pgn Philadelphia Gay News LGBT NEWS SINCE 1976
Vol. 41 No. 13 March 31 - April 6, 2017
Family Portrait: Michael Riley-Hill: Canvas of many colors PAGE 29
HONESTY • INTEGRITY • PROFESSIONALISM
• Loco Pez denies anti-gay jobsite claims • Ellen stirs up Philly LGBTs • Morris update PAGE 2
Trans vigil stirs ideas, emotions
Rapp artist PAGE 27
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New Hope-Solebury adopts policy Philly Pride to include a fun run The Philly Pride Parade and Festival will include a 1.5-mile Pride to protect transgender students By Jeremy Rodriguez jeremy@epgn.com A Pennsylvania school district voted 6-1 to protect transgender students. The New Hope-Solebury School District officially adopted Policy 255, entitled “Gender Expansive and Transgender Students,” at a March 23 school-board meeting. The policy includes guidelines on pronoun usage, privacy and confidentiality for transgender students, school records, facility access, school trips, dress codes, school activities, and education for teachers and administrators. Additionally, the policy outlines specific definitions for gender identity, gender expansive, gender expression, transgender, gender nonconforming and gender assigned at birth. School Board President Neale Dougherty noted this policy was discussed prior to President Trump rescinding protections for transgender students. “We as a district wanted to establish that and we wanted to establish those protections at the
local level, and that’s why we wanted to adopt it as point of policy,” Dougherty said. The school-board meeting included public comments from representatives of LGBTfriendly organizations. “The only way to provide transgender students with the same educational opportunities as their peers is for schools and districts to adopt clear protections from discrimination and comprehensive policies that affirm the dignity, worth and identities of transgender people,” a letter presented by the Human Rights Campaign stated. “From respecting students’ names and pronouns to ensuring equal access to facilities and programs, these policies help ensure that.” E q u a l i t y P e n n s y l va n i a , an organization promoting LGBT equality, was involved in reviewing the policy. At the meeting, community resident Geri Delevich read a letter from Equality PA Executive Director Ted Martin. PAGE 12 “Please
Run to kick off the parade at this year’s festivities.
C.C. TELLEZ (FROM LEFT), AHN DANG AND BOB LENAHAN ADDRESS THE WILLIAM WAY BOARD. Photo: Scott A. Drake
By Jeremy Rodriguez jeremy@epgn.com Philly Pride Presents collaborated with William Way LGBT Community Center, Lez Run Running Club-Philadelphia and Out Philadelphia Athletic League (OPAL) for the June 18 event, which will serve as a precursor for a Philly Pride 5K Race the organi-
zation is preparing for 2018. Chris Bartlett and Shana McMahan, William Way’s executive director and development director, respectively, will serve as members of the advisory committee. “Philly Pride is very happy with the LGBT sports leagues being involved with kicking off the parade this year with a short race and, starting next year, the
first annual 5K run starting before the parade kicks off,” said Franny Price, Philly Pride Presents’ executive director, in a statement to PGN. Runners will begin at Camac and Locust streets and pass Independence Mall en route to the festival at Penn’s Landing. Runners’ $10 entry fee will go toward funding programs at William Way. The first 50 individuals to register will get the $15 cover charge for the festival waived while all runners will receive a bag filled with bottled water and snacks at the finish line. Additionally, organizers will provide free registration for young adults from The Attic Youth Center and the LGBTQ Home for Hope, as well as residents of the John C. Anderson Apartments. “We want everyone in the LGBTQ communities and their families and friends to join us,” said C.C. Tellez, the event’s director and founder of Lez Run Running Club-Philadelphia. “Come run shoulder to shoulder with PAGE 12 Philadelphia’s
Planned LGBT-friendly housing project receives $100K grant By Jeremy Rodriguez jeremy@epgn.com Two local nonprofit organizations have partnered up to support young-adult programs. The Philadelphia Foundation (TPF) provided a $100,000 grant to Project HOME, an organization that empowers homeless individuals. TPF’s grant will specifically go toward Project HOME’s Young Adult Program, which emphasizes support services, education and employment. Project HOME will provide this program at its planned LGBT-friendly residence at 1315 N. Eighth St. and will
include 30 housing units for ages 18-23. “We are thrilled to be able to partner with The Philadelphia Foundation on this new project that is the first of its kind in Pennsylvania and one of the first in the nation,” Sister Mary Scullion, co-founder and executive director of Project HOME, said in a statement. “Homelessness among young adults is on the rise and over 40 percent of homeless youth identify as LGBTQ. The Philadelphia Foundation, with its high standards for operational quality, integrity and accountabilPEDRO RAMOS (FROM LEFT), NASIR FEARS AND SISTER MARY ity, will help us shine the light on SCULLION this growing tragedy.”
In the same statement, TPF President and CEO Pedro A. Ramos said his organization is “proud to have a long record of support for both Project HOME and the LGBTQ community.” “When we convened meetings among homelessness providers and others to build awareness of the specific needs of LGBTQ youth, the need for this sort of housing became clear,” Ramos said. “That’s why we helped leverage support for the capital construction drive. We know that just as essential will be the ongoing services that are provided. It is our hope that others will see PAGE 12 the need for
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LOCAL PGN
Restaurant denies wrongdoing in LGBT antibias case By Timothy Cwiek timothy@epgn.com
After the meeting, the head chef “advised [Loco Pez] managers of the substance of the meeting between [Cummings] and An attorney for Loco Pez, a Fishtown [the head chef] and [the head chef] also restaurant accused of anti-LGBT bias, advised [Loco Pez] managers to monitor recently filed court papers denying any any inappropriate language by any [Loco Pez] employees who worked with [Mr. wrongdoing by the establishment. Sebastian A. Cummings, a South Cummings] in the kitchen of [Loco Pez],” Philadelphia gay man, worked at Loco according to the complaint. Cummings also maintains that Loco Pez for about two months last year. He was a dishwasher and prepped food at the Pez distributes an employee handbook. “[Loco Pez] distributes an employee establishment, which caters to the Latinhandbook to its employees which sets American community. According to Cummings’ March 1 forth [Loco Pez’s] employment policies federal lawsuit, he had no choice but to and procedures. However, [Loco Pez] is resign due to alleged pervasive anti-LGBT not aware if [Cummings] received a copy of the employee handbook.” harassment at Loco Pez. Cummings alleges Loco Pez “did not He alleges some coworkers regularly conspicuously post directed slurs at him, or disseminate a i n c l u d i n g “ c o c k Loco Pez’s filing requests policy regarding smokers,” “cock suckers,” “homos,” the dismissal of Cummings’ n o n - d i s c r i m i n a tion.” “faggots” and “girl- lawsuit and asserts that Loco Pez’s filfriends,” according ing requests the to Cummings’ suit. Cummings seeks “inapprodismissal of Cummings said priate” damages. Cummings’ lawLoco Pez’s head suit and asserts that chef told him the coworkers meant no harm, saying: “I guar- Cummings seeks “inappropriate” damantee they won’t do anything [to you]” ages, and that he failed to “mitigate his alleged damages, if any.” and “They don’t mean anything by it.” Moreover, the restaurant requests payBut in a March 14 answer to Cummings’ suit, an attorney for Loco Pez wrote ment for “fees and costs” incurred due to that the restaurant was responsive to the litigation. The litigation is in the discovery phase. Cummings’ concerns. The filing states: “[Cummings] and By presstime, U.S. District Judge Harvey [the head chef] had a brief meeting where Bartle 3d hadn’t ruled on the request for [Cummings] expressed his concern about dismissal. Justin F. Robinette, an attorney for certain words that [Cummings] believed were inappropriate that had been used Cummings, issued this statement: “We by some [Loco Pez] employees who believe the jury will see things differently worked with [Cummings] in the kitchen on damages. LGBT people do not deserve of [Loco Pez]. After the meeting between to be harassed at work, and should not be [Cummings] and [the head chef], [the pushed out of their jobs. Nothing about head chef] advised [Loco Pez] employ- Loco Pez’s answer changes our course of ees who worked with [Cummings] in the action, and we look forward to Sebastian’s kitchen of [Loco Pez] to cease using any day in court.” James L. Pearl, an attorney for Loco words that could be deemed as inapproPez, couldn’t be reached for comment. n priate.”
LGBT fans turn out for Ellen DeGeneres By Jeremy Rodriguez jeremy@epgn.com After two days of tweeting, Ellen DeGeneres’ crew made an appearance on the 1600 block of Walnut Street. The city closed off the block March 22 for “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” crew to film a segment for the March 23 episode of the out comedian’s talk show. Jeannie Klisiewicz, the show’s host of remote events, and Philadelphia Eagles football player Jon Dorenbos were also in attendance in Philadelphia The segment included shots of thousands of fans cheering in the street with many holding signs and sporting costumes. Hours before her appearance, DeGeneres tweeted a request for the city. “#Philly! Come dressed as a famous duo – Lucy & Ethel, Bey & Jay, or Rocky & Adrian. [My wife, Portia de Rossi] & I are dressed as us, so come as something else,” she tweeted. Two gay fans, Sean Farrell and Jake Sheckler, were in attendance dressed in drag as Nicole Ritchie and Paris Hilton, respectively. Sheckler, 24, said he previously participated in two of DeGeneres’ competitions. In one Earth Day-themed show, he made a hula skirt out of water bottles and for the second one, he painted his body in Phillies attire. “Her crew is great,” Sheckler said. “They are so welcoming, so friendly. They have such great energy. It’s a wonderful experience.” Farrell, 29, noted the comedian’s support for the LGBT community. “I think Ellen stands for so much love and positivity and I think in the LGBT community now more than ever, that’s what we need,” Farrell said. “It feels good to come out and support that.” Quessa Sendler, a 24-year-old transgender man, echoed Farrell’s statement. “I like the fact that she’s very open,” Sendler said of DeGeneres. “She stands up for us. She’s not ashamed to say what we should stand up for — to be ourselves. She makes you feel better about yourself.”
Bry Wilson, a 21-year-old lesbian, said she attended with hopes of catching sight of DeGeneres in person but was still looking forward to what she had to say via satellite. “I hope [she will speak about] our rights or what’s going on in the political world and what’s going on around us,” Wilson said prior to the taping. Patrick Hagerty, 52, was representing the Philadelphia Gay Men’s Chorus in the crowd with a sign stating, “Hey Ellen!! Our LGBT Chorus is 35. Come see our show!! #PGMC.” Hagerty said he was hoping for DeGeneres to attend the chorus’ 35th-anniversary show this weekend. While Hagerty may have been in a crowd shot for last week’s show, he noted a closer connection to DeGeneres during a previous chance encounter. “She’s absolutely amazing,” Hagerty said. “I got to meet her about 15 years ago by accident in New York City. I was like, ‘Oh my God, you’re Ellen.’ She goes, ‘Oh hi!’ And we talked for about five or 10 minutes and she said, ‘I got to run. I’m late for a meeting.’ She took off and I said, ‘Holy shit, I just talked to Ellen.’” Several members in the crowd were chosen to participate in a relay race at the Capital One Café in which they had to hold a cup of coffee, spin their heads on a baseball bat, run through tires, walk on a balance beam and dump whatever was left in their cups into a container at the end of the track. The couples won prizes based on the amount of coffee in their buckets. Katrina Arman and Victoria Sacchatti, dressed as Left Shark and a Narwhal, won a $10,000 grand prize. Meanwhile, Devan Allen and Hannah Donovan won a second-place prize of $5,000 while dressed as the “Black Eyed Peas,” sporting black eye makeup and T-shirts with the letter “P” on the front. Both teams declined to comment. Scheckler did not get to participate in the competition but was inside the cafe interacting with the crew. He said his feelings about DeGeneres and her crew have not changed. “I would do it over and over again,” Sheckler said. n
Agency dismisses PGN’s appeal for Morris 911 recordings By Timothy Cwiek timothy@epgn.com The state Office of Open Records last week dismissed PGN’s appeal for 911 recordings pertaining to the Nizah Morris incident in the possession of the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office. In a five-page ruling, the OOR said the D.A.’s Office proved in an affidavit that it doesn’t have Morris 911 recordings in its possession. PGN contends the D.A.’s Office has at least nine pages of Morris 911 recordings, which the paper gave to the agency
in 2009. According to PGN, the recordings are located in a civil-litigation file at the D.A.’s Office. Morris was an African-American trans woman found with a fatal head wound in December 2002, shortly after a police “courtesy ride” in the Gayborhood. Her homicide remains unsolved. After her death, PGN received Morris 911 recordings from a private individual. The paper transcribed the recordings and gave a nine-page transcript to the D.A.’s Office in 2009. The OOR’s March 24 ruling doesn’t specifically address whether the nine pages
are located at the D.A.’s Office. Instead, the ruling notes that affidavits of nonexistence are sufficient to dismiss open-records requests. Last year, after PGN requested certified Morris 911 recordings from the D.A.’s Office, the OOR determined the nine pages to be the only records the D.A.’s Office could locate. But the OOR said the D.A.’s Office didn’t have to certify the records because they originated outside the agency. In its current appeal, PGN is requesting a non-certified copy of Morris 911 recordings from the D.A.’s Office. PGN main-
tains that if the D.A.’s Office won’t provide the nine-page transcript to an open-records requester, the office may be withholding additional Morris recordings. Additional recordings could clarify why Morris wasn’t given prompt medical attention after 911 calls were placed on her behalf, why detectives weren’t summoned to investigate, and why a police report assigned two genders to Morris. PGN has 15 days to submit a petition for reconsideration with the OOR. The paper also has the option of filing an appeal in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court within 30 days. n
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SINGING STARS: Members of the Philadelphia Gay Men’s Chorus dance as the group performs the Patti LaBelle hit “Lady Marmalade.” The 35-year anniversary concert was a collection of songs made popular by Philadelphia artists like LaBelle, Hall & Oates, Teddy Pendergrass, Chubby Checker and Boys II Men. The group performs its final concerts of the season with a show called “One Hit Wonders: A Sing-A-Long!” June 1-2 at Prince Theater. Photo: Scott A. Drake
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Queer youth wellness was the topic at a recent UPenn conference led by and for LGBTQ youth.
