June 25, 2020 Edition of the Bay Area Reporter by Bay Area Reporter

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Pride

Vol. 50 • No. 26 • June 25-July 1, 2020

2020

he Bay Area Reporter’s Pride cover was done by psychologist James LaCroce, Ph.D., the husband of B.A.R. assistant editor Matthew S. Bajko. Commissioned months ago, before the coronavirus pandemic upended our lives, it’s now taken on new significance and is a nod to LGBTQ Pride, the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement, and AIDS 2020, the now-virtual conference that was to have taken place in San Francisco and Oakland, starting July 6. While there is no in-person Pride parade this year, for what would have been San Francisco’s 50th celebration of the 1969 Stonewall uprising, there are many online events, protest marches, the lighting of the pink triangle, and other activities taking place. Whatever you do, stay safe and show your Pride.

Illustration: James LaCroce, Ph.D.

SF Pride celebrated through the years! by Cynthia Laird

For most of the last five decades, the B.A.R. has featured a special Pride section or acknowledged SF Pride on its cover. Below is a compilation of some of our Pride covers, a nostalgic snapshot of what the LGBTQ community was like at that moment in time.

he Bay Area Reporter turned 49 this year. This June marks the 51st anniversary of the Stonewall riots, and San Francisco Pride is celebrating 50 years.

The

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Vol. 44 • No. 26 • June 26-July 2, 2014

SPECIAL PRIDE SECTION Vol. 40

. No. 25 . 24 June 2010

The

Pride 2011

The

Vol. 41 • No. 25 • June 23-29, 2011

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Vol. 46 • No. 25 • June 23-29, 2016

Illustration by T. Scott King

ONS } { SECOND OF THREE SECTIONS

The

Fighting W for justice

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T H R E E

Vol. 45 • No. 26 • June 25-July 1, 2015

S E C T I O N S • • • Kenshi Westover

he LGBT community was born as a movement of self-empowerment. In these pages of the Bay Area Reporter’s Pride section, we feature stories of courage and survival. The personal stories of Pride parade grand marshals are portraits of empowerment, whether they are giving young people a voice, working for social change, or entertaining the masses. In the end, we all seek empowerment, and our stories must be told in order to inspire others.

Illustartion: TSK

OF THREE SECTIONS }

ride, viewed as a puzzle, lets all of our varied communities come together. We identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, black, white, Asian, Jewish, drag, leather, daddy, older, younger, and more. We are all pieces of society, and making those pieces fit into the puzzle that is life is our challenge – and oftentimes we have to confront those whose aim is to relegate us to second-class status or who support outdated ideologies that lead to discrimination. The puzzle analogy is visualized in the cover art by gay local graphic artist Kenshi Westover. Inside this special Pride section, you will find stories of success, perseverance, overcoming adversity, and challenging the status quo. These themes are illustrated through articles on a gay social club, the Billys, and San Francisco Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi’s groundbreaking policy to stop classifying transgender inmates who have not had surgery according to their birth sex, meaning that trans women would be housed with women in jail. This year’s San Francisco Pride community grand marshals and other honorees are also profiled – they are a diverse group of people who have started their own businesses, fostered social change, and improved the lives of others.

In the news section, you’ll find all that you need to know about Saturday’s new Pink Party and Sunday’s parade and festival, along with other local coverage. The arts section includes a look at the Frameline film festival and other happenings. Along with our coverage of multiple arts events, we have expanded nightlife listings in the BARtab section with information on every notable LGBTQ event this week, and an exclusive interview with Pride main stage headliner, Steve Grand. No matter what the U.S. Supreme Court decides in the marriage case, the LGBT community still has much work ahead combating bias, hate violence, and workplace discrimination. Trans people are still unable to serve openly in the military. Even in a city as diverse as San Francisco, in one of the most liberal areas of the country, the Bay Area, there are those who abhor us. Just read our story about a gay Latino mural in the Mission district that’s been hit by graffiti vandals – three times this month. So as you celebrate this Pride weekend, keep in mind that this is just the beginning of a renewed effort to achieve equality for all. Happy Pride.

{ FIRST OF FOUR SECTIONS }

Kenshi Westover

A contingent carries the rainbow flag in the 2011 LGBT Pride Parade.

Rick Gerharter

or some 34 years now, the rainbow flag has been the most visible symbol of LGBT pride. Businesses use it to indicate they are gay-owned or gay-friendly, churches use the rainbow colors to indicate all are welcome at worship. The list goes on. In short, if you see a rainbow flag, you know that LGBTs are welcome.

That flag’s creator, Gilbert Baker, will be back in San Francisco this weekend to accept the inaugural Gilbert Baker Founders Award from the San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration Committee. You’ll find a story about him in this special Pride section. This year’s Pride theme is “Global Equality” and we also take a look at LGBT

{ SECOND OF THREE SECTIONS }

. No. 26 . 25 June 2009

rights advances in Latin America, along with profiles of the community grand marshals. Finally, lots of youth arrive in San Francisco and turn to the streets, and we examine that issue as well. This Pride season promises to be big, brash, and political, as always. Enjoy.

{ FIRST OF FOUR SECTIONS }

to form A More

in the SF Homeless Project. In the news section, you’ll find all that you need to know about the Trans March, Vol. 47 • No. 25 • June 22-28, 2017 Dyke March, and of course, the Pride parade and festival. The Arts and Culture section includes Frameline film festival coverage. For nightlife and events, BARtab includes expanded listings of notable LGBTQ events. Last year at this time, we were anticipating the U.S. Supreme Court’s same-sex marriage decision. This year, we’re grieving. But through good news and bad, the LGBT community is resilient. We will keep fighting for equality. We will keep working to overturn homophobic and transphobic laws. We will keep marching with Pride, even if we have to do it through tears.t Diego Gomez

Union

Chip Garcia-Coakley of Clovis, California, stands as a flagbearer during the “Meet in the Middle 4 Equality” rally in Fresno on May 30. GarciaCoakley and his partner of 14 years, Scott Coakley, were married on their 14th anniversary in their back yard last September.

Lydia Gonzales

EMPOWER!

Vol. 39

Lansbury. His work has been used by Tweaker.org and can be seen in the comic books Glamazonia and The ALPHABET: LGBTQAI Anthology. He is currently writing and illustrating his civil rights comic EX-MEN ‘63: The Feminine Mystique. The stories inside this special Pride section feature the various parade grand marshals and other honorees. They reflect the broad spectrum of our community and include groups working on racial and economic issues, HIV/AIDS awareness, and taking care of one’s self. Each is being recognized for their contributions to the LGBT community. We also take a look at the city’s homeless crisis through its shelters and single-roomoccupancy hotels, in advance of our participation with over 60 media outlets next week

Perfect

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Pride • 2013

SPECIAL PRIDE SECTION

AY REA EPORTER

Pride • 2012

Vol. 42 • No. 25 • June 21-27, 2012

SYMBOL

Vol. 42 • No. 26 • June 27-July 3, 2013

{ SECOND

The

A GLOBAL

The

e commissioned this cover illustration long before the tragic events in Orlando, but it seems fitting that it shows our community fighting for its life. Whether breaking the bonds of incarceration, seeking accountability from law enforcement, or trying to raise a family in one of the most expensive regions in the country, our LGBT brothers and sisters have to do all that and mourn the recent loss of 49 lives in the Pulse nightclub shooting. It doesn’t seem fair that this happened during Pride Month, but life rarely is. The drawing, by “hella queer” illustrator Diego Gomez, seeks to reflect this year’s San Francisco Pride theme, “For Racial and Economic Justice.” Gomez is a native San Franciscan who is also known as Trangela

Since 1971, the newspaper of record for the San Francisco Bay Area LGBTQ community

Frustration with Obama builds to a crescendo by Matthew S. Bajko

ive months in and the LGBT community’s swooning over President Barack Obama is officially over. Instead, bashing the White House for its lack of movement on LGBT rights is in full bloom from coast to coast. Some are calling it the “Summer of Obummer.” Steven Goldstein, the former chair of New Jersey’s statewide LGBT organization, Garden State Equality, went so far as to describe the president’s record on LGBT rights, thus far, as “a tyranny of timidity” in a release last week. The president came into office pledging to be a “fierce advocate” for the LGBT community. But the courtship between the Obama White House and LGBT activists has proven to be rocky, with the administration having to do damage control even before Obama took the oath of office in January. The outrage back then was the selection of anti-gay California

pastor Rick Warren to give the invocation at the president’s inauguration. Following that kerfuffle the gay community’s heartstrings were plucked by hints of Obama appointing the firstever openly gay President Barack Obama cabinet member. has not received high Instead, gay men marks from LGBT people. and lesbians were given lower posts, with the highest administration appointee that of John Berry as director of the Office of Personnel Management. More sour notes were hit when the administration said it wanted to take a full year to

S EC O N D

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Coalition-building shaping up by Seth Hemmelgarn

uoyed by the success of Meet in the Middle 4 Equality, where thousands of marriage equality supporters converged on the city of Fresno in California’s Central Valley in late May, activists, religious leaders, and others are launching an effort to build broad coalitions now, in advance of a possible 2010 ballot effort to repeal Proposition 8. The unprecedented outreach has spawned more than two-dozen grassroots groups, and reinvigorated more established, larger organizations such as Marriage Equality USA, the progressive Courage Campaign, and Equality California. Now, however, the hard work begins as LGBTs and allies work to remedy one of the main criticisms of the No on 8 campaign – that the leadership largely ignored people of color and voters in faith communities. Immediately after Prop 8 passed, same-sex marriage proponents pledged to build better relationships with

T H R E E

communities that weren’t necessarily white, LGBT, or secular. Some feel that efforts to build coalitions are going well. But asked if he’s seen more coalition building happening, the Reverend Eric Lee, presi- The Reverend Eric Lee dent and CEO of urged support for the Southern marriage equality at the Christian Leader- Meet in the Middle 4 ship Conference- Equality rally in Fresno Los Angeles, said, May 30. “Not really.” “I’ve participated in numerous conference calls, and usually the participating organizations are your LGBT organizations, and you don’t find very

S EC T I O N S

Lydia Gonzales

O F

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Rainbow flag creator Gilbert Baker marched down Market Street during the June 28, 2015 San Francisco LGBT Pride parade. Rick Gerharter

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Pride flags

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Dixon a lone holdout

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Protests to mix with virtual SF Pride

Rick Gerharter

Former supervisor Harry Britt speaks at the candlelight march November 27, 2018 to mark the 40th anniversary of the City Hall assassinations of Supervisor Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone.

Gay former SF supervisor Harry Britt dies by Cynthia Laird

arry Britt, a gay man who succeeded Harvey Milk on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, died Wednesday, June 24. He was 82. Mr. Britt had been a patient at Laguna Honda Hospital in San Francisco for some time. He had suffered from various health issues over the years. Gay former supervisor and state Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, who worked closely with Mr. Britt over the years, told the Bay Area Reporter Wednesday that he will miss the longtime LGBT leader. “I feel the loss of his friendship,” Ammiano said. “He accomplished so much. “If you look up ‘unsung hero’ in the dictionary, you’ll see a picture of Harry,” Ammiano added. Tim Wolfred, another friend and the first openly gay man to serve on the City College board in the 1980s, said he hopes people remember Mr. Britt as a pioneer in fighting for the rights of all people. “I think Harry was a hardworking fighter for LGBT rights and for other progressive issues in this city,” Wolfred said. “He served as a supervisor for 14 years and was a great person. I hope he will be well-regarded for all he did for us.” Mr. Britt was appointed to the Board of Supervisors in 1979 by then-mayor Dianne Feinstein, following the November 1978 assassination of Milk and then-mayor George Moscone. He was subsequently elected to the board in November 1979, 1980, 1984, and 1988. “I was sad to hear about the passing of Harry Britt. I appointed Harry to Harvey Milk’s seat in 1979 after the assassination, and Harry went on to a long career on the board. He served until 1993, including two years as president,” noted Feinstein in a statement to the B.A.R. “Harry was progressive before the word became vogue. He was a powerful advocate for the gay community who never took no for an answer. Strong, passionate advocates like Harry have done so much for San Francisco and the country, and I’m glad to have known him. He’ll be missed.” Gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, like Mr. Britt the lone LGBT member of the Board of Supervisors, said Mr. Britt fulfilled the dreams of Milk. “It is nearly impossible to adequately express what Harry Britt’s leadership has meant to our city, and the tremendous impact that he has had on the queer community and progressive politics over the last four decades,” Mandelman stated to the B.A.R. June 24. “Though it was Harvey Milk’s dream to increase queer representation in our elected bodies and fight for full legal equality, it was See page 30 >>

Vol. 50 • No. 26 • June 25-July 1, 2020

A crowd arrives in the Tenderloin June 18 during a march for Black trans lives. At least two protest marches are scheduled for June 28, when the in-person San Francisco Pride parade would have taken place.

by John Ferrannini

t would be hard for the historical irony of this weekend to be lost on anyone – there will be no in-person LGBT Pride parade in San Francisco on the occasion of the event’s milestone 50th anniversary. But that certainly doesn’t mean there will be a dearth of activities for people to partici-

pate in or watch in one of the birthplaces of the movement for LGBT rights in the United States. In fact, activists nationwide are seeking to use this landmark anniversary – free as it is from corporate floats and police participation, and in this year of political and social turmoil not seen in decades – to draw Pride to a less assimilationist, more revolutionary posture.

Among those efforts is the People’s March and Rally-Unite to Fight, which is being planned for Sunday, June 28, the day that the annual Market Street parade would have taken place. The march is scheduled to commence at 11 a.m. at the intersection of Polk and Washington streets. The first San Francisco Pride was a “gay-in” held on Polk Street in June 1970. See page 16 >> John Ferrannini

Pride sweeps through Contra Costa, San Mateo counties by Matthew S. Bajko

t the start of 2020 it wasn’t at all clear that LGBTQ advocates in Contra Costa and San Mateo counties could achieve their goal of having every single city in their jurisdictions celebrate June as Pride Month for the first time. And then the novel coronavirus outbreak descended on the Bay Area in March, leading to a region-wide shutdown that had most people sheltering in place at home. One by one Pride celebrations were canceled, postponed, or moved online as health officials banned large gatherings in order to help stop the spread of the virus. The decisions ended up bolstering the argument for why local cities and towns should mark June as Pride Month, not only with a proclamation but also by flying the rainbow flag. Unable to gather for their local county Pride events, or travel into San Francisco to attend the largest such gathering on the West Coast, they could head to their city hall to see the international symbol for the LGBTQ community flying over their hometown. By mid-June the majority of cities in both counties had raised the Pride flag. Several in Contra Costa County, urged on by residents inspired by the protests over racial injustice and police brutality, opted to fly the version known as the Philly Pride flag that includes black and brown colored stripes to honor the African American and Latinx LGBTQ communities. In a few cities, such as San Pablo and Foster City, the city councils agreed to fly the flag by divided votes. Other councils issued Pride Month proclamations for the very first time, with LGBTQ advocates hoping to see those cities fly the Pride flag next June. “A year after I came out, I remember how seeing the flag fly at my city of work made such a huge impact on my sense of well-being, feeling included, feeling welcome, and feeling accepted,” recalled Belmont resident

Courtesy Shawn Kumagai

After controversy over the Pride flag last year, the Dublin City Council voted to raise the Philly version of the flag this year for Pride Month.

Lelan Anders, 55, who came out as queer and nonbinary four years ago. Anders still works in Sunnyvale, part of Santa Clara County, and joined the San Mateo LGBTQ Commission in January. A resident of Foster City for 18 years, they reached out to the members of the City Council there to explain why flying the Pride flag was important after several members initially expressed misgivings about doing so. “Giving others that opportunity to see the Pride flag fly in their own city of residence and place they work is really important to me,” said Anders. “I know how that can impact somebody’s sense of well-being and connectedness to the community.”

Standing for equal rights

San Mateo County officially achieved its Pride Visibility campaign sweep June 17 when Atherton became the last of its 20 cities and towns to issue a Pride proclamation. Moraga will make it official for Contra Costa County June 24 when it becomes the last of the 19 cities there to issue a proclamation

for Pride Month. “We are hopeful of seeing other cities outside of the county do so as well. People are going and asking their city councils to raise the flag. It has been awesome,” said Concord resident Robyn Kuslits, the immediate past president of the Lambda Democratic Club of Contra Costa County. The LGBT political group has been working to achieve a countywide sweep in the East Bay jurisdiction for several years now. The last two cities to observe Pride Month, Clayton and Danville, not only signed on this year but agreed to fly the rainbow flag. Clayton raised several around its downtown at the start of June, while Danville hoisted the Philly version last week in response to community calls it do so organized by the local PFLAG chapter. “It’s been really exciting,” said Kuslits, 33, who is transgender, bisexual, and genderqueer. “I think seeing every city recognize our community, I think, really shows how far we have come.” See page 26 >>

<< Community News

4 • Bay Area Reporter • June 25-July 1, 2020

Courtesy SFMTA

Muni’s subway map will change come August, when the lines are expected to reopen.

No rainbow, but SF Muni subway map is changing by Matthew S. Bajko

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an Francisco’s subway system is receiving new maps this summer, but they won’t sport the rainbow design LGBTQ advocates wanted to see the city’s public transit agency adopt. The map is being redesigned to reflect several route changes that the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency plans to implement in August. The routes for three of the subway lines are being reconfigured in order to help passengers adhere to new safety protocols required by the novel coronavirus outbreak. Since late March when the city implemented shelter-in-place orders that drastically reduced transit ridership, and several SFMTA employees contracted the virus, the underground subway system has been shuttered. As more businesses reopen in the coming weeks, and schools get ready to welcome students back for the fall semester, the SFMTA is readying to revive subway service in August. When it does, riders will encounter two significant changes. For those residents of the Castro, Noe Valley, Glen Park, and other neighborhoods serviced by the J-Church subway line, they will now have to disembark from the trains when they reach the intersection of Church and Market streets. To continue downtown, riders will need to descend underground via the Church Station and board subway trains headed inbound. Because Muni can only run onecar trains on the J-Church line due to how several street-level stops are configured, particularly on Liberty Hill near Mission Dolores Park, it makes it difficult for passengers to maintain a safe physical distance from each other. Thus, the J-Church will no longer enter the underground subway system via the Duboce Tunnel behind the upper Market Street Safeway shopping complex. Instead, it will turn around and head back out toward the Balboa Park Station and hopefully provide faster service for passengers along the route. The N-Judah subway that also uses the Duboce Tunnel will return to service in August with two-car trains. The M-Oceanview line is being combined with the T-Third line and will run with two-car trains servicing the new interlined route. The L-Taraval and K-Ingleside lines are also being interlined into one new route with one-car trains. Like the J-Church trains, those trains also will no longer enter into the underground subway system as they used to do via the West Portal Station. They will remain aboveground and run from the SF Zoo to City College at the Balboa Park Station; riders will need to disembark at West Portal to transfer to the M/T line or S-Shuttles to get downtown.

More S-Shuttles with two-car trains will be run between the West Portal and Embarcadero stations. By reducing the number of lines inside the underground system, Muni expects service will be faster along all of the lines and cut back on delays due to trains getting stuck inside the subway system. “We are all too familiar with the routine backups that occurred in the Metro rail tunnels before COVID-19,” acknowledged the SFMTA in a June 18 post on its website announcing the coming changes. “Trains would be stuck outside the tunnels, between stations and on the platforms for long periods, often unable to let customers on or off. For years J Church and N Judah customers have experienced delays waiting to enter the tunnel at Duboce.” Gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, who has been working with city officials on plans to improve Muni service, told the Bay Area Reporter he hopes the coming changes provide commuters with more reliable, faster service. “If reliability increases, people will be happy. But if it turns out people are waiting a long time to get on a train in the tunnel it is not going to be good,” he said. The route changes will result in a new map for the subway system. As the lines are color-coded by Muni, it will mean a blue strip for the N-Judah next to a green and red checkered pattern for the combined M/T line then a yellow strip for the S-Shuttle running along Market Street between the Church and Embarcadero stations.

Push for rainbow maps is paused

As the annual Pride parade normally goes up Market Street, LGBTQ advocates for the past two years have been pushing to see Muni rearrange its subway map so that the train lines resemble the colors of the Pride flag. The late gay artist and activist Gilbert Baker created the six-striped rainbow flag that is now a global symbol for the LGBTQ community. It was a simpler design than that of the first flags Baker created with his friends Lynn Segerblom and the late James McNamara for the 1978 San Francisco Pride parade and celebration at the request of the late gay supervisor Harvey Milk. Those flags had additional colors and one featured white stars in a blue field of fabric. As it turns out, Muni has been using all but one of the colors of the rainbow flag to designate five of its six subway lines on the maps seen posted inside the train cars and in subway stations. But the colors do not match how they are assembled on the rainbow flag, with red at the top See page 30 >>

<< Open Forum

6 • Bay Area Reporter • June 25-July 1, 2020

Volume 50, Number 26 June 25-July 1, 2020 www.ebar.com

PUBLISHER Michael M. Yamashita Thomas E. Horn, Publisher Emeritus (2013) Publisher (2003 – 2013) Bob Ross, Founder (1971 – 2003) NEWS EDITOR Cynthia Laird CULTURE EDITOR Jim Provenzano ASSISTANT EDITORS Matthew S. Bajko • John Ferrannini CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Ray Aguilera • Tavo Amador • Race Bannon Roger Brigham • Brian Bromberger Victoria A. Brownworth • Philip Campbell Heather Cassell • Dan Renzi Michael Flanagan • Jim Gladstone David Guarino • Liz Highleyman Brandon Judell • John F. Karr • Lisa Keen Matthew Kennedy • Joshua Klipp David Lamble • Max Leger David-Elijah Nahmod • Paul Parish Tim Pfaff • Jim Piechota Gregg Shapiro • Gwendolyn Smith Sari Staver • Charlie Wagner Ed Walsh • Cornelius Washington • Sura Wood

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ongratulations to LGBTQ advocates, allies, and elected leaders in San Mateo and Contra Costa counties for achieving countywide sweeps of Pride observances for the first time this June. As we’ve reported over the last several weeks, city and town councils in each jurisdiction have voted to recognize, in some fashion, June as Pride Month. The last to do so, Moraga, is expected to issue a proclamation Wednesday. Most are flying the rainbow flag or alternate versions, like the Philly flag that includes black and brown stripes or the Progress flag that includes those colors and the pink, blue, and white hues of the transgender flag. From East Palo Alto to tony Atherton, elected officials in San Mateo County took to heart requests from their constituents to show some Pride. In Foster City, where the City Council had originally declined to fly a Pride flag (but issued a proclamation), civic leaders reconsidered and last week hoisted one outside City Hall. Similarly in San Ramon in Contra Costa County, where at first City Hall was illuminated in the colors of the rainbow flag, the decision was made last week to fly the Philly Pride flag after all. These supportive demonstrations are largely due to LGBTQ residents and straight allies who joined forces in a remarkable Pride Visibility Campaign, prompted by the social distancing recommendations to suppress the novel coronavirus. With in-person Pride gatherings – picnics, festivals, and San Francisco’s mammoth parade – canceled this year, East Bay and Peninsula LGBTQs and allies decided that it was important for their cities and towns to observe Pride Month by flying a Pride flag in front of government buildings or in town squares. In San Mateo, the county’s LGBTQ commission took the lead, while in Contra Costa it was largely members of the Lambda Democratic Club and local PFLAG members. Giuliana Garcia, who represents East Palo

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Foster City staff borrowed the rainbow flag from Island United UCC Church and raised it June 16 in front of City Hall.

