San Francisco Bay Times - February 23, 2017

February 23 - March 8, 2017 | sfbaytimes.com

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In the News

Compiled by Dennis McMillan San Francisco LGBT Businesses Support ‘A Day Without Immigrants’ General Strike On Thursday, February 16, many LGBT business owners in the Bay Area observed “A Day Without Immigrants,” a boycott and strike held nationwide to highlight the contributions of immigrants and to protest the Trump administration’s policies concerning immigration. The business closures in some cases extended to the next day as well.

David Perry of San Francisco-based David Perry & Associates explained, “Today, as a business owner, in my small way, I stand up to be counted: Donald J. Trump is bad for business.

He is bad for this country. He is a danger to our Republic. I, and many colleagues, will be marching in San Francisco.” Another general strike, “A Day Without a Woman” is scheduled for March 8, which is International Women’s Day. It is being organized by the same team behind the Women’s March that drew an estimated 3–4 million Americans to events held in D.C. and nationwide following the election of President Trump.

Same-sex Marriage Legalization Linked to Reduction in Suicide Attempts Among Teens The implementation of state laws legalizing same-sex marriage was associated with a significant reduction in the rate of suicide attempts among high school students—and an even greater reduction among LGBT adolescents—new Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health research suggests. The authors estimate that state-level, same-sex marriage policies were associated with more than 134,000 fewer adolescent suicide attempts per year. The study compared states that passed laws allowing same-sex marriage through January 2015 to states that did not enact state-level legalization. A Supreme Court decision made samesex marriage federal law in June of 2015. According to the researchers, the findings show the beneficial effect that social policies can have on behavior. “These are high school students so they aren’t getting married any time soon, for the most part,” said study leader Julia Raifman. “Still, permitting same-sex marriage reduces structural stigma associated with sexual orientation. There may be something about having equal rights—even if they have no immediate plans to take advantage of them—that makes students feel less stigmatized and more hopeful for the future.” jhsph.edu #HireTrans Campaign Launched The San Francisco LGBT Center’s Trans Employment Program recently launched its #HireTrans campaign, with the goal of increasing trans visibility in the workplace and inspiring employers to create a diverse and inclusive workforce. The campaign has released a video (https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=cgc-AlcYDrA) and photo project that the Program organizers hope “will both provide inspiration and serve to recognize the talents and skills within our communities, as well as acknowledging the obstacles we face in having these talents recognized. We brought together an amazing group of trans people who are working in a wide range of fields. The #HireTrans campaign raises visibility that trans and GNC people have so much to offer the workplace.” To join the Campaign, go to: http://transemploymentprogram. org/events/hiretrans/ HIV Infection Rate Falls Dramatically New calculations to better track HIV infections confirm that the U.S. is seeing a strong and steady decline. The

number of new cases has been falling for years, but health officials wanted a clearer picture of how the epidemic was behaving. In prior studies, researchers counted people when individuals were diagnosed with the AIDS virus—not when they actually contracted it—which can be months or years earlier. Counting infections instead of diagnoses is a more ideal gauge, serving as a kind of speedometer that tells how fast the epidemic is actually moving, said HIV researcher David Holtgrave. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention used blood test results to help date the infections. Their calculations showed new infections dropped by nearly 18 percent over six years. Though health experts expected a decline, they welcomed the confirmation. lgbtqnation.com Senator Wiener Announces Bill to Give Cities Local Control to Extend Late Night Alcohol Service Hours Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) announced the LOCAL Act (Let Our Communities Adjust Late Night) to allow, but not require, local governments to extend alcohol service hours to a specified time between 2 am and 4 am for bars and restaurants. Under Senate Bill 384, the decision for how and where to implement any extension of alcohol service hours would be up to the local jurisdiction, with approval by the Department of Alcohol Beverage Control. “California is a diverse state, with cities and neighborhoods that have different needs when it comes to nightlife,” said Senator Wiener. “By granting local control to our cities to extend their late-night hours, we can support areas that benefit economically and culturally from a strong nightlife presence, while ensuring that other cities and neighborhoods retain their current rules. This nuanced approach has been successful in other cities across the country, and California cities should have the same options as places like Chicago, New York and Washington D.C.” sen.ca.gov City Deploys Barricades to Deter Castro Homeless Encampments San Francisco’s Fix-It Team is addressing quality-of-life concerns a bit differently these days: with metal barricades. The barricades are in place on Prosper Street, next to the Eureka Valley/Harvey Milk Memorial Library, and on 16th Street, adjacent to the “Hope for the World Cure” mural. Both sites are well-known for being frequented by homeless individuals and street youth. The barriers were put in place to deter people from sitting, laying and setting up tents along the sidewalks. Fix-It director Sandra Zuniga said this area was chosen based on SFPD and 311 data, as well as ongoing dialogue with neighbors. Zuniga explained that the decision to deploy the barricades was made by a combination of City agencies, including SF Public Works, the Department of Public Health, and SFPD. hoodline.com Harvey Milk Plaza Redesign Moving Forward, with Community’s Input The City is redesigning the plaza around the Castro Muni station in order to be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. It’s agreed to take Harvey Milk Plaza’s historical significance into consideration during the planning phases of the project, with construction set to take place in 2020. To help capture the vision of the space’s significance

to the community, a group called Friends of Harvey Milk Plaza hosted two community meetings on the last two Wednesdays of January. Roughly 40 people attended the first meeting on January 18, and approximately 55 showed up for the last meeting. Some of their ideas included recreating the plaza as an outdoor amphitheater, and reworking the ground space to be better utilized. Friends of Harvey Milk Plaza has to send out the call for design applications soon (as part of the forthcoming international design competition), but there will be a few more opportunities for neighbors to give their input into the plaza’s eventual concept. Over the next couple of months, a team will be out in Harvey Milk Plaza to interview people as they move through the space. hoodline.com Transgender Parolee Gets Surgery Years After Winning, Then Losing, the Right A transgender woman has undergone sex-reassignment surgery, nearly two years after her lawsuit resulted in California becoming the first state to offer the operation to prison inmates.

Michelle-Lael Norsworthy, 53, had the Medicare-funded surgery in San Rafael. Norsworthy was convicted of second-degree murder for a 1985 bar shooting. She began identifying as a woman in the 1990s and received hormone therapy in prison. Doctors recommended reassignment surgery in 2012, but officials refused.

Norsworthy sued, and in 2015, a San Francisco federal judge ordered California to provide the surgery.

Norsworthy, however, was paroled before it could be scheduled. Another transgender inmate who sued, Shiloh Quine, underwent surgery in December, making her the first U.S. inmate to have the state-paid operation. lgbtqnation.com Milo Yiannopolous Resigns from Breitbart News On February 21, gay right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos resigned from alt-right supported Breitbart News. The resignation was announced just hours after a press conference in which Yiannopoulos defended a video that recently resurfaced of him discussing the issue of sex with minors. At the press conference, Yiannopoulos admitted, “I did say that there are relationships between younger men and older men that can help a young gay man escape from a lack of support or understanding at home. That’s perfectly true and every gay man knows it.”

Yiannopoulos began the press conference by saying, “I am a gay man, and a child abuse victim.” The former Breitbart editor’s resignation followed his disinvitation to the 2017 Conservative Political Action Conference and his publisher’s cancellation of his book Dangerous that had been scheduled for release in June.

Many booksellers had already planned not to sell Dangerous, which was to include information about the protests the author encountered during his recent campus tour. A massive protest erupted at UC Berkeley, resulting in damage to both university buildings and businesses in Berkeley, and forced the cancellation of Yiannopolous’ speaking engagement there earlier this month. breitbart.com, sfgate.com ‘Tales of the City’ New York Premiere Announced Based on the series of novels about San Francisco LGBT life by Armistead Maupin, the musical Tales of the City will make its New York City debut on March 27. The musical follows a community of friends, lovers, and others who reside at the mythical address of 28 Barbary Lane in 1976 (continued on page 30) S AN F R ANC IS C O BAY T IM ES F EBRUARY 23, 2017

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Urging CalPERS to Divest from the Dakota Access Pipeline ter, and tribal rights. This represents a troubling example of environmental racism, and must not be tolerated.

Despite the threats the pipeline poses to public health, the water supply and sacred land, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) owns about 1.1 million shares of Energy Transfer Partners, the company involved in the pipeline project. As a CalPERS member, I refuse to stand by and allow my retirement money to fund the DAPL.

Out of the Closet and into City Hall Oakland City Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan In September, the Oakland City Council passed my Resolution opposing the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), and supporting the land, water, and treaty rights of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. Since then, President Trump has granted an easement allowing the pipeline to be constructed under the Missouri River half a mile upstream of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. When the pipeline was originally proposed to travel through a White neighborhood, the community opposed it and the company backed off, re-routing it to threaten Native American lands, wa-

In January, I authored a letter (https:// drive.google.com/filed/0B4k7eaDkA jFzdGN4NlpNYTJLbEk/view) to the governing board of CalPERS, urging them to immediately act to fully divest from any involvement in the DAPL. Last week, I traveled to Sacramento with many other stakeholders to deliver our message to the CalPERS Finance Committee in person: “It’s time for CalPERS to stand in solidarity with Standing Rock.”

Going into the meeting, CalPERS leaders had urged the board to oppose divestment from the pipeline project, stating that divestment could affect about $4 billion in investments, and CalPERS would lose its ability to influence the project. After hearing our testimony, the board delayed its decision, and several of its members said they were swayed by the dozens of

people who spoke out against investing in the 1,100-mile pipeline, which would carry oil from North Dakota to Illinois.

In Oakland, I also authored a Resolution (https://drive.google.com/fil ed/0B4k7eaDkAjFzMlBBNVhjbjV XYnM/view) asking the City Council to demand that CalPERS divest from any involvement in the pipeline project. The Resolution passed unanimously at the Rules and Legislation Committee, and garnered support from the SEIU and California Nurses Association. As our nation is confronted by the injustices brought on by the Trump administration, it is as important as ever that we continue to fight for policies that serve our communities and ref lect our values. We must stand up for peace and justice, and let it be known: Not in our name!

Oakland City Councilmember AtLarge Rebecca Kaplan was elected in 2008 and was re-elected in 2012, and again in 2016. She is working for safe neighborhoods, for local jobs and for a fresh start for Oakland. Councilmember Kaplan graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the Massachusetts Institute of Technolog y, obtained a master’s degree from Tufts University and a Juris Doctor from Stanford Law School.

Resist for Immigrant Rights cisco, Oakland, Berkeley, Alameda, Richmond and San Jose.

California has emerged as the center of the Trump Resistance, starting with our fight for immigrant rights.

In the state budget, we will fund legal services for immigrants. We are also working on legislation to protect immigrants:

Assemblymember Phil Ting Last month, the president issued an executive order targeting undocumented immigrants for deportation.

Since then, we have seen the federal government raid homes and workplaces across the country.

This is just the beginning. While Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) claims these recent raids are business as usual and only target those with criminal records, many of those arrested haven’t been convicted in a criminal court.

Anxiety and despair grip our communities as families are torn apart, children cry for their parents, and people retreat to the shadows for fear of being deported.

California is home to nearly 2.7 million undocumented people. They are a vital part of our cultural and economic landscape. Our largest cities, especially in the Bay Area, are sanctuary cities—including San Fran-

• AB 3, by Assemblymember Rob Bonta (D-Oakland), would create regional centers that train attorneys on immigration laws; • SB 6, by Senator Ben Hueso (D-San Diego), would expand a state program to fund legal representation for people facing deportation proceedings; • SB 29, by Senator Ricardo Lara (DBell Gardens), would prohibit local government from contracting with private companies to detain undocumented immigrants; • SB 54, by Senator Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles), would make California a sanctuary state by preventing state and local law enforcement from assisting ICE in deporting undocumented Californians; and • AB 291, a measure by Assemblymember David Chiu (D-San Francisco) that I am co-authoring, would provide immigrant tenant rights for the undocumented.

For many of us in the State Capitol, protecting immigrants is fiercely personal. My parents are immigrants who came to this country for a better

life. Fighting for immigrant rights is good for California and all our communities.

Consider this: California grows onequarter of the country’s food and almost half of all produce and nuts, and we depend on the hard work of immigrants—an estimated 70 to 80 percent of whom may be undocumented. Without them, food production would halt and the cost of produce would exponentially increase around the world.

Letting fear, ignorance, and intolerance destroy communities, stall the economy, and rip apart families is unjust and shortsighted. History shows us that proceeding on this path isn’t one we should continue on.

We’ve seen immigrants excluded and people being taken from their homes before. Many of us in the Asian Pacific Islander community see parallels between what’s happening today to the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882 and Japanese American internment in the 1940s.

Let’s not repeat the mistakes of the past. In order to move forward, we must build bridges, not walls, and protect those who make our country special.

Phil Ting represents the 19th Assembly District, which includes the Westside of San Francisco along with the communities of Broadmoor, Colma and Daly City.

Cleve Jones Continues to Teach, Mentor and Inspire

“San Francisco Bay Times” team members Beth and Layla Greene were with Cleve in Salt Lake City when he visited there in January.

Equality Utah’s political action committee hosted their annual PAC Brunch and Cleve presented the keynote address. Later in the day, he visited a local library and was interviewed by Layla, who is working on an assignment about the life of Harvey Milk. Who better than Cleve to tell her about that, and Layla now has an autographed copy of “When We Rise.” You can book Cleve to speak at an event and he will surely amaze with his tales and inspiration. Contact Cleve via his website: clevejones.com Cleve recently shared an early photo (near right) on his Facebook page. Technologies have changed, but his vital work continues and remains relevant, perhaps even more so, today.

See pages 16-17 and 20 for related stories about the new ABC miniseries When We Rise, based on Cleve’s book by the same title published by Hachette Book Group.

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San Francisco Pride Announces 2017 Grand Marshal Nominees The San Francisco Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Pride Celebration and Parade has announced the slate of nominees for public vote for the event’s 2017 Community Grand Marshals. Annually, the general public votes for both an individual and an organization to be honored at the parade and celebration, which is held on the last weekend in June. Voting is live and will continue until noon on Tuesday, March 7.

The nominees for Community Grand Marshal in 2017 represent an impressive group of individuals and organizations that have, through their work, art, and advocacy, contributed to the strength, beauty, and complex fabric of the LGBTQ communities in the Bay Area.