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Trans women asking LGB community to step up
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PA NewsMedia Association Keystone Press Awards ABOUT 120 PEOPLE TURNED OUT FOR THE MARCH 24 VIGIL AT THE WILLIAM WAY LGBT COMMUNITY CENTER. Photo: Scott A. Drake
By Beth Boyle PGN Contributor They united in grief, anger, fear and frustration to remember a deadly year in the transgender community — and to demand an end to the hate that continues to take lives. “At this moment I’m feeling so many different emotions: I’m angry, I’m scared, I’m frustrated and I’m just plain tired,” organizer Celena Morrison told the crowd at last Friday’s Candlelight Vigil for the Lives of Trans Women Lost to Violence. “Last year was the deadliest year on record for trans women, and most of those killed were trans women of color.” In 2016, 27 trans women — the majority of whom were women of color — were murdered in the United States. The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs reports that half of the people killed by anti-LGBT violence were transgender; 53 percent of anti-LGBT hate-crime victims were also people of color. “As we bring visibility to ourselves and to our struggles, there’s also more visibility for those who hate us,” said vigil speaker Naiymah Sanchez. “I didn’t know any of those women personally, but I knew them spiritually because I don’t know when someone might try to take my life because of who I am.” The ballroom of the William Way Community Center was standing-room-only as friends, families, community leaders and neighbors came out to also remember the eight transgender women who have been murdered so far in 2017. Minster Kandee Love sang as the speakers lit candles and recited the victims’ names. Finally, they called for more support and visible outrage from the gay community. Activist Sharron Cooks put it bluntly: “We
don’t get enough support from the gay and lesbian community. This is what angers me. What angers me is the lack of support around trans women of color. What angers me is the lack of financial and social support around trans women of color who face violence every day of their lives. “I am tired and I am angry, and I am tired of asking nicely for support for the trans community and support for trans women of color,” added Cooks. Going to the police is often out of the question for transgender people. The Office for Victims of Crime estimates that trans people are 15-percent more likely to experience sexual violence while in police custody, and that number jumps to 32 percent if the individual is African-American. Several of the speakers cited the average lifespan for a trans woman: just 34. As Cooks put it, “I’m 39, I’m supposed to be dead already. I’m living on borrowed time and trying to make the best of it.” “Each and every one of us has a moral and ethical obligation to each other because we are members of the community and because we are human beings,” she said. “Where is the leadership here tonight?” Judicial candidate Henry Sias and District Attorney candidate Larry Krasner attended the vigil, suggesting an opportunity for more progressive and trans-inclusive leadership after the May 13 election. “We need our allies to put their bodies on the line, just like [trans women of color] have been doing for decades and decades,” said activist Milan Sherry, who also called for support for sex workers and trans women who experience employment discrimination. “We all know sex work is real and many of us avoid the conversation and maybe we look down upon those who engage in it.” Morrison said that PAGE 12
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A local university last week sponsored a conference to amplify the voices of LGBT young people and their needs. The University of Pennsylvania’s March 24 event, “Queer Wellness: An Intersectional LGBTQ Youth and Health Conference,” included an afternoon of panel discussions, TED-style talks and interactive breakout sessions at the university’s Houston Hall. Kel Kroehle and Phantazia Washington of The Attic Youth Center’s Bryson Institute moderated panel discussions entitled “Youth Perspectives on Experiences with Health Care” and “Youth Perspectives on Experiences with Institutions and Systems,” respectively. Kroehle introduced her panel discussion with four young people — Aiden Castellanos, Rahsaan Galloway, Dionte Gill and Egypt Staley — by stating phrases young people typically hear. “It’s just a phase,” Kroehle said, mimicking what adults often tell youth. “You’ll grow out of it. It’s the hormones speaking. You’re so mature for your age. You’re too young. You’ll understand when you’re older. It’s just puppy love.” Kroehle’s panel discussed several issues that may occur for an LGBT person in the doctor’s office, such as being assumed heterosexual or cisgender. Additionally, they talked about problems they experienced with adultism and an overall uncomfortable feeling from doctors upon discussing sexual health. Castellanos noted a small step providers can take to help LGBT youth. “If a healthcare provider starts off by introducing themselves with their pronouns, I’m like, ‘Holy shit. Wow,’” Castellanos said, eliciting laughs from the audience. “That’s something that gets left out so often. I’ll know this person understands the difficulties in coming out and understanding different aspects of gender.” Washington’s panel included three youth — Hazel Edwards, Giana Graves and Lydia Ramharack —
who answered questions regarding homophobia and transphobia in school and healthcare. Ramharack, a biology student at Penn and a lesbian, said her school is supportive overall: Fights with her father made her feel unsafe going home, but the university gave her tickets to Florida so she would not have to stay home for a long period of time. However, she said, other smaller departments within the university would invalidate her experiences and would not provide her with accommodations. “What schools can do is be more compassionate,” Ramharack said. “I don’t think that’s a hard thing to ask for and also don’t assume people’s experiences.” Meanwhile, Edwards noted a positive experience within institutions. As a biracial trans woman, Edwards grew up as a brown child in a white household. She noted the effect of intersectionality once she discovered The Attic. “The first time I heard ‘intersectionality’ was at The Attic Youth Center,” she said. “I was then able to understand and focus all of my identities. I felt like a piece of my culture, of my identities were not being seen or heard. When I started going to The Attic consistently, they gave me the ability to not only be unapologetically queer but be unapologetically black as well.” Graves noted how trans people do not all have the same experiences. “Cissexism is very real and we might not be clear of the things we carry around with us and the things that are pushed onto us,” Graves said. “I’m a binary trans person. I identify as a woman. I go by she/her pronouns. I don’t represent the entire trans community. There are other kinds of trans people. There are other kinds of trans women. We don’t all share the same exact experience. “So when you meet a trans person, you’re meeting a person. You need to understand that person, that person’s needs, that person’s experiences, what that person had to deal with and what they bring to the table, because we don’t all bring the same thing to the table.” n
LOCAL PGN
LGBT organizations to sponsor demonstration against anti-trans bus tour By Jeremy Rodriguez jeremy@epgn.com The city’s Office of LGBT Affairs and other organizations will sponsor a “Pop-Up Love Party” Saturday to counteract the message of the “Free Speech Bus Tour.” “Philling Our Streets With Love at Hate Speech Bus Tour” did not have an exact time and location by presstime but details can be found on the event’s Facebook page: http://bit.ly/2mIE3d0. Three conservative groups — The National Organization for Marriage, the International Organization for the Family and CitizenGo — are sponsoring an orange bus painted with male and female stickers along with the message: “Boys are boys.. and always will be. Girls are girls.. and always will be. You can’t change sex. Respect all.” In an email to PGN, city Director of LGBT Affairs Amber Hikes noted the demonstration will include speakers of trans experience. “We feel it is principally important to center the voices, experience, and narrative of trans people at this event,” Hikes said. “Too often, cisgender people take
front stage when it comes to trans issues. While it is essential to support the trans community, we encourage people to be intentional about their efforts. At this event, we ask cisgender people to show their support and solidarity with our trans siblings with signs and their physical presence.” One of the speakers at the event is Sharron Cooks, who is also organizing the event through the Commission on LGBT Affairs’ Transgender Equality Committee. She said she is “very happy to be the point person for this event.” “I am very happy to see that the Office of LGBT Affairs initiated this event,” Cooks said. “I am very excited and thrilled that there so many organizations like the Trans-Health Information Project, GALAEI and Mazzoni Center are going to be a part of the counter-protest. There are so many community members who are helping out with promoting the event who are doing a lot of back-end organizing that are being very diligent in tracking the whereabouts of the [bus].” Cooks noted Title IX guidelines being rescinded and the lack of protections for LGBT people in Pennsylvania. “This is more than just about
that bus,” Cooks said. “It’s about starting to center activities around the transgender community.” The tour was initially supposed to make a stop in Philadelphia March 29 but it was rescheduled due to ongoing vandalism of the bus in other cities. The National Organization for Marriage recently issued a statement requesting donations for repairs. “The repairs were more extensive than expected and we need to raise additional funds to cover this cost,” the statement read. “Will you please make a financial contribution so that we can put this terrible assault behind us so that we can help cover these expensive repairs to the #FreeSpeechBus and get back on the road? We also need additional funds to help add new security cameras to the bus.” Other sponsoring organizations include the Mayor’s Commission on LGBT Affairs, GALAEI, Trans-Health Information Project (TIP), The Attic Youth Center, the William Way LGBT Community Center, America Civil Liberties Union, DVLF, Independent Business Alliance, Mazzoni Center, Whosoever Metropolitan Community Church and Philadelphia Family Pride. n
Passover seder set for April
News Briefing Free Legal Clinic will assist LGBT elders with preparing documents The LGBT Elder Initiative will host its 2017 LGBT Legal Clinic to advise in the preparation of documents such as wills, living wills, disposition of remains and medical and financial powers of attorney. Attendees can meet with an attorney oneon-one to complete these documents. The volunteer attorneys will prepare only simple wills, which do not include real estate, multiple beneficiaries or guardianship in relation to children. For more-involved matters, the attorneys will offer referrals to private attorneys who can provide assistance for a fee. The 2017 LGBT Legal Clinic will take place 10 a.m.-3 p.m. April 8 at William Way LGBT Community Center, 1315 Spruce St. Visit http://bit. ly/2nfCXTb to register. — Jeremy Rodriguez
An LGBTQ and allies community Passover seder will be held 6-9 p.m. April 13 at William Way LGBT Community Center, 1315 Spruce St. The event is sponsored by J.Proud, a consortium of 30 local Jewish organizations. The seder is a ceremonial kosher dinner that includes vegetarian/vegan options, wine and dessert. A service will be led by Ariana Katz, a rabbinical student. J. Proud is a program of the Jewish Family and Children’s Service of Greater Philadelphia. “With everything going on in the world, it’s critical to have spaces like this, where we can come together with our families and communities,” said Phoenix Schneider, director of J.Proud. “It’s so powerful. We have conversations around inclusions and uniting for social justice. Everyone is encouraged to participate in these discussions. We’re looking forward to a meaningful evening.” Tickets are $30 per person; $18 for students and seniors; and $10 for those under 18. “Nobody will be turned away for lack of funds,” Schneider added. For financial assistance, contact Schneider at pschneider@jfcsphilly.org. n — Timothy Cwiek
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com March 31-April 6, 2017
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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com March 31-April 6, 2017
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Spring Travel Preview Coming April 21, 2017 DEADLINE TO ADVERTISE APRIL 14 215-625-8501 ext. 212 or email prab@epgn.com
LOCAL PGN
Wedding Patrick Hagerty and Joseph Hughes By Jeremy Rodriguez jeremy@epgn.com After talking online for almost two years, Patrick Hagerty and Joseph Hughes arranged to meet in person at a London train station near Hughes’ residence. “I saw him,” said Hagerty, 52, who traveled from his Philadelphia home to meet Hughes. “He looked at me. He had the biggest smile in the world. And I said, ‘OK, I’m done. This is it.’” Hughes, 22, said he saw Hagerty also break into a smile. “With the texting, I thought we were really good friends and there was potential but obviously with the distance, there was a little bit of doubt,” Hughes said. “But when we first met, I realized this was actually real and I wanted it to be real. I realized at that point I wanted to try more and more to make it work more than I did before.” Hagerty noted the irony that he gave Hughes a tour of London. Prior to this July 2016 meeting, Hughes had not been to London since he was 10. The couple rode the London Eye ferris wheel, where they described their sights as “a beautiful view of the city at night.” They then exchanged rings. “I told him, This was a promise ring that when he was ready, that we would be married,” Hagerty said. He proposed to Hughes last month, on Valentine’s Day. While the two plan to have a larger ceremony on April 7, 2018, they had a smaller civil ceremony this month so Hughes would not have difficulties traveling back and forth from the United Kingdom to the United States. Additionally, the couple had fears regarding President Trump. “We were terrified that, six months down the road, [same-sex marriage] wasn’t going to be an option for us and we would have to really jump through hoops to get him to stay here [in the U.S.],” Hagerty said. The smaller ceremony occurred March 17 with Judge Dan Anders officiating. The pair broadcast the wedding on Facebook Live so people from out of town could view it. Hagerty said he knew he was going to marry Hughes as soon as he saw his online profile on Sept. 12, 2014 — a date engraved in their wedding rings.
“I messaged him telling him that he had the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen and we started chitchatting and about two and a half weeks into talking, I said, ‘I will marry you someday’ and he laughed. He said, ‘You know we’re 3,000 miles away. It’s never going to happen.’ But we kept talking.” “How much time do you have?” Hughes said with a laugh when asked what he likes most about Hagerty. “I like Patrick’s personality,” he added. “I like how he’s the type of person who can get along with pretty much everybody. You just get along with him instantly.” As for romance advice, Hagerty now has some to share: He said people shouldn’t write off potential love interests just because they don’t have much in common.
“You don’t always have to have a lot in common with each other,” he said. “Being together, you find the commonalities with that person and a lot of times, you find new things that one or the other might not have liked before or might not have known about before that now you can do together.” Meanwhile, Hughes said couples should endeavor to “talk about everything” and “take a leap of faith.” “Take a chance and have a video chat,” Hughes said. “Take a chance and actually meet in person. Don’t try to see it as losing something because, either way, you gain something. You gain experience. You sometimes gain a person you love. Sometimes you gain a friend. And sometimes, you gain the bad experiences, which unfortunately you get in life, but it’s always good to take a chance. As scary as it is, just take the chance.” 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.
LOCAL PGN
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com March 31-April 6, 2017
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R IS FOR RED: AIDS Fund executive director Robb Reichard (from left) presented the Founder’s Award to Michael “Cherry Pop” Tambon and Brandon Robert Barlieb with Stella D’Oro at Black Tie GayBINGO! April 25 at the Loews Hotel. Tambon and Barlieb created the popular “Code Red: Breaking the Silence” HIV/AIDS awareness drag show and party every year around World AIDS Day. Last year the event raised over $15,000. Photo: Scott A. Drake
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WHODUNNIT HAPPY HOUR: McCarter Theater in Princeton, N.J. hosted a Pride Night before a performance of Agatha Christie’s “Murder on the Orient Express” March 23. About 50 LGBT patrons enjoyed mystery-themed appetizers and cocktails before the play. The next one is May 18 for the performance of “Intimate Apparel.” Photo: Scott A. Drake
Gayborhood Crime Watch The following incidents in the Midtown Village and Washington Square West areas were reported to the Sixth Police District between March 13-19. Information is courtesy of Sixth District Crime Analyst Officer Robert Savino. To report crime tips, visit www.phillypolice.com or call 215-686-TIPS. INCIDENTS — At 7:56 a.m. March 15, a man stole items from The Gold Center, 1033 Chestnut St., after using a rock to break the glass on the front door. He was described as black, in his 30s, with a medium build, wearing a light-colored hooded sweatshirt. —One theft from a parked vehicle was reported March 13-19: outside 900 Walnut St.
ARRESTS — At 12:30 p.m. March 13, police arrested a 26-year-old man inside SEPTA headquarters, 1234 Market St., who had an outstanding warrant for aggravated assault. — At 11:30 a.m. March 16, police arrested a 25-year-old man inside SEPTA headquarters, 1234 Market St., who had an outstanding warrant for possession of prohibited offensive weapons. — At 5:30 a.m. March 17, police arrested a 27-year-old man inside Double Tree Hotel, 237 S. Broad St., for burglary. The suspect allegedly broke into the hotel’s valet office by breaking a window. n
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EDITORIAL PGN EDITORIAL
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com March 31-April 6, 2017
Creep of the Week
D’Anne Witkowski
Tom Price
Editorial
Listening to our youth The voices of LGBT youth are among the most silent in our community. Even though their future is our future, the ideas and ideals of our youngest are often discounted, disregarded or dismissed. To combat that trend, PGN launched our LGBTQ Youth Supplement in 2015. The now-biannual initiative puts the power directly into the hands of our youth, turning over our pages to them for a platform through which they can explore their interests, engage with other young people’s opinions and learn about the role they can play in our community. The Supplement returns this issue, with a new crop of writing from talented high-school and college-aged LGBT and ally youth. None of the youth has to have any formal writing experience: All we ask is that Youth Supplement contributors have an interest in writing and in LGBT issues. The rest is up to them. And again, these youth have proven just why we should be listening to them. All writers proposed their own topics and composed their stories with little to no input from our staff; they conducted their own research, interviews and constructed the format of the pieces independently. As media professionals, we’re used to that process, and to working against a deadline, but these young people took on those challenges brilliantly. The subjects of their works are enlightening. To varying degrees, most of the writers explored the impact of the new political reality. Some looked at it through the lens of feminism, others through the vocation of journalism and others as LGBT youth. They all expressed a sense of fear and dismay at the election of Donald Trump, but all of the pieces were also tinged with optimism. These are the people who deserve to be afraid. Most of them came of age during a presidency that largely embraced LGBT rights; they don’t know anything other than federal support for LGBT issues. LGBT elders have suffered through Reagan, the Bushes and many other leaders who were hostile to our community, so they know we’ll survive. But that these young people are hopeful and committed to the causes they care about, despite the resistance, is empowering to the rest of us. At a time when LGBT voices are being quieted across the country, we need to look and listen within our own community. Our youth have something to say. n
We want to know!