Alto on the San Mateo County LGBTQ Commission, expressed the importance of the visibility campaign last month when they accepted a virtual proclamation from Woodside Mayor Ned Fluet. “In a time of social distancing simple acts of visibility create a deeper sense of inclusion and connection,” said Garcia, noting that the actions have “taken on greater urgency due to the pandemic, which has led to the cancellation or postponement of Pride parades and celebrations.” The effort also brought into the conversation the importance of recognizing all members of the LGBTQ community, including people of color. Speaking at the first Half Moon Bay flagraising ceremony June 1, Dana Johnson, a co-chair of the county’s Pride Initiative who also represents Redwood City on the San Mateo County LGBTQ Commission, called out the names of several African Americans whose deaths have sparked protests across the country – George Floyd, Breanna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery – as well as Tony McDade, a Black transgender man. “We are still not safe to express our gender identity,” said Johnson, who is Black and gender nonbinary. “Fifty years since the Stonewall

riots and there is still a lot of work to be done. So let’s get back to work and fight for justice for all.” In the East Bay, Lafayette Mayor Mike Anderson, in a video message posted earlier this month, noted that the city would have normally held a ceremony June 1 to raise the rainbow flag, but it was canceled like all public events this year. And Anderson, who is Black, noted the parallels between the LGBTQ community’s fight for equal rights to the current protests led by Black Lives Matter activists outraged by the continued killings of African Americans at the hands of the police. “This is another part of our community that has suffered for many, many generations both ridicule and discrimination,” he said, adding that LGBTQ people need “to know that we are not judging them on a daily basis. It is the same issue, it just has a different label on it.” In that spirit, the visibility effort should increase for 2021, with all Bay Area cities and towns flying some version of the Pride flag. (Dixon is the lone holdout this year in Solano County.) A few cities this year that were the focus of the visibility campaign only opted to issue proclamations. And while those are important, they lack the visibility of a flag, which says to LGBTQs that they are valued members of that community. Atherton, for example, issued a proclamation this year, for the first time; that’s progress in one of the wealthiest towns in the country, but next year its leaders should go further and vote to raise the flag. Leaders of this year’s visibility efforts started their work early, and that was key to their success, because as they experienced, some city leaders had questions while others needed to adopt flag policies. Additionally, the lead time also gave some elected officials the opportunity to gradually accept the idea as a positive act for their communities. If your city didn’t fly a flag this year, it can be a goal for next June. Reach out to your elected representatives and tell them why this worldwide symbol of queer visibility is an important statement that the San Francisco Bay Area has Pride and celebrates all people.t

Stonewall 51: Moving forward

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Courtesy Foster City

year on from Stonewall’s 50th anniversary, we find ourselves in quite an odd time in history. This 51st year of Pride will also be a historic one for vastly different and unforeseen reasons. This year, in a first, we welcomed it from a virtual distance across the globe. Regardless of the venue, we must continue to openly acknowledge and give our gratitude for the sacrifices, the struggles, and the path created by Mother Marsha [P. Johnson], Sylvia Rivera, Miss Major, Victoria Cruz, and all other Black, Brown, and Indigenous trans womxn (BBITWx) that are the reason we are here and openly queer. After all, we must never move on from the collective understanding that Pride commemorates the Stonewall riots led in part by BBITWx. While we must not diverge from this knowledge, we must move forward in our joint understanding of why this is important beyond yearly “celebrations.” This shift becomes even more pressing when we recognize that 2019, the very year of Stonewall’s 50th, was recorded as the deadliest year for Black, Brown, and Indigenous trans womxn. Following this, not even six months later, we find ourselves in a global pandemic, in which our most vulnerable, Black, Brown, and Indigenous queer and trans people (QTBBIPoC), are again disproportionately affected by identities compounded with race and the racial inequality that determine their worth, safety, and access in society. With fewer resources, less access to medical care, unstable employment and income, it’s not a surprise that even when it comes to the preceding HIV pandemic that viciously affected our very community, USian Black (Black men from the U.S.) gay men and other marginalized genders (MaGe; coined by Crystal Michelle) were and are still the most affected by it, even in 2020. The HIV pandemic never actually left our community. It simply stopped affecting the white majority akin to reopen-

Suzy Gonzalez

The cover for what will be the Spanish version of “Queer and Trans Voices: Achieving Liberation Through Consistent Anti-Oppression” was done by Chicana queer artist Suzy Gonzalez.

ing orders despite how COVID-19 disproportionately affects BBIPoC. And, as George Floyd’s murder and the protests that followed across all 50 states, Black communities still face disproportionate police brutality and generally, disproportionate systemic inequality throughout all institutions since forced on to Turtle Island as property over 400 years ago. These compounding experiences and realities are often ignored along with QTBBIPoC’s acts of justice within the LGBTQIA+ movement itself, including consistently protesting the increasingly white-washed, corporatized, police-supporting, and middle class LGBTQIA+ movement that replaced its history

of radical politics (led by QTBBIPoC) with a sanitized assimilationist approach that left the most marginalized folks of the LGBTQIA+ movement abandoned and forced to remain in supremacist hierarchies queers claimed to be fighting against. In essence, the “mainstream” LGBT movement effectively gentrified itself years after Stonewall and displaced QTBBIPoC as leaders. It took over by weaponizing race in the same way cisness and straightness, also through colonialism, weaponized our identities to claim authority over us. The movement replicated the same system that used nonhuman animals to otherize us into sub-human categories while also blatantly erasing some of us like was done to Two-Spirit people. Black activist-theorists Aph and Syl Ko (2017) created a framework to analyze the interconnections between two forms of liberation not often recognized as related – nonhuman and human liberation. They contended that, “Confusion is usually a symptom of decolonizing yourself from the mainstream system.” A novel-first release by Sanctuary Publishers, “Queer and Trans Voices: Achieving Liberation Through Consistent Anti-Oppression” (Feliz-Brueck and McNeill) – is very much so the product of that confusing, complicated evaluation of challenging views on widely held queer beliefs, interconnections, and activism. Queer and trans voices dare to examine how speciesism, white supremacy, and the LGBTQIA+ movement are entangled with one another and working in unison to create movements that play right into supremacist hierarchies meant to erase us and keep us from our own liberation. The book takes what we know as people with intersecting identities and creates a call for the LGBTQIA+ movement to recognize a part of the struggle that we See page 24 >>

Politics >>

June 25-July 1, 2020 • Bay Area Reporter • 7

Milk club welcomes 1st Black co-presidents

by Matthew S. Bajko

ith the election of Kaylah Paige Williams as its female co-president this month, the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club is being led for the first time by two Black co-presidents. Williams is serving alongside Kevin Bard, a gay man who had been the sole president of the club since last year. Williams, who is bisexual, was elected during the progressive political group’s Tuesday, June 16 meeting, conducted via Zoom due to the novel coronavirus outbreak preventing inperson large gatherings. “I am really excited to take on this position,” Williams, who had served as the club’s outreach chair, said during the meeting. Her elevation to the co-presidency position had been expected, as Milk club members had nominated her to co-lead them back in May. It followed the fallout from an email Bard had sent using the group’s official email account that accused San Francisco Mayor London Breed of “hobophobia” regarding her homeless policies amid the health pandemic and used language against the city’s first Black female mayor that many found to be racist. Bard and the club apologized for the May 2 email and, after holding an emergency meeting the next day, delineated a new process for sending out emails on behalf of the club to ensure multiple people reviewed them before hitting send. The club then decided to bring on Williams as its co-leader. A longtime Milk club board member, Williams managed Chesa Boudin’s successful run for San Francisco district attorney last fall. She also helped elect Alison Collins to the city’s school board in 2018 as her campaign manager. A flight attendant with United Airlines since 2015, Williams is currently working as a campaign lead for the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA union. A Shreveport, Louisiana native, Williams graduated from Louisiana State University in 2014 with a B.A. in anthropology. During the Milk club meeting last week, Williams pledged to bring “more transparency” to the inner workings of the group and said she was “happy to work alongside Kevin.” Years ago the club changed its bylaws in order for it to have co-presidents if two people wanted to run as a team to lead the club. It has had several pairs of members serve alongside each other. The club can also opt to elect a single president when it holds its board elections each January, as it did in 2019 and again this year by electing Bard the sole president. Bard said he was excited to be working with an “excellent activist and African American woman.” The same determination she has wielded on behalf of her political clients Williams pledged to bring as copresident of the club.

Tumay Aslay

Kaylah Paige Williams was elected as the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club’s copresident.

“I hope to bring that same tenacity and go-getter spirit to the Milk club,” said Williams, who also said she wants “to make sure we are running an organization that is held to the highest integrity and make sure every single member is heard and seen and their opinions are heard.”

CA bans travel to Idaho

As expected, the state of California is banning its employees and lawmakers from traveling to Idaho on the public’s dime for non-essential business. Attorney General Xavier Becerra made the decision official Monday, June 22, and said the ban would take effect July 1. San Francisco officials had told the Bay Area Reporter in April that the Gem State would be the 12th state added to its list of states the city bans both taxpayer-funded travel to for nonessential purposes and the awarding of city contracts to businesses based in those states. Its prohibitions against Idaho also take effect July 1. A memo notifying departments and city staff that Idaho has been added to the covered list will be sent out after the lifting of the shelter-in-place order enacted in March due to the novel coronavirus outbreak. The reasoning for the state and city actions against Idaho is due to its governor, Brad Little (R), signing into law March 30 two bills that restrict the rights of transgender Idaho citizens. Idaho House Bill 500 requires transgender students to participate in athletics based on their gender assigned at birth, and Idaho House Bill 509 bars updating the listed gender on birth certificates issued to transgender people. The American Civil Liberties Union is suing Little and other Idaho state officials over the school sports law in federal court. According to the ACLU, Idaho is the first state to impose an outright ban on participation of transgender athletes and the only with a statewide law regulating

transgender and intersex athletes in the country. The ACLU filed its lawsuit April 15 on behalf of Lindsay Hecox, a track athlete at Boise State University who is transgender, and an unnamed 17-year-old soccer player at Boise High School who is cisgender and concerned about being subjected to invasive “sex verification” testing under the new law. Joining in the federal lawsuit are the ACLU of Idaho, Legal Voice, and Cooley LLP. Meanwhile, nearly 50 professional, Olympic, and Paralympic athletes as well as hundreds of student athletes are calling on the National Collegiate Athletic Association to move all of its championship events in 2021 out of Idaho. As for the Trump administration, it filed a statement of interest in the federal lawsuit last Friday, June 19, in support of the state law. “Allowing biological males to compete in all-female sports is fundamentally unfair to female athletes,” stated Attorney General William P. Barr. “Under the Constitution, the Equal Protection Clause allows Idaho to recognize the physiological differences between the biological sexes in athletics.” Both San Francisco and the Golden State adopted policies five years ago that ban taxpayer funded travel to states that enact anti-LGBT laws and have mirror “no-fly” lists. At the state level, the ban also applies to academics and sports teams at state-funded universities and colleges. “Where states legislate discrimination, California unambiguously speaks out,” stated Becerra in a June 22 news release confirming travel to Idaho would be restricted because of the adoption of the two anti-transgender bills. “The state of Idaho has taken drastic steps to undermine the rights of the transgender community, preventing people from playing sports in school or having documentation that reflects their identity. Let’s not beat around the bush: these laws are plain and simple discrimination. That’s why Idaho joins the list of AB 1887 discriminating states.” In February, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued California in federal court over its travel ban policy. Iowa was the last state to be added to the list, joining South Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas, Alabama, Kentucky, South Dakota, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Kansas. t

Web Extra: For more queer political news, be sure to check http:// www.ebar.com Monday mornings for Political Notes, the notebook’s online companion. This week’s column reported on all 20 cities and towns in San Mateo County recognizing Pride Month for the first time this June. Keep abreast of the latest LGBT political news by following the Political Notebook on Twitter @ http://twitter.com/politicalnotes. Got a tip on LGBT politics? Call Matthew S. Bajko at (415) 8298836 or e-mail m.bajko@ebar.com.

With the U.S. Supreme Court decision, in Bostock v. Clayton County, the issue of the class sex including sexual orientation and gender identity, in federal civil rights laws, is hardly over [“Landmark victory: Historic Supreme Court decision protects LGBT workers,” June 18]. Next up is the inevitable court challenge that sex, under the Fair Housing Act of 1968 (“sex” was added in 1974) includes sexual orientation and gender identity, based upon the reasoning used in the Bostock decision. Intellectual honesty and consistency would require it. Washington state has an Equal Rights Amendment, in its Constitution, making sex a suspect class, and so do

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Letters >> Issues are hardly over

Barry Schneider Attorney at Law

other states. Expect lawsuits to argue the reasoning in Bostock should be applied to state ERAs. That sexual orientation and gender identity should be protected under the class of sex. Finally, in 1976, in the Supreme Court decision, Craig v. Boren, it was declared that sex was a quasi-suspect class, requiring an intermediate level of scrutiny. The Supreme Court will inevitably be confronted with a case where plaintiffs argue the reasoning of Bostock should be applied to Craig, which would make sexual orientation and gender identity also quasi-suspect classes. Steven L. Kendall Seattle, Washington

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<< Pride 2020

8 • Bay Area Reporter • June 25-July 1, 2020

Pink triangle will be lit Saturday compiled by Cynthia Laird

HAPPY 50 ANNIVERSARY PRIDE! TH

mayor

LONDON BREED

Ad paid for by Re-elect Mayor London Breed 2019. Financial disclosures are available at sfethics.org. paid political advertisement

Assemblymember Phil Ting asmdc.org/ting

Assemblymember David Chiu asmdc.org/chiu

As we mark the 50th anniversary of Pride, we are reminded that the fight for equality continues, and we are proud to be allies in the pursuit of justice. It is an honor to represent you in Sacramento. ASSEMBLY MEMBER

Phil Ting DISTRICT 19

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his year’s 25th annual pink triangle installation atop Twin Peaks will be different due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, but there are a few opportunities to help out, and people are invited to watch the lighting ceremony from afar. This year’s installation will consist only of the outline of the triangle. It will be lighted Saturday, June 27, with 2,700 LED nodes of pink light, which will be unveiled by pink triangle cofounder Patrick Carney and Ben Davis, founder and CEO of Illuminate, the nonprofit behind the Bay Lights. The pink triangle originally was used to brand suspected homosexuals in Nazi concentration camps. It was revived in the 1970s as a symbol of protest against homophobia, and has been used to symbolize LGBTQ+ pride ever since. This year the triangle will remain lighted through July 11, the conclusion of AIDS 2020, the International AIDS Society’s conference that will be virtual. It was to have been held in San Francisco and Oakland. (See related story, page 1.) Carney wrote in an email that about eight volunteers are still needed to install the triangle’s outline Thursday, June 25, beginning at 1:30 p.m. People will be widely distanced and wear pink triangle masks, he explained. Prior to the lighting on Saturday, there will be a multi-city pink torch procession. Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf is expected at the start of the procession, with San Francisco Mayor London Breed welcoming the torchbearers who arrive at the base of Twin Peaks. Participating partners include Oakland Pride, the Oakland LGBTQ Community Center, and San Francisco Pride. The torchbearers will be escorted by socially distanced volunteers and several members of Dykes on Bikes. According to a news release, the procession will start at Lake Merritt in Oakland around 2 p.m., heading to the Bay Bridge. At 6 it will go from the San Francisco Ferry Building to Twin peaks. Participants will be physically distanced and wear masks. The pink torch was designed by Burning Man artists Josh Zubikoff and Srikanth Guttikonda. The duo run the Looking Up Arts Foundation and were behind the Rainbow Bridge, a 75 foot long, walkable sculpture built of 15,000 pounds of steel and covered in over 25,000 addressable LEDs. Breed will be on hand for the 9 p.m. lighting, and people can watch from their rooftop, balcony, window, Market Street, or any high point in San Francisco or beyond, Carney said. It will also be livestreamed. There will not be a ceremony audience this year. Carney is glad that the pink triangle will be part of this year’s 50th San Francisco Pride, despite the changes made necessary by the public health emergency. “Part of commemorating any Pride weekend is remembering where we have been,” Carney stated in a news release. “The pink triangle on Twin Peaks is a highly visible, yet silent reminder of inhumanity. It recalls the darkest chapters of human history, yet it has been reclaimed to become a powerful symbol of hope, inclusion, love, and resiliency.” For volunteer opportunities, visit https://signup.com/client/invitation2/secure/477012311857534046/ false#/invitation.

Courtesy Illuminate

This year’s pink triangle installation will be lighted by thousands of pink nodes.

Give OUT Day coming up

Horizons Foundation will hold its annual Give OUT Day online fundraiser for LGBTQ nonprofits Tuesday, June 30. The “early giving” period started June 1, and people can make donations now or on the official day. The foundation, which took over Give OUT Day a few years ago, made the decision earlier this year to postpone the spring event, due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. Nonetheless, organizers believe that queer nonprofits will be able to raise funds during Pride Month. “With many Pride celebrations across the country at risk of cancellation, Give OUT Day can serve as an important way for us to be in community supporting our critical LGBTQ organizations during Pride Month,” the organization previously noted. One of the many nonprofits participating will be the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. In an email to supporters last week, Russell Roybal, chief advancement officer at the foundation, wrote that it’s in solidarity with the worldwide protests expressing “the anger and pain of racial injustice and inequality.” “We are united with the diverse sea of people demonstrating the power of a movement to disrupt oppression,” he wrote. “Our fight for health justice is a fight against the systems of oppression that hold our communities back.” Many nonprofits, like SFAF, were “founded in the crucibles of protest,” Roybal added. “Give OUT Day will bring together hundreds of those organizations from across the country, empowering donors to take bold action for the causes closest to their hearts – and for the vital health care and support services that are needed now more than ever.” For more information about participating nonprofits and to donate, visit http://www.horizonsfoundation.org.

Courtesy Governor’s office

Governor Gavin Newsom, right, prepared meals June 19 as part of the Great Plates Delivered program at Queen Sheba Ethiopian Cuisine in Sacramento.

SF food delivery for at-risk seniors extended

San Francisco Mayor London Breed has announced that the Great Plates Delivered program will be extended through July 10. Governor Gavin Newsom announced state funding for locally administered programs in April See page 30 >>

For 50 years, San Francisco Pride has been a time of celebration for the LGBTQ community, and one that my family and I always look forward to. While the current challenges prevent us from marching together this year, our commitment to the values of Pride – love, equality and diversity – remain as strong as ever. During Pride, we celebrate the remarkable progress we have made in the fight for LGBTQ equality, most recently in the landmark Supreme Court decision affirming the right of all people to work free from discrimination, regardless of who you are or whom you love. Now, with this victory inspiring us, we will not rest until the Senate finally votes on the House-passed Equality Act, to fully end LGBTQ discrimination – not just in the workplace, but in every place. The movement that began outside Compton’s Cafeteria, Stonewall Inn, and in cities across the country, lives on in our work to oppose systemic injustice and honor the rights and dignity of all people. This Pride, we honor that legacy as the LGBTQ community stands with communities of color to insist on the truth that Black Lives Matter, particularly Black trans women who face disproportionately high rates of homelessness, sexual assault and murder. As Speaker of the most diverse Congress in history - due to a House Democratic majority of over 60% women, people of color, and LGBTQ Americans - I am proud to serve alongside these leaders working For The People every day. We know that our diversity is our strength and that our unity is our power. Working together, we can advance progress for all of our communities and secure the blessings of equality and justice that are the right of all people. On behalf of the United States Congress, have a safe, healthy and happy Pride!

#TeamPelosi

<< Pride 2020

10 • Bay Area Reporter • June 25-July 1, 2020

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Project Open Hand

WE ARE PROUD Love in the time of COVID-19

by John-Manuel Andriote Love is precisely what Ruth Brinker put into action in San Francisco, starting in 1985, when the retired food-service worker began cooking nutritious meals for seven of her neighbors who had AIDS and were malnourished because they couldn’t cook for themselves. Her deliveries of healthy food, a friendly smile, and a dose of neighborly love were the beginning of Project Open Hand. Like the other nutrition agencies, Project Open Hand continues to serve people with HIV-AIDS, and has expanded its outreach to elders and people fighting cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and many other serious illnesses. Today the agency daily prepares 2,500 medically tailored meals and 200 bags of healthy groceries, and delivers them to clients throughout San Francisco and Alameda Counties—and that isn’t counting the increased calls for meals to feed people recovering at home from COVID-19.

Marking Project Open Hand’s 35th anniversary this year, CEO Paul Hepfer told me he took the job a year ago specifically because of Ruth Brinker’s legacy. “There are so many nonprofits in America that start for a number of reasons,” he said. “But when there’s a nonprofit organization that starts because of a need in the community—and the community rallies behind it and sustains it for 35 years? I thought, I have got to be a part of that. How could I not be part of something so valuable? We don’t have a lot of heroes these days, and she is one of mine.” Hepfer often thinks about Ruth Brinker and the simple kindness that gave birth to Project Open Hand. “When

we got the first calls asking if we could provide care to people at home recovering from COVID-19,” he said, “it was like there was this voice in my head saying, ‘What would Ruth do in a situation like this?’ Clearly, she would have found a way to make this happen.” In the short-term, Hepfer said the agency is doing everything possible to “get out in front” and make sure people have food during the shelter-in-place crisis. This includes figuring out how to store 20,000 to 30,000 frozen meals. “Heaven forbid if we shut down in a couple of weeks,” he said. “How would we get the food to people?”

