that have flights out of Terminal 1 include Hawaiian, Delta, and Alaska. FedEx and United Parcel Service operate cargo flights out of the airport as well.
The group stopped by the fire department that is located on site. Oakland firefighters are contracted by the airport to work at the station. The airport pays for all the equipment, which includes six giant firefighting vehicles.
The trucks carry either 1,500 or 3,000 gallons of water on board, and some
are equipped with a Snozzle (a long device) to fight fires that may occur inside an aircraft.
Firefighter Jordan Tolbert explained that there are six personnel on duty all the time, and all are also either EMTs or paramedics. “A lot of what we do is medical,” he said.
Captain Curtis Thompson said that he loves his job and the diversity of the city.
“Oakland has over 120 spoken languages,” he said.
Demonstrate
The June 27 issue article “University effort tracks giving to LGBTQ nonprofits” misstated Jacqueline Ackerman’s role with the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy’s Equitable Giving Lab. She is one of the primary authors of its LGBTQ+ Index but doesn’t oversee it in her role as interim director of the Women’s Philanthropy Institute. Also, a quote from Outright International’s Katie Hultquist should have said she was referring to funding going to the “anti-gender movement.”
The January 9 article, “Trans woman sues SF-based nonprofit for retaliation,” misspelled the surname of the plaintiff, she is Lauren Granderson.
The online
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In addition to medical calls, firefighters are summoned if there is a suspected bird strike on a plane, or other incidents, Thompson said.
Program
Back in a conference room for a short program, Shay Franco-Clausen, a lesbian Black Afro-Latina woman who is the political director for Equality California, noted that Assembly Bill 1955, which would prohibit public school officials from outing students to their parents without their permission, had been sent to Governor Gavin Newsom. As the B.A.R. reported online last week, gay Assemblymember Chris Ward (D-San Diego) used the gut-and-amend approach to rewrite his AB 1955 to insert the language banning the forced outing of transgender students by state public school officials unless doing so was needed to protect the youth from self-harm.
The bill, titled the SAFETY Act for Support Academic Futures & Educators for Today’s Youth Act, then sailed through the Legislature. EQCA has called on Newsom to sign it into law as soon as it reaches his desk and has been urging its members to call the governor’s office in support of his signing AB 1955 into law.
In a July 1 email, EQCA Executive
Director Tony Hoang, a gay man, noted, “Our opposition is overwhelming his office with hateful anti-LGBTQ+ calls, so we’ve got to make sure our voices are being heard. Call Governor Newsom’s office today at 916445-2841 and leave a message asking him to sign the SAFETY Act into law ASAP!”
At Friday’s event Franco-Clausen also mentioned the Freedom to Marry initiative that will be on the November ballot. It seeks to remove the “zombie” Proposition 8 language that remains in the state constitution even though the 2008 anti-same-sex marriage law was overturned by the courts. That led to the resumption of same-sex marriage in the Golden State in 2013.
“Freedom to marry will be on the November ballot,” she said. “Tell everyone. We can’t do it alone.”
EQCA is a leader of the campaign, along with the national Human Rights Campaign and other groups.
Craig Simon, aviation director of the airport, mentioned expansion projects that were underway, as well as more immediate concerns, such as renovating all the restrooms.
“It’s way overdue,” he said. “We’re trying to improve the look and feel of the airport.”
Advertise in the 2024 BESTIES! On August 1, 2024, the Bay Area Reporter will publish the highly anticipated BESTIES: The LGBTQ Best of the Bay. This special edition celebrates the finest in our community, from the best bars and dining spots to top-notch healthcare providers, artists, and community leaders.
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Cynthia Laird
Womxn’s Stage angered by shabby SF Pride setup
by Heather Cassell
San Francisco Pride’s Womxn’s Stage organizers and entertainers are angry that their stage lacked what they needed to celebrate Pride safely on Sunday. The stage was dramatically different from years past, entertainers and producers said.
Last year, they had a concert-quality large stage and staging area, as featured on SF Pride’s Community Stages website. This year, other community stages had the same concert-style set-up as last year, but the Womxn’s Stage did not, performers and producers said.
Describing performing last year on the Womxn’s Stage, Jazmine Black being a go-go dancer who used her stage name, said it was on a “concert-style stage.”
Performing on the stage this year was in “a vendor pop-up tent,” Black said.
Black texted with friends performing at other stages at SF Pride asking about their experiences and showing them photos and videos of the Womxn’s Stage.
“The feedback that they were giving was utter shock, how different the women’s stage setup was compared to theirs,” she said.
“I was told our stage would be a little bit smaller and our trailer would be a little bit smaller than the previous year,” said Jolene Linsangan, manager of the Womxn’s Stage, about what SF Pride told her. “We had nothing.”
Linsangan is the owner of Jolene’s, a queer bar and restaurant in the Mission district. She also produces U-Haul, a women’s dance party.
She and her team produced the stage for the last three years. During the first two years, Linsangan raised $10,000 and $15,000, respectively, to manage the Womxn’s Stage. This year, Linsangan was only able to raise an estimated 50% of her $10,000 goal, which she dropped from $15,000. She dug into her own pocketbook to pull the stage off this year. The money she raised is to pay the entertainers she hires for the stage.
SF Pride provides the stage, tent over the stage, trailer, security, equipment and sound techs, signage, and anything beyond entertainment, Linsangan’s team and volunteers told the Bay Area Reporter.
Aware of budget cuts, Linsangan was understanding but was shocked by the dramatic difference from previous years.
Marqui Martinez, Jolene’s assistant at the bar and dance manager for the Womxn’s Stage, wrote in an email statement to the B.A.R. July 1, “The women’s
Jon Monaco, a gay man with QUIT!, said that he marched because he is like “so many people around who are so horrified by the atrocities in Gaza and we feel like there are not enough people speaking up about it. There’s a lot of silence around the issue and it’s important for us in the LGBT community to speak up because we are people who know about being marginalized and oppressed.”
Ehrensaft-Hawley said Jewish Voices for Peace Bay Area has been around since the 1990s and that the June 30 march was “a beautiful way for the LGBTQ community across identities to come together to ground ourselves in the origins of the spirit of Stonewall, as well as the Compton’s Cafeteria riots that preceded stonewall by a few years –fights against state violence against our community.
“We are still in that fight in the Bay Area in San Francisco where surveillance and policing of queer and trans homeless communities, of Black and Brown trans and queer communities link to both our Palestinian trans and queer communities in Gaza and the occupied territories,” Ehrensaft-Hawley added.
stage does not get funding from the SF Pride Committee. We are the only stage that needs to raise our own money to put on our amazing show.”
“It’s clear it was not divvied up evenly,” Linsangan said of the equipment and other items. “My big question from this year was, how did I go from what I had in the last two years to what I had this year?”
Organizers and entertainers arrived at McAllister and Leavenworth streets, where the stage was located, around 12:30 p.m. on Sunday to find a flimsilyconstructed small structure with unsecured wires on the stage and loose speakers. Furthermore, there was little cover provided, exposing equipment and performers to the sun and the public. There was no private dressing area for the performers and organizers. Security was minimal, from no barricades around the stage and staging area to a lone older woman who was the security guard. There was no signage stating that the stage was the Womxn’s Stage.
The lack of privacy and a secured space opened Womxn’s Stage entertainers and staff to harassment by both cisgender men and women backstage while changing and onstage while performing, producers and entertainers said.
Linsangan said she texted Suzanne Ford, a trans woman who is SF Pride’s executive director, about issues she was having on Sunday and requested more security. She told the B.A.R. she never received a response. No additional security ever showed up to the stage as it got later, and crowds became more aggressive.
Ford did not respond to the B.A.R. by press time.
Without a dressing room, performers’ only choice was to change into their costumes inside a portable toilet used by the public that was stationed behind the stage or change in the open air behind the stage where people could see and touch them.
“It was just so undignified to have them have to change outside in front of everybody in the public,” said Sophia Andary, a queer woman and community organizer. Linsangan contacted her for help. “They weren’t going to use those Porta-Potties, which were open to the public. They were filthy. They’re not going to go in there and change into their costumes,” Andary said.
Security
Minimal security allowed the public to walk into the stage area and even get onto the stage. There were sanitary concerns due to the portable toilets and water station that were shared openly rather than reserved for the people working at the stage, the Womxn’s Stage’s entertainers and producers told the B.A.R.
