May 14, 2020 Edition of the Bay Area Reporter

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03

Bi flag dustup

'Stonewall' author dies

Milk Day plans altered

Arts

02

09

Sabrina Elles

The

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Serving the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities since 1971

Vol. 50 • No. 20 • May 14-20, 2020

Rick Gerharter

Jane Philomen Cleland

The San Francisco LGBT Community Center is one of many queer nonprofits that have closed offices and moved programs online during the shelter-in-place order.

Governor Gavin Newsom

Advocates blast Newsom for lack of LGBT COVID data

by Matthew S. Bajko and John Ferrannini

A

dvocates are blasting California Governor Gavin Newsom and state public health officials for not gathering data about the impact of the novel coronavirus outbreak on the Golden State’s LGBT community.

LGBT advocates had requested that people with COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus, be asked about their sexual orientation and gender identity. Yet state and local officials have ignored their requests, even though laws have been passed requiring the collection of SOGI data in health care settings.

As the Bay Area Reporter has previously reported, even in San Francisco health officials are not collecting sexual orientation data of those who test positive, only information on gender identity. Last week, fed up with having their entreaties for SOGI data collection to begin be ignored, gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) introduced legislation that would force state and county health officials to collect it among novel coronavirus patients.

Newsom broke his silence on the issue when he responded to a question that the Bay Area Reporter submitted for his Wednesday afternoon news conference.

“God Bless – I’ve been very clear that we want this information to be forthcoming. We’ve been in touch with Scott Wiener, who’s been an outstanding leader in this space, and have been in contact with the LGBT caucus on this,” Newsom said. “I’m very deferential to the work Scott Wiener is currently doing. Nobody wants to see this information more than (state public health director) Dr. Sonia Angell.”

If passed, Senate Bill 932 would track how many LGBT people are being infected, hospitalized and placed in intensive care, as well as how many have recovered versus died. On a call with reporters Wednesday prior to the bill’s first hearing before the Senate’s health committee, Wiener expressed his frustration that Newsom had not issued an executive order requiring the SOGI data be collected.

“Frankly, I will be honest. Frankly, I wish I wasn’t forced to introduce this legislation. This issue should have been taken care of already,” said See page 7 >>

Rick Gerharter

Salvation Army steps in

G

ay state Senator Scott Wiener, right, joined Salvation Army volunteers May 6 to help pack and distribute meals for the temporary Meals in Place SF project in tandem with the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing.

LGBT nonprofits struggle and adapt to new realities

by John Ferrannini

According to Salvation Army spokeswoman Jennifer Byrd, the organization is delivering 1,400 meals a day to homeless people in the city so that they can continue to shelter in place.

T

he heads of LGBT nonprofits are certainly not sanguine about the likely impact of the novel coronavirus and its attendant recession on their organizations.

See page 7 >>

Milk club may get new co-president

by John Ferrannini

I

n the aftermath of an email sent by the president of the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club that accused San Francisco Mayor London Breed of “hobophobia” regarding her homeless policies in the wake of the novel coronavirus pandemic, the organization may soon have a new copresident.

Kaylah Williams, a longtime club board member and the manager of Chesa Boudin’s successful run for San Francisco district attorney last fall, will be nominated at the club’s next general membership meeting May 19, with a confirmation vote at the following meeting on June 16.

Williams, who identifies as bi, will serve alongside Bard, a gay man who has been president of the club since last year. Bard and Williams will be the first black co-presidents in club history.

“I look forward to getting the chance to run as co-president alongside Kevin Bard,” Williams wrote in a text message. “I hope to maintain the Milk club’s legacy of inclusive queer leadership. Especially now in light of COVID-19 we need to work together to protect our city’s most vulnerable, and I’m ready to keep doing that work with our EBoard and members.”

The club’s May 9 email explained the leadership change.

“After a long and healthy discussion among the entire board, including President Bard, we mutually agreed that pursuing a

Tumay Aslay

Kaylah Williams is expected to be nominated to co-lead the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club.

co-presidency and expanding our leadership structure was the best path forward, particularly at a time when many of us and our peers are struggling in various ways during the COVID-19 emergency,” the email states. “Having said that, further recourse is available to the membership should any member wish to pursue it. We are a ‘small-d’ democratic club and serve at your pleasure.

Our bylaws provide a process for dismissal of club officers and other remedies that fall short of dismissal.”

As previously reported, the leadership shakeup comes after a controversy Bard generated May 2 when he authored

an email from the club that, in criticizing Breed’s homelessness policies, accused her of “hobophobia” and “black on black crime.”

Bard’s email hadn’t been reviewed by any other member of the club’s executive board before it was sent out.

Bard and the club apologized for the email and, after a meeting May 3, delineated a new process for sending out emails from the club’s account.

“The club correspondent will resume their lead role of drafting all emails – as is their responsibility – in collaboration with, and review by, other board members and mandatory sign-off by the board’s vice president of internal affairs or their designee,” the club stated in the May 9 email.

The email repeated the club’s apology for the insensitive language in the email, but also made clear what it does not apologize for.

“It is unacceptable that the mayor has been showered with praise for her administration’s response to this crisis while refusing to move swiftly to protect San Francisco’s houseless residents, people living in single-room-occupancy hotels, and black and Latino communities,” the email states. “These failures are the culmination of decades of anti-homeless policy, upon which San Francisco’s mayor, California’s governor, and members of our state legislative delegation have built their political careers.”

Bard did not respond to a request for comment. t

<< National News

2 • Bay Area Reporter • May 14-20, 2020

t

New BiNet USA prez named after flag kerfuffle

by John Ferrannini

time April 28 tweet states. “We know this is a lot so we hope we can work a new deal!”

The backlash against BiNet USA from LGBT Twitter was swift – and BiNet USA’s Twitter account disappeared.

A

fter the president of a leading national bisexual advocacy group drew controversy for (falsely) claiming ownership over the bisexual pride flag, it was announced she will be replaced by an Oakland-based bisexual artist and health care worker.

The public upheaval in BiNet USA (officially the Bisexual Network of the USA Inc.) began April 28 when the organization’s president, Faith Cheltenham, took to the organization’s Twitter account to assert ownership over the bisexual Pride flag.

“The copyright of the flag is solely BiNet USA’s; it does not belong to any one founder and no founder can approve its use without the President and/or board approval,” one in a series of April 28 tweets states. “And yet @Target where can we send a letter? Cause you sell #biprideflags too?

Where is our cut?”

The bisexual flag was created in 1998 by Michael Page, with the intention of increasing bi visibility. On a contemporaneous website, Page wrote that “this flag is free for public use.”

The Wikipedia entry for the bi

New president will take charge next year

Lauren Beach, then a BiNet USA board member, took to Twitter to explain that while the tweets were from the organization’s official account they did not reflect the views of the organization as a whole.

“I want to clarify these are the views of #BiNet President (Faith Cheltenham), who also was the person tweeting this content earlier today from the now-defunct BiNet twitter. I do not share the view that #BiNet owns or should seek to license the #bisexual pride flag,” Beach wrote. “I also want to say that as an organization, over the last 30+ years, #BiNet has done important work for #bisexual+ people.

Though I do not agree with today’s statements, I do believe in the organization and its significance in the history and ongoing advocacy for #bi+ communities.”

On May 1, Beach announced her resignation from the group’s board in another tweet. The same day, the board of BiNet USA released a statement seeming to back down.

“The bisexual pride flag is intended for bisexual community use,” it states.

Courtesy Amazon

BiNet USA generated controversy recently with tweets about the ownership of the bi Pride flag.

Pride flag also credits Page with its creation.

BiNet USA’s Twitter account tweeted at a number of individuals and organizations using the bisexual Pride flag without its permission. These included the Human Rights Campaign and Jayne B. Shea, a bisexual advocate and author who sells apparel with the bisexual flag design.

“Hi @JayneBShea! We at BiNet USA are asking you to get in touch so we can discuss your use of the bisexual pride flag without any money going to our organization,” a night-

“The community has long been able to utilize it for the creation of gifts and goods to help benefit ourselves and each other. BiNet USA continues to support the independent bisexual seller and is working to bring more bisexual products into market.

“We want to be clear: we are a nonprofit organization. We frequently donate our time and energy and promote others’ work without the aim to make any money personally.”

Two days later, Cheltenham published two blog posts. In the first, Cheltenham states that BiNet USA will no longer be using the bisexual Pride flag at all but will instead use a flag she designed in 2019, the bisexual people of color flag.

In the second, Cheltenham (referring to herself in the third person as thefayth) said that she will be stepping down from the leadership of BiNet USA effective January 21, 2021 in favor of BiNet USA’s vice president, Juba Kalamka.

The second blog post references “private donations” made by Cheltenham via BiNet USA and states that these will be announced in the future.

“In September 2019, the current board of BiNet USA approved the future disclosure of all private donations made by Faith Cheltenham via BiNet USA. This was part of an agreed upon step-down plan with thefayth after board service as the most active board member, volunteer and staff member of BiNet USA from 2004-2018,”

Cheltenham’s statement reads. “This accounting including prepared statement is forthcoming within 3 (three) months and will include the name, city and organization that benefitted from direct donation from BiNet USA members and employees.”

The names of the six members of the BiNet USA board will also no longer be available to the general public “unless otherwise legally required,” according to the statement.

Cheltenham, Shea, and Beach did not respond to Bay Area Reporter requests for comment for this story.

Kalamka did respond, but only to refer the B.A.R. to Cheltenham’s blog posts and the May 1 statement about the flag.

“Please refer to the links below for further contextualization and clarification regarding the referenced online conversations of the last few days,” he stated.

Kalamka is an assistant HIV services manager at St. James Infirmary in the Polk Gulch neighborhood of San Francisco.

The B.A.R. has been trying to confirm who is leading that organization since former executive director Toni Newman departed unexpectedly in February.

Kalamka, 49, is also a bisexual activist and recording artist. He is a founding member of the LGBT hiphop group Deep Dickollective, which started in 2000. t

Daly City to fly Pride flag

by Matthew S. Bajko

D

aly City will fly the rainbow flag for the first time this June, according to city officials, as it joins several other municipalities in San Mateo County that have signed on to a Pride Visibility campaign LGBT leaders are pushing this year.

At its meeting May 11 the fiveperson City Council unanimously issued a proclamation declaring June as Pride Month in Daly City in honor of the annual weekslong celebration of the LGBT community. It also agreed to raise the Pride flag on Monday, June 1, which council members said would be their city’s inaugural flying of the internationally recognized symbol for LGBT people.

The city agreed to do so, as explained in the proclamation, in order to recognize “all LGBTQ residents

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whose influential and lasting contributions to our neighborhoods make Daly City a vibrant community in which to live, work and visit.”