The 2017 San Francisco Pride Celebration & Parade is scheduled for the weekend of June 24th and 25th—in the heart of citywide events commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Summer of Love. The theme for this year’s Pride event is A Celebration of Diversity.

“Our theme of inclusion, and the significant anniversary of the Summer of Love, could not come at more critical time,” according to George Ridgely, Executive Director of the San Francisco Pride Committee. “As our communities face an uncertain future at the hands of the new Presidential administration, it is more important than ever to reaffirm our core values of inclusion, diversity, and equality, and resist intolerance in any form.

San Francisco has always been a beacon of these values.”

For years, the San Francisco Pride Celebration and Parade has attracted more than one million attendees and participants, making it one of the

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largest gatherings of LGBTQ people and their allies in the entire world.

San Francisco Pride is part of a larger network of global Pride events that play a crucial role in illuminating LGBTQ visibility, building community, and giving voice during times of both struggle and celebration.

The San Francisco Pride Parade/ March will take place in downtown San Francisco on Sunday, June 25, along Market Street. The Celebration, a rally and festival at Civic Center Plaza in San Francisco, will take place on Saturday and Sunday, June 24 and 25. The Celebration features keynote speakers addressing pressing issues facing LGBTQ communities; along with performance, live entertainment, and more than twenty community-produced stages and venues. There is no mandatory admission fee for the Celebration; however, organizers are requesting a $1 donation from everyone who attends.

Organizers also anticipate record participation in this year’s event and encourage groups and organizations to register early. Registration is available at register.sfpride.org Updates and complete event information can be found at sfpride.org How to Cast Your Ballot for Community Grand Marshal There are two ways that you can cast your ballot for Community Grand Marshal before the deadline on March 7 at noon: • Online at sfpride.org/grand-marshals • In person at the SF Pride office, 30 Pearl Street, 4th Floor, San Francisco. Please note that access to the Pride offices is by appointment only. Con-

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tact info@sfpride.org to schedule an appointment.

Individual Nominees: Dr. Marcy Adelman, a San Francisco Bay Times columnist, is a widely respected psychotherapist and pioneer in the field of lesbian and gay aging. In 1998, many couldn’t afford rising rents or were evicted and senior housing and service providers didn’t know how to welcome LGBT elders and assure their safety. With few housing options, LGBT elders had to go back into the closet to access housing and services or were forced to leave the city. Marcy and her late partner, Jeannette Gurevitch, founded Openhouse to address the housing and service needs of LGBT elders. For over three decades, Marcy has worked to make visible the lives, contributions, and concerns of LGBT elders, and is a leading advocate for quality LGBT affirming elder care and policies.

Judy Appel is tickled “pink” to be nominated for grand marshal, and not just because her gender queer 15-year-old thinks it’s pretty cool. For thirt y years she has worked as an activist, attorney, advocate, and parent, and spent 11 years leading California’s LGBTQ family movement, as the Executive Director of Our Family Coalition, bringing visibility and voice to LGBTQ families with children. Prior to OFC, she worked in drug policy reform, homeless advocacy, and environmental activism. She

is currently the Executive Director of the California School Based Health Alliance, helping improve the health and academic success of children and youth by advancing health services in schools. In 2016, she was reelected to sit on the Berkeley School Board, the first out lesbian to do so.

Blackberri is a song-stylist, songmaker, poet, writer, photographer, health educator, and community advocate—in other words, an Artivist. He has performed music and appeared in several f ilms d i rected by M a rlon Riggs including Tongues Untied, Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien (No Regret)], Anthem, Affirmations, and Black is Black Ain’t; Isaac Julian’s Looking for Langston; and Nancy and Peter Adair’s Word is Out. Blackberri’s f irst album, Blackberri and Friends: Finally (1981) featured the classic song, Eat the Rich. He also recorded the soundtrack for the HaightAshbury Radio Collective’s History of San Francisco, Knowing at the Gateway of Gold, which aired on KPFA, a Berkeley-based Pacifica Network Radio affiliate.

Chris Carnes is a Bay Area LGBTQ activist, fundraiser, event producer, and philanthropist. For over four decades, Chris has had an active role in leading and supporting LGBTQ causes, from her work on the Board of the Cable Car Awards, to her role as a pivotal Board member of Equality California, securing the f irst major cor porate sponsor AT&T ensuring EQCA’s future. For 10 years C h r i s fou g ht for

equal marriage rights culminating with the joyous Supreme Court decision on 2015 Pride weekend. Chris was an early board member of the SF LGBT Center, where she was instrumental in turning the dream into a reality. With her legendary fundraising expertise, Chris leveraged her growing contacts and donor base launching Carnes Productions and ChrisCarnesList harnessing the power of social media.

Billy Curtis is a committed community activist and advocate. In 1999, Billy was hired as UC Berkeley’s first full time director for LGBT Resources and is currently the director of the University’s Gender Equity Resource Center. During his tenure, Billy has evolved campus resources for LGBTQ students, faculty, and staff, and mentored a host of LGBTQ leaders. In 2010, the GLBT Historical Society honored Billy as one of the 25 people, “who made our history, who in effect created the community we live in today.” Among his accomplishments at Berkeley are the implementations of the annual Lavender Graduation; advocating for Trans inclusive health benef its, facilities, athletic policies; and creating a more trans inclusive workplace at Cal. Sean Dorsey is a transgender dancer, activist and community organizer and the Artistic Director of Sean Dorsey Dance. As the nation’s first acclaimed transgender contemporary dance choreographer, Dorsey has created new space for trans bodies and (continued on page 14)

Art Imitates Life in the New TV Show Doubt

6/26 and Beyond John Lewis & Stuart Gaffney As we eagerly anticipate the upcoming premiere of the landmark LGBT history miniseries When We Rise, we were excited to see the premiere of another groundbreaking television series that seeks to educate Americans about the lives of LGBT people: Doubt. Stuart’s high school classmate, television writer Joan Rater, and her husband Tony Phelan are the creators of Doubt, whose all-star cast includes Laverne Cox, who plays a transgender attorney. In an inspiring personal essay published last week in Entertainment Weekly, Joan reveals that her and Tony’s inspiration for Cox’s character was their own teenage transgender son, Tom—and their collective desire to make the world a better place for transgender people to live.

As Joan writes in Entertainment Weekly, she and her husband Tony decided that—after first struggling with and then accepting and embracing their son Tom as transgender— they “want[ed] to be ambassadors”

to help educate the public about the real lives of transgender people.

They fantasized about “invit[ing] people who think being transgender is scary or weird or wrong over to our house to meet our family that includes our transgender son, and in the end, they see that he’s really sweet and not scary.” But since their house couldn’t f it the millions of people they wanted to reach, Joan recounts, “we wrote a TV show instead,” featuring Laverne Cox as a recurring transgender character.

Joan explains candidly that “when Tommy told us he was transgender, we didn’t know anything about gender identity, so we got really scared. Like panicked and crying.”

But Tom provided his parents resources to educate them, and Joan and Tony “let smart people calm us down.” After they calmed down, they realized that Tom “was still the exact same person he was before he told us he was trans, only now he was happier. Once he told us, he felt relieved and was able to be more himself. He became even funnier and nicer. And it was kind of a miracle to our family to see this person that had been sad become happy. We watched this child of ours who had felt so awkward for so long start to feel more comfortable in his own skin.”

“And then we got to create a trans character as a member of the ensemble of Doubt so that people, who didn’t get to witness the miracle of a person being brave enough to be their authentic self in real life, could see it on TV. They could meet Cam-

eron Wirth, as played by Laverne Cox, and fall in love with her because she’s funny and smart as hell and passionate about her clients and gorgeous and needy and lonely and all the things the rest of us are. And once they get to know her, her being trans won’t be scary or alienating. It’ll feel normal. And if we can do that, if we can broaden the idea of normal even a little bit, it’ll be a good thing. And maybe our show can be part of helping people become less afraid.”

Revival Dance Party for Long-Term Survivors Photos by Paul Margolis

The Revival Dance Party, hosted by and for long-term (neg/pos) survivors, was held on Saturday, February 11, at the Episcopal Church of Saint John the Evangelist. The event, affiliated with Shanti, has the goal of building a loving, supportive community to overcome isolation and depression. DJ Jacatac was on hand to spin tunes. To find out more about previous and upcoming Revival events, contact Gregg Cassin: gcassin@shanti.org

We’re proud of Joan and her family, and we’re grateful that Joan and Tony are using their voices as television writers and creators to illuminate the lives and voices of transgender people. As When We Rise dramatizes the lives of LGBT activists, Joan and Tony have become activists themselves by taking their personal story and that of their son and bringing it to the small screen through the transgender character they created. With the TV show Doubt, art imitates life in the hope that more people can live authentic and happy lives without having to imitate or pretend anymore.

John Lewis and Stuart Gaffney, together for over three decades, were plaintiffs in the California case for equal marriage rights decided by the California Supreme Court in 2008. Their leadership in the nationwide grassroots organization Marriage Equality USA contributed in 2015 to making same-sex marriage legal nationwide.

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Growing a Successful Nonprofit: Accept a Helping Hand ing relationships, for example, larger banks often take their nonprofit clients for granted by charging high fees and insisting on procedures that make little sense, given the way nonprofits are typically structured. Community banks, on the other hand, are capable of tailoring their services to meet the needs of nonprofits—not the other way around.

Bank with Pride Wendy Ross There are more than 10,000 nonprofit organizations in the Bay Area, many of which are robust and thriving. Each of them works hard to deliver human services, education, arts and culture, and health assistance to our communities. Nonprofits play a crucial role in achieving the quality of life and equality of opportunity that so many enjoy in the Bay Area.

While nonprofit organizations share many characteristics with their small to mid-size business counterparts, they do not always receive the same expert advice and hands-on service they deserve. When it comes to bank-

A community banker can take the time to get to know the challenges and complexities of their nonprofit clients, and then simplify transactions and customize services and fee structures accordingly. They go beyond the standard expectation of a banker, often making house calls and going to the organization rather than taking key personnel away from their all-important work.

Additionally, a community banker can help make business connections through their local network of CPAs, lawyers, insurance brokers, consultants, risk managers and wealth advisors. In this way, a community banker becomes a trusted partner who helps a nonprofit client to grow and thrive.

Many nonprofits start with a clear cause and attainable goals, but with-

out the guidance and tools necessary to succeed. This lack of resources certainly creates challenges that could be avoided, and access to some thoughtful expertise may be all that they need in order to f lourish. Whether it is guidance in fundraising, insight into developing strategic communications, or assistance with budget creation and reporting, working with a bank that provides direction from a specialist in these areas, and many more, could make all the difference.

Customized services, facilitated connections and expert consultation are just a few benef its that come from banking with a community bank, all of which can help nonprofits to grow and thrive. We encourage all nonprofits to find a banking partner that is as invested in their success, and in the success of our communities, as they are.

Wendy Ross is the President of Bank of San Francisco. She has more than 35 years of international, commercial, and private banking experience. Ross is a 2002 graduate of Leadership San Francisco and is a board member for numerous Bay Area organizations.

Red Envelope Giving Circle 2017 Photos by Paul Margolis “Love & Resistance!” was the selected theme for the REGC’s (Red Envelope Giving Circle) annual Grant Ceremony held on Sunday, February 12, at Bravado Italian Coffee Bar and Lounge. Celebrating five years of giving to the Asian and Pacific Islander LGBT community, the organization presented grants to twelve individuals and organizations recognized for their efforts to address the needs of LGBT Asian Pacific Islanders in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. Among the group’s founders are two San Francisco Bay Times/“Betty’s List” supporters, Crystal Yang and Trinity Ordona, and we congratulate them along with their co-founders. The complete list of grantees for 2017 is available at red-envelope-giving-circle.org and the organization’s Facebook page is facebook.com/redenvelopegivingcircle

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Public Performance, Public Lives

Photos courtesy of Bill Lipsky

The Lady Chablis

Faces from Our LGBT Past Dr. Bill Lipsky In earlier times, when those who were young, gifted, black, and LGBT faced the immense social—and legal—barriers that then existed against race, gender, and sexual diversity, some defied the statutes against same-sex intimacy, cross-dressing, and equality to be their authentic selves openly and publicly, whatever the consequences.

Here are four of many.

Stormé DeLarverie was the “girl” of the “twenty-five men and a girl” that made up the company of Jewel Box Revue. Best known by her first name only, she was born in New Orleans in 1920. In addition to performing in the revue, she was its stage manager, musical arranger and “mother to the chorus.”

The first racially integrated drag revue in the United States history, it toured the theater circuit from 1955 to 1969, regularly performing at Harlem’s famed Apollo Theater as well as to mixed-race audiences in many parts of the country. The production included songs, dances and theatrical sketches.

During the show, everyone performed in drag, including Stormé. Not until late in the evening, however, having been playing a man on stage, did she appear as a woman. The revelation followed nearly two hours of the audience trying to determine who exactly was the “female” among the performers, exposing the erroneous, restricting mythology of what constitutes “true” femininity and “true” masculinity.

Stor mé wa s at t he Stonewall Inn the night of June 28, 1969, when its patrons fought back against police aggression. She did not believe the events that followed should be called the “Stonewall Riots,” however. “It was a rebellion, it was an uprising, it was a civil rights disobedience,” she said almost 50 years later. “It wasn’t no damn riot.”

After Stonewall, she provided security for several lesbian clubs in New York and became a volunteer street patrol worker, the “guardian of lesbians in the Village.” Constantly “on the lookout for what she called ‘ugliness:’ any

form of intolerance, bullying or abuse of her ‘baby girls,’ the New York Times reported when she died in 2014, she was, concluded the newspaper, “a true gay superhero.”

Phil Black was born in Pittsburgh around the turn of the 20th century. In 1924, dressed as a woman, he and a friend attended a drag ba l l, where t he y w o n f i r s t prize as best couple. Friends encouraged him to become a professional female impersonator. He appeared in local clubs for a few years, then joined the touring company of Shufflin Sam from Alabam ,”T he World’s Greatest Colored Musical Comedy.”

After six years with the show, Black moved to New York. In 1945 he organized and hosted the first Funmakers’ Ball. Usually held at the Rockland Palace on 155th Street on Thanksgiving night, it attracted hundreds of participants, from many back g rou nd s, a nd often thousands of onlookers. Police “winked” at the statute “prohibiting men dressing as womStormé en,” but revelers DeLarverie “promptly at midnight, in accordance with state law … hitched up their gowns and went home.”