“Our security was one older woman that I didn’t feel safe asking her to remove aggressive men that were at the stage,” Linsangan said.
Linsangan and performers told the B.A.R. they were leered at and photographed and videoed by men and women as they changed.
“There was a cis man that was taking pictures, like very inappropriate pictures, getting really close, and we were getting closer to him and he ran away,” Andary said, adding a naked man tried to get onto the stage until the women blocked him.
‘Pinkwashing’ A common theme among the demonstrators was “pinkwashing,” which is the promotion of the proLGBTQ aspects of a corporation, political group, or government in order to downplay other things that might be considered negative. Corporations that participate in Pride but donate to anti-LGBTQ politicians are often accused of it, as is Israel.
Same-sex sexual activity became legal in Israel in 1988, and discrimination against gays and lesbians
became illegal four years later. It became the first country in Asia to recognize same-sex unions (although it does not recognize same-sex marriages unless they are performed abroad).
Homosexuality has been legal in the West Bank since 1951, though there are no non-discrimination protections. Homosexuality is prohibited in the Gaza Strip, which still uses a colonial-era criminal code.
“We focus on pinkwashing within the LGBTQ community,” Schick said. “That’s part of Israel’s propa -
The group also felt the responsibility to provide space for queer and BIPOC women at SF Pride due to the LGBTQ community and women being under attack by right-wing conservatives. The American Civil Liberties Union is tracking 527 anti-LGBTQ bills this year and tracked 510 bills in 2023. The U.S. Supreme Court overturned abortion rights with the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision in 2022. The court’s win tipped off a wave of attacks on reproductive rights from the abortion pill to contraception to IVF.
Ahead of Pride Month, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security, and the State Department issued warnings of potential threats of attacks at Pride events around the world.
Black was heavily groped by a drunk woman multiple times until RedBone, the emcee for the Womxn’s Stage, and others successfully got the woman’s friends to take her away from the stage. (RedBone only wanted to use her stage name.)
“We had to do our own security. We shouldn’t have to have dealt with that,” said Andary.
“Community members by the stage helped out by being impromptu security,” Linsangan added.
Dancers changed their routines to squeeze onto the small stage. There were moments when they got ensnared in the loose wires, sometimes accidentally unplugging the equipment. Staff attempted to move the wires to protect the performers. One of the speakers nearly fell over but was caught by someone before anyone got hurt, RedBone said.
Other performance spaces had raised stages, security, barriers, coverings, private backstage areas with trailers, and were clearly marked what stages they were, Womxn’s Stage staff and volunteers said.
The situation was so bad at the Womxn’s Stage that Linsangan almost called off the event, she told the B.A.R.
Holding space for queer women
Linsangan and the performers didn’t cancel the Womxn’s Stage. They felt they had to hold space for queer women and Black, Indigenous, and women of color at SF Pride given that the official Dyke March didn’t occur on Pink Saturday, reported KGO-TV. KGO-TV was the official SF Pride sponsor and aired the 54th annual Pride parade live June 30.
ganda campaign to get us to believe they are the only democracy in the area and Palestinians are these evil people. Pinkwashing, or saying Israel is pro-gay rights, is really a cover of the horrible crimes of colonialsettler occupation that has been committed by Israel for decades.”
Israel was founded as a Jewish state in 1948 on the territory of the then-British Mandate of Palestine.
Asked if Israel has a right to exist, Schick said, “the march has not really taken a stand.”
“Jewish Voices for Peace identifies as an anti-Zionist group,” Schick said. “It entails Palestine should be free and liberated, and we should not have a state based on theology. … Most people in the U.S. probably believe, even anti-Zionists, that’s for people in the area to decide, and the Palestinians deserve self-determination.”
Asked about criticism of their movement considering the state of LGBTQ rights in the Palestinian territories, Schick said they hope people see “that there is queer solidarity in this movement, and we believe in the interconnection of liberation for all people. We’re all connected, and you can’t say people will be liberated without all people being liberated.” Monaco and Schick said they hope the march changes people’s minds.
“Since it was announced that the Dyke March was canceled, and just everything going on with that, we shouldn’t cancel anything,” Linsangan said the team decided. “We should put our best into it. We really need to hold space this year, even though it wasn’t the greatest situation.”
Not valued
Repeatedly the women told the B.A.R. they felt they were uncared for and not valued by SF Pride.
“Last year, it felt very intentional. It felt thought of. It felt safe. We felt cared for,” Black said. “This year, we felt extremely forgotten about and disposed of.”
RedBone echoed Black. She told the B.A.R. that she felt “uncared for, unprotected, [and] not prioritized” by SF Pride after Sunday.
“No one cares about women anymore,” she said. “Women are not prioritized. We are not cared about. We’re disposable.”
“It was like we were an afterthought,” Andary agreed. “That’s exactly what we were to SF Pride. Queer women are an afterthought to SF Pride because that’s how they treated us yesterday.”
Call for apology
Andary is calling upon SF Pride to apologize to the Womxn’s Stage organizers and entertainers.
“There definitely needs to be an apology,” she said, calling for SF Pride to also investigate what happened to the Womxn’s Stage setup.
“They need to be held accountable and to really explain themselves,” she added. “They need to ensure that that doesn’t happen again.”
13 >>
“Nobody’s against anybody celebrating gay Pride yesterday, it’s more – and this is personal – I wish people would wake up a little bit more and take notice of this really atrocious war,” Monaco said July 1. “If they would listen to more of the people’s voices, I think our national government would probably move a lot faster and stop funding the war.”
Schick said, “My biggest hope, too, is the so-called political leaders begin to feel the pressure from all these demonstrations in the streets and change their positions and follow the lead of progressive people in government to end the militarism and have a ceasefire.”
The march was called by QUIT! and Jewish Voices for Peace’s Bay Area chapter. It was endorsed by 12 other groups including the Arab Resource and Organizing Center; Bay Area Families for Ceasefire; Bay Area American Indian Two Spirits; the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network; Bay Area Labor for Palestine; the California Coalition for Women Prisoners; Teaching Palestine; Animal Rights for Palestine; Showing up for Racial Justice; Arab and Muslim Ethnicities and Diasporas; the Transgender Gender-Variant & Intersex Justice Project; and Flying Over Walls. t
<< Pride protest
From page 2
“Pinkwashing” was a common theme at the march in support of Palestine that took place June 30 in San Francisco.
John Ferrannini
The women go-go dancers entertain the crowds at the Womxn’s Stage at San Francisco during Pride Sunday, June 30, 2024.
Courtesy Sophia Andary See page
Namibian high court decriminalizes homosexuality International News>>
by Heather Cassell
N amibia’s LGBTQ community is celebrating following a historic win after a high court struck down the country’s colonial-era anti-sodomy laws.
On June 21, a panel of three high court judges ruled the laws “amounted to unfair discrimination under Namibia’s constitution,” reported the BBC.
A crowd outside the courthouse carrying banners that read, “Get the law out of my love life,” and “Peace, Love, Unity,” was jubilant and overjoyed by the ruling, Reuters reported.
“What threat does a gay man pose to society, and who must be protected against him?” the judgment said, reported the Guardian.
“We are of the firm view that the enforcement of private moral views of a section of a community (even if they form the majority of that community), which are based to a large extent on nothing more than prejudice, cannot qualify as such a legitimate purpose.”
Khanyo Farise, Amnesty International’s deputy regional director for East and Southern Africa, called the court’s ruling “a victory for love, for equality, and for human rights.”
Activists in the country were also pleased.
“It is indeed a new dawn in Namibia and a historic moment for our community,” Omar van Reenen, cofounder and campaign manager at Namibia Equal Rights Movement, or NERM, wrote in a June 23 email to the Bay Area Reporter.
231 years a criminal
Gay sex was criminalized when the Dutch colonized Namibia in 1793. Germany, South Africa, and even Namibia upheld the antisodomy laws through transitions of power until the southwestern African country gained independence in 1990, according to Dome, a think tank housed at Boston University School of Law.
Sex between women was never criminalized in Namibia, according to the BBC.
According to Voice of America, the Law Reform Commission of Namibia recommended repealing the country’s sodomy laws regarding gay sex in 2020.
Etuna Joshua, the chairperson
From page 9
Simon’s first official day as the permanent aviation director was July 1. He had served in an interim capacity and has worked at the airport since 2012 in various jobs.
