Preservation

Is More Than You Think

Founded by eight community members in 1998, the Lavender Library serves to preserve the Sacramento LGBTQ+ community’s heritage. As a lending library for the Greater Sacramento Valley Area LGBTQ+ community featuring books and magazines, various media, and archival materials, it’s become an integral part of the Sacramento cultural community.

As we close down the BENT Sacramento LGBTQ+ Film Festival, formally known as SIGLFF, Sacramento International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival , we sought local community organizations that might benefit from the success we’ve experienced. There were many organizations that we considered as recipients of a financial donation. One that was near and dear to the Film Festival and my heart was the Lavender Library. For the longest time it was my fervent prayer and hope that all our programs from day one to our last film festival would be digitized and be able to be shared. Not just with our community of today, but future generations to come. As I thought this out, it led me to more avenues of thought. It made me think of not only are we helping the library preserve our Film Festival’s history, but giving the Lavender Library a chance to preserve our community’s history in ways that will help for generations to come.

Some find history in general obscure, and nothing more than a hodgepodge of collective dates and places and people from the past that have no relevance to many of us. But the past speaks if you are listening. It speaks from the Community Center we have today and the laws we hold dear, to the pride flag in its many incarnations that we fly just to name a few. We should never forget the brothers and sisters in the many facets of our community that have come before us. People who led, gave their best, some even gave their all, so that we can have the open, supportive community we have today.

History is not something obscure or unimportant. LGBTQ history plays a vital role in our everyday lives. We learn from our past in order to achieve greater influence of our present and continue to build our future. History serves as a model not only of who and what we are today, it is a portal to see who came before us, how we got here and where we are going tomorrow. It is the story of our past, a form of collective memories, a history of the story of us. So, not only is the Film Festival securing our history’s legacy, but giving a chance to the Lavender Library to preserve our community’s history.

So, if you’ve never been down to the Lavender Library and Archival Exchange, please pay them a visit. Become a member or make a donation; help in any way that will preserve and protect this information, so generations will know who you were, what you did, what we all did and why we did what we did to pave it forward for those yet to come.

Give history a chance. Don’t let your history fade into obscurity with you, or your loved ones. Make your mark, let people know what you did, why you did it and why you helped our future LGBTQ community members make our community epic.

In closing, just remember 21 words that I live by:

“There is no greater calling than in the service of helping others in need and times when it is called upon.”

Attorney General Bonta Issues Statement on Walgreens Decision to Restrict Medication Abortion Access

California Attorney General Rob Bonta today issued the following statement in response to a decision that Walgreens won’t distribute medication abortion in states where anti-abortion attorneys general object, including in places where medication abortion remains legal:

“Medication abortion is safe, effective, and serves as a lifeline for people in need of critical care, especially those from vulnerable and underserved communities,” said Attorney General Bonta. “I am disappointed that Walgreens has decided to give in to political pressure from anti-abortion states, and cut off access to these necessary and lifesaving medications. Its decision has now made it harder for countless people, including those from communities of color and those living in rural areas, to get the care they need. Many will be forced to turn to desperate and unsafe measures that endanger their health and safety. This is unacceptable. Let me make this clear: In California, we will not falter in the fight for reproductive freedom. The more anti-abortion states move to sow confusion and fear, the harder we will fight to protect and expand access to reproductive care - in our state and across the nation.”

More information on Attorney General Bonta’s actions in support of reproductive rights can be found at https://oag.ca.gov/reprorights

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