Family Portrait: Around the world with Kate Hinchey PAGE 17
Gay attorney suspended PAGE 6
A melodious memoir heads to PAT @ Giovanni’s Room PAGE 15
A new host & for Shut Up & Dance 40 years ago in PGN PAGE 2 Jan. 29 - Feb. 4, 2016
Since 1976
PGN Philadelphia Gay News HONESTY • INTEGRITY • PROFESSIONALISM
Vol. 40 No. 5
Lib City forum looks at gay-bashing case, race relations By Angela Thomas PGN Contributor
BROAD STREET BANS BULLIES: Black and orange — and LGBT — pride was strong Monday night at Wells Fargo Center for the first-ever You Can Play Night. The event sought to promote LGBT acceptance and visibility in sports circles. During a second-period break, the Flyers and You Can Play officials honored Nellie Fitzpatrick (second from right), director of the city’s Office of LGBT Affairs. Even though the Flyers lost 3-2 to the Boston Bruins, the event appeared to be a hit with LGBT and ally guests, including Liz Balcolm (from left), Deja Lynn Alvarez, Nora Cothren, Anna Aagenes, Britt Binler, Neil Bardhan, Fitzpatrick and Tracie Palmer. Photo: Scott A. Drake
A crowd of about 50 turned up for what was to be a passionate forum at the William Way LGBT Community Center last week. Liberty City LGBT Democratic Club hosted its annual meeting and community forum on Jan. 20 — this time focusing on community safety. Before turning to the forum, Liberty City co-chairs Tony Campisi and Anne Wakabayashi welcomed the election of Jim Kenney as mayor of Philadelphia and the election of the first openly gay public official in Montgomery County, Dan Clifford,
who was sworn in Jan. 6 as a judge of the county’s Court of Common Pleas. Liberty City re-elected incumbents Angela Giampolo and Lauren Vidas onto the board and also elected two new members: Marion Leary and Ali Perelman. An award was given to outgoing board member Sara Jacobson, who served on the board of Liberty City for six years. “Sara did a fantastic job as co-chair and we will miss her guidance, leadership and thoughtfulness on the board,” Campisi said. After the organization’s business, the meeting turned to the safety forum. The discussion featured panelists Philadelphia District Attorney Seth PAGE 13
Trans people to police: We’re not ‘portrayals’ By Timothy Cwiek timothy@epgn.com Trans folks are speaking out against a Pennsylvania State Police practice of categorizing anti-transgender hate crimes by male or female “portrayal.” State police recently posted on its website an anti-trans hate-crime incident in Philadelphia, categorized as “female portrayal.” “We’re trans people, we’re not portraying anything,” said Julie Chovanes, a trans woman and attorney. “How can we get accurate hate-crimes reporting from the police if they see us playing a role?” Trans people’s humanity is denied by the language used by state police, Chovanes said. “They don’t even give us personhood,” she added. “Since they don’t give us personhood, how can they recognize crimes against us? To them, we are portrayals, caricatures. And there’s no such thing as a
crime against a portrayal or a caricature.” Trooper Adam Reed, a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania State Police, said the state’s “uniform crime-reporting program’s definitions and guidelines mirror those of the FBI,” adding that, if the FBI issued recommended changes to those guidelines, state police “would certainly adhere to those. This includes any changes that may result from the working group being looked at by the FBI.” Chovanes expressed concern that some trans victims won’t report hate crimes due to perceived insensitivity by police. “I’m concerned of a possible deterrent effect due to this practice, but I hope there won’t be one,” she said. State police collect hate-crimes data from local police departments and convey the data to the FBI. FBI spokesperson C. Michael Riley said the FBI doesn’t recommend that anti-trans hate crimes have “portrayal” categories. PAGE 2 He also said the FBI
MICHAEL WEISS, MICHAEL BARRY, DISTRICT ATTORNEY SETH WILLIAMS AND DEPUTY COMMISSIONER MYRON PATTERSON AT THE JAN. 20 LIBERTY CITY LGBT DEMOCRATIC CLUB MEETING AT WILLIAM WAY Photo: Scott A. Drake
Philly to host Creating Change 2017 By Paige Cooperstein paige@epgn.com The Philadelphia skyline flashed on screen during last week’s closing plenary of Creating Change, the annual conference hosted by the National LGBTQ Task Force. The 4,000 people who attended this year’s event in Chicago were invited to reunite next year in the City of Brotherly Love. Creating Change, the largest national gathering for the LGBT movement, will
come to Philadelphia in winter 2017. The 29th-annual conference takes place Jan. 18–22. Philadelphia secured the hosting duty over the summer, thanks in part to the efforts of Bruce Yelk, the gay former head of public relations for Visit Philadelphia, the city’s tourism board. “We’ve always wanted to bring Creating Change to Philadelphia,” said Russell Roybal, deputy executive director of the Task Force. “There is a PAGE 8
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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Jan. 29 - Feb. 4, 2016
Shut Up & Dance gets new host By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com
40 years ago in PGN WXPN license in jeopardy for gay program Adapted from reporting by John Zeh University of Pennsylvania representatives traveled to Washington, D.C., in mid-November 1975 to meet with the Federal Communications Commission about whether the license for local radio station WXPN would be renewed. Penn holds the license for the station, which aired gay programming from 1-3 p.m. on Sundays in addition to other “experimental blends of talk” and music. The FCC levied a $2,000 fine against WXPN, nearly one-fourth of its operating budget, and wanted to hold hearings to revoke the license. The license remained in effect thanks to listeners swamping the FCC with letters of support. The fine came from objections to a weekly program called “The Vegetable Report.” The show featured talk about profanity and sexuality in children and adults. A Sept. 30, 1974, show included readings from “Erotic Fantasies,” a historical collection of attitudes on human sexuality.
A 1949 Penn graduate complained the program presented “porno stories about homosexuality and other sexual abuses.” The Penn student-activities director ordered the show off the air. WXPN station officials acknowledged the issue with the show airing during the day, instead of late at night. WXPN continues to operate as a noncommercial radio station. It’s known for the music program “World Café,” which NPR distributes to member stations across the country. Out Philly doctor to lead Gay Public Health Workers Adapted from reporting by PGN staff An out Philadelphia doctor was chosen to serve as general coordinator of the Gay Public Health Workers caucus, which was newly formed as part of the American Public Health Association. Dr. Walter J. Lear, commissioner of health services for the Metropolitan Philadelphia Region of the Pennsylvania Department of Health, took the role in November 1975 at the association’s annual conference in Chicago.
Frances Hanckel, also of Philadelphia, was chosen as financial coordinator. The resolution that formed the caucus also called for the public-health association to endorse several gay-related issues: the federal gay-rights bill that would repeal sodomy laws; health agency adoption of equal-employment policies for sexual minorities; and education for health workers about sexism, homophobia and practices in the health field that oppress gay people. Gay Public Health Workers hosted an exhibit in Chicago to illustrate the reality of being a gay health worker or gay patient. “Many convention visitors stopped to ask questions and pick up literature, and hostile attitudes were rare,” according to the report. The caucus’ next stated goal was to organize several scientific sessions at the public health association’s future conferences to address health problems and health services for lesbians and gay men. n
Local drag celeb Martha Graham Cracker has been tapped to host this year’s “Shut Up & Dance,” the annual ballet benefit for Metropolitan Area Neighborhood Nutritional Alliance. The show, staged in collaboration with the Pennsylvania Ballet April 9 at Forrest Theatre, had previously been hosted for more than 20 years by Michaela Majoun of WXPN. Dito van Reigersberg, who portrays Martha Graham Cracker, said, “MANNA will nourish your body and Martha Graham Cracker will nourish your soul. I am honored to be passed the torch by Michaela Majoun.” Van Reigersberg is a native of Washington, D.C., and co-founder of Pig Iron Theatre Company. He performs as Martha Graham Cracker in a monthly cabaret series at L’Etage and has performed at local venues such at Philadelphia Museum of Art, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and Trocadero Theater. MANNA provides nourishing meals to people in the region who are battling life-threatening illnesses, such as HIV/AIDS, cancer and diabetes. Last year’s “Shut Up & Dance” show brought in more than $130,000 for the organization, equating to more than 36,000 meals for MANNA clients. n For more information or tickets, visit www.mannapa.org/dance.
— compiled by Paige Cooperstein PORTRAYAL from page 1
News Briefing
“Even if we won that issue, the appellate court wouldn’t need to grant a new trial as the remedy. My client wants closure of this matter.” City attorney Michael R. Miller declined to comment for this update. — Timothy Cwiek
Appeal ends in police abuse case
LGBT grantmaking agency rebrands
The appeal of Luis A. Berrios 3d for a new trial in his federal police-abuse case has ended. Berrios contends Philadelphia police used excessive force and wrongfully arrested him during a 2010 domestic disturbance at his Hunting Park residence. He also contends officers hurled anti-LGBT slurs during the incident. In November, an all-white jury cleared the defendants of any wrongdoing. Berrios filed a notice of appeal, but the appeal process ended last week because Berrios didn’t order a transcript of the trial. “Unfortunately, we see only one viable ground for appeal, given the jury’s unanimous verdict for the defendants,” said Rania Major, an attorney for Berrios.
A local organization that distributes funding to LGBT causes recently announced a rebranding effort. The Delaware Valley Legacy Fund has changed its name to DVLF. It also unveiled a new logo, which consists of several Philly skyscrapers being cradled in a hand, next to the organization’s name and the tagline: “Serving the Greater Philadelphia LGBTQ Community Through Philanthropy.” The changes are the result of a recent communication audit, executive director Samantha Giusti said in a statement. Giusti said the logo reflects “an organization that lifts up the LGBT community in our region.” She said the shortening of the name “will provide more clarity to who we are and what we do.”
The organization plans to update its website (www.dvlf.org) later this year to enhance community involvement and giving.
V-Day video contest continues There’s one more week left for local couples to enter a Valentine’s Day contest sponsored by PGN and PersonalCast Studios. The production studio is offering a free “Love Story” video, valued at $599, to a PGN reader. Interested applicants should answer the question, “When did you know your partner was THE one?” in fewer than 100 words. Entries can be sent to editor@epgn.com through midnight Feb. 7. Entrants should have access to FaceTime or Skype. PersonalCast will interview the winning couple about their relationship through one of the video-messaging services and professionally edit the footage. For more information about PersonalCast, visit www.personal-cast. com. n — Jen Colletta
doesn’t convey its hate-crimes data to the public in such a manner. “The FBI’s uniform crimes-reporting program is currently collaborating with a government working group to address specific issues on reporting anti-transgender bias crimes,” Riley added. “A decision to release additional information on working with and/ or reporting data on transgender victims will be addressed at a later date.” Harper Jean Tobin, policy director at the National Center for Transgender Equality, echoed Chovanes’ concerns. “It’s great that Pennsylvania is trying to report anti-trans hate crimes, but do it in a way that shows sensitivity to victims,” Tobin said. “[The portrayal categories] suggest our gender isn’t real. If police don’t get that, they’re going to have a hard time talking to victims and witnesses.“We already have some community-trust issues. I’d be concerned this [language] would be another chilling factor, discouraging people from reporting hate crimes.” She said reporting the number of antitrans hate crimes on the state-police website would be sufficient without adding “portrayal” categories. “We’d be happy if they’d just accurately collect data on anti-trans hate crimes, without insulting the very people who’ve been victimized,” Tobin concluded. n
PGN
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Jan. 29 - Feb. 4, 2016
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Weekly features
News&Opinion 2 — News Briefing 7 — Crime Watch 10 — Creep of the Week Editorial 11 — Mark My Words Street Talk 14 — Obituary
Brian Sanders’ JUNK holds its annual “Snowball” Jan. 30 at The Troc.
AC
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PEN PALS: About a dozen volunteers beat the brewing snowstorm Friday night to support the first-ever International Trans Prisoner Day of Action and Solidarity. The local observance was held at A-Space Anarchist Community Center in West Philadelphia, an event that brought together supporters to write letters and create art for transgender inmates. The effort was supported by Hearts on a Wire and Up Against the Law Legal Collective, with snacks by West Philly Food Not Bombs. Volunteers penned 44 letters to 31 prisoners housed in Pennsylvania prisons. Photo: Scott A. Drake
Family Portrait Scene in Philly Out & About Q Puzzle Comics
C Wk 1: Out Law Queer Faith o Wk 2: Out Money l Thinking Queerly u Wk 3: Gettin’ On m Outward Bound 4: Mombian n Wk s On Being Well Classifieds 25 — Real Estate 26 — Personals 27 — Bulletin Board
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“There’s a lot of grunt work that takes place with hosting this kind of large-scale conference. But Philadelphia has a unique spunk that should really be shining as an example of how we have civil discourse, how we have really progressive and honest community building.”