Vice Mayor Juslyn C. Manalo initiated doing so after being contacted by a constituent, Craig Wiesner, a gay man who represents Daly City on the

county’s LGBTQ commission. Saying it was “really great” to hear from him about the request, Manalo said she agreed to pursue the Pride recognition with “no hesitation.”

While the city in the past has issued Pride proclamations, it has never before flown the rainbow flag, said Manalo, noting that doing so will not only recognize LGBT residents of Daly City but also those LGBT people employed by the Mid-Peninsula city.

“This is a testament that even though with COVID-19, we are sharing as a community together,” said Manalo, referring to the fact much of California is under shelter-in-place orders due to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus. “This is long overdue.

We are happy to celebrate this June with you.”

See page 6 >>

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Community News>>

May 14-20, 2020 • Bay Area Reporter • 3

Buy a plush bison, support Golden Gate Park compiled by Cynthia Laird

W

ith the in-person programs celebrating the 150th anniversary of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park currently canceled over the novel coronavirus pandemic, park lovers and others can support the unique green space with the purchase of various items, including a plush baby bison.

T-shirts, beanies, scarves, mugs, and more are also available, according to a news release from the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department and San Francisco Parks Alliance.

A percentage of each sale supports Golden Gate Park programs and services. A local company, SF Mercantile, is producing the products.

Members of the Parks Alliance receive a 10% discount on all merchandise purchases, according to the release.

For more information, visit https:// lynx-rose-s8xy.squarespace.com/ and click on the “GGP150 Gifts and Merchandise” button.

Agency hosts events for seniors, people with disabilities

A San Francisco-based agency continues to host a number of virtual events aimed at keeping the city’s seniors and people with disabilities active and informed while sheltering in place

Matthew S. Bajko

A plush baby bison, right (next to a photo of Enzo the dog), is one of several items people can purchase to celebrate Golden Gate Park’s 150th anniversary.

during the novel coronavirus outbreak.

The offerings run the gamut from cooking classes and bilingual meditation classes to dance classes and online hangouts where people discuss their favorite books and movies.

Those interested in history can tune in at 1 p.m. Monday, May 18, to learn about the founding of San Francisco, while pet owners and their furbabies can meet up for a social hour in cyberspace at 11 a.m. Thursday, May 28.

There is also a popular weekly Friday

chat at noon with Dr. Anna Chodos, an assistant professor of medicine in the Department of Geriatrics at UCSF. She shares the latest updates and answers questions about COVID-19.

For a full list of the events and how to sign up for them, visit http://www. sfcommunityliving.org/events.

Similar to a talk it held in April, Community Living Campaign will again be holding an online chat about how people with mobility issues can continue to get around the city via dif-

ferent transportation options. Since last month’s informational session, the city’s transit agency has added additional bus lines to daily service and made other adjustments to its transportation offerings.

The community group is partnering with the city’s Department of Disability and Aging Services to host the talk from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Thursday, May 14. Cathy DeLuca with the Community Living Campaign and Natasha Opfell from San Francisco Paratransit’s Mobility Management Center will discuss the various transit options and programs now available.

Registration is required to take part, and captioning will be provided for those watching online. To join in via phone, people can register by calling (415) 6389183. For those able to take part via Zoom, they can register at https://bit. ly/3bmTrAb.

Stars team up to help Covenant House

A who’s who of celebrities will join in a virtual benefit for Covenant House, which has programs for homeless and trafficked youth in the Bay Area, Southern California, and other locations across the country.

“A Night of Covenant House Stars” will air Monday, May 18, at 5 p.m.

Pacific time on the Broadway on Demand streaming network. Those scheduled to appear include Morgan Freeman; Meryl Streep; Diane Keaton; Jon Bon Jovi; Rachel Brosnahan; Stephen Colbert; Martin Short; Dolly Parton; Dionne Warwick; Stephanie J. Block; Tony Shalhoub; Charlie Day; Chris O’Dowd; Zachary Levi; Zachary Quinto, who is gay; and many more.

It will be co-hosted by Tony Award winner Audra McDonald. According to an article on Deadline, it is being produced by Jeff Calhoun, a Broadway director and choreographer and Covenant House board member.

Covenant House programs are located in Berkeley and Oakland, with an additional site coming soon to San Jose, according to spokesman Jake Oliver. The programs provide services to all youth, including those who are LGBTQ. Oliver noted in an email that “the 4.2 million young people experiencing homelessness in America (LGBTQ youth represent as much as 40% of this population) are particularly See page 7 >>

‘Stonewall’ author David Carter dies

by Brian Bromberger

D

avid Carter, a gay man whose book on the 1969 Stonewall riots was considered by many scholars and critics as the definitive text on the seminal event in LGBTQ history, died May 1 in his Greenwich Village apartment in New York City. He was 67.

The cause of death was an apparent heart attack, according to his brother, Bill.

Mr. Carter’s death was first reported by the Washington Blade.

“Stonewall: The Riots That Sparked the Gay Revolution” (2004, St. Martin’s Press) is a blend of meticulous academic research coupled with vivid interviews of participants and bystanders. The book became the basis for the highly regarded 2010 Peabody Award-winning documentary, “Stonewall Uprising,” part of the PBS American Experience franchise.

“Stonewall” took a decade of intense investigation and exhaustive searches of public and sealed files to separate fact from legend, an intricate story Mr. Carter credibly deciphered.

In the introduction, Mr. Carter wrote about the herculean task ahead: “Research conducted for this history revealed that the riots occurred for a number of reasons having to do with timing, social history, cultural changes, local history, and geography, as well as political events ... all conspiring to answer the questions, why did a sustained resistance occur when the police raided this particular club? Why did gay men take a stand at that time and at that place?”

Marc Stein, a gay man and history professor at San Francisco State University, said that Mr. Carter’s viewpoint influenced his own writings.

“David’s book, along with Martin Duberman’s collective biography of six Stonewall protagonists (1993), were foundational for my 2019 collection of primary sources on Stonewall (‘The Stonewall Riots: A Documentary History,’

Via the Advocate

Author David Carter

NYU Press),” Stein wrote in an email to the Bay Area Reporter.

“David also was very helpful and generous when I asked him to read a draft of my book’s introduction.

We certainly didn’t agree about everything, but his comments and criticisms helped improve my work.”

Stein wrote, “David wasn’t as convinced as I was that the Watts rebellion of 1965 and other African American urban rebellions in the 1960s should be regarded as inspirations for the Stonewall riots; he saw no evidence for this, whereas I did. David also was deeply concerned about increasingly popular accounts that exaggerate the presence of trans people, people of color, and lesbians in the rebellion (in contrast, I was inclined to describe that presence as significant and important, without endorsing unsubstantiated claims that a majority of the rioters were trans people of color).

“In our conversations, David consistently emphasized the importance of ‘the facts’ and ‘the truth;’ these were commitments that served him well in producing and defending his work on Stonewall,” Stein added.

In 1969, the teenaged Mr. Carter, pursuing a summer science program at the University of

Georgia, heard a brief mention of the riots on the evening news, even though he wasn’t aware yet of his own gayness.

In a speech before the Nation-

al Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta last year to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Stonewall, as reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Mr. Carter observed, “these people went against every idea I had of homosexuality, as they looked normal, young, happy, nice-looking, and there was this militancy, but it was a beautiful militancy, not a hate-filled militancy. All that to me was very winning.”

This newly created face for the movement that inspired thousands of gays and lesbians across the country to join the campaign for LGBTQ civil and human rights would become Mr. Carter’s life’s work.

Mr. Carter’s interest in history began with his master’s degree in South Asian studies at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, where he successfully fought in the late 1970s to prevent the overturning of the city’s gay rights law, reversing a trend started in Anita

Bryant’s discriminatory crusade in Dade County, Florida.

In 1996, he compiled his conversations with the gay poet Allen Ginsburg into a book, “Spontaneous Mind: Selected Interviews, 1988-1996.” He also wrote two young adult books: “Issues in Gay and Lesbian Life,” then “Lives of Notable Gay Men and Lesbians.” Bolstered by his findings, in 1999 Mr. Carter, along with Andrew Dolkart, Gale Harris, and Jay Shockley, campaigned for the Stonewall riots site to be named on the National Registry of Historic Places. In 2000, it was declared a National Historic Landmark, culminating in 2016’s designation as a National Monument during the Barack Obama administration.

For the last 15 years Mr. Carter had been working on an unfinished biography of the late LGBTQ activist Frank Kameny. t

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<< Open Forum

4 • Bay Area Reporter • May 14-20, 2020

Volume 50, Number 20 May 14-20, 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

ART DIRECTION Max Leger PRODUCTION/DESIGN Ernesto Sopprani PHOTOGRAPHERS Jane Philomen Cleland • FBFE Rick Gerharter • Gareth Gooch Jose Guzman-Colon • Rudy K. Lawidjaja Georg Lester • Dan Lloyd Rich Stadtmiller • Fred Rowe Steven Underhill • Bill Wilson ILLUSTRATORS & CARTOONISTS Paul Berge • Christine Smith

Support exists for local news – please help

A

s the Bay Area Reporter forges ahead with its crowdfunding campaign to keep the newspaper operating during these difficult times, it was heartening to read a recent Gallup research paper that stated Americans agree that local news outlets should receive COVID-19 relief. While most of those surveyed did not rate federal financial support for local news as a top priority – only 9% – as research author Jeffrey M. Lyons pointed out, it’s a hopeful sign indeed that any percentage of Americans is willing to support the idea of some sort of government funding. Lyons’ report is based on a recent Gallup/Knight Foundation survey from internet interviews conducted April 14-20, with a random sample of 1,693 adults, ages 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia who are members of Gallup’s panel.

According to the report, about half of Americans say they are very (14%) or moderately (35%) concerned that news organizations in their local area will be harmed by the financial downturn. “Concern is greater among those who pay a great deal of attention to local news, who currently subscribe to a local news source, who indicate a strong attachment to their local community, and who have a positive opinion of the news media, generally,” the report states. But the number of unemployed Americans makes it unlikely that many can afford to pay for local newsgathering. Twenty-eight percent of those surveyed say they currently subscribe to, donate to, or otherwise personally pay for local news.

Among those who do not, just 13% say they are likely to pay for local news in some fashion in the coming year, with only 2% saying they are “very likely” to do so. As a free weekly newspaper, the B.A.R. does not currently rely

Cynthia Laird

The Bay Area Reporter is in the midst of a crowdfunding campaign to keep the LGBT weekly going.

on reader subscriptions, nor do we have a paywall on our website. Our primary source of revenue comes from advertising, which has cratered during the coronavirus pandemic because so many businesses are closed. That is why we started the Indiegogo campaign over a month ago, and why we still need assistance from you.