Colbruno pointed to the importance of having out members on the city’s boards and commissions. He’s the second gay male to serve on the airport panel; Michael Lighty was the first. And he noted he was former mayor Jerry Brown’s last appointment
Obituaries >>
David Jackson
March 21, 1960 – June 8, 2024
David Jackson was a professional in music business for 50 years. He was a voting member of the Recording Academy and was active in its San Francisco chapter. David was born in Oakland and throughout his entire life, he was strongly connected to the Bay Area. He was born to Daniel Jackson III and Anne Mae Jackson on the spring equinox 1960. He went to Saint Mary’s College High School in Albany and graduated from Oakland Technical High School.
of the Law Reform and Development Commission of the Ministry of Justice, told VOA that there were many old laws on the books before the country’s independence, “many of which really did not make sense any longer.”
“They are just not compatible with the modern times,” he said.
Slow to act
The country’s parliament was slow to act on the commission’s recommendation. Impatient, Namibian gay activist Friedel Dausab sued the government in 2022. His argument was that the sodomy law was inconsistent with the country’s constitution. The lawsuit was backed by the United Kingdom-based Human Dignity Trust .
“This victory also brings muchneeded and renewed energy to other decriminalization efforts across Africa,” Téa Braun, chief executive of the trust, told Reuters.
Responding to the court’s ruling, Dausab, who is also an expert in HIV prevention and treatment, told the BBC, “It won’t be a crime to love anymore.”
“I no longer feel like a criminal on the run in my own country simply because of who I am,” he added.
to the planning commission, where he served prior to joining the port.
Myres said that the port has been doing “groundbreaking work in social responsibility to benefit our community.”
Toast to Moore, Wood
The program concluded with a heartfelt toast to longtime Oakland organizers Peggy Moore and her wife, Hope Wood, who were both killed in a traffic collision May 10 in San Diego County. Brendalynn Goodall, an elected member of the Alameda
He went into the music business in 1974 when he started a band and began working as a DJ at KDIA, Oakland’s famous soul music radio station. Throughout his long career, he worked with Bill Summers and Summers Heat, Wanz and Owuor Arunga of the group Macklemore, Frankie Beverly and the Maze, Cyndi Lauper, Roberta Flack, Gladys Knight, Bobby Brown, Mannie Fresh and the Cash Money Records, and many others. Recently, he was credited as a co-author of Lil Wayne’s highly valued song “Mahogany” on his album “Funeral.”
David co-founded a Half & Half Recording Studio in Sioux Fall, South Dakota, which received a Grammy. David was known to be a mentor to disadvantaged youth struggling with
Neela Ghoshal, Outright International’s senior director of law, policy, and research, praised the court’s decision.
“Here’s to throwing off toxic colonial legacies and celebrating true freedom,” she wrote in a post on LinkedIn.
Now there are a total of 24 African countries that do not criminalize same-sex relationships. Namibia joins Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Central African Republic, Congo, Ivory Coast, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritius, Mozambique, Niger, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, and South Africa in decriminalizing homosexuality.
The fight isn’t over LGBTQ Namibians are celebrating now, but the reality is that the battle over the criminalization of same-sex relationships in the country is not over. Conservatives were also stirred up last year, threatening other rights.
In March 2023, Namibia’s Supreme Court overturned a lower court’s decision granting citizenship to a gay couple’s children born via surrogacy abroad, according to Amnesty International.
However, two months later, the court ordered the government to recognize marriages abroad between same-sex binational couples, if one partner is a Namibian citizen. The gay couple at the center of the case wanted to live in Namibia, but the spouse was denied a foreign residency permit, according to Human Rights Watch.
Homosexuality is criminalized in 30 of Africa’s 54 countries, according to the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex Association and Human Dignity Trust.
Namibian members of parliament moved swiftly. Lawmakers passed a bill to restrict same-sex marriage to “between a man and a woman” and criminalize any support, celebration, or promotion of same-sex unions
County Democratic County Central Committee, knew both women and continues to mourn them.
“They were coming home from a concert and another car was coming across their lane and crashed,” Goodall said. “It’s still hard to get my head around that.”
Goodall said she met Moore 26 years ago.
“We checked in regularly,” Goodall said. “When she walked into a room she lit up that room with her laugh and smile.” t
addiction and/or homelessness.
In the 1980s, David served in an elite U.S. Navy submarine fleet as a sonar technician.
David was a queer man, and in 2019, he married Ladislav Jackson, an assistant university professor from Europe. He always brought inclusion, diversity, respect, and kindness in all fields and genres he ever worked in, especially rap and hip-hop.
David died of stage 4 lung cancer in the middle of unfinished projects. In addition to his husband, David is survived by four children, Holly, Olivia, Malcolm, and David, and four older siblings, Daniel, Marlene, Gregory, and Tony. His professional and private archive will become part of the collection of the Society for Queer Memory in Prague.
with up to six years in jail and hefty fines the following month. A year later, the bill is sitting unsigned on Namibian President Nangolo Mbumba’s desk.
It is unclear if Namibia’s government will appeal the court’s ruling. The government has 21 days to do so. There is also the possibility that parliament will pass another bill to criminalize gay sex, reported Erasing 76 Crimes.
There is a second law that discriminates against transgender people, according to Amnesty International. Currently, transgender people can legally change their gender marker on government-issued identification documents and access funding for gender reassignment surgery. But there are serious obstacles, such as traveling outside of the country for surgery, according to the Southern Africa Litigation Centre.
Transgender Namibians face discrimination due to sexual orientation and gender identity not being included in the country’s anti-discrimination law.
Amnesty International also reported that Namibian activists suggested police have not permitted the same freedom of assembly for LGBTQ groups, while others, such as religious gatherings, have been permitted to assemble.
LGBTQ Namibians reported to the organization heightened attacks against queer and transgender community members from online harassment to frequent targeting and scapegoating by politicians ahead of the November elections.
Amnesty and the United Nations Development Program urged Namibia’s government to protect LGBTQ citizens.
“We urge the government of the Republic of Namibia to continue to ensure that all individuals can live free from discrimination and violence,” the UNDP wrote in a June 21 news release that also applauded the court ruling. t
Got international LGBTQ news tips? Call or send them to Heather Cassell at WhatsApp/Signal: 415-517-7239, or oitwnews@ gmail.com.
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LGBTQ Namibian activists met outside the high court office in Windhoek, the capital, and celebrated the court’s June 21 decision decriminalizing homosexuality.
Courtesy Namibia Equal Rights Movement
<< Pride at OAK
His two gay colleagues on the board – Supervisors Joel Engardio (District 4) and Matt Dorsey (District 6) – also participated in the parade. Engardio rode in the parade with his husband, Lionel Hsu.
“We met in San Francisco in the 2000s and were married here the year when the U.S. Supreme Court allowed same-sex marriage nationwide,” Engardio stated. “You could say miracles happen, but I was able to marry my husband because of all the work San Francisco did to change hearts and minds and push the legal case for marriage equality. The work isn’t finished. Transgender people are under attack and the freedom to marry granted by one Supreme Court could be taken away by the justices of another.”
Dorsey didn’t return a request for comment.
Mayoral candidates make pitches
Breed and the four major candidates running to replace her joined in the festivities too, trying to harness the power of the city’s LGBTQ community at the ballot box. They all committed to protecting hardwon LGBTQ rights in the city.
Breed was decked out in a silver outfit, as her contingent was themed to Beyoncé’s Renaissance tour, at which attendees wore silver.
She stated, “Days like today are why I am proud to be the mayor of San Francisco.”
“While other states are banning books, our local businesses are sending books to LGBTQ people all over. That’s who we are,” she stated, referring to the Castro’s Fabulosa Books sending books to community centers in red states, as the B.A.R. previously reported, where they have been banned from school libraries.
“People continue to come here from all over the world to experience Pride and what this community has created here in San Francisco. More than anything, today’s Pride parade is an example that San Francisco is on the rise! I want us to be proud of what we’ve achieved and optimistic for our future.”
Her leading challenger in the polls, former supervisor and mayor Mark Farrell, posted on X with local drag performers. “And they said I couldn’t name three drag queens,” he wrote. (At recent debates, Farrell has struggled to name drag artists.)
“The Pride parade represents the
From page 1
Between 1992 and 2005 Allen had owned the resort when it was known as the Triple R. He bought it back in 2011 and renamed it the R3.