Like Stormé, Angie Stardust was a member of the Jewel Box Review. Born Mel Michaels in Norfolk, Virginia, and raised in Harlem, New York, she began performing when she was 14 years old. In 1974 she moved to Europe, finally settling in Hamburg. For a while she managed Crazy Boys, the first men’s striptease

Literati - Black History Month

theater in Germany, then opened her own nightclub on the second floor of Schmidt’s Tivoli on the Reeperbahn.

It became a Hamburg institution and she became an entertainment legend, Europe’s transgender “Big Mama of Soul.”

Wearing f lowing dresses, her long fingernails painted red, she sang standards of soul and jazz, pop, and musical theater.

She also improvised, and f lirted with her audience.

She appeared in four films, inPhil cluding Rosa von Black Praunheim’s cult classic City of Lost Souls, and made numerous recordings. She died in 2007.

SA N FRANCISCO BAY T I ME S FE B RUA RY 2 3 , 2 0 1 7

Phil Black prom card

Born Benjamin Edward Knox in North Florida in 1957, actress, author, and performer Brenda Dale Knox legally changed her name to The Lady Chablis in the 1990s. Early in her career as an entertainer, she won numerous titles in drag pageantry, including Miss Dixieland and Miss Gay World (1976), Grand Empress of Savannah (1977), and Miss Sweetheart International (1989).

Performing for many years at Club One in Savannah, Georgia, she was a local celebrity until John Berendt’s best-selling book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil made her world famous. She appeared in San Francisco in 1996 in a “ jazz concert” tour, produced by Jack Wrangler, that featured personalities mentioned in the book, and played herself in the film adaptation.

She became and remains a role model to others, inspiring them to overcome the hurdles they faced to be accepted for themselves. “I was captivated seeing an actual black trans woman in a major Hollywood motion picture killing it,” wrote transgender actress Laverne Cox. She “represents a generation of trans women entertainers we must never forget.”

Photos by Rink

Local activist and author Jewelle Gomez welcomed Professor Ajuan Mance of Mills College to Dog Eared Book’s Castro location for a special Black History Month program on Monday, February 13. A focus of the discussion was Mance’s book Before Harlem, An Antholog y of African American Literature from the Long Nineteenth Century. The upcoming world premiere at New Conser vator y Theatre Center (March 3 - April 2) of the play Leaving the Blues, based on Gomez’s book about the life of Alberta Hunter, was also a highlight of the conversation.

12

Well-known drag queen RuPaul continues the rich legacy of Phil Black and many others

Stormé DeLarverie and accompanying entertainers at the Jewel Box Revue

What a party must be happening now. Brown producing the most extravaga nt d rag ba l ls ever.

Stormé introducing the talent. Angie and the Lady Chablis performing for the audience. The greatest show in heaven.

Bill Lipsky, Ph.D., author of “Gay and Lesbian San Francisco” (2006), is a member of the Rainbow Honor Walk board of directors.

Angie Stardust album cover

Rain, Rain Don’t Go Away Then there is the recurring theme of rain in music. All that is required here is a short list sung by the greatest artists of all time to get you started on your own favorites (feel free to sing along): • Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head • Don’t Rain On My Parade • Rain • Purple Rain • Come in from the Rain

TLC: Tears, Laughs and Conversation Dr. Tim Seelig As I sat and watched the rain for the umpteenth day in a row, I decided to take a moment and ponder rain instead of just being a hater for all the “trouble” it was causing me. Pondering rain brought me to the following: Goldilocks, spiders, music, Grandma’s quilts, destruction, Noah and Dr. Maya Angelou.

This article is designed to get you started on your own journey with rain. Consider it a little rain therapy. My hope is that by reading some of my random thoughts, you’ll take some time to consider your own relationship with our dear friend and recent constant companion: rain.

I know I said Goldilocks. But forget her for the moment— she was just a hot mess. I’m altering the plot a bit—giving the bears the lead roles in my little play. Most of us fall into the category of the f irst two bears. The first bear growls, “This rain’s just too much.” The Grace second d isag rees, “This rain’s too little.” Then there’s that one last bear who takes things in stride with: “This rain is just right!” He obviously has an umbrella that does not turn inside out at the slightest gust of wind. He also probably has a precious pair of galoshes and a matching little raincoat like Paddington Bear, better known these days as the “Kellyanne Conway revolutionary drum major inaugural coat.”

I digress. As I continued to ponder the rain, I realized what a central place rain plays in every part of our lives. We learned about it before we could even walk. It began with one of our very first songs when “down came the rain and washed that scary, furry, mean spider out.” Why must we torture our children with songs about arachnids? Thank goodness for the rain, which saved our lives over and over.

• Singin’ in the Rain • Rainy Days and Mondays • It’s Raining Men! And that doesn’t even start with the songs about stormy weather!

Now, about grandma’s quilts. Truth be told, I don’t have a lot of warm, fuzzy memories of childhood. I’m pretty sure we were in church for much of every day—rain or shine.

But, in Texas, we didn’t have the steady drip, drip, drip. Oh, no. We had real thunder storms. Gullywashers that could drown a frog— replete with thunder and lightning.

My grandmother had a big front screened-in porch. When the storm clouds approached, we gathered up the quilts she had made and went out on the porch. We cuddled up together to watch and listen. We would squeal with each flash of lightning or clap of thunder. But we knew we were safe and warm because we were toget her and protected in the arms of our family. I think it is why, to this day, I just love the sound of rain on the roof or the window.

There is a lso ext r aord i na r y d a nger that comes with the rain. We all have enormous empathy for the 200,000 people forced to evacuate from the Lake Oroville dam, or those who have homes now f loating along the Russian River, or the nice people in Pacifica whose apartment buildings just decided to slide on down the cliff to be closer to the water. And that’s just in our region. Rain can be incredibly destructive, as we all know. It has taken many lives. But none like this next story.

For my husband, there is one story from the Bible that upsets him more than any other. He is absolutely obsessed with it because, for some reason, it literally defines the concept of the wrathful, vengeful god. It’s about that feller Noah. Noah disturbs Dan deeply. It really bothers him that one day, god decided to make it rain so hard and long that it wiped out the entire planet. Yup, killed ‘em all.

Well, almost all. He decided to save a few of his “favorite things”: 2 mosquitos, 2 spiders, 2 cockroaches, 2 skunks, 2 bats, 2 puppies (needed more of these) and Noah’s family. They turned out to be more colorful than the most outrageous Jerry Springer episode.

For forty days and forty nights it rained. We can almost beat that, but no one is building an arc.

They are still looking for the last one. Guess god’s not that mad at us—yet.

Finally, this comes with a warning: Name Dropping Ahead. I had the incredible privilege of

Tim and Dan were clutching their shared umbrella this week!

(continued on page 30) S AN F R ANC IS C O BAY T IM ES F EBRUARY 23, 2017

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Dysfunctional Family Roles: #4 The Mascot and the lost child. The last of the four roles to discuss is the mascot.

Roland Schembari and Bill Hartman, Co-Founders Randy Alfred, Founding News Editor 1978 Kim Corsaro Publisher 1981-2011

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We honor our history and the paper’s ability to build and strengthen unity in our community.

The Bay Times is proud to be the only 100% LGBT funded and owned newspaper for the LGBT community in San Francisco.

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Tom Moon, MFT As I wrote in the first column in this series, dysfunctional families are characterized by abuse coupled with denial that any abuse is going on; by disrespect and violations of members’ boundaries; by shaming and lack of empathy; and usually by a fair amount of chaos, often due to alcoholism or drug abuse. Children in dysfunctional families inevitably find themselves tracked into surprisingly predictable and limiting roles. In the previous three columns, I described the roles of the hero, the scapegoat,

Blake Dillon

MARSHALS (continued from page 6)

Kit Kennedy Poet-In-Residence

stories in dance. Dorsey’s new show The M i s s i n g G e n e ration gives voice to long t ime t ransgender and LG BTQ survivors of the early AIDS epidemic; Dorsey created the work by traveling the U.S. to record oral history interviews with survivors. These survivors’ real-life voices are featured in the show, now touring to 20 cities.

As the founder and Artistic Director of Fresh Meat Productions, Dorsey invests in other trans and queer artists as powerful agents of change.

Fresh Meat has supported 500 LGBTQ artists since 2002.

Calendar Editor

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CONTRIBUTORS Writers Rink, Sister Dana Van Iquity, Ann Rostow, Kirsten Kruse, Kate Kendell, Alex Randolph, Heidi Beeler, Gary M. Kramer, Dennis McMillan, Tom Moon, Tim Seelig, Cinder Ernst, John Chen Rafael Mandelman, Kit Kennedy, Phil Ting, Rebecca Kaplan, Leslie Katz, Philip Ruth, Bill Lipsky, Karen Williams, Donna Sachet, Gary Virginia, Zoe Dunning, Marcy Adelman, Stuart Gaffney & John Lewis Brandon Miller, Jamie Leno Zimron Thom Watson, Michele Karlsberg Lyndsey Schlax, Elisa Quinzi, Elizabeth River, Debra Walker, Wendy Ross, Howard Steiermann Photographers Rink, Phyllis Costa, Jane Higgins Paul Margolis, Chloe Jackman, Bill Wilson, Jo-Lynn Otto, Sandy Morris, Abby Zimberg

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Examined Life

Jewelle Gomez is the author of eight books including the Black, lesbian vampire novel, The Gilda Stories, winner of two Lambda Literary Awards. Called “Poetic” and “significant and powerful” by Publishers Weekly, it’s been in print continuously since 1991. The 25th anniversary special edition was published

by Sa n Fr a nc i s co’s esteemed City Lights Books. Her play about an imagined moment of indecision in the life of gay author/activist James Baldwin, Waiting for Giovanni, premiered at San Francisco’s New Conservatory Theatre Center in 2011 and was called “a bold season opener” by the SF Chronicle.

She was staff on one of the first weekly Black television shows in the country, Say Brother (WGBH), and was on the founding board of GLAAD. Amy Sueyoshi is an educator, activist, and leading scholar in queer Asian American history. Her work addresses Orientalism, cross-dressing, and interracial desire. She is the author of Queer Compulsions, the first monograph on queer Japanese American history that details the sexuality of artist Isamu Noguchi’s father. Her essay on queer Asian Pacific Islander history also appears in the landmark National Parks Foundat ion LGBTQ Theme Study. Amy implemented the Asian Pacific Islander Queer Women and Transgender Community scholarship; initiated the Queer Ethnic Studies Initiative at SFSU where she is Associate Dean; and seeded the Dragon Fruit Project, API Equality’s queer

SA N FRANCISCO BAY T I ME S FE B RUA RY 2 3 , 2 0 1 7

The role of the mascot is most commonly taken on by the youngest child in the family. This is the child who learns very early that laughter reduces tension and eases stress, and she or he responds to discord in the family by trying to lighten the mood through humor. Mascots seek to be the center of attention by being funny and acting silly, desperately working to cover up the family’s pain.They’re typically super-cute, especially when young, are experts at making fun of themselves, and know how to act dumb. Mascots never seem to grow up, and the family fosters their immaturity by protecting them from painful realities.

Despite their light-hearted exterior, on the inside mascots feel powerless and confused about what is going on in the family. Because of their need for persistent denial, they tend to be restless and in constant motion, and become anxious or depressed when they don’t have enough going on to distract themselves and others. As a result, they may have difficulty focusing and often fail to develop strong decision-making skills.

intergenerational oral history project.

Amy is also the founding co-curator of the GLBT History Museum.

Tom Temprano is an LGBT activist, small business owner, and elected official. In November 2016, Tom was elected to the City College Board of Trustees as part of a “lavender sweep,” making him one of four out LGBTQ candidates winning the four available seats. He served as President of the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club in 2013 and 2014, San Francisco’s largest LGBTQ political organization. Tom is an advocate for LGBTQ nightlife, working as a DJ and community leader, to ensure that queer spaces thrive in SF. He is cofounder of Hard French, a successful queer dance party that has raised over $60,000 for organizations and causes. In 2013 he opened Virgil’s Sea Room, a neighborhood bar that serves the growing and diverse queer Mission neighborhood.

Alex U. Inn (Carmen Alex Morrison), a Bay-Area resident for more than 35 years, is an advocate for justice and equality, fighting for their rights and the rights of others, speaking truth to power. One of few to be named to sainthood by the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, and winner of 32 gold medals at Gay Games/Gay Olympics, Alex also has been a critical force for many important LGBTQI institutions, such as the SF LGBT Center, MyNameIs Coalition, SF Pride’s NECTAR/Women’s Stage, U NL E A SH! Da nce Party for Women, and Committee for Queer Justice. Alex also founded Momma’s Boyz, a troupe of Hip Hop artivist drag kings and KINGDOM! Drag King House that fundraises for our community. Alex has been happily married to Ellen Morrison for 9 years.

Organization Nominees: El/La Para TransLatinas The mission and vision of El/La Para TransLatinas is “to work to build a world where translatinas (transgender Latinas) feel they deserve to protect, love, and develop themselves. We support each other in protecting ourselves against violence, abuse, and illness. El/La works to build collective vision, action, and power to promote

The class clown act provides temporary balm to the family suffering, but no real solutions or healing. And while they’re entertaining everyone else, they’re usually lonely, confused and insecure, and are often full of fear, sadness and pain. Just as they divert others in the family from feeling pain, they also avoid identifying their own emotions and do not develop the skills to work through their feelings. Instead, they crack a joke, and the deeper underlying issues go unresolved. In hiding from their emotions, mascots fail to become acquainted with themselves. One result of their strategies is that other people rarely take them seriously or view them as competent. This child is usually kind and good hearted, and can be remarkably empathic, but they are held back by a pervasive need to avoid pain by escaping into a childlike world.

As mascots get a little older, they often take on the job of the family’s social director, doing their best to keep the family functioning at a social level. But, because they live their lives focused on others, they have a hard time recognizing their own needs or getting those needs met. They give

our survival and improve our quality of life in the SF Bay Area and beyond. Because we exist in a world that fears and hates transgender people, women, and immigrants, we fight for justice. We are working within a culturally competent holistic model on behalf of translatinas in the fight for human rights, dignity, and freedom to live without personal and institutional discrimination and violence.

El/La has been serving transgender Latinas since 2006.”

