pgn Philadelphia Gay News LGBT NEWS SINCE 1976
Vol. 42 No. 41 Oct. 12-18, 2018
Family Portrait: Erin Busbee is puttin’ on the glitz
HONESTY • INTEGRITY • PROFESSIONALISM Philly Film Festival screens several LGBT films this year
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OutFest pictures PAGES 22-23
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Historic marker under fire by some LGBT advocates By Timothy Cwiek timothy@epgn.com
HUNDREDS OF WALKERS PASS CITY HALL OCT. 6 DURING THE ANNUAL TRANS MARCH. Photo: Scott A. Drake
Trans march vows resilience while mourning victims By Adriana Fraser adriana@epgn.com In the wake of the recent murder of Shantee Tucker, more than 200 participants took part in the Philly Trans March in honor of the community and the hundreds of other trans people killed over the last decade. Transgender community members and supporters gathered Oct. 6 at LOVE Park. Led by police escorts, they marched down Broad Street as drivers honked in support and curious spectators took photos. Christian Lovehall and other PTM organizers led the brigade alongside Tucker’s family, who held a banner displaying her pictures under the caption: “In memory of our sweet angel Shantee.” Leona Bibbs, Tucker’s aunt, held one end of the banner, shouting “Our streets!” in response to Lovehall’s “Whose streets?”
“Our family isn’t the only one that’s having to deal with fatally losing a trans family member,” Bibbs told a PGN reporter during the march. “That’s why we’re out here, fighting for Shantee and other members of the trans community. I see these murders happening and it lets me know that more needs to be done to support the trans community.” The crowd also chanted, “No justice, no peace, no transphobic police” and “We’re here, we’re queer, we’re fabulous, don’t fuck with us,” while holding up various signs, including, “Dismantle the cis-tem,” “Black Trans Lives Matter” and “Trans men are men, period.” Lovehall organized the first Philly Trans March in 2011, a year after the murder of local trans woman Stacey Blahnik — which remains unsolved and, he said, still haunts him. Now the activist also is PAGE 2
LGBT History Month
Officials at the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission said they’ll meet with LGBT advocates regarding a state historical marker recently installed near Rittenhouse Square that omits recognition of the early transgender community. The marker, dedicated on Oct. 1, commemorates a 1965 LGBT sit-in at Dewey’s, a restaurant that was located at 219 S. 17th St. The restaurant has since been demolished and a Hyatt Hotel stands at the site. The marker, which is owned by PHMC, is sponsored and funded by Equality Forum, a Philadelphia-based LGBT advocacy group. The text of the marker states: “Activists led one of the nation’s first LGBT sit-ins here in 1965
after homosexuals were denied service at Dewey’s restaurant. Inspired by African-American lunchcounter sit-ins, this event prompted Dewey’s to stop its discriminatory policy, an early victory for LGBT rights.” Deja Alvarez, a local trans advocate, contends the marker is misleading because gender-variant individuals — not “homosexuals” — were the target of Dewey’s exclusionary policy and led the subsequent protests. “Too often, gender-variant people, particularly trans people, are erased from LGBT history,” Alvarez said. “Then we have to fight to get them put back in. I’m fed up with it. I’m exhausted from watching our erasure from not only history, but from the community as a whole.” Howard Pollman, a PHMC spokesperson, said the agency is willing to meet with LGBT advocates about the marker’s language. “We take the comments regarding the Dewey’s sit-in marker text seriously,” Pollman said in an Oct. 5 email. “As is our normal process, we worked PAGE 19 with the sponsor to create the
OutFest draws younger, more diverse crowd By Adriana Fraser adriana@epgn.com The 28th annual OutFest block party attracted some 50,000 visitors and participants — more than it had in the previous two years, said the event’s organizer. Philadelphia’s celebration of National Coming Out Day brought in an estimated 30,000 revelers in 2016-17. Last Sunday’s 80-degree weather may have contributed to the bigger crowds — but even more notable was the age range. “It used to be that everyone that attended OutFest was in their 20s or older,” said Franny Price, executive director of Philly Pride Presents, which organizes the yearly event.
“Now it’s all ages, especially people under the age of 18. It’s becoming their block party.” “It seems that more people are coming out at a younger age, and it’s exciting to see all of the young people having a great time at OutFest in celebration of their openness.” Meanwhile, more than 150 community groups, vendors and partners set up tents along the Gayborhood celebration routes, from 12th to 13th streets and Walnut to Spruce. The main stage, at 13th and Locust, featured live entertainment from local drag performers and artists. It’s also where the OutProud Awards were given to individuPAGE 2 als for notable
Asian-American lesbian writer Willyce Kim PAGE 14
JUDITH KASEN-WINDSOR, EX-WIFE OF EDIE WINDSOR (LEFT), AND HENRI DAVID DURING THE GAYBORHOOD STREET SIGN DEDICATION Photo: Scott A. Drake
Erasing lesbianism, part two PAGE 26