As the B.A.R. reported that September, the resort had been closed since 2010 when Sterling Savings Bank of Spokane, Washington, foreclosed on former owner Ray Shahani and padlocked the big front gate. After the foreclosure it was listed by Keegan and Coppin in Santa Rosa for $1.25 million.
After buying it back, Allen rehired Jeff Bridges as resort manager, having brought him on when he first owned the property. Bridges, a gay man, continues to be employed at the resort as its manager.
He told the B.A.R. the pending sale is “bittersweet” and he has “a lot of emotions about this.” Nonetheless, he is hopeful that he and the others involved will find the right caretakers to take on the resort and preserve its legacy.
“All I can hope is that any future buyer of the place will keep the character of the hotel and realize the mainstay that this business has been for the West County, Sonoma County and Guerneville for over 40 years,” said Bridges.
The property has been gay-owned and -operated for the past 40 years.
best of San Francisco,” Farrell stated to the B.A.R. “My family, supporters, and I were honored to participate again and send a strong message our city will always be a shining beacon of hope and love to all people across the world.”
Daniel Lurie, a former nonprofit executive and heir to the Levi’s fortune, was joined by supporters holding signs of his name printed out in the colors of the rainbow flag. In a comical nod to his being a first-time candidate for public office, and thus not as well known as the other top contenders in the mayoral race, one sign asked, “Daniel Curious?”
He stated that “today, we celebrate the values that are central to this city–and we do it with pride. While our LGBTQ+ community is under attack nationwide, San Francisco continues to set the tone on what it means to be a beacon of tolerance and inclusivity for the nation and world.”
Mayoral candidate and Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin, who represents District 3, marched with the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club, which endorsed him in late June. He, too, utilized the Pride flag colors to spell out his first name in oversized letters carried by supporters and attached to the front of a truck in his contingent.
“It was a great, great honor to march with the Harvey Milk club and celebrate the queer activist who helped set a national movement on fire,” Peskin stated, referring to the slain supervisor for whom the club is named and had participated in the 1978 Pride parade as the first gay elected politician in the city and state of California. “The enthusiasm and energy was full-blast. But there is also a somber side, as we stare down the barrel of a possible Trump/MAGA sweep and all that means to LGBTQ freedom.”
District 10 Supervisor Ahsha Safaí, who’s also running for mayor, told the B.A.R. that this year’s Pride was “one of the best celebrations I have been a part of.”
“San Francisco is and will continue to be a beacon of acceptance, love, compassion and sanctuary,” stated Safaí, whose signs in the parade also used rainbow-color lettering to spell out his first name. “We marched to highlight the beauty of our community, and I am proud to always participate in the Pride parade every single year for the past 24 years.” t
Allen had recruited a number of his gay friends to take ownership stakes as part of the investment group he assembled to reacquire the property.
He also stipulated the two nonprofits be beneficiaries of his estate, as Allen and McBride split their time between Guerneville and Palm Springs where they had a home.
Originally a motor lodge
According to the listing materials, the resort was originally built as a drive-in motor lodge and retains its U-shaped configuration with a central bar and pool surrounded by walkways, decking, mature landscaping, and a koi pond. It first opened in the 1940s and was known as Hetzel’s Motor Court until being renamed as the Russian
River Resort in the 1980s and becom-
ing a gay-owned destination, according to real estate agent Steven “Stu” Gerry of Compass in San Francisco.
“I think interest will be surprising, and we have been working on this a good number of months already,” Gerry told the B.A.R.
He is handling the current sale along with veteran Russian River Realtor Bob Young, who previously had handled the sale of the resort as well as the sale five years ago of Fife’s. A former gayfocused resort in Guerneville that was rebranded as Dawn Ranch, it is now marketed as family-friendly with several pet-friendly cabins among its mix of 86 different types of accommodations.
“There’s simply no destination on the Russian River quite like the R3,” stated Young. “It’s been a pillar of our community for years, hosting cherished events like Lazy Bear Week, Women’s Weekend, Russian River Pride, plus their own entertainment. The R3 is irreplaceable.”
Young splits his time between Northern California and Cape Cod in Massachusetts. He owns the Seal Pub and Cafe in Harwich, 35 miles to the south of the East Coast LGBTQ vacation destination of Provincetown.
As for the sale of the R3 Hotel, Young noted in an email to the B.A.R., “We’re hopeful that the next generation of LGBTQ+ leaders and allies will step forward and ensure this safe space continues to thrive.”
Speaking by phone June 26, Dixon told the B.A.R. the resort is expecting this summer to be a “good season.” It has four pool parties lined up over the Fourth of July weekend plus a scripted Disney Villainsthemed drag show on three of those days, and is gearing up for Lazy Bear Week at the end of July.
“We are busy, busy, busy,” said Dixon, who in the late 1980s owned the Highland Dell Inn in Monte Rio.
The R3 had a successful Women’s Weekend in May, noted Dixon, which attracts lesbians and other queer women. Looking to the future and the resort’s next owners, he told the B.A.R. he expects changes will be made to the property but would like to see it remain a destination for LGBTQ tourists coming to the forested area a short drive to the Pacific Coast.
“We hope to find someone who wants to continue it and improve it, “said Dixon, “possibly in ways we can’t imagine for the future. I believe strongly in Ray’s vision when he resurrected this place in 2011, which was to see it be a gay and lesbian destination.”
Gerry posted a video tour of the resort on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=gTuXK9H1mUA. Anyone interested in purchasing it can call him at 415-846-2849. t
<< R3 resort
The R3 Hotel in Guerneville has been put up for sale.
From Facebook
Illuminate had its 4.1-mile rainbow laser beaming from the foot of Market Street for Pride weekend. Ed Walsh
Mayor London Breed, second from left, channels her inner Beyoncé at the San Francisco Pride parade.
Rick Gerharter
The Los Angeles Blade covers Los Angeles and California news, politics, opinion, arts and entertainment and features national and international coverage from the Blade’s award-winning reporting team. Be part of this exciting publication serving LGBT Los Angeles from the team behind the Washington Blade, the nation’s first LGBT newspaper. From the freeway to the Beltway we’ve got you covered.
Moon Trent and David Cole
and each year people would ask where to stay, dine, and wine as they wanted to make a weekend out of it. Hence, Gay Wine Weekend was born.
Please tell us about Face to Face, who they are and what they do.
Face to Face began at the beginning of the HIV/AIDS crisis in Sonoma County, in Guerneville, in 1983. It became the place where young men from San Francisco would go to live out their last days. It was a group of women who saw the need to help out these young men during these awful times.
Over the years Face to Face continues to evolve where their mission is their community in Sonoma County. Every day they open up their doors, and mobile van, to Sonoma County residents, especially for those at risk of chronic disease or illness. Rooted in their longstanding work as a response to the AIDS crisis, they support with no judgment and make it easy for a
person to connect to what they need with a listening ear and a warm heart.
Can you say something about continuing to support people with HIV?
HIV is still with us. It is not over.
There is now an entire generation of young people who are not aware of
DIY music
Trent himself contributed a track to the album. In his number, titled “Pop Song,” he sings about starting his own record label.
“Start your own record label, make the sleeves at the table,” he sings.
“And that’s exactly what we did,” Trent said in an interview with the Bay Area Reporter.
Trent spoke of what he was looking for when he signed a musician or a band to perform on the album.
“I was looking for good music, first of all,” he said, “music I wanted to share with the world. We put great songs out there that people might not have heard otherwise. I’m lucky to be exposed to a lot of good music. It was a challenge deciding which great songs
what happened, or just how awful a time it was. Education is so important to make people aware. HIV rates in Sonoma County have gone up in recent years. We need organizations such as Face to Face to bring awareness to HIV and its prevention and care programs. The work is far from over.
to include. I strived to develop a queer sensibility when choosing the songs for ‘Friends of Dorothy.’”
Trent added that it’s his love for his partner that inspires him to be a musician.
“Also, everyday life and the strange happenings that occur in all our lives,” he said. “I hear rhythm in car horns, beats in raindrops, and lyrics kind of just happen sometimes. Other times it’s all my favorite records inspiring me.”
The final track on the album, “So You Say (C.S.F.)” is performed by the famed gay band Pansy Division and it’s quite an eyebrow-raiser.