HealthRIGHT 360 Hea lt h R IGH T 360 g ives hope, builds health, and changes lives for people in need. “We provide compassionate, integrated care that includes primary medical, mental health, substance use disorder treatment, and reentry services. Celebrating 50 years of providing nonjudgmental healthcare, 2017 marks the founding of Haight Ashbury Free Clinics (HAFC) in 1967. HealthRIGHT 360 was created when Walden House and HAFC joined together, and we have continued to grow into a family of programs serving people throughout California. While we have always provided care to the LGBTQ community, our services were enhanced in 2014 when Lyon-Martin Health Services, a primary care clinic serving queer women and transgender people, joined.

We provide services, regardless of one’s ability to pay.”

The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) is a national legal organization committed to advancing the civil and human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and their families through litigation, legislation, policy, and public education. Founded in 1977, NCLR is celebrating 40 years of service to LGBTQ communities across the country. “In this unprecedented political moment in which everything we have fought for coming under threat, NCLR is unwavering in our commitment to those who are most vulnerable. We will be fearless in our efforts to call forth an America in which we can all live together in justice, equality, and respect.” In June 2015, NCLR won one of the biggest LGBTQ legal victories in history—the SCOTUS decision affirming marriage equality nationwide.

Our Family Coalition (OFC) Our Family Coalition (OFC) advances equity for LGBTQ parents/ caregivers, and prospective parents

love, but don’t know how to accept it.

They are at risk for getting involved in abusive relationships, and may attempt to “save” their partners by being “nice” and “upbeat.”

The path to maturity for the mascot involves challenging the essential despair and hopelessness that lies at the heart of this role. Mascots resort to denial, distraction and humor because their experience in their dysfunctional families has taught them that life problems cannot be faced and overcome. The first step in disconfirming that crippling belief is internal—mascots need to stop thinking of themselves as class clowns. That means that they need to stop treating their own suffering as something to deny, minimize, and turn into humor, and instead begin to treat it as something worthy of their own attention and respect. This attitude adjustment is the necessary first step in developing their considerable compassion and sensitivity into competence and mastery.

Tom Moon is a psychotherapist in San Francisco. For more information, please visit his website http:// tommoon.net/

through direct support, parent and community education, and statewide advocacy. They seek to create an inclusive and just world where all LGBTQ families have visibility and opportunities to thrive as valued participants in our schools, institutions, and communities. OFC brings the voices of LGBT caregivers and their children to the broader LGBTQ & family justice movements. They cultivate community-based leadership among LGBTQ families and strong partnerships with allies in California, to make our nation a more inclusive place for all families.

San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus (SFGMC) For nearly 40 years, the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus (SFGMC) has served as an international standard bearer for a powerful mix of extraordinary musical excellence and mission-driven activism. Founded in 1978, it was the first choral organization to courageously proclaim its orientation in its name and is credited with helping to start the LGBT choral movement that now spans the entire globe, galvanizing and changing the course of LGBT history. It continues to inspire other arts-based community organizations through its performances and involvement in human rights, community activism, empowerment and inclusiveness, establishing it as an icon among LGBT organizations.

About the San Francisco Pride Celebration Committee The San Francisco Pride Celebration Committee is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization founded to produce the SF Pride Celebration and Parade. The mission of the organization is to educate the world on LGBTQ issues, as well as to commemorate the heritage, celebrate the culture, and liberate the people of all LGBTQ communities.

A world leader in the Pride movement, SF Pride is also a grant-giving organization through its Community Partners Program. Since 1997, SF Pride has granted over $2.5 million dollars in proceeds to local nonprofit LGBTQIA organizations and organizations working on issues related to HIV/AIDS, cancer, homelessness, housing rights, and animal welfare.

GLBT Fortnight in Review

By Ann Rostow Taste Test

There are many divides in America, and there are many things that divide me from Donald Trump. But there is yet another profound opposition between us. Trump reportedly likes his steak cooked until it’s like “a rock on a plate.” Really?

I have several friends who like wellcooked meat, including my beloved former partner for whom I would reluctantly sauté pieces of lovely rare steak in a pan until horribly browned through. But this was one of the rare discrepancies in our otherwise copacetic entente. With few exceptions, I distrust people who like gray steak.

Is this just me, reflexively exaggerating anything that sets me apart from this man? Or can I extrapolate something from what I consider to be a pathological culinary posture? It’s not just that he likes his steak “well done.”

It’s the “rock on the plate.” It’s the fact that this guy appears to prefer fast food and mistrusts sophisticated cuisine. It’s the fact that Trump doesn’t read books. He doesn’t have a sense of humor. There’s no evidence that he prefers one genre of music to another. He doesn’t drink—not because he’s an alcoholic, but because he doesn’t like it. The man seems to be operating outside of culture, outside of history, outside of pleasure, outside of art. He seems to operate in a thoughtless and joyless human void.

I actually have a bunch of real GLBT news this week, but let me digress once more. Rereading my condemnation of Trump, I was reminded of my contempt when I saw that George W. Bush had a thin experience with American novels, and was then reading some non-fiction book about a hurricane in Galveston. What a moron, I thought. He was incapable of delving into whatever ( Jonathan Franzen “masterpiece”) I personally had just perused. The only thing he could handle was some little boy adventure book about a storm.

I thought about my complacent snobbery last summer when I read that very same book by Erik Larson, an incredible writer who had transfixed me with three previous publications.

The book that Bush had been reading, Isaac’s Storm, told the story of the worst hurricane to ever hit the United States to this day, a turn of the century maelstrom that changed the history of the Texas gulf coast, where Galveston had been on track to become what Houston is today. Larson is phenomenal and I had to laugh at myself as I recalled my pretentious reaction to our former president’s reading material.

The man read. And he read one of my favorite writers. And I scoffed at him.

And now look where we are.

Hmm. Having said that, he did destroy the economy and upended the Middle East for decades to come for no reason. But still!

Justice Delayed for Next Four Years So, as expected, the new Trump Justice Department has decided it will no longer contest the multi-state lawsuit that challenged the interpretation of Title IX. Obama’s Justice Department went to bat for the idea that Title IX’s ban on sex discrimination in public schools and colleges also protected transgender Americans. Two dozen states challenged that interpretation in two major lawsuits, but now those suits are moot since Trump’s Justice Department has abandoned the field.

Not a surprise, ladies and gentlemen.

But I have to say it rankled me every time some GLBT group let loose a barrage of hostility towards the Obama administration for some minor issue, all the while ignoring the

profound support our community had been receiving in terms of the administration’s legal positions on gay and trans rights.

In early 2011, the Obama Justice Department announced that sexual orientation discrimination should be evaluated by courts with the heightened scrutiny that is due race bias or religious discrimination. That position, yet to be embraced by the Supreme Court, is the be all and end all of our GLBT legal groups, and while we enjoyed the embrace of the executive branch for six years, it’s all over now. It’s gone, done. While some GLBT activists complained about this or that failing from the Obama crew, Obama himself, constitutional lawyer that he was, grounded his administration in the most powerful pro-gay legal philosophy available.

He did it under the radar. He avoided political brushback. No one noticed, save our own lawyers and legal analysts. But make no mistake. Barack Obama spared nothing in his support of GLBT equality. Now, we will start to see how much we’ve lost. Let’s hope that, thanks to Obama, we’ve had ten steps forward and now can survive five steps back.

Flower Child Last week, the unanimous Washington Supreme Court ruled that a Christian f lorist was not allowed to flout state anti-discrimination laws by refusing to do the flowers for the wedding of two of her regular customers, both men. On February 16, the judges ruled that Barronelle Stutzman, owner of Arlene’s Flowers, did not suffer a serious religious burden by being obliged to follow state law and do business with a gay couple. Nor did her teeny tiny religious burden rise to the level where it would outweigh a neutral state law that did not target her faith. And, by the way, the court also ruled that Barronelle’s “artistic freedom” was not in play when it came to making center pieces or whatever creative chef d’oeuvre she claimed to be effecting.

Her loss will be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, where the justices are already trying to decide whether or not to review a similar case brought by a Colorado bakery, Masterpiece Cakeshop, that also refused service to a gay wedding party. Already, the Masterpiece case has been scheduled for discussion three times, and postponed three times. Interestingly, the justices have requested the full particulars of the lower court deliberations, which could indicate that they have at least some interest in the subject.

Previously, the Court refused to review the case of an antigay photographer who declined a wedding job in New Mexico, leaving in place a ruling by the New Mexico Supremes in favor of the couple. Indeed, every one of the gay wedding cases we’ve been covering for these last few years has been decided in favor of the same-sex clients, but that is because all these cases arise in states where it’s against the law to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation. Obviously, gay couples don’t contest rejections they might experience in red states, because it’s perfectly legal to turn down a gay wedding gig in Texas or Kansas.

I’d say it violates the U.S. Constitution, but that’s a larger issue.

Milo and CPAC I had to distance myself from Breitbart’s race-baiting Milo Whatshisface on behalf of our diverse GLBT community the other day. Yes, it’s sad but true. There are some messed up GLBT people in this world and Milo is high on the list (but not as high as 9/11 terrorist Mohammed Atta, in my view). (continued on page 30) S AN F R ANC IS C O BAY T IM ES F EBRUARY 23, 2017

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Nevertheless, She Persisted: ROMA GUY

Roma Guy, Portrayed in When We Rise, Has Not Lost Any of Her Activist Fire cially of the women who were clearly making a difference. They, along with others, fought through the struggles and helped to build our LGBT community.

Debra Walker When I came out in the mid-seventies, I paid tremendous attention to news from San Francisco about LGBT issues. Even though I was living in a pretty conservative part of Southern California—or maybe because of it— in 1978 I was activated by the power of the San Francisco community, with its progressives who were then organized to win the battle against the Briggs Initiative/Prop 6. The proposition, if passed, would have banned LGBT teachers from working in public schools. I watched and learned from San Francisco activists, and joined t he ca mpa ig n against Prop 6 in Southern California.

Having just come out to my family, I was still str uggl ing w it h t heir struggle in accepting me and my older sister as lesbians. But the strength of the activism in San Francisco inspired so many of us across the state and the country to come out and stand up, to act up against the oppression. Within weeks of fighting off Prop 6, we all watched as Supervisor Harvey Milk as well as San Francisco liberal Mayor George Moscone were assassinated by fearful, homophobic ex-Board of Supervisors’ member Dan White. I watched, horrified, as the subsequent jury verdict of second degree murder unfolded—the so-called Twinkies defense. It was a slap on White’s wrist. I was outraged, as was my community, but I felt so much pride over San Franciscans for subsequently speaking up, standing up and mobilizing for justice.

When I later moved to San Francisco in 1981, I was soon followed by a few of my gay male friends from Los Angeles and San Diego. They had come here to receive medical treatment. When I visited them at San Francisco General, they told me they’d been warned they had “gay cancer,” and were refused treatment in the hospitals in the other cities they lived in. They had to come to SF General because it was the only hospital that would take them. Visiting them at the hospital, I saw the dedication and compassion of the medical staff, and espe-

The seed for such activism was sown, in part, by the founding years earlier—in 1971—of San Francisco Women’s Centers to incubate emerging Bay Area women’s projects. The group quickly outgrew their tiny office on Brady Street. In 1979, they bought Dovre Hall, a former Sons of Norway meeting hall and neighborhood bar.

The organized and motivated women, who included Roma Guy and her partner Diane Jones, transformed the four-story building into the first woman-owned and operated community center in the country: The Women’s Building.

Words cannot do just ice to t he achievements of Roma—a longtime social justice leader and former Public Health Commissioner—and Diane — a for mer H I V/ AIDS nurse and social just ice act iv ist. They took care of those whom others ignored, whether helping HIV/AIDS patients or supporting women with social services, wellness classes and, perhaps most importantly, by providing opportunities for community connections to combat isolation. Roma and Diane helped to move forward important issues concerning healthcare, workers’ rights and more, despite overwhelming challenges. Their work reminds me of the new battle cry for progressives coined by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and leveled at Senator Elizabeth Warren earlier this month. Paraphrasing it: Nevertheless, they persisted.

Roma and Diane’s work continues, but we will be reminded of their past groundbreaking efforts in When We Rise, a new miniseries that will premiere on ABC on February 27. Although the series delves into the past, there are many parallels with the struggles facing the LGBT community today. It is therefore extremely pertinent, at this moment, to share Roma and Diane’s story, as well as that of Cleve Jones, Cecilia Chung, Ken Jones and other community leaders featured in the series, which was written and created by Academy Award-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black. The series will hopefully inspire others to tear down the glass ceiling still affecting women, and to continue the fight against racial injustice, poverty, threats to immigrants and transphobia.

Photos courtesy of Roma Guy

Debra Walker Interviews Roma Guy Ahead of the miniseries’ television premiere next week, I spoke with Roma, who shared her thoughts about When We Rise, LGBT history, current sexism and what fuels her and Diane’s activist energies.

Debra Walker: How excited are you knowing that MaryLouise Parker will play you in the miniseries?

Roma Guy: I am extremely excited that both Mary-Louise Parker and Emily Skeggs (from the original cast of Fun Home) are portraying me in When We Rise. I never doubted for a nanosecond that Mary Louise Parker would carry the script and the inspiration of our movement. Her ability to capture and move in the heart/mind zone of the character is a marvel.

Debra Walker: Has the television series prompted you to recall some of your early experiences and, if so, what has that felt like? What memories from those early days have been the most powerful for you to relive?

Roma Guy: On a personal level, I like that The Women’s Building is an important, safe community and movement-building space. (In terms of the series,) I am happy that my rural background is identified, and that my family of origin is not demonized because, although Catholic, they found a way to accept me. It was difficult, but they did it. I think siblings and parents need to know it is possible to accept differences that seem impossible, but true, and find the safety and love that thrives for everyone involved. I liked that “Roma Rides for the Revolution” (referring to a 1977 fundraiser for The Women’s Building) is included in the series, because it did create momentum and lots of fun and teasing during the time—although the arrival (Emily Skeggs) in San Francisco was writer’s creativity more than factual as to how it happened.

I liked that When We Rise depicted Diane and me meeting in Togo, West Africa. It was slightly too romanticized for me, but the points made are so true. I am thrilled that the role of community and San Francisco General Hospital during the “Mystery disease,” GRID, HIV and AIDS were given significant attention.

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I am deeply indebted that Ken Jones agreed to be a part of the series, (helping to show) the racism in our community. Struggles of substance abuse, fear and violence (are all viewed so) differently (by society) than when they happen to middleclass white people, whether gay or female. Many young people of color all over the U.S. will feel the truth of these messages, especially related to how each person who may be gay, but comes from different communities and families, heals and accepts themselves.