Did you know that LGBT people get old? If you’re a religious fundamentalist, you might not since you believe that all LGBT people die of AIDS in their 20s because God hates them. But if you believe that LGBT people are, well, people, and also believe in the concept of aging, then it will not surprise you that elderly LGBT people exist. Granted, we live in a society that, in an attempt to pathologize their sexuality, too often portrays LGBT people as if sex is our only governing drive. This argument was a huge part of the fight against marriage equality: Same-sex couples can’t be “married” because they’re incapable of being monogamous. We see this in the anti-trans bathroom bills proposed under the guise of protecting women from sexual predators. Gay men were banned from being Boy Scout leaders because of the fear that they would molest the boys. In other words, the idea that LGBT people are nothing more than walking, talking sexual deviants persists despite plenty of contrary evidence. At the same time, our society completely desexualizes the elderly. Old people do not have sex. I mean, sure, they do in Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson movies, but that’s about it. And these two competing narratives — Gays have all of the sex, olds have none of the sex — renders LGBT seniors pretty much invisible. Which is why in 2014 the Obama administration began asking questions about LGBT seniors on the National Survey of Older Americans Act Participants (NSOAAP), administered by the Department of Health and Human Services. NSOAAP is a “critically important national survey of older adults that helps the government decide how to spend billions of dollars on senior centers, Meals on Wheels and other essential elder services,” according to the organization Services & Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE). Which is why SAGE and other LGBT advocacy groups are alarmed that all of a sudden, on new HSS Secretary Tom Price’s watch, questions related to LGBT seniors disappeared from the NSOAAP.
LGBT-rights advocates fear that the removal of the questions is an effort to further marginalize LGBT seniors, a group that has been identified as having unique challenges. “Our community fought for years to get our LGBT elders included in this survey so they get their fair share of government-funded elder services,” SAGE declared in an online petition appeal. “We won that fight, and we’re not going back.” David Stacy, head of policy for the Human Rights Campaign, told the Associated Press, “If you deny the problem exists by not having the data, it certainly makes it easier to pursue the policy you prefer without regards to reality.” In other words, it’s more of what we’ve come to expect from the Trump administration: denial and obfuscation. While this change might seem like a minor bureaucratic detail, note that when Price was a U.S. Representative (R-Georgia), he had a score of zero from the Human Rights Campaign. He called the Supreme Court’s marriage-equality ruling “a sad day for marriage” and voted to enshrine discrimination in the U.S. Constitution. He called the Obama administration’s guidelines to schools to protect trans students “absurd.” So there’s little doubt that collecting information on LGBT seniors probably seems absurd to him, too. Besides, the Trump administration wants to cut services to seniors. It’s as if they think they can push the “fruity” ones off the cliff first and nobody will notice. Speak up. Call HHS at 1-877-696-6775 and sign the SAGE petition here: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/ trump-administration-erasing-lgbt-elders. n
In other words, the idea that LGBT people are nothing more than walking, talking sexual deviants persists despite plenty of contrary evidence.
D’Anne Witkowski is a poet, writer and comedian living in Michigan with her wife and son. She has been writing about LGBT politics for over a decade. Follow her on Twitter @MamaDWitkowski.
If you are celebrating an anniversary, engagement, wedding, adoption or other life event, we would be happy to help you announce it to the community. Send your contact information and a brief description of the event to editor@epgn.com.
OP-ED PGN
HRC 43-year failure
Mark My Words
Oriol R. Gutierrez Jr.
April 10 is National Youth HIV/AIDS Awareness Day Gabriel Maldonado is the founder, CEO and executive director of TruEvolution, an AIDS-service organization in Riverside, Calif. Founded by Maldonado and a group of youth activists in 2007, the organization works with high-risk youth populations in Riverside and San Bernardino counties. In recent years, TruEvolution has addressed the social factors that negatively affect the health of LGBT youth, such as homelessness, social displacement and homophobia. The group engages in community-organizing efforts and prevention services and seeks to improve access to care for youth living with HIV. Its ultimate goal is to create a youth-driven movement promoting health equity, racial justice and gender and sexual equality for all underserved youth in the Inland Empire region. As a 27-year-old Afro-Latino gay man living with HIV who has a master’s degree in business administration, Maldonado applies his personal and professional experiences to his advocacy. He has served on the AIDS Healthcare Foundation board of directors and the advisory boards of Janssen Pharmaceuticals and ViiV Healthcare. He was a POZ 100 honoree in 2014, which was the year the list focused on youth. He is a member of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/ AIDS (PACHA), serving as cochair of the disparities committee.
11
Street Talk
Sometimes there seems to be a language prob- president. So the answer is the ENDA passed lem in understanding, to quote a current presiby Congress, which has labored there since dent, “what the hell is really happening here.” Congresswoman Bella Abzug first introduced it Here’s an example. in 1974. Most Republicans, after the Supreme Court’s What has stopped us from getting that ruling on marriage equality, are stating that “mar- through — and at one point we came very close riage equality is now the law of the — and why didn’t we pass it while land.” But don’t take that as the Democrats had control? The answer issue is settled and we’ve won them is very simple. We seem to be a over. If you listen closely enough, civil-rights movement whose issues they’ll continue and add, “We now detour. We successfully got gays in have to fight for religious freedoms.” the military and marriage equality That line simply means denying — not ENDA, but both successful your right not only as a married couand important campaigns. ple but as an LGBT to get services As they remind us at every possiby any company or business that, for ble opportunity, HRC is the largest “religious reasons,” states it can’t LGBT lobby organization. Isn’t a serve you because of your orientalobby supposed to work with both tion. And there’s only one real fix Democrats and Republicans? So for that and we need Republicans to let’s ask them: About the one piece solve this — so when they say marof legislation that would protect riage is the law of the land, they’re millions of LGBT Americans, why not speaking out of the other side of Mark Segal have you had nothing but failure for their mouths. almost 43 years? The reason they can discriminate is quite simMark Segal, PGN publisher, is the nation’s mostple: We as a group are not a protected class, as is race, religion, sex, national origin and age. Other award-winning commentator in LGBT media. You can follow him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ areas have been added by various departments MarkSegalPGN or Twitter at https://twitter.com/ but they can be stripped by new directors or the PhilaGayNews.
Positive Thoughts
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com March 31-April 6, 2017
PGN: Tell us about the evolution of your organization. GM: We started as a human-rights organization and still call ourselves a humanrights organization. We found that there were a lot of social inequities and injustices that were being experienced by LGBT youth in Riverside and San Bernardino, two of the most conservative counties in California. We started working in high schools to address things like bullying and discriminatory policies. We worked closely with school districts on implementing inclusive transgender restroom policies. As we started to focus more on LGBT youth of color, HIV/AIDS became a major topic for us. We worked more on sexual-health education and resource referral. We then started linkage to care. Now, as a Ryan Whitefunded agency, we provide services that include testing for HIV, hepatitis C and syphilis. We also do very light, nonmedical case management. Our advocacy now includes a lot of work with public officials, both at the county and city levels, to create policies that meet the needs of vulnerable key populations disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS, which includes LGBT youth, men of color who have sex with men and trans women of color. PAGE 14
Would a meeting between Caitlyn Jenner and President Trump benefit the LGBT community? “She wouldn’t be my personal choice as spokesperson of the LGBT com- Nikki Krisanda dancer munity. Manhattan She’s not my fave. She does have name recognition, which could bring more attention to the community, but Caitlyn Jenner is a conservative lady and that gives me concern.”
“I’m not saying, ‘Yes, it should happen,’ but it wouldn’t hurt. Bentley Moran Trump make-up artist will have North Philadelphia further interactions with the trans community; that could be good. I would hope that Trump takes to heart what Caitlyn says. He should get something out of the meeting.”
“No. They’re both rich, famous people with conservative views. Melissa Riggins They have student Glassboro, N.J. the same outlook on things. I don’t think Trump would learn anything from the meeting. I’d like to see him meet people of a different socio-economic status. Once he’s exposed to their views, he can’t plead ignorance.”
“No. Caitlyn Jenner pretends to know the struggle of trans women but Joel Vasquez she fails student North Philadelphia to recognize the privilege of her own life. I was appalled that she opposed marriage equality on ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show.’ I believe Laverne Cox and Lady Dane Edidi are much more competent.”
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.
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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com March 31-April 6, 2017
PGN BOARD from page 1
locations outside Pennsylvania DELAWARE Rehoboth Beach • Canal Side Inn, 34 Sixth St. • Proud Bookstore, 149 Rehoboth Ave. • Rigby’s Bar & Grill, 404 Rehoboth Ave. • Shore Inn, 37239 Rehoboth Ave. • Wilmington • AIDS Delaware, 100 W. 10th St. • Crimson Moon, 1909 S. Sixth St. •
NEW JERSEY Asbury Park • Georgie’s, 812 Fifth Ave. • Paradise, 101 Asbury Ave. • Atlantic City • Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, 1 Borgata Way • Oasis, 32 S. Tennessee Ave. • Ocean House, 127 S. Ocean Ave. • Rainbow Room, 30 S. Florida Ave.• Ritz Condo lobby, 2715 Boardwalk • South Jersey AIDS Alliance. 10 Gordon’s Alley • Bordentown • Shoppe 202, 202 Farnsworth Ave. • Brigantine • Laguna Grill, 1400 Ocean Ave. • Camden • Honor Box, PATCO Ferry Ave. Station • Cherry Hill • The Bagel Spot, 600 N. Kings Hwy. • Collingswood • Honor Box, PATCO Collingswood Station • Groove Ground, Haddon Ave. • Egg Harbour City • Red Barn Books, 1204 White Horse Pike • Egg Harbour Twp. • Atlanticare, 6550 Delilah Ave. • Galloway • Pride Alliance Stockton College, 101 Vera King Farris Dr. suite 240 • Gloucester City • Red Barn Books, 600 Rt. 130 South • Haddonfield • Honor Box, PATCO Haddonfield Station, PATCO Woodcrest Station • Hammonton Club Revolution, 19 N. Egg Harbor Rd. • Highland Park • Pride Center of NJ, 85 Raritan Ave. • Lambertville • Buck’s Ice Cream, 25 Bridge St. • St. Andrews Church, 50 York St. Lebanon • LGBT of Hunterdon Co., 126 Petticoat Lane • Lindenwold • Honor Box, PATCO Lindenwold Station East • Honor Box, PATCO Lindenwold Station West • Mountainside • Rivendell Media, 1248 Rt. 22 West • Oaklyn • Sacred Green Earth, 511 Whitehorse Pike • Princeton • LGBT Center, Princeton University, 246 First Campus Center • Vineland • J&J News, 729 N. Main St. • West Berlin • Red Barn Books, 597 Route 73 North • West Cape May • Gables of Cape May, 600 Park Blcd. • Westmont • Honor Box, PATCO Westmont Station •
NEW YORK Blooming Grove • Help Inc., 48 Sylvan Trail • New York City • Lesbian and Gay Services Center, 208 W. 13th St.
honor box locations 2nd & Chestnut sts. • 2nd & Walnut sts. • 3rd & Chestnut sts. • 3rd & Market sts. • 3rd & Spruce sts. • 4th & Bainbridge sts. • 4th & Chestnut sts. • 4th St. bet. Arch & Market sts., by Holiday Inn • 5th & Spring Garden sts. • 5th & Spruce sts. • 6th St. & Washington Square West • 7th & Pine sts. • 8th & Market sts. • 8th & South sts. • 8th & Walnut sts. • 9th & Market sts. • 9th & Pine sts. • 10th & Market sts. • 10th & Pine sts. • 10th & South sts. • 10th & Spruce sts.• 10th & Reed sts. • 11th & Arch sts. • 11th & Locust sts. • 11th & Pine sts. • 11th & Walnut sts. • 12th & Filbert sts. • 12th & Locust sts. • 12th & Manning sts. •12th & Spruce sts. • 12th & Walnut sts. • 13th & Arch sts. • 13th & Chestnut sts. • 13th & Locust sts. • 13th & Pine sts. • 13th & Sansom sts. • 13th & Spruce sts. • 13th & Walnut sts. •15th & Spruce sts. • 16th St. & JFK Boulevard • 16th & Market sts. • 17th & Lombard sts. • 17th & Pine sts. • 17th & Spruce sts. • 18th St. & JFK Boulevard • 18th & Locust sts. • 18th & Market sts. • 19th & South sts. • 20th & Fitzwater sts. • 20th & Locust sts. • 20th & Pine sts. • 20th & Sansom sts. • 20th & Vine sts. • 21st & Walnut sts. • 22nd & Chestnut sts. • 22nd & Market sts. • 22nd & South sts. • 22nd & Walnut sts. • 23rd St. & Fairmount Avenue • 27th & Poplar sts. • 28th & Girard sts.• 29th & Girard sts. • 30th & Market sts. • 34th & Spruce sts. • 34th & Walnut sts. • 36th & Walnut sts. • 37th & Spruce sts. • 38th & Chestnut sts. • 38th & Spruce sts. • 38th & Walnut sts. • 40th & Walnut sts. • 40th & Spruce sts. • 63rd St. & City Ave. • 69th St. SEPTA station • 505 S. Fourth St. • Broad & Chestnut sts. • Broad & Ellsworth sts. • Broad & Race sts. • Broad & Spruce sts. • Broad & Walnut sts. • Front & Girard sts. • Germantown & Girard sts. • Juniper & Market sts. • Main & Cotton sts. • Main & Levering sts. • Passyunk Ave & 10th & Reed sts. • Passyunk & Mifflin sts. • University City SEPTA Station • Walnut & Dock sts., by Ritz Movies • Welsh Road & Roosevelt Boulevard • Wyndmoor SEPTA Station •
All of these locations are now visible on a zoomable Google Map at
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vote ‘yes’ on this proposed policy and do it knowing you are making young lives better and ensuring a stronger future for all of us,” Martin wrote. He told PGN the school board should be commended for adopting this policy to make “a better learning experience for transgender and gender-nonconforming students.” “The more commonplace [these policies] become, the more commonplace transgender and gender-nonconforming people become [recognized] in society,” Martin said. “Once people are treated fairly and equally, it becomes part of the routine that people will have better experiences. Laws also change culture and, I think in this instance, laws will hopefully change culture in a better way too.” Delevich brought the policy forward three years ago as an LGBT liaison for New RUN from page 1
finest, show us your Pride and let’s line our streets with positive vibes that only our community is capable of generating.” Anh Dang, a William Way board member and one of the event’s organizers, is involved with several athletic clubs in the city. He said it’s a dream to combine his love for running with the LGBT community. “I see this run as an opportunity for me to invite my running friends to celebrate Pride with me,” Dang said. “I also hope that having the run happening along with Pride will inspire some LGBT members to become lifelong runners.” Robert Lenahan is a board member of William Way, Out Philadelphia Athletic League and the City of Brotherly Love Softball League. He told PGN he has been “looking for a great way to bring all of the sporting leagues together to support and celebrate the LGBTQ communities.” HOME from page 1
programming and will add to our financial contribution.” Nasir Fears, a Project HOME resident, told PGN it was “surprising” to see the program receive the funding. “There are a lot of companies that don’t help and don’t condone helping LGBT youth and LGBT people in general,” the gay 22-year-old said. “It’s shocking but it’s a really good thing and we really appreciate it.” VIGIL from page 5
when she first started planning the vigil, she anticipated a small and intimate gathering, like the March 6 direct action held by the Black and Brown Workers Collective. But, after more than 1,000 people responded to the event on Facebook, she pushed the event back a week to find a bigger venue. In that week, the eighth woman, Alphonza Watson, was killed in Baltimore. The other seven women were: Mesha Caldwell, Jamie Lee Wounded Arrow, Jojo Striker, Jaquarrius Holland, Keke Collier, Chyna Doll Dupree and Ciara McElveen. Morrison closed out the evening by saying, “We just want to feel safe, we want to
Hope, but she withheld it from school-board meetings after receiving little community support. She introduced the policy again in December after a school-board member came under fire from the community. Douglas McDonough, the board member, posted a Facebook status seemingly criticizing people who wear safety pins to convey solidarity for individuals who could be marginalized because of Trump. McDonough wrote that the pins “might come in handy as a suture for any lacerations you get when you are macro-aggressively punched in the face for being such a slactivist jackass.” “It was a wonderful feeling to know that even more of our students and hopefully now all of our students will feel that they can get a quality education in a very safe environment and be treated equally and respectfully by all,” Delevich said. n “Coordinating a race with Pride is the perfect way to bring all of these great organizations together along with our allies to celebrate Pride while supporting not only
the achievements of Philly Pride Presents but the William Way LGBT Community Center,” Lenahan said. The Philly Pride 2017 fun run will kick off 11:30 a.m. June 18. Registration will be available in early April on William Way’s website (waygay.org) and Philly Pride Presents’ website (phillygaypride.org). n Fears said he wants “every homeless person to get off the street” and hopes this project will help support that goal. After living with Project HOME for a year, he credits the organization with helping him find jobs and internships. “[Project HOME helped me with] everything I wished for supportive-wise, housing-wise, helping me get a job and getting me on my feet,” Fears said. “It’s giving me a chance to live my life and make me stronger at the same time.” n feel included and we want people to understand.” She also suggested that anyone who wanted to be an ally to the trans community could donate to Sisterly L.O.V.E.’s “Welcome Home Kits” for recently incarcerated trans women, get involved with prison-support organization Hearts on a Wire or donate to several of the fundraisers to defray funeral costs for Chyna Doll Gibson (https:// www.gofundme.com/memorial-fund-forchyna-doll-gibson/donate), Jamie Lee Wounded Arrow (https://www.gofundme. com/jamie-wounded-arrows-funeral) and Jojo Striker (https://www.gofundme.com/ help-cover-funeral-costs-for-jojo). n
PGN
International Sweden to compensate trans people for ‘forced sterilization’ Sweden is planning to pay compensation to transgender people who were forced to undergo sterilization during the sex-change procedure, the health minister said March 25. The government is to introduce a bill that would award 225,000 kronor ($26,000) to every person who was legally compelled to accept sterilization in order to complete a sex change, Health Minister Gabriel Wikstrom said. Between 1972 and 2013, the law made sterilization obligatory for transgender people who wanted their sex change to be officially recognized by the authorities. But in December 2012, a Swedish court ruled that the practice was unconstitutional and violated the European Convention on Human Rights, with a ban coming into force a month later. “The demand for sterilization that existed previously laid out a vision from which today’s society wishes to distance itself and the government believes it was wrong to demand it,” Wikstrom said. The move to change the law was hailed as a world first by the Swedish Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender
Media Trail Gay-rights group praises Ok. Senate for derailing bills The Oklahoma Senate has derailed two bills that opponents say have led to boycotts in other states and could jeopardize Oklahoma’s ability to attract major sporting events, according to Tulsa World. The Republican-controlled Senate voted 25-18 on March 23 against a bill that would have prohibited cities and towns from enacting ordinances that protect gay people from discrimination in housing and employment. Coalgate Republican Sen. Josh Brecheen wrote the bill and says it was intended to protect people’s sincerely held religious beliefs. After the bill failed, the author of a second measure to allow businesses to discriminate against gay people withdrew his proposal. Troy Stevenson, the director of gay-rights
Rights (RFSL). But the group said it would push for a higher level of compensation. “The sum should be at a level that constitutes a real recognition of the excesses of the state,” said RFSL President Frida Sandegard. In 2013, nearly 150 Swedish transgender persons demanded an official apology from the state and compensation. RFSL said the practice had affected some 800 people. Until now, the government has refused, despite the fact that, in 1999, Sweden paid compensation to 230,000 victims of forced sterilizations under a eugenics program in force between 1935 and 1996. Official statistics show that between 1972 and 2011, 865 people asked to legally change their gender, with 500 of them actually going ahead.
