pgn Philadelphia Gay News LGBT NEWS SINCE 1976
Vol. 42 No. 4
Family Portrait: David Permut and his big screen time
Jan. 26 - Feb. 1, 2018
HONESTY • INTEGRITY • PROFESSIONALISM
Trump gives health workers the right to discriminate
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Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Khan-Cullors speaks on her memoir and the movement PAGE 9
Gay man files antibias complaint against Gayborhood bar By Timothy Cwiek timothy@epgn.com
THE CROWD ON THE PARKWAY FROM THE TEMPORARY ART INSTALLATION OF DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. “THE TIME IS ALWAYS RIGHT TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT” Photo: Scott A.Drake
One year later: the Women’s March looks to midterm elections By Beth Boyle PGN Contributor When asked what it takes to organize an event for more than 50,000 people, Deja Lynn Alvarez laughs. “A lot. It takes a lot of emotion and stress, opinions and feelings and passion. And at the end of it, all you can do is hope that you all have done everything you can possibly do to put together a safe, empowering,
uplifting, truthful event.” At least 60,000 people — some 10,000 more than last year — marched along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway last Saturday for the second-annual Women’s March in Philadelphia, on a day when similar marches were taking place in all corners of the globe. Some cities held their marches on Sunday. The speakers ranged from local activists, including a 17-year-old PAGE 16
Rick White, an African-American gay man, has filed an antibias complaint against Toasted Walnut Bar & Kitchen. He claims the LGBT venue committed sex discrimination when the owners declined to retain his services for an outreach effort to attract more African-American clientele. Toasted Walnut, 1316 Walnut St., is a popular LGBT venue with a diverse clientele that includes many lesbians, according to its website. White contends the owners discriminated against him last summer when they refused his offer to host a series of viewing parties, featuring the hit TV-show “Empire.” He alleges that Toasted Walnut subsequently held two viewing parties of “Empire” utilizing the services of his former associate, who is female. In October, White filed an antibias complaint against Toasted Walnut with the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations, alleging sex discrimination. As of presstime, his complaint remained pending at the agency. White seeks an unspecified amount in compensatory and punitive damages from the venue. Denise M. Cohen, owner of Toasted Walnut, issued the following statement about White’s complaint: “His claim is that we hosted an event he
owned — without him — because he is male and is gay. [This] is completely untrue as he was never excluded from this public event. Mr. White presented that [White’s associate] was his event partner. In a meeting with Mr. White and [White’s associate], he confirmed that he said to a Toasted Walnut employee that [referring to the employee] ‘no fat ugly white dyke’ would ever work his event and then turned to another femme employee and said she was ‘pretty enough.’ Additionally, he mentioned that he and [a city official] were friends and she was going to be his guest host of this event and that if we didn’t accommodate his demands that she encouraged him to file this complaint against Toasted Walnut. Mr. White has a history of making threats to Toasted Walnut and other local businesses predating the proposal of this event. “At this meeting with [White, White’s associate and her personal partner] he again demonstrated a sexist and harsh behavior — after which we decided based on this that there was going to be no event relationship with Mr. White. That was until [White’s associate] showed a more calm and rational demeanor and stated she would work to calm her friend and partner down. [Then] we agreed this event would be great for our community and would work around Mr. White’s sexist and harsh behavior. “The event — a viewing of the TV show ‘Empire’ — would proceed with [White’s PAGE 16 associate] as host
William Way recommits to community outreach at annual meeting By Brittany M. Wehner brittany@epgn.com
The William Way LGBT Community Center will continue to focus on growth and community outreach through new programs, officials said at the annual meeting last week. The annual meeting was held last Saturday to discuss new initiatives and commitment to the LGBT community. Program director Celena Morrison gave a presentation on TransWork, a new trans economic-empowerment and employment program, in partnership with Independence Business Alliance. “We are supporting entrepreneurship. We all know there is a great need for that,” Morrison said. TransWork will address the diverse needs of all fac-
ets of the trans community. The program director also talked about focusing on the women’s program, intimate-partner violence, tobacco education and outreach. “In 2018, the center will be prioritizing our women’s program. The center recognizes that wellness is a dynamic process of change and growth. I have a really community-driven style of programming. I welcome feedback, good or bad. Bring your voices to the table,” Morrison said. Executive Director Chris Bartlett gave a development report and discussed a recommitment to women. “We talked about centering around women and the importance of this. I want to see an increase in events for women, an increase in women on boards. We are really committed to that over the next year,” Bartlett said. He also talked about the center’s desire to create and expand senior services. PAGE 2
ADA BELLO (FROM LEFT), LAURIE WARD AND JOHN CUNNINGHAM AT THE ANNUAL CORNERSTONE BRUNCH Photo: Scott A. Drake