The fact that both Annie Jupiter Jones (Diane and Linda Jupiter’s daughter) and Tom Ammiano agreed to share how Annie was born (insemination) and how she was parented and grew-up in the Mission was excellent in the series, which also showed her struggles and how homophobia did and did not impact her. It was great because lots of children have complex parenting and (these kinds of) troubles.

I could go on and on. You’re not writing a chapter in a book, so let’s move on!

Debra Walker: Has the series inspired you to write your own story, as opposed to being included in someone else’s?

Could there be a sequel to the series?

Roma Guy: I have explored writing even some of my story, some of others’, but truly I don’t have the talent, which provokes me on lots of levels, but perhaps (I’ll do it) in another lifetime. I appreciate the book Mothering the Movement by Shawn Robb (that documents the founding of The Women’s Building), and a play by Mercilee Jenkins called She Rises Like a Building to Sky. I am thrilled that the GLBT Historical Society accepted The Women’s Building archives.

Yes, (the series) could continue, since there are so many more dimensions to our activism, the humans who make it happen and those who get in the way and why. It’s worldwide.

Such a series does cost lots of money and requires real creativity and breathtaking talent.

Debra Walker: I assume you have seen the episodes. Which one is your favorite? What is your favorite scene in the series?

Roma Guy: I don’t have a favorite scene. I thought Rachel Griffith and Mary-Louise Parker were a good match for playing Diane and me, and I enjoyed watching them put it all together.

I liked the Board of Supervisors’ meeting on health access. It was very creatively scripted by Dustin Lance Black. It was deeply moving to watch a Latino immigrant family, with the husband pleading for health access because his young wife was diagnosed with advanced cancer.

One of the most poignant moments features Ivory Aquino, who plays Cecilia Chung. In the scene, her mother accepts who Cecilia is, a transgendered woman.

All of these scenes are true, movement-building experiences.

Debra Walker: You and Diane have been on the front lines of each and every battle our community has had to fight, and you both are still on the front lines. What helps to fuel your activist energies now?

Roma Guy: I was born with lots of energy and raised by community and family who struggled, but were nurturing and also tasked with discipline. They were supportive, even when the elementary school would talk to my Mom and ask, “What can we do to direct Roma’s energy?”

Dad was more: “OK, you have energy, so work.” I learned from him how to interact in community. He had a small business in a farming community and welcomed change, but was deeply disciplined. He also had a great sense of humor. (For example,) he was also on the school board and Knights of Columbus (a Catholic-based fraternal organization and he got the priest to agree that he didn’t have to wear the “uniform” at public events! He was a community builder. My Mom “got me,” emotionally, and that made a key, affirming difference to me forever.

For instance, although I played softball and girls’ baseball tirelessly, I wanted to play baseball. She bought me my first baseball glove so I could practice with men—who thought what I wanted was cute—and with boys in the schoolyard, sometimes. I was moved to tears; it was a forever moment in my life.

I loved the potato harvest, which led to a month off from school in September/October, and I was disci-

When We Rise Brings Raw Emotions and Memories Back to the Surface

By Debra Walker I love Gus Van Sant’s work. He seamlessly captures the raw emotion of a time I, and many of you, lived through in the new ABC miniseries When We Rise. I admit to feeling cynical when I first started to watch an advance copy of the series. But the actors’ connections to the characters seemed heartfelt and genuine, and drew me in.

plined and competitive with my siblings and peers.

We started at 5 am and went until sundown. The fatigue was, at times, overpowering. I cycled, had a newspaper route and babysat. I shoveled lots and lots of winter snow, which I loved. I loved playing with my siblings; I am the eldest of 7. I learned to play the violin and clarinet, and to water and winter ski, and to go tobogganing. I would say to siblings, “Let’s take Mom out tobogganing until she laughs so hard she is pissing in her pants!” It was so much fun. I read into the night, flashlight and all, and fell in love with non-fiction.

Debra Walker: Can any comparisons be drawn between the political climate of today and what happened during the Nixon and Reagan eras?

Roma Guy: When Trump was elected, I had the very same feeling of despair as when Nixon was elected. I knew my choices under Nixon were different than what my choice was personally and politically now. It took time and regret and depression to accept this challenge in my old age of 74. With Nixon, I made the decision to go to activist grad school with great teachers—Wayne State University—where I could earn a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree in community organizing and planning. The times were scary then and now.

Both leaders had/have hatreds that never end with doses of mental illness, including paranoia. Shameless ambition is exhibited beyond demonization and corruption.

(As for now,) I will remain committed to closing two jails in San Francisco—with special attention to diverting, and early exits for all women, including cis-women. I will (continue to fight) deportation, displacement of poor people of color and how the system works differently for immigrants, the undocumented, and African Americans. I will work on reproductive justice, including defending Planned Parenthood; and violence against women, people of color and the poor. I want us to defend our gains and maintain, not only defend, our visions of justice by working with committed activists and policy folks who are open to the “ justice for all” agenda.

During the Reagan era, I was in San Francisco at The Women’s Building, so I was very grounded and working with activists I respect on anti-apartheid, Central America, gay rights and women’s/ girls’ rights. There was disorientation and depression then (for many), however, as was true with the Nixon era and, now, with Trump.

The anti-war part of the people’s agenda will definitely have to be revived. Climate change and Supreme Court issues are key now.

Debra Walker: Roma, I have known you since before you knew me. I think we met at The Women’s Building at some event, but we have worked together for Tom Ammiano’s early races and at The Harvey Milk Club. We both have experienced some of the sexism that exists in our LGBT community. Share some of the challenges you have faced, as a woman and a lesbian. What major challenges that you faced were not shown in When We Rise?

Roma Guy: When We Rise was a slice of my life that hopefully ref lects some reality and inspiration; an understanding of yesterday linked to what is needed today. Much about girls’/women’s issues and just being a “progressive”—with different eras’ meaning of progress—ring true today. We need to bring our consciousness, and modernize ourselves and our tools, if we want to make a continuing difference and to take care of ourselves to be present; this is true for all ages, and is not easy. When We Rise explores all of these levels. Whether we have been successful and our creativity will communicate the

I was vividly reminded that I was actually there, in that time, thanks to Dustin Lance Black’s sensitive treatment of Cleve Jones’ book of the same title. Those of us who remember what happened here in San Francisco in the decade between 1975 and 1985 were rocked to our core then. This miniseries helps to fill in those memories.

Diane and Roma

feeling, the agenda, the listening … the consciousness is always in flux; the energy and focus and unity are essentially constant.

(In terms of other challenges,) remember that when I was in my teens and young, women could only apply for jobs that were advertised in the women’s section of the newspaper.

Debra Walker: How has your experience in politics, as a woman, prepared you for what is happening now? It seems like the current situation developed, in part, because of our collective resistance to females at the helm. Has there been any change in this regard from thirty to forty years ago?

Roma Guy: Sexism did play a part in voters’ decisions at the Electoral College. If Hillary had (engaged in) one affair with anyone, the scandal would have crushed even more than Benghazi or giving speeches to the one percent. The issue of mistrust of her versus the “trust of Trump” (was fueled by) the clear direct hatred of her combined with centerright Democrats, independents, and Republicans ignoring and refusing to take-up the sexism.

Hillary’s campaign also didn’t develop even a subtle defense against her anti-women opponents. It seems that at the national democratic level, there was some naiveté and inability to understand that voters lie (about 5–6%) about voting for women and people of color. Today I am more understanding and persistent in developing clarity for phases of our agenda as I move into the (current) political struggles.

Violence and daily sexism are so harmful; I am a witness to it with my three grandchildren. I am completely irritated that both men and women collectively use the phrase “you guys” to normalize “all of us.” Check it out. I used to ask my students to practice their public presentations without saying “you guys,” and to find a substitute like “you all” or “we all.” I promised I would not punish them with a poor grade even if they couldn’t do it. They were completely stunned that they failed the task. Both women and men could not. The day they do, I will be a happy camper, because messaging matters. You would never normalize “you men” to mean all in a room of only women, or women and one man. But (it’s revealing about ongoing sexism) how we now feel OK in our consciousness to say “guys” and feel like we are not making girls and women invisible.

Since I know the real people portrayed by the actors in When We Rise, it was a headturning, mind-blowing experience for me to watch the lives of these familiar individuals on the screen. It was as if I had stepped into a time machine. It was also incredibly moving to see the periods we lived in though through their eyes, and through their personal experiences.

The series is a must-see for any activist who thinks they invented activism. You are reminded of the conduits of resistance, the humane nature of revolution, and, most especially, of the constant need to engage in our world issues.

Seeing my good friend Roma Guy in the person of young actor Emily Skeggs was unsettling.

Skeggs, however, convinced me she was Roma. As for MaryLouise Parker, well, that was harder. But Mary-Louise Parker is so good it just works. I was in tears as the second episode ended. So many things came together: the truths and revelations that were heaped upon our community, on our young lives, and on so many lives shortened seemingly without reason.

This is a very hard series, emotionally, to watch. Once the tears came, they did not stop. The story of our community, of any community breaking through oppression, is both hopeful and devastating. There is no way around the horror of what we went through. You might ask if it is too soon for this story to be told so forcefully. The answer is “never.” It is never too soon for the truth.

This miniseries does a really great job of showing what our lives were like in the documented period. It captures the intiProduction Stills from When We Rise courtesy of ABCTV mate moments, the public humiliation, courage and pride. All of it.

This series is a must-watch all the way through. The brilliant art of Van Sant, the talent of each of the actors, and the stories of the leaders in our community will change your life. These are the heroes among us. Please watch each and every moment of this captivating, timely story that continues to play out among us.

Call your parents and get them to watch. And, oh yeah, come out if you haven’t.

Debra Walker is a Commissioner for the City and County of San Francisco Building Inspection Commission. A past president of the Commission, the Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club and the San Francisco Arts Democratic Club, Walker is also an internationally recognized painter and printmaker. For more information: http://www.debrawalker.com/ S AN F R ANC IS C O BAY T IM ES F EBRUARY 23, 2017

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2017 Academy Awards: Who Will Likely Win but Who Should Win

Arrival La La Land

Manchester by the Sea Fences

Moonlight

was not without merit; the movie musical was gossamer fun. But it would be great to see Barry Jenkins win the Oscar for his sensitive direction of Moonlight.

Best Actress Nominees: Emma Stone, La La Land; Natalie Portman, Jackie; Isabelle Huppert, Elle; Meryl Streep, Florence Foster Jenkins; Ruth Negga, Loving

Film Gary M. Kramer The 2017 Academy Awards are this weekend. But who will win, and who should win? Here are some educated guesses.

Best Picture Nominees: Arrival, Fences, Hacksaw Ridge, Hell or High Water, Hidden Figures, La La Land, Lion, Manchester by the Sea and Moonlight With 14 nominations, and a wave of critical acclaim, the smart money is on La La Land, another example of Hollywood patting itself on the back.

(See The Artist, 2011). But wouldn’t it be fantastic if Moonlight, a little indie film about being a gay African American, created an upset and took home the Big Prize?

Best Director Nominees: Damien Chazelle, La La Land; Barry Jenkins, Moonlight; Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea; Denis Villeneuve, Arrival; and Mel Gibson, Hacksaw Ridge As with Best Picture, Damien Chazelle is pretty much a lock in this category for La La Land, and his work 18

Captain Fantastic Hell or High Water

Hidden Figures

Once again, La La Land is the favorite in this category, and Emma Stone is remarkable in the film. But it would be so gratifying to see Isabelle Huppert recognized for her tremendous, fearless performance in Elle, and be awarded for her career as a whole.

Best Actor Nominees: Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea; Andrew Garfield, Hacksaw Ridge; Ryan Gosling, La La Land; Viggo Mortensen, Captain Fantastic; and Denzel Washington, Fences.

This is the one category La La Land will lose. Not disrespect to Ryan Gosling, but Casey Affleck has been the favorite for Manchester by the Sea for this category forever. That said, there is a groundswell of support for the justly deserving Denzel Washington, and come Sunday night, Washington might just walk home with his third acting Oscar.

Viola Davis is pretty much assured to dominate in this category, and her performance in Fences was indomitable. The only possible upset—and it’s a longshot—could come from Michelle Williams, who makes the most of her brief screen time in Manchester by the Sea. Best Supporting Actor Nominees: Mahershala Ali, Moonlight; Jeff Bridges, Hell or High Water; Lucas Hedges Manchester by the Sea; Dev Patel, Lion; and Michael Shannon, Nocturnal Animals.

There seems to be no contest in this category either, with Mahershala Ali receiving all the glory for his stunning turn in Moonlight. In another year, Jeff Bridges or Michael Shannon might have emerged victorious as they deliver outstanding performances, but this year, the prize will go to the knockout performance by Ali.

Best Cinematography Nominees: Arrival, La La Land, Lion, Moonlight, Silence The glitzy La La Land will dance and dazzle its way to victory in this category.

Best Costume Design Nominees: Allied, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Florence Foster Jenkins, Jackie, La La Land Again, La La Land will win for its colorful costumes.

Best Film Editing Nominees: Arrival, Hacksaw Ridge, Hell or High Water, La La Land, Moonlight Step and repeat, La La Land will take home the Oscar for its zippy flash and style.

Best Adapted Screenplay

Best Makeup and Hair

Nominees: Arrival, Fences, Hidden Figures, Lion, Moonlight

Nominees: A Man Called Ove, Star Trek Beyond, Suicide Squad

This is Moonlight’s other certain victory. The screenplay, adapted from Tarell Alvin McCraney’s play, has been universally praised, and is emotionally resonant.

The Academy could go for name recognition with Star Trek, or honor the sentiment of A Man Called Ove, but it could also throw a curveball with Suicide Squad. Stick with the safest bet: Star Trek Beyond

Best Original Screenplay

Best Supporting Actress

Nominees: 20th Century Women, Hell or High Water, La La Land, The Lobster, Manchester by the Sea

Nominees: Viola Davis, Fences; Naomie Harris, Moonlight; Nicole Kidman, Lion; Octavia Spencer, Hidden Figures; and Michelle Williams, Manchester by the Sea.

One might expect La La Land to take this prize, but Manchester by the Sea seems to be the odds-on favorite in this category. It’s likely to win, but wouldn’t it be a fabulous surprise if

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The Lobster, easily one of the most inventive, original films of the year, produced an upset?