German Cabinet OKs plan to annul homosexuality convictions Germany’s Cabinet has approved a bill that will annul the convictions of thousands of gay men under a law criminalizing homosexuality that was applied zealously in post-World War II West Germany. The measure, approved March 22, foresees compensation of 3,000 euros ($3,230) for each conviction plus 1,500 euros for every year of jail time. Some 50,000 men were convicted between 1949-69 under the so-called Paragraph 175 outlawing sexual relations between men. The legislation was introgroup Freedom Oklahoma, praised the Senate for its vote and noted that similar bills have led to boycotts in North Carolina and Indiana.
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com March 31-April 6, 2017
duced in the 19th century, toughened under Nazi rule and retained in that form by West Germany. Homosexuality was decriminalized in 1969 but the legislation wasn’t taken off the books entirely until 1994. The new bill still requires parliamentary approval.
Thinking Queerly
Kristina Furia
‘Beauty and the Beast’ to be shown in Malaysia without cuts Malaysia’s largest cinema chain says it will begin showing the Disney movie “Beauty and the Beast” on March 30 without cutting a gay scene as had been ordered by film censors. The retelling of the animated classic was originally scheduled to start on March 16 but was postponed after Disney refused to edit the film. Film Censorship Board chairman Abdul Halim Abdul Hamid had said the movie was approved with a minor cut involving “a gay moment” because scenes promoting homosexuality were forbidden. He said the film was given a PG-13 rating, which requires parental guidance for children under age 13. Golden Screen Cinemas announced March 21 on Facebook that this was “official from Disney. No cuts. PG13. 30 March.” Cinema officials and Abdul Halim couldn’t immediately be reached for comment. n — compiled by Larry Nichols
Thinking Queerly explores the psychological and social experiences of being LGBT in America and sheds light on the importance of LGBT community members prioritizing their mental health.
A spokesperson for the security firm says she can’t comment without seeing the lawsuit.
Judge allows Oregon Nightclub shooting victims resident to be genderless sue gunman’s employer, wife ABC News reports a personal injury attorney representing some of the families and survivors of the Orlando nightclub killings has filed a lawsuit against the gunman’s employer and wife, claiming they were able to stop Omar Mateen before the attack but didn’t. The lawsuit was filed March 22 in federal court in South Florida on behalf of more than four-dozen survivors and family members of those killed. Forty-nine people were killed during the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history last June at the gay nightclub. Dozens more were injured. Personal-injury attorney Antonio Romanucci says Mateen’s employer, international security company G4S, knew he was unstable yet allowed him to carry a gun in his job as a security guard. Romanucci says Mateen had a firearm license through his job.
NBC4 reports an Oregon judge who last year ruled that a transgender person can legally change their sex to “non-binary” has given the OK for a Portland resident to be genderless. Multnomah County Judge Amy Holmes Hehn on March 10 granted a petition allowing Patrick Abbatiello to go from male to “agender” and switch to the single name Patch. People who are agender see themselves as neither a man nor a woman and have no gender identity. Phone calls to Patch’s cellphone were not being accepted. Patch’s Facebook page says Patch studies creative writing and is co-coordinator of the Queer Resource Center at a branch campus of Portland Community College. The judge told NBC in an email her decisions were supported by facts and the law. n — compiled by Larry Nichols
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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com March 31-April 6, 2017
PGN POSITIVE from page 11
PGN: For 2017 and beyond, what are some of your advocacy and policy priorities? GM: We have to be mindful about the future of our health-care system, especially the Affordable Care Act. That is the priority that should be on all our plates, particularly for people living with HIV. If our services decrease — even an iota — that could mean life or death for some of us. People are still dying from this virus, particularly because sometimes they are not aware of their status or stigma prohibits them from engaging in care. We need to make sure that the apparatus that we worked really hard to create over the past 30 years remains in place for dealing with HIV. We also need to deal with highly transient youth. The majority of youth I work with are not originally from this community. Primarily, they moved here because we have some of the most affordable housing in the state. They are not only moving between counties but also from across state lines for job opportunities and social spaces. Further, we need to provide youth with sexual-health education, specifically health-care literacy, which I am really passionate about. Youth have to be able to understand their healthcare system and the jargon used in navigating the system, which is overwhelming and can be a real barrier.
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PGN: In the aftermath of the 2016 election, how does HIV/AIDS advocacy move forward? How can youth play a role? GM: Everybody has different strategies and approaches. I don’t necessarily think one strategy is better than another. My personal strategy that we use here at the local level has been to decentralize the movement, which is very counter to what the movement has become since the beginning of the epidemic. More of a grassroots approach is where we need to go. We need to engage with our city and state officials. The Trump administration is looking to give more power to the states, which means that we’re going to see an expansion of the role that state and local governments play in health care. Let’s take fewer flights to D.C. and more flights to state capitals like Sacramento and Albany. According to many reports, it was millennials — those who voted and those who protested by not voting — that really swung this election. Youth are drawn to decentralization, to the grassroots. Look at Black Lives Matter. There are many chapters in several cities. Each is different, but the Black Lives Matter movement goes forward in cohesion because they’re after the same goal. The HIV/AIDS movement needs to get on this bandwagon. I don’t say that in a negative way. However, I think that we could leverage the power of millennials by better understanding their approach to
activism and policy. PGN: You tested HIV-positive in 2013. Can you speak about the journey that led you to become an AIDS activist? GM: I came out as a gay man when I was a freshman in college at 19 years old. I came out because I had been in a violent relationship. From there, I wanted to get involved more in understanding my queer identity and how my queer existence, particularly as a person of color, could be nourished and supported. I ended up in San Diego and started volunteering, and about two years later became the director of festivals for San Diego Pride. Commuting from Riverside to San Diego was too much, so I didn’t stay. But that’s when I started to learn more about community organizing and leadership development. That’s when I also started to learn about HIV. At Pride, I saw the presence of various AIDS-service organizations and became curious. I have a phrase that I’m kind of turning into a national program. It’s called “Resilience Is My Resistance.” Resilience – simply being resilient – is an act of resistance. Me following myself is activism. That has become my guiding pedagogy for how I do my work and how I understand myself. PGN: What advice can you give to youth who want to get involved in advocacy? GM: Take an inventory of what exists in your community, then plug into what’s happening. My organization is big on not recreating the wheel, even if we think we can do it better. If it already exists, then support the agency that’s doing it. What we should be doing as millennials is filling the gaps. What is not being done? What conversations are not happening? What part of your activism is not being reflected in your community? Form coalitions and leverage the volume of your coalitions instead of relying on large agencies that have access already. Let’s leverage the vast expansion of the grassroots networks that we have. PGN: What keeps you motivated? GM: Two things. One, I grew up in Compton with a single mother. I almost dropped out of high school. When I started community work, I found that I had a gift for organizing. I found my purpose. It was a full-circle moment for a boy who faced suicide, abuse, sexual violence and rape. All that was overcome by my purpose. Second, my mother is my chief of staff. She quit her job when I tested HIVpositive. She volunteered for me for one year just to take care of me as I built my agency. I really want to give the same love to my brothers and my sisters that my mother, my grandmother and my grandfather gave to me growing up. n Oriol R. Gutierrez Jr. is the editor-in-chief of POZ magazine. Find him on Twitter @oriolgutierrez. This column is a project of Plus, Positively Aware, POZ, The Body and Q Syndicate, the LGBT wire service.
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PGN LGBTQ Youth Supplement by our youth, for our youth, for our future
Journalists’ Journey: Watch us W.E.R.Q.! What’s inside — Key numbers: page 2 — Journalism under a toxic presidency; College GSAs; Community Center listings: page 3 — An inside look at a PGN internship; Poetry Corner; Events Calendar: page 6 — Youth Organizations: page 7 — Women’s March in Philadelphia; Fair Femme: page 8
By Work and Education Readiness for Queer Youth W.E.R.Q./Radio interns at The Attic Youth Center W.E.R.Q./Radio Podcasting & Youth Making Media, also known as The Rainbow Experience, is an internship for which a group of seven teens split into three squads and embark on a yearlong journey to create nine intriguing podcasts. Throughout this year, we created vlogs such as, “America, What Happened?” and “i found god in myself,” which was filmed at the African American Museum in Philadelphia in tribute to the 40th anniversary of Ntozake Shange’s “for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf.” Also, we participated in a Black Lives Matter panel based on the films “Moonlight” and “Pariah” and served as press for The University Community Collaborative’s Social Justice POWER Panel at Temple University. As emerging journalists, we are in the most exciting
stages of creating our podcasts. We have completed our focus groups and preliminary pitches. Now, we are preparing for the Final Pitch Panel and the production of our episodes. The W.E.R.Q./Radio internship program run by The Attic Youth Center has not only given us an outlet for our creativity, but also allowed us to grow and become more aware of the world around us. This program has provided many opportunities that are rare for LGBTQ+ youth; we are truly lucky to be a part of such a supportive and successful experience! If you asked any one of us what our favorite part of the internship is, you’d earn yourself a variety of responses — anything from the staff to the sense of belonging and the warm atmosphere that The Attic provides. You could say we are almost like a family; we look after each other, we check up on each other, we respect each other and, like a family, if one member succeeds, we all succeed. However, nothing is without its
challenges; the radio episodes we are creating are far from easy. We have been working extremely hard and the research keeps us on our toes. As a group, the balance of our strengths and weaknesses helps greatly; there is always someone stronger when you need assistance. Also, lead intern Damien Walker has been very essential and helpful with keeping us on track! As mentioned, we are divided into three radio cohorts. The first team is the Slay Gay squad. They are about “walking the walk and talking the talk!” Squad mates Tamia Lawrence and Julian Maestre have created four ideas for podcasts. The first potential episode is “The MASC We Wear.” It will be tackling the toxicity of masculinity within the LGBTQ+ community and the world at large. The second episode, “Don’t Disrespect My Walk,” will talk about how street harassment is targeted towards LGBTQ+ people and women via sexism and homophobia. The third epi-
sode, “A Walk Down Rainbow Lane,” will outline the history of LGBTQ+ rights that are ignored and excluded from school curriculums. The last episode possibility is “Where’s My Ballot?” highlighting LGBTQ+ concerns being ignored in politics, and as humans being considered controversial. This episode will address politicians to treat the interests of the queer community with respect. Justin Newsome and Miya Ingram make up the My Chemical Gayness squad and aim to empower the community. They’re working on podcasts such as “You Are Not Alone,” an episode dedicated to mental illness in the LGBTQ+ community. Another episode is called “Trumping LGBTQ+ Laws,” which talks about Donald Trump and the legislation he is attempting to alter or remove during his presidential tenure. Lastly, there is “You Don’t Have to Respond,” an episode about online safety tips that will help protect youth who have the desire to talk PAGE 2
not tweet conspiracy theories at 3 a.m. Pence can actually formulate sentences. And, to quote “Game of Thrones,” Pence has “the personality of a lobster” and would never generate the excitement that the orange fascist does among his followers. Pushing for a removal of Trump from office, or at least doing everything to ensure Trump hates being in office so much that he either resigns out of necessity or to stop others from doing it to him, is the best way to at least gain the façade of sanity in our government. One of the best things I can recommend is: Do not let yourself become distracted by his smoke. The only “fake news” are the distractions he puts out (the Obama wiretapping claim, for example) to distract from a bigger picture (the fact that most of his team has lied about meeting with Russian officials, for example). His White House’s actions do not strike me as an administration that is innocent of anything scandalous. Focus on the cracks, and keep pushing them until his vanity mirror is smashed into pieces. And, as difficult as it may be, don’t be worn down. It’s a tough
process when the White House seems to be making headlines and causing outrage every day, from the Muslim-targeted travel ban to allowing the DAPL pipeline to continue, the removal of provisions for trans students, a health-care bill that would hurt the poor, paying for the president’s wife to stay in a penthouse and so much, much more that it’s hard to believe it’s barely been two months since he started office. But do not let this chaos wear you down, as hard as it can be. Let us power through and overcome this chaos, as we have in the days of Stonewall and the AIDS crisis, to remember the outrage the Electoral College system caused us and to remember every crime against the soul of America — and hold those in power accountable. And never keep an eye off our government to remind it that it is suppose to serve the will of its people and we will work to that goal as hard as we can. Remember, my friends, even after the worst of storms, a bright rainbow will shine through. N
What’s next? By Sean Morris Age: 19 Like many people — the majority of the country who voted for Hillary Clinton, in fact — I was shattered when I learned the results of the presidential election. It didn’t come all at once like for most people waking up the next day; I stayed up the entire night, staring in unblinking terror at the live Electoral College tallies in the desperate hopes that there would be a change. But there wasn’t. My uninterrupted nightmare continued the next day where the sky and weather seemed to reflect what we all felt. I felt — no — I knew that my country didn’t care about people like me. They didn’t care about my friends, my classmates or their families. They cared about policy that benefited them and them alone, their party, their self-righteousness and their desperate attempt for change to the point they would let the world burn to do so. I didn’t know what was going to happen and, truth be told, a few months later, I still don’t quite know. But something did strike in me; as much as the clouds and
thunder roared over our heads on Election and Inauguration Day, it was representative of not our sorrows at the time nor a foreboding of a totalitarian government, but rather a foreshadowing of the storm that would come against our government. Let me be clear: That man (I refuse to stroke his ego by mentioning his name) is weak. Someone whose administration within his first 60 days is wrought with the kind of scandals that plagued Nixon after six years cannot keep this up for long. Unfortunately, I don’t think this will mean that he’s due to be impeached yet, due to the spineless members of Congress, but he’s falling apart and we need to keep pushing that dam until it breaks. The problem with him and his fervent supporters is that he generates too much hype that gets him blind support for things like the rape allegations and the “Access Hollywood” tape. If he was impeached or forced to resign, many would worry what homophobic Vice President Mike Pence would bring. However, while I think that Pence would be a horrible president, he wouldn’t be as bad as our current option. Pence will
Sean Morris is a freshman at Temple University.