As we reported last week, our campaign has been extended because an anonymous donor has pledged to pay for transaction fees if we achieve our goal and to match contributions beyond it until June 1. So the amount raised above $30,000 will be doubled to support journalism at San Francisco’s independently owned, legacy LGBTQ+ community news source. Right now, we’ve raised just over

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$25,000, or 83% of our goal. Donations seem to have tapered off, and we really need your support to cross the finish line.

So far, federal relief for the B.A.R. from the Paycheck Protection Program is in process but has not yet materialized, and we did not receive one of the Facebook journalism grants that the social media company announced last week. We are waiting for answers to our applications for city programs and other grants, but the situation for us at this point is grim. The cancellation of San Francisco Pride’s in-person parade and festival means that we won’t have a huge Pride edition, our biggest issue of the year that typically draws in advertisers who want to let our readers know they support the LGBTQ community. But we’ll need the support of potential advertisers beyond just LGBT Pride Month.

And we’re extremely grateful to those advertisers who continue to support us.

“The coronavirus situation provided the local news sector with an opportunity to convince the public of the vital role it can play in shepherding them through a crisis, something Americans largely acknowledge,” the Gallup report states. Whether it’s a mainstream paper like the San Francisco Chronicle or a scrappy weekly like the B.A.R., now more than ever people are depending on local news outlets. We’re publishing articles about how the public health crisis affects the LGBTQ community in myriad ways – scientific advances, nonprofit operations, available services, even hooking up. But we can only continue to do that if we continue to raise capital.

Just about every sector of the economy is in dire straits, so we are especially thankful for the hundreds of people who have already contributed to our campaign. But honestly, we need more help. To donate, go to https://bit. ly/3cmN5SI. t

SF has a powerful urge to care

by Kaushik Roy

VICE PRESIDENT OF ADVERTISING Scott Wazlowski – 415.829.8937

t

G

iven what has transpired in our nation over the last several years, it is hard to argue with what then-Senator Barack Obama asserted in 2006: that America indeed suffers from an “empathy deficit.” The research clearly supports this viewpoint. In fact, a 30-year meta-analysis on empathy in the U.S. revealed that empathy has been on a continual decline for every age group in the country – with the most notable drop occurring among young and college-aged adults for whom empathy dropped over 30% (while at the same time, for whom narcissism increased by nearly 60%).

Amid this national decline in kindness, it is easy to forget that our species actually has an inherent genetic disposition for compassion – we are neurologically hard-wired to empathize with each other, and many modern scientists and academics now credit this need to care as a principal reason human beings have made it as far as we have. Or, as Shanti Project’s founder, Charles Garfield, Ph.D., often says, “our need to care is as great as our need for care.” And as surreal and frightening as the past eight weeks have been, I have been buoyed by the surge of this need to care that has sprung up all around us.

As an organization that builds human connections to reduce isolation and increase quality of life, Shanti has had a unique vantage point to witness just how powerful our collective need to care is and how it can provide a beacon of hope in the darkest moments. I am reminded of what Mr. Rogers once said his mother shared with him about times of disaster: “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”

And San Francisco most certainly abounds with these helpers – from heroic health professionals to all the brave folks providing essential services at grocery stores, pharmacies, and beyond to our many incredible sister safety-net nonprofits that continue to offer vital support to our most marginalized.

Shortly after Mayor London Breed announced San Francisco would be sheltering in place, the city’s Department of Disability and Aging Services contacted Shanti and asked us to partner with them in response to COVID-19. Too many vulnerable San

Courtesy Kaushik Roy

Shanti Project Executive Director Kaushik Roy

Franciscans, including the elderly and those with disabilities, are left homebound without food and other essentials. Shanti quickly created a citywide emergency response program, where volunteers would be recruited, vetted, and supported as they offered help such as meal pick-up, grocery shopping, dog walking, phone check-ins, and other practical tasks for those who are unable to leave their homes.

The COVID-19 Emergency Response Volunteer Program, or CERV, has been up and running for only a few weeks, and already well over 700 applications have been submitted

by San Franciscans who want to be able to do something – to do anything – that can be of assistance to their vulnerable neighbors most impacted during the pandemic. The diversity of these volunteers is striking and includes college students, seasoned professionals, young tech workers, and people of all ages who themselves are coping with the sudden loss of their own employment.

They all have expressed a common sentiment; they feel compelled to be of service to their community. CERV represents the best in human nature. Recently, we received an urgent evening request from the city’s Emergency Operations Center; there was a large

quarantined family that was all out of food.

We shared this request to only a subsection of CERV volunteers, and within an hour, we received more than a dozen replies from people who wanted to provide this urgent help. This type of compassionate impulse is repeated countless times each day. CERV is just one of many efforts all across the city, formal and informal, that have been providing the essential kindness of good neighbors during COVID-19.

I am not one to say there are silver linings to horrible situations (it takes away from the magnitude of pain and suffering of those most impacted in a crisis), but we would be remiss if we did not pause to remind ourselves of who we really are, and it behooves us, amid our daily anxieties and challenges, to appreciate the basic goodness of so many people who have risen to meet the great health challenge of this time.

Being part of an organization that values the power of personal, compassionate connection above all else, the paradox of physical distancing in this critical time is not lost on me. But as countless San Franciscans demonstrate each day, physical distancing does not have to mean complete isolation. In this uniquely fragile time, we are reminded that in times of crisis and despair, San Francisco does not abandon our most marginalized. While we must physically distance ourselves, we find connection, we find compassion, we find the City of Saint Francis once again living up to its namesake in its willingness and determination to take care of one other. t Kaushik Roy serves as executive director of Shanti Project and board president of the San Francisco Interfaith Council.

People interested in volunteering during COVID-19 can email helpnow@shanti.org.

People over the age of 60 and/or living with disabilities can call the Department of Disability and Aging Services Benefits Hub at (415) 355-6700 to request support from the CERV program.

t

Politics >>

May 14-20, 2020 • Bay Area Reporter • 5

SF to celebrate Harvey Milk’s 90th birthday

by Matthew S. Bajko

W

ith this May 22 being the 90th birthday of the late gay supervisor Harvey Milk, the first LGBT person elected to public office in San Francisco, local LGBT leaders had planned to host a block party in the city’s Castro district.

They were exploring shutting down a portion of Castro Street, where Milk owned a camera shop back in the 1970s, in order to host the milestone birthday bash on what is now a day of special recognition in California. It stemmed from the successful event held last year that drew a large turnout to the neighborhood’s Jane Warner Plaza to mark the state’s annual Harvey Milk Day observance as well as the 40th anniversary of the White Night riots.

The violent protest in front of San Francisco City Hall on the night of May 21, 1979 was fueled by the rage of demonstrators incensed that former supervisor Dan White was convicted of voluntary manslaughter rather than first-degree murder for assassinating both Milk and then-mayor George Moscone inside the municipal building the morning of November 27, 1978.

“I had wanted to harken back to the block party that happened in 1979 the day after the White Night riots,” said Stephen Torres, a gay man who is secretary of the Castro LGBTQ Cultural District. “There was a massive block party where the community came together in a joyous way after going through everything that had happened the night before.”

Friends of Milk’s had already been planning to hold the May 22, 1979 party when the jury reached its verdict the day prior. They decided to go forward with the event despite the violent clashes that had erupted, noted Torres, and 25,000 people showed up in the Castro that day, where they enjoyed a performance by the late local disco star Sylvester.

Torres and the others planning for this year’s Milk day event had settled on using that party 41 years ago as a template for the 2020 celebration. Then the novel coronavirus outbreak emerged in late February to throw a wrench in their plans.

“Everyone was on board, but the specter of COVID-19 was already on the horizon. We were already asking what is this going to look like if we can’t assemble,” said Torres, adding that the organizers decided to pivot their approach rather than scrap their idea entirely. “We decided to do this virtually.”

Thus, local LGBT community leaders will now be hosting the “Harvey Milk’s 90th Birthday Block Party” online from 6 to 9 p.m. next Friday, May 22. People across the globe will be able to watch it live at https://www.twitch. tv/sfqueernightlifefund/ or https:// zoom.queernightlifefund.org.

Donations will be sought for the fund launched to assist employees of the city’s queer entertainment venues that were forced to close in midMarch due to the health crisis and remain unsure of when they will be able to re-open. Castro business leaders are also asking that people who live in or near the neighborhood patronize one of the restaurants offering takeout and delivery, or pick up cocktails from the bars selling drinks to go, to enjoy while they watch the online party.

Local drag queen and chef Juanita MORE! will emcee the broadcasted event, which will feature performances by Persia and Bionka Simon and music spun by deejays Beck Knock, DJ Kidd, Jim Hopkins, and Paul Goodyear.

Brian Springfield

Brian Springfield reworked Dan Nicoletta’s iconic photograph of Harvey Milk for the COVID-19 era as part of this year’s reimagined Windows for Harvey display.

Collaborating on the party are the office of gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, who represents the Castro; the Castro LGBTQ Cultural District; the Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club; the Castro Community Benefit District; the Castro Merchants Association; the Friends of Harvey Milk Plaza; LGBT senior services provider Openhouse; the GLBT Historical Society; the Tenderloin Museum; and the Golden Gate Business Association, the local LGBT chamber of commerce.

“I am grateful that people are making the effort to commemorate the day. Of course, it would be a lot better if we could do it in person,” said Mandelman. “I think people are showing tremendous creativity. It is just a real bummer that this 50th anniversary year for Pride San Francisco and 90th birthday of Harvey Milk are happening to fall in this very strange and socially distant time.”

Immediately before the block party, Openhouse and the Tenderloin Museum are co-hosting a live drag show for LGBTQ elders and others in conjunction with the SF Queer Nightlife Fund. It will take place from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. that Friday via https://www.twitch.tv/ sfqueernightlifefund/.

Also serving as emcee of the show will be More! It will feature performances by drag queens Dulce De Leche, Persia, Princess Panocha, Mary Vice, and Shane Zaldivar from the courtyard of Openhouse’s offices and LGBT-welcoming senior housing development located at 55-95 Laguna Street.

“We’re super excited. This is about bringing out life, love, and community for the seniors, who will be able to watch from their windows. It will be in the courtyard. We need to be centering LGBT seniors,” said Openhouse Executive Director Karyn Skultety, Ph.D., a bi married mother of two. “If Harvey Milk were here today, he’d be 90, and he’d be one of the seniors now sheltering in place, and I’m sure we’d be rallying around him and so we really need to rally around them.”

Mandelman told the B.A.R. that were Milk alive today, “I think he would be saying wash your hands and stay safe. He would want his queers to stay alive.”

Windows for Harvey downsizes display

The annual Windows for Harvey art showcase, which normally features Milk-inspired artwork displayed in storefront windows throughout the Castro’s commercial district, will still take place this year but in a downsized

format. Just three locations on the 400 and 500 blocks of Castro Street will have artwork on display.