“I’m a cock-sucking faggot, a flaming faggot, a super-nelly homo,” are the lyrics with which the band opens the song. They go on to refer to a variety of gay stereotypes, such as drag queens, hairdressers, interior decorators and
Please share some details about the eight diverse events that make up the weekend.
When guests arrive for Gay Wine Weekend, they start by attending a VIP opening Wine and Biz Expo. It’s a great way to try a number of wines from the Russian River Valley Wine Region of Sonoma County while getting to meet other attendees of the weekend.
On Friday evening, there are winemaker dinners in a number of locations for guests to choose from.
On Saturday Wine Tours take guests all around the region for tasting and tours. Saturday evening is the signature event of Gay Wine Weekend, The Twilight T-Dance at the La Crema Winery Estate, our premiere Gay Wine Weekend sponsor.
On Sunday we start with a Drag Queen Brunch hosted by Ruby Red Munro and friends, followed by a wine auction with our most fantastical auctioneer Michael Tate.
The weekend ends with a Chill Pool Soiree that is hosted at a private estate
others. But they go on to express their pride by referring to themselves as the “president of the United States of Love.”
“It could be shocking,” said Trent. “Jarring is thought-provoking. Pansy Division has always been thoughtprovoking and perhaps a bit jarring, if they are new to you.”
Right now, there are no plans to release any of the tracks as singles. Trent noted that the songs belong to the artists themselves. If any of the artists decide that they’d like to collaborate on a single, he and Cole would consider it.
in the region. And I almost forgot to mention that there are afterparties on both Friday and Saturday evenings. This year the Friday after party has a theme, Sparkle.
Is this an event that everyone can enjoy?
Absolutely. I want Gay Wine Weekend to be a tapestry of our community, and it is getting more and more diverse each year. It is open to all, including allies. It’s about community and connection to me.
It takes a village to make this event happen and it has become a signature yearly event here in Sonoma County. It proves that marketing to the LGBTQ+ community proves to be beneficial to the community. I am most proud that the event has helped raise over $600,000.00 for Face to Face over the past decade.t
Gay Wine Weekend at various Sonoma County venues, July 19-21, $45-$1050 www.outinthevineyard. com www.f2f.org
“There’s a mix of artists on this album, a mix of ideas,” he said. “All existing side by side on lavender vinyl. I want to add to the artistic dialogue of musicians with this record album. These songs are great. It is always a dream to create a new work with talented artists.”t
‘Friends of Dorothy,’ Vinyl LP, $30. moontrent.com/timmi-kat-records
of Dorothy
Attendees at previous Gay Wine Weekend events
All photos: Out in the Vineyard
Attendees at previous Gay Wine Weekend events
Both photos: Out in the Vineyard
Clockwise from Top Left: Contributors to ‘Friends of Dorothy’ include Fuzzbox, Jeff Heiskell, I Am Cereal Killer, the late Bambi Lake, Pansy Division, and The Younger Lovers.
‘A Quiet Place: Day One’
by Gregg Shapiro
The first thing you’re going to want to know about “A Quiet Place: Day One” (Paramount) is that the cat survives. You know it’s been on your mind since you saw the first of several trailers months ago. Animal lovers across the globe can breathe a sigh of relief.
The next thing you might be wondering about is how “AQP:DO” holds up in the trilogy. As prequels go, the movie does a great job of setting the tone and mood, establishing the horror we have come to expect from the previous installments.
Sam (Lupita Nyong’o), a poet with terminal cancer, is living out her last days in a hospice/palliative care facility outside of Manhattan with her cat Frodo. Reuben (Alex Wolff), a caregiver at the center, tries to be friendly to Sam. He arranges a theater trip to the city and convinces Sam to join the others on the bus with the promise of pizza afterward. Sam brings Frodo to what turns out to be a marionette show.
From the moment they arrive, something is amiss. Four fighter jets fly in formation overhead. There are oversized military vehicles speeding down the street. The sound of helicopters fills the air. Back on the bus, the passengers see explosions in the distance before the bus itself is damaged in an explosion.
Sam survives and manages to find her way back to the theater where she discovers Reuben is there with Frodo. Having figured out the aliens’ sensitivity to sound, everyone stays quiet. But the destruction of the
‘Janet
city’s bridges by the military gives the survivors a sense of hopelessness with no chance of escape. After Sam witnesses Reuben killed by an alien, she sets out on her own with Frodo in her arms.
As Sam gathers supplies at an abandoned store, the military encourages survivors to head to the South Street Seaport because the aliens are afraid of the water. Not far from where Sam
has survived another alien encounter, leading Frodo to run away, we see Eric (Joseph Quinn) emerge from a flooded subway station. He somehow finds Sam, and while she discourages him from following her, they spend the rest of the movie together, evading multiple attacks and eventually making it to Sam’s beloved Harlem pizza parlor, which has been destroyed.
Remember when the aliens took over New York City in “Cloverfield?” “AQP:DO” feels a little like that, but with an unexpected touch of hope and humanity. Director/screenwriter Michael Sarnoski (whose “Pig” was one of the best movies of 2021), handily proves that he’s capable of delivering something on this scale. He treats the concept respectfully.
The “love story,” if that’s what you
Planet’ Mother/daughter angst in Annie Baker’s indie film
by Gregg Shapiro
For years, Julianne Nicholson has been the other Julianne (to Moore’s Julianne). But with each successive performance, including in the 2021 series “Mare of Eastown,” she has established her own Julianne-ness. Nicholson plays the titular single mother character in “Janet Planet” (A24), the kind of intimate, snail’s pace indie that viewers either love or hate. However, she’s not really the star.
That title belongs to Zoe Ziegler (in her big screen debut) who plays Janet’s precocious (and often annoying) 11-year-old daughter Lacy. How clever is Lacy? Unhappy at overnight summer camp, she calls Janet from a payphone and tells her she’ll kill herself if her mother doesn’t come pick her up and bring her home. Pay-
phone, you say? Yes, “Janet Planet” is set in the early 1990s. Janet, a licensed acupuncturist who favors long, diaphanous skirts, free-trade jewelry, drinking white wine, and asking her kid for advice, is involved with Wayne (an unrecognizable Will Patton). Wayne suffers from migraines and has a daughter named Sequoia who is around Lacy’s age. The possibility of a friendship between the girls, after a fun day at the mall, is stunted when Janet ends things with Wayne.
We get a taste of Western Massachusetts woo-woo (no offense intended) when Janet and Lacy attend a “service/performance” in the woods, featuring Janet’s friend Regina (Sophie Okonedo), who is in a relationship with Avi (Elias Koteas). Avi, a charismatic cult-leader-like man,
want to call it, that develops between Sam and Eric, is superfluous and manipulative, but doesn’t necessarily get in the way. The survival story, which is the very heart of the movie, beats much stronger. Rating: B+
‘A Quiet Place: Day One’ screens at AMC Kabuki 8 and Alamo Drafthouse Cinema New Mission. www.aquietplacemovie.com
runs the farm/commune where the performers live. The first takeaway from the experience is that Regina wants to end her relationship with Avi and move into Janet’s house. The second is that Lacy got a tick which Janet removes with a tweezer before they set it on fire.
In the scenes with Janet, Regina, and Lacy, we discover that Lacy’s mom isn’t the only one who says inappropriate things in front of children. Regina’s stay at Janet’s, following an evening of drug-induced honesty, is as short-lived as Wayne’s. However, it does establish Janet’s pattern of attracting the wrong people in her life. Shortly after it was beginning to feel strange that, for a movie set in Western Mass., there was a dearth of queer people, at the hour and 10-minute mark, Lacy asks Janet if she’d be disap-
pointed if she dated a girl. Bingo! Janet’s response is alternating motherly and off-putting, but ultimately accepting of her daughter.
Writer/director Annie Baker, a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, lets her theater background show in the way that “Janet Planet” is sepa-
rated into named acts. For a feature debut, especially one with such a talented cast, “Janet Planet” could have easily spun out of orbit. It’s to Baker’s credit that the planets aligned.