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PGN LGBTQ YOUTH SUPPLEMENT
ATTIC from page 1
with new people on various social-media platforms. Rounding out the internship teams are the Inverted Rainbow squad consisting of Bruce Bennett and Julia Jones, who coin themselves “a group of unicorns striving to honor the many voices of the LGBTQ+ community.” This squad has been working on a variety of topics ranging from bisexuality to gendered clothing. So far, they have pitched four episodes. First, there’s “Bisexuality! Big Misunderstanding,” which is about the misconceptions surrounding individuals who identify as the “B” in LGBTQ+. Next, there’s “What’s Wrong with My Clothes?” which deals with categorizing clothing options solely in the binary. Then there’s “Do I Pass Today?” which will explore what misgendering does to the psyche. Finally, there’s “With A Filter,” which is about positive sexual-health resources for youth. We, with the help of our facilitator TS Hawkins, have been working hard to make our voices heard. Whether it be an episode on clothing equity, politics or mental health, or sitting on a panel or making a vlog, we continue to find ways to make all that we do relevant to those in and outside the LGBTQ+ community. With “one mic and many voices,” we are learning that our point of view is significant because we are the future. We are creative and artic■ ActionAIDS: 215-981-0088 ■ AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania: 215-587-9377 ■ AIDS Law Project of Southern New Jersey: 856-9339500 ext. 221 ■ AIDS Library: 215-985-4851 ■ ACLU of Pennsylvania: 215-592-1513 ■ AIDS Treatment Fact line: 800-662-6080 ■ 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 ■ District Attorney LGBT Liaison: Amber Hikes, 215-6869980, amber.hikes@phila.gov ■ Equality Pennsylvania: 215731-1447; www.equalitypa.org ■ Equality Forum: 215-7323378 ■ GALAEI: A Queer Latin@ Social Justice Organization: 215-851-1822 ■ LGBT Elder Initiative: 267546-3448; info@LGBTEI.org ■ LGBT Peer Counseling Services: 215-732-TALK
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ulate intellectuals who have a uniqueness to offer the world. Through different struggles, paths and journeys, we hope the upcoming episodes evoke universal emotions. Help us celebrate our voices plus the debut of the radio episodes at our closing event, #WERQURVOICE: A Culmination Celebration, June 14 at the Philadelphia City Institute/Free Library! In the meantime, follow everything we’re doing at www.atticyouthcenter.org or www.therainbowexperienceradio.blogspot.com. N Bruce Bennett, 15, is a college-bound aspiring journalist and author. Miya Ingram, 17, is a spoken-word artist with journalistic passion. Julia G. Jones, 16, is a young entrepreneur looking for opportunities on every front. Tamia Lawrence, 15, is a young journalist with huge ambitions to change the world. Julian Maestre, 18, spends time in photography and filmmaking class. Justin Newsome, 19, is an aspiring actor, director and journalist. Damien Walker, 16, is a young leader who spends time encouraging the plus-size community.
■ Mayor’s Director of LGBT Affairs: Gloria Casarez, 215686-2194; Gloria.Casarez@ phila.gov; ■ Mazzoni Center: 215-5630652; Legal Services: 215-5630657, 866-LGBT-LAW; Family & Community Medicine: 215563-0658 ■ Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (Philadelphia): 215-572-1833 ■ Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations: 215686-4670 ■ Philadelphia Lesbian and Gay Task Force: 1-877-pride2000
■ Police Department liaison — Deputy Commissioner Kevin Bethel: 215-686-3318 ■ Philadelphia Police Liaison Committee: 215-760-3686 (Rick Lombardo); ppd.lgbt@ gmail.com ■ Philly Pride Presents: 215875-9288 ■ SPARC — Statewide Pennsylvania Rights Coalition: 717-920-9537 ■ Transgender Health Action Coalition: 215-732-1207 (staffed 3-6 p.m. Wednesdays and 6-9 p.m. Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays)
PGN LGBTQ YOUTH SUPPLEMENT
SPRING 2017
College GSAs Bucks County Community College — Gay/Straight Alliance: Provides a safe haven for LGBTQA campus community members and works to combat stigma on campus; fratrikc@bucks.edu or altemose@ bucks.edu. Cabrini College — Sanctuary: Offers affinity groups, peer support and educational activities to promote a greater understanding of the LGBT community. Chestnut Hill College —
H.E.R.O.: Promotes awareness of and appreciation for the LGBTQQIA community and works to instill a sense of unity between the community and allies; kociszewskim@chc.edu.
Community College of Philadelphia — Gay/Straight
Alliance: Advocates for LGBT inclusion and acceptance on campus with programming and events, and offers resources for LGBT and ally campus communities; scooks1@ccp.edu.
Drexel University —
LGBTQA Student Center: Supports the development, growth and education of Drexel students with a safe and inclusive campus location for the community and allies on campus; Creese Student Center Room 48-C.
Holy Family University
— The Alliance for Student Equality: Works to recognize the respect and dignity of the whole person in support of promoting the development of personal identity and social equality on campus; drafter@holyfamily.edu or mmbobholz@holyfamily.edu.
La Salle University — The Alliance: Pledges to provide a safe place and support for the LGBT members of the community; http://studentaffairs.lasalle. edu/umas/service-opportunities/ advocacy-groups/the-alliance/; alliance.lasalle@gmail.com.
Philadelphia University — Gay/Straight Alliance: Connects LGBT campus community with resources throughout the university and region; caulford4949@ mail.philau.edu or horowitzh@ philau.edu. Saint Joseph’s University — The Alliance: Fosters open and honest discussion about diversity and LGBT issues and works to affect an environment where homophobia and hatred are replaced by mutual understanding and respect; www.sju.edu/int/ resources/alliance/about.html; gsa@sju.edu. Temple University — Queer
Student Union: Strives to provide a safe social space to LGBTQIA students while exploring issues relevant to the larger community; https://twitter.com/TempleQSU; nurodney.prad@temple.edu.
University of the Arts — OUT@UArts: Through discussion, cultural events and outreach through art, seeks to make a difference for LGBTQ individuals at UArts and beyond; www.uarts.edu/students/outuarts; cfreeman@uarts. edu.
Journalism under a toxic presidency By Anonymous Being in college is a stressful time for most people — exams, becoming an adult, leaving home and finding your career path are all struggles in themselves. For me, there is also the added obstacles of discovering my sexual identity, figuring out my political views and making the choice to become a professional in mass media. What I didn’t factor into the mix was trying to overcome these during the uprising of a Trump presidency. When I first arrived at school, I was overwhelmed with all of the amazing possibilities that were available to me. I was raised in a primarily Republican household and now I was being unleashed into a world where my views were part of the majority rather than swept aside as “teenage rebellion,” and I was interacting with people my own age who came from very diverse backgrounds. For the first two years, college was a dream. I realized that I wanted to become a writer and hoped to make a difference with
University of Pennsylvania — LGBT Center: More than 20 undergraduate and graduate LGBT student groups abound at Penn, with meetings and community events held at the Center, 3907 Spruce St.; www. vpul.upenn.edu/lgbtc/; center@ dolphin.upenn.edu; 215-8985044. University of the Sciences — Alliance: Increases awareness of LGBT issues on campus and provides support for LGBT students, faculty, administration and staff; http://orgs.usciences. edu/alliance/; alliance@mail. usciences.edu. West Chester University — LGBTQQA Services: Provides information, resources, support and programming for the campus community and is home to the LGBTQA Student Organization; LGBTQA@ wcupa.edu; www.wcupa.edu/_ services/stu.lgb/. N
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The Youth Supplement is also available on the PGN website: epgn.com
hard-hitting stories and honest journalism. I was confident that words could inspire change and that people’s stories deserved to be heard. However, when I became an upperclassman, my professors began to preach warnings about the dangers that lie ahead for mass-media professionals. They weren’t talking about the decline of print news or radio. They were
They warned us that under this new presidency, our futures would be much rockier than we may have hoped. spouting new terms like “fake news” and “alternative facts.” They warned us that under this new presidency, our futures would be much rockier than we may have hoped. This was just months ago, and each day since then journalists
■ The Attic Youth Center 255 S. 16th St.; 215-5454331; 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. See the Youth section for more events.
have faced more and more accusations of unethical and deceptive practices. As an LGBT+ student journalist, these attacks on our community frighten me. I now not only worry that I will be attacked and ridiculed for my orientation, but for my career as well. I don’t want to run away from the career I’ve been working for, and I won’t stop telling the stories that need to be heard. Many people in our nation have opposing ideas about what equality really means, and it’s the job of the media to bring the transparent truth to these ideas. We cannot all have the same views or beliefs, but we can be smart enough to research how we receive our information and kind enough to coexist without violence. Many people have said that when a dangerous government is rising, the first people they will silence are the media. I say, it’s our job not to let this happen. Share your story and speak out for those who cannot. We will not be silenced for who we are, and we will not be silent about what we stand for in our America. N
■ Rainbow Room — Bucks County’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning and Allies Youth Center 6-8 p.m. Wednesdays: Salem UCC Education Building, 181 E. Court St., Doylestown; 215957-7981 ext. 9065; rainbowroom@ppbucks.org. ■ William Way Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center 1315 Spruce St.; 215-732-2220; www.waygay. org. Hours: 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Friday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Peer counseling: 6-9 p.m. Monday through Friday Library hours: noon-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday; noon-3 p.m. and 6-9 p.m. Friday; noon-6 p.m. Saturday. Volunteers: New orientation: First Wednesday of the month at 7:30 p.m.
Community centers
■ Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Center at the University of Pennsylvania 3907 Spruce St.; 215-8985044; center@dolphin.upenn. edu. Regular hours: 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 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.
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Inside an internship at PGN By Eliana Berson Age: 17 A few months from the end of the 2015-16 school year, I was forced to ponder the question, what should I do this summer? Even more mystifying, what should I do with my life? As a sophomore in high school, these were the most pressing questions in my mind. I eventually came across an answer to the first, with the hope that it would help me decide the answer to the second: I applied for a summer internship at the Philadelphia Gay News. This was my first experience with taking the Regional Rail train by myself, let alone working in a professional environment. I was prepared for menial
duties, such as coffee runs and paperwork. On my first day, after conquering the transportation challenge, the environment at PGN pleasantly surprised me. Jen Colletta, the editor of the paper, escorted me to Starbucks in order to discuss scheduling and what would be expected of me. There would be no coffee runs; however there were a few mindless tasks, which I came to enjoy. The internship consisted of two days a week, most of the summer. Colletta informed me that I would interview people, in person and on the phone. This prospect was daunting, since it involved human interaction rather than silently researching and typing. Eventually I overcame this fear, as I got the opportunity to speak with amazing people,
like Otter Jung Allen, the Youth Poet Laureate of Philadelphia, or Lady Desire, who was helping her daughter run a drag camp for kids. Sitting at a desk all day grew tiresome, but the monotony never lasted long. If I finished writing an article or putting the content on the paper’s website, there was always something long-term to do. I was in charge of organizing the Summer Youth Supplement, and there were always emails to send, people to interview and scholarships to research. It amazed me how everything works behind the scenes. Even using the back end of the website was an exciting revelation. During the summer, the Democratic National Convention
took place in Philadelphia. This rare opportunity meant that for a week or so, the office was in chaos. The staff at PGN slaved for most of the day to keep up with the normal paper while also reporting on the DNC. They often stayed out until 11 p.m. or later in order to attend press conferences and speeches. Throughout this, they retained a relentlessly positive attitude. Publisher Mark Segal, who worked on the upper level, would frequently come downstairs just to joke with the staff. The work ethic present at PGN was extraordinary and admirable. The employees at PGN were extremely patient, gladly helped me if I accidentally pressed the wrong button and shut down the
computer, or forgot the process for uploading articles onto the website. Colletta was extremely helpful, teaching me the grammatical nuances of writing for a newspaper, and showing me how to transcribe interviews with alarming speed. The experience I gained from working at PGN was extremely valuable and enlightening. I learned about careers and spoke with some incredible people. I have no idea if I plan to pursue journalism in the future, but after completing the internship and being immersed in this exquisite world of writing, I would strongly consider it. N Eliana Berson is a junior at Abington Senior High, and is considering majoring in English or political science.
Spring & summer events DVLF Heroes 12:30-3:30 p.m. April 9 Hotel Monaco, 433 Chestnut St. The LGBT grantmaking agency honors local leaders, including youth; dvlf.org/heroes. Dining Out for Life April 20 Locations around the region collaborate to donate a third of their portions for the day to Action Wellness, which provides services to people with HIV/AIDS and other illnesses; diningoutforlife. com/Philadelphia. Alice in Wonderland GayBINGO! April22 The monthly HIV/AIDS fundraising event for AIDS Fund for April comes with the theme “We’re all mad here!”aidsfundphilly.org/gaybingo Philly Black Pride April 27-30 The 18th-annual event features workshops, discussions, socials and more celebrating black LGBT communities; phillyblackpride.org. Mr. Philly Drag King 7-10 p.m. April 29 William Way LGBT Community Center, 1315 Spruce St. Liberty City Kings Drag & Burlesque stages the annual amateur drag king competition; libertycitykings.com. Shut Up & Dance 7-9 p.m. April 29 Forrest Theatre, 1114 Walnut St. The Pennsylvania Ballet stages its annual fundraiser for Metropolitan Area Neighborhood Nutritional Alliance, which provides nutritional
meals for people with life-threatening illnesses, including HIV/AIDS; www.mannapa.org/dance. New Hope Pride Noon May 20 The annual parade takes over the riverside town, followed by a festival featuring vendors, performers and more; www.newhopecelebrates.com. Pennsylvania Youth Action Conference May 19-22 Harrisburg The sixth-annual conference, organized by the Pennsylvania Youth Congress, includes panel discussions, workshops, socials and more, with a focus on LGBT-youth equality; youthactionconference.com. Youth Conversation 5-7 p.m. May 22 Philadelphia City Hall, Broad and Market streets The first of a series of public forums held by the Philadelphia Youth Commission will explore issues such as education, public safety, health and wellness, and jobs and economics; RSVP at pycyouthconversations.eventbrite.com. Philadelphia Dyke March June 10 Kahn Park, 11th and Pine streets Dykes and allies will gather for the 19th-annual event, which features a march and rally; facebook.com/events/191557577961982/. Philadelphia Pride Parade and Festival Noon-6 p.m. June 18 The festivities kick off in the Gayborhood with a parade, which proceeds through Center City to Penn’s Landing for a festival featuring live entertainment, vendors and food; phillygaypride.org. N
Poetry Corner The power of growth By Timothy Wayne Moore Age: 29 Maturity is in the rearranging of priorities where one is spending their energy, Life will reflect in lessons the process of unfolding in new directions. In order to meet set goals to alchemize darkness into gold spirit has to transforming so one’s wings will unfold To dare to balance Being vulnerable and bold One must learn to hold onto their core In a world whose ways can be cold Intuition helps guide the journey through it Where darkness is transformed into light Ignorance destroyed and replaced with insight Life is at the death of destruction Reborn from previous forms Ascending through experience Living now asking faith for direction Timothy Wayne Moore is an organizational project manager for a community organization that helps ex-felons integrate back into society. He is also a musician whose music can be found at Www.soundcloud.com/timwmoore87. Follow him on Twitter: @Timothywm7887.