This week Joseph Abbati installed his artwork “Icon,” a portrait of Milk without his facial features, in the window of the men’s health clinic Strut at 470 Castro Street. Abbati, who is queer, curates art shows hosted by gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) in his district office in the State Building across from the Civic Center.

In his submission, Abbati explained, “even without his features being used, those who are familiar with Harvey Milk will instantly recognize him. He has become an icon to the LGBTQ+ community.”

Muralist Josh Katz will be painting the boards covering the windows at the gay-owned Mudpuppy’s Tub and Scrub at 536 Castro Street. Across the street at the store for the national LGBT advocacy group the Human Rights Campaign, 575 Castro Street, will be the work of three artists on display as of this Friday, May 15.

One is from an artist who wished to remain anonymous, while the other two works are by Ian Price and Emma Brown. Price’s piece is a print on aluminum celebrating Milk’s service as a diving officer in the U.S. Navy in the early 1950s.

“As well as including a witty rainbow life-saver border, and looking back in time, the piece includes words that reflect later political motivators of the man, as well as hard-won freedoms that we endeavor to retain to this day,” wrote Price in his submission.

Brown stitched together a twinsized quilt featuring Milk’s image from scraps of pink fabric she collected from friends and other people who responded to her request for the donated material.

“This quilt is made of pink triangles, a symbol that has transformed from shaming to empowering the queer community,” explained Brown in her submission.

Put on by the Castro Merchants business association, the organizers switched the theme of this year’s window displays from initially being centered on the importance of voting, in light of it being a presidential election year, to that of “Heroes” in honor of the frontline workers, emergency responders, and health care workers who are all risking their lives during the pandemic.

Also reimagined was this year’s event poster by organizer and local designer Brian Springfield. He reworked photographer Dan Nicoletta’s iconic image of Milk with his tie flapping in the wind to match these perilous times.

“Instead of his suit, Harvey is in medical uniform, a salute to the essential workers who are keeping our city functioning, and the medical personnel who are keeping us safe and healthy,” explained Springfield about the image. “The face mask becomes a rainbow flag to represent our community’s strength and resiliency that protect us. The untied strings of Harvey’s mask are blowing in the wind, as Harvey’s tie is in Danny’s photo, which Danny has shared he sees as a reference to the winds of change swirling.”

Images of this year’s artwork can be found via the event’s website at https:// www.windowsforharvey.com/.

Out candidates host online forums

Two out candidates mounting underdog campaigns in San Francisco this year are taking their efforts to connect with the city’s voters virtual.

Queer democratic socialist Jackie Fielder came in a distant second place in the March 3 primary against

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by Matthew S. Bajko

W

hen Gavin Escolar sat down with the Bay Area Reporter in late January to talk about his expansion plans for The Chaga Company, he was mainly focused on getting his mushroom-based products into local coffeehouses and having a presence at more farmers’ markets around the Bay Area.

Launched in 2017, the business offers chocolates, teas, elixirs, and tinctures infused with chaga mushrooms.

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Earlier this year Escolar had formed a partnership with the owner of Fearless Coffee in San Francisco’s South of Market district where he was selling “chaga charged” teas, coffees, and food items. The gay proprietor had hoped to expand the products to other independently owned coffeehouses and cafes around the city.

Then the novel coronavirus outbreak emerged, leading to the closure of such businesses in mid-March and the imposition of shelter-in-place orders for all nonessential workers. With people sequestered at home, Escolar saw his sales at the farmers’ markets

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where he sells his products fall by more than half because customers could no longer sample his products.

“I am in a business for which sampling is imperative. I need to break that barrier of what chaga mushrooms taste like,” said Escolar. “I would offer people samples of my chocolate or tea. Now there is no sampling allowed at all – zero.”

With customer traffic initially dropping off at the markets, Escolar was fearful for the future of his company.

“There was moments of panic,” he told the B.A.R. this week.

So he quickly pivoted his focus to selling his products online. And he teamed up with another local purveyor of mushrooms, Far West Fungi, to send some samples to vegan chef Tabitha Brown, whose online video for making carrot bacon went viral.

After she gave the companies a shout out via her Instagram account, Escolar saw his own account for the Chaga Company spike in followers. They now number more than 2,000 people.

“We blew up. My Instagram followers doubled and my sales doubled,” said Escolar.

His product fits perfectly for this perilous time, Escolar noted, as chaga mushrooms have long been hailed for their immune boosting properties and other health benefits.

“More than ever we need antioxidants to boost our immunity. Especially when we relax restrictions, we want to boost ourselves of antioxidants so we can be the best prepared for our self defense,” he said. “My challenge is how can I break the barrier of phobia and educate people about this mushroom that is full of antioxidants and it is really good for them to eat at this time.”

Before the pandemic began, Escolar said his was a cash positive business, but he then decided to stock up on supplies of chaga mushrooms, which are mostly harvested in Alaska, to ensure he didn’t run out of ingredients for his products.

“I feel the new wealth is our health and there is no better investment than in your health right now. That is where I am coming from,” said Escolar.

He did receive a $1,000 grant from a program for small businesses and was approved for a payment protection program loan that Congress created to offset the economic losses small businesses are facing because of the health crisis. Sales are beginning to crop back up via his farmers’ market stalls as people venture out again and feel safer with the new health protocols and social distancing requirements the markets have put into place.

“I am still growing slowly but in a different direction,” said Escolar.

He is now looking to hire four people on a part-time basis to be brand

<<

Daly City

From page 2

Mayor Glenn R. Sylvester recounted how, as an officer of the San Francisco Police Department (he is now retired), he used to patrol the LGBT Castro district in San Francisco back in the late 1970s and had entered the police academy the same week that the late gay supervisor Harvey Milk, who represented the neighborhood at City Hall, and then-mayor George Moscone were assassinated.

“It was at that time when folks up in the Castro district did not like police. Whenever the police came around they would blow whistles because they wanted other people to take a look at what they were doing,” recalled Sylvester. “I would have had an alternative lifestyle person drive

Courtesy Gavin Escolar

Gavin Escolar holds a chaga mushroom.

ambassadors for his company and assist with expanding its growth locally.

“I think it is an opportunity for me to grow online actually,” said Escolar.

“I also want to even further broadcast The Chaga Company for wholesale for independent grocery partners and independent coffee shops since right now antioxidants are really, really important. If they want to carry my product, I am more than willing to give them favorable terms.”

To learn more about The Chaga Company and its products, visit https://www.thechagaco.com/.

Russian River market expands online sales

The gay-owned Big Bottom Market in the popular resort town of Guerneville in Sonoma County was also forced to re-examine its business plan when it had to temporarily close its doors in March due to the health crisis. Bored at home, co-founder and co-owner Michael Volpatt turned to broadcasting brief cooking segments from his home kitchen live via his Facebook account.

It started as a lark when one day he was making his family’s marinara sauce recipe and decided to use the broadcasting feature on the social media platform.

It generated a positive response from viewers, so Volpatt continued with his cooking show, pairing the dishes he made with wines from local wineries.

Some recipes he tweaked from the cookbooks of friends and others, which he also featured during the broadcasts. He is now shopping a cookbook he has written based on the show to publishers, and if none are interested plans to self-publish it.

“We closed March 15 but I feel like I have been seeing my customers ever since because I have been doing my cooking show almost every day,” said Volpatt, who wrote a previous cookbook highlighting the market’s famed biscuits. “I recently went down to a few days a week to work on getting the market open.”

with me in the patrol car down Castro Street and he would say, ‘Doesn’t he look handsome?’ And I would say, ‘Doesn’t she look good too?’

“We are all human. We all bleed red,” he added. “We have to respect and love each other.”

As the Bay Area Reporter first reported online Monday, May 11, LGBT leaders are working on seeing all 20 of the incorporated cities and towns in San Mateo County celebrate Pride Month in June. If achieved, it would mark a first for the Peninsula jurisdiction just south of San Francisco. A similar effort is underway in Contra Costa County this year, where the city of Danville is the lone municipality to yet recognize Pride Month in some capacity.

San Mateo County’s Pride Visibility campaign has taken on even greater urgency due to the health pandemic,

It welcomed back customers for the first time last Saturday, May 9. But over the last two months, the business owners, Kate Larkin is the other coowner and Donna Prowse is an operating partner, have focused on boosting their online sales of their various branded products. They have their own shop on Etsy – https://www. etsy.com/shop/BigBottomOutpost – where people can order such things as honey, mustard, fruit preserves, and biscuit mix.

“It did make us rethink how we manage our ecommerce. We have a lot of sales now via ecommerce. It changed our trajectory,” said Volpatt, who partnered with several friends to open the specialty grocery in 2011.

“We weren’t pushing it very hard, we were focused on staying open.”

Since the forced closure of the market, and the launch of his cooking show, Volpatt said online orders shot up from three a month to more than that in a single day. Customers are coming from all over the country, either due to finding his kitchen tutorials online or because they vacation in the Russian River and miss shopping at the market. His cookbook has a working title of “50 Days in My Quarantined Kitchen.”

“My book will have recipes from the 50 days of my time in cooking in place,” said Volpatt.

The business co-owners weren’t concerned about losing their market since their small business disaster loan they had applied for following the devastating floods that damaged parts of downtown Guerneville last year came through earlier this year, offering them an economic lifeline.

“We did a lot of work in securing that loan. Literally the same week that the money came to us was the same week the shelter-in-place order went into effect,” said Volpatt.

The money provided them a cushion so they could close for a spell rather than try to do deliveries and potentially put both their employees and customers at risk. After fielding a request from a customer who couldn’t visit their mom in the area, Volpatt did delivery baskets filled with the market’s food items the morning of Mother’s Day last Sunday.

Due to the positive response it received from opening its doors again last weekend, for the first time in two months, Big Bottom Market is now also open again on certain weekdays.

“We had a great weekend. People were very happy that we reopened,” Volpatt wrote in an emailed note.

The store is currently open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. It is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.

For more information, visit https:// www.bigbottommarket.com/. t Got a tip on LGBT business news?

Call Matthew S. Bajko at (415) 8298836 or e-mail m.bajko@ebar.com.

which has led to the cancellation or postponement of Pride events and parades that normally would be held in June. The county’s annual Pride event that was to be held in a local park June 13 has been turned into a week’s worth of virtual events culminating in an online Pride celebration that Saturday.

In 2019 at least eight of the county’s cities and towns officially marked Pride in June by either issuing a Pride proclamation or raising the rainbow flag – or doing both – that month, according to local LGBT leaders and a search of city agendas and social media accounts. It is hoped that the octet will again celebrate their LGBT residents this year in some manner.