Best Production Design Nominees: Arrival, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Hail, Caesar!, La La Land, Passengers Expect La La Land to take this prize too, though this category’s other Hollywood homage, Hail, Caesar!, is actually more deserving.

Best Score Nominees: Jackie, La La Land, Lion, Moonlight, Passengers Given that it’s a musical, the score from La La Land is pretty much assured to win this category. Jackie did have a great atonal soundtrack, so it would be nice to see that rob La La Land, but don’t count on it.

Best Song Nominees: “The Empty Chair,” Jim: The James Foley Story; “Audition (The Fools Who Dream)” and “City of Stars,” La La Land; “How Far I’ll Go,” Moana; “Can’t Stop the Feeling,” Trolls While the general rule is that two nominations in a single category means neither will win, “City of Stars” is the favored song in this category. Fans of La La Land may find that surprising, as “Audition (The Fools Who Dream)” has more dramatic power in the film. But shoot for “City of Stars.”

Best Sound Editing Nominees: Arrival, Deepwater Horizon, Hacksaw Ridge, La La Land, Sully Mel Gibson’s war drama, Hacksaw Ridge, looks like the one to beat in this sound category.

Best Sound Mixing Nominees: 13 Hours, Arrival, Hacksaw Ridge, La La Land, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story La La Land is likely to win this sound category.

Best Visual Effects Nominees: Deepwater Horizon, Doctor Strange, The Jungle Book, Kubo and

Lion Florence Foster Jenkins

Hacksaw Ridge Elle

Jackie

Loving

the Two Strings, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

ly the kind of film that charms Academy voters.

The Jungle Book is expected to swing away with this statue.

Best Animated Short

Best Animated Feature Nominees: Kuba and the Two Strings, Moana, My Life as a Zucchini, The Red Turtle, Zootopia Zootopia, a critical and commercial success, has the edge over its competition in this category.

Best Documentary Nominees: 13th, Fire at Sea, I am Not Your Negro, Life, Animated, O.J.: Made in America Ava DuVernay’s scathing indictment of the Prison Industrial Complex, and Raoul Pecks’ outstanding cinematic essay, I am Not Your Negro, featuring James Baldwin, would run neck and neck in this category in any other year. But the game changer that is O.J.: Made in America—an 8-hour doc on race, celebrity, media, violence, and justice—will take this category.

Best Foreign Language Film Nominees: Land of Mine, A Man Called Ove, The Salesman, Tanna, Toni Erdmann The nearly 3-hour long Toni Erdmann was long expected to walk away with this award, but in recent weeks, The Salesman has grabbed attention and may emerge the victor. (Perhaps out of sympathy for Iranian director Ashgar Farhadi, who is refusing to attend the ceremony because of Trump’s travel ban). So this may be one of the most exciting races of the evening, and what’s more, A Man Called Ove could come in from behind, as it is exact-

Nominees: Borrowed Time, Blind Vaysha, Pear Cider and Cigarettes, Pearl, Piper Pear Cider and Cigarettes is a really terrific and beautifully made short that deserves an award, but the Pixar entry, Piper, is going to win this category hands down.

Best Documentary Short Nominees: 4.1 Miles, Extremis, Joe’s Violin, Watani: My Homeland, The White Helmets This prize will probably go to the sentimental Joe’s Violin, about a Holocaust survivor helping a Bronx schoolgirl. But 4.1 Miles, about refugees being saved off the coast of Greece, really deserves to be rewarded.

Best Live Action Short Nominees: Ennemis Interieurs, La Femme et al TGV, Silent Nights, Sing, Timecode This category is a toss-up. Ennemis Interieurs was favored when the nominations were announced, but Timecode won a prize at Cannes, which may give it an edge. La Femme et al TGV could pull the sentimental voters, but it’s likely that Sing will walk away with the award, as viewers find this short the most satisfying. © 2017 Gary M. Kramer Gary M. Kramer is the author of “Independent Queer Cinema: Reviews and Interviews,” and the co-editor of “Directory of World Cinema: Argentina.” Follow him on Twitter @ garymkramer S AN F R ANC IS C O BAY T IM ES F EBRUARY 23, 2017

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When We Rise Premieres at The Castro Theatre Photos by Rink and Paul Margolis

PHOTO BY RINK

PHOTO BY RINK

A community homecoming occurred at The Castro Theatre earlier this week on Monday, February 20, where an admiring audience joined the show’s activists, actors and executives for an advanced screening of ABC’s four-part miniseries When We Rise. “They clapped and laughed and cried,” reported members of the San Francisco Bay Times team attending. The standing-room-only audience gave repeat standing ovations for Cleve Jones, Roma Guy, Dustin Lance Black and the entire cast and crew, and they cheered also for performances by the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus and the Transcendence Gospel Choir. “So meaningful” and “a tearful experience for me” were among the prevailing sentiments after the show. Congratulations to Cleve, Roma and to everyone else who made this series possible!

PHOTO BY RINK

PHOTO BY RINK

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Sister Dana Sez: Words of Wisdumb from a Fun Nun

sina DeMaio at 518 Castro Street.

On display then, and continuing all month long, are the creative art pieces by Jane Windsor, Fletcher Oakes (photography of wellknown drag queens and kings), Michael Staley (with a life-size guitar made of glass and beads), Michael Lownie (miniature wall sculptures with my faves featuring Trump being ridiculed and tortured), Robert Beamer, Basul Parik, Corky Engel, Kim McLaughlin (with a “21-Gun Salute” of plaster phalluses), Patrick Parnell, Jim Housely, Liam Peters, Dominic Martello, Joel Hoyer (sculptures and gold leaf), Jack Stelnicki (I really loved his “Cock-a-Doodle Doo” rooster, since this is the Chinese Year of the Rooser), Ed Schnaars, Tammy Bickel, Precious aka Alex, V, Peter Dolittle, and DeMaio’s classic “Facade,” the beast in all of us—depicting a scary furry creature casually slipping on a human woman skin suit over its beastie hoofed self. The fun also included talented live performances on stage emceed by the very clever Kristine Wilson. Alas, the show was forced to go unamplified because of (what I would deem) unreasonable requests from (whom I would call) overly fussy neighbors for quiet time after 8 pm.

Even though the official noise restrictions in the City go up until 10 pm. It seems to me if you live in the heart of the Castro, you can expect noise until at least midnight. But that’s just this one nun’s opinion.

By Sister Dana Van Iquity Sister Dana sez, “And the Oscar for the Best Actor in a Presidential Farce or Musical Major Mess-up Movie goes to Donald Jackass T-rump. Accepting the award is the man behind it all, Vladimir Putin.”

KREWE DE KINQUE, San Francisco’s Mardi Gras-themed social and charitable organization, presented our BAL MASQUE XIV benefiting HOMOBILES. The theme was “14 KARAT GOLD,” because it was our 14th annual Mardi Gras masked ball fundraiser. Homobiles is a CA 501(c)3 nonprofit committed to providing secure and reliable transit to the SF Bay Area LGBTIQQ community and its allies. Fares are by donation, and riders are not turned away by lack of funds. Partygoers experienced the true spirit of Mardi Gras at the spectacular Castro nightclub, The Café. There were wild costumes, outrageous performances, regal Kings & Queens, & sexy shenanigans by the West Coast’s authentic krewe! There was a VIP Host Party with Southern buffet, and colorful beads (distributed by Queen VII Sister Dana - Official Bead Beyotch). The festivities were hosted by KDK King XIII Sergio Fedasz & KDK Queen XIII China Silk (at their sensational stepping-down ceremony), featuring DJ Prince Wolf, a second line parade led by Celebrity Grand Marshal Juanita MORE!, and a costumed tableaux show—all culminating with the crowning of KDK King Barry & KDK Queen Lady Kuki.

Coming soon at ARTSAVESLIVES studio and gallery is the appearance of Gilbert Baker, universally known as the creator of the iconic RAINBOW FLAG—who will unveil his latest queer creation, adding a lavender stripe to the other existing six to include transgender people and others who don’t necessarily identify as LGB. You heard it from this nun’s mouth. This is absolutely epic!

GOLDEN GATE GAYME (3G) Night for February was held again by Mr. Golden Gate William Bulkley & Miss Golden Gate Mimi Osa at Lookout bar with a lively crowd. The vision of this reoccurring event is to use queer people’s titles (emperor, empress, duke, duchess, Mr. or Ms Gay, or others) as the Golden Gates to “bridge” the community by extending invitations out to other groups/organizations to join the festive 3G Night as a social mixer to get to meet and learn more about each other in a (mostly) relaxed and casual setting (some of the games can get a little wild). 3G is usually every 3rd Wednesday of each month. The February 15th night featured the gang at KREWE DE KINQUE, and so many titled folks too numerous (and humorous) to mention. Sister Dana had the honor of facilitating the notorious “Cards Against Humanity” game. If you don’t know what that is—go Google it!

The show featured Mistress of Ceremonies KDK Queen Donna Sachet with dancers Jim Collins, Maggie Mae & Paul Williams; National Anthem on trumpet by KDK Member Aaron Priskorn; and live numbers by a talented bunch: Empress XLI Galilea, King X Kippy Marks, Ethel Merman, Queen II Deana Dawn & King IX Tony Leo, King II Mark Paladini, King XII John Weber, Queen VIII Garza, Emperor XLII JP Soto, Miz Eva Sensitiva, Kirsten Swanson, Grand Duke Peter Griggs, Empress XL Tiger Lily, and Miss Gay SF 2006 Patrice. For the finale, we paid tribute to our Saints Above KDK Members with “Love Is in the Air.” We truly “Let the Good Times Roll,” as is the official slogan of Mardi Gras everywhere.

SISTER DANA SEZ, “THIS IS NOT FAKE NEWS, AS T-RUMP MIGHT SAY, BECAUSE THESE EVENTS REALLY AND TRULY ARE COMING UP!”

Sister Dana, pictured (right) with China Silk and James Holloway, was busy as could be welcoming guests and presenting Mardi Gras beads at the Krewe de Kinque Bal Masque at The Cafe on February 11.

PHOTO BY RINK

ARTSAVESLIVES threw yet another fun monthly reception/party at the studio gallery of Thoma-

Now in its tenth year, “GENERATIONS – BLACK LGBTIQQ HISTORY EXPERIENCES” is an ever-growing multi-media celebration of African-American history and culture to mark BLACK HISTORY MONTH. This year’s event will be held at SOMArts (934 Brannan Street in San Francisco) on Friday, February 24, 6–9 pm. “Generations” began with members of BLACK BROTHERS ESTEEM’s dropin group as a Black History workshop submitting presentations honoring their favorite African-American historical figures. BBE later part(continued on page 30) S AN F R ANC IS C O BAY T IM ES F EBRUARY 23, 2017

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Chris Columbus Receives First Robin Williams Award for Excellence in Entertainment Legendary writer, director and producer Chris Columbus received the first ever Robin Williams Award for Excellence in Entertainment at a ceremony held at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco on Thursday, February 9. Zelda Williams, daughter of the late great entertainer who inspired the event, presented the award to Columbus after an emotional introduction to her father’s longtime friend and colleague.

Comic Will Durst hosted the event, which was attended by many Bay Area entertainment industry leaders as well as supporters of the movie business here, such as film buff and former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown. Brown shared his and Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom’s desire that more films be shot in San Francisco.

Columbus, who said that he moved here at the urging of his friend Williams, has worked hard over the years to do just that.

“Whether taking us to Hogwarts Academy for Wizards or to San Francisco’s Pacif ic Heights with Mrs. Doubtfire, Chris is truly the best of what San Francisco has to offer the f ilm industry,” Jim McCullough, Founding President of the nonprofit Friends of the San Francisco Film Commission, said.

Columbus first came to international attention as a screenwriter with Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment, working on Gremlins (1984), The Goonies (1985) and Young Sherlock Holmes (1985). He wrote the first episodes of the animated series Galaxy High (1986) and later made his directorial debut with the teen comedy Adventures in Babysitting (1987) and Heartbreak Hotel (1988).

His directorial work includes Home Alone (1990), Only the Lonely (1991), Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992), Mrs. Doubtf i r e ( 19 9 3 ) , N i n e Months (1995), Stepmom (1998), Bicentennial Man (1999), Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), Rent (2005), I Love You Beth Cooper (2009), Percy Jackson & the Olympians: T he Lightning Thief (2010) and most recently Pixels (2015).

He was the producer of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), the third film in the Harry Potter f ilm series, and received an Academy Award nomination for producing T he Help (2011).

Memorable clips from many of these f ilms—with several great scenes featuring Williams included—were shown at the event.

Explaining how San Francisco can benef it when f ilms are shot here, Brown said: “Aside from the obvious direct money spent to make movies in San Francisco, other areas that benefit include: employment, hotels, restaurants, rental cars, unions, rental equipment, tax revenue, etc. Long after a film is produced it still has residual impact, attracting tourists and continuing to inspire.”

For more information about Friends of the San Francisco Film Commission: http://www.friendsoffilmsf.org/

Two Spirit Identity and Empowerment

By Jenn Bowman

J O H N S T O N, K I N N E Y & Z U L A I C A LLP

( E d itor’s Note: Teacher Ly ndsey Schlax of the Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts (Asawa SOTA) launched the nation’s first on-site high school LGBTQ course in 2015. She continues to teach LGBTQ Studies, a subject that is now also being taught at Mission High School by Jenn Bowman. In this column, Bowman’s students share their thoughts about LGBTQ-related matters, including their concerns, what they have learned in class and more.)

Two Spirit Marvin, 11th Grade I was born and raised in the colonized and predominantly Catholic country of Honduras. When I was born, I was given the gender of ‘boy’. When I was little, people dressed me the color blue because that is the color that makes “boys” stronger and more masculine.

I didn’t have any choice in getting the gender of ‘boy’ assigned to me. It was just the way it was.

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As I was growing up, I knew in my heart that I was two spirit, but I didn’t have a name yet for the way in which I experienced my gender and sexuality. (Two spirits are people in many American indigenous societies who embody both the male and the female.) I was severely bullied from the time I was one to fifteen years old because people thought that being gay was bad. My father also bullied me and justified his abuse with his belief that, “God created men and women to be together.”