SPRING 2017
PGN LGBTQ YOUTH SUPPLEMENT
TEEN TALENT: The Attic Youth Center held its annual “Sweet Hearts & Red Hots” show March 10 at the William Way LGBT Community Center. Youth entertained the crowd of about 80 with a variety of talent at the event usually held in February. Food and beverages for the attendees and participants completed the festive evening. Photos: Scott A. Drake
PGN will run the LGBTQ Youth Supplement again in September. Email editor@epgn.com to get involved. PGN and our community would love to hear from you.
GLBT Group of Hunterdon County Social and support groups for youth, teens and young adults, as well as parents and family members, meets at North County Branch Library, 65 Halstead St. in Clinton, N.J. Schedule at www. glbtofhunterdoncountyofnj.com; 908-3001058. HAVEN For GLBT, intersex, questioning, queer and allied youth ages 14-20; meets 7-9 p.m. Wednesdays at the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Lehigh Valley, 424 Center St., Bethlehem; 610-868-2153. HiTOPS A safe-space support program for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth, meets 2:30-4:30 p.m. on the first and third Saturdays at 21 Wiggins St., Princeton, N.J. Call Connie at 609-683-5155 (day); hitops.org. PRYSM Youth Center For ages 14-20. Meets 6:30-8:30 p.m. Wednesdays at center, 126 E. Baltimore Pike, Media; 610-357-9948.
Rainbow Room — Bucks County’s LGBTQ and Allies Youth Center For ages 14-21; meets 6-8 p.m. Wednesdays at Salem UCC Education Building, 181 E. Court St., Doylestown; 215-957-7981 ext. 9065; rainbowroom@ppbucks.org. Social X Change Social activity group for LGBT youth of color ages 13-23 meets 6-8 p.m. on Tuesdays at 112 N. Broad St., 11th floor; 215-496-0330. Space to be Proud, Open, and Together Open to all LGBTQ queer youth and allies, ages 14-21, the SPOT meets Thursdays, 6:308:30 p.m., at Planned Parenthood of Chester County’s West Chester office, 8 S. Wayne St.; 267-687-6648. Young, Trans and Unified A support group for transgender and questioning youth ages 13-23 meets 7:15 p.m. Thursdays at The Attic Youth Center. Youth Making a Difference For GLBTQ African-American and Latino individuals ages 14-24. Meets 5-7 p.m. every Tuesday at Camden AHEC, 514 Cooper St.; 856-963-2432.
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PGN LGBTQ YOUTH SUPPLEMENT
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SPRING 2017
Philadelphia joins millions marching for peace By Eliana Berson Age: 17 On Jan. 21, the day after Donald Trump’s inauguration, tens of thousands of people flooded the streets, taking part in the Women’s March on Philadelphia. Philadelphians shattered the expected attendance number, with a crowd of roughly 50,000 making their way through the city. Trump’s successful presidential campaign was controversial due to his frequently sexist, racist and inappropriate comments.
Trump’s vice president, Mike Pence, is also known for his homophobic tendencies, shown by his support of conversion therapy. As a result, a determined group of women decided to hold a march in Washington, D.C., in order to promote unity. This protest inspired hundreds of sister marches, including the demonstration in Philadelphia, to express solidarity in the face of adversity. A vast sea of women and men in pink knit hats congregated at Logan Circle before beginning the march. The group present
was extremely diverse, including members of various races, sexualities and religions, many of whom felt threatened by Trump’s views. Despite the many fearful and tearful reactions to the election results, the crowd was cheerful. An excitement lingered in the air, amidst the brightly colored signs and constant chatter. An overwhelming happiness and optimism permeated the throngs of people, eager to voice their support for those threatened by Trump’s triumph, which was the intention of those marching — not to protest, but to overcome
hate with love. As the horde of people began to move forward, the atmosphere remained upbeat, with enthusiastic chants breaking out, such as, “This is what democracy looks like.” Finally, the masses stood in front of a large stage, erected near the stairs of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, to listen to a slew of speakers and performers, such as the Granny Peace Brigade, who engaged the audience with a short and inspirational song that they taught to the onlookers. A large number of those who participated in the event collect-
ed on the steps of the museum, a short walk from a stage that was set up for those presenting speeches. The masses used this opportunity to make statements, such as one group, who held up signs proclaiming, “Pigs are flying,” in a commentary on the extraordinary circumstances of the recent election. The mood was unchanged, and a feeling of community, positivity and hope began to blossom. N Eliana Berson is a junior at Abington Senior High, and is considering majoring in English or political science.
Fair Feminist By Lia Hyman Age: 18 The passion, persistence and profound protests happening across the country are made up of those who fight for an urgent topic in America right now: feminism. The day after the presidential inauguration, men, women, girls and boys, all across the country, marched and chanted their way through cities and towns, raising their voices (and signs) in support of equality for females. By exercising their political right to assemble, citizens sent a strong message to the new administration that women will not fade into the background of this country. Women will not earn $0.79 to men’s $1 for the same work. Women will not be told what they can and cannot do with their bodies. But what is feminism exactly? Feminism is “the theory of the political, economic and social equality of the sexes.” Feminism is believing that men and women are equal. Feminism is fighting for the better treatment of our daughters, mothers, grandmothers and great-grandmothers. So if feminism is all about inclusion, why are we leaving others’ daughters and mothers out? Why are we not acting like feminists? Do we have it all wrong? It is no secret that animal agriculture in this country, land of the free, is a profitable business. We love eating meat!
Corporations know this, so they must churn out chicken nuggets, lean beef and bacon at the pace of … well, track star Usain Bolt. Something must happen, however, for production to increase at an exponential rate, and this “something” has a huge effect on mother cows, daughter chicks and grandmother chickens. (Spoiler alert: It’s not very feminist.) Corporations, under the pressure of high demand for meat, turn to artificially impregnating mother cows in order to get the milk they produce during pregnancy. Mothers are milked up to three times a day. When the baby calf is born, however, these factory farms can’t have the baby taking all of the profitable milk away from them, so the calf and mother are usually separated within hours of birth. This process repeats in a cycle until the mother becomes labeled “useless,” unable to make these farms money with her milk. Mothers are then shipped off to slaughter. What happens to the baby calves, though? Well, if born a girl, the calf will become trapped in the same cycle as the mother, constantly pregnant until deemed useless. If born a boy, the calf will be slaughtered for veal. Chickens are no exception to an unfulfilled life. Cooped up in a battery cage, mothers and grandmothers get, on average, about the size of a piece of paper in which to live their lives! One egg, two eggs, three eggs, four eggs, five eggs later … until these ladies can no longer produce
eggs. These mothers then face the same reality of mother cows: the slaughterhouse. After a life in a cage (or walking around in their own feces in a “cage-free” warehouse), these mothers go under the knife. As a woman, daughter and sister, I will never stop sticking up for my fellow women. I feel a deep connection to the women in my life and everything they have taught me. The feminist movement is about many things, one being acknowledging females as more than objects; however, these feminist ideals are not being applied to females outside of our own species, so it leads me to question: Why? Why are these female animals being used for their products and then discarded like trash? Why, if we believe in the equality of men and women, are we using these animals for all they’ve got, like objects? Why, as feminists, are we not outraged by this treatment of our animal sisters? We include women from all races, ages and countries in this compassion spectrum but are leaving out a vital category: species. Doesn’t that make us hypocritical by picking and choosing what gives a life value? As feminism rises within our nation at the start of 2017, maybe we should ask ourselves whom we’re leaving out when we call ourselves feminists. N Lia Hyman, a senior at Cheltenham High School, is a singer, musician, athlete and advocate for women’s rights/animal rights.
Philadelphia HIV testing sites Center City ActionAIDS 1026 Arch St. 267-940-5515 Mon. 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Tues. 10 a.m.-noon Wed. 1-4 p.m. Thur. noon-2 p.m. ActionAIDS North Office 2641 N. Sixth St. 215-291-9700 Third Tuesdays 1-4 p.m. The Attic Youth Center 55 S. 16th St. 215-545-4331
Mazzoni Center and GALAEI’s Washington West Project 1201 Locust St. Mon.-Thur. 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Sat. 1-5 p.m. 215-985-9206 Planned Parenthood Elizabeth Blackwell Office 1211 Chestnut St. Suite 405 215-496-9696 Mon.-Wed. 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Thur. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Fri. 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Planned Parenthood Locust Office 1144 Locust St. 215-351-5560 Mon. 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Tues. and Thurs. 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Wed. 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Fri. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat. 9 a.m.-3 p.m. William Way LGBT Community Center 1315 Spruce St. 215-732-2220 Mon. 4-7 p.m. Youth Health Empowerment Project 1417 Locust St., third floor 215-564-6388
South/West Philadelphia CHOP 3550 Market St., fourth floor 215-590-3537 Health Center #3 555 S. 43rd St. 215-685-7504 Health Center #4 4400 Haverford Ave. 215-685-7601/7654 Urban Solutions 1408 S. Broad St., first floor 215-755-0700
North Philadelphia Congreso 216 W. Somerset St. 215-763-8870 Walk-in hours Wednesdays and Thursdays Covenant House Health Services 251 E. Bringhurst St. 215-844-1020 GALAEI 215-851-1822 Mon.-Fri. 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Maria de los Santos Health Center 425 W. Allegheny Ave. 215-291-2500 PHMC Health Connection 1035 W. Berks St. 215-765-6690 Planned Parenthood Far Northeast 2751 Comly Road 215-464-2225 Mon. 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Tues. and Thur. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Wed. and Fri. noon-3 p.m. Sat. noon-2 p.m. St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children, 3601 A St. 215-427-5000
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FEATURE PGN
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com March 31-April 6, 2017
Family Portrait Get Out and Play Out & About Q Puzzle Scene in Philly
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Out performer revisits ‘Rent’ roots in Philly By Gary M. Kramer PGN Contributor
Out actor/singer Anthony Rapp, best known for originating the role of Mark Cohen in “Rent,” will perform songs and tell stories at the Rrazz Room at the Prince Theatre next month. The show will feature songs from Rapp’s recent CD, which he made with his “Rent” co-star Adam Pascal, entitled “Acoustically Speaking (Live at Feinstein’s/54 Below).” Rapp has performed additional roles on Broadway — he was also an original cast member in “If/Then,” from his “Rent” co-star Idina Menzel— as well as acted on screens big and small. He has earned critical praise for his work as a grieving married man getting involved in an online relationship in writer/director John G. Young’s film “bwoy.” Currently, Rapp is shooting episodes of “Star Trek: Discovery” for broadcast in the fall. The in-demand performer took a moment out of his busy schedule to talk with PGN about his upcoming show. PGN: You have performed on stage, in cabarets and in concerts. How would you describe your Rrazz Room show? AR: It’s all music I personally really like and/or has inspired me. It does include some songs from “Rent” and even “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” [Rapp appeared in the 1999 Broadway revival]. There are a few original songs, and other songs from shows I love, some pop music, like REM’s “Losing my Religion.” It’s an eclectic mix. PGN: What can you say about performing songs from “Rent”? Do you feel obligated or that it’s expected because you are so connected to the show and Mark Cohen?
AR: I’ve done more things in the meantime, so I’m not as concerned with that. I appreciate that the first line of my bio in my obituary will be, “He originated the role of Mark Cohen in ‘Rent.’” The songs I sing from “Rent” aren’t songs that Mark sang. I sing “Without You,” and that song has another resonance for me — I sang it at my mother’s funeral. Mark’s song “Halloween” from “Rent” doesn’t work in this [cabaret] context, nor does “What You Own,” which is a duet. But the songs I perform still honor “Rent.” PGN: Your career alternates between theater and film. What can you say about your roles on Broadway and the big screen? Are you always looking to reinvent yourself? AR: I don’t think of it in terms of reinvention. I’ve been fortunate to do interesting projects. I haven’t done a huge number of films and TV shows. I’m proud of what I’ve done with “bwoy,” and other small films I’ve made. They are collaborative and creative and outside of the pressures of the [industry]. I’m just getting my feet wet in the “Star Trek” experience, and that’s the biggest machine I will be a part of. We’re supposed to do Comic-Con. I helped establish BroadwayCon, and that’s the biggest experience like that I’ve had so far. But this is a going to be a bigger event and have an international aspect. I’m curious to see how it’s going to manifest itself — how many countries and cultures I’m going to experience. PGN: You also generally play gay roles in the films you make, “bwoy” being a recent one, and “David Searching” being a personal favorite. Do you gravitate to such roles? AR: In these small films, there’s so much more opportunity to work on characters and stories that are complex — the filmmakers plumb the depths. They are not afraid of characters that are not immediately likeable, and these films give more of an opportunity to live and breathe in the darker corners of human experience. That’s a gift — that PAGE 28
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FEATURE PGN
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com March 31-April 6, 2017
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film and theater can get so close in on people to provide a level of compassion and show the shadow side [inner darkness] of human beings. PGN: Yes, I love films, like “bwoy,” where characters make a series of wrong decisions. That is so much more revealing than watching heroes who act all noble. AR: John’s [Young, the writer/director] approach to people who make bad decisions and the complications that arise from that is that he has total compassion. He’s not sitting in judgment of anyone. That’s so crucial. [In contrast], there are characters who try to make the best decisions and get screwed over by the world that won’t let them. PGN: How do you find your musical stylings for a song, be it one that is wellknown or something from a Broadway show? AR: I read an interview with Michael Stipe about “Losing My Religion,” and that it’s an expression that means you are falling in love. That stuck with me, and it’s been a window into the song. I’ve been singing it for 20 years. I just give myself over to it, the feel of the song. The best I can do is interpret it. I try to honor the song and have it come through me. We all have our own way of singing. I won’t sing like others, and others won’t sing like me. PGN: When you sing a love song, do you tend to sing to men or follow the lyrics? AR: That gender thing has never come up. There is a love song I sing — and I’m not sure I’ll do it [at the Rrazz Room] — but it was about a relationship I’m no longer in. I don’t think of him when I sing that song; I’m not reminiscing. It’s more of a sentiment that can be applied to any situation. PGN: Is there a genre, a composer or a lyri-
cist that you just gravitate to? AR: I always sang to Peter Gabriel. We have a similar range. I love his writing. Elvis Costello and Annie Lennox are singer-songwriters I love listening to. They are all incredible artists and always embody what that means. They are not just pop stars. PGN: What appeals to you about a song that makes you want to perform it — and I say perform, not sing, because there is a distinction. AR: It has to ring true for me. It has to be melodically interesting and have a lyrical content that doesn’t feel shallow. I have to feel I can sing it in a way that does justice to it. I’m not going to sing “I Will Always Love You.” It’s a good song — and I love Dolly Parton’s and Whitney Houston’s versions of it — but that’s not a song I’m moved to sing. It’s a power ballad, and not what I’m drawn to. I’m drawn to Peter Gabriel. That’s apples and oranges. PGN: What music might people be surprised to learn you like? AR: Whoa! I don’t know … I feel I’ve been so vocal about stuff for so long. People assume I have musical theater on my phone; that’s not true. PGN: What observations do you have on cabaret versus theater or a concert? AR: Cabaret is so intimate and it’s so naked — which sounds like a crude word — but it’s unadorned. It’s piano and guitar and voice, and that simplicity appeals to me. There is nothing to hide behind or be cushioned by, and to feel that in sync with my accompanist is wonderful. n Anthony Rapp performs 8 p.m. April 8 at the Rrazz Room at the Prince Theatre, 1412 Chestnut St. For tickets, visit http://princetheater.org/therrazzroom/.