Belmont, Brisbane, Redwood City, See page 8 >>

t <<

Community News>>

News Briefs

From page 3

susceptible to the virus. Estimates suggest that household transmission rates are above 80%, placing youth living in congregant homeless shelters at an elevated risk.”

Viewers can watch the benefit free of charge, though donations are encouraged. It will also be streamed on iHeart Radio, Facebook, Twitch, YouTube, and Amazon Prime.

For more information about Covenant House, visit https://www.covenanthouse.org/.

<<

Newso

From pagem7

Wiener, who chairs the Legislative LGBTQ Caucus, whose seven members are all co-sponsors of SB 932.

Assemblyman David Chiu (D-San Francisco) is also co-sponsoring the bill, as he has authored two bills in recent years that required various state agencies and departments to collect SOGI data. But the current health crisis has revealed that the implementation of those bills has been lacking at the state level.

“The state of California and our counties and health care providers should already be collecting this data,” said Wiener. “Collecting demographic data for contagious diseases is not a new thing. It is already happening.”

But the fact that the state has not been asking for SOGI data since the

<<

LGBT nonprofits

From page 1

“There is an imminent financial threat,” said Denise Spivak, a lesbian who is the CEO of CenterLink, which connects hundreds of LGBT community centers around the globe. “This hit right when so many of our centers planned galas, big fundraisers, and Pride sponsorships.”

LGBT nonprofits face many challenges not encountered by nonprofits with other areas of expertise – as some have noted, while everyone is in the same coronavirus storm, they are not all in the same boat. That said, some nonprofits are adapting to the new reality with old resilience.

Funding dries up

As Spivak hinted at the shutting down of much of America and other countries happened at a particularly precarious time as nonprofits were planning events for the second quarter. Due to June Pride events, this is the most lucrative time of year for many organizations to raise money that will sustain them throughout the year.

“For many centers, Pride is the big income driver,” Spivak said.

LGBT nonprofits are more reliant upon in-person events to raise money than many nonprofits with other focuses, according to Rick Chavez Zbur, a gay man who is the executive director of Equality California, the statewide LGBTQ rights group.

“Nonprofits rely heavily on events, especially in the LGBTQ community.

For us it’s almost half of our funding,” Zbur said.

Zbur told the Bay Area Reporter by phone recently that EQCA had six inperson fundraising events scheduled this year (three before the summer and three afterward). Five were postponed to the fall, but it is unclear even if these will be able to happen.

“Obviously the uncertainty is affecting fundraising and the postponement has led to uncertainty about the later events,” Zbur said.

Another issue LGBT nonprofits face more potently is that the economic downturn is more likely to affect their donor base, Zbur explained.

As the B.A.R. previously reported, LGBT people are at greater risk of economic problems from the coronavirus because they are sometimes

Peninsula Pride center to hold digital mental health open mic

The San Mateo County Pride Center will hold a digital open mic night for Mental Health Awareness Month Wednesday, May 20, from 6 to 8 p.m.

According to an email, the event, which is free, will be hosted by comedian Jesús U. BettaWork. It will be a safe space where participants can share their mental health journeys through music, poetry, prose, or any other creative way they express themselves. People do not need to identify as LGBTQ to participate; allies are

start of the pandemic “is frankly appalling,” said Wiener. “It is appalling we have the ability to collect the data and it is an afterthought.”

Rick Chavez Zbur, the executive director of the statewide LGBT advocacy organization Equality California, was also critical of the Newsom administration’s failure to immediately rectify the lack of SOGI data collection among people infected with COVID-19. He said when he was recently tested for the virus he was fuming at being asked for all sorts of demographic information but not about his sexual orientation or gender identity.

“This is a really urgent issue. In my six years as director of Equality California this has truly been the biggest, most urgent, and troubling wake up call I have experienced,” said Zbur. “In 2020 in the state of California, we literally have to beg our government and public health

twice as likely to work in industries that have ground to a screeching halt.

According to a Human Rights Campaign report, 40% of all LGBTQ workers are employed in food service, hospitals, K-12 education, colleges, and retail, compared with 22% of non-LGBTs who work in those industries when combined.

Gay state Senator Scott Wiener (DSan Francisco) addressed the fact that many LGBT nonprofits are not employment agencies for the affluent, as some are accused of being.

“We built these structures to take care of our own community,” Wiener said. “We built these ourselves, to support our community, and I’m worried we are going to see a huge number of LGBT nonprofits – who don’t have large endowments, who don’t have angel donors, who are reliant on events – close their doors.”

Zbur said that even large donors are pulling out of nonprofits. Indeed, according to a joint Reuters NewsCharity Navigator survey April 17, 83% of nonprofits nationwide reported feeling the financial pressure.

“The economy is hurting everyone,” Zbur said. “Affluent donors are seeing their portfolios dropping.”

New techniques to reach people in need

But even with their existence threatened, these organizations still have as much work to do as before coronavirus.

“As far as CenterLink goes, we’re here to work with and support community centers,” Spivak said. “So our work is the same, just amplified as they change the whole way they operate.”

David Heitstuman, a gay man who is the executive director of the Sacramento LGBT Community Center, told the B.A.R. in a Zoom call that while the state capital’s in-person Pride events, which the center puts on, were “postponed indefinitely,” the center will be pushing forward as best it can.

“We remain committed to providing direct services and are considering how to raise funds through alternative methods,” Heitstuman said. “We’re doing what we can to minimize the impact.”

With the staff working remotely, the center is adapting to virtual life though it is considered an “essential business.”

May 14-20, 2020 • Bay Area Reporter • 7

ees in San Francisco, up to 10 rides per month, per person, and up to $70 per ride. Participants must first submit an application to verify essential employment status, need, and intended use. Once approved, participants can take an official taxi for eligible trips and request a reimbursement, which must include taxi receipt(s) and must be submitted within 14 calendar days of the trip.

For more information and to apply, go to https://sfenvironment. org/essential-worker-ride-home.t

SF Environment has launched

the essential worker ride home program to provide a reliable and safe taxi ride home from work for essential employees commuting to and within San Francisco, helping to fill the gap left by reductions in public transportation services during the order to shelter in place.

Due to the high volume of applications, priority will be given to essential workers in need of a ride home from work between the hours of 9 p.m. and 8:30 a.m. while transit options are unavailable due to emergency-related transit service reductions.

The program will cover the cost of taxi rides home for essential employ-

officials to collect information to protect the health of LGBT people.”

Up until Wednesday, Newsom’s office has not responded to the B.A.R.’s request for comment about the lack of SOGI data collection and Wiener’s bill.

Wiener said his office has been in direct contact with the governor and Angell.

Wiener said he is confident that “they understand this is important” and that the state Department of Public Health is working on updating its data collection systems so that the SOGI data is being asked. But he faulted the state agency for not already having such a system in place, which it was supposed to have already set up by now under Chiu’s legislation that was adopted years ago.

“I don’t think there is any disagreement this needs to happen,” said Wiener, who acknowledged that state health officials are facing an unprec-

edented crisis due to the pandemic.

“They are drinking water from a fire hose right now.”

Wiener was pressed about some of the opposition the bill has faced, such as around privacy concerns.

“You can decline to answer, just like how people decline to answer about race,” Wiener said. “This information is HIPAA-protected. The only way it gets released is aggregated data, so those privacy concerns are very well taken care of.”

He was referring to the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996.

Wiener said that, if worse comes to worst, the courts will make sure that the SOGI questions are added.

“At the end of the day, if this doesn’t go into effect and doesn’t happen, that’s why we have courts,” Wiener said.

Amanda McAllister-Wallner, the

director of the California LGBTQ Health and Human Services Network, said that disparities in which data is being collected where makes a statewide standard necessary.

“We don’t want to only know about what is going on in San Francisco, Long Beach and Los Angeles,” McAllister-Wallner said. “We can’t get to uniform data collection without state leadership on this issue.”

Wiener went to a meeting of the Senate health committee to introduce the bill immediately after the call.

“Wish me luck on presenting a bill with my mask on,” he said.

The committee, after hearing testimony from Zbur and McAllisterWallner and passing amendments based on some of the concerns of county health officers, approved the legislation in a 9-0 vote..t

liveries to people who’d normally be stopping by the physical location in Corte Madera. (The Spahr Center was founded by the Reverend Jane Spahr, a lesbian and retired Presbyterian minister who is one of this year’s San Francisco Pride community grand marshals.)

“We are delivering food and documents and other things to clients where they would have come to our offices. But we still feel that people are well taken care of,” Van Gorder said.

“We did cancel a spring fundraiser, but our sponsors were very happy to let us keep their donations, and so the non-event will actually do well financially. And a number of emergency sources of funding have helped us to maintain our services.

“And I know the big question on my mind is what kind of services will be needed in six months, a year, three years? We were already starting a strategic planning process and I am glad, because this is the time to prepare for the work we will need to do to recover from COVID and prepare for the next emergency, which will surely come in some form,” he continued.

The San Francisco LGBT Community Center moved its employment services online.

According to Roberto Ordeñana, a gay man who serves as the center’s deputy executive director, the center is providing case management services to young adults and hosts in its host homes program remotely. The center has three previously homeless young adults residing in three separate San Francisco host homes, he stated last month.

But community centers are, of course, not the only nonprofits being affected.

On April 30, Pets Are Wonderful Support, a program of the Shanti Project, announced it was canceling its Petchitecture benefit, which had been scheduled for June 4.

In a sign of the times, the email PAWS sent out solicited donations and made people aware of additional services: a COVID-19 Emergency Response Volunteer Program, or CERV, set up in conjunction with the city government, free pet food for the homeless, and pet food deliveries for people in higher-risk groups for the coronavirus.

“CERV is a program created in partnership between the city of San

Francisco’s Department of Disability and Aging Services and Shanti,” Kaushik Roy, a straight ally who is the executive director of Shanti, wrote in an email. “CERV volunteers provide one time or occasional practical support to older and vulnerable adults who are strongly advised to limit outdoor exposure during the coronavirus pandemic.” [For more on CERV, see this week’s Guest Opinion.]

Roy told the B.A.R. that Shanti is also “taking the lead on the COVID-19 response” with the Peer Advocate Care Team, which helps Potrero Hill Terrace and Annex public housing residents.

Shanti’s annual budget of over $7 million is closely divided between public and private sector funding, Roy said, echoing the concern of other nonprofit heads that historic government budget deficits will impact the nonprofit sector hard in the coming years.

“Like with all safety-net nonprofits, it is too soon to tell how COVID-19 will impact organizational funding for the long term. All of us are facing the same shorter-term challenges including potential lost revenues from signature events, as well as the overall impact of the economic downturn on both private philanthropy and the San Francisco city budget.” Roy said. “Still, Shanti has been blessed with loyal and generous donors who have supported us for decades in many instances. We are actively talking to these long-term supporters presently and are buoyed by their desire to step up financially in light of our expanded services in such a difficult time.”