For the longer term, the need will certainly be there but, as always, it will be about having the resources to meet the need. Hepfer mentions that the agency has experienced a difficult couple of years and budget deficits. But the hope is that health insurers will wake up to the fact that they can save a tremendous amount of money by reimbursing an organization like Project Open Hand to serve their clients at home rather than pay expensive medical bills. “I’m confident,” said Hepfer, “that having tighter relationships with health care companies, we’ll be able to grow to the demand, make sure our legacy clients have what they need, but also expand. We’re preparing to double or triple our meal production over the next few years.” John-Manuel Andriote’s most recent book is Stonewall Strong: Gay Men’s Heroic Fight for Resilience, Good Health, and a Strong Community. He writes the “Stonewall Strong” blog on resilience for Psychology Today. Please visit jmandriote.com.

Love + Food is with Med als icin Me e

POH @ 35

Celebrating 35 Years

Leaders don’t want Castro crowds for Pride

by John Ferrannini

t was going to be one of the world’s biggest parties – a half-century of Pride in the city that has become synonymous with LGBT freedom and liberation. But as the magnitude of the COVID-19 crisis – unprecedented in modern times – dawned on public officials, health experts, and event organizers, the chances of San Francisco’s annual Pride celebration going on in a recognizable form went from slim to none. The Market Street parade, announced with a marching band and a speech from Mayor London Breed at City Hall on February 18, was scrapped by mid-April for the first time in its history. In its wake, virtual events and protest marches have been organized, but neither of these does much for the businesses for which this was going to be one of the highlights of the year – the bars, nightclubs, event spaces, restaurants, and adult boutiques that cater to the LGBT community. Castro leaders are urging people to stay home this weekend. In a joint statement June 24, the Castro Merchants and gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman urged people not to “come to the Castro looking for a party.” The statement begins by stating the obvious, that this weekend “should have been the biggest party this town has ever seen.” “Over the last several months, San Francisco and the Bay Area have done something amazing: unlike so many other parts of the country, we flattened the curve early, and in so doing we have saved many lives,” the statement reads. “Our ability to move forward with further reopening depends on keeping that curve from spiking back up, and that means we must continue to comply with the public health orders that have kept us safe so far.” The statement adds that during the AIDS epidemic “the LGBTQ+ community in the Castro learned how to take the necessary precautions to keep each other safe and save lives” and “we need to do that again.” “We can’t stop social distancing or wearing masks. We have to be smart, stay home if we can, and save lives. In short, Pride 2020 cannot be a party, at least not in the traditional sense. Not on the Embarcadero. Not at Civic Center. Not in the Castro. ... This Pride weekend, please do not come to the Castro looking for a party. If you do come to the Castro and see a crowd gathering, please go home.”

Nightlife businesses fight for survival

Cecil Russell, a gay man who is the head of Cecil Russell Presents and Gloss magazine, had been planning on putting on large parties at event spaces this Pride weekend. Those parties, “Heat” and “We Party Pink Carnival,” have been tentatively rescheduled for 2021. Before in-person San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration Committee events were canceled, Russell was one of a number of prominent LGBT nightlife and business leaders who issued an open letter to the SF Pride board asking that the public portions of Pride be postponed to October or November rather than canceled outright. Russell said in a June 18 phone interview with the Bay Area Reporter that the current effect of the closures on event spaces is deleterious. “Nightlife is non-existent right now and to tell you the truth,” Russell said. “I’m worried about the venues.” Russell said that he thinks that nightclubs accustomed to holding larger music and dance parties

Rick Gerharter

Customers flocked to the Lookout bar and restaurant last weekend, which set up tables on the sidewalk on Noe and 16th streets.

should be allowed to open outside so that they can survive, even if dancing won’t be allowed. Nightclubs are in the final stage of government reopening plans, and bars that usually have a dance floor are not allowed to utilize them for dancing. “I’m hopeful the city allows them to move outdoors. They’ve done outdoor events for years,” Russell said. “People can wear masks and have music, maybe not dancing, but a happy medium. As far as us promoters, none of us are making any money – but I hope the venues can survive as we go into the summer.” Subsequent to that interview, Breed’s office announced June 22 that “outdoor bars” will be allowed to reopen Monday, June 29 – the day after the end of Pride weekend, but earlier than previously scheduled. “Thanks to San Franciscans’ efforts to follow health requirements, wear face coverings, and practice social distancing, our COVID-19 health indicators are in a good place and we can continue reopening our city,” Breed said in a news release. “We know a lot of businesses and residents are struggling financially, and this next step will help get more San Franciscans back to work while still balancing safety. ... I know that San Francisco residents will continue to prioritize public health as we reopen so that we can keep our entire city healthy.” Manny Alferez, a straight ally who is the managing partner at The Great Northern near Potrero Hill and at the Monarch nightclub at Sixth and Mission streets, told the B.A.R. by phone June 23 that it wouldn’t be feasible for him to open either location as an outside bar, though food service will begin at Monarch when allowed in the cocktail lounge. Alferez said that he’d been anticipating a large turnout for this year’s Pride weekend after last year’s Pink block party outside Great Northern drew a large crowd. Alferez said that the survival of nightclubs is contingent on factors outside of the control of many owners and managers. “It really depends on the landlords, and if they get a break from the state or a mortgage break,” Alferez said. “The landlords need to pay their bills too. Obviously, business is not going to be the same. Our landlords want to work with us, but for those who haven’t their bars have closed.” While Mandelman and Castro Merchants asked people not to come to the gayborhood, they also urged people to patronize Castro businesses in-person (and not through delivery apps), and that if they attend one of the protests scheduled for the weekend (one of which is scheduled to begin adjacent to Mission Dolores Park) that they “wear a mask and social distance by staying six feet apart from others.” Mandelman has told the B.A.R. over several occasions in the past month that considering the recent

protest activity and the relaxation of physical distancing regulations, he expected to see crowds in the Castro neighborhood on Pride weekend. “We have reached out to the city’s Emergency Operations Center to encourage them to begin planning for how to ensure whatever events do happen around Pride can occur as safely as possible,” Mandelman told the B.A.R. June 17. “The pandemic is still with us. Our numbers have been very good so far, and we have saved thousands of lives in San Francisco, but we want to keep it that way.” While other parts of California have allowed dine-in restaurants and bars to reopen, San Francisco has not and does not plan on doing so until mid-July and August, respectively. As the B.A.R. previously reported, a petition asking Breed to let bars reopen in mid-July was signed by the mayor herself (though a representative made clear she would follow the guidance of public health officials). It has received over 8,000 signatures as of press time, and has a goal of 10,000 signatures.

Some businesses reopen

Some Castro-area businesses are reopening within the regulatory framework allowed by the city. For example, Lookout at 16th and Market streets – which has been conducting outside table service and selling takeout food – announced that the outdoor seating and service will be open on Friday, June 26-Sunday, June 28 from noon to 10 p.m. In the last weeks that outdoor dining has been available to restaurateurs, Lookout and Harvey’s in the Castro have emerged as among the most popular with patrons. Steve Porter, Harvey’s general manager, told the B.A.R. June 23 that his restaurant is reducing service opportunities this weekend so as to draw crowds looking to party in the Castro. “We’re planning minute-by-minute and we have contingency plans in place in the event that things get out of hand,” Porter said. “Our main concern is everybody’s safety.” Harvey’s normally has seven outside tables but this weekend will have four, without table service. The restaurant will be open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday. “We don’t want Saturday and Sunday to get too chaotic,” Porter said. The Edge at 18th Street at Collingwood Street had a soft reopening last weekend, serving tacos from the El Capitan Taqueria across the street. However, a sign on the door of that bar June 22 stated that it will be closed temporarily because it is “making improvements with the new outdoor service model.” The Mix, down the street, also had a soft reopening last weekend, but was closed June 22-23. It has been selling drinks and food to-go WednesdaysSundays in the afternoon. Maurice Darwish, owner of The See page 31 >>

Brian had his HIV under control with medication. But smoking with HIV caused him to have serious health problems, including a stroke, a blood clot in his lungs and surgery on an artery in his neck. Smoking makes living with HIV much worse. You can quit.

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HIV alone didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t cause the clogged artery in my neck. Smoking with HIV did. Brian, age 45, California

<< AIDS 2020

12 • Bay Area Reporter • June 25-July 1, 2020

AIDS columnist’s writings resonate today by Brian Bromberger

hen Robert De Andreis’ columns were published on Wednesdays, they became mustreads. A few people would gather at the Castro newspaper boxes to await delivery of the now-defunct San Francisco Sentinel (a former competitor of the Bay Area Reporter) so they could snag the latest issue and immediately open to the page containing his weekly HIV commentary. Various descriptions were applied to his work: acerbic, blunt, satirical, riotous, poignant, sincere, enlightening, and too much information – encompassing a full range of emotions because De Andreis touched on them all, sometimes even in one column. Told by a friend they were looking for new writers, “the Sentinel’s publisher and editor, [the late] Ray Chalker, hired me sight unseen based on a spec article I wrote last summer. I had no clippings, no writing credentials, in fact I had never written a thing before this stint,” he wrote in his March 2, 1994 column. “Robert De Andreis: HIV Commentary: Preparation for life’s ultimate journey: A Collection of his weekly San Francisco Sentinel Columns, 1993-1994” was published in 1995. From June 23, 1993 to July 26, 1995, De Andreis chronicled his often painful, debilitating, embarrassing, but at times uplifting struggles with AIDS. His final column was published just one week before his death on August 2, 1995 at age 36. Today, bookstores are filled with brutally candid memoirs and diaries, but they were still a relative novelty in the early- and mid1990s. No area of his life, especially his sexuality, was off-limits in terms of the subjects he covered, whether it be grappling with opportunistic infections, his ex-lover Bob [no last

name provided], unorthodox treatments, dealing with his ambivalent family, satirizing AIDS support organizations, or picking up tricks in the streets. (Three of his family members were contacted for comment on this story, but none responded.) Vincent Crisostomo, 59, is the program manager of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation’s Elizabeth Taylor 50-Plus Network. A gay man and a longtime HIV survivor, Crisostomo wrote in a statement to the B.A.R. that he and De Andreis weren’t close. “But I remember Bob De Andreis having an affinity for anyone who would approach our predicament with a sense of humor,” he stated. “After all if we could not laugh at it no one else would.” Greg Cassin, 62, an HIV health services counselor at the Shanti Project, first met De Andreis when he came to a meeting of the San Francisco Healing Circle, a group Cassin started in 1989 for people living with HIV/ AIDS, their friends, and others affected by the disease. “It was still a time when few wanted to be public about their HIV status,” Cassin stated. “I remember reading Robert’s articles, he was very bright, sure of his voice, and if I remember correctly he had a wicked sense of humor ... and a sharp tongue. “One day I heard through the grapevine that he was going to come and visit our group. The thing that made me nervous was that Robert shredded any organization or person he disagreed with. I was terrified that we were going to be next! You see, the Healing Circle was a bit touchy-feely/ New Agey and from what I’d read he wouldn’t be a fan.” Cassin was soon surprised. “He was so gentle and soft-spoken and kind,” Cassin recalled. “Not at all what I had expected. And he was so open and willing. He had recently

Robert De Andreis’ June 21, 1995 column in the San Francisco Sentinel

been ill and needed some comfort and a sense of belonging. That sense of belonging is still a need prevalent today. I was so grateful that we could give back and provide that for a member of our community that was being a voice for us.” De Andreis did not seem to be an admirer of AIDS benefits, as he wrote in an April 19, 1995 column: “People ask me why I never show up at any AIDS functions. The answer is simple: I am never invited. I am out of that elitist social loop, and to all those social coordinators who see me as some big AIDS figure in the community, but continue to snub me, I have three words for you: Fuck you all!”

Never planned a writing career

De Andreis never intended to become a writer, according to his bio in the collection of his columns. A fifth-generation San Franciscan, he received his B.A. with honors in drawing and painting from San Francisco State University. He had also studied classical ballet and traveled to New York to advance his dance training at

the School of American Ballet. However, realizing he had started too late to dance professionally, he returned to SFSU to begin a master’s program in film production and even had a short film shown at Frameline, the San Francisco LGBT film festival. During the mid-1980s, he moved to Los Angeles with his lover Bob to pursue a film career and worked as an archivist at Paramount Studios. After testing HIV-positive, he quit that job, broke up with his lover, and focused on his health. He studied “A Course in Miracles,” attended Marianne Williamson and Louise Hay’s lectures, and started a new career as an elementary school teacher. His AIDS was progressing so he returned to San Francisco to be closer to his family. Contracting Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) in 1993, he took a leave from teaching. Going on disability and having kept journals since age 16, he began transcribing them onto computer disks. Recognizing perhaps he had a gift, he kicked off his HIV commentary columns. In the forward to the collection of his weekly columns, De Andreis re-

vealed what he wanted to explore with his AIDS writing. “As I became more involved with my own AIDS story of the week, I identified the personal issues deep within me to be tackled,” he wrote. “I realized the most empowering thoughts were the least AIDS-specific and I wrote more of the universal questions of mortality, forgiveness, and kissing this world goodbye. It’s the personal the world cares more about in this crisis. We want to know about the emotional components of the disease, how we feel and how we express these emotions to ourselves and others. I have found that diving into these issues, regardless of how painful, is the best thing I can do on the AIDS front line.”

Breath of fresh air

His uncensored, outrageous honesty was a breath of fresh air. He never felt sorry for himself, even confessing he was bipolar and disappointments with friends and family to meet his needs. He appeared on local TV talk shows and his work won two SF Cable Car awards, which used to be presented in San Francisco to outstanding LGBT performers, composers, arts groups, actors, writers, and athletes. His readings at bookstores drew standing-room-only crowds. In a May 12, 1995 article by Evelyn White for Poz magazine, “Burn Baby Burn: HIV doesn’t have to destroy your dreams,” she quoted De Andreis about the attention he received: “It is cleansing and cathartic. There is something about writing that keeps me going. It gives me a chance to celebrate and honor my life. All those years when I thought that I was going to live forever, I never did anything. Now people think I’m the toast of the town.” See page 30 >>

2021 – 2022 Budget

COVID-19 and the SFMTA Budget The COVID-19 pandemic has had a critical impact on transportation in San Francisco. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s (SFMTA) updated budget for 2021-2022 includes changes to fees and proposes no increase to most current Muni fares the next two years.

For more information, visit SFMTA.com/ Budget and join our Board of Directors Special Meeting, June 30, 2020 at 1pm. The Board’s meeting room in City Hall is closed due to the COVID-19 health emergency. Visit SFMTA.com/Calendar for instructions on how to participate on June 30th.

To ensure your comment or question is received by the Board in advance of the meeting, please send an email to sfmtabudget@SFMTA.com by 5pm on Monday, June 29th, or call 415.646.4470.

415.646.2109 For free interpretation services, please submit your request 48 hours in advance of meeting./Para sa libreng serbisyo sa interpretasyon, kailangan mag-request 48 oras bago ang miting. / Para servicios de interpretación gratuitos, por

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無料通訳サービスをご希望の場合は、会議の48時間前までにリクエストを提出してください。/บริการให้ความช่วยเหลือในหลายภาษาด้านภาษาฟรี ณ ที่ประชุมโดยต้องแจ้ง ล่วงหน้ า 48 ชัว่ โมง/ ‫†ساعة‬48†‫ميكن†تقديم†مساعدة†لغوية†مجانية†يف†االجتامع†علئ†ان†يتم†طلب†هذه†الخدمة†قبل†االجتامع†بفرتة‬

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<< Pride 2020

14 • Bay Area Reporter • June 25-July 1, 2020

Push afloat to see cities fly diverse Pride flags by Matthew S. Bajko and John Ferrannini

ith several cities in California flying more diverse versions of the rainbow flag, LGBTQ advocates in San Francisco are seeking to see the Castro business district follow suit and raise one of the flags on the giant flagpole that stands over the LGBT neighborhood. On June 18, the city of San Ramon hoisted the Philadelphia version of the Pride flag at its City Hall following its City Council voting 5-0 at a special meeting June 17 to raise that variation of the rainbow flag as it fine tunes having a flag policy in place. According to Philadelphia magazine, the marketing firm Tierney created that version of the flag in June 2017 for the city of Philadelphia. It includes black and brown stripes at the top of the flag in addition to the standard six colors of the rainbow. San Ramon Vice Mayor Sabina Zafar told the Bay Area Reporter she has been pushing her city to fly a Pride flag since seeing the neighboring town of Dublin do so for the first time last year. San Ramon is flying the Philly Pride flag at the urging of hundreds of residents in recent weeks who drew inspiration from the Black Lives Matter movement and nationwide protests against police brutality. “Part of it is as a collective TriValley, let’s be inclusive,” said Zafar, referring to the area of the East Bay that also includes Livermore, which is also flying the rainbow flag. “Because Black Lives Matter is such a hot topic right now as well, it just made sense to include everybody in this.” After initially ignoring requests earlier in June that it also fly the Philly flag when it issued its Pride Month proclamation, the neighboring town of Danville also raised the flag this week. Its City Council voted last Tuesday June 16 to fly it in the Danville Town Green, where it was hoisted Wednesday morning though it wasn’t until Thursday afternoon that local LGBT advocates learned it had been raised. “These local governments took a stand, met a challenging topic straight on, and chose to do what was right,” noted the PFLAG Danville/San Ramon Valley chapter on its Facebook page with photos of the flags in both cities. The first city to hoist the Philly Pride flag in the Tri-Valley area of the East Bay was Dublin, which did so June 2. It had initially raised the other version of the rainbow flag on June 1 and then swapped the flags when the

Courtesy Facebook

Sacramento City Councilman Steve Hansen, center, joined with LGBTQ members of his city’s youth commission June 11 to raise the Progress Pride flag at City Hall.

newer one arrived. In mid-May the City Council had agreed to fly the Philly Pride flag at the suggestion of Vice Mayor Arun Goel in “consideration of additional inclusivity.” It was in stark contrast from last year, when he was one of three council members to vote at first against flying the rainbow flag to then change their minds after causing a heated backlash. In a Facebook post close to midnight June 2, gay Dublin City Councilman Shawn Kumagai pointed out “the intersectional nature of race, gender identity, and sexual orientation in the fight for equal protection under the law. That is why I’m proud that we are raising the Philly Pride Flag this year. Thank you Vice Mayor Arun Goel for suggesting that we do that, which proved to be particularly poignant this year.” In Sacramento, gay City Councilman Steve Hansen gathered with LGBTQ members of the city’s youth commission June 11 to raise the Pride flag known as the “Progress” variation. Daniel Quasar designed it in 2018 by combining versions of the Philly flag and the transgender pride flag. It also uses the original six-colored rainbow stripes while incorporating the black and brown stripes of the Philly version and the blue, pink and white stripes of the trans flag to form a chevron that points right to symbolize marching toward a better future. Last year, the city had flown a version of the rainbow flag that included stripes for the colors of the trans flag in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots in New York City that are credited with kicking off the modern LGBT rights movement. The city had tried to obtain the Progress version last year but couldn’t as it was

sold out. “The moment we are in right now I think it is just important our LGBTQ community stands in solidarity. But also you look at trans people of color, you look at LGB people of color, and they have suffered from systemic racism on top of homophobia and transphobia,” said Hansen, who credited the city’s LGBT center and local leaders in helping secure this year’s flag being flown. “We don’t have a choice but to tell their story.”

SF effort

LGBT advocates in San Francisco would like to see the Progress Pride flag hoisted on the giant flagpole above the Castro Muni Station. The flagpole is part of Harvey Milk Plaza at the intersection of Castro and Market streets and is controlled by the Castro Merchants, the LGBT district’s business association. Dedicated November 7, 1997 during Mayor Willie Brown’s administration, the flagpole features a gigantic version of the six-striped rainbow flag design that the late gay artist and advocate Gilbert Baker unveiled during the city’s Pride celebration in 1979. (The first Pride flags that Baker created, with the assistance of friends Lynn Segerblom and the late James McNamara, featured additional colors and on one version white stars in a blue field of fabric.) As the B.A.R. previously reported, over the years, control of the Castro flagpole has prompted controversy over whether it should be lowered to half-mast in honor of prominent LGBT people and advocates who have died. Requests to swap out the rainbow flag for the transgender flag or one honoring the bear community have also generated debate.