~ Jason Landau Goodman on Creating Change conference coming to Philadelphia in 2017, page 8 PGN 505 S. Fourth St. Philadelphia, PA 19147-1506
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Copyright © 1976 - 2016 Copyright(s) in all materials in these pages are either owned or licensed by Masco Communications Inc. or its subsidiaries or affiliate companies (Philadelphia Gay News, PGN, and it’s WWW sites.) All other reproduction, distribution, retransmission, modification, public display, and public performance of our materials is prohibited without the prior written consent of Masco Communications. To obtain such consent, email pgn@epgn.com
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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Jan. 29 - Feb. 4, 2016
Gay man runs for state House seat held by Sims By Timothy Cwiek timothy@epgn.com Louis D. Lanni Jr., an openly gay man and former police officer, has announced his candidacy for state representative in the 182nd District, which covers parts of Center City and South Philadelphia. “I’m at a point in my life that when I take a look at what’s going on, I don’t like what I see,” Lanni told PGN. “We are very poorly led in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania. And we can do a whole lot better.” Lanni said he’ll run as a Democrat in the April 26 primary. The seat is currently held by another openly gay man, Brian K. Sims, Pennsylvania’s first out elected state lawmaker. Sims is running for another term, and is also running for a Congressional seat
currently held by indicted Congressman Chaka Fattah. “If elected, I’m going to be a full-time rep,” Lanni said. “I’m not going to be a part-time rep, while working at another job. My state-rep duties will occupy 100 percent of my time.” His supporters will begin circulating nomination petitions this week. “We have a really good team,” Lanni said. “I feel really good about it.” Assisting Lanni in his election bid is Michael T. Connor, his longtime partner. They’ve lived together in Center City for 25 years. Lanni’s campaign platform includes passage of a statewide LGBT civil-rights bill, passage of a hate-crimes law that’s LGBT-inclusive and increased public safety. As a licensed Realtor, he’s developed negotiating skills that will help accomplish those goals, he said. “You have to negotiate in a collegial way with these folks in Harrisburg,” he said. “That’s the way to get these things
done. You cannot go out there and throw bombs with these people. They’ll shut you off and won’t listen.” Last month, Lanni received a pardon from Gov. Tom Wolf for a 1997 insurance-fraud conviction. Lanni said the conviction was erroneous, and he fought hard for a pardon. “That’s the same level of dedication I’m going to bring to the difficult issues that confront our city and state,” he said. Jeffrey Sheridan, a Wolf spokesperson, issued this statement about the pardon for Lanni: “Under the Pennsylvania Constitution (Article IV, Section 9), the governor may only issue a pardon on the written recommendation of a majority of the Board of Pardons. Mr. Lanni was recommended for pardon by the board, and the governor, in this case, accepted that recommendation and granted him a pardon. The timing of Mr. Lanni’s pardon was only subject to the timeline-review process of the board, which is based only upon the date of a person’s application.” Lanni also said he’ll push to reopen the case of Nizah Morris, a transgender woman found with a fatal head wound in 2002, shortly after a “courtesy ride” from Philadelphia police. Her homicide remains unsolved. “If I take office, believe me, there’s going to be a whole lot more sunshine on that matter than being shined on it now. They covered that thing up from the get-go. If everyone is so clean, why don’t you let the facts be shown? Let it speak for itself. If people stonewall you to such an extent, it’s because they’re hiding something.” In November, Lanni was mugged, which reinforced his belief in the need for increased public safety. “I was keenly aware of public-safety issues before someone tried to rob me,” he said. “This by being a police officer, and having arrested many such people for preying on honest people going about their business. That incident on Nov. 11 just serves to drive the point home.” Lanni also said he’s keeping an open mind about state Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane, who faces criminal charges for allegedly leaking grand-jury information. “That woman deserves to be heard,” he said. “She deserves her day in court and she should be judged on the merits of her case. Based on the debacle with Justice Eakin and others, it’s very clear she’s ruffled an awful lot of feathers of people who would like to see her gone.” Lanni said he’s excited about his upcoming campaign. “We’re going to run hard. I’m going to be out meeting the people. I’m going to be out banging on doors, standing on corners and taking my message right to the people.” n
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HEALTH AND WELLNESS DIRECTORY Gay attorney suspended from practicing law By Timothy Cwiek timothy@epgn.com
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Robert P. Tuerk, the first openly gay man to seek election as a Philadelphia traffic-court judge, has been suspended from practicing law in Pennsylvania. On Oct. 15, the state Supreme Court ordered Tuerk’s law license suspended for a year and a day due to alleged misconduct. In 2012, Tuerk applied to practice law in federal court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. But he failed to inform the court about a prior disciplinary proceeding stemming from a 1985 arrest. Tuerk eventually withdrew his application to practice law in federal court. But in July, the state Supreme Court’s disciplinary board recommended the suspension of Tuerk’s law license. “[Tuerk] knowingly failed to comply with the requirements for admission to practice law before the [federal court]; falsely swore on his application for admission that he had complied with the admissions requirements; filed the application, which contained misrepresentations of material fact, with the clerk’s office and was admitted to the bar of the [federal court] under false pretenses,” the board stated. “Two [court] hearings were held before a panel of federal judges where [Tuerk] failed to voluntarily admit any of his transgressions.” The board added: “In the end, [Tuerk] did accept responsibility when pointedly asked by his counsel, but unfortunately [Tuerk] left a lingering impression that such acceptance was grudgingly given.” After the state Supreme Court upheld the board’s recommendation in October, Tuerk was given 30 days to wind down his law practice. He also was ordered to reimburse the court for expenses incurred during his investigation
and prosecution. While suspended, Tuerk is permitted to perform legal work of a preparatory and/or ministerial nature, in addition to law-related clerical work. But he can’t hold himself out as an attorney or render legal advice to a client. Tuerk’s attorney, Samuel C. Stretton, described his client as “a very good person,” whose difficulties stemmed from a mistake in his youth. “When Bob Tuerk was very young, he made a mistake on his bar application back in 1990,” Stretton said. “As a result, he was suspended for a year and a day. He was reinstated, and
While this character testimony and his community involvement are properly considered as mitigating factors in the board’s analysis of discipline, we find that such factors do not outweigh the gravity of the misconduct and the aggravating factors. since then he’s done an excellent job in the legal community. He developed a real niche in terms of representing people with traffic-court issues. He also revitalized the Philadelphia Bar Association’s traffic-law committee, and made it quite a force in terms of reform and change.” Stretton said Tuerk accepts responsibility for his mistakes. “The current matter results from bad judgment on Bob’s part and from bad advice he got from his former attorney,” Stretton continued. “Bob accepts responsibility for going through with the process [of practicing
law in federal court] when he should have stopped the process and petitioned the court for a hearing. He’s going to petition for reinstatement, and I don’t see any problem getting him back. After we get him reinstated in Pennsylvania, we’ll revisit the issue in federal court.” Six character witnesses testified on Tuerk’s behalf during a 2012 hearing, emphasizing his for only civic-mindedness and reputation when a minimu for honesty and integrity. “[Tuerk] presented six character witnesses who each credibly testified to [Tuerk’s] good reputation in the community for truthfulness and honesty,” the disciplinary board noted. “Testimony revealed that [Tuerk] has been involved in service activities that have benefited his community. While this character testimony and his community involvement are properly considered as mitigating factors in the board’s analysis of discipline, we find that such factors do not outweigh the gravity of the misconduct and the aggravating factors. The totality of the facts and circumstances persuade the board that a one-year and one day suspension is warranted. [Tuerk’s] misconduct is at a level that cannot be appropriately addressed by public censure or a stayed suspension, and requires that [Tuerk] formally seek reinstatement to practice law in Pennsylvania in the future.” Tuerk, 52, has been active in several community organizations, including Gay and Lesbian Lawyers of Philadelphia and the Police Liaison Committee. In 2013, Tuerk sought election as a judge on Philadelphia Traffic Court. His bid was unsuccessful, but he received the endorsement of numerous organizations, including PGN and Liberty City LGBT Democratic Club. Due to a ticket-fixing scandal, traffic court has since been abolished, and traffic disputes are handled in Municipal Court. n
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D.A.’s Office opposes new trial for rapist of lesbian By Timothy Cwiek timothy@epgn.com The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office last month filed an extensive legal brief opposing a new trial for a man convicted of raping a lesbian. Jeffrey J. Marsalis seeks a new trial for his 2007 conviction of sexually assaulting three women in Philadelphia. After being convicted of those offenses, Marsalis was convicted of raping a lesbian in Idaho. Marsalis allegedly drugged his victims prior to assaulting them, but he maintains his innocence. Marsalis’ request for a new trial is pending before state Superior Court Judges John T. Bender, Judith F. Olson and William H. Platt. Marsalis is currently serving a 10-and-a-half- to 20-year prison sentence for his local convictions. But he claims his trial attorney served him ineffectively during his 2007 trial. For example, Marsalis contends his trial attorney should have obtained the medical records of his victims. He claims one of his victims suffered from hypoglycemia and another victim was taking Vicodin.
He contends the women passed out during dates because of their medical conditions and drinking alcohol excessively, not because he drugged them. But the D.A.’s Office said Marsalis lacks a basis for engaging in a “fishing expedition” for his victims’ medical records. “[The trial judge] properly rejected [Marsalis’] attempt to engage in an intrusive fishing expedition into personal and irrelevant aspects of his victims’ lives,” the D.A.’s brief states. Marsalis also claims he was in Idaho when prosecutors say he sexually assaulted a woman in Philadelphia. But the D.A.’s Office said Marsalis assaulted that victim on two occasions — in October 2003 and January 2004. “Even if [Marsalis] could show that [the victim] was mistaken about the precise date when the second attack occurred, he could not show that the result of his trial would have been different, since he has no alibi for the first attack,” the D.A.’s brief states. Marsalis was charged with allegedly raping a prosecutor in the D.A’s Office. He was acquitted of that charge, but maintains the D.A.’s Office should have
been disqualified from prosecuting him, due to a conflict of interest. In its reply brief, the D.A.’s Office said there’s no conflict of interest because the agency has allegiances to the commonwealth, not a particular victim or witness in a case. “A prosecutor’s duties and loyalties lie with the commonwealth, and not with the victim of a criminal offense,” the D.A.’s brief states. “The victim was just a witness. The prosecutor’s client is the commonwealth and the people who live in the commonwealth. Thus, there was no basis for disqualification and no arguable merit to [Marsalis’] claim.” Marsalis also claims his trial attorney failed to explain to Marsalis that he could receive free legal assistance from a court-appointed attorney. As a result, Marsalis pleaded no contest to one of the charges, rather than continue paying his attorney to challenge the charge. In its reply brief, the D.A.’s Office said Marsalis missed the deadline of Nov. 8, 2008, to raise that claim, thus it’s “timebarred.” Additionally, Marsalis contends the trial judge, Steven R.
Gayborhood Crime Watch The following incidents in the Midtown Village and Washington Square West areas were reported to the Sixth Police District between Jan. 11-17. Information is courtesy of Sixth District Capt. Brian Korn; Stacy Irving, senior director, Crime Prevention Service; Center City District; the Police Liaison Committee and Midtown Village Merchants Association. To report crime tips, visit www.phillypolice.com or call 215-686-TIPS.
— At 10:35 a.m. Jan. 16, a man was walking on the westbound subway platform at 1301 Market St. when another man placed an unknown object to his back and stole $17. The suspect was described as 18, black, 5-foot-9, thin, with a medium complexion and wearing a red hoodie.
INCIDENTS
— At 12:50 a.m. Jan. 17, an individual was punched and blacked out during an altercation outside 1300 Sansom St. The suspect was described as a white man, 5-foot-7, with a beard.
— Between 2:30 p.m. Jan. 8 and 3 p.m. Jan. 12, someone stole a 2014 Genuine scooter that was parked outside 800 Spruce St.
— There were two thefts from parked vehicles reported Jan. 11-17: outside 400 S. Juniper St. and 1016 Walnut St.
— At 11:50 p.m. Jan. 12, a woman was walking outside 250 S. 13th St. when she was hit on the head from behind and her purse was stolen. The suspects were described as black males, the first in his mid20s, 5-foot-8 and wearing a short green jacket, and the second 5-foot-8 and wearing a dark gray hoodie. For video of the incident, see blog.phillypolice. com/2016/01/wanted-suspects-for-robbery-in-the6th-district-video-8/.
NON-SUMMARY ARRESTS
— At 4 a.m. Jan. 16, an employee of CiBo, 1227 Walnut St., got into an altercation inside the bar and sustained a broken nose. The suspect was described as a black male, 5-foot-11, with a stocky build.