Karyn Skultety, Ph.D., a bi woman who is the executive director of Openhouse, thanked supporters of an online fundraiser last week that raised over $100,000 for the LGBT senior housing agency.

“I never could have imagined living through a pandemic. There was no vision for the Openhouse future that included LGBTQ seniors sheltering in place for months. And as much as I know our community to be one that rallies and fights for each other in crisis, I could have never imagined how you showed up,” she wrote in a May 8 email to supporters. “I cannot thank you enough. Our community has come together to let LGBTQ seniors

also welcome.

For questions, contact Lowellyn Sunga at Lowellyn.Sunga@sanmateopride.org or (650) 695-0006. To sign up, go to https://bit.ly/2AbJ9Gk. The Zoom meeting information will be released on the Pride center’s social media platforms closer to the event.

The event is in partnership with San Mateo County Office of Diversity and Equity, the Mental Health Awareness Month Planning Committee, and Pride center staff.

SF launches essential worker ride home program

Courtesy CenterLink

CenterLink CEO Denise Spivak

“We’ve also adapted our youth drop-in center to offer seven-day-aweek online support through a chat platform called Discord and youth experiencing homelessness who need food, clothing, or other critical supplies can stop by the center to pick up a to-go pack,” Heitstuman wrote in an email to the B.A.R. “We’ve moved our support groups online using Zoom and are working on calling all our clients and community members in our database to check in on them and see what special support they might need during this time. Community members continue to call the center to get help navigating resources available right now as well as just to have someone to talk to.

“Social isolation is difficult for everyone, but something LGBTQ folks struggle with in particular,” he added. “Especially if you’re older, living with HIV, or worked in an environment where you’re used to being very social with folks in the service or entertainment industries and are now in total isolation living at home and out of work.”

Daphnee Valdez of the Rainbow Community Center of Contra Costa County in Concord told the B.A.R. via phone that there’s been “a lot of collaboration and community outreach” as that center adapts.

“This is the first time Rainbow is doing online platforms, online training,” Valdez said. “It’s quite a balance to meet primary needs and introduce new platforms.”

Valdez said that an HIV men’s support group, for example, used to meet once a month, but has had so much new participation online that it has expanded to twice a week.

Dana Van Gorder, a gay man who is the executive director of the Spahr Center, wrote that the Marin County LGBT community center is doing de-

Matthew S. Bajko contributed reporting.

See page 8 >>

<< Community News

8 • Bay Area Reporter • May 14-20, 2020

<<

LGBT nonprofits

From page 7

know we are here for them. We have hope that on the other side of this crisis, our community will never again return to letting the needs of LGBTQ seniors become invisible.”

Grant and lobbying efforts

Horizons Foundation threw a lifeline to some nonprofits late last month when it announced over $440,000 in grants awarded to 53 Bay Area LGBT groups.

As the B.A.R. previously reported, the funds came from Horizons’ COVID-19 Response Emergency Fund.

Beneficiaries included EQCA; Folsom Street Events, which puts on the eponymous street fair in September and the Up Your Alley fair in July; the San Francisco Community Health Center (referred to by its former name, the Asian and Pacific Islander Wellness Center, in the release); the aforementioned Rainbow Commu-

<<

Political Notebook

From page 5

Wiener to advance to the November 3 election for his 11th Senate District seat covering San Francisco and parts of northern San Mateo County. She has continued to reach out to voters by distributing hand sanitizer and masks to people in some of the city’s

<<

Daly City

From page 6

San Carlos, San Mateo, and South San Francisco all flew the rainbow flag last year, with South San Francisco officials also lighting up their City Hall in its colors, while Foster City and Colma both issued a Pride proclamation.

Redwood City was the very first city to kick off any Pride planning for

nity Center; the San Francisco LGBT Community Center; and the Spahr Center.

“The community is going into the same crisis as the rest of society and in all my years in the movement – 30 years – I’ve never seen so much of an explosion of need, combined with economic damage,” Roger Doughty, a gay man who is the longtime president of Horizons, told the B.A.R. in recent phone call. “The velocity of the change has been absolutely astonishing and it’s hurting organizations very, very hard.

“Our community has resilience running through our blood. We are a famously compassionate community that knows how to care for one another, as we have had to do before. What I have seen so far makes me feel more strongly than ever,” he added.

Doughty told the B.A.R. in a May 12 phone call that the April grants were just the beginning and he expects more will be awarded by May 22, though he said how much de-

EQCA Executive Director Rick Chavez Zbur

most vulnerable neighborhoods as they shelter in place.

Fielder and her supporters are also calling thousands of voters each week.

And each Thursday at 6 p.m. Fielder has been hosting weekly online forums called “Social(ist) Distancing with Jackie” that feature various political leaders from across the country.

This Thursday, May 14, she will be

t

LGBT folks in prison to survivors of domestic violence, nightlife workers, so many populations,” he added.

Doughty said that the amounts from individuals have ranged from $5 to $30,000, and that the Blue Shield Foundation and the Silicon Valley Community Foundation have partnered with Horizons because of the latter’s knowledge of the LGBT community.

Last month, Zbur’s EQCA led some 137 LGBT or LGBT-serving nonprofits in sending a letter to Governor Gavin Newsom (D) asking that he use funds made available by the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security, or CARES, Act to help them financially.

“We know you share this goal.

Growing up in San Francisco, and later serving as the city and county’s mayor, you’ve witnessed firsthand the devastation of the HIV/AIDS crisis, as well as the long term impacts of discrimination, violence and injustice experienced by our community,” the

letter states.

Nonprofits are eligible to receive these funds, made available by the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program, by applying individually, as well. The PPP program, however, has been plagued by problems as thousands of small businesses are also seeking relief.

CenterLink held a virtual benefit April 26 that raised over $200,000.

The event included Barbra Streisand and Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana who came to national attention last year as the first serious gay candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination.

Even if Zbur has to move EQCA’s fall benefits online, he said he wants to remain optimistic.

“We don’t want to do anything to put public health at risk,” he said. “We can come up with exciting alternatives. I was – and still am – concerned about the events, about our ability to keep doors open. But I’m optimistic we can put something together.” t

in conversation with gay former state Assemblyman and city supervisor Tom Ammiano, who recently published a memoir about his time in politics. To watch the live broadcast, go to http://www.jackieforsenate.com/live.

Also launching his own online chat series is Spencer Simonsen, a gay man and startup executive who is running against District 3 Supervi-

sor Aaron Peskin on the November ballot for his seat representing North Beach, Chinatown, Polk Gulch, and other neighborhoods in the northern section of the city. Called “Now & After Covid,” the live talks will feature local leaders and highlight resources available for people struggling due to the health crisis.

The inaugural session will feature

Adrian Tirtanadi, the founder and executive director of Open Door Legal, a San Francisco nonprofit that provides legal aid. It will take place at 4 p.m. Friday, May 15.

For links to watch it and the other upcoming chats, go to https://www. votesimonsen.com/events. t

2020, said Belmont resident Tanya Beat, who identifies as lesbian and queer and is director of the San Mateo County LGBT Commission.

“They contacted us back in March about flag raising and doing the Proclamation,” she told the B.A.R. San Carlos and South San Francisco both agreed early on to again celebrate Pride this year, with South San Francisco expected to issue a proclamation at its city council’s May

27 meeting. The city of Pacifica is expected to take up the matter when its City Council meets June 8, while the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors is expected to again honor Pride Month at its June 2 meeting.

Woodside is exploring how it can take part in the Pride Visibility campaign for the first time this year, and the City Council in Half Moon Bay is also expected to soon take up the issue as well, according to LGBT leaders.

Speaking to his council members in Daly City Monday night, Wiesner explained how important it is for LGBT youth, seniors, and those struggling with coming out to see their local government celebrate Pride Month.

“I know how much this means to LGBTQ people,” said Wiesner, who with his husband has called Daly City home for three decades. “I am proud to be here and thank you so much for proclaiming June Pride Month.”

He added, “It is a small thing raising the flag for one day, but it means so much.”

For more information about the Pride Visibility campaign and steps people can take to have their city join in, visit https://bit.ly/2AqCubz.

And for updates about this year’s week of Pride virtual events in San Mateo County, visit https://www. smchealth.org/pride-initiative. t

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ARIART MULTIMEDIA & DESIGN 105 RUSSIA AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ARISTIDES CISNEROS. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 03/07/20. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 04/27/20.

registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 04/28/20. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/06/20.

name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/07/15.

MAY 14, 21, 28, JUN 04, 2020

STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-032707500

Courtesy Rick Chavez Zbur

pends on the donations Horizons receives between now and then.

“We want to get the money into people’s hands,” Doughty said. “We got a lot of responses from organizations that were very, very glad and in so many cases relieved to get that grant. The level of need is extraordinary and organizations are doing so much to be creative.

“We’ve been able to fund everything from front line health care to

Legals>> FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039041600 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: LITTLE SAIGON DELI, 131 STEUART ST #101, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94105. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed SHEENA ROSE LE. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/01/20. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 04/10/20.

APR 23, 30 MAY 07, 14, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039049500

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: ORCHARDAR, 49 KEARNY ST, FL 5, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94108. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed Kinesis Inc. (DE). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 04/06/20. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 04/20/20.

APR 23, 30 MAY 07, 14, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039051900 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: EXTREME PIZZA, 1730 FILLMORE ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94115. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed OCC, INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 06/01/94. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 04/22/20.

APR 30 MAY 07, 14, 21, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039050300 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: THE LAST MILE, 44 TEHEMA ST. SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94105.

This business is conducted by a corporation and is signed TURN 2 U INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 11/20/13. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 04/20/20.

APR 30 MAY 07, 14, 21, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039053700

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MARTIN BUILDING COMPANY, 1101 SUTTER ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed MARTIN MCNERNEY DEVELOPMENT INC. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 02/01/89. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 04/21/20.

APR 30 MAY 07, 14, 21, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039053600 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MICADO, 2126 IRVING ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122. This business is conducted by a married couple, and is signed SOK JAE PAK & YOUNG SOOK PAK. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 10/01/89. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 04/24/20.

APR 30 MAY 07, 14, 21, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039053900

MAY 07, 14, 21, 28, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039054300 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: CLAREMONT GROUP, 891 BEACH ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed PAUL YOUNAN. 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 04/27/20.

MAY 07, 14, 21, 28, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A039051800

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: KORTS & KNIGHT, 501 CESAR CHAVEZ ST #109, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124. This business is conducted by an corporation, and is signed INTERIOR DESIGN WORKS, LTD. (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 12/15/95. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 04/22/20.