Rating: B- t www.a24films.com
“As the age of television progresses the Reagans will be the rule, not the exception. To be perfect for television is all a President has to be these days. ” —Gore Vidal
Alex Wolff, ‘Frodo’ the cat, and Lupita Nyong’o in ‘A Quiet Place: Day One’
Gareth Gatrell/Paramount Pictures
Left: Julianne Nicholson and Zoe Ziegler in ‘Janet Planet’ Right: Zoe Ziegler and Julianne Nicholson in ‘Janet Planet’
A24 Films
‘Queen of the Deuce’
Biopic of yesteryear porn theater mogul
by Gregg Shapiro
Lesbian visibility week (it really should be at least a month, don’t you think?) may be over, but there’s another unsung lesbian hero who deserves your attention – the late Chelly Wilson. If you loved Rachel Mason’s 2019 documentary, “Circus of Books,” then Valerie Kontakos’s “Queen of the Deuce” (Greenwich Entertainment) will be right up your alley.
The very definition of a tough cookie, Chelly Wilson, born of Greek Jewish heritage to Ladino-speaking parents, is described, early in the doc by her grandson David as being the most “ungrandma” grandmother a person could have. She had no choice but to be.
Wedded young in an arranged marriage, admitted tomboy Chelly left a husband and son (Dino), behind while escaping the Nazi occupation of Salonika. She eventually left for America, leaving her daughter Paulette with a gentile family to keep her safe, while she got settled in New York.
The first of Chelly’s businesses was a hot dog stand on Dyckman Street. To understand the unintentional humor here, it’s important to explain that Chelly later owned and operated most of the gay porno theaters (and a few straight ones) in New York City near 42nd Street (aka The Deuce). She even resided in a sprawling apartment, with her lesbian love Noni Kantaraki, above the Eros 1 Theater. But more on that later.
After getting a gett from her first husband, Chelly married Jewish British movie theater projectionist Rex Wilson, with whom she had a daughter named Bondi. This entrée into the world of movie theaters provided Chelly with her greatest business opportunity.
By 1965, as American mores were evolving, and adult films were becoming popular, Chelly purchased several movie theaters, including the Cameo, Tivoli (later renamed the Adonis), Eros, Venus, Lido West, and Lido East. She also began producing and distributing porn movies. In addition to that, she had other businesses, including a popular Greek restaurant, that attracted a celebrity crowd including Jackie and Aristotle Onassis.
Of course, the Times Square of the 1960s and 1970s bears little resemblance to that of today. The presence of the thriving porn industry was also associated with sex work, and hustlers and hookers lined the block. The election of Rudy Giuliani as mayor of New York in the early 1990s led to a massive Times Square clean-up (also known as the Disneyfication). As always, Chelly was able to adjust, and was fortunate to have real estate investments.
While it is hinted at throughout,
the subject of Chelly’s queerness is addressed almost an hour into the movie. Out and proud at a time when it was uncommon, her grandchildren
Dina (daughter of Paulette) and David (son of Dino) speak with pride when discussing their grandmother’s lesbian life.
Informative and entertaining in the best ways possible (the animated sequences are a particular highlight), “Queen of the Deuce” takes its place in the pantheon of must-see queer documentaries. Rating: A-t www.queenofthedeuce.com
Left: Chelly Wilson in ‘Queen of the Deuce’ Right: Noni Kantaraki and Chelly Wilson in ‘Queen of the Deuce’
Both photos: Greenwich Entertainment
MariNaomi
Queer cartoonist confronts censorship
by Michele Karlsberg
MariNaomi (They/Them), a renowned cartoonist, experienced the banning of one of their books. Confronted with censorship, they advocate for freedom of expression, visibility for comics and artistic rights. Their efforts have made them a significant figure in the fight against book banning, inspiring others to stand up for their creative liberties.
They created The Cartoonists of Color, Queer Cartoonists, and Disabled Cartoonists databases and are still maintained by them as a way to spotlight marginalized comic creators. The databases are used by booksellers, librarians, academics, editors, book publishers, event organizers, readers, and more.
MariNaomi are the creative force behind numerous acclaimed works,
including “Kiss & Tell: A Romantic Resume,” (Ages 0 to 22, Harper Perennial, 2011), “Dragon’s Breath and Other True Stories” (2dcloud/Uncivilized Books, 2014), and the extended edition of “Turning Japanese” (Oni Press, 2023). Their comics have reached global audiences, being translated into French, German, and Russian, and their art has graced prestigious institutions such as the Smithsonian and the de Young Museum. MariNaomi is a prominent figure in the literary community, having toured with Sister Spit and cohosted the Ask Bi Grlz podcast.
Despite facing challenges themselves, including the banning of some of their work, MariNaomi continues to inspire and advocate for underrepresented voices from their home in the San Francisco Bay Area. MariNaomi’s essay, “A Cowardly Activist,” gives us some insight about their activism journey.
“A Cowardly Activist”
It was a Monday, and I was driving 400 miles to organize my first protest. As I traveled I-5S past almond trees, super blooms, and endless doomed cows, my mind conjured things that could go wrong: What if no one shows up? What if Nazis show up? What if people get hurt? The only things keeping me from a panic attack were veins full of escitalopram and indignation.
As a youth, I loved crowds. I savored the excitement of being packed among bodies, embraced by humanity, dancing at parties, festivals. I especially loved protests, which not only surrounded me with like-minded people, they let me yell in public, vent my frustration, add my voice to the fray, which on its own never seemed very important. I felt part of something bigger, which we all are whether we feel it or not. But it felt good to feel it.
tington Beach city council intends to privatize its library, and its first order was to remove books with “sexual content” from the children’s section. This included books like “The Big Bath House,” which city council candidate Chad Williams called a “pedophile’s dream.” A book about bathing? Really? This was happening in my beloved California. I decided I had to go there, fear of crowds be damned.
I reached out to local authors. I reached out to groups with similar interests. To avoid counterprotesters, I asked that nothing be posted on social media until after the protest. I picked up folks as I passed through LA. We came armed with bottles of water, handmade signs, and hope.
Connecting community
The longer I’ve been around, the warier I’ve become of crowds. I can’t say exactly what did it; the Pulse nightclub shooting perhaps? At some point, I decided that crowds were no longer for me. By 2017, I was so nervous about protests, I had to take a propranolol so as not to freak out at the Women’s March.
The pandemic made it worse. I watched from my phone as folks gathered to mourn George Floyd, wanting to join, but terrified of COVID and even more terrified of anti-Asian violence. I watched impotently as my friends marched against genocide in Palestine, fearful for their safety. When did I become such a coward?
More passionate
It’s not that I’ve lost my passion. At 50, I’m even more passionate than I was at 20. But I’ve figured out ways to be effective that don’t put my body in harm’s way or trigger anxiety.
I’ve donated time, art, and money to charities and crowdfunds. I’ve been involved in animal rescues and environmental conservation.
In 2014, I created the Cartoonists of Color database to counter excuses I kept hearing from comics gatekeepers when they didn’t include people of color in their rosters. I followed it with the Queer Cartoonists database in 2015, then the Disabled Cartoonists database in 2018.
Recently, I joined Authors Against Book Bans, a grassroots organization created to disseminate information about what’s going on in the bookbanning sphere, which has gotten out of control. Members can add their names to the cause and leave it at that, or they can get more involved.
I chose to get more involved, and accepted their invitation to become California Chapter leader.
My first day in this role, I learned that the conservative-majority Hun-
The protest was outside a City Hall meeting, where community members and authors were given a chance to speak their minds. We were there to make them feel safe to dissent.
When we arrived, a local activist was setting up a table featuring books that had been removed from the library’s kids’ section. Time passed, and more protesters showed up; folks I’d invited, friends of friends, friends of friends of friends. The mood was of camaraderie, outrage, and trepidation. We made videos for social media. We connected with the community and talked about book banning.
Occasionally a person in a MAGA hat scurried by.
A police officer came by to make sure we were following the rules. As he spoke, his eyes picked through the books on the table. They lit upon Everybody Poops and his previously stern expression broke into a smile.
“Oh hey, my kids love that book!” Then he realized. “Wait, this is what they’re taking off the shelves?!”
Until now, I wasn’t sure I’d made the right choice to come, but this moment of humanity made it worth it.
After we left, I was later told, counter-protesters arrived with their own display of mature books they claimed had been removed from the kids’ section. But the locals weren’t fooled.
“I come to the library all the time,” one was heard saying. “I’ve never seen these books in the children’s section.”