— At 5:10 p.m. Jan. 12, a woman was struck during an argument with her ex-boyfriend inside Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, 130 S. 10th St. Hospital security held the suspect until police arrived. The 18-year-old Kensington man was charged with domestic assault. — At 4:40 p.m. Jan. 13, SEPTA police arrested a man outside 1200 Market St. who was wanted on a warrant for failure to appear for court. The 43-yearold Northeast Philadelphia man was charged with contempt of court. n
Geroff, was biased against him and should have recused himself. Marsalis said Geroff referred to him in a deprecating manner and exhibited hostile body language throughout his trial. The D.A.’s Office also rebutted that claim. “Though [Geroff’s] description of [Marsalis’] behavior may have been unflattering, it was well supported by the record,” the D.A.’s brief states. “[Geroff] showed remarkable patience in
accommodating and responding to [Marsalis’] many complaints. [Marsalis] presented no evidence of bias or ill will.” Marsalis, 42, remains incarcerated at a state prison in Marienville. He’s eligible to apply for parole next year. If released, he’s expected to serve a 14-year prison sentence in Idaho for raping a lesbian in that state, according to court records. n
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PGN LOCAL
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Jan. 29 - Feb. 4, 2016
CHANGE from page 1
lot of great LGBT organizing going on, on the ground, there.” Roybal added that Philadelphia sits “in an important part of the country.” Pennsylvania has not hosted Creating Chance since 1998, when it came to Pittsburgh. Task Force representatives will hold a community information meeting in the spring to begin local organizing in Philadelphia and establish a host committee, Roybal said. Jason Landau Goodman, founding executive director of the Pennsylvania Youth Congress, said he looks forward to helping the conference in any way. “If folks really get involved, we can make the spirit of Philadelphia weave throughout the entire experience,” Landau Goodman said. “There’s a lot of grunt work that takes place with hosting this kind of large-scale conference. But Philadelphia has a unique spunk that should really be shining as an example of how we have civil discourse, how we have really progressive and honest community building.” That excitement extends to city government. “For decades, Philadelphia has been on the front lines of LGBT civil rights,” Mayor Jim Kenney said in a statement to PGN, noting that in recent years, “Philadelphia has grown into a city dedicated to inclusion and equality.” Kenney pointed to the November elections — in which voters supported amend-
ing the city charter to make permanent the city Office of LGBT Affairs — as a point of pride for Philadelphia’s national reputation. “I have been an advocate for equitable policies for our LGBT community for many years now,” Kenney continued, “and look forward to hosting this event.” Tami Sortman, vice president of the Philadelphia Gay Tourism Caucus, said Creating Change would showcase the dollar power of the LGBT community in Philadelphia, so it’s considered a “viable market.” “The best thing about it is it’s now being counted toward LGBT tourism coming into the city,” Sortman told PGN in September. She said the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau, which deals with conferences in the city, previously counted LGBT events as “diversity spending,” without breaking down the categories that also included money generated from women, African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans and Native Americans. “The more of these types of bigger groups that hold their meetings and conferences here, the better it is for the LGBT community in Philadelphia,” Sortman said. “I see this organization coming in here and bringing us together in a way we haven’t been before.” PGN attended the 2016 Creating Change conference in Chicago. For full coverage, visit www.epgn.com/special-editions/161-creating-change-2016. n
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PA activist on ‘terrifying experience’ of ‘pinkwashing’ protests By Paige Cooperstein paige@epgn.com Jason Landau Goodman walked into the reception room at the Chicago Hilton in the early evening, just after Shabbat services, on Jan. 22. “People are socializing,” he said. “Then you hear a growing rumbling outside. But the doors were very heavy. You could tell there were probably a lot of people out there. But I didn’t see anything that was going on outside.” The founding executive director of the Pennsylvania Youth Congress was already on edge because the Jewish attendees at Creating Change, the annual conference hosted by the National LGBTQ Task Force, had decided to break into groups for the religious services: one for anti-Zionists and one for anyone else. Landau Goodman attended the main service, at which, he said, attendees prayed for peace. “It feels so odd to be pro-Palestine or pro-Israel,” Landau Goodman said. “There are a huge number of people that just want peace.” About 200 people protested the reception, which was hosted by A Wider Bridge. The nonprofit works to build bridges between Israeli LGBT people and American-Jewish LGBT people. The group brought two leaders to speak from Jerusalem Open House, an LGBT community center. It was the first time in the 28-year history of Creating Change that a reception had protesters, said Rea Carey, executive director of the Task Force. More commonly, people protest plenary sessions with the majority of conference-goers in attendance. While most of the protesters stood outside the reception room, three sat in the back. As soon as the people from Jerusalem Open House began speaking, the three protesters rushed the stage. They spoke loudly to obscure what the Israelis were saying. The main complaint was “pinkwashing,” which is the claim that Israel promotes itself as LGBT-friendly to distract from poor treatment of people who identify as Palestinian or Arab-Israeli. Language quickly turned anti-Semitic, Landau Goodman said. “It was a terrifying experience on so many levels,” he said. “Rampant, violent anti-Semitism is so fresh in political and personal memory of many Jewish people. To be confined in a small room, being shouted at, ‘Death to Israel’ and ‘End the occupation,’ this has already traumatized people and I’m not even getting into politics.” Landau Goodman left through a back
door when he began to feel unsafe. Hilton staff called police to disperse the crowds, according to the Task Force. Chicago police told PGN there wasn’t a specific record of the incident. There would have been a notation if anyone were arrested, said Officer Ana Pacheco, police spokeswoman. The Task Force made several scheduling changes to the reception for A Wider Bridge in response to uproar from both sides of the issue. The week before Creating Change started, the Task Force cancelled the reception, but reinstated it a few days later. A dialogue session was also planned to precede the reception, but was cancelled due to requests from Jewish and Muslim groups, said Russell Roybal, deputy executive director of the Task Force. “They wanted us to be more intentional and not rush to have a conversation,” he said. “They wanted us to do the pre-work.” Carey issued a statement condemning anti-Semitism and the way the protest occurred. “Hate speech of any kind is unacceptable whether it’s directed at Jewish or Muslim people,” she said in the statement. “We are deeply concerned about how the events of the evening unfolded — and have already initiated a review of our conference practices.” Carey said the Task Force is considering improvements to conference inclusiveness and program content review; safety and security; and promoting conversation and peaceful protest. She noted conference infrastructure was established when it was a smaller event. Now over 4,000 people attend. “We will include in that review process consulting widely with leaders in different communities, supporters and stakeholders,” Carey said in the statement. For Landau Goodman, improved dialogue should prove a boon. He said he hoped to listen, learn and have a productive conversation at the Wider Bridge reception. “None of us are going to solve the Middle East crisis or Israeli-Palestinian conflict in a few hours at a conference, which is frankly a luxury for many people,” Landau Goodman said. “I would’ve loved to have seen us talk about a service project where we are helping send resources to people who are in need, whether Israeli or Palestinian.” He noted the people from Jerusalem Open House had recently experienced a terrorist attack on their Pride festival. “We could be doing so much more than protesting each other,” Landau Goodman said. n
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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Jan. 29 - Feb. 4, 2016
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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Jan. 29 - Feb. 4, 2016
EDITORIAL PGN
Creep of the Week
D’Anne Witkowski
Ben Carson
Editorial
Think before you speak There are many reasons New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie wouldn’t make a good president: his approach to education, that pesky “Bridgegate” scandal, his lessthan-stellar record on LGBT rights … But mainly, what he touts as his biggest asset — his capacity for “telling it like it is” (his actual slogan on his campaign website) — is, for us, his greatest downfall. On the campaign trail in New Hampshire this week, Christie cheekily responded to a question about why he wasn’t helping his home state clean up from this past weekend’s blizzard and ensuing flooding with, “Want me to go down there with a mop?” He went on to call the mayor of North Wildwood “crazy” for his reference to the storm being worse than Hurricane Sandy. In his eventual quasi-apology, Christie acknowledged he got “carried away” with those and other comments, saying sheepishly he often gets in trouble for his frank talking. It’s a tactic that fellow Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump also takes: characterizing his penchant for spouting whatever comes to the top of his head as his straight-talking. Both Christie and Trump shrug off their inability for reasoned and intentional thought before speaking as a pesky habit — one that seems to resonate with many Republican voters, who tout both candidates’ straight-forward or “no-nonsense” approaches. To us, Christie’s latest comments — and Trump’s laundry list of offensive and ignorant statements — aren’t emblematic of honesty or frankness. Instead, they’re evidence of a lack of basic reasoning and communication skills that should be present in the leader of the free world. Christie, Trump and other candidates use that deficit to play to the American public’s disdain for fast-talking or pandering politicians. They know that Americans want the truth from their leaders — but there’s a big difference between being forthright about facts and spewing offensive personal attacks, or bigoted and uninformed views. Many of us were taught from a young age to “think before you speak.” That’s a lesson that, unfortunately, seems to be willfully lost on some of our “leaders” today. n
Tell us what you think Send letters and opinion column submissions to: pgn@epgn.com; PGN, 505 S. Fourth St., Philadelphia, PA 19147; fax: 215-925-6437.
Please include a daytime phone number. Letters may be edited for clarity, style and space considerations.
Whether you call them “special rights” ple doing anything they or “extra rights,” it has long been the argument of the anti-gayers that what want to do.” LGBT people want goes above and So long as beyond the rights of “normal” people. they don’t It reminds me of that scene in “Willy want to get Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” when married, duh. Wonka gives each child an Everlasting “Everybody Gobstopper. Veruca Salt turns to Violet is equal, Beauregarde and shouts, “Hey! She’s got everybody two! I want another one!” has equal “Stop squawking, you twit!” Violet rights, but hollers back, holding up the single nobody gets Gobstopper in her hand. extra rights,” Meanwhile, Mr. Wonka is setting them Carson conup to lose the contest. He’s got the real tinues. “And when we start trying to power. But they’re too busy bickering impose the extra rights based on a few with each other to notice. people who perhaps are abnormal, where It’s a pretty good depiction of does that lead?” After all, Carson adds, Republican politics, actually. If you can gay people already have freedom of assomake people believe they’re being ripped ciation. off by their neighbors, it’s pretty easy “If gay people wanna have an associto distract them and get them to vote ation, they can have an association,” he says. “If they wanna have legal docuagainst their own interests. Like when Republicans convince married heterosex- ments created so they can have visitation rights and share propuals that gays and leserty, they can have that bians don’t just want In other words, homos done. Without disturbthe right to marry, they want to destroy ing the whole system.” and trannies, you’re all the entire institution. In other words, Before marriage equal- a bunch of freaks. And homos and trannies, ity came along, it was you’re all a bunch of for that, you not only a common argument And for that, deserve to be discrimi- freaks. that lesbians and gays you not only deserve nated against, but you had the same right to be discriminated to marry as everyone against, but you should should be thankful for else, so long as it was be thankful for having having any rights at all! any rights at all! Now to someone of the opposite sex. stop disturbing the per Which brings us to today’s squawking fectly happy heterosexual system. twit, Ben Carson. “We are absolutely destroying our In a recent interview, host Matthew selves because we are paying attention to Franck asks Carson, “What will you do political correctness,” Carson continues. as president to guarantee that federal “You know, our time is running out. If we funding will not be used to force school don’t stand up for principles now and we districts to require girls to shower with get a progressive [president] and they get boys?” two or three Supreme Court picks, say “You see how silly this is. It’s beyond goodbye to America.” ridiculous that you take the most abnor And hello to Gaymerica! Where everything’s coming up roses and there’s no mal situation and then you make everybusiness like show business! And Ethel one else conform to it,” Carson replies. He continues, “So, you know, boys Merman is on the $10 bill, obviously. who say, ‘I feel like a girl today, I wanna Oh, and where opposite-sex couples go in the girls’ lavatory,’ that is such a can’t get married, per se, but are welbunch of garbage.” come to try to cobble together some sort Got it. Transgender kids are garbage. of legal relationship at a lawyer’s office. Also, Carson has no understanding of Have fun with your freedom of associawhat a transgender kid is. And he’s got tion. Because if it was good enough for another guy, just as clueless, asking him the gays, surely it’ll be good enough for to protect Americans from all of these you. n boys trying to pull a fast one so that they D’Anne Witkowski has been gay for pay can see girls in their underwear. since 2003. She’s a freelance writer and poet “That’s one of the very reasons that (believe it!). When she’s not taking on the I have been an outspoken opponent of creeps of the world, she reviews rock and things like gay marriage,” Carson says. roll shows in Detroit with her twin sister and “I don’t have any problem with gay peoteaches writing at the University of Michigan.