MAY 07, 14, 21, 28, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039055100

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: #1 FOGCUTTER TOURS, 124 BENTON AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed SF ADVENTURE TOURS LLC (CA).

The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 01/13/15. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 04/27/20.

MAY 07, 14, 21, 28, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039056900

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: JASMINE FINE ART ACADEMY, 311 BALBOA AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94118. This business is conducted by a married couple, and is signed XIAO-HONG LIANG & ZHI-KUN LIANG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 08/12/09. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 04/29/20.

MAY 07, 14, 21, 28, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039051600

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SIMPLY NAILS, 5933 MISSION ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112.

This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed WENDY DANG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 04/01/20. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 04/22/20.

MAY 14, 21, 28, JUN 04, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039060500 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: MSQUARED, 1303 MONTGOMERY ST #LOWER, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94133. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed SERGHIO MUNOZ. The

FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039058600 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: SMALL WORKS, 1113 CONNECTICUT ST #3, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94107. This business is conducted by an individual, and is signed ANDREW WILLIAM STEINBERG. The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 04/17/12. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/01/20.

MAY 14, 21, 28, JUN 04, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039057200

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: 14TH STREET OLIVEIRA CHIROPRACTIC, 640 14TH ST, OFFICE B, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94114. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed 17th STREET OLIVEIRA CHIROPRACTIC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 03/01/20. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 04/29/20.

MAY 14, 21, 28, JUN 04, 2020

The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: CANCILLA MARKET, 3216 FOLSOM ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business was conducted by a corporation and signed by CHU CHU’S GOODS INC (CA). The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 04/14/10.

MAY 14, 21, 28, JUN 04, 2020 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-036620700

The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: SAN FRANCISCO ORGANIC, 3216 FOLSOM ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business was conducted by a corporation and signed by CHU CHU’S GOODS INC (CA). The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 08/07/15.

MAY 14, 21, 28, JUN 04, 2020

MAY 14, 21, 28, JUN 04, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039062300

The following person(s) is/are doing business as: DIYA, 25 MASON ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94102. This business is conducted by a corporation, and is signed MENUKA FOOD INC (CA). 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 05/08/20.

MAY 14, 21, 28, JUN 04, 2020 FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME STATEMENT FILE A-039061900 The following person(s) is/are doing business as: TRAUST MOVING LOCAL & LONG DISTANCE MOVES; EASY MOVE, 101 MCLELLAN DR #1056, SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94080. This business is conducted by a limited liability company, and is signed SPECTRUM MOVERS LLC (CA). The registrant(s) commenced to transact business under the above listed fictitious business name or names on 05/04/20. The statement was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/08/20.

CNSBI_1x2.5_33633839-051420.indd 1

The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: SIMPLY NAILS, 5933 MISSION ST, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94112. This business was conducted by an individual, and signed by TOMMY WONG. The fictitious name was filed with the City and County of San Francisco, CA on 05/01/13.

MAY 14, 21, 28, JUN 04, 2020 STATEMENT OF ABANDONMENT OF USE OF FICTITIOUS BUSINESS NAME FILE A-036620800

The following persons have abandoned the use of the fictitious business name known as: SAN FRANCISCO ORGANIC, 800 CORTLAND AVE, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94110. This business was conducted by a corporation and signed by CHU CHU’S GOODS INC (CA). The fictitious

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by Gregg Shapiro

T

Gregg Shapiro: Sabrina, for those who might be unfamiliar, please say something about the genesis of the band’s name, Sweet Spirit.

Sabrina Ellis: The name Sweet Spirit comes from an insignificant moment in an indie film called Electrick Children (from 2012). In this film, some kids escape from a really conservative, backwoodsy Mormon situation. One of the kids does a Vicodin in L.A., and says, “Have you noticed how many beautiful women there are in L.A.? Back home it’s all sweet spirits.” One of the L.A. kids asks, “What’s a sweet spirit?” And the Mormon boy says, “Sweet on the inside, but not so great looking on the outside.” The name comes from some outdated Mormon slang.

Would you say that Sweet Spirit’s glampop sound is a culmination of the other

Sabrina Ellis

Lead singer of Sweet Spirit on music inspiration bands in which you’ve performed or do you consider it a fresh sonic start?

I think it’s a culmination of all the other bands in which I’ve performed. By the time we started Sweet Spirit, I had been in two bands that were important to me. My punk rock band A Giant Dog and Bobby Jealousy, which was kind of a glam-pop band. Andrew Cashen was my co-writer in A Giant Dog and he’s also my co-writer in Sweet Spirit. We were thinking Sweet Spirit would be a blank slate and we had wanted to build a new house, we ended up using what we knew and what we had learned.

The same builders built this new house.

want to imagine Trinidad Sanchez-Montemayor listening to this album. Maybe she’d be wondering how the hell she’s supposed to dance to this music [laughs]. If this were the ‘80s and we had made this album at that time,

SF Ballet’s Romeo and Juliet

Carlo Di Lanno and Mathilde Froustey as Romeo and Juliet San Francisco Ballet’s production of Romeo and Juliet.

S

an Francisco Ballet will stream Helgi Tomasson’s Romeo and Juliet in two versions that have already opened online and will run for nearly a week: a singlecamera capture by Rapt Productions, starring Mathilde Froustey and Carlo di Lanno, will run through this Friday May 15, and a more

I hope that she would have given it the time of day, gotten up and done a little dance.t

Read the rest of Sabrina Ellis’ interview on www.ebar.com.

That’s a good description! According to the liner notes, Trinidad, the title of the band’s third album and Merge Records debut, “is named after Sabrina’s abuelita Trinidad Sanchez-Montemayor.” What would she have thought of the album?

That’s an interesting question. She’s somebody I knew only when I was a little girl and somebody that I know through pictures. I

Such sweet sorrow

by Paul Parish

Sabrina Ellis

Sabrina Ellis and Sweet Spirit

Erik Tomasson/SF Ballet

here’s a lot to like about Trinidad (Merge), the new album by Austinbased Sweet Spirit, including the modern glam-pop direction in which the band is moving. The first couple of tracks, “Behold” and “Fear Is a Lie,” have a timelessness that recalls the early 1970s as seen through a 21stcentury prism. Lest we forget the album’s mid2020 release, the contemporary reggaeton beat of “No Dancing” is a good reminder, as is the irresistible dance beat of “Llarondo.”

Of course, these songs wouldn’t have the firepower they possess if not for the incredible vocal abilities of lead vocalist Sabrina Ellis. Ellis, who came out as non-binary in late 2019, was kind enough to answer a few questions in advance of the album’s release.

elaborately filmed, multiple-cameras version in the Live from Lincoln Center series that was made to be shown in cinemas. The latter stars our former principal dancers Maria Kochetkova and Davit Karapetyan and will run through next Monday, May 18, with the possibility of an extension.

The production is magnificent: great live music by Sergei Prokofiev, for a huge orchestra including saxophone, mandolins, and mighty

clouds of brass, skillfully conducted by Martin West (in the Kochetkova version) and Ming Luke (for Froustey and di Lanno); beautiful Renaissance scenery and costumes by JensJacob Worsaae; fantastic sword-fighting choreographed by Martino Pistone, who joins the troupe to play the Duke of Verona; and Tomasson’s extremely well-crafted dances, which tell the story in intricate detail and occasionally rise to the level of genius, in the ballroom

dances, which work out like chess-games to bring Romeo and Juliet to meet cute in the midst of elaborately geometrical quadrilles.

The dances pit the lovers against powerful social forces so that we see what they’re up against, and we see them triumph even in their deaths, and we believe they were right. This is tragic as the ancients understood it. The spectacle gives us a vision of the deepest conflicts in our society, and a clear sense of which side we should be on.

The camera loves Froustey; her acting is unforced, her dancing floats on the music in a way that actually seems emotionally real. She’s got astounding aplomb, and will take a step, and hover till the music says ‘Now!’ Her movement is like the play of thought. And since there’s rarely been a more intelligent heroine than Juliet, it’s as if we can see her emotions and her thoughts.

The interpretations are equally valid. If I prefer Froustey’s, Kochetkova’s dancing is breathtaking, and there are moments where her silhouette in arabesque are etched on my mind forever. And both casts are strong, all down the line.

Pascal Molat and Gennadi Nedvigiin alternate as Mercutio – outstanding, each of them; Joseph Walsh is wonderful as Benvolio in both casts. Luke Ingham is ferocious as Tybalt.

Karapetyan and Kochetkova are very wellmatched, and play it with Soviet-style idealism and strength; Froustey and di Lanno are more tender lovers, full of life but crushed by the forces of the old regime.

Each pair represents values we need to see embodied in this time of rumors, political skullduggery, graft, disinformation, to remember when we come out the other side what we’re gong to need to fight for or else it will be swept away.

And one of those things that is most in danger is the institutional support for the arts.

When Pol Pot attacked the classical dance tradition of Cambodia, he nearly wiped it out; only a few teachers survived. We won’t face such a direct attack on our artists, but chaos and indifference can do almost as much damage.t

Read about more online dance screenings at www.ebar.com www.sfballet.org

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<< Books & Online Events

10 • Bay Area Reporter • May 14-20, 2020

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Brando laid bare William J. Mann’s ‘The Contender: The Story of Marlon Brando’

by David-Elijah Nahmod

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here’s little left out of William J. Mann’s superb biography of Marlon Brando. In The Contender: The Story of Marlon Brando, Mann gets into the psyche of the late screen icon and lets readers know what made Brando tick.

Brando (1924-2004) is considered by many to be the greatest screen actor who ever lived. Indeed, his performances in classics like A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), On the Waterfront (1954) and The Godfather (1972) still give viewers chills and are still considered to be lessons in Method acting by the generation of actors who followed him.

It may surprise some readers to find out that Brando despised method acting and never thought all that much of his profession or of the industry that supported him.

Rather, he saw acting as a means to an end, a way to support his exwives, ex-lovers, and friends.

But he recognized the benefits of being a celebrity. Deeply committed to social justice causes like the civil rights movement and Native American rights, he used his fame to draw

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attention to these issues. Brando famously refused to accept his Oscar for The Godfather as a protest against the way Native people were depicted in Hollywood films.

Mann’s prose goes into great detail about the actor’s human rights work, including his involvement with the civil rights movement. He marched with the Congress of Racial Equality and supported Dr. Martin Luther King. Brando solicited many of his fellow stars to participate in civil rights marches.

Brando was also an early advocate of the anti-death penalty movement. It was while he was working on these issues that he was his happiest. These causes made the actor feel as though he were doing something useful, that he was making a positive contribution to society.

As Mann reveals, much of Brando’s life wasn’t happy. He was the product of an abusive, emotionally distant father and an alcoholic mother who died young. His youth haunted him for the rest of his life.