Even later, one of my friends said a photo of the protest he’d posted on social media started conversations in his DMs. Folks didn’t realize this sort of thing was happening in California. We didn’t stop the ban. The privatization will probably still happen. But we showed our support, we empowered folks to speak up, and we started some conversations. Not bad for a cowardly activist!t
www.marinaomi.com
www.cartoonistsofcolor.com
www.queercartoonists.com
www.disabledcartoonists.com
Author MariNaomi
‘My Body Is Paper’
by Laura Moreno
Gil Cuadros’ long-awaited posthumous new book of short stories and poems, “My Body Is Paper,” was recently released by City Lights Books.
Although Mr. Cuadros died in 1996 of AIDS at the age of 34, the book’s editors Pablo Alvarez, Kevin Martin, Rafael Pérez-Torres, and Terry Wolverton worked to bring this new book to fruition.
The first book written by the East Los Angeles native, “City of God,” was published 30 years ago in 1994 by City Lights Books as well. The title is a nod to St. Augustine’s book by the same name, published in 426 A.D. in the Roman Empire in what is today Algeria. And like it, Cuadros’ work is a masterpiece.
Lest anyone wonder whether this second book will live up to the promise of his first, there is no doubt that “My Body Is Paper” is just as good if not better than Cuadros’ debut book.
As Justin Torres writes in the foreword, “Here are the poems and lessons and suffering and illness and grace that make the poet. Here is Gil, always Gil, uncompromised and uncompromising, and without doubt one of the sexiest and most important writers I’ve ever read.”
It is also an unflinchingly honest look at the AIDS epidemic. In 1987, Cuadros received the devastating news that he was HIV+. At the time it was a death sentence. He was told he had six months to live. Nonetheless, in 1988, he joined Terry Wolverton’s writing workshop for people with HIV at the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center.
“Writing literally saved my life or at least extended my life,” Cuadros wrote. The author lived another eight years.
Unrecognized
The genius of Gil Cuadros, while very much appreciated in the gay community, has yet to be fully recognized.
The beautifully heart-felt story
“Hands,” told in the first person, is vaguely reminiscent of the radically honest works of Truman Capote. These are tales of heartache and love in a world that is ashamed of love.
But love is everywhere to be found by those who have eyes to see.
In “Hands,” Gil Cuadros recalls having attempted suicide at age 12. In particular, he recalled that the ambulance technician cried, saying he’d never seen a little boy attempt suicide before.
The reader remains in the dark about what prompted such drastic action.
His family took him to meet with the Archbishop, who taught the young
boy that he could never go to Heaven if he killed himself, no matter how ill, no matter what. The words stuck with him now that he was ill, waiting on the steps of the church to go to lunch with his partner who works across the street.
While waiting, he offers to help the Mexican woman who arranges the plastic flowers around the statue of Mary that lost its hands in the earthquake.
“I started to notice the meditative quality of working this soil...something like a warm charge I received from the earth, that I became more spirit than being.”
He listens as she begins to tell him about her son, who loved plants and used to arrange the flowers around the statue. “I saw pride I wished my own parents could give me.”
Everyone praised her for her son’s
‘I Will Greet the Sun Again’
by Brian Bromberger
Agut-wrenching novel of survival
you won’t soon forget animates the searing debut of local IranianAmerican author Khashayar J. Khabushani’s “I Will Greet the Sun Again,” just released in paperback. Set at a low-income home in California’s San Fernando Valley, it’s narrated by an unraveling gay son of Iranian immigrants, trying to survive and figure out a better future in a broken, violent world with which he cannot connect.
A finalist for the Lambda Literary Award for Best Gay Fiction, it’s a lyrical two-tiered tale of resistance, sexually and culturally, of a youth developing his voice despite aching sadness and isolation.
Family ties
K is the youngest of three Muslim brothers, age nine, when the novel opens, all born in LA. Early on he reconciles his American ways with his Iranian background. His parent’s fractured use of Farsi words reminds him constantly of this struggle. He’s named after a king, but with the exception of his father – because it’s a difficult to pronounce Persian name – he’s called K. He shares a close, warm dynamic relationship with his brothers. K is his domineering father Baba’s favorite.
Baba left Iran with his wife Maman to seek the American Dream. He studied engineering at Columbia, calling himself the “best engineer in all of America,” yet won’t work for someone else. Instead, he steals Maman’s hardworking earnings as a nurse’s aide and gambles it, even after losing the family house.
They are barely surviving to the point that when he and his sons go to McDonald’s, he divides a single burger for the four of them to eat. Baba has suffered his own heartaches and betrayals. He’s physically and emotional-
ly abusive to his family, crushing their hopes, yet his sons look up to him as a model parent, not knowing any better.
K’s brothers seek excellence in the classroom, on the basketball court, and in their girlfriends. K is fixated on his best friend Johnny whom he met on the basketball court. He recognizes he’s attracted to men, once their fleeting secret sex affair begins.
He describes what entices him erotically in the mosque’s prayer room: “I like being this close, the smell of damp bears and freshly washed skin, so close that when the men bend over, placing their hands on their knees before kneeling to the floor, I’m the only one who gets to look, since everyone else, Baba included, is focusing on God.”
Unthinkable
Then the unthinkable happens, when furious at Maman studying at a college so she can obtain a better paying job, Baba secretly abducts his three
devotion, his love, and praised her for raising such a fine son, but no one saw how lonely he was. She wasn’t surprised when her son committed suicide, she explained. “It was many days before I cried; somehow, I knew it was all my fault.”
Cuadros writes that he wanted to ask her why, “but I knew... He was a man who wanted to heal and to be healed.”
A few lines later he writes that he imagined what her son must have looked like, “His smile must have been dazzling.” The story concludes as his partner arrives and, emboldened, he kisses him “lightly on the mouth.”
“Hands” is a powerful story told through the eyes of love, one day in the life of Gil Cuadros, full of tragedy, comfort, humanity and real human connection.
sons back to Iran to live in their ancestral home owned by his father Haji Agha. Baba tells his sons that he never should’ve brought Maman to the U.S. because it has corrupted her. “And when Maman realizes how much she misses us, Baba promises, she’ll come join us.”
Initially they’re in culture shock, especially with such foreign understandings of masculinity. But K and his brothers become friends with two neighbor boys who help them adapt, as do their other Iranian family members. Then K suffers an unspeakable brutal assault. He’s rescued by his Aunt Khaleh, Maman’s sister, who introduces him to the Iranian feminist poet/ filmmaker, Forough Farrokhzad. Her poem, “I Will Greet the Sun Again,” not only provides the novel’s title, but helps K realize he can overcome his obstacles (including handling his sexuality) and inspires him to pursue writing: “When I’m older I’ll get to write how I want to write… I want to
In preparation for his own death, Cuadros writes that he carried a pocketful of change for panhandlers. His catechism training from his childhood returned to him, “those who help the lowliest...I don’t believe I have long; my blood has turned against me, there is no one here to heal me.”
The poem “If She Could” is about his mother’s shame. Here it is in its entirety:
She would cut out what is wrong with me; my body is paper.
She’d leave the edge sharp, a hollow space at my crotch, my mouth clean of sperm.
And even her bruiser, my father, is rock silent about how ill I’ve become, claims the plague will clean the cancer.
I tell them about my tumor scare them with the word “biopsy” above the lungs, malignant.
“The CAT scans really aren’t clear, and it might be something from birth, a congenital disorder.”
My mother refuses her part, as if I grew out of a man’s weak leg, nursed on clammy balls and ass.
We weren’t put down here for that, she insists, and if that’s prejudice then it is.
I tell her it’s good that we argue, scissors and paper, mother and son; but she has to win with the last words.
She says, “It’s like you killed me.”
‘My Body Is Paper: Stories & Poems’ by Gil Cuadros, City Lights Books, $17.95 www.citylights.com
write my own rules.”
Khaleh will help K and his brothers return to America without Baba, who has no future in the U.S. or in the family. When he returns, K must reconcile the impact Iran has had on his character and identity.
Phobia and fears
The 9/11 attacks bring shock, horror, and Islamophobia, compelling his older brother Justin to enlist in the military. Seeing Justin’s full Iranian name on his duffel bag, K worries whether other soldiers will think he’s a terrorist. But in addition to grief inspired by 9/11, K must confront his desires for Johnny and decide whether Johnny can or will reciprocate those same feelings, especially once he joins a gang.
A key moment in the book is a conversation between K and Maman:
“I want Maman to know she doesn’t have to be quiet anymore, that it’d be better. That way I’d get to know who
she actually is. She’d get to know me, too. But she repeats it again, how for her being quiet has worked, even at the hospital, nobody bothers her because she keeps to herself.”