While I lived in Honduras, I was always scared because LGBTQ+ people who live there basically have no rights. When I moved to this country in 2012 to live with my mother, I was still scared because I feared

that my mother was going to think the same way that my dad does about people whose genders do not conform. Thankfully, this was not the case. My mom turned out to be very supportive, loving and open-minded. She once told me, “I love you no matter what. Even if others attack you for who you are attracted to, I respect you.” Those were the sweetest words I ever heard in my life, because all I had heard before were homophobic words.

I am currently 17 and I have been decolonizing my mind and my soul since I was 16. All my life, western society has taught us that love “should be between a man and a woman” and that “gender is being a ‘girl’ or a ‘boy’.

However, that is not the case for me.

I am Native American and I know now that many native tribes do not demand the gender binary that the Europeans brought. Negative terms and beliefs were forced onto our people. I identify myself as a two spirit, and to me that is very important because we are the natives of these lands and we need to reclaim the fact that we are sacred; we are two and that they should be proud of this.

I think back to the way that my father treated me and I understand that he was enforcing the gender binary that the Europeans brought to the Americas. I do not want to blame him for something he had to been forced to learn. Indigenous people have been living through 500+ years of colonialism, and we all experience the negative impact of these ideas.

Most schools teach about boys and girls, but they forget that we sacred people who embody more than one gender are still here. That hurts a lot of students because colonized people internalize the gender binary, and

Student Voices they also teach that to their kids. So for us to advance, we need to start to reclaim our roots so we can live in a world where everyone is accepted. I embody my strength as a two spirit by wearing whatever I want to in order to express my true self. I don’t pay attention to the negative comments people might say about me.

Today in our LGBTQ+ class at Mission High School, we saw a movie about the Hawaiian Kumu Hina, and they talked about what it is like to be in the middle as “trans” human beings. The movie began by describing the negative impact colonialism had on native people. After the movie, we (continued on page 30) Jenn Bowman, a history teacher at Mission High School, is a queer woman, activist, scholar, and queercore lover. With a small group of teachers, she took part in the initial LGBTQ Studies pilot class from 2010-11 in collaboration with the SF LGBTQ Center. This pilot, which offered a class for students on Saturdays at the Center, led to a 2010 school board resolution that promoted the expansion of LGBTQ Studies across high schools.

Winter Fancy Food Show Suggests World Peace Happens Over Food

By Elaine Viegas

Representatives from 1400 companies based all around the world traveled to San Francisco recently for the Specialty Food Association’s 2017 Winter Fancy Food Show, held January 22–24 at the Moscone Center. Listening to President Trump, you would think that we should all run in fear from certain countries.

At this event, however, we saw foodies from Arabic countries happily clinking glasses full of mineral water with Italians, chefs in traditional Japanese attire sharing cooking tips with f laming gay caterers, Russians telling surprisingly risqué jokes to other exhibitors and so much more.

Whatever the secret to world peace is, surely it will be shared over delicious food and drink.

The show, established in 1954, is now the largest marketplace devoted exclusively to specialty foods and beverages in North America. The Specialty Food Association—a not-for-profit trade association for food artisans, importers and entrepreneurs—owns and pro-

duces the fabulous event, where some of the world’s largest food companies have booths next to sole proprietors hoping that their products will be the next best sellers. We even spoke to a woman who made pasta out of what was once her home’s laundry room.

Over 80,000 products were on display, with most vendors offering generous samples. It is definitely an event where no one leaves hungry for either food or memorable conversations. Stars of the food world show up too, such as charming Bob from Bob’s Red Mill, whose line of admirers looked like groupies at a rock concert.

Each year, both exhibitors and attendees watch out for the latest and greatest food trends and innovations.

For 2017, the Association called out multiple products for pushing the envelope of ingenuity the farthest. The items included chocolates crafted like protein bars, a vegan honey made from apples, organic tea drops that dissolve in your cup, sheets of cheese that bake to form edible bowls and cups, a deconstructed hummus kit, a Vietnamese coffee kit and sustainable protein bars made out of home-brewing leftovers.

We hope that the photos on this page encourage you to attend next year’s show. If you like tasty food and beverages, and want proof that people from different countries, religions and economic backgrounds can get along together under the same roof, the Fancy Food Show is a can’t-miss event.

For more information: https://www.specialtyfood.com/

S AN F R ANC IS C O BAY T IM ES F EBRUARY 23, 2017

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Bare Chests, Bikinis, Bulges, Beers, Oh My …

Photos courtesy of John Chen

investment and a way to give back to their community. Former Lone Star Saloon owner J J Beck sponsored a few select sports groups such as Inferno Softball which specifically set and accomplish community service goals. According to JJ, working with LGBT sports groups is another way “to strengthen our community and to have more safe places where we can be ourselves.”

Sports John Chen Have you ever eaten Jell-O shots off a hot jock’s muscular bare chest or curvaceous cleavage? Imagine a sexy athlete laid out in front of you bare skinned, with beads of perspiration slowly moving across his/her muscular abdomen gazing at you invitingly, longing for you, and waiting for you to gently suckle the sweet vodka agar out of the tiny cup nestled ever so smartly in his/her nirvana. No? Maybe you prefer to watch?

Over the years, LGBT sports teams and organizations have formed a symbiotic and mutually supportive relationship with locally owned LGBT businesses that serves as a major foundation for our collective bond and strength. For businesses, it’s an

Lone Star in SOMA is just one of the many, many LGBT-owned businesses that proudly sponsor sports groups.

The Edge in the Castro has a longstanding relationship with the FLiner Softball Teams, and more recently, the Balls of Furry Volleyball Group. On any given Sunday afternoon, you will see athletes in and out of uniforms selling Jell-O shots and beer busts, f lirting shamelessly with patrons, and hosting various parties and hilarious drag performances.

On the far end of the Castro, Pilsner Inn has been very generous to a variety of LGBT sports groups, including Fog Rugby, Spikes Soccer, San Francisco Gay Flag Football and Pilsner softball teams. All of the sports groups have become an integral part of the Pilsner community. Another iconic business in SOMA, SF Eagle, empowers not only sports groups such as Warrior Brothers Grappling and Golden Gate Wrestling, but also the

SF Sketch Randy Coleman Randy Coleman hails from New York, but has lived in San Francisco since 1975.

Coleman shares that before moving to the Bay Area, he studied Art History and Architecture at Boston University while working as a resident artist for architectural rendering at a Massachusetts historical society. “All of my life I’ve been an artist,” Coleman says.

“To know me is to know that I have a passion for art and architecture. I love this project for the San Francisco Bay Times, and hope that you enjoy my sketches.”

© Randy Coleman, 2017

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popular bar hosts fundraisers for various LGBT organizations and charities, including toy drives, choirs and AIDS/LifeCycle. The list of gay businesses all over San Francisco supporting a safer, healthier and thriving community goes on and on.

If you haven’t been to one of the local businesses for a sports-themed fund-

raiser, you are definitely missing out, and you may want to head down to the Castro and/or SOMA. You definitely do not want to miss all the hot jocks in just jocks, all the beers you can drink, and all the other creative and sexy ways athletes use to garner your support and attention. Just as importantly, you do not want to

miss an opportunity to support and strengthen our community. In the immortal words of JJ Beck: “Together we are a lot stronger!”

John Chen, a UCLA alumnus and an avid sports fan, has competed as well as coached tennis, volleyball, softball and football teams.

Ease on Down the Road

Easy Fitness Cinder Ernst This is the third article in the Walking is Wonderful series. In the first articles (find them in the archives), we guided you on getting started easily and handling foot pain. Today we’re going to look at what to do when you notice pain/discomfort in your hips or back. When you are walking and something starts to hurt … pause and try one of our pain soothing techniques. I’m going to tell you what they are in a moment.

I want to make a case here for trying walking poles. They will help you walk farther with greater ease. You can get many different styles at different prices. If you can get to a sports store, go try them or look around for them online. I came across an interesting product called BungyPump walking poles. They add a strengthening component to walking by putting spring into the bottom of the pole. These make walking fun, interesting and more challeng ing.

BungyPump has generously offered a 15% discount and free shipping to San Francisco Bay Times readers. Go to bungypumpus.com and use the code “Walking15” at checkout. I love that BungyPump, like me, is passionate about helping people get out and walk, and they have great how-to videos.

Now let’s talk about noticing discomfort early, and pausing your activity quickly. I teach my clients how to pay attention to their body’s signals; that is, doing fitness from the inside out. That sounds pretty straight forward, but you’d be surprised how often you might be turning a deaf ear. For example, if you are walking and the outside of your hips starts to get uncomfortable, what do you do? Most people just keep walking until it gets unbearable, and then they have to sit down. If you do that, you will start to be afraid of walking because you can’t always know there is a place to sit.

If you keep walking through discomfort, it turns to pain. Keep walking through pain and the pain gets bigger.

The bigger the pain is when you interrupt it, the harder it is to soothe or resolve. At the first sign of discomfort, even before it becomes pain, pause and try an Easy Fitness Fix. The “notice it early and pause” advice is smart and straightforward, but it’s not always easy to follow. You may have to get through the voice in your head that might be picking on you for having to stop. You also might have to ignore past advice, such as “no pain no gain” or “ just walk it off.”

When you pay attention to your body’s signals consistently, you build a powerful partnership between you and your body. If you really cannot pause and apply an Easy Fitness Fix when walking discomfort begins, then be sure to acknowledge that you heard the signal, but are choosing to push through. Think a kind thought, such as: “Thanks body, I hear you, but I need to keep going a little farther.” Another Easy Fitness principal is to make a conscious choice and then line up with it.

Sitting for a few seconds is a great way to help hip/back pain that happens

Take Me Home with You! Chip

while you walk, but what if there’s no place to sit? Leaning back onto a wall or tree trunk can also help. Easy Fitness Fix #1 is the Football Huddler Stretch. This position works great to soothe that outer hip and low back pain that can kick up when you are walking. Per all Easy Fitness exercises, this one does double duty. It not only soothes pain, but also it builds flexibility in your butt, thighs and low back.

To do the Football Huddler Stretch, stand with your feet spread kind of wide. Stick your butt out a bit, bend your knees slightly and put your hands on your thighs. Think how football players look in a huddle. This position takes the pressure off your hips and lower back for a moment, so you can get back to walking. You can do this early and often to increase your painfree walking distance.

Next time, we will talk about soothing knee pain while you’re walking.

Cinder Ernst, Medical Exercise Specialist and Life Coach Extraordinaire, helps reluctant exercisers get moving with safe, effective and fun programs. Find out more at http://cinderernst.com

“My name is Chip! I’m a fun-loving guy who enjoys frolicking at the park, playing with doggie friends, going on long walks, and showing off my tricks. I’m looking for a best friend who has got lots of energ y and love to spare, just like me!

Come introduce yourself—let’s see if we have chemistry!”

Chip is presented to San Francisco Bay Times readers by Dr. Jennifer Scarlett, the SF SPCA’s Co-President. Our thanks also go to Krista Maloney for helping to get the word out about lovable pets like Chip.

To meet Chip and other pets seeking their forever homes, please visit: San Francisco SPCA Mission Campus 250 Florida Street San Francisco 94103 415-522-3500

Dr. Jennifer Scarlett and Pup

Aside from major holidays, the adoption center is open Mon–Fri: 1–6 pm and Sat–Sun: 10 am–5 pm. Free parking is available for those wishing to adopt!

For more information: https://www.sfspca.org/adoptions/pet-details/34113627 and sfspca.org/adopt

Remembering Louie II and Welcoming Detective Bonks

Louie II In December, after a long illness, our beloved cat Louie II passed way, leaving behind numerous tales of his grandeur and varied experiences.

Many recall Louie, since he participated in at least a decade of parties and also appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle and on social media pages and websites.

Louie was a wonderful companion who faithfully chirped at the birds outside our windows and made sure we were forever free of mice or any critter daring to come this way.

Never shy around technology, Louie was well known for tapping computer keys and causing incomplete emails to go. Over the years of his long life, a series of keyboards died thanks to Louie passing by and turning over beverages in his path.

Everyone who spent time around Louie became well trained in providing a gourmet selection of food options. The seafood counter staff at Whole Foods Market knew exactly what to prepare when they heard his name. Admirers gave Louie neck scarves, blankets, beds and catnip toys.

Louie’s demeanor was regal and he was declared to be the Man of the House, no matter who else was

around. Louie stood by us and earned his title as The Very Best Cat.

Louie II

I n h is memor y, we send special thanks to his care-givers at Avenues Pet Hospital, inc lud i n g he a d t e c h “Nurse Jason” who provided home care, and Dr. Brandy Vickers, DMV, plus the entire staff who came to know Louie well and welcomed him warmly to the clinic.

avenuespethospital.com

Dr. Brandy Vickers, DVM, with Louie II

Detective Bonks In January, after an arduous search and application process, we were lucky to be selected by the Island Cat Resources and Adoption organization based in Alameda to be the permanent home for a four-month-old youngster kitty given a name by his rescue foster mom: Detective Bonks.

With his arrival in the Castro in mind, and thinking of Detective Dick Tracy, we added “Dickie” as Bonk’s new first name. In honor of his royal predecessor Louie II, we added Lou as his middle name.

Realizing that Buddy was being used as a term of endearment for Bonks, we added it as a nickname and he became Detective Dickie Lou “Buddy” Bonks—spoken to as “Buddy,” but spoken of as “Bonks.”

During his time with us in the Castro, Bonks has proved to be a remarkably sweet fellow who resembles his predecessor with the orange and white

Detective Bonks

mixed tabby tuxedo patterns. On his back, Bonks has dramatic speed stripes, and on his left paw, he wears a perfectly placed orange spot in the shape of a heart. Although not a large spot, the heart is permanent there, so he will always be a Valentine’s kitty. Watch for Bonks in future SFBT issues.

PHOTO BY PHYLLIS COSTA

Many readers and friends share our fondness for four-legged family members and companions, so we have decided to bring forward the story of our recent loss and subsequent welcoming of a new member to our San Francisco Bay Times team.

Senior Vet Technician Jason Wake with Louie II

Dr. Scott Anderson, DMV, who once worked at The White House and Walter Reed Army Medical Center during his military career, has welcomed ‘San Francisco Bay Times’ cats to the clinic’s location at 2221 Taraval Street for more than two decades.

S AN F R ANC IS C O BAY T IM ES F EBRUARY 23, 2017

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Speaking to Your Soul ARIES (March 21–April 19) Everything is a learning experience and you are here to learn from your experiences. Forces beyond your conscious control urge you to act, resulting in your soul’s growth and deeper fulfillment.