While he was at the peak of his film stardom in the 1950s he suffered severe bouts of anxiety and self-doubt and was in analysis for quite some time.

He was insecure about many things, including his acting ability, but he was always quite secure in his sexuality. Brando had affairs with

opens in the early 1990s, when Brando’s son Christian was on trial for the murder of his daughter Cheyenne’s boyfriend. Brando was shattered by the incident.

As the book recounts, the younger Brando was a troubled soul whose childhood seemed to set him up for tragedy. Throughout his youth he was caught up in the neverending court battles between his parents. Model-turnedactress Anna Kashfi, the boy’s mother, was a vindictive shrew who did everlasting damage to her son’s mental health. Brando didn’t know how to reach the boy and tragedy was the result.

William J. Mann, author of The ConAt over 600 pages, The tender: The Story of Marlon Brando Contender: The Story of Marlon Brando is a long read, but many women and was also known it’s meticulously researched to have had a few dalliances with and beautifully written. Mann goes men. Mann, who is himself gay, beneath the surface of this most does not shy away from the actor’s complex man and lets the reader sexual fluidity. know exactly who he was. Readers Brando was also insecure about will also learn a great deal about his parenting skills, and though he those who were closest to Brando genuinely loved his children, there and how they and Brando related were many problems. The book to each other.t

Coming out through the years

by Brian Bromberger

Come Out, Come Out, Whoever You Are by Abigail C. Saguy, Oxford University Press, $24.95.

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t all started with a quirky off-thecuff observation Abigail C. Saguy, Professor of Sociology and Gender Studies at UCLA, made while interviewing leading activists in the fat acceptance movement that promotes appreciation of body size diversity and confronts weight-based stigma and discrimination: they all used the same phrasing, “coming out as fat,” the identical concept associated with LGBTQ activism. Saguy wondered why; was coming out as fat the equivalent of coming out as LGBTQ? Thus, Saguy’s new book, Come Out, Come Out, Whoever You Are, was born.

In addition to this movement, Saguy studied other groups that used the coming out term: undocumented immigrant youth, Mormon fundamentalist polygamists, and sexual harassment activists in the #MeToo movement, as well as LGBTQ peo-

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Abigail C. Saguy, author of Come Out, Come Out, Whoever You Are

ple, addressing disparate multiple meanings of this concept.

Basing her analysis on gay historian George Chauncey’s groundbreaking Gay New York, coming out first developed with men making their entrance into the gay world via 1930s Pansy Balls, similar to high status women debuting into elite society. Saguy notes how the word gay popularized during this period, derived from the slang of female prostitutes.

Saguy maintains that this preWorld War II culture allowed gay men to develop a limited positive identity. During the late 1940s/ early 1950s when LGBTQ people were persecuted for being suspected communists or perverts, they came out secretly to each other with the proviso such information would never become public, even using code language (i.e. friend of Dorothy) as protection but proving one was a member of the “club.”

After Stonewall, coming out became a political tactic to reveal one’s sexual orientation to family, friends, and coworkers in an effort to challenge stereotypes/false myths and gain sympathy. Heterosexuals now realized they did know gay people whom they liked and respected, making it less likely they would support discriminatory laws.

Visibility encouraged other LGBTQ people to join the movement for equal rights (i.e. Harvey Milk’s slogan, ‘Come Out, Come Out

Wherever You Are’) acting as role models and empowering them to be proud of who they were, helping to end silence and shame.

It was openly LGBTQ people who brought coming out experience and terminology with them as through overlapping memberships and social networks, they became involved in other movements, which then

Abigail C. Saguy explores LGBTQ and others’ ‘closets’ conquered

incorporated this dynamic as a political strategy, to “cast off negative stereotypes and internalized shame, draw attention to injustice, gain public sympathy, mobilize fearful constituents, and enact social change.”

Even conservative Mormon fundamentalist polygamists who disapproved of homosexuality, used coming out lingo to link their fate to that of sexual minorities for strategic reasons to generate deeper empathy and solidarity.

Of all the profiled groups, the one most similar to the LGBTQ experience is that of undocumented immigrants for whom coming out is risky, as they face the real possibility of losing a job, being arrested and/or deported. Not coming out meant no public transparency as their movement for acceptance couldn’t have been mobilized, especially DACA youth/young adults. Instead, false information would continue to be disseminated, demonizing faceless people with the greater likelihood of enacting oppressive measures.

Saguy, a straight ally, doesn’t address the issue of how other groups using coming out terminology impacts on LGBTQ people themselves and whether it dilutes the political/ cultural influence of the LGBTQ community.

Still, this methodically researched book worthily broadens the idea of coming out, which Saguy rightly observes, is about sharing stories that provide language, concepts, and tactics for people who have been invisible or in hiding to become visible.

Ultimately, coming out is about the right to be recognized and to belong.

“It is about saying, ‘we’re here’ already among you. This is how we are. Make space for us.”

Saguy believes coming out “will lead more people to affirm the common humanity and dignity of all people,” notwithstanding their differences. As we muse over the reforms the COVID-19 pandemic may instill in society, Saguy gives us hope that as more people come out to resist stigma, we can all band together, despite social distancing, to advance a more just world.t

Read the full review on www.ebar.com

Homing’s In: Music, Art, Nightlife Podcasts and Theatre online Unruly Desires: American Sailors at the GLBT Historical Society; Quarantinis with Katya Smirnoff-Skyy; We Players’ audio dramas

Arts, nightlife and community events continue online at a Zooming pace. From fundraisers to e-tip jar talents, we can support each other in many ways. Catch it all on www.ebar.com

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Film>>

May 14-20, 2020 • Bay Area Reporter • 11

Crip Camp How a disability summer camp changed the world

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Left: Two of the teenage subjects in archival film included in Nicole Newnham and James LeBrecht’s Crip Camp.

Right: Campers at Camp Jened, the subject of the documentary Crip Camp.

by Victoria A. Brownworth

W

ith 81 million disabled people in the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that 1 in 4 Americans has at least one disability. That makes disabled people the largest minority in the U.S. Yet disabled people are also the most marginalized and the most hidden–striving to get our voices heard and our bodies seen 30 years after the Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law. We are underpaid–legally–and undervalued.

The adversity that many of us face just attempting to live our lives is extraordinary, wholly unnecessary and the fault of a non-disabled society that has decided a quarter of the population can live with often ridiculously arduous struggle for no reason whatsoever.

It is into this harsh lived reality that the Netflix documentary Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution debuted. The 2020 documentary film, co-directed by Nicole Newnham and James LeBrecht, is produced by Higher Ground Productions, Barack and Michelle Obama’s production company. The film won the Audience Award at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and was scheduled for theatrical release in late March, but the coronavirus pandemic derailed that. The film has been released on Netflix and should be on your mustview quarantine list.

LeBrecht, a well-known Bay Area sound engineer, proposed the idea to Oakland filmmaker Newnham.

After much discussion, the duo decided to co-direct the film. Crip Camp reflects the work and interviews they did, speaking to academics, historians and those involved in the disability rights movement.

Scenes from the moving documentary Crip Camp.

The result as a narrative that begins with LeBrecht’s childhood and his adolescence at Camp Jened, to his college years at Berkeley, activism in San Francisco and the activism of the Camp Jened group as they took on the halls of power in Washington, D.C. The film features names that disability rights advocates know well–LeBrecht, Larry Allison, Judith Heumann, Denise Sherer Jacobson and Stephen Hofmann, among others. These names should be as well-known as those of other American civil rights activists; that they aren’t is part of what makes Crip Camp so important.

The film has at its locus Camp Jened, a summer camp for disabled kids, teens and adults that ran from 1951 through 1977.

Crip Camp focuses on the period in the late 1960s and early 1970s when the hippie counter culture invaded the camp and changed lives forever, ridding the camp of unnecessary structure and infantilization of disabled people. The revamping opened Jened to activism and a deep and irrevocable social and sexual bonding among campers. Inclusivity was Jened’s theme and the campers embraced that with gusto.

These connections at Camp Jened became the foundation for a disability rights and independent living movement: camp-goers of that period, like co-director LeBrecht and Heumann, who attended the camp from age 9 to 18, became activists.

The film, as charted through and

by LeBrecht, follows the trajectory of some of these campers from that period through the present, telling the story of their revolutionary activism and where it would lead. The film parallels other movements–the anti-war movement, the Black Panthers, feminism.

“The film talks about what we struggle for and fight for,” LeBrecht says. He adds succinctly in the film, “This camp changed the world, and nobody knows this story.”

We know it now.

Crip Camp begins with LeBrecht’s disabled childhood. Born with spina bifida and without the use of his legs, LeBrecht first attended Camp Jened at 14 and his world changed. Free of the constraints of non-disabled society, he wanted to live that life outside the camp. And so he strove to do so.

Fantastic archival footage as well as stills and interviews stitch the Jened past into a lush and lusty tapestry– these are the lives of disabled youth who become disabled adults. They are open and honest, funny as hell, unafraid to discuss their sexuality as well as their fears.

Crip Camp is a revelation.

The facts of disability mean that many of us don’t live into old age, so seeing older activists like LeBrecht and Judy Heumann and others is just so important to the message and the history of disability activism. As Heumann says, “I

wanted to be part of the world, but I didn’t see anyone like me in it.”

Heumann’s voice in Crip Camp is mesmerizing. The woman who forged so many aspects of the disability rights movement is reason

enough to watch the film. Having contracted polio at 18 months, she has spent her entire life in a wheelchair while fighting for the most basic rights.

She wasn’t allowed in schools because her wheelchair presented a fire hazard. That same excuse was used nearly two decades later to deny her a teaching license–she couldn’t get herself and her students out in case of a fire. So she sued and sued and sued some more.

Heumann fought each obstacle and won. Bill Clinton appointed her Assistant Secretary of Education for Special Education and Rehabilitative Services. Barack Obama appointed her Special Advisor for International Disability Rights. (That position has been empty since January 20, 2017.)

There are amazing scenes interpolated in this film. Deaf activists are able to communicate with the Black Panthers during a sit-in.

Disabled activists, out of their wheelchairs, crawl up the steps of the U.S. Capitol.

Crip Camp is incredibly moving, poignant, enraging, and yes, inspirational and aspirational. It is funny and bawdy and opens doors to images most disabled people themselves don’t get to see of disabled people living their lives without some overarching pitying commentary.

Crip Camp will make you want to be a disability activist for yourself or anyone else in your life who is disabled. This is one of the best and realest films you will see this year.t A panel discussion recorded at the 92nd St. Y in NYC with the directors, Heumann and Vanity Fair critic Richard Lawson, is a compelling addendum. www.92y.org/archives/crip-camp

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