Like many immigrant women, her hope lives through her children’s successes. It’s also easy to equate her quiet with K trapped in his closet so no one will ‘bother’ him.
With Farrokhzad’s poetry as an undercurrent, this novel is about survival, echoing K’s Aunt Khaleh’s observation, “No matter how much they take from us… we find a way to enjoy life.” K must work through his trauma so without sacrificing any part of who he is, he can fulfill his aunt’s philosophical assertion. This can only happen when K reconciles his connection to Iran with his sense of belonging to the U.S., as well as heal from the pain engendered by his family. Despite all the anguish K endures, he doesn’t let it stop him from experiencing joy or rob his future away from him.
In this open-hearted poetic saga of both cultural, religious, and sexual awakening amidst displacement and resilience, Khabushani excels in intertwining all these areas of transformation, revealing how development is interdependent, not separate tracts of growth. He accomplishes this feat always with sensitivity and compassion not only with K, but the rich supporting characters, not all of whom are laudatory.
Despite all the disorientation K experiences, he’s able to unify these conflicting strands, enabling him to find his place in the world and attain a kind of liberation. With this auspicious novel, Khabushani achieves elevated stature in current queer literature.t
‘I Will Greet the Sun Again’ by Khashayar J. Shabushani. Hogarth/Random House, $17. www.hogarthbooks.com
Author Gil Cuadros
Author Khashayar J. Shabushani
‘Traveling: On the Path of Joni Mitchell’
by Gregg Shapiro
If you’ve been waiting for the great summer read of 2024, your patience has been rewarded with the publication of “Traveling: On the Path of Joni Mitchell” (Dey Street, 2024) by acclaimed music journalist Ann Powers. Legendary singer/songwriter Mitchell, who is undergoing the kind of renaissance that few artists match, has been the recipient of a profusion of accolades in recent months.
In Powers’ more than capable hands, we are taken on a grand tour of Mitchell’s extensive career. But since Mitchell is no ordinary subject, “Traveling” is no ordinary biographical work. Powers, renowned for her groundbreaking music journalism, incorporates a personal element, reflecting on the impact Mitchell had on her life, something to which virtually every reader (and Mitchell fan) will relate.
Gregg Shapiro: Ann, as a lifelong Joni Mitchell fan, I loved your new book. Would it be fair to say it was a massive undertaking?
Ann Powers: Thank you so much! And yes, more than fair. The same thing that makes Joni Mitchell so fascinating – her lifelong pursuit of new artistic challenges, in dynamic relationship with her ongoing travels and inner explorations – makes her a massive subject for anyone who really wants to understand the whole of her life and work. I didn’t want to merely dwell on the best-known work, and that meant I had to go on a serious journey.
How long did it take from start to finish?
About seven years, maybe a bit more. It did take me some time to really delve in.
Personals
Did the book begin as a personal memoir in which Joni figured prominently in your life or as a Joni bio in which her impact on you became part of the story?
I was asked to write a biography, but for reasons I discuss in the book, I didn’t feel comfortable with the conventional biographical form. I wanted to try something both more personal and more wide-ranging and associative. Early drafts were even more like that! I had fictional passages, long wanderings away from the subject. My wonderful editor Anna Montague helped me focus.
Are you the kind of person who can write while listening to music and, if so, was Joni in constant rotation?
I don’t listen to music with words while I write. But I spent tons of nonwriting time getting to know all of Joni’s catalog. Whatever period I was working on, that’s where I lived. I hadn’t spent that much time with certain albums – even ones that are now favorites, like “Mingus” or “Night Ride Home” – before beginning this project.
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The first Joni book I ever bought was in 1976 – “Joni Mitchell” by Leonore Fleischer, cleverly subtitled “Her Life, Her Loves, Her Music.” It wasn’t among the ones you mentioned in “Traveling.” Were you aware of this book?
You know, I believe I did run across that book! But I think I only saw it referenced here and there. Now I have to
go out and find it [laughs]! One definite problem with music biographies is that many of them become somewhat lost to time: they’re published as mass-market books and aren’t very well documented. Fleischer’s is one of those, I believe.
Was there one book or source that you found indispensable in your research?
Yes, there were many. David Yaffe’s “Reckless Daughter” is fundamental. It sets out the chronology in loving detail and he’s fantastic on the music.
Lloyd Whitesell’s “The Music of Joni Mitchell” helped me grasp the details of her composition and performance – he’s a musicologist and gave me a language I didn’t necessarily have.
I feel great kinship with Michelle Mercer, whose “Will You Take Me As I Am” is so beautifully considered and written. Sheila Weller gave me key context with her triptych of Joni, Carole King, and Carly Simon, “Girls Like Us.”
Malka Marom’s book-length compendium of interviews, “Joni Mitchell in Her Own Words,” is what I’d point people toward if they asked for one recommendation.
I’d also love to draw attention to two academic books: the Finnish scholar Anne Karppinen’s “The Songs of Joni Mitchell: Gender, Performance and Agency” and the anthology “Joni Mitchell: New Critical Readings,” edited
by Ruth Charnock. Both provide rich frameworks for going deeper into Joni.
“Traveling” was released in June 2024 a few months after Joni had a triumphant night at the Grammys, where she performed for the first time, and won a Grammy. Do you regret not being able to include that in the book?
Now that Joni is in her wonderful renaissance, I feel that we are going to continue to see great milestones for her. She’s playing the Hollywood Bowl this fall! Every non-fiction book that’s published is by nature incomplete, even if it’s on a historical subject –there’s always new material surfacing, new angles to consider. So, I’m okay with where this one ended. I think her return to Newport made for a wonderful closing of the circle.
In the Emissaries chapter of “Traveling,” which comes right before the book’s conclusion, you include two queer artists, John Kelly and Brandi Carlile, which, again, speaks to Joni’s connection to the community. Do you have a sense of what that might mean to her?
Joni is a very open-minded person and has always had queer friends and confidantes. I mean, David Geffen was her bestie, roommate, and champion! The relationships with John and Brandi are unique – one created an unparalleled tribute to her,
and the other has been her emissary during this new phase. I think they’re among her most important relationships, certainly in this century. Joni appreciates those who show that they really understand her, whomever they may be.
Joni also included queer representation in her music, found in songs such as “Underneath The Streetlights,” “Tax Free,” “Two Grey Rooms,” and “Free Man in Paris.” Aside from perhaps Taylor Swift, do you think it would be fair to say that Joni is the closest the queer community came to having a singer/songwriter equivalent to a Judy Garland type of icon?
Oh wow, I’d really have to think about that. Years ago, I did a book with Tori Amos, and I saw firsthand how deep her connections are to her queer fans. I think Beyoncé cemented a serious bond with the queer community when she released “Renaissance.” I could go on! But Joni does have the life story to inspire Judy Garland-level adulation, and the music to back it up. And she does love a dramatic flourish. Thank goodness her life took her somewhere other than where Judy ended up, though. She is having a happy late life. I wish Judy could have had that.
Do you know how aware Joni is about “Traveling?” She has been aware of it since not long after I began writing. I have to admit, I have some butterflies about what she might think – she’s often been critical about authors who’ve taken on her life and work. And I don’t shy away from difficult subjects, particularly the Art Nouveau character and its complicated shadow on her relationship to Blackness. I don’t know if she would appreciate what I have to say about that. But – and I say this in the book – I feel that true respect for an artist demands honesty and the courage to criticize when it feels right. I would hope that Joni, who never shied away from criticizing either herself or others, would appreciate that.t
“Traveling: On the Path of Joni Mitchell” by Ann Powers, $28. Harper Collins www.harpercollins.com
Author Ann Powers
Joni Mitchell in 2022 at the Newport Folk Festival
Jim Brock
Emily April Allen
Post-Pride pics
Photos by Steven Underhill
The annual San Francisco LGBTQ Pride march, celebration in Civic Center, and the City Hall party, all held June 30, brought out the sunshine and rainbow garb for thousands of participants and viewers. Notable appearances included headliner and Grand Marshal Billy Porter, Rep. Nancy Pelosi and MC D’Arcy Drollinger. www.sfpride.org
For more photos, visit hwww.facebook.com/lgbtsf.nightlife. For upcoming nightlife and arts events, see Going Out each week, only on www.ebar.com.