OP-ED PGN
Calling out insensitive, anti-Semitic protest It is so unsafe that the group fighting for When I was a boy of 13, my grandPalestinian queer rights is located in Israel. mother took me to my first civil-rights Why? The Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip demonstration to teach me about racism has declared homosexuality punishable by and social justice. She knew those issues death. Hamas co-founder Mahmoud al-Zawell: Our family fled from the pogroms in Russia, others in our family perished in the har has said, “You in the West do not live like human beings. You do not even live Holocaust and Grandmom even fought for like animals. You accept homosexuality. women’s rights. And now you criticize us?” On that day, I marched with Cecil B. I’ve visited and written about the region Moore and Robert N.C. Nix. Five years on many occasions. In fact, I spent time later, in 1969, I’d be a member of New with the first out LGBT organiYork’s Gay Liberation Front zation in Beirut, writing about and, in the name of justice, we’d lesbian women in Jordan and march with The Black Panthers the oppression in Egypt, among to free Angela Davis from her other topics. I know the peoarrest and detention, chanting ple on both sides well. I was “Hey hey, ho ho, House of D embraced in Beirut and spit on [New York’s Women’s House in Jerusalem. of Detention] has to go.” But I was at Creating Change to last week, when I heard LGBT speak about my just-published activists at the National LGBTQ memoir, which speaks of my Task Force’s Creating Change numerous arrests and nickel conference in Chicago using rides fighting for social juspart of that slogan against our tice. In many of the cities on own community, it was a sad my book tour, a young LGBT day. And it sickened me to the person asks, “What can we do pit of my stomach. Mark Segal today to create activism?” So I Creating Change is the largappreciate many in that crowd est gathering of LGBT activat the protest who were there wanting to ists across the nation. Typically, all issues do something. Unfortunately, they weren’t affecting our communities are discussed, with people being able to agree to disagree given the facts. They were misled into what became an ugly anti-Semitic rally. with respect. But a major controversy happened this year. And what usually is and The first question we should ask protest organizers is: If you’re suggesting a should be a place for dialogue became boycott of Israel because of non-LGBT unsafe. This incident was at the very least issues, why not speak out about Palestine’s insincere, and at its worst anti-Semitic. antigay laws? Why not explain that many A Wider Bridge, which promotes ties between LGBT Americans and Israel, was LGBT people have had to escape antigay scheduled to have a reception at Creating violence in Palestine? If you were fair, Change. But some conference particithe position should be boycott both, but pants complained about an event featuring instead you single out one. And that one a group with ties with Israel. Presto, the place has become a safe haven for LGBT Task Force cancelled the event. This led Palestinians. That is anti-Semitism, with a to a debate about anti-Semitism, apartdose of self-hatred. Supporting those who heid and political correctness. Eventually, wish LGBT people — us — dead is the conference organizers did the right thing definition of self-hatred. The next question to ask protesters is and reinstated the session. After all, this even simpler: Why are you not protesting conference was about “creating change,” the anti-LGBT position of the Palestinian and change occurs with communication. state? Do you approve of the draconian However, the event led opponents of Israel laws of Putin’s Russia, or those of Uganda? to protest; such protesters essentially urge Palestine is equally as, if not more so, antipeople to boycott any LGBT event relating to Israel, not due to its LGBT laws, but gay as those countries. Then there’s the issue of racism. That because of how it treats Palestinians. They same term has been used to describe our use terms like “apartheid” and “racism.” country by the “Black Lives Matter” effort. Here’s what they don’t state. While Israel is welcoming to LGBT people, Have you called for an international boyPalestinian law criminalizes homosexualcott of the United States? No, you single ity. If you call the Palestinian Authority at out one entity: Israel, the Jewish State. the UN Office and ask about LGBT rights, Yes, “Jewish.” We all know why Israel as I did, you’ll be treated to hang-ups (first was created, as a safe haven for Jews. We call), laughter and a “Don’t you underalso know how Palestinians have fought stand our culture?” question (second call) Israel, at times suggesting it be wiped off and finally, “We don’t talk about that.” A the face of the earth, along with its people, fourth call offered a phone number in the the Jews. Yasser Arafat coined that into a Palestinian state for me to call. slogan: “From the [Jordan] River to the The protesters want us to support Sea.” To Jews, that slogan represents exterpeople who laugh at and criminalmination. Now, imagine being a Jew in a ize us. They don’t explain that LGBT room with 200 people outside banging on Palestinians escape to Israel for protection. the doors yelling that slogan, or wrapping
Mark My Words
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Jan. 29 - Feb. 4, 2016
11
Street Talk Does Kathryn Knott deserve jail time for her involvement in the 2014 Center City gay-bashing incident? "Incarceration would make an example out of her. However, it wouldn't rehabilitate her. She needs lots of Sonja Bontrager sensitivity musician training, Lawncrest and years of court-ordered therapy. She obviously has some issues to work out. Hopefully, she manages to do that with professional help."
"No. It's horrific what she did. But closedminded people don't change. They don't benefit from jail time, Emily O’Connell they just get digital marketer worse. She Allentown should be required to attend sensitivity training. That would be better than going to jail. Once she got out, she would just do the same thing."
"Yes. She shouldn't get off with a slap on the wrist. She needs to understand that you can't go around assaulting Amanda Raheb people for student holding Holmdel, N.J. hands. A few months of incarceration would be appropriate."
"Send her to the women's prison on State Road for a week. It won't be fun. It wouldn't hurt her. But it would teach her a Steven Toll lesson: not financial consultant to mess with Chinatown other people. She needs to suffer some consequences for her actions."
a Palestinian flag over the head of a Jew trying to make his way into the room. That is what happened in Chicago. Windy City Times did a great job of capturing most of the demonstration on video (ow.ly/XByz1). Many of us would gladly protest Israeli treatment of Palestinians — I myself support a Palestinian state, the so-called “twostate solution” — but that is different than supporting the Palestinian government that wants you put to death if you’re LGBT and live on the Gaza Strip. But trapping Jews in a room yelling what is as close to a death slogan as there is … Does that conjure something? Look up “Kristallnacht.” Insensitive at the very least. It’s great to see this generation wanting to protest injustice, but they need to understand the issues and the lessons of our early fight for equality. Fight first for our community’s rights, since if we do not, nobody else will. LGBT Palestinians can’t speak out in their homeland, and your protests only embolden those who keep them from speaking out. The Task Force acknowledged its mishandling of the situation and said it will
work to prevent future incidents. While they may have been unprepared, protest organizers are the ones who need to apologize — not just to those in that room who were forced to leave through a back door for safety, but to the entire LGBT community for their insensitivity and for supporting those who support our oppression. The term these individuals use is “pinkwashing.” From this time on, pinkwashing equals self-hating anti-Semites. We members of Gay Liberation Front have varied views on Israel and Palestine, but one thing we would never do is act with such insensitivity and suggest support for those who wish to put LGBT people to death or eradicate an entire race of people. Shame on you! n Mark Segal, PGN publisher, is the nation’s most-awarded commentator in LGBT media. His memoir, “And Then I Danced: Traveling the Road to LGBT Equality,” is available online or at your favorite bookseller. You can follow him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MarkSegalPGN or Twitter at twitter.com/PhilaGayNews.
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PGN
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Jan. 29 - Feb. 4, 2016
INFORMATION STATEMENT ON ACCESS TO THE ELECTION PROCESS FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES IN THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA Special Election March 15, 2016 In accordance with Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the Voter Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act of 1984, the City of Philadelphia does not discriminate against people with disabilities in providing access to its election process. According to these federal laws, the City of Philadelphia is required to ensure that its election process as a whole is accessible to people with disabilities in all elections. This means that polling places shall be accessible to people with disabilities to the extent that accessible locations are available within each election district. The City Commissioners designates and lists polling place accessibility in varying degrees. Polling places that fully meet all federal and state criteria are designated with an “F” for fully accessible building and an “H” for handicapped parking. If a polling place location does not fully meet these federal and state criteria but provides relative accessibility with minor assistance in entry then that location will be designated with a “B” for substantial accessibility. If a fully accessible location, that meets all federal and state criteria (designated as “FH”), is not available for a polling place in your election Division, voting accessibility will be provided through the use of an Alternative Ballot in accordance with directives issued by the Secretary of the Commonwealth. If you are a registered voter who is disabled or age 65 or older and who is not assigned to a polling place that has been designated as “FH”, you are qualified to vote using an Alternative Ballot. ONLY THE FOLLOWING WARDS AND DIVISIONS POLLING PLACES HAVE BEEN DESIGNATED AS “FH” OR FULLY ACCESSIBLE. IF YOU ARE A REGISTERED VOTER IN ANY ELECTION DISTRICT IN PHILADELPHIA, EXCEPT FOR THOSE LISTED BELOW, AND YOU ARE DISABLED OR AGE 65 OR OLDER YOU ARE ELIGIBLE TO VOTE FROM HOME USING AN ALTERNATIVE BALLOT OR AT CITY HALL ROOM 142 ON ELELCTION DAY USING AN EMERGENCY ALTERNATIVE BALLOT:
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DECLARACIÓN DE INFORMACIÓN SOBRE EL ACCESO AL PROCESO DE ELECCIONES PARA LAS PERSONAS CON DISCAPACIDADES EN LA CIUDAD DE FILADELFIA
Elección Especial, 15 de marzo de 2016
De acuerdo con el Título II de la Ley de Americanos con Discapacidades de 1990 y la Ley de Accesibilidad de Votante para los Ancianos y los Discapacitados de 1984, la Ciudad de Filadelfia no discrimina a la gente con discapacidades al suministrar acceso para el proceso de elecciones. Según estas leyes federales, se requiere que la Ciudad de Filadelfia asegure que su proceso de elecciones en conjunto sea accesible a la gente con discapacidades en todas las elecciones. Esto significa que los sitios de votación serán accesibles a los discapacitados de tal manera que haya locaciones accesibles disponibles dentro de cada distrito electoral.
Los Comisionados de la Ciudad designan y enumeran la accesibilidad de los lugares de votación en grados variables. Los sitios de votación que cumplen en su totalidad con los criterios federales y estatales son designados con una "F" que indica que es un edificio totalmente accesible, y con una "H" que indica que hay estacionamiento para discapacitados.
Si un logar de votación no cumple en su totalidad con estos criterios federales y estatales, pero provee accesibilidad relativa con una pequeña ayuda en la entrada, entonces ese logar será designado con una "B" que indica que tiene una accesibilidad substancial. Si no hay disponible un lugar totalmente accesible, que cumpla con todos los criterios federales y estatales (designados como “FH”), como sitio de votación en su División de elección, la accesibilidad para votar será proporcionada mediante el uso de una Boleta Alternativa de acuerdo con las directrices expedidas por el Secretario del Estado.
Si usted es un votante registrado, que es discapacitado o tiene 65 años de edad o más, y no se le ha asignado un lugar de votación que haya sido designado como “FH”, entonces cumple con los requisitos para votar mediante una Boleta Alternativa.