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PROFILE PGN
Family Portrait
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com March 31-April 6, 2017
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Suzi Nash
Michael Riley-Hill: Canvas of many colors Michael Riley-Hill found his appreciation of nature growing up in a small town. He was fascinated by architecture and buildings and would spend hours sketching and painting in his youth. Riley-Hill attended Kutztown University, where he developed his talent for painting. His unique method of painting one small area of the canvas at a time was questioned, but ultimately was discovered to be part of his innate talent for detailed paintings. Riley-Hill works primarily in watercolors and acrylics. People are often fascinated by the detail of his work, as there is so much to be seen. His watercolors are rich and vibrant accounts of ordinary life: sometimes gritty, sometimes picturesque. Riley-Hill is a truly diversified artist. PGN: I understand that you’re from out in the boonies. MRH: Yes, a small town in Pennsylvania called Bangor, which no one has ever heard of — they all assume I’m from Maine, but we have one here too. It’s outside of Easton. PGN: Since I’m a city kid, tell me about growing up in such a rural area. MRH: It was very isolated. There wasn’t much to do, which probably encouraged my artwork. I would color with crayons when I was young and then by middle school and high school I was into painting and drawing. It took up a huge amount of my time during those years. PGN: Give me a sense of what your home was like. MRH: Well, my father had 24 acres and my uncle owned another 24. We were pretty much in the middle of nothing; the nearest house was my grandfather’s. There were no kids my age anywhere around. So I was pretty isolated and when I went to school — which was about 40 minutes away — I was very shy since I wasn’t used to being around other kids. It was hard for me to make friends. I’m a quiet, introverted person so I took refuge in my art. I tried almost everything I could get my hands on: painting, sculpting, metal work, ceramics, printmaking. I even did some jewelry. I was lucky to have a really great high-school art teacher. I spent a lot of my time in the art room. My best friend in senior high was also an artist so the two of us would try to outdo each other. PGN: Do you come from a large or small family? MRH: There’s just two of us: me and my brother.
PGN: Are you the only artistic one in the family? MRH: I think my brother probably has the talent for it, but his aspirations were elsewhere. He’s an aerospace engineer and was very academically inclined, whereas I was more artistically inclined. PGN: Describe your method of painting. I hear it’s a little unique and that your teacher tried to talk you out of it. MRH: Yes, I paint in little, very detailed squares, almost like a mural maker. In college, I had a professor who tried to change that. He said, “Well, what most artists do is start with a general tone and flesh it out from there.” He had me do that and then said, “Never mind.” He said that it wasn’t bad but that when left to my own method I did a much better, more detailed painting. I continued doing it my own way and I’ve been doing it ever since! PGN: What would one most likely see in a Michael Riley-Hill? MRH: Basically, places I’ve been, things I’ve seen. I work from pictures I’ve taken. I don’t paint on site because it takes me so long, because I’m so detailed. I’d have to camp out for a month at the site! So I open the picture up on Photoshop and start painting one area at a time. I have to finish one area before moving on to the next. Sometimes it gets me into trouble: I was doing a painting of the Phoenixville Foundry and it had a lot of brickwork. It’s been sitting unresolved for five years because I just got so sick of painting bricks that I kept putting it off. I liked the painting and was looking forward to completing it, so I finally said, “OK, I just need to buckle down and finish.” PGN: It sounds like how I feel when doing a crossword puzzle with lots of sky. You’re like, “No more blue!” MRH: Exactly, and I have to do each one so that they’ll look uniform. PGN: Where did you go to college? MRH: I went to Kutztown University. I’m honored to say that I won the Terry Lynn Boyle Memorial Award for Illustration. PGN: I know life as an artist can be tough. Do you have a day job as well? MRH: Yes, I’m a graphic designer at Vanguard for 21 years. So I do graphic work by day and then go home and do my painting. Try to find clients who might be interested in the work so that I can retire at 50 and do nothing but art!
PGN: Can you tell me a little more about your work? MRH: My works are heavily influenced by architecture and nature. I believe that both nature and architecture are intertwined. I love the details and believe that’s part of the narrative in my works. I like to seek out subject matters that have light, color and texture to show the beauty of how I perceive the world. I’ve been doing this since I was young and my paintings tell the stories of my journeys through life. I’ll take a photo and then translate what I perceive and tell it through paint. I want to take the viewer with me through my journey in life, and hope they will enjoy my story, if it be beautiful and scenic, or hard and gritty. I do people on occasion but not often. PGN: Where can people find it? MRH: I have a website, and believe
PGN: That’s cool. MRH: Yes, me and my husband have had two different houses on the House Tours of Historic Phoenixville: our old house and now the one we’re in currently. It’s fun. PGN: So speaking of things like husbands, what was it like coming out in the middle of nowhere? When did you have your first inkling? MRH: I think I first had an idea when I was in about seventh grade. It was tough because, at that age, especially back then, you didn’t know that there was anyone else like you. You didn’t have the TV shows and movies with representation like we do now. I’m in my 50s and back then it was something that was just whispered about or made fun of. So I didn’t know how to tell anyone, which led to more isolation. I don’t think I actually told anyone until my senior year of college and then I told a friend and it turned out he was gay as well, which was interesting. Then I started reading people out and about or online and started recognizing people from high school. And I thought, Man, if I’d known them or about them in school it probably would’ve made things a lot easier, to have someone to talk to you about it. I always tried to stay in the background so that people wouldn’t notice me. Perhaps if I’d known there were others, I may have been more sociable.
PGN: How did you come out to the family? MRH: My mom found a copy of the PGN in my backpack! She passed away, but she was very religious so there were two weeks of nonstop crying and talking about it. It was hard for her and it was hard for me Photo: Suzi Nash because, by that time, it or not I get a lot of business I wasn’t totally out to from Facebook. I also do the Chester everyone but it wasn’t something I shied County Studio Tour each year; that’s away from. It was at a point in my life coming up May 21. They get a large where I was sick of living in the closet. number of artists in the area to open I had to say, “I know you’re sad, I know up their studios and homes to people you’re scared, but it’s going to be OK.” and almost all the artists in Chester This was around the time AIDS was County participate. People can go beginning to appear and she was afraid from house to house and look at art for me. She didn’t want to tell my dad and buy from different artists. A lot of but we finally told him and he was fine people love to see where people paint. with it, which was
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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com March 31-April 6, 2017
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT PGN LISTINGS
Maybe This Time...: ‘Cabaret’ Returns to Philly By Larry Nichols larry@epgn.com More than 50 years after its Broadway debut, “Cabaret” is still delighting audiences with its bawdy and gaudy spectacle of a group of talented entertainers, including femme-fatale Sally and the ghoulish all-knowing Emcee, performing at the infamous Kit Kat Klub in Berlin during the 1930s. But the good times to be had aren’t enough to allay the ever-growing influence of fascism as Nazi ideals rise to power the city and, eventually, seep into the club itself. Gee, does that sound frighteningly familiar and hauntingly relevant these days? Jon Peterson, who plays Emcee in the production, seems to think so. “Well, one doesn’t like to get political when one is offstage, but yes! Completely,” he said. “It’s very relevant now with this administration. It’s all looking very suspicious. We could be
people have done with the role even though it’s the same moves and the same lines,” he said. “As far as performance goes, I don’t watch the show any more than I have to because I’m me and I absolutely don’t want to emulate a single moment of someone else’s show.
Some of the big shows like ‘Wicked’ will insist that you replicate the opening-night performance of the first cast. That’s what they go for because it works. With ‘Cabaret,’ there’s a lot more freedom to just tell the story and leave it up to the actors to inject their own sincerity into it.” Besides the obvious cultural references in ‘Cabaret’ that seem to be all the more timely in light of recent historical events, Peterson believes the show owes its half-century of success to its timeless message — one that presumably will continue to resonate and connect with audiences. “It’s such a wonderful piece,” he said. “There is not a word out of place. It’s so beautifully written. I think in 300 years it will still be around. Because Photos: Joan Marcus of the subject matter, it will always be relevant. World War wrong, but then again that’s what they II was the great exclamation mark of said in 1930. Now we have the benefit of humanity and human history. It was like, social media, which is a curse and also a ‘Stop, wait, take stock.’ It was something blessing. At least it’s harder for them to absolutely brilliant and perfect. The tragchange the views of people and only the edy of the concentration camps and all least intelligent of us will be able to be this will always hit home for one generaindoctrinated by this lot. Thank God for tion to the next.” n social media. The truth is easier to come by now. But then again, fake news is too. Catch “Cabaret” April 4-9 at The But at least we can try and find the truth.” Kimmel Center’s Academy of Music, Some iconic stage and screen actors 240 S. Broad St. For more informahave played the roles of Sally and Emcee. tion or tickets, call 215-893-1999 or Peterson said he doesn’t pay much atten- visit https://www.kimmelcenter.org/pdppages/201617/broadway-philadelphia/ tion to those portrayals. “I’m trying to completely ignore what cabaret/.
Theater & Arts Alec Baldwin The actor and author of “Nevertheless: A Memoir” hosts a reading 7:30 p.m. April 7 at Central Library, 1901 Vine St.; 215-567-4341. American Watercolor in the Age of Homer and Sargent Philadelphia Museum of Art presents an exhibition exploring the watercolor painting’s remarkable rise in the United States between 18601925 through May 14, 26th Street and the Parkway; 215763-8100. Bruce Nauman: Contrapposto Studies, I through VII Philadelphia Museum of Art presents an exhibition of new works by Bruce Nauman, which continues the artist’s exploration of video, sound and performance, through April 16, 26th Street and the Parkway; 215-763-8100. Cabaret Broadway Philadelphia presents the classic Tony Award-winning musical April 4-9 at Kimmel’s Academy of Music, 250 S. Broad St.; 215-7905800.
SUCH A SQUARE: Electronic-music artist and creatively masked DJ Deadmau5 brings his “lots of shows in a row” tour to the area with an even bigger, eye-catching cube (which he performs perched atop) with various kinetic enhancements 9 p.m. April 7 at BB&T Pavilion, 1 Harbour Blvd., Camden, N.J. For more information or tickets, call 609-365-1300. Photo: Matt Barnes
agenda of its own through April 30 at Suzanne Roberts Theatre, 480 S. Broad St.; 215-9850420. The Importance of Being Earnest Walnut Street Theatre presents the classic Oscar Wilde play through April 30, 825 Walnut St.; 215-5743550. Lino Tagliapietra: Painting in Glass Philadelphia Museum of Art presents an exhibition showcasing the artist’s complex glass vessels through July 16, 26th Street and the Parkway; 215763-8100.
Craig Shoemaker The comedian known for his character “The Lovemaster” performs through April 1 at Helium Comedy Club, 2031 Sansom St.; 215-4969001.
Pat Metheny and the American Beat The Philadelphia Orchestra performs selections with the acclaimed composer through April 1 at Kimmel’s Verizon Hall, 260 S. Broad St.; 215-790-5800.
Hand to God Philadelphia Theatre Company presents the Tony Awardnominated Broadway comedy about a puppet who presents a shockingly sinister
Person of the Crowd: The Contemporary Art of Flânerie The Barnes Foundation presents an exhibition
featuring works by 40 international artists making provocative spectacles of themselves through May 22, 2025 Benjamin Franklin Pkwy.; 215-2787000. Phulkari: The Embroidered Textiles of Punjab Philadelphia Museum of Art presents an exhibition exploring the beauty and cultural significance of phulkari, ornately embroidered textiles from Punjab, a region straddling Pakistan and India, through July 9, 26th Street and the Parkway; 215-763-8100. Rachel Feinstein The comedian seen on Comedy Central performs through April 1 at Punch Line Philly, 33 E. Laurel St.; 215-606-6555. Rodgers & Hammerstein’s The King and I Broadway Philadelphia presents the story of a British schoolteacher who is invited to Siam by the king to educate his many wives and children through April 2 at Kimmel’s
Academy of Music, 250 S. Broad St.; 215-790-5800. Romance The Pennsylvania Ballet performs a playful modern ballet April 6-9 at Kimmel’s Merriam Theatre, 250 S. Broad St.; 215-790-5800. Sesame Street Live Elmo, Grover, Abby Cadabby and all their “Sesame Street” friends come to town April 6-9 at The Liacouras Center, 1776 N. Broad St.; 215-204-2400. Shadowland Dance Affiliates and the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts present the fulllength piece about a teenage girl who wakes up one day to something incredible lurking behind her bedroom wall April 6-8 at Zellerbach Theatre, 3680 Walnut St.; 215-898-3900. Todd Barry The comedian seen on Comedy Central performs April 6-8 at Punch Line Philly, 33 E. Laurel St.; 215-606-6555.
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT PGN LISTINGS
2016, 11 p.m. April 6 at Bob & Barbara’s, 1509 South St.; 215545-4511.
Outta Town
BUCKLE UP AND CHUCKLE UP: Comedian and “America’s Got Talent” finalist Julia Scotti headlines a comedy show to benefit Philly AIDS Thrift featuring James Bradford, Betty Smithsonian and more 7 p.m. April 6 at Tabu, 200 S. 12th St. For more information or tickets, call 215-9649675 or visit comedyforacause.org.
You For Me For You InterAct Theater Company presents the fantastical humor-filled play about North Korean sisters who attempt to flee across time and space to be together again through April 16 at The Drake Proscenium Theatre, 302 S. Hicks St.; 215-568-8079.
Music Slick Rick, Whoodini, Al B. Sure and Doug E. Fresh The R&B and hiphop legends perform 7 p.m. March 31 at The Liacouras Center, 1776 N. Broad St.; 215-2042400.
Jam, Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Weezer and more 8 p.m. March 31 at World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St.; 215222-1400. Anthrax The metal band performs 8 p.m. April 5 at The Electric Factory, 421 N. Seventh St.; 800-745-3000. Steel Panther The tongue-incheek glam-rock/ metal band performs 8 p.m. April 5 at The Fillmore Philadelphia, 29 E. Allen St.; 215625-3681.
Nightlife
Bon Jovi The rock icon performs 7:30 p.m. March 31 at Wells Fargo Center, 3601 S. Broad St.; 215389-9543.
Friday Night Beats: Stacked House Three local DJs get the dance floor moving 9 p.m. March 31 at Tabu, 200 S. 12th St.; 215-964-9675.
Flannel: A Grungy ’90s Revival The grunge-tribute band performs the music of Pearl
Queer Comedy for a Cause Julia Scotti headlines a comedy show
to benefit Philly AIDS Thrift 7 p.m. April 6 at Tabu, 200 S. 12th St.; 215-9649675. FADE: The Newest LGBTQ Women’s Night The newest nightlife experience for queer women and femmes of color featuring performances by Kat C.H.R, K-Dubb, Kidthegreat, The means and Nayo Jones, 9 p.m. April 5 at LIVE at William Street Common, 3900 Chestnut St.; www.recphilly. com/live-at-wsc. Lisa Lisa’s Miami Getaway Party! A drag show to send off Miss Philly Gay Pride
A League of Their Own The 1990s dramedy about an all-female baseball team is screened 2 p.m. April 1 at the Colonial Theatre, 227 Bridge St., Phoenixville; 610917-1228. The Beach Boys The rock band performs at 3 and 8 p.m. April 1 at Keswick Theatre, 291 N. Keswick Ave., Glenside; 215-572-7650. Brian Reagan The comedian performs 8 p.m. April 1 at the Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa Event Center, 1 Borgata Way, Atlantic City, N.J.; 609-317-1000. The Pretenders The rock icons perform 8 p.m. April 1 at the Golden Nugget, Huron and Brigantine Blvd., Atlantic City, N.J.; 800-726-1420. The Beast Within The 1980s horror film is screened 9:45 p.m. April 7 at the Colonial Theatre, 227 Bridge St., Phoenixville; 610917-1228. n
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.