In light of the controversies, the Castro business association adopted a policy six years ago to only fly the rainbow flag always at full-mast. This year Gage Lennox, a San Francisco resident who hosts fetish events, launched a petition on the website Change.org to request the merchants group fly the Progress version of the Pride flag. As of Tuesday it had garnered 429 signatures, out of a goal of 500. “NOW is the year to extend our language and our symbolism to include the ENTIRE LGBTQ family! The Progress Pride flag is a symbol of inclusion to our POC and Trans family – and an acknowledgment that our celebrations and achievements have BENEFITED from their strength and presence,” the petition states. “The Castro has always been a symbol of historic progress for the LGBTQ community. Let’s continue our values and keep writing history – and evolve our iconic Gay Pride flag into the Progress Pride flag.” The Castro Merchants issued a statement noting it has been the steward of the flagpole since 1997. “While we do cover the cost of maintaining the flag and flagpole, we are not allowed to make changes to the installation itself,” the statement reads. “We recognize and celebrate the inclusivity already present in the flag designed by Gilbert Baker, which was created by locals and first flew over our city, before going on to become the internationally recognized symbol of the LGBTQ+ community. “We also recognize the need, from time to time, for increased visibility for specific groups and ideas, and we specifically endorse the power and message delivered through the new Progress flag. As such, we are exploring opportunities to fly that flag, and other flags, in the Castro neighborhood.” Lennox did not respond to the B.A.R.’s request for comment as of press time. According to the petition, Lennox had the opportunity to speak with Quasar. Meanwhile, another petition to “Make the Castro Pride flag more inclusive” has gained even more signatures. This petition, also addressed to the Castro Merchants, asks that the flag be replaced with the Philadelphia version. “In 1978, artist Gilbert Baker designed the original rainbow flag, a symbol of LGBTQ+ unity. So much has happened since then, and so much

happening in the world now bringing us to this important milestone in our collective history. As our nation continues to come to terms with its history of racism and oppressive violence toward Black people, we can do more to recognize Black people and people of color in the LGBTQ+ community,” the petition states. “In 2017, the Philadelphia Office of LGBT Affairs’ launched its ‘More Color More Pride’ campaign, and expanded Baker’s design to include a black and brown stripe to represent inclusion of people of color in the LGBTQ community. This was done to fuel a very important conversation and make big strides toward a truly inclusive community. It’s San Francisco’s turn now.” The petition, which was launched by Joel Sierra, has garnered 515 signatures as of press time. It has the support of Christopher Vasquez, a gay man who is the communications director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights. “I personally like the Progress Pride flag, but I have reservations about it being linked to an individual rather than a nonprofit, as well as my belief that its design is a [little bit] too kitschy for flying so prominently,” Vasquez stated. “I can be persuaded, but I think taking the step to move toward the Philly version is the right step right now.” Sierra, a gay Latinx man, told the B.A.R. via phone on June 18 that he started the petition with a couple of friends. “We feel now is the time to make the Castro a more visual place for inclusivity,” Sierra said. “Having been to the recent events in the Castro that deal with intersectionality, it’s clear that Black people and people of color don’t always feel welcome in the Castro, and this would be a good first step.” Sierra said that the first time he saw the rainbow flag at Castro and Market streets he “felt like he had made it home,” and added that his petition and the one promoting the Progress flag are trying to accomplish the same thing. “When I think about the two petitions, I see a collective of 500 people who want to see change,” Sierra said. “One of these two flags will be going up very soon.”

San Ramon meeting

Based on the comments of a majority of the San Ramon City Council members at their June 9 meeting, it See page 30 >>

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<< Pride 2020

16 • Bay Area Reporter • June 25-July 1, 2020

Protest safety tips during the pandemic by Liz Highleyman

rotests can potentially raise the risk of coronavirus transmission, but activists can take steps to protect themselves and others. So far, the initial round of protests has not been tied to an increase in people testing positive, according to health officials. The May 25 killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, and the deaths of other Black people at the hands of police, have brought hundreds of thousands of people into the streets in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic to protest racial discrimination and demand an end to police brutality. The new wave of activism shows little sign of slowing down. LGBT people in several cities – including San Francisco – have called for racial justice rallies and marches in lieu of Pride celebrations that have been canceled or switched to virtual events due to COVID-19. [See related story, page 1.] Although they acknowledge that gathering in large groups could accelerate the spread of the new virus, activists and health officials stress that systemic racism is a public health hazard too. “We support the right to protest injustice, and doing so safely is critically important, especially in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic,” the San Francisco Department of Public Health told the Bay Area Reporter in an emailed statement. “Reducing the spread of COVID-19 and taking action for social justice

SF Pride

From page 3

“On Sunday, June 28, at the site of the very first Pride March, 50 years

Liz Highleyman

Protesters, many of whom wore masks, took part in a march for trans rights June 18.

are very much tied together. Both address significant inequities in our society that disproportionately affect vulnerable populations and people of color.” The protests have taken place outside, and a growing body of evidence shows that outdoor transmission of the coronavirus is a far lower risk than indoor transmission. Most Bay Area protesters have worn masks and attempted to maintain social distancing, though it has often proved impossible to stay the recommended six feet apart. In some cases, police have made this more difficult by herding protesters together or “kettling” them in confined spaces. In addition, tear gas and pepper spray can trigger coughing and a runny nose and eyes, which can facilitate transmission. A number of harm reduction

measures can help reduce COVID-19 risk during protests: • Keep the actions outdoors. • Wear a mask or bandana that fully covers the nose and mouth. • Wear eye protection to guard against exposure and injury. • Stay six feet apart, if possible. • Stick with a small group to reduce exposure to multiple people. • Bring a personal water bottle and avoid sharing with others. • Avoid holding hands, linking arms, and other physical contact. • Carry and use alcohol-based hand sanitizer. • Limit yelling, chanting, and singing in favor of noisemakers and signs. • Avoid sharing microphones or megaphones. • Wash hands thoroughly after the action.

ago, we will roar our voices in solidarity with our Black, Brown, Indigenous, trans, and queer family, friends, lovers, and neighbors. We stand in protest of racial injustice, police violence, unjust

healthcare, and inadequate unemployment relief. We demand changes,” a Facebook event page for the march states. “We will show up in droves to denounce and condemn police violence against our communities and raise awareness for the need to abolish and defund police departments, which will allow for funds to be reallocated to social services, mental health care providers, and social justice organizations,” the post stated. This march is being spearheaded by Juanita MORE! and Alex U. Inn, according to the Facebook event page. MORE! did not respond to a request for comment but Inn spoke with the B.A.R. June 22. Inn said that having a people’s Pride event has been a longtime goal, and with the 50th anniversary of Pride coinciding with this moment of national protest, this year is the perfect opportunity. “This has been a dream of mine for a long time: to have a people’s march, to take back Pride,” Inn said. “Juanita MORE! said, ‘Let’s take it back to Polk Street’ and I said ‘yes.’ What better way to do it than now, when the focus is on Black Lives Matter, on putting Black and Brown people up front.” Inn said that the march is completely led by people of color. “We have a community of activists, community leaders, artists, and performers. Our white advocates are holding the borders and doing what they can to hold us up,” Inn said. “We have to keep our feet in the street every single day to protect our Black and Brown people. Period.” Another effort, as previously reported, is the “Pride is a riot” march being planned for the same day. According to a post on the community news site Indybay, protesters will gather at the intersection of 19th and Dolores streets at noon June 28 before beginning a march at 2 p.m. The post does not identify the organizers. “We will gather to honor LGBTQ freedom fighters who came before us, to call for the liberation of Black, Brown and Indigenous people, and to demonstrate that trans and queer people are in this fight,” the post states. “It is not enough to demand police

We continue to make strides toward equality, and we won’t stop fighting for progress. Wishing everyone a wonderful 2020 LGBTQ+ Pride celebration! DENNIS J. HERRERA SAN FRANCISCO CITY ATTORNEY Paid for by Dennis Herrera for City Attorney 2019, ID#1415881. Financial disclosures are available at sfethics.org.

• People who do not feel well or have COVID-19 symptoms should stay home. • Older people and those with underlying health conditions should be especially cautious.‘ The risk of infection varies based on specific activities, the size of the crowd, and how many people have the coronavirus in a local area. Although firm numbers are hard to come by due to limited testing, the prevalence of the virus in San Francisco and other Bay Area cities is thought to be low. One recent study in the Mission district found that about 2% of residents tested positive for the virus. By now, it should be soon enough to tell if the first round of protests led to a spike in new infections, and so far this does not appear to be happening. Case numbers have been rising in Bay Area cities, in part due to increased testing, but the proportion of people who test positive has been holding steady. Most people develop COVID-19 symptoms in about five days, but this can take as long as two weeks. These may include fever, cough, shortness of breath, and loss of the sense of taste or smell. However, many people do not develop symptoms, and most experts think it is possible for asymptomatic people to transmit the virus. Health officials generally do not advise that all protesters need to selfisolate for two weeks after a march or rally, but the DPH recommends that people monitor their health for

14 days, continue to wear a face covering and practice social distancing, and take precautions around vulnerable household members. It can take a few days before virus levels are high enough to give a positive result on a PCR test, usually done using a nasal swab. The best time to get an accurate test is about five days after potential exposure, the DPH advises. Antibody testing, which uses a blood sample, can show if someone had the virus in the past. It usually takes a couple of weeks before the immune system produces enough antibodies to test positive. Antibody tests currently available may give a high number of false positives. In the wake of the groundswell of activism, San Francisco has established testing sites for protesters. Unlike the city’s other test sites, they offer free tests for those who do not have symptoms and are not classified as essential or frontline workers. Testing for adults is done at various pop-up test sites, while those under 18 can get tested at the City College pop-up site. Visit http://www.sf.gov/ gettestedsf to see current locations and hours and register for an appointment. These sites do not ask people getting tested if they have recently participated in any demonstrations, so they cannot provide data on how many protesters have tested positive, but health officials are monitoring closely for any correlation between the protests and the number of positive cases, according to the DPH. t

out of pride. We want police out of schools, police off our streets, police out of all communities. Defund, Dismantle, and Abolish the police!” Inn said that it’d be great if “Pride is a riot” and the People’s March and Rally could meet up. “We want to collaborate with people, and maybe meet up if we are all in different places,” Inn said. “Our vision is to go the original route [of the Pride parade], end up at Civic Center for a rally, and become one Black, Brown, trans, queer protest. It’d be so beautiful to get people together. That’s our plan.”

which are to replace those normally held at Civic Center Plaza, will be streamed Saturday, June 27, from 1 to 9 p.m. and on Sunday, June 28, from 2 to 7 p.m. The first performers in the livestream were announced June 12, and include gay bounce musician Big Freedia (who will be Saturday’s headliner); gay “American Idol” finalist David Hernandez; Australian singersongwriter Betty Who; San Franciscobased drag performers Sister Roma, Honey Mahogany, Per Sia, and Yves Saint Croissant; trans artists Urias and Dorian Electra; and queer Chicago rapper Kidd Kenn. In a news release June 18, more events and performers were announced. Decades of Drag, a conversation among drag artists and activists, will include Heklina, Mahogany, Roma, Landa Lakes, Peaches Christ, and Madd Dogg 20/20. Additional artists to perform include electronic music artist and activist Madame Gandhi; the gay singer Vincint; Elena Rose; lesbian singer Krystle Warren; Mission district-based singer La Doña; and Bay See page 18 >>

SF Pride announces more virtual events

The official parade was, of course, canceled due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, which has killed over 100,000 Americans since it began late last year. As the B.A.R. previously reported, the San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration Committee will be streaming 13 hours of programming on its website, http://www.sfpride.org. Two weeks ago, SF Pride announced the major performers for its virtual lineup. These performances,

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HAPPY SAN FRANCISCO PRIDE 2020! For more information, visit nationalguard.com/ca.

<< Pride 2020

18 • Bay Area Reporter • June 25-July 1, 2020

Hundreds march for Black trans rights in SF protest by John Ferrannini

undreds showed up to a protest for the equality of Black transgender people and people of color in San Francisco June 18, marching from the federal courthouse to the intersection of Turk and Taylor streets in the Tenderloin – the historic site of the 1966 Compton’s Cafeteria riot. As the Bay Area Reporter previously reported, the Courthouse 2 Compton’s march was promoted by the Transgender District in the wake of President Donald Trump’s “consistent tirade against the safety and well-being of transgender people.” Further, the protesters demanded that the former site of Compton’s Cafeteria be relinquished by its current occupant: GEO Group Inc., a real estate investment trust that invests in private prisons and detention facilities for undocumented immigrants. Honey Mahogany, a Black transgender woman, community activist,

and legislative aide to District 6 Supervisor Matt Haney, headed up the protest and was a featured speaker. “Tonight was about trans empowerment. It was organized in coalition with a huge list of queer and trans organizations and it centered the voices and work of trans women,” Mahogany wrote to the B.A.R. after the event late Thursday, June 18. “Tonight we paid homage to our ancestors, who took their fight to the streets. We rallied, we chanted, we danced and we cried. It was beautiful.”

‘Say his name’

Crowds began to gather before 7 p.m. at the Phillip Burton Federal Building at 450 Golden Gate Avenue, home to the federal courthouse. Koh, who declined to give their last name, showed up with a shield that stated, “Protect trans POC.” “I’m a transgender person of color whose family has been in San Francisco for a long time,” Koh said. “I wanted to show support and solidarity

John Ferrannini

Hundreds of people marched in support of Black trans lives June 18 in San Francisco.

with my community. With everything going on in society, it’s important to show up to events like this.” Speeches began around 7:20 p.m. in front of the courthouse. Xavier Davenport was one of the speakers. “I want to thank everyone for coming out here – so many people,” Davenport said. “I’m a Black trans man and a lot of people think that Black trans men don’t exist: but I’m living proof. Trans Black masculinity exists. ... But to be a man in a world where people don’t accept blackness is even harder.” In his remarks, Davenport discussed the police killing of a fellow Black trans man named Tony McDade in Tallahassee, Florida on May 27 – two days after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota that sparked the recent series of protests against police violence and a resurgence in the Black Lives Matter movement. Throughout the night, the protesters chanted McDade’s name and calls to say it, alongside the names of Floyd and Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman who was killed by officers in Louisville, Kentucky as they were executing a no-knock search warrant. (One of the officers was fired June 19.) Following Davenport was Ms. Billy Cooper, a Black trans woman who is a 35-year resident of the Tenderloin neighborhood.

SF Pride

From page 16

Area-based DJ Lady Ryan. In a June 23 news release, SF Pride announced that Thelma Houston, who topped the charts with her 1977 hit “Don’t Leave Me This Way,” will be the Sunday headliner. “Thelma Houston and Big Freedia are iconic performers whose lives and work are representative of the joy and hope found in performing arts, alongside their role in empowering others as we navigate the struggles of equality and justice. We couldn’t be more thrilled that they will headline Pride 50,” Fred Lopez, SF Pride’s executive director, stated. “In a year when we are more aware than ever that our culture owes a huge debt to Black voices, these and other artists are elevating the Pride experience,” he added. “We are thankful to them as we continue the fight for change and remain resilient. This weekend’s lineup will inspire hope as we reflect on the last 50 years, and look ahead.” The programming will also include “a spotlight on Openhouse and the living legacy of Black queer and transgender activism.” The spotlight will occur June 28, according to Karyn Skultety, Ph.D., a bi woman who is executive director of Openhouse, an LGBTQ senior agency. The event will also include Ephraim Getahun, who is an Openhouse community liaison; and Andrea Horne, an Openhouse community member. SF Pride noted that Imani RupertGordon, a Black woman who is the

“America is going through a revolution,” Cooper said. “I stand here for all my people. All you people are my people.” Cooper said that a lot has changed over the decades she has lived in San Francisco, and reiterated the importance of participating in this year’s elections. “I remember in the 1980s, I said ‘my vote doesn’t count,’” Cooper said. “But it does. It does now, more than ever.”

‘There was one queen who said ‘no more’’’

Around 7:40 p.m., protesters made their way from the courthouse through the Tenderloin to the Turk and Taylor intersection. A dance party ensued, followed by more speeches. Mahogany, speaking from the roof of a bus, introduced people to the Transgender District and the history of the Compton’s Cafeteria riot. The riot, which was three years before Stonewall, was the first recorded trans uprising in American history. “Before cellphones, Instagram, Facebook, or Grindr, there was Compton’s Cafeteria,” Mahogany said. “That’s where folks went in to check on each other, and find some trade.” Mahogany then told the story of how, when a police officer began the

executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, will be discussing the Black Lives Matter movement. Kim Petras, a trans female singer, will be doing “A deep dive into the history of the LGBTQ+ community in music,” the release noted. “Additional special appearances include Bay Area American Indian Two-Spirits, body positive warrior Harnaam Kaur, Alphabet Rockers, Cheer SF (celebrating 40 years!), a conversation on the intersection of Black and gay issues between ‘Dear White People’ creator Justin Simien and cast member Griffin Matthews, and best-of performances from San Francisco’s oldest queer bar The Stud,” the SF Pride release states. Community-themed stages – such as the Latin Stage, the Soul of Pride stage, and the Women’s Stage – will be viewable on a concurrent stream. In lieu of this year’s parade, the SF Pride organization is encouraging people to tune into KBCW-TV at 5 p.m. June 28 to watch a three-hour special titled “Pride 50: Generations of Hope.” “This special will feature archival parade footage as well as reflections on the many voices of the annual Pride parade and the diverse viewpoints of LGBTQ+ communities,” the release states.

Virtual celebration to honor Phyllis Lyon

HealthRIGHT 360 and Lyon-Martin Health Services will be hosting “A Virtual Rainbow Celebration” at 5 p.m. Thursday, June 25. The focus will be not only to com-

usual harassment of the trans and gender-nonconforming people at the all-night diner, one patron had finally had enough. “There was one queen who said ‘no more.’ And you know what she did? She threw her coffee in that motherfucker’s face,” Mahogany continued. Levi Maxwell was another one of the speakers from the bus, and received a rousing ovation after her remarks. A Black trans woman, Maxwell’s fear is that allies will view their recent participation in demonstrations as performative. “We’re already seeing Instagram’s Black posts, the Black pictures disappear,” Maxwell started saying, before someone yelled from the crowd “fuck that shit!” “Fuck that shit,” Maxwell said. “This right now is a reminder that our lives are still in danger. Before this country stopped and rioted due to police violence trans folks, Black trans femmes especially, have overestimated – sorry.” The crowd began applauding as Maxwell continued. “The Tenderloin is the place where the city has put the most marginalized people,” Maxwell said, adding that after escaping from a more conservative part of the state, the Tenderloin was where home was now. In addition to the Transgender District, the Stud Collective, the TGI Justice Project, the Tenderloin Museum, CounterPulse, St. James Infirmary, Asians4BlackLives, “Screaming Queens: The Riot at Compton’s Cafeteria,” and Haney’s office organized the march. The June 18 event was planned several weeks ago, according to Susan Carter, a trans lesbian woman who is on the coordinating committee for the march. Nonetheless, it came a few days after a June 14 Black Trans Lives Matter event in Brooklyn, New York drew thousands on the weekend that Brooklyn Pride in-person events would have occurred. GEO Group Inc. has not given comment to the B.A.R. after a request was made last week t

memorate the 50th anniversary of SF Pride, but also on the commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the Lyon-Martin clinic, which primarily serves trans women and people of color. The celebration will also honor the life of Phyllis Lyon, the LGBT rights pioneer and namesake for the LyonMartin clinic who died earlier this year. (Her partner, Del Martin, the clinic’s other namesake, passed away in 2008.)

Exploratorium to hold special on rainbows

San Francisco’s Exploratorium will be presenting “Full-Spectrum Science: Rainbows” Thursday, June 25, at 7 p.m. Scientist Ron Hipschman will be teaching Facebook and YouTube viewers about the science behind rainbows. “This Pride Month, we’ll look again at the rainbow in all its glory – from its meaning in the Pride flag to the optics of real rainbows to rainbows in art and popular culture,” an Exploratorium news release states. “You’ll even learn how to make rainbows of your own.”

Openhouse to host intergenerational event

Openhouse will have an intergenerational Pride event at 11 a.m. Friday, June 26. Viewers can watch it on the Openhouse website . Skultety told the B.A.R. via phone June 19 that the LGBTQ senior prom scheduled for June 25 had been canceled because “a lot of folks aren’t acSee page 31 >>

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<< Community News

22 • Bay Area Reporter • June 25-July 1, 2020

SF DA hires bi attorney to provide trainings by John Ferrannini

an Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin has hired a bisexual female attorney to oversee updated trainings for staff, particularly with regard to the office’s relations with transgender and immigrant communities. Arcelia Hurtado, 49, has been the managing attorney in charge of diversity, equity, and inclusion since April 20. The Bay Area Reporter first learned that the office was making these changes when Boudin was asked what he was doing to train people in his office regarding the transgender community during a panel discussion with San Francisco Police Chief William Scott, Sheriff Paul Miyamoto, and Public Defender Mano Raju. “We just hired a new manager, a queer woman of color, for trainings, including the one addressed in the question,” Boudin said at the time. The panel was held by the Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club after Rubin Rhodes, a nonbinary San Francisco police officer, was reprimanded for wearing earrings after he knelt in solidarity with Black Lives Matter protesters in front of Mission Station June 3. “Arcelia comes to us with decades of legal experience, having fought for civil and constitutional rights at every step in her career,” Boudin told the B.A.R. in a June 16 email. “Her background and experience are truly one of a kind. She is the perfect person to train the lawyers and help shape the culture in my office.”

Range of experience

Hurtado has a broad range of

Courtesy Arcelia Hurtado

San Francisco Assistant District Attorney Arcelia Hurtado

experience in the legal community, telling the B.A.R. in a June 15 phone interview that “I’ve done everything you could do in the legal profession.” She was born in Mexico but raised and grew up just across the border in Texas, having learned English for the first time at school. At 18 she moved to the Bay Area and attended undergraduate and then law school at UC Berkeley. After finishing her J.D., Hurtado went on to work for the San Francisco Public Defender’s office for four years before moving on to the state public defender’s office, where she handled death penalty appeals for about six years. After that, she was the executive director of Equal Rights Advocates, a San Francisco-based legal nonprofit that focuses on protecting the legal rights of women and girls, before she moved on to become a policy adviser and deputy director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, where she said she worked

closely with Shannan Wilber, an attorney who’s the agency’s youth policy director. “Our expertise was in juvenile justice and how it relates to the LGBT community,” Hurtado said. “It gave me a lot of background about how the community intersects with the criminal justice system and how it can be more sensitive to the needs of the community.” Wilber did not respond to a request for comment. NCLR referred the B.A.R. to Cathy Sakimura, a deputy director with the San Francisco nonprofit. “Arcelia’s long career in civil rights focused on the rights of women, LGBTQ people, and people of color will be invaluable in this position, and her hiring furthers the DA’s commitment to impartial and fair administration of justice,” Sakimura wrote in a June 16 email. “Arcelia has the rare combination of being both a powerful storyteller and an empathetic listener, which are both so important in a leader focused on advancing equity. We look forward to all that is to come under her leadership.” Concurrent with her work at NCLR, Hurtado also served on the California Agricultural Labor Relations Board for the state as an assistant general counsel. For the past four years she has been at the Oakland firm of Kazan, McClain, Satterley & Greenwood, where she has helped to handle a case over Johnson & Johnson’s talc-based baby powder. “I believe that just got taken off the market,” Hurtado said. In fact, the New York Times reported in May that Johnson & Johnson was discontinuing North American sales of the talc-based

baby powder. It has faced dozens of lawsuits filed by patients who say it caused cancer. Hurtado said she knew many people who supported Boudin’s campaign for San Francisco district attorney and supported him herself. As the B.A.R. previously reported, Boudin, a former deputy public defender, ran last year as one of a number of progressive prosecutors in major American cities who pledged to make the criminal justice system more equitable. Some of the issues Boudin ran on have gained even more salience in the wake of renewed activism following the police killing of George Floyd on May 25 in Minneapolis, among other Black people killed by police. “As soon as our DA was elected [last November] ... I was in conversation with people who were on the transition team, and we had conversations about me joining the office,” Hurtado said, adding that the timing wasn’t good then considering her other work. “I thought it wasn’t clear what role I could take. I wasn’t particularly looking to make a move, but his platform and vision is inspiring.”