SÓLO LOS CENTROS DE VOTACIÓN DE LOS DISTRITOS Y LAS DIVISIONES ELECTORALES QUE SE MENCIONAN A CONTINUACIÓN SE HAN DESIGNADO COMO “FH” O TOTALMENTE ACCESIBLES. SI USTED ES UN VOTANTE REGISTRADO EN CUALQUIER DISTRITO ELECTORAL DE FILADELPHIA, SALVO EN AQUELLOS QUE SE ENUMERAN A CONTINUACIÓN, Y ES DISCAPACITADO O MAYOR DE 65 AÑOS, CUMPLE CON LOS REQUISITOS PARA VOTAR DESDE SU HOGAR MEDIANTE UNA BOLETA ALTERNATIVA O EN LA SALA 142 DEL AYUNTAMIENTO EL DÍA DE LA ELECCIÓN MEDIANTE UNA BOLETA ALTERNATIVA DE EMERGENCIA:
ESTE AVISO ESTA SUJECTA A CAMBIOS. PARA OBTENER INFORMACION ACTUALIZADA IR A
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Es posible obtener una Boleta Alternativa para cualquier elección, a través de una petición por adelantado de una Solicitud de Boleta Alternativa. En Filadelfia se puede pedir una Boleta Alternativa en la solicitud corriente de Boleta para Votar en Ausencia, señalando la casilla de “Discapacitado, 65 años de edad o mayor y a quien se le ha asignado un lugar de votación inaccesible”. Las solicitudes se pueden obtener en la Junta de Elecciones del Condado en Sala 142, del Ayuntamiento o llamando al teléfono (215) 686-3469 VOICE, o por TTY/TDD (Teletipo/Aparato de Telecomunicación para Sordos) a través del AT&T Relay System. Los usuarios de TDD pueden utilizar este servicio llamando al 1-800-654-5984 e informándole al asistente de comunicaciones que desean hablar con la Oficina de Elecciones de Pensilvania en el (717) 7875280. Las Solicitudes de Boleta Alternativa deben enviarse por correo a la Junta de Elecciones del Condado a más tardar siete días antes de la elección. Las Boletas Alternativas deben devolverse a la Junta de Elecciones del Condado a más tardar al momento del cierre de las urnas,a las 8:00 p.m. del Día de Elecciones. Además, los electores registrados con discapacidades pueden pedir una Solicitud de Boleta Alternativa de Emergencia y depositar la boleta personalmente en la Junta de Elecciones del Condado, en sala 142, del Ayuntamiento, hasta el momento del cierre de elecciones durante el Día de Elecciones. Ademas, la Ciudad proporcionará materiales de inscripción en letras grandes en cada instalación de inscripción, y suministrará las instrucciones en letras grandes sobre cómo votar en cada sitio de votación. Si tiene alguna pregunta sobre sus derechos o sobre las obligaciones de la Ciudad según estas leyes, o si necesita ayuda para determinar si su lugar de votación cumple en su totalidad con los criterios federales y estatales, comuníquese con la Oficina de Cumplimiento con la Accesibilidad, o la Junta de Elecciones del Condado. Oficina del Comisionado de la Ciudad City Hall, Philadelphia, PA 19107
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PGN LIBERTY from page 1
Williams; assistant district attorney and chief of the Central Division Bureau Michael Barry; special advisor to the district attorney Michael Weiss; and Deputy Commissioner Myron Patterson, who filled in for Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross, who was unable to attend the forum due to last-minute scheduling conflicts. Barry prosecuted the defendants in the 2014 gay-bashing case, in which gay couple Zachary Hesse and Andrew Haught was attacked in Center City by Bucks County residents Kevin Harrigan, Philip Williams and Kathryn Knott. Barry responded to community concerns about the plea deals offered to Harrigan and Williams. “We’re bound by rules of criminal procedure,” Barry said, referring to the popular opinion that the defendants’ sentencing was “a little too lenient.” Barry told Liberty City members he was involved in the case since the beginning, and said the several weeks it took to bring Knott, Harrigan and Williams in for arraignment is one that is “common in the city of Philadelphia.” “It actually isn’t unusual,” he said. “There are reasons why we aren’t out in the community, discussing investigations every step of the way. If stuff gets out to the press, it could taint what witnesses know, what witnesses say and cause defendants to act in a manner to try and avoid prosecution.” Barry said both Hesse and Haught were in a positive position to identify their attackers. There were at least four eyewitnesses police interviewed — one who saw the fight from a nearby building and several others who saw the incident as or after it happened. Barry said not every person in the defendants’ group — about 15 people — participated in the altercation. Witnesses said around 10 members of the group stood back and didn’t get involved. The three who were arrested were the ones investigators had credible evidence were involved, he added. “We can’t just have a feeling that someone was involved,” he said. Barry said the incident changed the lives of Hesse and Haught, who had asked for the case not to go to trial. “They were pretty adamant for a number of reasons. Every time there was another detail about the
case, they had six or seven reporters outside of their house,” he said. “They are very private people and were really concerned about going through it all and what would happen.” Harrigan and Williams accepted plea deals in the fall. Harrigan pleaded guilty to simple assault and conspiracy and was sentenced to three years’ reporting probation, 200 hours of community service at an LGBT organization and restitution of $314. Williams pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and conspiracy and was sentenced to five years’ reporting probation, 200 hours of community service to be carried out at an LGBT organization and restitution of $627. Both are also prohibited from entering Center City Philadelphia throughout the duration of their probation. Barry said attorneys for the pair contacted his office saying they’re having difficulty finding an LGBT organization in Bucks County to perform their community service. He asked audience members for suggestions and said, if a venue in Bucks County can’t be located, allowances will be made for a Philadelphia site. Knott chose to take her case to trial and was convicted of simple assault, conspiracy and two counts of reckless endangerment. She is free on bail until her Feb. 8 sentencing. Concern over race in this and other cases were raised, with Liberty City members questioning if the outcome for Knott, Williams and Harrigan would have been different if the case involved people of color or inner-city residents. Williams said he recognizes that violence toward the LGBT community is not just a Center City issue. Barry added he is confident that the case’s handling and Knott’s verdict were race-neutral. Weiss, a member of Liberty City and former treasurer for the organization, talked about the strides the city has taken to protect all LGBT citizens, which was greeted with some criticism from Liberty City members. “How many of the panelists speak Spanish?” asked one member. “The Latino community and LGBTQ Latinos are not represented.” Williams added he has Spanish-speaking individuals in his office. For more information on Liberty City LGBT Democratic Club, visit www.libertycity.org. n
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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Jan. 29 - Feb. 4, 2016
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Obituary Tommy Howell, 68, A.C. bartender By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com Tommy Howell, a former bartender at Atlantic City LGBT establishments, died earlier this month at age 68. Howell was diagnosed with cancer in October and died Jan. 2. A native of Williamstown, N.J., Howell lived in Clementon, N.J., with his partner of 29 years, Tom Callahan. Howell spent decades in the nightlife industry, serving as a bartender at Atlantic City gay bars Lark Inn and Rendezvous throughout the 1970s and ’80s, Callahan said. Howell’s outgoing, affable nature made him a natural fit for the industry, said his partner. “He was a nice people person,” Callahan said. “He loved people.” Howell’s ability to communicate well also played into their own relationship, Callahan added. “We kept everything open with each other, no secrets,” he said about the root of their longevity. His partner’s generosity was also apparent to all who knew him, Callahan said. “He loved everyone and would do anything to help someone who needed it,” he said.
In addition to Callahan, Howell is survived by brother Gary Howell; sisters Barbra Sapello and Patricia Forrest; several stepbrothers and stepsisters; and numerous nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents, Thomas and Stella, and stepmother Concetta Gregorio-Howell. A private funeral was held earlier this month, and Howell was buried in St. Mary’s Cemetery in Williamstown. n
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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Jan. 29 - Feb. 4, 2016
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For the records: Music critic pens soulful memoir By Larry Nichols larry@epgn.com Out writer and music critic Rashod Ollison dives deep into the past with his new memoir, “Soul Serenade: Rhythm, Blues, & Coming of Age Through Vinyl,” in which he chronicles growing up as a young gay black man in the projects of central Arkansas during the 1980s and ’90s. With a father who wasn’t always in the picture and a tough mother and grandmother running the household, Ollison took refuge in the soul and R&B music of the day, which influenced his outlook on life and his queer sexuality. Ollison said he didn’t plan on writing his memoir but was inspired by some trying times in his adult life. “I was working my way through a depression when I started it,” he said. “I had just moved to the Virginia Beach area. I was lonely and had just went through a breakup that was pretty bad. It had stirred up some abandonment issues. I though the best way to tackle that was to go back and deal with some issues from my childhood. But the idea for the book had been whirling around in my head for at least 10 years.” Ollison said he initially planned to tap into those experiences for a novel, not a memoir, but the latter eventually emerged during the process. “In a lot of ways writing it was emotionally liberating. All of the resentment and stuff that I had been holding onto for so long just melted away because I had a keener understanding of what was going on with my family,” he said. Ollison’s circumstances might have been unique, but he said readers from all walks of life have been able to relate to his life story. “It’s very culturally specific to central Arkansas in the 1980s and ’90s, but you’re looking at a group of traumatized people and the only way they know how to love each other is to keep each other alive,” he said. “They fumble and they do a lot of dysfunctional stuff. What pushes the story is the sense of resilience that is there. Anybody can relate to that. People who grew up in central Arkansas may recall some of the cultural touchstones that were there, but people from all over the place have been able to relate to it.” One misconception he does find is that
many people think Arkansas is all country. “Most people think of Arkansas as rural but central Arkansas at that time was very much an urban area,” he said. “It’s going to be a different experience when people read it. People think Arkansas was this rural place with people sitting on porches and picking greens out of the garden. You had that but it was very much still a city with a lot of city problems, gang violence being one of them.” By the time Ollison reached his teenage years it was the 1990s and the popular music of the day was going in a darker, more misogynistic direction, which is why he gravitated more toward classic R&B. Ollison said hip-hop and R&B are still trying to work their way back from that place. “A lot of the music that we heard, the gangster rap and Snoop Dogg, gang violence was so huge in Little Rock that it was the ubiquitous soundtrack,” he said. “It was such a powerful part of that e r a . Now 2 0
years later we have movies like ‘Straight Outta Compton’ that has a sentimental look at what that era was like but it was very dark. I think that we maybe a r e still reeling
from that and trying to find a way where the music can get back to a way of expressing pain and vulnerability that isn’t so much about posturing and hiding behind this hyper-masculine mask. It is still there but not in the way that it was in the 1990s. It’s become this navel-gazing narcissistic stuff that we see in the music of Drake. Now hip-hop feels much more narcissistic and harmless in a way.” He added that younger generations of music fans have an easier time finding music that resonates with them compared to when he was a kid. “I would assume that there is some little gay boy that is listening to Beyoncé or Rihanna and maybe sees something in those artists that I saw in Aretha Franklin and Chaka Kahn,” he said. PAGE 16
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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Jan. 29 - Feb. 4, 2016
MUSIC CRITIC from page 15
“For me, that music that I was listening to wasn’t of my generation. It was the music of my parents. I heard it so much that I adopted it as my own. I was coming of age in the ’90s so it was grunge, gangster rap and Mary J. Blige. Some of that music is in the book and it did influence me in a way. I think what is different now is that young people today have a wide variety that they can choose from. They have immediate access to all types of music online. They might not even relate to stuff on the pop charts. So the music for young people now is so infinite, so it’s hard to tell.” While there are certainly more openly LGBT music artists for fans to latch onto these days, Ollison said their presence back when he was growing up probably wouldn’t have made much of an impact on him and his tastes in music. “Frank Ocean is cool but he never really just came out,” he said. “It’s always been assumed. I don’t think it would have helped me. I was drawn to artists
whose emotionality and music was so bare and so raw. It didn’t matter to me that they were gay or identified as such. I was just drawn to the strength that they embodied in the music. I wanted to be as strong as they sounded. It wasn’t that I wanted to emulate them but there was a strength that I heard in their music that was part of their whole gospel sound that was very much a part of my life. As far as finding a role model in popular culture, at the time there wasn’t
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much for me. If there had been someone, I probably wouldn’t [have gravitated towards them], unless their music was emotionally as naked as Chaka Kahn or Bobby Womack. I do remember finding Sylvester records in high school and not knowing what to think of that but liking the music. That connected to the camp and glam of disco that I liked. But I don’t know if I would have been attracted to a Frank Ocean at
that point if he were around then.” To give readers some depth to the experience of reading his memoir, Ollison has created a Spotify playlist of songs mentioned in his book to function as the soundtrack to his story. “That was an idea I had after I finished the book,” he said. “I thought that, with a story so steeped in music, that there should be some accessibility to the music so maybe you could go online and listen. Some of the artists from that era a lot of people are familiar with, like Aretha Franklin and Michael Jackson. But most of the songs I’ve chosen are not the big hits that everyone knows from them; they’re B-sides and cuts that didn’t make the pop charts. I thought it would just give more of a flavor and feel for what the era was like and the music that I was hearing.” n Rashod Ollison hosts a reading 6:30 p.m. at Philly AIDS Thrift @ Giovanni’s Room, 345 S. 12th St. For more information, visit www.queerbooks.com or www. rashodollison.com.