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com March 31-April 6, 2017
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Love, loss collide in post-WW1 period piece By Gary M. Kramer PGN Contributor “Frantz,” by gay French filmmaker François Ozon, is a black-and-white costume drama set in 1919 Germany. A loose remake of the Ernst Lubitsch drama “Broken Lullaby,” this handsome romantic melodrama, opening March 31 at Ritz Theatres, has Anna (Paula Beer) mourning her fiancé Frantz (Anton von Lucke), who was killed in the war. One day, she spies Adrien (Pierre Niney) at Frantz’s grave and befriends him. When Adrien visits Frantz’s parents, Hans (Ernst Stötzner) and Magda (Marie Gruber), he recounts stories about their friendship. However, Adrien eventually reveals his relationship with the dead man to Anna, and the dynamic between them changes. On the phone from New York, Ozon chatted with PGN about making “Frantz.” PGN: What can you say about the challenges of making a period piece, shooting in Germany and filming in black and white? FO: It was interesting. The black and white helped me a lot. It’s difficult to imagine period films in color. There are many documents and archives that are in black and white. It was more realistic, and involves the audience more. PGN: I like that the grayness reflects the characters’ moods. There are a few scenes in color, which are striking when they appear. FO: Yes, the period of mourning and death … black and white matched well with that. And I wanted emotional moments when the color comes back. These scenes were not always memories, but a fantasy or moments of happiness. PGN: “Frantz” connects to your previous film “Under the Sand,” in that it is a kind of “ghost story,” in which the dead man haunts the living. Can you discuss this theme in your work? FO: Yes, I think it is always interesting in films to speak about the dead and tell a story around a dead person. There is an idolization. You can imagine what you want about [Frantz]. Adrien and Anna and Frantz’s parents all have their own vision of him, and each has a different point of view. They can project what they want on his character. PGN: “Frantz” connects to other films you’ve made such as “The New Girlfriend” and “Young and Beautiful,” in that it portrays a young woman finding herself and her self-worth. Can you discuss the appeal of this theme in your work? FO: I love to identify myself to young girls. I don’t know why; I am an old man now! I think there is emotion on Anna’s journey. First she’s a victim of a difficult
period, and at the end she understands who Adrien and Frantz were. I like her evolution. PGN: Can you talk about casting Paula Beer as Anna? FO: I didn’t know Paula. I met her at a casting session in Germany. I fell in love with her face and her maturity; she was only 20 years old. She was very emotional and clever, and had a beautiful face. She reminded me of Gene Tierney. I made a
test with her and Pierre in Paris and the chemistry between them was perfect. They helped each other. He didn’t speak much German and she didn’t speak much French. PGN: Speaking of German and French, art, poetry and music seem to unite the characters across cultures. Can you discuss that? FO: Yes, it’s a theme of the film. Art can unite countries and people and that’s why it was important for me to use the French and German [references] to show that the characters love music and painting and are curious about the culture of another country. Anna knows Verlaine, and Adrien knows German literature. It [shows] how people understand and accept one another. PGN: “Frantz” features characters keeping secrets and telling lies to protect others. How do you want viewers to judge your characters’ behavior? FO: I think it was interesting that this post-WWI period was one of transparency. Sometimes secrets and lies are helpful in a situation to support life. The lies that Adrien and Anna both tell are not the same. Sin is an important theme in the film. [In] the scene where the priest and Anna talk, she asks what should she do. The priest responds to protect people. After all this period of [war and] death, it’s very touching. The audiences can understand it. PGN: The characters are all coping with tragedy and loss. What is your coping mechanism for dealing with a loss? FO: I make movies! [Laughs] The best way to work, I think, is to make films. Films are therapy for me, a little bit. When you make a film with complex feelings, it’s a way to understand people, and it’s always complex how people react in front of death and pain and so many ways of mourning. n
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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com March 31-April 6, 2017
PGN
ONE NIGHT ONLY! BENEFIT CONCERT! The concert is the featured presentation in a weekend of events celebrating the importance of lyric writing in the creation of new musicals. Passes are also available for the entire weekend of workshops and presentations!
HAMMERSTEIN IN HOLLYWOOD
Shirley Jones today ... and with Gordon MacRae in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s film adaptation of Oklahoma.
Benefit Concert Saturday, April 22 at 8 pm
Featuring a Q&A Session with Shirley Jones and her induction into the Playhouse Hall of Fame
Join film and TV icon Shirley Jones, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Ted Chapin and four Broadway stars as they explore Oscar Hammerstein’s remarkable contributions to film and television . . . ONE NIGHT ONLY!
Ashley Brown
Carmen Cusack
Malcolm Gets
Max von Essen
Saturday, April 22 at 8 pm | Tickets $45 | $75 | $150* (*includes VIP reception) From Show Boat to Carousel and beyond, Hammerstein’s contributions to some of Hollywood’s great movie musicals is staggering. With memories and stories from film and TV icon Shirley Jones and songs from a talented cast of Broadway stars, Ted Chapin illustrates Hammerstein’s complex relationship with Hollywood — guaranteeing you an evening of story and song you will never forget. Musical direction is by David Dabbon (Broadway’s Disaster); Josh Rhodes (Broadway’s Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella) is the director. VIP and passholder reception follows the performance in the Playhouse courtyard.
BUCKSCOUNTYPLAYHOUSE.ORG • 215-862-2121
PGN
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com March 31-April 6, 2017
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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com March 31-April 6, 2017
PORTRAIT from page 29
a surprise for both of us. It was kind of interesting we both really feared his reaction; he was a regular guy from a rural area — a carpenter — and yet it didn’t seem to faze him. PGN: How did you and your husband meet? MRH: It was online. We were writing back forth and then decided to meet up. We went out once and just clicked and we’ve been together ever since. We got married for the first time up in Provincetown in 2010. The first time, it was just the two of us and our dog, but now that it’s legal across the United States, we wanted to do something special. We had a very short ceremony and then a party for about 65 of our friends at a small art gallery in Phoenixville. PGN: Is there much of a gay scene in Phoenixville? MRH: There used to be a club but it closed about seven years ago, but there are a large number of gay people in Phoenixville. We just passed an LGBT antidiscrimination bill. There’s no particular club but there’s a very large community here. The town is very gay-friendly. The only time we had problems was back at our old house. There were some drug dealers living next door, and I think they were more upset about the fact that we were the type of citizens to call the police when there were problems. I’m the townwatch captain in our area. Us being gay was something for them to target but it could’ve been anything; they were more upset at having neighbors who were trying to make change in the area. PGN: What happened? MRH: Basically it was a couple of older women sitting outside when my partner Tony came home from work. They mumbled something about fag-
PGN
gots under their breath. My husband is not one to be silent about that kind of thing. There was nothing physical but they had a verbal confrontation. And the police were called. They’ve always been very nice any time we have a problem. They said to him, “You have to be careful Tony, because there are no hate-crime laws on the books here.” But he’s never been one to back down so he said if they started something he would finish it. But other than that, we’ve never had any problems. This is a small town and the kind of place where everybody knows you. If we call to make reservations at a restaurant, it’s the kind of place where people will respond, “Oh great! We haven’t seen you and Tony for a while!” PGN: What does Tony do? MRH: He is an activities director for a senior complex. It’s outside of West Chester and he’s been doing that since I met him, which was about 10 years ago. PGN: OK, let’s end with a silly question. Outside of your own work, what’s a painting you would like to venture into? MRH: I’ve always been very fond of the Dutch Renaissance period. I think I’d like to check out life inside of one of paintings of the Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer, you know, “The Girl with a Pearl Earring” artist. But only if I could be one of the gentry; I don’t think I’d like to be a common man. [Laughs] And I don’t think I’d like to stay there for too long! There’s no place like home. n For more information on Michael Riley-Hill, visit www.mrileyhillart. com. To suggest a community member for Family Portrait, email portraits05@ aol.com.
Q Puzzle The Guys, According to Garp Across
1. Come together 6. Lorca’s room 10. Change from red to pink 14. Ring around your anus 15. Mabius of “The L Word” 16. Had too many M&M’s, e.g. 17. Metaphysical poet John 18. Fuel in Jamie O’Neill’s country 19. “Get a ___!” 20. Transgender character in “The World According to Garp” 23. Mayberry boy 24. Groups of manhunters 25. Actor who played 20-Across 30. Thinks out loud 31. Magneto portrayer McKellen
32. Mr. Rightnow 36. Cathedral areas 37. Start of a quote from 20-Across 38. _As You Like It_ woman 39. “Why should ___ you?” 40. Barrett or Chaplin 41. Enola Gay, for one 42. End of the quote 44. Like characters that aren’t straight 48. Skipper’s spot 49. How 20-Across knew the quote was true 54. Staying power, on Broadway 55. Six feet under 56. They hang from utility belts and under them 58. Emulate Jon Barrett 59. “Legally Blonde” character 60. Hank of hair 61. Old Soviet
news agency 62. Goes out with 63. Catcher of phallic fish
Down
1. Dipstick word 2. Shakespeare’s Othello, for one 3. In the year, in Caesar’s time 4. Solar protection for Klinger 5. High points at Metropolitan Community Churches 6. Snow White’s dwarfs, e.g. 7. Part of San Francisco’s BART 8. Neeson of “Kinsey” 9. Do more than just consider 10. Tosses in one’s hand 11. Frida’s “farewell” 12. He wrote about two guys living together on an island 13. Utopias 21. Park of Queens 22. On the down ___
25. Songwriter Mitchell 26. Milk-colored stone 27. Where a queen bee rules 28. Margaret Thatcher’s middle name 29. k. d. lang’s “Big Boned ___” 32. Whoopi’s “Ghost” dance partner 33. Jessica of “Dark Angel” 34. Layer under two tiny brides 35. Hearing things? 37. “The Fountainhead” author Rand 38. Toni of “United States of Tara”
40. Pulls out, in “Gone with the Wind” 41. BBC nickname, with “the” 42. Third notes, to Bernstein 43. Straddled harbor of old 44. Place to stop when cruising 45. Courtroom VIP 46. Protection 47. Fantasizes about a hottie 50. Cut 51. Maupin story 52. Coward of “Blithe Spirit” 53. Alternative word 57. CCCP part
PGN
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Get Out and Play
Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com March 31-April 6, 2017
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Scott A. Drake
Is anyone out there? There are times in journalism when you pause and wonder if anyone is reading your words. It doesn’t matter whether you’re writing a sports column, an editorial, a film or theater review or the follow-up to a murder; sometimes you feel like you might have just an audience of one — yourself. In writing this particular column, I have the distinctive problem of trying to fairly cover every month almost 20 different sports with over a dozen organizational contacts that change at least yearly. Some reach out directly, some respond to queries, some apparently don’t require or want coverage. On the flip side, when Greg Louganis, Billie Jean King, Michael Sam and others come to Philadelphia, there’s a great interview to be had. That can occasionally obscure what’s going on in local LGBTQ tournaments, boot camps, fundraising bar crawls and banquets. But if I have the information, I get it all in. It’s no different online or on social media than in print, really. Bloggers and Youtubers and Twitternitwits get followers, true, but who knows if anyone truly reads the things we hold most important? With millions of bloggers and website writers, there must in turn be millions who write, post, tweet and scribe because of their desire to entertain, advise or improve someone’s life. Then out of almost nowhere, the Pennsylvania News Media Keystone Press Awards are announced and you find you’ve taken first place for sports writing in the weekly print category as well as second place for sports photos. And yet here again I type thinking, Will anyone read this column and even know what happened? But then I think that maybe, just maybe, the person judging submissions got some exposure to the LGBTQ community in a way that hadn’t been introduced to them. The organization is based in a more rural area than this one. Maybe this little column didn’t get a lot of play in the Philadelphia sports leagues, but maybe it did impact one person’s idea of what LGBT people do and are. The funny part is, I can’t recall which column(s) was/ were submitted for the competition! I can go back and read the celebrity athletes’ interviews and the Memorial Day weekend tournament bonanza and check out some of the championship game images, but they kind of blur
in my mind. (I can’t even grasp that I’ve been writing the column now for almost six years.) So I ask: Would you mind posting a word on the epgn. com website or emailing a note? While being recognized professionally is nice, knowing that there is an audience who cares that sports are being covered is pretty great too. And while you’re at it, tell me what your favorite sport is. I dig that Stonewall Sports and CBLSL have the bulk of the participants, but give a shout-out to one of the other leagues too. You can find a list of them on the website bulletin board. In the meantime, get out and play! Short Stops • In early March, the site selection committee for the 2022 Gay Games XI trimmed the list of cities on track for eligibility to Guadalajara, Hong Kong and Washington, D.C. Those organizers will make final presentations at the annual general assembly in Paris in October. • Philadelphia Falcons Soccer outdoor spring league kicks off April 7 at Sacks Playground, Fourth Street and Washington Avenue. Play is from 7:30-10 p.m. through May. • Philadelphia Liberty Tennis Association is holding its next social and round robin play 7-10 p.m. at RiverWinds Golf Club, 270 Eagle Point Road, West Depford. • City of Brotherly Love Softball League celebrates opening day April 23 at Dairy Fields. Gay Days at the Phillies organizer Larry Felzer is throwing out the ceremonial first pitch and local ACLU executive director Reggie Shuford will receive the Community Service Award. Ceremonies are scheduled for 11:45 a.m.-noon. n
Scott A. Drake is the 2017 Professional Keystone Press Awards winner for best sports column in a weekly paper. If you have a person or event you think should be highlighted, email scott@epgn.com.
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pgn Philadelphia Gay News LGBT NEWS SINCE 1976
HONESTY • INTEGRITY • PROFESSIONALISM
Legal Notices Court of Common Pleas for the County of Philadelphia, February Term 2017, No. 3777, Notice is hereby given that on February 16, 2017, the petition of Jennifer Ann Harrison was filed, praying for a decree to change her name to Jennifer Ann June. The Court has fixed March 24, 2017 at 11:30 A.M. in Room No. 691, City Hall, Philadelphia PA for hearing. All persons interested may appear show cause if any they have, why the prayer of the said petition should not be granted. Anna K. Pachner, Esq. ________________________________________41-12
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215-557-9319 An Ordinance authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property, on behalf of the City 161060 The Committee on Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs of the Council of the Cit of Philadelphia, to accept title to all or portion of the parcels that constitute the The on Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs thebounded Council of the Cit Waverly Street Community Garden, located in of the area by 12th Street, 4 Small Theaters hold Committee a Public Hearing on Monday, April 3,Street, 2017, at Street, 1:00 PM, Room 400, Waverly South Quince and Pine Street; in and amending Chapter 15-200 City H Video on Monday, April of The3, Philadelphia Code,at entitled "Fairmount Park System," to include the400, Waverly City H hold Publicwith Hearing 2017, 1:00 PM, in Room on thea following items: Street Community Garden among the areas designated as part of the Fairmount Park & Dark Room Area System and to make technical changes; all under certain terms and conditions. on the following items: 161060 161060
HOURS OF An Ordinance Resolution authorizing Committee on Parks, Recreation and Cultural 160936 authorizing theCouncil's Commissioner of Public Property, Affairs to hold hearings on the feasibility of the Free Library of Philadelphia offering Ordinance authorizing the Commissioner of Public Property, OPERATION:An free wi-fi hotspot access to to its cardholders. of Philadelphia, tomobile accept title all or portion of the parcel
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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 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 March 31-April 6, 2017
39
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 Amber Hikes: 215-686-0330; amber.hikes@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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Philadelphia Gay News www.epgn.com March 31-April 6, 2017
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