New training

Hurtado said part of her role as a newly-minted assistant district attorney is “overhauling the training our attorneys and summer interns receive” within the next two months. “We need to overhaul our attorney training curriculum to create more connections with the communities we serve,” Hurtado said. “For example, we need to be doing better serving the LGBT community, the immigrant community, and

different sectors of our communities who did not have a strong voice until now.” When asked how specifically the office needs to change its attitude toward these communities, Hurtado said that the DA’s office needs more data collection and changes in office culture. “We need to do a better job at data collection. Our systems need to be able to show police misconduct and the status of the victims we serve, their immigrant status, their status as members of the LGBT community, so we know where we can do better,” Hurtado said. “We need to create a culture where everyone feels included and create a family culture within the office.” Hurtado also said that the office needs more attorneys who take cues from the “progressive prosecution movement.” Hurtado was with a female partner 16 years who is currently a deputy public defender. The couple are no longer together and they coparent two adolescent boys. Hurtado lives in San Francisco. Black Lives Matter protests in recent weeks have heartened Hurtado, who said she was involved in protesting about similar issues at a younger age. “I want to say as a woman of color, as an immigrant, as someone who grew up as someone whose first language was Spanish, and as an attorney and as a mother that I think we can do better,” Hurtado said. “I look forward to the work that lies ahead. I hope to work more closely with the community in San Francisco. “We can fulfill the promises we’ve made and have equal justice for everyone,” she added. t

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<< Pride 2020

24 • Bay Area Reporter • June 25-July 1, 2020

In Solano County, Dixon lone city silent on Pride Month by Matthew S. Bajko

wo years ago voters in Dixon, California overwhelmingly ousted from office a city councilman who had written a homophobic newspaper column in which he called for holding a “straight Pride” event. Thus, LGBT advocates in Solano County were hopeful of seeing the small town’s mayor and City Council declare this June as Pride Month. Similar to their counterparts in two other Bay Area counties – Contra Costa County on the other side of the Delta and San Mateo County on the Peninsula – Solano LGBT leaders and allies had hoped to see all seven of their county’s cities this year celebrate Pride Month in some manner. Benicia and Vallejo are both flying the rainbow flag, as is the county government and the Vallejo Unified School District. The cities of Fairfield, Rio Vista, Suisun City, and Vacaville all issued proclamations recognizing June as Pride Month. And at the request of its mayor, Lori Wilson, Suisun City for the last year has displayed the rainbow flag inside its City Hall on a recessed shelf alongside various awards the municipality has received. With less than a week left to the month, Dixon remains the lone holdout thwarting Solano County from achieving a countywide Pride observance. San Mateo County officially did so last Wednesday when Atherton was the last of its 20 cities and towns to issue a Pride proclamation. Moraga will make it official for Contra Costa County with its June 24 issuance of a proc-

Courtesy Lori Wilson Courtesy Solano Pride Center

The Vallejo City Unified School District raised the rainbow flag June 4.

lamation for Pride Month. Dixon’s mayor, Thom Bogue, did not respond to the Bay Area Reporter’s questions about if his city will recognize Pride Month. Several council members, including Jim Ernest who defeated the incumbent who wrote the antiLGBT column, also did not respond to the B.A.R.’s request for comment. Jonathan Cook, executive director of the Solano Pride Center, the county’s LGBT community center located in Fairfield that hosts its annual Pride event in the fall, told the B.A.R. his organization had reached out to all seven cities this year about Pride Month. The center felt it was especially important for the individual cities to observe the annual LGBT celebration in light of the novel coronavirus outbreak resulting in people having to shelter at home. In the sprawling and largely

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rural county, the health crisis has increased concerns that LGBT residents will be even more isolated and lonely, noted Cook. “The reason we think it is important to have the Pride flag raised in each of these cities is to show visibility for the LGBTQ community,” said Cook, who had to shutter his center’s physical location and turn to offering its programs and services remotely online or over the phone. “We know when there is greater visibility and acceptance of LGBT people there are lower rates of suicide ... if we can show one person they are recognized for their diversity, our hope is we can end any other deaths because of homophobia and stigma.” Fairfield resident Quinten Voyce, a gay schoolteacher who is seeking reelection this fall to the Solano Community College board of trustees, noted while “Dixon has a complicated past,” the uproar its former council member caused led to many LGBT residents of the county meeting for the first time. “We organized a Pride picnic in response and held it outside the City Hall in Dixon in a park there. A couple hundred people showed up,” recalled Voyce, 34, who grew up in Suisun City. Voyce is one of two out elected leaders in Solano County and the highest-ranking due to representing several cities on the community college board. He is currently president of the college’s oversight body, which issued a Pride proclamation. There is no LGBT neighborhood for county residents to gather in and meet, noted Voyce. Their focal point is the Solano Pride Center, he told the B.A.R. “The Pride center really does help to unify the LGBT community across the county,” said Voyce. “Having support from the county and seeing in your backyard at city

Guest Opinion

From page 6

have yet to admit is vital to trans and queer liberation along the need to decenter the mainstream and allow our most marginalized to lead. Stonewall 51, Pride 2020, is our chance to do just that while embracing purposeful action and acknowledgement beyond gentrified single-issue activism. One of the book’s contributors, LoriKim Alexander, a Black queer activist at the heart of the movements for both non/human rights, writes: “Don’t include me. Don’t include us. We, trans, nonbinary, and queer Black and Brown people have always been here. We’ve been here in all movement spaces and in all the creations of movement philosophies. Whether cis and straight people like it or not and whether they have been able to reconcile this with their idea

Suisun City Mayor Lori Wilson installed a Pride flag display inside City Hall.

hall the Pride flag, it is just important to know your city stands with you and acknowledges you as a part of that city.”

Mayors set tone

As the mother of a transgender son, Wilson, the Suisun City mayor, has made it a priority to celebrate her city’s LGBT community. Because it doesn’t fly commemorative flags on the flagpole in front of its City Hall, Wilson installed the rainbow flag display inside the building near the entrance. She told the B.A.R. that it would remain there for as long as she is mayor. Except for one of her council colleagues, Wilson has not received any negative feedback from the public about the Pride flag display. “We celebrate not just in June but all year long,” said Wilson, who was first elected to a council seat in 2012 and elected mayor in 2018. “We want our LGBT residents to know they are a vital part of our community. There is no us versus them here; there is a we when it comes to this community.” Wilson’s son, who asked that his name be withheld as he is not completely out, told the B.A.R. his hometown is accepting of LGBT people almost to a fault. “Honestly, everybody has been really so great and supportive around here when it comes to that, it wasn’t as big of a deal as I think it should be,” he said of the rainbow flag display his mother installed in City Hall. With the city looking at re-landscaping the grounds of its municipal building, Wilson is hopeful a second flagpole can be installed behind City Hall that would be visible from its downtown waterfront neighborhoods. It could be used to fly the rainbow flag and other commemorative flags it has also been asked to raise but unable to do so to date.

of what our liberation movement should look like, or the history they’ve ben mistold, we’ve been here” (Alexander, 267). Although pushed to margins for their intersecting identities, QTBBIPoC have always been here and have always led the way, and yet, 51 years later, they are still here waiting for everyone else to catch up, for the movement to extend itself beyond the single lens that drives the mainstream movement that long forgot how we got here and why it needs to center our most vulnerable. Only in recognizing this, embracing consistent anti-oppression as a praxis with a lens that is aware of how LGBTQIA+ oppression is connected to all other forms of oppression, both human and nonhuman, will we be able to finally move towards achieving the liberation we have envisioned. Let the 52nd year of Pride be one where we took the time away

“It would be a great way to display cultural month flags and things like that,” she said. “We need a place to put on full display the diversity and mix of our community.” Benicia Mayor Elizabeth Patterson saw first hand how important it was for straight allies to signal their support for the LGBT community when she showed up to an event in Vallejo in 2015 celebrating the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in favor of same-sex marriage. She had just landed after a 22-hour flight from India, and rather than go home, she had her daughter drive her to the gathering. “The then-mayor of Vallejo was not friendly of those principles, so people were so thrilled to see the mayor from Benicia. Even though I was still in the clothes I had been in the last two days,” joked Patterson. Ever since then she has made sure her city flies the Pride flag in June, though she noted it took a few years for Benicia to figure out its flag raising ceremony. “We’ve gotten better about it. Initially, nobody would show up,” she said. “No one was paying attention, so there was no protest, no cheering, nothing.” This year, the city held a small gathering due to the health crisis. Patterson, who has served three terms as mayor since first being elected in 2007, is confident her successor will continue raising the Pride flag. She plans to retire when her term ends this year and focus more of her energy and time on addressing climate change. “Solano for a long time, particularly up county, had a reputation as being not as open to the LGBTQ community. And indeed there were some Facebook postings a few years ago in a campaign that would indicate that,” said Patterson. “But by and large that Supreme Court decision, I think, made a big difference. God bless young people, they don’t have the same hang-ups as older people have.” Wilson told the B.A.R. she did reach out to her counterpart in Dixon about why recognizing Pride Month is more than just a symbolic gesture. “I know they have issues in their community and are not too distant from where we were in the past, so I get it. But as mayor, you set the tone,” said Wilson. “You have to be courageous and make sure everybody in the community is treated fairly and celebrated. Nobody wants to be tolerated in their community; they want to be celebrated. That is not the community I want to live in; I want to live in a community that celebrates who we are.” t from each other to work on ourselves as a movement beyond the performative, beyond tokenized inclusion, and beyond cosmetic diversity. t Julia Feliz is a Two-Spirit Nonbinary Queer Black Tainx Boricua writer, illustrator, scholar, and resource activist committed to raising the voices of all marginalized communities -human and nonhuman. They are the designer of the New Pride Flag (www.newprideflag.com) and founder of SanctuaryPublishers.com, a non-traditional book publisher with a focus on activism and giving back. Z. Zane McNeill is a genderfluidflux dirt queer from the mountains of Appalachia. They are interested in queer oral history and archival projects as a way to uplift marginalized voices.

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<< AIDS 2020

26 • Bay Area Reporter • June 25-July 1, 2020

Virtual AIDS conference starts July 6 by Liz Highleyman

he 23rd International AIDS Conference will kick off online Monday, July 6, featuring a full program covering HIV prevention, treatment, and the domestic and global AIDS response. The virtual Global Village will offer free workshops and exhibits for community members worldwide. A free daylong program on COVID-19 will wrap up the conference Friday, July 10. The conference, put on by the International AIDS Society every other year, was originally scheduled to take place in San Francisco and Oakland, and was expected to draw upward of 20,000 participants. But in March, organizers switched to a virtual format due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. “While we are disappointed not to welcome our HIV community in person to the Bay Area, AIDS 2020: Virtual will equalize access, create new pathways for collaboration, and maintain international impact,” conference co-chair Dr. Monica Gandhi of UCSF and Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital previously told the Bay Area Reporter. The virtual format will enable the conference to run sessions around the clock, allowing people in all time zones to watch parts of the meeting live. Recordings of the sessions will then be available on demand. “I call on people to get together at AIDS 2020: Virtual in greater numbers

Pride sweeps

From page 3

Seeing Clayton agree to fly the flag was particularly satisfying, said Kuslits, who grew up in Antioch, which is also flying the rainbow flag. The town on the northern flanks of Mt. Diablo has long had a conservative reputation, Kuslits noted. “They really showed even conservatives are willing to stand up for equal rights for our community,” said Kuslits. The visible show of solidarity is just a first step, added Kuslits, toward seeing pro-LGBTQ policies be enacted by the various municipalities. “Flag raisings aren’t the end all, be all. They are very good for visibility and really brings our community into the spotlight with elected officials. Now we want to make sure we follow up and have policies in our cities that reflect equal rights for our community,”

Liz Highleyman

Congresswoman Barbara Lee, left, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi joined AIDS 2020 co-chairs Cynthia Carey-Grant and Dr. Monica Gandhi at a news conference in San Francisco last fall.

than ever before and recommit to working together to end the AIDS epidemic,” UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima said in a news release. Several pre-conferences will precede the main meeting, starting June 30, and more than 70 satellite sessions will take place starting July 4. The Global Village, which runs concurrently with the conference, will feature workshops, performances, art exhibits, film screenings, and networking opportunities. This year’s plenary speakers will include well-known researchers, health officials, and community members speaking on topics ranging from

health disparities to HIV vaccine and cure research to HIV among women and youth. Each plenary talk will be followed by a live question-and-answer session. On July 9, Ambassador Dr. Deborah Birx, who oversees the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, but has recently become more familiar to the public as a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, will speak about the global AIDS response. Later that day, Dr. Susan Buchbinder of UCSF will discuss advances in biomedical prevention beyond daily PrEP. On the PrEP front, researchers will

said Kuslits, who is currently in law school. When the LGBTQ advisory body on the Peninsula set out this year to get every San Mateo County city and town on board with its Pride initiative, it wasn’t sure what the response would be, said Anders. Not only was the commission thrilled that all 20 issued Pride proclamations, it was astonished to see 13 agree to fly the Pride flag. (Burlingame isn’t doing so at its City Hall, but across the street the city’s main library decorated two of its windows in the colors of the rainbow flag.) “That is just amazing to us,” said Anders. “We are so proud and excited to see how San Mateo County has come together in demonstrating this inclusion.” Half Moon Bay LGBTQ residents have also been successful in a relatively short amount of time with their push to see their coastal community celebrate Pride. A year ago the group Coast Pride formed to host its own events in town and

foster connections between LGBTQ people. Last year, their library raised the rainbow flag in June and the local school district observed October as LGBTQ History Month. This month city leaders held a ceremony to raise the rainbow flag in front of City Hall. “I think the timing is perfect. Right now we need something that kind of celebrates diversity and inclusion regardless of the group,” said real estate agent David Oliphant, 57, who has lived in the town with his husband, choreographer Christopher Childers, 55, for a decade. “There are so many things going on right now that are the opposite of inclusion, I think that is a huge piece to celebrate.” Oliphant, a founding member of Coast Pride, said the organization has hopes of one day opening a dedicated space to hold its meetings and offer services. More immediately, it is translating its materials into Spanish to be more inclusive and reach non-English speaking members of the local LGBTQ community. “The overall theme I keep hearing is thank you and it’s about time,” Oliphant said of the nonprofit’s work. t

present the full data from the HPTN 083 trial of long-acting injectable PrEP, according to Gandhi. As the B.A.R. recently reported, the injectable antiretroviral drug cabotegravir given every eight weeks was found to be equivalent to daily oral Truvada. Researchers from Kaiser Permanente San Francisco will present longterm follow-up data from Kaiser’s large PrEP program. The Kaiser team recently reported that gay and bisexual men taking on-demand PrEP before and after sex – also known as PrEP 2-1-1 – had good adherence and none were diagnosed with HIV. Nurse practitioner Janessa Broussard of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation will present PrEP 2-1-1 findings from the nurse-led PrEP program at Magnet sexual health clinic at Strut, the men’s health center in the Castro. Other locally-focused presentations will look at HIV-related stigma and barriers to care among Latino gay men, people who inject drugs, and people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco. In the policy realm, researchers will report on data from 10 African countries showing that punitive laws against same-sex relationships are linked to high HIV rates. Another presentation will look at the impact of the “global gag rule” on communities affected by HIV. Officially known as the Mexico City Policy, the rule bans U.S. funding of any organization that provides abortion counseling or referrals, which is a concern in low- and middle-income

countries where reproductive health and HIV prevention services are often provided together. Regarding the COVID-19 conference, “some exciting abstracts will be presented, including the final results of the mass testing campaign in the Mission district of San Francisco,” Gandhi told the B.A.R. In related news, HIV 2020, an alternative conference that was to be held in Mexico City concurrently with AIDS 2020, has also switched to a virtual format. HIV 2020 was organized by advocates who oppose holding the International AIDS Conference in the United States, citing a political climate increasingly hostile to immigrants, people of color, gay and transgender people, sex workers and others heavily impacted by HIV. That conference will now be comprised of two-hour sessions that will take place via Zoom between July and October, concluding with a virtual event on December 1, World AIDS Day. Several films and art exhibits will be available throughout the entire period. The opening session is scheduled for July 6. t For more information and registration for AIDS 2020, visit http:// www.aids2020.org. For more information about HIV 2020, see http://www.hiv2020.org.

Matthew S. Bajko

The main library in Burlingame sports the colors of the rainbow flag in its windows.

Courtesy City of San Ramon

San Ramon City Hall is awash in the colors of the rainbow flag for Pride Month this year.

Obituaries >> Doug Kent July 10, 1955 – May 8, 2020

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Douglas Earl Kent was born July 10, 1955 in La Junta, Colorado. He was an Eagle Scout and graduated high school in Aurora, Colorado in 1973. He went on to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in sports medicine. (Friends did not know the university from which Mr. Kent received his degree.) In 1979 he moved from Denver to San Francisco to join his good friend, Earl Kirk, who had moved to the city the year before. Doug laid down roots here and thrived, making his living as a personal trainer and working at several gyms, culminating in the position of facilities director at the Embarcadero

YMCA and the Presidio Y. He was an outdoorsman and enjoyed camping, skiing, hiking, and four-wheeling in his Jeep. And beyond all of that, Doug had multiple talents and never ceased to amaze his friends with the following: sewing (he made Halloween costumes for several of his friends), gardening (if you didn’t know the name of a tree, plant, or flower, just ask Doug), handy work (Doug would graciously attend to whatever need you had – all you had to do was ask him). And one of the best parts of being a friend of Doug’s was that you got invited to his dinner parties, which became almost legendary. Everything was made from scratch. You never knew what he would serve, but you always knew it would be good. But the best was always dessert. Doug enjoyed baking most of all, especially cakes. And we all appreciated

this at our birthdays because Doug always baked each of us a fabulous cake. And Doug had a fun sense of humor. (No one enjoyed his jokes more than he did!) Doug passed away on May 8, 2020, at Coming Home Hospice. There is a large void now, in all of our lives. It will never be filled fully, because there will never be another Doug Kent. He is survived and especially missed by his mother, Flora Kent; his sisters, Cindy Burnett and Teri Quintana; and his brother, Mike Kent. Many friends also feel the loss deeply: Earl Kirk, Fernando Castillo, Mike Donnelly, Brian Nolan, Steve Drenga, Suzy Dito, Sandhya Latham, and Billy Conrad, in addition to many other friends and acquaintances. Rest in peace, our dear, glorious Doug.

Equity. Respect. Pride.

San Francisco Police Officers in solidarity with our LGBTQ community. Congratulations on the 50th annual San Francisco LGBTQ Pride celelebration.

SAN FRANCISCO

POLICE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION

<< Pride 2020

28 • Bay Area Reporter • June 25-July 1, 2020

Whose freedom? by Terry Beswick

GBTQ people are free, right? Yes, we’ve come a long way in the 50 years since police broke up the peaceful “Gay-In,” San Francisco’s first commemoration of the Stonewall riots against police harassment and brutality against gays in New York City. Indeed, this Pride Month, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that LGBT people are protected from discrimination in employment under Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The law that most famously outlawed racial discrimination also includes “gay and transgender” people. That’s something to celebrate. And yet, the ruling comes in the wake of police murders of George Floyd, Tony McDade, and so many other Black and Brown people, which has quickly broadened into a national discussion of systemic racism and white supremacy. It also comes during a continued wave of killings of Black transgender women across the U.S. And it comes in the midst of a pandemic that disproportion-

Rick Gerharter

Terry Beswick, left, executive director of the GLBT Historical Society, discussed the then-proposed Castro LGBTQ Cultural District at a March 2019 community meeting.

ately affects African American and Latinx people, exposing disparities in access to health care, employment, income, and housing that leave them particularly vulnerable to infection, illness and death, regardless of their sexual orientation

or gender identity. So which LGBTQs are free, exactly? When I was a part of ACT UP in the late 1980s – a group that was primarily gay, white, and male, like myself – this suburban

kid got quite an education in the ways that society institutionalizes discrimination against people of color, and how this resulted in disproportionate access to health care, in particular. And yet the focus of my work for over a decade – and of so many other gay, white, male activists – was on accelerating the pace of research for safe and effective treatments. I’m proud of the work we did. And yet I am not proud that once we had access to the drugs that would save our own lives, so many of us largely turned our backs on the underlying issues of racial and social justice, which continued to kill our brothers and sisters of color, gay and straight. If we survived, many of us simply moved on. The history of the gay rights movement is littered with similar examples. As we have gained a seat at the table, we have often failed to lift up those most disenfranchised among us, namely people of color, trans, and gender-nonconforming people. And even when we have been inclusive of the full rainbow

spectrum of the community, we have often insisted on narrowing our focus to winning LGBTQ rights, i.e. rights for the privileged white folks among us. But if there is anything I have learned in the last several weeks of the revitalized Black Lives Matter movement, it is that we have so much work left to do. “When you solve it for Black, queer, and trans people, you solve it for everyone,” SF Pride board President Carolyn Wysinger said at a recent forum. Like so many others, I have been deeply inspired by the racial justice movement of young people calling for real change in our country. I’m hopeful that this is more than a moment, and that this time, we as LGBTQ people remember that we are not free until we all are free. t Terry Beswick is executive director of the GLBT Historical Society. He is also a San Francisco Pride 2020 community grand marshal. For more information, visit https://www.glbthistory.org/.