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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Jan. 29 - Feb. 4, 2016
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Suzi Nash
Kate Hinchey: Academics, activism and Adele Kate Hinchey is no slouch. Activist, student, caregiver and world traveler are just some of the titles she holds. PGN: You have had quite an academic career: Temple, Penn, Bryn Mawr … KH: I actually started my academic career at Chestnut Hill College outside of Philadelphia, which is where my mother attended. But I transferred home after my first year to work as a kindergarten teacher’s assistant and then I transferred to Temple University and, while I was in my first year at Temple, my dad had a stroke. So I dropped out of school to go home and take care of him and work full-time to help support my family. I ended up at CCP because the family that I nannied for came home one day and said, “You need to go back to school and we are going to change our schedules to be able to help you do it.” So it was Kate and Harsh who made it possible for me to go back to school and then get a scholarship to Bryn Mawr. It was a long route. PGN: Wow. Well that must make you a little more relatable for the kids you work with, to know you didn’t come from an Ivy League silver spoon. KH: Yeah, well I’m at Bryn Mawr right now finishing my degree. I got a merit-based full scholarship for non-traditional students. The youth there are quite different from the other types of youth I’ve worked with. It’s a bit of an ivory tower and they really don’t want to talk about my activist experience or my life experience. They’re on a four-year set track and don’t have room for anything or anyone that deviates from that. It gives me a lot of insight about how the people with the power see the people on the ground who are actually doing the activist work that’s going to change the world. Especially the gay youth in Philly, they have no idea. They never leave Bryn Mawr. PGN: I hear you. I grew up in Radnor and it killed me how many of my peers had never once been to Philadelphia even though we were 20 minutes away. They had money but had never been to a play or gone to a museum. KH: Yes, they call it the “Bryn Mawr bubble.” It’s funny, I went the whole first semester without anyone knowing that I was queer or anything about me or the work I’ve been involved with. But I grew up down at the shore and we had the Radnor shoobies in the summer so it wasn’t as much of a culture shock as it might have been. PGN: What is a shoobie? KH: [Laughs] It’s a sort of derogatory term that locals in South Jersey used to describe tourists. The story that I was told
is that in the ’20s, when the trains were popular, people would come from Philly and bring their lunch in shoeboxes, which they would leave scattered on the beaches. PGN: Where did you grow up? KH: Cape May Court House, which, with 17 letters and four words, is the longest town name in the country. It’s exciting, we were a “Jeopardy” question once. I went to Middle Township High School, but the closest beaches to me are Stone Harbor and Avalon. I have a really big family and they all live down here so I grew up with tons of cousins and my grandparents close by. I have two younger brothers who also still live down here. PGN: What’s something you and your brothers liked to do at the beach? KH: When I was about 9, my mother stopped waitressing during the summers so we got to spend a lot of time with her. During the year, she was a teacher so during the summer we went to the beach every day. We used to have big competitions making drippy castles. That’s where you dig down to the really wet sand and drip it out of your hands, drop by drop, to make these castles with nasty, muddy-looking spires, but we thought they were cool. My dad had a boat too, so we were always out on that. PGN: You’ve worked a lot with kids. Tell me something fun about that. KH: Yes, first as a kindergarten teacher’s assistant, that was the year I came out. That was fun. My mom taught at the same school and her class was right across from mine. I found out that she knew I was gay when I got a call from a friend’s mom who said, “Your mom knows.” I was like, “She knows I missed my car payment?” “No, that you’re gay!” It was just as I was walking into my classroom to start the day. I was also lucky to work as a nanny and my longest position was with a little boy named Emil. I was his nanny from the time he was 3 months old until he was 2. I’m still close to his family, and his parents were really supportive. They always supported and allowed time for my LGBT activism. I would take him to the Dyke March and even made him a little shirt that said, “I love my dyke nanny,” which he wore. He calls me Kiki and he called the march the Kiki and Amber [Hikes] parade. One of the best things his mom ever said to me was when I was thanking her for sending me back to school and always being so supportive — because I’d worked in nanny positions where I wasn’t out — and for loving me. And she responded, “Katie, Emil doesn’t love you in spite of who you are, he loves you because of it.” Sorry, it still makes me cry thinking about it. It was such a revelation
that this child, this being that I had such a deep connection with, didn’t have to think of me as straight or gay, and that my being open with him was going to influence the way he sees the world. There are a lot of kids growing up like that now where it’s no big deal and it gives me a lot of hope. PGN: What influence were your parents? KH: They both were and are amazing parents. My mom got sick when I was pretty young, so my dad and I spent a lot of time learning how to be caretakers and I got to see a sweet and caring side to my dad. My dad worked in the casinos as a floor supervisor until the economy went bust and they fired all the people who weren’t union, so he started selling antiques on eBay. Then when I was 20, my dad had a stroke and lost the entire right side of his brain so my mom is now the caregiver, along with my brothers. They have shown me what it really truly means to be loyal. She’s endured so much pain. It’s hard to see someone you love become a totally
different person and try to figure out a new relationship with that person. I was never told by either of them that I couldn’t do something because of my gender or any other reason. I was told from birth that there wasn’t anything I couldn’t accomplish if I wanted to. [Laughs] As long as I didn’t talk back to them. My grandparents also had a big part in raising me. They always treated me like an adult and were my biggest supporters. It gave me the agency to make my own decisions.
PGN: When did you leave the shore area? KH: I got to study abroad when I was in high school, which was really cool. I was in England, and I moved to Philly nine years ago to go to Chestnut Hill College. PGN: What was your first impression about England? KH: Everything was so small! I saw one of those three-wheeled Smart cars and was like, What is this!? PGN: And you also worked in Europe. KH: Yes, this past summer I worked in France as an international development and communications associate. It was amazing — my work, travel and living expenses were fully funded by grants from Haverford College Center for Peace and Global Citizenship, Bryn Mawr College Sociology Department Pollack Fund and the Bryn Mawr College Dean’s Office. Do you know Matty Hart? He founded Spiral Q Puppets but he’s now living in Paris. Through my work at William Way, they hooked me up with an internship with Matty in France. PGN: One of the things you worked on in France was the Young Feminist Fund. Do you consider yourself a feminist and has it become a dirty word in France like it seems to be here? KH: I absolutely am. As for the French, it’s complicated; they don’t have the same sort of identity politics that we do. Also, we were based in Paris, but the work was with organizations in the global South and East. It was a cool program and interesting to hear Matty and others talk about the very real issues happening in those countries and how they were impacted by what we do. For instance, President Obama went to Kenya and other African countries and he made some very pro-gay Photo: Suzi Nash comments about the treatment of LGBT people in those countries, which we applauded and thought was wonderful, but the result was that the governments turned on the activists and targeted them for causing trouble and, within a day or two, a bunch of activist groups had to take down any social-media presence and found themselves in real danger. A number of the groups we were funding had to shut down and go into hiding. It was pretty PAGE 23
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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Jan. 29 - Feb. 4, 2016
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT PGN LISTINGS
Theater & Arts Art of the Zo: Textiles from Myanmar, India and Bangladesh Philadelphia Museum of Art presents an exhibition offering a look at beautiful woven textiles of the Zo people of Myanmar, India and Bangladesh, through March 20, 26th Street and the Parkway; 215-7638100.
Photography — scottdrakephotos@gmail.com
Ballet Hispanico Dance Affiliates and the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts present the contemporary Latin dance company Feb. 5-6 at Zellerbach Theatre, 3680 Walnut St.; 215898-3900. Brahms and His Legacy The Philadelphia Orchestra performs Feb. 4-6 at Kimmel’s Verizon Hall, 260 S. Broad St.; 215-790-5847. Drawn from Courtly India: The Conley Harris and Howard Truelove Collection Philadelphia Museum of Art presents an exhibition of masterful drawings from the royal courts of northern India through March 27, 26th Street and the Parkway; 215-7638100. Exit Strategy Philadelphia Theatre Company presents the story of a dilapidated public school in Chicago targeted for closure, and the power struggles that ensue among the faculty and students desperate to keep
WINTER WONDERLAND: Edgy dance company Brian Sanders’ JUNK hosts its biggest-ever SNOWBALL — its annual fundraising extravaganza — 7 p.m. Jan. 30 at Union Transfer, 1026 Spring Garden St. For more information or tickets, call 215-232-2100.
it open, through Feb. 28 at Suzanne Roberts Theatre, 480 S. Broad St.; 215-985-0420. A Farewell to Vienna The Philadelphia Orchestra performs three legendary works exemplifying the rich heritage of the musical capital through Jan. 30 at Kimmel’s Verizon Hall, 260 S. Broad St.; 215-790-5847. FUNNYMAN Arden Theatre Company presents the story of an aging comic who is forced to adapt to the changing tastes and times in post-war America through March 6, 40 N. Second St.; 215-922-1122. Harvey Walnut Street Theatre presents the classic Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy about a man with an unwavering friendship with a 6-foot-tall invis-
ible white rabbit through March 6, 825 Walnut St.; 215-574-3550. A Moon For the Misbegotten Walnut Street Theatre presents the story set on a barren patch of land in 1923, where two lost souls find hope under a lover’s moon, through Feb. 7 at Independence Studio on 3, 825 Walnut St.; 215574-3550. Multitude, Solitude: The Photographs of Dave Heath Philadelphia Museum of Art presents an exhibition of the acclaimed photog-
rapher’s black-andwhite pictures of the 1950s and ’60s through Feb. 21, 26th Street and the Parkway; 215-7638100. Picture This: Contemporary Photography and India Philadelphia Museum of Art presents the work of four contemporary photographers for whom India is an important subject or setting through April 3, 26th Street and the Parkway; 215-7638100. Pet Cemetery The Stephen King horror film is screened 8 p.m.
Notices Send notices at least one week in advance to: Out & About Listings, PGN, 505 S. Fourth St., Philadelphia, PA 19147 fax: 215-925-6437; or e-mail: listings@epgn.com. Notices cannot be taken over the phone.
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT PGN LISTINGS
club 9 p.m. Jan. 29 at Tabu, 200 S. 12th St.; 215-9649675. LEZ-RYDAH TEMPER hosts an all-women mechanical bull-riding party 9 p.m.-3 a.m. Jan. 29 at Park Avenue Banquet Hall, 4942 Parkside Ave.; www.thugdivaz.eventbrite.com. YoGay: Gay Men’s Yoga Stretch out 4-6 p.m. Jan. 30 at Duross & Langel, 117 S. 13th St.; 215-735-7075. PURVEYOR OF FINE JOKES: Out comedian, writer and actor Cameron Esposito brings her unique wit to the city when her comedy tour comes through town 8 p.m. Jan. 31 at the Trocadero Theatre, 1003 Arch St. For more information and tickets, call 215-922-6888.
Feb. 1 at the Trocadero Theatre, 1003 Arch St.; 215-922-6888. Plays of/for a Respirateur Philadelphia Museum of Art presents an installation by Joseph Kosuth that includes a selection of his work, along with a group of seminal works by Marcel Duchamp, through fall, 26th Street and the Parkway; 215-7638100. Strength and Longing The Pennsylvania Ballet performs a contrasting piece portraying the ups and downs of everyday life, Feb. 4-7 at Merriam Theater, 250 S. Broad St.; 215893-1999. To Kill a Mockingbird Media Theatre presents the play adapted from the classic Harper Lee novel through Feb. 14, 104 E. State
St., Media; 610891-0100. Work on What You Love: Bruce Mau Rethinking Design Philadelphia Museum of Art presents an exhibition of designs by the acclaimed commercial artist through April 3, 26th Street and the Parkway; 215-7638100.
Music The Smithereens The rock band performs 8 p.m. Jan. 29 at World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St.; 215-222-1400. Who’s Bad The Michael Jackson tribute band performs 8 p.m. Jan. 30 at Keswick Theatre, 291 N. Keswick Ave.; 215-5727650. Indigo Girls The out acoustic duo performs
3 and 7:30 p.m. Jan. 31 at Keswick Theatre, 291 N. Keswick Ave.; 215572-7650. Muse The rock band performs 7:30 p.m. Jan. 31 at Wells Fargo Center, 3601 S. Broad St.; 215389-9543. Ryan Bingham The singer-songwriter performs 8 p.m. Jan. 31 at TLA, 334 South St.; 215-922-1011. The Carole King Songbook The Philly POPS perform the music of Carole King Feb. 5-7 at Kimmel’s Verizon Hall, 260 S. Broad St.; 215-790-5847.
Nightlife Ladies of Bounce Reunion Show Brittany Lynn hosts an evening of performances by divas from the infamous New Jersey night-
Bears & Queers Celebration The event celebrates beard culture, fresh cuts, unique styles, fashion and individuality in the eclectic Philadelphia queer community 9 p.m. Jan. 30 at Tabu, 200 S. 12th St.; 215-964-9675. La Vie Bo-Ham Pig Iron Theatre Company hosts its annual benefit cabaret 8 p.m. Feb. 5 at the Trocadero Theatre, 1003 Arch St.; 215-922-6888.
