pgn Philadelphia Gay News LGBT NEWS SINCE 1976
Vol. 40 No. 41 Oct. 7-13, 2016
Family Portrait:
Anthony Mustafa Adair on being part of multiple minorities PAGE 75
LGBT History: The GLF PAGE 36
HONESTY • INTEGRITY • PROFESSIONALISM
Sims’ campaign spending under scrutiny
Cuddly clothes
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PAGE 66
Civil case against gay-bashing trio moves forward PAGE 15
Jazz and divas on tap in tribute show
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Protests, meetings address racism in the Gayborhood By Jen Colletta jen@epgn.com
PIE PARTY: Staff of Metropolitan Area Neighborhood Nutritional Alliance celebrated the kickoff of MANNA’s 20th-annual Pie in the Sky initiative Sept. 29 at the organization’s headquarters; this marked the last kickoff at that location, as the agency is moving to a new building early next year. MANNA is offering five pie flavors — caramel and chocolate cheesecake, apple, pumpkin, sweet potato and pecan — which this year will be baked directly at MANNA headquarters. The organization hopes to raise $250,000 from pie sales, which will support the delivery of nutritional Thanksgiving meals to clients facing life-threatening illnesses. Pies can be ordered online (www.mannapies.org) and picked up Nov. 22 or 23 at more than 40 locations throughout the region. Photo: Scott A. Drake
The local LGBT community continues to organize to address allegations of racism in the Gayborhood, days after video surfaced of a local club owner using racial epithets. The YouTube video of ICandy owner Darryl DePiano set off a frenzy of protests and calls for boycotts, coming on the heels of allegations of racist dress-code policies at Gayborhood locales like ICandy and Woody’s. The Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations will hold a formal hearing to address complaints about such policies Oct. 25. The announcement of the hearing came the day the video of DePiano was made public, but Office of LGBT Affairs Director Nellie Fitzpatrick said plans for the hearing were already in the works. “The video will absolutely be part of the hearing — it can be testified about by anyone wishing to discuss it — but the hearing is a result of the system working,” Fitzpatrick told PGN. “It’s a result of people filing complaints and the Commission on Human Relations stepping up to have a
public hearing to do their job. The purpose of the hearing is to create a formal record of instances of racial discrimination that will be used by the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations to combat racism throughout the LGBT community. This is formal government action that is a result of complaints being filed.” The hearing will be held at 6 p.m. at Liberty Resources, 112 N. Eighth St., Suite 600. For more information, call 215-6864670 or email pchr@phila.gov. A meeting was also scheduled for Oct. 6 at William Way LGBT Community Center to address racism in the local LGBT nightlife scene. It was planned by Braden Chapman and Vincent Leggett. PGN went to press on this edition the night before the meeting but will provide updates at www.epgn.com. Protestors assembled and briefly entered ICandy Sept. 29, hours after a YouTube user called Gay by Gay posted a clip showing DePiano using the “n” word when complaining about patrons asking for drink passes. DePiano confirmed he made the comments three years ago and apologized on his personal and PAGE 59
Despite hurricane threat, OutFest expects crowds By Paige Cooperstein paige@epgn.com This weekend could be plagued by rain, as Hurricane Matthew moves up the East Coast, but the Gayborhood celebration in honor of National Coming Out Day is still set to happen as planned Oct. 9. “Most of our reactions cannot be done until day-of,” said Franny Price, executive director of Philly Pride Presents, the organi-
zation that hosts OutFest. “At this point, all we can do is pray that [the hurricane] goes out to sea. If it’s a shower or two, we don’t care. People still come out.” Price said she would consult the vendors the morning of Oct. 9 to see how they feel about continuing if the hurricane hits our area. Many have tents ready to use. She said she expects people from outside the city would still come for the event. “With OutFest, you can actually run into a
club,” she said. “There are restaurants.” Price said people could eat and drink while they wait for any inclement weather to pass. There is no rain date for OutFest because the fall is full of other LGBT community events, she said. New this year, OutFest will feature a food court at 12th and Spruce streets with more than a dozen vendors and food trucks. Several years ago, Chipotle provided burritos for Philly Pride Presents to sell at
OutFest. The organization could keep the proceeds, which usually totaled $1,200. For the first time, OutFest attendees will receive coupons to visit one of 41 Chipotle restaurants in Philadelphia and the surrounding area including southern New Jersey. On National Coming Out Day, Oct. 11, Chipotle will donate 50 percent of its sales to Philly Pride Presents. Another LGBT fundraiser will be across PAGE 34 the street from the André
LGBT History Month PGN Exclusive: Hillary Clinton addresses LGBT equality PGN reached out to the Democratic and Republican candidates for president, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, to discuss LGBT issues in advance of next month’s election. Clinton provided PGN this exclusive op-ed detailing her LGBTrights record and her goals for future LGBT-equality efforts. The offer remains
open for Trump. This is the first time a major-party presidential candidate has written an op-ed for an LGBT newspaper. As such, this piece will kick off our annual LGBT History Month Project coverage, which will run weekly through the end of October. PAGE 5