How to win liberation for all LGBTQ people by StormMiguel Florez

have been invited to write on what it means to be a San Francisco Pride community grand marshal in a time of COVID-19 and shelter-in-place. Since I was asked, Nina Pop, a Black trans woman, was murdered in Missouri; Toni McDade, a Black trans man, was murdered by Tallahassee, Florida police; Iyanna Dior, a Black trans woman, was beaten by a mob of 30 men on camera in Minnesota; no cops have been arrested for murdering Black cis woman, Breonna Taylor [one officer was fired June 19]; and there has been an uprising like many of us have never seen in our lifetimes sparked by the murder of Black cis man, George Floyd. As a non-Black trans person of color, it feels important to yield my voice and words to the people who continue to pave the way for

The author urges support for Black trans-led organizations.

our liberation: Black trans women. Center, lift up, DONATE TO, and follow Black trans leadership. • TGI Justice Project/TGIJP is a prison abolitionist organization in San Francisco, led by Executive Director Janetta Johnson. TGIJP

centers Black trans women and supports TGI people coming out of jails and prisons with housing, resources, employment, and a family to come home to. • TAJA’s Coalition, led by Executive Director Akira Jackson, operates in the San Francisco Bay Area working to stop the genocide of trans women of color: “We organize trans women of color to demand better services from our city by advocating for themselves and for each other,” the organization’s GoFundMe page states. • House of GG: Griffin-Gracy Educational Retreat and Historical Center in Little Rock, Arkansas, was founded by renowned trans revolutionary Miss Major GriffinGracy. Its mission is to create programs, services, and resources that positively impact the lives, history, and visibility of transgender, gender-questioning, and gendernonconforming people.

• The OKRA Project, based in New York City, is a Black trans and queer collective that offers Black trans people home cooked, healthy, and culturally specific meals and resources. • GLITS (Gays and Lesbians Living In a Transgender Society) is an organization in New York founded by and run by Ceyenne Doroshow. GLITS is raising money to house Black trans women who are coming out of Rikers Island. • Trans Justice Funding Project, co-founded and led by Gabriel Foster, is a community-led initiative that funds grassroots trans justice groups run by and for trans people. • Youth Breakout, based in New Orleans, works to end the criminalization of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth to build a safer and more just New Orleans. • Homeless Black Trans Women

Fund started out as a fund to cover necessities for Black trans women living in Atlanta who are sex workers and/or homeless. Because of a huge influx of donations, it has grown into a “collective vision of creating a space in Atlanta that can provide short and long-term sustainable housing, mental/ physical health services, and other resources, without the restrictions that often put girls back on the streets,” its GoFundMe campaign page notes. • Take the time to learn about what #DefundThePolice means, how it’s possible, and why it is the only answer to creating a culture and society where Black people are no longer targeted by cops and everyone is safer. t StormMiguel Florez is a Xicanx trans filmmaker and one of this year’s San Francisco Pride community grand marshals.

Time to work toward a just world by Jane Spahr [Editor’s note: Jane Spahr wrote this in April for San Francisco Pride.]

t is such an honor and joy to have been voted as community grand marshal in this 50th year of LGBTQAI+ Pride. What a historical moment for us as we celebrate 50 years of working toward our freedom. This year is a challenging one once again. This year continues to be very difficult for our whole world as we face together this pandemic. Our community has faced adversity and grief through the AIDS epidemic/pandemic and understands about loss of life and the need for adequate and specific health care to be in place. We understand discrimination and the need for equity in making sure that communities less advantaged due to systemic racism, sexism, heterosexism, transphobia, ageism are especially lifted up and find the care that is so desperately needed. Our Pride march defies the myths and stereotypes that have promoted

Rick Gerharter

The Reverend Dr. Jane Spahr

hatred and violence. Our parade is one of being counted – that we are here, queer, and visible. We have defined ourselves and taken back our lives. We are everywhere in this world – multiracial and multiethnic. We are made up of huge diverse communities who are struggling with all the power dynamics, isms and inequities that face our world. Pride brings us

together to experience that diversity and to celebrate all of who we are. In a more normal year, Pride brings people from all over the world to our city where every contingent speaks out loud of who we are. This year, that will take place online during SF Pride’s virtual programming. San Francisco under the rainbow flag lights up a rainbow City Hall

and for that day we feel community. We feel our oneness. Our “closets” are emptied. Many of our families, friends, and allies celebrate and have marched with us. We are ecstatic with happiness knowing and feeling our Yes! when so many of us have heard no. Our love continues to survive hatred and fear. Our Pride parade gives us voice, gives us hope, gives us joy. It says – We are here to stay, to be our full selves. The affirmation of who we are resounds throughout the streets of our great city. This year we will have to hear and feel the Yes from deep inside our bones. We will not be marching as in years past even as we did during the AIDS crisis. This year will be very different. We understand about disease, sickness, and death. We too understand we can make our way through this virus. Now we are and can help to change access for others and work for equity and equality. We are and will be a part of creating policies that lift up those who are down – for we know this first hand. This 50th year is another year of change as we work together toward a just, healing, and hope-filled world.

Let us continue to fly our rainbow flags and celebrate who we are in different ways and virtually hold each other through our work for justice and love. Pride continues this year not in a parade but in our very beings. May we be a part of creating a new June day of love, justice, healing hope and peace in a world that needs us as caregivers, as caredoers, and carelovers. Yes, this great queer community – the earth and folks in it – need our care and our love more than ever. We are here to help and do the work so we ALL ARE FREE-- so we can ALL celebrate our freedom together. See you next year! In the meantime, be well, be safe, and celebrate in place. t The Reverend Dr. Jane Spahr is a lesbian and retired Presbyterian minister. She was publicly rebuked by the Presbyterian Church USA for performing same-sex marriages and convicted by the church’s highest court in 2010 following a widely publicized church trial.

Helping to build meaningful, compassionate connections in our community Shanti’s LGBTQ+ Aging and Abilities Support Network Shanti’s LGBTQ+ Aging and Abilities Support Network (LAASN) offers emotional and practical support to LGBTQ+ aging adults and LGBTQ+ adults with disabilities who face isolation and need greater social support and connection.

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If you are experiencing isolation, especially now as we are living through the impact of COVID-19, please reach out to LAASN to see how we can be of support to you during this crisis. Know that you are not alone. 2010

For more information about the LAASN program contact Matthew Simmons by phone: 415-852-0225, or email: msimmons@shanti.org

2019

PHOTO: Nicole Best Varela

2020

www.shanti.org The LGBTQ+ Aging & Abilities Support Network is made possible by funding from the City and County of San Francisco’s Department of Disability and Aging Services (DAS) and the Metta Fund.

<< Community News

30 • Bay Area Reporter • June 25-July 1, 2020

Pride flags

SF Muni

From page 4

and purple on the bottom. Orange is used for the J-Church, purple for the L-Taraval, and a sky blue for the KIngleside. Equality California, the statewide LGBT advocacy organization, first floated the rainbow Muni map idea during Pride weekend of 2018. It increased its efforts last June by releasing a video online that showed how the Muni lines could be color-coded to

News Briefs

From page 8

and officials recently said that it would be continued. It was to have ended June 10. Great Plates is a free, temporary food initiative that delivers three res-

AIDS columnist

From page 12

Reached recently, White, 66, recalled De Andreis. “A quarter century later and I still remember the sunlight streaming into Robert’s apartment,” she wrote in an email. “Bedazzled by his writing, I reached out to him from my desk at the San Francisco Chronicle. And like the vining greenery in his living room, he extended himself to me in friendship. An exquisite wordsmith, Robert’s work was witty, wayward, wicked, and winning. As for COVID-19, I suspect that Robert would have found a way to ‘burlesque’ (as he put it) merriment out of the mayhem. He documented his AIDS journey with uncommon zest and left an enduring repository of arch and artful prose.” As suggested by White, it’s likely De Andreis would have advocated for people with COVID-19, describing their conflicts, frustrations, aspirations, and loneliness in this quarantine age. For him, it was always about resilience. In the last sentences in his final column (July 26, 1995) he summarized how any disease can

Councilman Dave Hudson suggested a special meeting be held so the matter could be addressed sooner. “This is not what people were looking for tonight. I will leave it at that,” said Hudson, after being advised by the city’s mayor and city attorney that

they could not discuss the flag matter since it had not been agendized for the meeting. City Councilman Phil O’Loane also expressed his frustration that the flag request had been delayed. “This is not an item that should

have been held off until the end of June,” said O’Loane. “That is like talking about Christmas in January.” Their comments led to last Wednesday night’s special meeting. The only person from the public to speak was Jacquie Guzzo, the mother of a transgender son who is president of the PFLAG Danville/San Ramon Valley chapter. She presented a letter signed by 200 community members in support of seeing the Philly flag raised rather than have multiple people speak so that the council could get to voting on the item. “We want you to fly the Philly flag as a beacon for all of us that we will all be all right,” Guzzo told the council members. Zafar, who is running to be elected the city’s mayor in November, told the B.A.R. that she is overjoyed that the council moved faster to get the flag up. “I am just ecstatic we did it with a

form the rainbow flag running down Market Street on the map so people could “Ride with Pride.” But in an interview with the B.A.R. before the health pandemic struck, SFMTA General Manager Jeffrey Tumlin said it wasn’t possible for the transit agency to adopt the rainbow map concept. One reason, he noted then, was the agency was already looking at the idea of halting J-Church trains when they reached Market Street. “First of all, I love the idea. But it

creates some logistical challenges, relative to what we want to do with the subway,” Tumlin, a gay man, said at the time. “So, for example, if we succeed in really, you know, in putting three or four car trains on a West Portal shuttle and terminating the J at Church Street Station, it ruins the rainbow. I don’t want to kill the rainbow.” He joked it was “a really funny position” for a gay man to be confronted with, adding that it would be hard to also switch the colors for the

different subway lines that customers have been accustomed to for decades. Plus, Tumlin wasn’t sure how maintaining the rainbow flag pattern would work when additional lines are added in the future, as Muni has long eyed extending the subway system throughout the city. “I still wish we could but I don’t think there’s a way of, of having it support our ambition, which is to really be upgrading the subway system,” said Tumlin. Asked about the status of its Muni

map initiative, EQCA told the B.A.R. this week it had mothballed it for the foreseeable future. “Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and in-person Pride festivals – where we normally conduct our education efforts – largely being canceled, we have hit the pause button on this campaign. We are extremely grateful to SFMTA for their work during this crisis,” stated EQCA deputy communications director Josh Stickney. t

taurant-prepared meals a day to eligible older adults, including LGBTQs, during COVID-19. Breed’s expansion of the San Francisco programs means an additional several weeks of service, according to a news release. To date, more than 1,400 San Francisco seniors have benefitted from

the program, receiving a total of 80,000 meals from various local restaurants. Given that seniors are at heightened risk of COVID-19, the program is for older adults who live alone or with another senior and are unable to prepare or obtain meals while sheltering in place.

The city is partnering with Off the Grid and San Francisco New Deal to coordinate local food providers and eateries to provide the meals. Seniors who currently receive state or federal food assistance such as CalFresh or home-delivered meals should contact the Disabil-

ity and Aging Services’ helpline at (415) 355-6700 to understand their eligibility for this program or other assistance. San Francisco residents seeking additional information about Great Plates Delivered SF can visit http://www.sfhsa.org/GreatPlates. t

transform people: “Illness alienates us from much of what we once loved, but this solitude creates a certain kind of strength. Only in stillness, when the noise of our heads and the prattling of those around us has subsided, can we hear ourselves think again. As a sick person, honor your unique position to uncover truth more readily, but don’t expect to make friends and do expect to lose a few. Being terminally ill can be liberating, once you stop caring what other people think. In that climate, you can start a whole new life for yourself, creative or otherwise, AFTER an AIDS diagnosis. So, never give up on yourself, because sometimes the best is yet to be.” During the run of the column, De Andreis received over 2,000 fan letters, and along with all his writings, they are part of the permanent archive at the GLBT Historical Society in San Francisco. In a March 15, 1995 column he wrote, “It’s so twisted and surreal having anonymous readers know so much about my darkest, most private side. It’s not that far off from all my years as a sex addict, when I would share such moments of ultimate intimacy with complete strangers ... No,

honey, all you know about is my AIDS side, and there’s a lot more to me than this dull, painful, annoying, irksome, frustrating, terrifying, and mundane disease. It’s only because I’m a clever writer that I’ve made it appear so glamorous! Yet the truth is, I would never be thinking about AIDS this much if it weren’t for this column.” It was De Andreis the wordsmith who parodied the struggles and treatments (medical and otherwise) he had to endure that endeared him to readers. He was able to express inescapable, often-unutterable truths that people were thinking but couldn’t voice out loud, with wit and compassion. Part of his April 13, 1994 column summed up his feelings on obituaries. “When obituaries say someone bravely fought the battle against their illness, it’s kind of rude, because you’re also saying they lost,” he wrote. “For my obit I’d prefer something more real: ‘He’s been through the same ordeal everyone else who’s died of AIDS has been through – including those days he was an irritable BITCH! In fact if he didn’t die soon, we would have killed him ourselves.’” On hooking up, he wrote in a Feb-

ruary 22, 1995 column: “All of a sudden I was in some guy’s tacky living room sitting on a plaid couch, and he looked much hotter outside from a distance ... We whipped them out, fooled around for a split second, and I said, ‘Yeah, hot, whatever. Listen I’ve got to go.’ I felt slightly disheveled as I went into the Sentinel office to pick up my check, hoping I didn’t have dick on my breath.” He chronicled his insomnia. “It’s been hell trying to sleep some nights with all that rattling in my lungs with that suffocating-like drowning feeling, like Esther Williams trapped underneath a glass AIDS pool – smiling, synchronizing, looking fabulous, yet still coughing up unsightly bits of lung tissue,” he wrote in his May 24, 1995 column. Herman “Homer” Hobi, 74, is a member of the Elizabeth Taylor 50-Plus Network. He’s also a long-term survivor who read the De Andreis’ columns. “I was diagnosed with HIV in August of 1994 and I lived in Rohnert Park, Sonoma County until September of 1995 when I moved back to SF,” he wrote in an email. “I read a number of Robert De Andreis’

articles. But his writings brought back the memory of my lust during those first years when I was diagnosed and had just come out openly as a gay man. I had so much pent-up sexual energy and I sought out positive men everywhere. I did quickies, all-nighters, just about anything but public sex. Now, I look back fondly on that time of my life.” Finally, De Andreis’ biggest fear was his work being ignored or dismissed. In his June 8, 1995 column, he wrote, “Can’t some AIDS organization, instead of printing out another resource manual, a nutritional HIV cookbook, or a catalogue on the latest drug trials – can’t someone steal some of my work and publish it into some practical coping handbook? Rip me off, don’t give me credit, I don’t care. I don’t even care about money at this point. I would just hate for all the work I’ve done these past two years to be lost when I die, and why should it sit in some dusty archives for a hundred years when it has contemporary value NOW? “Use me, steal from me, infringe my copyright, rip me off, reproduce me without permission – just don’t shelve me when I’m gone,” he wrote. t

stated. “He deeply understood that while allies are essential, we must have our own seat at the table. Harry helped create political space for people like me to serve in elected office. Harry’s death is a tragedy. He will be missed.” Jackie Fielder, a queer educator running against Wiener this fall, said that Mr. Britt was the first elected official to endorse her. “It’s a sad day. Harry dutifully carried on Harvey’s legacy on fighting for LGBTQ people and marginalized people everywhere,” Fielder said. “He felt everyday people should have more of a say on the policies that affect our own lives than big business, real estate companies, and corporations.” Mr. Britt ran unsuccessfully for California’s 5th Congressional District in 1987, narrowly losing

to Nancy Pelosi in a special election to fill the seat left when Sala Burton died. Pelosi, now House speaker earned 36% of the vote to his 32%. “All San Franciscans mourn the passing of Harry Britt: a pioneering LGBTQ leader in our community and country. He was a leader who carried forth the mission of Harvey Milk while building his own beautiful legacy of progress for all people in our city,” said Pelosi in a statement to the B.A.R. “Harry’s courageous leadership made a difference, as he worked tirelessly to lift up LGBTQ representation in politics and ensure that more LGBTQ Americans could take their seat at the decision-making table.“ Mr. Britt was closely tied to the city’s progressive LGBTQ Demo-

cratic club, which renamed itself in honor of Milk. Last month, in a Facebook post addressing recent police killings of Black Americans, the Milk club included Mr. Britt’s response to the White Night Riots in 1979 sparked by the lenient verdict handed down to Milk and Moscone’s murderer, Dan White, a former city police officer and firefighter. “Harvey Milk’s people do not have anything to apologize for,” said Mr. Britt. “Now the society is going to have to deal with us not as nice little fairies who have hairdressing salons, but as people capable of violence. We’re not going to put up with Dan Whites anymore.” Mr. Britt was born in 1938 and grew up in Port Arthur, Texas. He got married in 1960 and subsequently became a Methodist min-

ister in Chicago, where he ministered to two congregations. “Harry Britt was a gentle giant of a man,” former supervisor Carol Ruth Silver, who served alongside him on the board, told the B.A.R. “His training as a religious leader – that background allowed him to add quotations from the scriptures to great effect. He was a wonderful orator; when he, not frequently, but when he rose to speak it was a treat to hear him. He didn’t quite have the charisma that Martin Luther King had but he had that same preacher’s cadence to his speeches.” After the tumultuous late 1960s, Mr. Britt’s marriage ended and he left the Methodist church. After moving to San Francisco in

From page 14

was expected the city southeast of Mt. Diablo would fly the rainbow flag later this month after the council voted to do so at its June 23 meeting. The city issued a Pride proclamation last week, has added pro-LGBTQ messages to a city-controlled bulletin board, and is lighting its City Hall in the colors of the rainbow. It was expected to have adopted a flag policy earlier this month, but the item was initially pushed back to the council’s meeting Tuesday. More than a dozen people had beseeched the council during public comment at its June 9 meeting to raise the rainbow flag in front of City Hall, with many saying it should be the Philly version. In response to the suggestions that the town was not supporting LGBTQ people by not flying the flag, City

Harry Britt

From page 3

Harry who fulfilled that vision and led us through difficult times to victories that would not have been possible without him. He was the only openly gay elected official in City Hall at the onset of the HIV/ AIDS epidemic, leading and advocating for the gay community during one of our darkest hours and he was a champion and pioneer for LGBTQ equality pushing policies like domestic partnerships into the national conversation. May his memory be a blessing.” Gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), praised Mr. Britt in a statement early June 24. “Harry Britt was a pioneer in the LGBTQ community’s entry into electoral politics,” Wiener

Courtesy City of San Ramon

San Ramon raised a Philly version of the Pride flag Thursday, June 18.

5-0 vote. It is unbelievable,” she said. “I have been talking about this for a year and a half and it felt like no one was hearing it. It took the community organizing for sure to help make this happen.” Speaking by phone after seeing the Pride flag be raised, Guzzo told the B.A.R. that Thursday that she addressed those who had gathered for the flag-raising on behalf of those who are still in the closet and can’t speak for themselves. “The raising of the flag today I hope everyone understands what it really means is when those who are still silent are ready, San Ramon is ready too,” said Guzzo, who noted community members had first requested the city fly the flag back in March. “It was a long time coming. Even though there are just 12 days left of Pride Month, well we have to celebrate every win.” t

See page 31 >>

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Pride 2020>>

SF Pride

From page 18

cessing virtual programs yet,” and to give Openhouse more space to focus on both the Trans March and the intergenerational event. Skultety said that the content of this event was informed by the recent protests against police brutality and in support of the Black Lives Matter cause. “We wanted to focus on Black trans seniors and really uplift them in an integrated event,” Skultety said. The event will include performances, poems, speeches, and a panel of Black trans seniors and youth “talking about the current moment,” Skultety said. “I got the chance to see some of the recordings of the performances and it’s going to be really amazing,” Skultety said. “We try to make decisions with, and not for, seniors, because seniors are grown-up people.”

Trans March to go virtual

According to SF Pride, the annual

Trans March will be virtual this year and will be held Friday, June 26. The event will commence after the intergenerational event. There will be a streaming virtual stage from 2 to 7 p.m. with performers and speakers. An online after party the following day, “Bustin Out: Party Against the Prison Industrial Complex,” is being hosted by the TGI Justice Project, which is trying to raise $60,000 for Black trans abolitionist organizing.

way of doing Pride and are hitting the streets. I hope to see more of it.” Jones will also be participating in a “Zoomside chat” with gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman at 2 p.m. Friday, June 26.

ship legislation, which passed the Board of Supervisors in 1982 but was vetoed by Feinstein. Similar legislation became law in 1989.

founded in 1982 and now has upward of 70,000 members. “It is impossible to adequately express what Harry’s leadership has meant to our city, and the tremendous impact that he has had on the queer community and progressive politics over the last four decades,” Mandelman said in a January 2019 speech about Mr. Britt. “Harry was the moral compass of the Board of Supervisors during his time on this body and was the backbone of our local progressive movement during some of its most trying moments.”t

“There was a swirl of newspaper stories and everybody was

talking about who was going to be the one. We all knew Harvey had named Harry as the best choice in his opinion,” recalled Silver, who remembers Feinstein asking her about Mr. Britt. “She said, ‘Harvey suggested him to fill the empty seat, and I am considering that.’ She looked at me very steely, as Dianne does, and very serious; she said, ‘Is he OK?’ I said, ‘Madame mayor, I think you will be proud if you appoint Harry Britt. He is intelligent, he is well spoken, and he is Harvey’s legacy.”’ The next day Feinstein announced her appointment of Mr. Britt. “I am not sure she was always happy with his positions, as he was to the left of Dianne, but she wanted to do the right thing,” said Silver. During his time on the board, Mr. Britt introduced San Francisco’s first domestic partner-

wish said. “I was relying on take-out.” The Cove is open for business 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Another entrepreneur making the most of the situation is Michael “Tilly” Petri, who started a business selling face coverings below the Poesia Osteria Italiana restaurant on 18th Street. It is open Tuesdays-Sundays from noon to 6 p.m. Petri joined Porter in expecting a busy weekend.

“I started from home at the beginning of the pandemic in March, when we didn’t have the [mask] recommendation yet,” Petri said. “We moved from there. I knew I had to pay taxes on the money I was making so I got a business license and a permit and we hope to branch out to other accessories.” Gary Knight, who manages Phantom, Puff ’n Stuff, and Smoke Plus in the Castro, said that the Castro’s

economy is going to lag until tourists can return en masse to the neighborhood. Knight’s businesses have had to pare down operations as a result of the pandemic. “There may be a few people coming [to San Francisco this weekend] – staying with friends and barbequing and drinking,” Knight said. “I’m sure we’ll get a crowd, but it’ll be quiet until we get tourism back.