Outta Town Zarafa The animated film inspired by the true story of the first giraffe to visit France is screened 2 p.m. Jan. 30 at The Colonial Theatre, 227 Bridge St., Phoenixville; 610917-1228. The Wind and the Lion The action film starring Sean Connery is screened 2 p.m. Jan. 31 at The Colonial Theatre, 227 Bridge St., Phoenixville; 610917-1228. n
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Jan. 29 - Feb. 4, 2016
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Maggie Smith charms in touching film from out director By Gary M. Kramer PGN Contributor Gay playwright Alan Bennett’s “The Lady in the Van,” opening Jan. 29 at the Ritz Five, recounts his experiences with the homeless woman who lived in his driveway starting back in the mid-1970s. The “mostly true” story, which has been a radio play, a memoir and a stage play, has now become an oddly touching film directed by out director Nicholas Hytner, who also helmed the stage and screen versions of Bennett’s hit “The History Boys.” Bennett (Alex Jennings) is settling into 23 Gloucester Crescent in Camden Town, London, when he “meets” the street’s most notable resident, Miss Shepherd (Maggie Smith), an irascible homeless woman who parks her van in front of various houses, much to the chagrin of everyone in the neighborhood. When Bennett decides to do a good turn for Miss Shepherd and provide her with off-street parking in his driveway, she ends up staying there for 15 years. The relationship that forms between the timid Bennett and the disputatious Miss Shepherd forms the heart of “The Lady in the Van,” which is as much about the bond between the characters as it is about finding purpose, as well as one’s humanity. Bennett’s plays, at that time in his career, mainly featured his mother. In the film, the writer literally debates with himself — in a clunky device that has Jennings in a double role as “himself” and “writer” — about using his squatter as possible subject matter. He draws uneasy comparisons between his Mam (Gwen Taylor) and the Lady in the Van, while also noting, with irony and perhaps some regret, that old ladies have become his “niche” as a writer. The self-reflexive bits in the film — Bennett himself makes an appearance in the end, and there are cameos from almost the entire cast of “The History Boys” — are cute, but a bit distracting. The overarching idea that the forceful Miss Shepherd prompts the fussy pushover Bennett to find himself (as well as an eventual partner, rather than a bunch of hunky one-night stands) seems to be both too subtle and too obvious at the same time. It’s as if Bennett seems wary of giving too much credit to this woman he thinks owes him one, when in fact his favor to her improved both of their lives. Miss Shepherd is certainly a cantankerous old woman, and not someone to say thank you after using — and befouling — Bennett’s toilet. She stares with absolute contempt at a neighbor who stops and helps her open a troublesome jar. Yet what Bennett gets at with the character of Miss Shepherd, who is (as many people in the film point out) quite a character, is that she absolves the conscience of the middle-class folks around her, who feel
guilty that they could end up like her. It’s a wry observation about class that echoes throughout “The Lady in the Van.” Another point about the title character (which many people in the film also note) is that she has a distinctive odor. This may be the source of amusement with some comic one-liners directed at her pungency,
but it also provides a source of frustration for Bennett, who is seen stepping in and/or removing Miss Shepherd’s shit throughout the film. Audiences will no doubt find the smelliness and overall messiness palpable. Yet Miss Shepherd is not meant to be either a comic or tragic character, even if she is a symbol. She is a devoutly religious, extremely private person who often speaks the truth — as evidenced by her seemingly preposterous claim that she fended off a boa constrictor in the street, only to have the very snake turn up in a neighbor’s garden. She also speaks French, was a novitiate and plays the piano. As Bennett learns more about the Lady in the Van, he finds himself caring for her. However, he insists to Miss Shepherd’s social worker that he does not care for her. Whether viewers care about Miss Shepherd and/or Bennett will determine how they feel about “The Lady in the Van.” The film is certainly engaging whenever Maggie Smith is on screen, albeit in a role far removed from Dowager Countess of Grantham of “Downton Abbey.” Smith here is a vulnerable, eccentric and very defensive woman who has few pleasures in life. She is obstinate, obstreperous and offensive. But Smith makes her both human and sympathetic. In contrast, as Bennett, Alex Jennings does his best as a “straight man” to the comic Miss Shepherd, as when she makes a pointed observation about the various men who come in and out of his house late at night, calling him a “Communist,” perhaps her code word for “homosexual.” “The Lady in the Van” may be like its title character, who is more off-putting than charming. But for those who get to know and appreciate her, the film is mostly satisfying. n
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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Jan. 29 - Feb. 4, 2016
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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Jan. 29 - Feb. 4, 2016
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Timely school drama takes Philly stage By A.D. Amorosi PGN Contributor Chicago playwright Ike Holter — a resident writer of Victory Gardens Theater and a member of The Inconvenience, a company he started with friends in 2008 — is not a man to take drama lightly. The author who once said, “I am black and I am gay, but the minute that I only write work that is about being that, I don’t think that’s interesting,” doesn’t muck about when it comes to bracing subjects such as adversity against those who try to make a difference. His subject could be people running school systems or those struggling to keep their freedoms free. Holter says he has a different theme song, depending on the day of the week. “The song that keeps coming back to me when I think about, say, ‘Exit Strategy,’ is ‘Love Has Fallen on Me’ by The Rotary Connection,” Holter said. “I remember first hearing it when writing the initial draft of ‘Exit Strategy,’ and it comes into my mind a lot during the end of the play. It’s a piece that reflects a lot of the most potent themes of the play, and it’s got a great, lush finish.” In his upcoming “Prowess,” he looks at his adopted city in the heat of summer shootings and some of its most passionate heroes. His “Hit the Wall” takes a runPORTRAIT from page 17
scary and we had to realize that we can be well-intentioned and cause more harm than good. I would never have learned that working in the states. My international view of the LGBT landscape has totally changed. PGN: Other realizations? KH: The import and effect that money has on advocacy. When I was involved with a lot of grassroots activism, money was a dirty word. But working with William Way, I learned from some great people in development like Alyssa Mutryn and Samantha Guisti and Matty, who came at it from a very intersectional lens about who’s getting money, what barriers there are and what it means. Activists from my generation seem to think it’s a bad thing and sometimes made me feel like a sell-out when I spoke about my work in philanthropy. But I’m learning. Matty once said to me, “Philanthropy always gives just enough money to disrupt the system and never enough to change it.” The problem is not the money but who controls it. Twenty-seven cents out of every $100 goes to LGBT-rights funds. Who’s getting the money? Who’s controlling where it goes? So it was weird coming back to Bryn Mawr and having all these people talk about social justice from an academic standpoint when they have no idea about the day-to-day needs of the people. I had one girl tell me, “If you’re an activist and you think you should get paid, you’re a sell-out.” When the people
ning leap into the heightened reality of the Stonewall Riots. In “Exit Strategy” — a play making its Philadelphia debut with the Philadelphia Theatre Company at Suzanne Roberts Theatre next week — a handful of teachers within the Chicago Public School System kick against the powers trying to render them ineffective. Holter has a thing for cities, for moments, rife with turmoil. When it came to portraying the Stonewall Inn riots of 1969 in Greenwich Village, Holter chose to show the perspective of Stonewall from the people of color involved. “It was important to have perspectives from trans, women and even the people outside of the riot. So often we hear ‘one story’ about Stonewall when, in fact, it’s the story of many, many different sects of outcasts who were united at random.” Holter has made Chicago’s issues and the rich mosaic of its people into his art form. He said the city is “one of the most fascinating, beautiful, intensely textured and deeply political and brave places in the world.” The theater community there is “incredibly familial and welcoming. The people are there to build lives, and they really like helping other people out. They taught me how to work fast, work quick, be good to people and worry about crafting a show, not trying to appeal to every single on the ground trying to make change have to choose between doing the ground/grunt work and putting food on their table … PGN: I’m guessing it’s a lot of trust-fund babies who think money isn’t important. KH: Exactly. Because I don’t look like a non-traditional student, they have no idea of the life experience I’ve had outside of the bubble. PGN: What is “non-traditional?” KH: A student over 24. There were 30 of us. PGN: You mentioned that you had a boyfriend. Are you the B in LGBT? KH: Hmmm, this is a tricky one. I’ve always identified as gay. And my partner Salman identifies as … well he’s Parisian, Muslim and trans. In France, there’s not really an acceptance of a lesbian or dyke dating a trans man; in fact, on our first date, he asked how I could be attracted to him if I identified as a dyke. I responded that I live in a country where the rules are made up as we go and for me it’s about who you are, what you bring into my life and how much I love being around you. So I don’t know, I’ve never been asked that. I think we both identify as queer. PGN: So there’s less tolerance in France? You would think the opposite since they’re supposed to be so sexually free. KH: Yeah, they’re very concerned about gender. [Trans activist] Kate Bornstein once told me that she named [France] the
IKE HOLTER
eye.” Before pointing out the currency of law-enforcement ills facing Chicago’s young African-American population, Holter pragmatically noted how every city has it highs and lows, and how it is crucial to look at them through the prism of art. “Nobody wants to be preached to,” he said. “Someone going through hell doesn’t want to sit and see a screaming docudrama telling them how crazy their life is; they want to see people with goals and dreams and intense moments, people who laugh, people who change, just like anybody else. binary capital of the world. They need to know which box to put you in. In order to have your gender marker changed, you must be forcibly sterilized. Now. To this day. I didn’t expect any of that. I thought it would be a country of free thinkers. In some ways they are, but not when it comes to gender. He loves Philly because it’s so trans-friendly. PGN: Random questions. Best celebrity encounter? KH: I’m obsessed with Beyoncé. Amber Hikes and I went to her comeback concert and we were in the fifth row. It was really cool. Beyoncé ends all of her concerts with the song “Halo,” and it’s the only time I’ve ever been violent towards a woman, because Amber was on the outside and I saw Beyoncé coming our way. I dove forward and pushed Amber out of the way and got to touch Beyoncé’s hand! Amber was through with me but it was a big moment in my life. Another big moment was when Adele first came to the states to release the album “21.” I got to see her at the WXPN Free Friday at Noon with some friends and we were determined to meet her. We were like a pack of wolves and had every exit covered. My friend called me from one of the spots to say she was there. I came running down the stairs in a dress towards them and Adele yelled out, “Katie! Don’t run. I’m going to wait for you!” It was just her and her mom and we got to talk with them, and stupid us, she asked us what we were doing after the show and we didn’t
I set a lot of work in Chicago because it’s my home, and also because the people there have strong backbones.” Teachers and administrators in particular, Holter said. Based around the Chicago teachers’ strike of 2012 — “terrifying and empowering and illuminating and a million other things,” Holter said — “Exit Strategy” looks at how teachers, students and administrators deal with loss: how they hang on, or how they fall apart. “The play has many characters who are teachers, but one of its central characters is an administrator,” Holter said. “He’s in the middle of this sprawl, and we follow his decision to finally step up. I wanted to find a viewpoint into the story that we don’t usually see, and we see him weave in and out of these storylines.” In light of Philadelphia’s own school problems, Holter acknowledged he’s spoken to many within and without the scholastic bureaucracy and proffered that this city won’t go down without a fight. “I’m sorry to see this intensity brewing but glad people in the Philadelphia community are speaking out about it.” n “Exit Strategy” runs through Feb. 28 at Suzanne Roberts Theatre, 480 S. Broad St. For more information or tickets, visit www. philadelphiatheatrecompany.org. catch on that she was probably trying to ask us if we wanted to hang out. She was like, “Well, me and my mom might get some coffee” and we just responded, “OK, have fun. We love you!” and left. It’s my biggest regret. I missed my chance to be Adele’s best friend! PGN: The last person you got a letter from? KH: My boyfriend. He sends me letters all the time. It’s one of the only great things about a long-distance relationship. PGN: What was your best meal in Paris? KH: I spent many an afternoon in various French cafés working and eating CroqueMadames and French fries while sipping rosé wine. I can’t wait to go back, I’m addicted. PGN: Have you traveled to other places? KH: Yeah, while I was there I spent a little bit of time in Dublin and Amsterdam by myself, which was really cool. I traveled a lot in high school. This is embarrassing but one of my hobbies is as an amateur photographer and I love to find cool, offthe-beaten-path places both domestically and abroad and take pictures. My dream in life is to one day drop everything and find a way to travel the world on someone else’s dime and take pictures. If I disappear someday, that’s where I am! n To suggest a community member for Family Portrait, email portraits05@aol. com.
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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Jan. 29 - Feb. 4, 2016
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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Jan. 29 - Feb. 4, 2016
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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Jan. 29 - Feb. 4, 2016
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Activism/Politics
ACT-UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) meets 6-9 p.m. Mondays at St. Luke and The Epiphany Church, 330 S. 13th St.; 215-386-1981, www.actupphilly.org. Delaware Valley Chapter, Americans United for Separation of Church and State seeks activists and supporters of church-state separation. Holds monthly meetings and events; www.dvau.org. Equality Pennsylvania holds a volunteer night 5:30 p.m. the second Tuesday of the month, 1211 Chestnut St., Suite 605; 215-731-1447, www.equalitypa.org. Green Party of Philadelphia holds general meetings 7 p.m. the fourth Thursday of the month, except August and December; 215-243-7103, www.gpop.org. Liberty City LGBT Democratic Club meets seasonally; www.libertycity.org.