“What can we do?” Knight added. “Unfortunately the Castro relies on tourists, bars and restaurants, but bars aren’t allowed to open.” Lookout and The Mix, among other Castro bars, did not respond to B.A.R. requests for comment. t

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039071500

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039078500

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039082400

TECHNOLOGIES LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/01/20. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/12/20.

Wiener to discuss Pride history exhibit

Gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) will be discussing the exhibit “SF Pride 2020 – 50 years” with its curator, Joseph Abbati, Friday, June 26, at 6 p.m. Wiener, who is in a reelection fight this year with Jackie Fielder, a queer educator, will also be discussing his current legislative work on behalf of the community. Specifically, Wiener is planning on discussing Senate Bill 132, which

Harry Britt

Castro crowds

From page 10

Cove on Castro (between Market and 18th streets), said that his business has been helped by the start of outdoor dining. He currently has four tables on the sidewalk on Castro Street and hopes he can add more. “It’s helping because people who pass by and want to eat can do it now,” Dar-

would require incarcerated transgender individuals in the custody of the state’s Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to be classified and housed with other inmates based on the gender identity of their choice, and Senate Bill 932, which would mandate attempting to collect the sexual orientation and gender identity data of COVID-19 patients.

Collective,” a news release states. Registration is free on the website of the Tree Femme Collective. Longtime gay activist Cleve Jones will be speaking at 11:15 a.m. in an event titled “Legacy of Revolutionary Acts.” In a June 19 phone interview with the B.A.R., Jones said that while he is glad people have found creative ways to commemorate Pride weekend, it is fitting people are using this opportunity to protest. “I don’t want another party,” Jones said. “I want a revolution.” “American capitalism has an extraordinary ability to commodify just about everything. I remember, when the feminist movement wanted the Equal Rights Amendment and the tobacco industry came out with Virginia Slims: ‘You’ve come a long way, Baby!’” Jones added. “Now homosexuality, once condemned by church and state, is a marketing tool. I don’t want to sound cynical, but this country is currently facing its worst crisis since World War II, and I am proud that people are foregoing the usual

From page 30

1972, Mr. Britt began to explore his own homosexuality and subsequently became a protégé to a budding Harvey Milk. On an audiotape Milk recorded before his death, and which was only played afterward, Mr. Britt was named as one of four acceptable candidates to replace Milk on the Board of Supervisors in the event of such an assassination. Feinstein chose Mr. Britt, who was subsequently elected until he left office in 1993. Silver recalled being summoned to the mayor’s office for a private talk with Feinstein, who asked her about Mr. Britt. At the time she didn’t know him well, though the two progressive leaders would become allies on the board and close friends.

June 25-July 1, 2020 • Bay Area Reporter • 31

Rick Gerharter

Supervisor Harry Britt, along with Ellen Schaeffer, chained themselves to the entrance of the old Federal Building during a protest at the ARC/AIDS vigil in January 1989.

‘Generation Pride’

“Generation Pride: A Radical Reclamation of our Roots” will be occurring from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, June 27 – the 51st anniversary of the Stonewall riots that Pride events commemorate each year. “Generation Pride is a multi-event virtual celebration produced by leadership development nonprofit hub the Social Impact Center, spearheaded by executive director and community organizer and activist Felicia Carbajal; celebrity florist, event producer, and cannabis advocate, The Flower Daddy; and womxn and nonbinary creative and activist group, Tree Femme

Dark days of AIDS

His tenure on the board also coincided with the darkest days of the AIDS epidemic. In January 1989 Mr. Britt took part in the protest and sit-in at the old Federal Building in the city’s Civic Center area officially known as the ARC/AIDS Vigil, ARC standing for AIDS Related Complex. He chained himself along with other participants to the entrance of the building at 50 UN Plaza to call attention to the federal government’s utter failure to deal with the deadly health crisis that killed thousands of the city’s gay men. Mr. Britt was one of the first members of the Democratic Socialists of America, which was

Mr. S Leather continues jockstrap party

Mr. S Leather, the South of Market provider of all things BDSM, will be holding its Pride jock strap party virtually via Zoom from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, June 27. Log-in information is available on the Facebook event page at https://www.facebook.com/ events/588348515000338/. “Strip down to your jock and get down and dirty with us,” the Facebook event page states. “We might not have the opportunity to get together in person but that’s not going to stop us from throwing our infamous Pride Jockstrap Party. Join us on Zoom for a sexy addition to your Pride weekend.” Music will be played by Beats by DJ Fawks and DJ Jumpr from Fog City Pack. t

Legals>>

NOTICE OF PETITION TO ADMINISTER ESTATE OF BEVERLY QUAN IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO: FILE PES-20-303662

To all heirs, beneficiaries, creditors, contingent creditors, and persons who may otherwise be interested in the will or estate, or both, of BEVERLY QUAN. A Petition for Probate has been filed by STEVEN QUAN in the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco. The Petition for Probate requests that STEVEN QUAN be appointed as personal representative to administer the estate of the decedent. The petition requests authority to administer the estate under the Independent Administration of Estates Act. (This authority will allow the personal representative to take many actions without obtaining court approval. Before taking certain very important actions, however, the personal representative will be required to give notice to interested persons unless they have waived notice or consented to the proposed action.) The independent administration authority will be granted unless an interested person files an objection to the petition and shows good cause why the court should not grant the authority. A hearing on the petition will be held in this court as follows: JULY 07, 2020, 9:00 am, Rm. 204, Superior Court of California, 400 McAllister St., San Francisco, CA 94102. If you object to the granting of the petition, you should appear at the hearing and state your objections or file written objections with the court before the hearing. Your appearance may be in person or by your attorney. If you are a creditor or contingent creditor of the decedent, you must file your claim with the court and mail a copy to the personal representative appointed by the court within the latter of either (1) four months from the date of first issuance of letters to a general personal representative, as defined by section 58(b) of the California Probate Code, or (2) 60 days from the date of mailing or personal delivery to you of a notice under section 9052 of the California Probate Code. Other California statutes and legal authority may affect your rights as a creditor. You may want to consult with an attorney knowledgeable in California law. You may examine the file kept by the court. If you are a person interested in the estate, you may file with the court a Request for Special Notice (form DE-154) of the filing of an inventory and appraisal of estate assets or of any petition or account as provided in Probate Code section 1250. A Request for Special Notice form is available from the court clerk. Attorney for petitioner: THOMAS R. HEALY, 601 CAROLINA ST, VALLEJO, CA 94590; Ph. (707) 553-7360.

JUN 04, 11, 18, 25, 2020

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: CIRCLE AND STRIPE, 730A LIGGETT AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94129.This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed JOREY HURLEY. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on N/A.The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/22/20.

JUN 04, 11, 18, 25, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039071200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: THE UPS STORE #4546, 2370 MARKET ST #103, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed DELBOM LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 04/27/20. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/22/20.

JUN 04, 11, 18, 25, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039073200 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: EVERWISE, 1890 BRYANT ST #202, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed REDFISH LABS, INC (DE). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/17/20. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/28/20.

JUN 11, 18, 25, JUL 02, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039076700

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: THE HANDY GUYS, 1 CRESCENT WAY #1207, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94134. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed PHILLIP JACKSON. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/13/20. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/08/20.

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: TOKAIDO ARTS, 1581 WEBSTER ST #202, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed NIEN TZU HSIANG HSU. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/27/20. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/10/20.

JUN 18, 25, JUL 02, 09, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039078100

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: APPROACH THERAPY, 2595 MISSION ST #311, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed APPROACH THERAPY PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES PC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/13/20. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/10/20.

JUN 18, 25, JUL 02, 09, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039071700

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: CALIFORNIA PROPERTIES, 2300 MACDONALD AVE, RICHMOND, CA 94804. This business is conducted by a trust, and is signed NANCY GABBAY, TRUSTEE OF PARNAZ REVOCABLE TRUST. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/18/20. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/26/20.

JUN 18, 25, JUL 02, 09, 2020 ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE FOR CHANGE OF NAME IN SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA, COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO FILE CNC-20-555734

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SLEEPY BONES, 2829 35TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94116.This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed STEPHANIE BONIFACIO. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on N/A.The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 06/09/20.

In the matter of the application of: AVNISH PATEL & SHEILA PATWARDHAN, C/O ALEXANDER TOTTO, WALD LAW GROUP, P.C., 88 KEARNY ST #1475, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94108, for change of name having been filed in Superior Court, and it appearing from said application that petitioner AVNISH PATEL & SHEILA PATWARDHAN, is requesting that the name ASHA PATWARDHAN PATEL, be changed to ASHA AVNISH PATWARDHAN PATEL. Now therefore, it is hereby ordered, that all persons interested in said matter do appear before this Court in Dept 103N, on the 28th of July 2020 at 9:00am of said day to show cause why the application for change of name should not be granted.

JUN 18, 25, JUL 02, 09, 2020

JUN 25, JUL 02, 09, 16, 2020

JUN 18, 25, JUL 02, 09, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039077700

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MPSHARP TECHNOLOGIES LLC, 638 36TH AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94121. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed MPSHARP

JUN 25, JUL 02, 09, 16, 2020

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 Yelp reviews

Eric Billman

by Brian Bromberger

ith protests and riots raging in the nation’s streets over George Floyd’s murder, there’s a sense of fatigue, that this unresolved issue of police abuse towards people of color has been ongoing for decades, and is only the tip of systemic racism and racial disparity in our society. Thus, the debut of the hour-long PBS documentary Prideland, the premiere show in their June LGBTQ programming, arrives like a healing balm. Prideland is also being launched as a six-episode short-form series on PBS Voices, a new documentary-focused YouTube Channel, which covers some material not included in the broadcast version. Prideland is a journey encapsulating how LGBTQ people are thriving in the South, despite encountering bigotry and non-acceptance. It is hosted by African-American performer, creator and recording artist Dyllón Burnside, best known for portraying the street kid Ricky in Ryan Murphy’s FX series Pose. “Being a queer boy raised in the South, I had distinct memories of feeling like I could never be my authentic-self there, so I left seeking acceptance elsewhere,” said Burnside in a PBS press statement. “But I never left my southern roots. I wanted to go back as an adult to see if things had changed, and I’m proud to report they have.” Burnside surprises us with the statistic that the South has more queer people (over onethird) living there than any other region in the U.S. Burnside charts his own passage of growing up in Pensacola Florida, where faith and religion played a big part in his upbringing. He was recruited by a mega-church at age 21 to

Prideland Prideland host Dyllón Burnside in Texas in the PBS series.

lead worship singing, but once he came out to the pastor, was fired from his ministry. Leaving for New York and Broadway to find a new support system that would embrace all of him, Burnside returns to the south to find people of different backgrounds, locations, and points of view, who are creating change by establishing affirming spaces and community pockets so they could live more freely in areas that have historically rejected them. They could have abandoned the South, making it easier on themselves, but chose to stay and make the places they call home better for others. Burnside has a genial, breezy, melodic optimism, so the fascinating people he interviews feel comfortable to unreservedly share their

Mark Abramson in 1980 at the Russian River

Memory’s River

Vibrant pre-AIDS history revealed in Mark Abramson’s ‘River Days, River Nights’ by Michael Flanagan

“N

o man ever steps in the same river twice,” or so says the Greek philosopher Heraclitus, and it is certainly true of the town of Guerneville and the Russian River area as portrayed in Mark Abramson’s latest, River Days, River Nights. The memoir covers the period from 1976

through 1984, an era of considerable change for the region. Guerneville and the Russian River had been a resort area and a hideaway for at least twenty years at the start of Abramson’s book. The Borscht Belt-style lesbian singer and comic Kay Carroll opened the Vieux Carré there in 1956, and Aldo’s followed in the ’60s. By 1964 the Tavern Guild was having picnics at the River.

PBS series focuses on Southern queer populations and advances riveting stories. We meet Carmarion Anderson, Human Rights Commission (HRC) Alabama State Director, the first transgender woman of color to hold such a leadership position. Anderson grew up Pentecostal, where it was holiness or hell, but maintains now that holiness is wholeness, allowing her to live out her truth and promote empathy, not sympathy, for LGBTQ people. In Brandon, Mississippi we encounter a straight Southern Baptist woman whose two sons came out to her, which created a spiritual crisis leading to a second conversion. After 14 years lying to her church (based on pastoral advice) by keeping silent about being a parent of LGBTQ children, she came out in a video

for HRC’s Project One America entitled All God’s Children. She received hate mail, but remains grateful for the experience, now realizing what it means to feel rejected and how hard it is to be LGBTQ in the South. “No one should have to live in the closet.” This clip should be required viewing for any PFLAG newcomer. Other segments feature Rob Lowery, an openly gay minister serving at Fondren Presbyterian Church in Jackson, MI and despite having to be closeted before Presbyterians allowed openly gay clergy in 2011, when he later

There are hints of the older (and perhaps more discrete) gay culture at the beginning of the book. Abramson relates that Betty Hutton used to vacation at the Hexagon House in the summers, sometimes greeting patrons and performing a few numbers. One of his earlier memories is of his first time seeing Michael Greer perform at The Woods. Simultaneously, however, the River was becoming the go to spot for San Franciscans wanting to escape the city during the summer. That scene could not in any way be described as “discrete.” He describes what the Wohler Beach was like in the late ’70s, after he had broken up with Armando, his first serious boyfriend: “I had too many men to choose from or to choose just one from, and here they all were, lying out naked among the redwoods, cruising the vineyards and forests along the sparkling blue waters of the river. After sunbathing, swimming, and sometimes sex in the bushes, my friends and I always stopped at the Rusty Nail. It was the only gay bar in those days, right on River Road on our way back toward the freeway.” The Rusty Nail (which previously had been Noah’s Ark, and opened in early 1977) was not alone for long. Abramson discusses how after the anti-sodomy law was repealed in 1976, the River saw an expansion in its nightlife options. Famed championship bridge player Peter Pender opened Fife’s resort in 1978 and Drums disco shortly thereafter. Silverado, the Rainbow Cattle Company, The Highlands and The Willows all opened in in the late ’70s as well. In fall 1980, one of Abramson’s ex-boyfriends bought a place at the river. In exchange for his labor, Abramson had a place to stay the winter, when he wasn’t working in the city. In 1981 he decided to move to Guerneville and got a job working as a waiter at The Woods; by Memorial Day he was working as a bartender there.

The Woods had three owners. As anyone who has worked for multiple bosses can tell you, this often leads to confusing situations and a rampant expansion of one’s duties. For Abramson, it was no different, and very shortly he was more than just a bartender: “Somehow, I soon ended up in charge of assigning the cocktail waiters to their sections for Locals’ Night, being the liaison between the performers and the sound and light guys, and acting as maître d’ on those Monday nights, marking the tables where people had made reservations and seating everyone as the audience arrived….No matter how debauched my weekends were, I always looked forward to Monday nights –Locals’ Nights– which drew far more people than just those who lived on the river, especially during the height of the tourist season.” It’s at this point that the book really took off for me, with Abramson describing the various performers coming to The Woods in the early ’80s. He came to know Sylvester through his friend Rita Rockett and one night while Sylvester was performing Abramson found himself sharing a joint with Two Tons of Fun before they joined Sylvester on stage. Long before American Idol there was Star Search, and The Woods had a male vocalist winner, Sam Harris, on its stage. A panoply of disco divas from Vicki Sue Robinson to Claudja Berry and Linda Cifford performed there, as did ‘the first lady of Motown’ Mary Wells. Abramson clearly hit his stride working with performers, and soon he was coming up with promotional ideas for the resort. “Toward the end of the 1982 season at The Woods, I came up with the idea of starting the Mister Russian River Contest,” he wrote. “It was not in any way endorsed by or affiliated with the Imperial Council, but I got Mister Marcus to come up from the city and emcee

See page 34 >>

See page 36 >>

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<< Music

34 • Bay Area Reporter • June 18-24, 2020

Out, loud and proud an interview with SONiA The 12 songs on Love Out Loud span the 24- year period of 19942018. How much of a challenge was it to go through so much material and whittle it down to 12 songs? Very hard; that was definitely the hardest part [laughs]. I was saying to Terry (my wife), is the next one going to be Love Out Louder or Love Out Loud Too? The evolution of the LGBT movement is monumental, it’s moved from “No, never” and “What is that?” to “Cool!” and almost “So what” [laughs], which is awesome! I went through the torment of it and the celebration of it, and that’s the purpose of the CD. With Pride parades and festivals being canceled due to COVID-19 concerns, the Love Out Loud album functions as a kind of stay at home Pride observance. That’s awesome!

SONiA

by Gregg Shapiro

altimore native, out musician, activist, and even a bit of a mystic, Sonia Rutstein, better known to her fans and followers as SONiA of disappear fear, has a musical gift for everyone. The new 12-song CD compilation Love Out Loud collects some of her queerest and most uplifting songs resulting in the perfect soundtrack for your 2020 Pride observances. Drawing on selections spanning almost 25 years, including solo work as well as those recorded with her sister Cindy (from disappear fear’s early

days), the album is as much a musical history lesson as it is a celebration of the LGBTQ+ community. SONiA was good enough to answer a few questions in advance of the release of Love Out Loud. Gregg Shapiro: By my calculations, Love Out Loud is your second compilation, with 2008’s Splash being the first. Why was now the right time to release a new compilation? SONiA: The Splash CD was because I was touring in a completely different market. We had so many CDs at the time, and I wanted some-

Essentially Wear a mask Maintain social distancing Wash your hands Shop at Cliff’s

T.... I E V ’T HA N O D IT! E D E W E F I N’T N O D U YO

thing that was of quality and represented the magnitude of the genres that I do. From songs in Hebrew to Spanish to live performances with the band to solo stuff, as well as a couple of newly recorded things. This is who I am. This Love Out Loud compilation has been in the works since the beginning of disappear fear because that’s my mantra. That’s what I want my music to do; to touch people and realize that we’re connected. Love Out Loud celebrates the LGBT experience of my life. Those songs are the pinnacle song for disappear fear and for gay people moving through their lives.

When did you attend your first Pride parade and what do you remember most about it? I think I was 20 years old. I was in a band called Invasion of Privacy. I was not out yet. We got booked to play DC Pride because my manager was gay. He wanted to put this band together to play songs that he was writing. In fact, he wrote one for Norah Jones, but I don’t know if she ever recorded it. We did that festival and we were backstage with the drag queens who were easily twice my height (laughs) and gorgeous. It was so sensational in every way. It was amazing and colorful. I don’t think I was ever in a place where there was so much life! It was fantastic. Finally, Terry, who is your manager and your wife (married 12 years/together 23 years), is featured prominently in the Love Out Loud album artwork. Would you please say something about what

www.cliffsvariety.com

Terry means to you? Yes! Terry is my world. She has her own history, her own legacy of participation in the gay movement. Starting with the successful move from gay being this fringe of society to it being a successful lighthouse of philosophy and financial influence. So few people know this; Terry should write a book. She took Atlanta’s Gay Pride (festival), which was $30k in debt, and only had a couple of drag queens performing for entertainment, and she felt like there was more to gay people than white boys on a dance floor. The community’s a lot bigger than that. They said to her, “You’re so sure about this, why don’t you do it?” She said, “I’ll head this up, but you have to let me do whatever I want.” They did and what she was able to do was take it from what I described to the entire community being involved. You had drag queens, but you also had lesbian singer/songwriters and storytellers and political figures. She really opened it up. Right, because the bars were some of the earliest social gathering places. Exactly! That transformed it. That was in the early 1990s. Then she became the gay ambassador under (President) Clinton, as the face of that, and ended up producing the entertainment for 27 Prides in 1997 and that was the year we got together. It was an insane year! I was doing 10 Prides at which she booked me, and then another four or five that my booking agent arranged. It was wonderful! Things were starting to shift, it was making the earth move.t

Read the full interview on www.ebar.com www.soniadisappearfear.com

Prideland

From page 32

came out to his congregation, they warmly accepted him. We’re introduced to a lesbian couple who not only added their names in the court case challenging Alabama’s gay marriage ban, but became the state’s first same-sex adoption after years of rejection by state agencies. Audiences will be amazed hearing that Montgomery, Alabama, site of some of the fiercest, nastiest battles of the Civil Rights Era, now has its first African-American mayor, formerly a probate judge who refused to follow homophobic State Supreme Court Justice Roy Moore’s order that they stop issuing legal same-sex marriage licenses. Steven Reed promotes inclusion and diversity, saying there’s a huge difference between tolerance and acceptance. In Texas, after learning the grim data that nationwide 40% of all homeless youth identify as LGBTQ, we come across a lesbian couple,

Eric Billman

House of Montage parents Malita and Dana.

who as part of Rainbow Families, have formed their own household composed of kids rejected by their biological parents, “stitched together not by blood, but by love,” calling themselves the House of Montage, a homage to those depicted in Pose. We engage with a lesbian couple,

Proud to support the community

479 Castro Street, San Francisco, CA 94114

Courtesy PBS

Jessica Gonzalez, a proud Mexican-American queer Texas State House legislator, in Prideland.

cowgirls who own a ranch and ride competitively in horse shows, one of whom is President of the International Gay Rodeo Association, but claims mainstream rodeos are now much more welcoming to LGBTQ people, since many of the top trainers are gay men. Finally in Dallas, Texas’s most LGBTQ-affirming city, we meet Jessica Gonzalez, a proud MexicanAmerican queer Texas State House legislator, one of five, who together have formed the first LGBTQ caucus. Burnside ends with the Creating Change Conference, sponsored by the National LGBTQ Task Force, where LGBTQ activists from the South meet to celebrate, affirm, and rejuvenate each other: “Let’s go make some noise.” As Burnside concludes Prideland, he proclaims equal rights and acceptance of LGBTQ people is unstoppable, believing that “fearless authenticity is a superpower, and these queer heroes and allies are truly inspirational.” So will the viewers of this buoyant, upbeat, hope-filled documentary.t

Community

organizations are our pride During these challenging times, we are inspired by how our community and non-profit organizations have stepped up to support us. Groups such as Larkin Street Youth, Meals on Wheels, Openhouse, Pets Are Wonderful Support (PAWS), Shanti and the UCSF AIDS Health Project have been instrumental in providing services and relief during the Coronavirus pandemic. We at the Bob Ross Foundation applaud their work and encourage all members of the community to support them.

THE BOB ROSS FOUNDATION

The return of the arts will help us in healing As we continue to recover as a community, arts organizations will be vital to our recovery. We will dance, sing, gather, and celebrate organizations such as Chanticleer, the GLBT Historical Society, New Conservatory Theatre Center, San Francisco Ballet and Theatre Rhinoceros with a renewed appreciation.

<< Books

36 • Bay Area Reporter • June 18-24, 2020

Frank Kameny’s cause Eric Cervini’s ‘The Deviant’s War’ traces early gay history By Timothy Pfaff

t’s rare that a non-fiction book as richly detailed as The Deviant’s War: The Homosexual vs. The United States of America (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) moves along at the brisk clip of Eric Cervini’s new account of pre-Stonewall queer activism. It’s essentially a biography of Franklin Edward Kameny, an astronomer the Army Map Service hired shortly after his return from active duty in World War II. The job was ideal for a young scientist with a Ph.D. from Harvard and a rare intuition for engineering and should have been a curtainraiser for a major career as a scientist. But its abrupt end turned Kameny into a different kind of fighter, for gay rights. “It began, as usual, in a public restroom,” Cervini begins, with a chilling scene eerily redolent an ever-growing tranche of gay literary fiction. Some Bay Area Reporter readers may even start at Cervini’s detailed verbal restoration of the basement tea-room at the San Francisco Transbay Terminal, demolished in 2010. Two San Francisco policemen, doing surveillance from overhead, apprehended Kameny for deviant behavior there. The sexual encounter was, typically, more gestural than consummated, and charges against Kameny were quickly dropped. While it did not result in Kameny’s becoming a registered sex offender, knowledge or gossip about the police report dogged Kameny for the rest of his life, disqualifying

Eric Cervini, author of The Deviant’s War

him for job after job at a time, just after the Soviet Union launched Sputnik as a direct challenge to the U.S., and the astronomer’s firing was an acknowledged loss for the U.S. Kameny’s work history thereafter was checkered, and he spent much of his life in penury. Although his story has gotten its due in print, among today’s queers his place in the history of gay-activ-

ist resistance may just as well have been hauled off with the queens at Stonewall. Cervini, an LGBTQ historian who has brought this project from research papers to a dissertation to the just-released book, uses the whole canvas of queer history in the ’50s and ’60s – too often dismissed as the prelude to Stonewall – to refresh Kameny’s story. The only vestige of

Memory’s River

From page 32

the weekend of events, which ensured lots of free advertising in his column. I had a lot of fun with that project, lining up judges and contestants and entertainment for that weekend, including the Barbary Coast Cloggers, Michael Greer and Sharon Redd.” The Mister Russian River Contest was a big success and he obviously had caught the promotional bug. “Before I eventually moved back to the city, I created the aforementioned Mister Russian River contest and the annual bartenders’ bash, inviting gay bartenders and bar backs and bar owners from not only San Francisco, but also every gay bar in Northern California, including Sacramento, San Jose, Santa

Robert Pruzan

A Bay Area Reporter clipping with (L-R) Jerry Keller, Billy Preston, unidentified fan, singer Merry Clayton (misspelled Mary) and Mark Abramson.

Rosa and Guerneville, of course. I started the annual Leather Weekend at The Woods and produced the Mister Northern California Drum-

mer contest in conjunction with John Embry, publisher of Drummer Magazine.” Inevitably, of course, the shadow

academic style in the book is the 100page section of footnotes and index, but Cervini gives readers a thrilling account of a man whose proclivity was always fight over flight. Cervini delves deeply into the Mattachine Society, which Kameny founded in 1961, and its female equivalent, the Daughters of Bilitis, whose odd names he unpacks as partly indicative of the challenges queers had at the time. Kameny was so self-identified with the Mattachine Society in Washington and its growing branches – and with remaining its president – that it took its being overtaken by the Gay Activists Alliance get him to use the word gay instead of homosexual, and stand aside. What Kameny did not take lying down was the ongoing, mounting rejection of gays and lesbians working, or seeking to, in the military and corporate worlds. To the considerable extent he could, Kameny pursued his grievances about antigay employment discrimination steadily up a chain of authority that eventually won him an uneasy audience at the White House (ill-timed in its proximity to another bust for public sex in Lafayette Park). Building on diligent legal self-teaching, he eventually argumed his case before the Supreme Court, where he served as his own lawyer. He also made a serious if failed run for Congress that drew even greater attention to his cause(s). “The interstate mobilization for Kameny’s signatures was not an entirely grassroots effort, however,”

Cervini writes. “It also represented one of the country’s first exertions of Gay Power in its original sense: gay economic power.” Cervini tracks his subject’s evolution from a man who insisted that his fellow activists wear suits and ties for pickets and demonstrations, to bolster the public image of gays as lowlifes, to a man who coined the influential “Gay Is Good” borrowing from Stokely Carmichael’s “Black Is Beautiful.” Kameny saw the wisdom of working with members of other oppressed minorities and actively supported their campaigns. Between the gigs in his cobbledtogether life, Kameny earned some money as a speaker. One outgrowth of that enterprise is nothing less than his leading role in getting the American Psychiatric Association to drop its long-standing regard of homosexuality as a sickness in its powerful professional Bible, the regularly revised Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Cervini’s admiration for his subject is patent while maintaining honesty about Kameny’s personality quirks, particularly his difficulty in working with colleagues. There is also background to the bitterest irony, Kameny’s regret at not finding one man to love. This book would be a treasure at any time. But now, when Pride Month has suffered the same quantitative diminution as other burning causes in American society, caught in the pincers of multivalent international crises, it is more than a consolation prize.t

of AIDS creeps into the narrative. Abramson tells how in the midst of his time up at the Russian River he visited San Francisco one day in 1981 and saw a group of men gathered outside of Star Pharmacy at 498 Castro reading the sign in the window about ‘Gay Cancer.’ It was the onset of the AIDS crisis that convinced him to move back from the River to San Francisco. While writing BARchive, I often wonder what the environment and the day-to-day life of people working at historic bars was like. Abramson has done an admirable job of shining a light on the world of the Russian River in the later ’70s and early ’80s. His narrative is also full of tales of sex and drugs and disco – as much as his earlier books of that title. But he now seems to realize the historic importance of his stories. This is the first of his books to include an index. In a year where another epi-

demic has upended both the LGBT world and the world at large, he has given us the gift of a book which can be read purely for fun, but which also will tell future generations what the world of the River was like before AIDS changed our world.t

Above: A 1983 Atta-Boy ad for The Woods. Below: Sylvester performing at The Woods in the 1980s.

Legend>>

June 18-24, 2020 • Bay Area Reporter • 37

Larry Kramer’s legacy Author, playwright, ACT-UP cofounder

Larry Kramer at his New York City home in 1989.

by Brian Bromberger

hrough the years, documentaries about the late Larry Kramer or featuring interviews with him in retrospective AIDS films, would run in theaters and inevitably after the screening, one would hear comments, “I know he helped our community, but I still can’t stand him!” Yet, with the exceptions of Alfred Kinsey, Harvey Milk, and perhaps Frank Kameny, Larry Kramer was the most significant gay man of the 20th century. This is not hyperbole or eulogizing praise. Not only did his writings/protests save millions of lives by shifting national health policy on AIDS enabling effective treatment to reach PWAs, but the transformation in consciousness produced by his works and actions such that previously insurmountable institutional change became possible, LGBTQ people were emboldened to fight for their civil rights, culminating (but hardly ending) in less than two decades later previously unattainable marriage equality. Certainly Kramer with his singleminded righteous fury made many long-lasting enemies, yet without his relentless even bellicose persistence, the revolution both in thinking and policies he sought, probably couldn’t have occurred. Kramer harbored traditional ethics, undoubtedly influenced by his (secular) Jewish upbringing, promoting monogamy and longlasting relationships. His first novel, Faggots, published in 1978, was a lightning rod satire condemning men who used each other as sexual commodities both in and out of bathhouses and other excesses of gay life such as drugs. Critics, straight and gay, eviscerated the book. Some gay bookstores refused to carry it because it painted a negative portrait of the community, fearing the novel would be used as ammunition by its enemies. He was viewed as a traitor for disowning the sexual freedom gay men had fought so hard to win. It was AIDS that ignited the firebrand Hebrew prophetic intensity in Kramer. It is useful to recall that while centuries later the Jews vener-

ated their prophets, most of them had been killed by their ancestors because they were reviled for their unbending honesty. Kramer began publishing incendiary articles in the New York Native, urging gay men to refrain from sex until the cause of the disease was found, as it was likely they were spreading the infection to each other. His most famous volatile writing was his 1983 invective, “1,112 and Counting,” with its chilling apocalyptic introduction: “If this article doesn’t scare the shit out of you, we’re in real trouble. If this doesn’t rouse you to anger, fury, rage, and action, gay men have no future on this earth.” Again, his explosive words were meant to unnerve and propel gay men to get the most up-to-date medical information and seek/advocate for potentially life-saving drug treatments. All his frustrating experiences with GMHC and the despair of seeing so many friends die in the early years of “the plague” were channeled into his play, The Normal Heart, one of the first artistic productions to focus on the AIDS crisis. The Normal Heart and his subsequent dramas can all be interpreted as documentaries disguised as fiction, meant to motivate people to work to find a cure or get the federal, state, and local governments to help PWAs. Perhaps his greatest artistic cocreation was the AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power (ACT-UP), a civil disobedience group, formed in 1987 to pressure the FDA to streamline approval of new drugs/ treatment with patient involvement during this process, through the use of bold, confrontational, campy theatrical demonstrations on Wall Street, die-ins and kissins to stop traffic. By 1989, ACT UP members most controversially disrupted a mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral since Archbishop O’Connor at the time opposed the use of life-saving condoms to stop the spread of the disease. A Kramer speech meant to motivate protestors proceeded accordingly: “Plague! 40 million infected people is a plague and you act like

this. Until we get our act together, all of us, we are as good as dead.” If LGBT people were going to save their lives, they had to do it themselves. Kramer boasted, especially after the severely criticized St. Patrick protest, “We are no longer limp-wristed effeminate drag queens usually put on television. Our image has changed overnight.” After the introduction of the protease inhibitor drugs in 1996 transformed AIDS into a chronic condition, Kramer began focusing on LGBTQ people securing their civil rights, especially marriage. In 2005, one of his speeches was transcribed into a book, The Tragedy of Today’s Gays, a screed maintaining that younger gay men were killing themselves with drugs (i.e. crystal meth), unprotected sex, reverting back to pre-AIDS hedonism, remaining ignorant of LGBT history, and unwilling to fight against the powerful for their rights. Both critics and the reading public largely ignored it. During this period, Kramer began work on his magnum opus, The American People, a massive two-volume novel in which many prominent figures such as George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Abraham Lincoln, Mark Twain, among scores of others, were pronounced gay. It was dismissed by critics as an insufferable mess, but here again it was meant as an alternative documentary-like rewrite of American history in which LGBT people’s roles and true influence was restored and recognized. Throughout the novel, Kramer alerts LGBT people against the dangers of assimilation, warning them

not to disappear into the larger culture and deny their originality to their detriment. Yet Kramer was an avid supporter of marriage equality, our culture’s most assimilationist institution. History will probably be kind to Kramer, especially considering the praise he received in the final decade of his life, culminating in a standing ovation when he appeared to receive the Outstanding

Television Movie Emmy for the Ryan Murphy 2014 HBO production of The Normal Heart, which he wrote. Gay men needed a fiery rabble-rouser in its darkest hour, a role Kramer had been preparing for his entire life. His plays, novels, essays, and speeches held up a mirror to the LGBT community and many didn’t like the image they saw, but he did so out of love for them. Tact and diplomacy weren’t Kramer’s virtues, but he didn’t care if he was liked, only that his life-saving message was enacted. Kramer wasn’t a great writer, but he was a brilliant polemical provocateur and at heart a social reformer, always urging queer people to be better than they were, even if at times it meant forcing them to do so against their will. For this reason Larry Kramer deserves to be remembered and celebrated as the screaming brash visionary whose jeremiad soapbox changed the world.t

Read the full essay on www.ebar.com

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<< Music

38 • Bay Area Reporter • June 18-24, 2020

The father of Hi-NRG

Patrick Cowley’s illustrated diary recounts the music innovator’s short, shining, sexual life

by Cornelius Washington

nacle of what it meant to be young, well-to-do and atrick Joseph Cowley came to sexual; a gay man among San Francisco shortly after the gay men, in sexual compe1967 Summer of Love to study music tition with other gay men. at City College of San Francisco, foDark Entries Publishcusing primarily on the synthesizer. ing has done an amazing Within several years, he became one job of doing what, unof the most gifted, sought-after and doubtedly, Cowley would influential musicians, songwriters have wanted done with his and producers in LGBTQ culture. diaries; creating a very priAs the main creator of the mal and exquisite memoir Hi-NRG music genre, Cowley of a time and place to live and the mononymous singing out the spirit of truly bewonder Sylvester thrived on the dance ing free. The Baby Boomer 1659 MARKET STREET, SAN FRANCISCO music charts with an originality and generation will find themMechanical Fantasy Box: ferocity that, to this day, has the selves awash with beautiful The Homoerotic Journal of music inserted into movie Patrick Cowley memories of what it was soundtracks –mainstream, indepenlike to truly reflect style, dent and pornographic–as well as sensuality and sexuality beCowley was commercials, workout videos and fore, during and after the emergence NEARBY THE CIVIC CENTER PRIDE CELEBRATION among the first wave endless remixes. of San Francisco’s disco culture. of men who died Even more ferocious was Those too young to experience this from the scourge of FIND US ON YELP! Cowley’s sex drive. The gay liberaextremely valuable history lesson can AIDS, at the age of tion movement and sexual revoluuse the 25 brilliant, original illustra32 in 1982. HowPatrick Cowley • SNACKS • CANDY tion were in full swing, and heCIGARETTES had tions by Gwenaël Rattke, all inspired ever, unlike so many the voracious desire, ability, techby Cowley’s entries, to enhance and gay men of that era, GATORADE • SANDWICHES niques and looks to get and do who extend the book into a world where book, Mechanical Fantasy Box: The he kept a diary of and what he wanted. The oppor- BEER Aubrey Beardsley, Erté and MTV’s • WINE • LIQUOR • Homoerotic Journal of Patrick Cowhis exploits, documenting the who, tunities to do so were everywhere, 1980s graphics meet punk ‘zines, ley. An accompanying anthology of what, where, why and how on practiand he celebrated all of it. Much of complete with vintage maps, gay his tracks, in digital, CD and vinyl cally a daily basis, with a number of that is documented in the illustrated business advertisements and logos. formats, is also available. men, revealing Cowley to be the pin-

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Like sex and sexuality, the book is not politically correct. It’s beyond the pretense of the Beat Generation’s icons and far more upscale than Walt Whitman’s ‘Journey Man’ generation. Both lyrical and lurid, it’s a celebration of a life lived independently of marriage, kids, wellappointed homes, retirement planning and polite conversation. The book further explores the concept of “menergy,” which, in Cowley’s hands, becomes a exaltation of the sensory overload that comes with so many sexual positions. Cowley’s Polaroids, collages, business cards of people’s sexual experiences and musical moments from the world over make this book a must-read for anyone who wants to know how it truly was “back in the day” for men who knew what to do and how to do it.t Mechanical Fantasy Box: The Homoerotic Journal of Patrick Cowley, Dark Entries Publishing www.darkentriesrecords.com For accompanying music from the compact disc and vinyl album, visit patrickcowley.bandcamp.com

Q-Music: Pride inside a queer quarantine playlist by Gregg Shapiro

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t’s been a while since a gay singer has released an album as, well, gay as Slow Dancing With a Boy (Broadway). But Marty Thomas is more than up to the task. Thomas first came to our attention at age 12 by beating Britney Spears (ha!) with a perfect score in a junior competition on Ed McMahon’s Star Search in 1992. Maria McKee’s “Show Me Heaven,” Own All By Myself,” put Thomas in Since that time, he established Jason Robert Brown’s “Someone To a league of his own. 1659 MARKET STREET, SAN FRANCISCO himself on Broadway, as well as Poor Kesha has not had it easy Fall Back On,” David Foster’s “ReMARKET STREET, SAN FRANCISCO on Netflix’s Grace 1659 & Frankie. Slow in recent years. The queer singer/ member Me This Way,” the MadonDancing With a Boy1659 is Thomas’ secMARKET FRANCISCO songwriter’s legal troubles with na andSTREET, Pat Benatar hitsSAN “Crazy For ond album and it’s a fantastic showher record label have become the You” and “We Belong,” respectively, case for his interpretive skills. His stuff of legend. Additionally, the as well as the Robyn/Les Miz/Eric renditions of Stevie Wonder’s “As,” CIVIC seemingly endless setbacks she has Carmen CENTER mash-up “Dancing On My NEARBY THE PRIDE CELEBRATION

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suffered in her personal and professional battle against former producer Dr. Luke are enough to make anyone crack. Regardless, Kesha continues to make music, including her new album High Road (Kemosabe/RCA). While High Road isn’t as solid or ambitious as 2017’s career-high Rainbow, it’s still an admirable effort. The album’s 15 songs have more in common with earlier Kesha albums, including “My Own Dance” (co-written by Kesha, gay singer/songwriter Justin Tranter and LGBTQ activist Dan Reynolds of Imagine Dragons) which features echoes of her earlier hip-pop influenced tunes. Nevertheless, Kesha comes through on the Big Freedia collaboration “Raising Hell,” “Cowboy Blues” (co-written with gay singer/ songwriter Wrabel), “Resentment” (also co-written with Wrabel and featuring guest vocals by Wrabel, Brian Wilson and Sturgill Simpson), the heartbreaking “Father Daughter Dance” and “BFF” (a duet with Wrabel). Like Kesha, Rachael Sage is also a survivor. But in Sage’s case it was a health crisis that briefly sidelined her career. Back and better than ever, Sage delivers her new album Character (MPress). When she sings “I have been through hell and back and back again/I was lucky to come out alive” in “Bravery’s On Fire,” the song sizzles with emotion. It’s fitting that Sage covers Ani DiFranco’s “Both Hands” because of what they have in common – being queer, being young, female singer/songwriters who started and continue to record on their own record labels. Sage’s cover of Neil Young’s “Ohio” is particularly poignant as 2020 is the 50th an-

niversary of the shootings at Kent State. Sage originals including the tango of “Cave,” the subtle twang of “Open The Door,” the gorgeous “Atmosphere” and the experimental rock of the title track are also worth a listen. More than 30 years into its existence, Green Day (led by queer front-man Billie Joe Armstrong) has released its most unexpected album to date with Father of All… (Reprise). From the unapologetic arena rock title-cut opener and “Take The Money and Crawl” to the retro-rock of “Fire, Ready, Aim” (complete with handclaps) and the Joan Jett sample (“Do You Wanna Touch Me”) on “Oh Yeah!,” Green Day is stretching the colors of its palette. The humorous anthem “I Was A Teenage Teenager,” the sugar high of “Sugar Youth” and the unabashed ’80s pop of “Graffitia” prove that the members of Green Day are aging with grace. It’s no secret that we love to dance. When we get to dance to music by a queer band, then it’s all the better. When it’s UK band Shopping, known for its danceable social commentary, and its new album All or Nothing (Fatcat), we get to keep our body and our brain engaged. Think of Shopping as the love child of Gang of Four and the B52s. Abandon all plans of sitting this one out, beginning with the title number, Shopping wants you to spend as much time on your feet and dancing as possible. That’s a realistic goal as songs such as “Follow Me,” “Initiative,” “For Your Pleasure,” “Expert Advice” and “Trust In Us” are certain to keep listeners busy.t

Read the full article on www.ebar.com

San Francisco

t Books>>

June 18-24, 2020 • Bay Area Reporter • 39

Pride, booked

by Jim Provenzano

an’t attend a Pride march this year? To commemorate the in-person absence, or to just cheer you up, four new and recent photos books celebrate Pride’s decades of parades, celebrations and protests, in photos by Alyssa Blumstein, Fred W. McDarrah, Ron Williams, and from The New York Times archives.

415-864-9795

photo collections capture NYC, SF Pride celebrations and protests

For a festive documentation of florid fey fun, Ron Williams’ Capturing Our Diversity: Three Decades of San Francisco Pride Images includes 183 pages of color and black & white photos from decades of San Francisco and regional Pride events. Colorbedazzled Pride pictures become profound documents alongside his black-and-white photos of the preAIDS Pride parades. This nostalgic photo memoir by a participant eyewitness activist makes a perfect June gift for yourself or others. www.ron-williams.com

Pride: Fifty Years of Parades and Protests from the Photo Archives of the New York Times documents a powerful visual history of five decades of parades and protests of the LGBTQ rights movement in New York City. These photos, paired with descriptions of major events from each decade as well as selected reporting from The Times, showcase the victories, setbacks, and ongoing struggles for the LGBTQ community. www.bookshop.org Also taking an East Coast focus, People of the Pride Parade, with photos by Alyssa Blumstein, the book shares images of the colorful celebrants of the New York City Pride March and Dyke March, capturing the faces that bring the rainbows and liveliness Pride shines with today. Through joyful portraits of two hundred LGBTQ+ community members and allies from New York City’s World Pride, Blumstein’s images offer a portal to the spirit, sequins, and sexual liberty of the weekend. www.aerbook.com For a bit of a more political protest theme, Pride: Photographs

After Stonewall includes early New York City images by acclaimed photojournalist Fred W. McDarrah. Known for his group photos taken just days after the Stonewall riots outside the bar (for The Village Voice), the late McDarrah also documented many other Manhattan protests and events within the LGBT community. Twenty-five years ago, to mark Stonewall’s 25th anniversary, McDarrah brought out a work that became a classic: Gay Pride: Photographs from Stonewall to Today. That book has long been out of print. Now, scanning from original negatives, OR Books has lovingly re-set and re-designed the book, newly entitled Pride. This edition also includes a number of photographs not in the original and available nowhere else. This year, along with the paperback edition, publisher OR Books offers a clothbound hardcover edition, with color jacket and endpapers, in a limited edition of 300 copies. www.orbooks.comt

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1976 San Francisco Gay Freedom Day celebrations on Castro Street; photo by Crawford Wayne Barton, collection of the GLBT Historical Society.

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