Arts
Library Book Club meets to discuss a new book 7 p.m. the third Wednesday of the month at William Way. Men On Tap, an LGBT group that performs with choirs, organizations and at the Fringe Festival, rehearses 8 p.m. Mondays at The Bike Stop, 206 S. Quince St.; dale@ magicalfantasies.com. Philadelphia Freedom Band, an audition-free LGBT band that does concerts and parades, rehearses 7-9:30 p.m. Mondays; philadelphiafreedomband.com. Philadelphia Gay Men’s Chorus rehearses 7-10 p.m. Wednesdays; 215-731-9230, auditions@pgmc.org. Philadelphia Gay Men’s Opera Club meets to share and listen to recordings 6:30 p.m. the last Saturday of the month; 215-732-7898. Philadelphia Voices of Pride, Philadelphia’s first mixed LGBT chorus, rehearses 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays at William Way; www.pvop.org. Queer Writer’s Collective workshop and discussion group meets 3-5 p.m. the fourth Saturday of the month at William Way. Reading Queerly, open to all women and genderqueer/ trans people, meets 6:45 p.m. the first Thursday of the month at Giovanni’s Room, 345 S. 12th St.
Recreation
Gay Bridge Club non-beginners group meets Monday 2-5 p.m. at William Way; reservations required. Call 215732-2220. Gay-friendly Scrabble Club meets 5:30-10:30 p.m. at Abner’s Steaks, 38th and Chester streets; 215-382-0789. Humboldt Society: Lesbian and Gay Naturalists meets 7:30 p.m. the second Thursday of the month at William Way; 215-985-1456, www.humboldtsociety.org. Independence Squares LGBT square-dance club, modern Western square dancing hosts an open house and Tuesday classes in the fall at Lutheran Church, 2111 Sansom St.; philadances@gmail.com, www.independencesquares.org. Male Oenophile Group forming to discuss, appreciate and taste various wines. Will meet once a month to investigate the nuances and glories of the fermented grape; 267-2306750. Mornings OUT LGBT Senior Social activities for senior gay men are held 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Tuesdays at William Way. PhilaVentures, Philadelphia’s LGBT outdoor group, meets for hikes in Wissahickon Valley and Valley Forge Park; philaventures.org.
Sports
Brandywine Women’s Rugby Club meets for practice at p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays at Greenfield Park, West Chester; www.brandywinerugby.org. City of Brotherly Love Softball League serves the Philadelphia metropolitan area with games on Sundays, beginning in April, at the Dairy and Edgeley Fields in Fairmount Park; www.cblsl.org. Frontrunners running club meets 9:30 a.m. Saturdays for a run and brunch at Lloyd Hall, No. 1 Boathouse Row; www.philadelphiafrontrunners.org. Philadelphia Falcons Soccer Club, open to LGBT and allies, practices 8-10 p.m. Mondays and 2-4 p.m. Saturdays; www.falcons-soccer.org. Philadelphia Fins Swim Team, open to male and female swimmers, meets 7 p.m. Monday-Thursday at Friends Select School and 10:30 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays; www.philadelphia-fins.org. Philadelphia Gay Bowling League meets 8 p.m. Wednesdays September-April at South Bowl, 19 E. Oregon
Ave.; 856-889-1434, philagaybowling@yahoo.com. Greater Philadelphia Flag Football League plays 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays at FDR Park; www.phillyflagfootball.com Philadelphia Gryphons Rugby Football Club, open to players of all skill levels, meets 7:45 p.m. Thursdays at Columbus Square Park, 1200 Wharton St.; 215-913-7531, philadelphiagryphons.org, becomeagryphon@gmail.com. Philadelphia Liberty Belles women’s semi-pro full-tackle football league holds fall tryouts; phillybelles.com. Philadelphia Liberty Tennis Association plays yearround, all skill levels welcome; philadelphialibertytennis. com. Philadelphia Firebirds women’s football team seeks players; www.philadelphiafirebirds.com. Philadelphia Women’s Baseball League seeks players, all skill levels and ages. Practice is 7 p.m. Thursdays at Marian Anderson Recreation Center, 17th and Fitzwater streets, with games at 2:30 p.m. Sundays; 215-991-5995 (day), 301-919-1194 (evening), phillywomensbaseball. com. Philly Gay Hockey Association Philadelphia Phury seeks players; 917-656-1936, phury@gayhockey.org. Philly QCycle LGBT bicycling club promotes organized recreational riding for all levels in the Greater Philadelphia region; contact the organization via Facebook. Rainbow Riders of the Delaware Valley motorcycle club meets regularly; 215-836-0440, www.groups.yahoo.com/ group/rainbowridersdv/. Rainbow Rollers gay and lesbian bowling league meets 7:45 p.m. Tuesdays at Boulevard Lanes in Northeast Philadelphia; rainbowrollers.com. Spartan Wrestling Club gay wrestling team meets 6:30-9 p.m. Mondays at the First Unitarian Church, 2125 Chestnut St.; 215-732-4545, www.phillyspartans.com.
Etc.
AIDS Law Project provides free legal assistance to people with HIV/AIDS and sponsors free monthly seminars on work and housing at 1211 Chestnut St., Suite 600; 215587-9377, www.aidslawpa.org. BiUnity, Philadelphia-area social and support network for bisexuals, their family members and friends; http://biunity. org. Delaware Valley Pink Pistols, for LGBT people dedicated to legal, safe and responsible use of firearms for self-defense, meets 1 p.m. the third Sunday of the month at The Gun Range, 542 N. Percy St.; 610-879-2364; www.pinkpistolsdelval.org. Delaware Pride holds planning meetings 7 p.m. the first Thursday of the month at the United Church of Christ, 300 Main St., Newark; 302-265-3020, delawarepride.org. Haverford College’s Sexuality and Gender Alliance holds open meetings 10-11 p.m. Mondays during the school year in the lounge in Jones Basement at Haverford College, 370 Lancaster Ave.; 610-896-4938. Men and Women for Human Excellence support group meets from noon-2 p.m. the first and third Saturdays of the month at 26th Street and Cecil B. Moore Avenue; 267-2733513, cmoore8300@yahoo.com. Long Yang Club Philadelphia, social organization for gay Asians and their friends, holds monthly socials; www. longyangclub.org/philadelphia. Our Night Out, a casual social networking party of LGBT professionals, friends and colleagues, meets in a different Philadelphia hot spot each month. To receive monthly event invitations, email OurNightOutPhilly@gmail.com; more information on Facebook. Philadelphia Bar Association Legal Advice offered 5-8 p.m. the third Wednesday of the month; 215-238-6333. Philadelphia Prime Timers club for mature gay and bisexual men and their admirers meets regularly; primetimersofphiladelphia@yahoo.com. Philadelphians MC Club, for leather men and women, meets 7:30 p.m. the first and third Monday of the month at The Pit at The Bike Stop, 201 S. Quince St.; philadelphiansmc.org. Rainbow Amateur Radio Association ARRL-affiliated, weekly HF nets, quarterly newsletter; www.rara.org. Silver Foxes, a social and educational group for gays and lesbians 50 and older, meets 3-5 p.m. the fourth Sunday of the month at William Way; 215-732-2220. SNJ Queers meets monthly for queer/queer-friendly folks in South Jersey to mix and mingle; 856-375-3708, wmf69@comast.net.
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Jan. 29 - Feb. 4, 2016
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Community Bulletin Board Community centers
■ The Attic Youth Center 255 S. 16th St.; 215-545-4331, atticyouthcenter.org. For LGBT and questioning youth and their friends and allies. Groups meet and activities are held 4-7 p.m. Monday-Tuesday and 4-8:30 p.m. Wednesday-Friday. Case management, HIV testing and smoking cessation are available Monday-Friday. ■ Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Center at the University of Pennsylvania 3907 Spruce St., 215-898-5044, center@dolphin. upenn.edu. Regular hours: 10 a.m.-10 p.m. MondayThursday; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday; noon-6 p.m. Saturday; noon-8 p.m. Sunday. Summer hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday.
■ ActionAIDS: 215-981-0088
■ Rainbow Room: Bucks County’s LGBTQ and Allies Youth Center Salem UCC Education Building, 181 E. Court St., Doylestown; 215-957-7981 ext. 9065, rainbowroom@ppbucks.org. Activities held 6-8 p.m. Wednesdays.
■ William Way Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center 1315 Spruce St.; 215-732-2220, www.waygay.org. Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Friday, noon-5 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays Peer counseling: 6-9 p.m. Monday-Friday Library: noon-9 p.m. Monday-Friday, noon-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday Volunteers: New Orientation, first Wednesday of the month at 7:30 p.m.
Key numbers
■ AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania: 215-587-9377
■ Equality Pennsylvania: 215731-1447; www.equalitypa.org
■ AIDS Law Project of Southern New Jersey: 856-933-9500 ext. 221
■ Equality Forum: 215-732-3378
■ AIDS Library: 215-985-4851 ■ ACLU of Pennsylvania: 215592-1513 ■ AIDS Treatment Fact line: 800662-6080 ■ Barbara Gittings Gay and Lesbian Collection at the Independence Branch of the Philadelphia Free Library: 215-685-1633 n The COLOURS Organization Inc.: 215-496-0330
■ LGBT Peer Counseling Services: 215-732-TALK ■ Mazzoni Center: 215-563-0652; Legal Services: 215-563-0657, 866-LGBT-LAW; Family & Community Medicine: 215-563-0658 ■ Office of LGBT Affairs — Director Nellie Fitzpatrick: 215-6860330; helen.fitzpatrick@phila.gov
■ Philadelphia Police Department liaison — Deputy Commissioner Kevin Bethel: 215-6863318 ■ Philadelphia Police Liaison Committee: 215-760-3686 (Rick Lombardo); ppd.lgbt@gmail.com ■ Philly Pride Presents: 215875-9288 ■ SPARC — Statewide Pennsylvania Rights Coalition: 717-9209537 ■ Transgender Health Action Coalition: 215-732-1207 (staffed 3-6 p.m. Wednesdays and 6-9 p.m. Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays)
■ Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (Philadelphia): 215-572-1833 ■ Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations: 215-686-4670
Health
Anonymous, free, confidential HIV testing Spanish/English counselors offer testing 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday at Congreso de Latinos Unidos, 216 W. Somerset St.; 215-763-8870. ActionAIDS Provides a range of programs for people affected by HIV/ AIDS, including case management, prevention, testing and education services at 1216 Arch St.; 215-981-0088, www. actionaids.org. GALAEI: A Queer Latin@ Social Justice Organization Free, anonymous HIV testing from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday at 1207 Chestnut St., fifth floor; noon-6 p.m. Tuesdays at the Washington West Project, 1201 Locust St.; 215-851-1822 or 866-222-3871, www.galaei.org. Spanish/English HIV treatment Free HIV/AIDS diagnosis and treatment for Philadelphia residents are available from 9 a.m.-noon Mondays (walk-in) and 5-8 p.m. Thursdays (by appointment) at Health Center No. 2, 1720 S. Broad St.; 215685-1821. HIV health insurance help Access to free medications and confidential HIV testing 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesdays at 13 S. MacDade Blvd., Suite
■ Gay and Lesbian Lawyers of Philadelphia Board meetings at 6:30 p.m. the first Wednesday of the month at 100 S. Broad St., Suite 1810; free referral service at 215-6279090, www.galloplaw.org. ■ Independence Business Alliance Greater Philadelphia’s LGBT Chamber of Commerce, providing networking, business development, marketing, educational and advocacy opportunities for LGBT and LGBT-friendly busi-
108, Collingdale; Medical Office Building, 722 Church Lane, Yeadon; and 630 S. 60th St.; 610-586-9077. Mazzoni Center LGBTQ counseling and behavioral health services, HIV/ AIDS care and services, case management and support groups; 21 S. 12th St., eighth floor; 215-563-0652, www. mazzonicenter.org. Mazzoni Center Family & Community Medicine Comprehensive primary health care, preventive health services, gynecology, sexual-health services and chronic-disease management, including comprehensive HIV care, as well as youth drop-in (ages 14-24) 5-7p.m. Wednesdays; 809 Locust St.; 215-563-0658. Philadelphia FIGHT Comprehensive AIDS service organization providing primary care, consumer education, advocacy and research on potential treatments and vaccines; 1233 Locust St.; 215985-4448; www.fight.org. Washington West Project of Mazzoni Center Free, rapid HIV testing. Walk-ins welcome 9 a.m.-9 pm. Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday; 1201 Locust St.; 215-985-9206.
Professional groups nesses and professionals; 215557-0190, www.IndependenceBusinessAlliance.com. ■ National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association Philadelphia chapter of NLGJA, open to professionals and students, meets for social and networking events; www.nlgja.org/ philly; philly@nlgja.org.
■ Philadelphia Gay Tourism Caucus Regional organization dedicated to promoting LGBT tourism to the Greater Philadelphia region, meetings every other month on the fourth Thursday (January, March, May, July, September and the third Thursday in November), open to the public; 215-8402039, www.philadelphiagaytourism.com.
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PGN
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com Jan. 29 - Feb. 4, 2016
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