TAURUS (April 20–May 20) Set intentions for what and how you can contribute to the current collective spiritual awakening, and take action toward manifesting those intentions. This could involve finding community that is more spiritually aligned with you.

Astrology Elisa Quinzi The planets are currently powerfully positioned to support spiritual evolution. We are to wake up from a hyper-focus on the material realm and circumstances in the world, and integrate the greater awareness of who and what we really are.

This will tip the balance of real power in our favor.

GEMINI (May 21–June 20) You are called to realign your life’s work to your inner spiritual compass. This might mean changing direction, or bringing a deeper love and compassion to the work you’re doing.

CANCER ( June 21–July 22) Signs and synchronicities abound! A portal has opened through which you have the opportunity to catch a glimpse of the deeper meaning of it all. This is especially true as you step outside your comfort zone and go beyond familiar terrain.

LEO ( July 23–August 22) You are being handed the sword of power that is meant to be used to slay your dragons with love. Deep healing and subsequent awakening is possible and probable.

VIRGO (August 23–Sept. 22) A beloved has the triggering effect of reflecting back to you the deeper spiritual awakening you are ready to experience yourself.

LIBRA (Sept. 23–Oct. 22) Draw upon the forces of divine inspiration now to support you doing some necessary work on yourself. See purification and effort as spiritual disciplines carrying you toward your heart’s desires.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23–Nov. 21) To know yourself as your true essence: this is what’s possible now. To let yourself shine as you really are is to fall in love with yourself and experience the real joy of living.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22–Dec. 21) The planets draw you inward for the moment, and call for quiet reflection. The core of your being is spirit, and right now you have greater access than ever to knowing this most essential portion of yourself.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22–Jan.19) The activities and doings of your daily affairs can feel mundane and even overwhelming. While it’s easy to lose sight of the meaning and purpose of what it’s all for, you are urged to tap into a source of higher inspiration to revitalize your vision.

AQUARIUS ( Jan. 20–Feb. 18) While Aquarians are typically quite capable and independent, your sense of security in the world has felt threatened in recent times. As such, you are being prompted to find security in that which cannot be taken away—your spiritual essence. Here is where true safety resides.

PISCES (Feb. 19–March 20) Some enlightened beings are born that way. Some work toward slow and gradual awakening. And some are struck awake, as in the Eckhart Tolle variety. If ever there was a ripe moment for Pisces to be struck awake, it is now. The ego, as a seed, must crack open and make way for such emerging.

Elisa has been enjoying the art of astrological counseling since earning professional certification many years ago. In addition to astrological knowledge, she brings a high degree of conscious presence to her work, and creates a safe, comfortable atmosphere for sessions to unfold organically. Contact her at futureselfnow@gmail.com or 818-530-3366 or visit www.ElisaQuinzi.com

As Heard on the Street . . . What color best describes your mood these days?

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compiled by Rink

Jennifer Morris

Bruce Beaudette

Dana Hopkins

Mae Joy

Gary Keener

“Gun metal gray, which is my favorite color”

“A rainbow flag with the original eight colors, with hot pink and teal, that describe my queer hope for a loving and diverse future”

“Purple”

“A rainbow, now more than ever”

“I’m feeling gray these days because of everything that’s happening in Washington D.C. - dark gray.”

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Professional Services

LAW OFFICES OF MILES & TORRES Estate Planning 1393 Noe Street, San Francisco, CA 94131 (415) 308-2307 www.milestorreslaw.com

PHOTO BY SANDY MORRIS

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S AN F R ANC IS C O BAY   T IM ES F EBRUARY 23, 2017

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Compiled by Blake Dillon

23 : Thursday

music by Elton John, the play is about a young boy’s obsession with ballet, set during U.K.’s 1980s. berkeleyplayhouse.org

Nightlife – 6 pm @ California Academy of Sciences, 55 Music Concourse Drive, Golden Gate Park. Enjoy cocktails, live music and networking with science lovers in the unique setting with a new theme every week. calacademy.org/nightlife Literary Speakeasy – 7 pm @ Martuni’s, 4 Valencia Street. James Siegel is host this month, honoring poet Sylvia Plath, with featured guests Annah Anti-Palindrome, Robert Andrew Perez and July Westhale. martunis.ypguides.net Elegy for Ghost Ship – 8 pm @ Grace Cathedral, 1100 California Street. Faith leaders, artists and musicians will lead an evening of remembrance to include music, spoken word and faith offerings. gracecathedral.org Sam Shepard’s Fool for Love – Extended through March 5 @ Magic Theatre, Fort Mason Center, 2 Marina Blvd. The award-winning play tells the story of two former lovers reunited in a run-down motel at the edge of the Mojave Desert. magictheatre.org Mecca 2.0 Women’s Happy Hour – 6:30 pm @ Hecho Cantina, 2200 Market Street. Networking for women in a lesbian-owned venue.

HRC Connect: Community Conversations – 6:30 pm @ Duchess Oakland, 5422 College Avenue. Guest speaker Courtney Cooper will lead a discussion of issues affecting our community. hrc.org/local-issues/community/ san-francisco The Revolution Will Not Be Harmonized – 7 pm repeating through Feb 25 @ PianoFight, 144 Taylor Street. Opening Night of the musical comedy by an award-winning sketch comedy group. pianofight.com

The world premiere of John Fisher’s “Flim-Flam” is presented at Eureka Theatre, 215 Jackson Street, through March 18. therhino.org

24 : Friday 65th Pacific Orchid & Garden Expo – Continues through February 26 @ SF County Fair Building, Hall of Flowers. SF Orchid Society’s annual exposition with big ideas for small gardens. orchidsanfrancisco.org Theatre Rhino’s Flim-Flam – Repeats through March 18 @ Eureka Theatre, 215 Jackson Street.

A world premiere comedy written and directed by John Fisher. therhino.org

New Valencia Hall, 747 Polk Street.

Ava DuVernay’s Academy Awardsnominated documentary will be presented by Bay Area Freedom Socialist Party with a discussion to follow. bafsp@earthlink.net Book Launch for Dispatches from Lesbian America – 7 pm @ Frank Bette Center, 1601 Paru Street, Alameda. Introducing a new anthology featuring 42 works of short fiction and memoir by contemporary lesbian authors. frankbettecenter.org

Buyer & Cellar – Repeats through February 26 @ 6th Street Playhouse, 52 W. 6th Street, Santa Rosa. A one-man comedy about the price of fame, the cost of things and odd jobs. 6thstreetplayhouse.com

Daughter of a Garbageman – Repeats through March 25 @ The Marsh San Francisco Main Stage, 1062 Valencia Street. Maureen Langan’s one-woman comedy addressing universal frustrations of hardworking people everywhere. themarsh.org

25: Saturday

26 : Sunday

Black History Month Screening of 13th – 2 pm @

“Songs for All Beings” Ceremonial Concert – 1:30 pm @ Marin Veterans Memorial Auditorium, 10 Avenue of Flags, San Rafael. A host of LGBT community favorites and friends join producer Jennifer Berezan for a ceremonial concert with special guest Bruce Cockburn. songsforallbeings.com “Shanghai Nights” Academy Awards Night Gala – 5 pm @ The Midway, 900 Marin Street.

Academy of Friend’s renowned annual Oscar Party benefitting Bay Area HIV/AIDS organizations. academyoffriends.org An Intimate Evening with Oscar – 5 pm @ Fairmont Hotel Penthouse Kennedy Suite, 950 Mason Street. The 89th Annual Academy Awards party, themed black tie and white, benefitting the Saint Francis Foundation. saintfrancisfoundation.org Azucar con Ache Dance – 5 pm @ Ivy Room, 860 San Pablo Avenue, Albany. Owners Summer Gerbing and Lani Torres welcome the multicultural ensemble of women performing salsa and Latin jazz. ivyroom.com

27 : Monday The Hawaii Victory Show – 4 pm @ Diva’s Nightclub & Bar, 1081 Post Street (Polk & Larkin).

The Imperial Court of Hawaii returns to SF for their annual Victory Party, benefitting the new 28

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PHOTO COURTESY OF THEATRE RHINO

Matthew Morrison in Concert – 8 pm @ Lesher Center for the Arts, Hofmann Theatre, 1601 Civic Drive, Walnut Creek.

Feinstein’s Presents hosts the Emmy, Tony and Golden Globe nominated star of Broadway and the hit musical TV series “Glee.” lesherartscenter.com

monarchs of SF travel fund. divassf.com

3 : Friday Jewelle Gomez’s Leaving The Blues – World premiere repeats through April 2 @ New Conservatory Theatre Center, 25 Van Ness Avenue at Market.

Spanning more than 60 years in the life of celebrated blues singer-songwriter Alberta Hunter, the play presents a musical journey through the public life Hunter led and the private life she hid. nctcsf.org

Dirty Old Women Anthology Book Launch Party – 7 pm @ The Octopus Literary Salon, 2101 Webster Street, Oakland. Taking a truthful look at sex and erotica by and for older women. oaklandlctopus.org

BALIF 37th Gala “We Will Rise” – 7 pm @ Bently Reserve, 301 Battery Street. Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom’s annual benefit features an elegant cocktail party with food stations, drink stations, awards presentations, mingling and more. balif.org

28 : Tuesday

FTM Munch, March – 7 pm @ Wicked Grounds, 289 8th Street. A monthly event for FAAB trans guys, TM, trans boy/boi and others to socialize and discuss experiences. fetlife.com/events/500103

GGBA’s Power Lunch III “Origin” – 12 noon @ Marines’ Memorial Club, Commandants Room, 10th Floor, 609 Sutter Street.

GGBA’s annual luncheon with emcee Dr.Vivienne Ming and speakers Roger Doughty and Greg Sarris. ggba.com The Bazaar Café Songwriter Residency presents Kim Lembo with Cindy Emch and Steve Egelman – 7 pm @ Bazaar Café, 4927 California Street.

Longtime Bay Area resident and bluesy singer/songwriter Kim Lembo performs with special guests. bazaarcafe.com

1 : Wednesday Beautiful Relationships: Flora and Fauna from Around the World – 10 am @ San Francisco Botanical Garden, 1199 9th Avenue. An exhibit of nature illustrations by Rachel DiazBastin open through April 30. sfbotanicalgarden.org “Deepening the Treatment Paradigm” – 12 Noon @ Foundations San Francisco, 55 Francisco Street, Suite 405. A lunch and learn presentation featuring Benjamin Russack and TJ Woodward for clinicians looking deeper into the root causes of addiction. Info: 760-290-1994.

Ashes to Go: Triple Cross in the Castro with CDW and SPI – 6:30 pm @ 18th & Castro Intersection, 18th Street at Castro Street. An Ash Wednesday celebration and “triple cross” blessing with the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and Companions of Dorothy the Workers. companionsofdorothy.org

2 : Thursday Billy Elliot – Repeats through March 18 @ Berkeley Playhouse, 2640 College Avenue. Berkeley.

Based on the film, Billy Elliot with

4: Saturday Woof! March – 2 pm @ SF Eagle, 398 12th Street. A monthly pups and handler mosh event with mats, and snacks. sf-eagle.com Burning Man – SF Burnal Equinox Art Salon & Mixer – 6 pm @ Public Works, 161 Eerie Street (off Mission between Duboce and 14th). A salon to encourage arts collaboration and celebration of the mid-point in the Burning Year. burningman.org Family Dog Rescue – Castro Saturday – 12 noon @ 18th & Castro Intersection. A weekly mobile adoption event. wearefamily.comevents.

5 : Sunday Shanti L.I.F.E. – 5th Annual Swim for Life – 9 am @ Hamilton Pool, 1900 Geary Blvd. Swimmers from all of the Bay Area join in to support the Shanti L.I.F.E. program. shanti.org Swagger Like Us Queer Dance Party – 2 pm @ El Rio, 3158 Mission Street. A hip hop performance and dance party feautring Micha Tron and hostess Krylon Superstar at the favorite dive bar. elriosf.com Team Walmart AIDS/ LifeCycle Happy Hour – 4 pm @ Lookout Bar, 3600 16th Street. A happy hour fundraiser supporting the Walmart Team’s fundraising efforts for AIDS/LifeCycle. lookoutsf.com Songs of Love & Resistance – 7 pm @ Ashkenaz, 1317 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley. A concert featuring Alive! Jazz Quintet and Linda Tillery & The Freedom Band. ashkenaz.com

cal center of the AIDS epidemic in SF through the eyes of a hospice nurse and political activist. themarsh.org Worshipping Women Power and Devotion in Indian Painting – Daily @ Asian Art Museum, 200 Larkin Street.

Goddesses in Hindu devotional practices represent the primordial

female force underlying nature and power. asianart.org Skip the Needle Afrofunk Experience – 7:30 PM @ Ashkenaz, 1317 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley. A night of “Black Women Who Rock” featuring Anita Lofton, Shelley Doty and Sandy House. ashkenaz.com

Matthew Morrison performs at the Lesher Center, Walnut Creek on March 2.

6 : Monday Sacred Cocktails: Meet St. Aidan’s New Rector – 6:30 pm @ Lookout Bar, 3600 16th (Market & Noe). Rev. Dr. Cameron Partridge will talk about the founding church of Sacred Space SF & Sacred Cocktails. lookoutsf.com Noël Coward’s Blithe Spirit – 7 pm @ GLBT History Museum, 4127 18th Street. A staged reading of Coward’s play is featured in the March installment of Theatre Rhino’s monthly reading series at the Museum. therhino.org and glbthistory.org One Year Anniversary Party – 8:30 pm @ Strut, 470 Castro Street. Appetizers, wine, drag and laughs celebrating Strut’s first year in the Castro. strutsf.org

7 : Tuesday Eat, Pray, Laugh – 8 pm repeating through March 11 @ The Marsh Berkeley, 2120 Allston Way, Berkeley.

Award-winning comedian Alicia Dattner presents her solo show about a Jewish princess seeking an Indian guru for a one-life stand. themarsh.org Beautiful Relationships: Flora and Fauna from Around the World – 10 am @ San Francisco Botanical Garden, 1199 9th Avenue. An exhibit of nature illustrations by Rachel DiazBastin open through April 30. sfbotanicalgarden.org Theatre Rhino’s Flim-Flam – Repeats through March 18 @ Eureka Theatre, 215 Jackson Street.

A world premiere comedy written and directed by John Fisher. therhino.org

8 : Wednesday Women’s Jazz & Blues Jam – 7 pm @ Octopus Literary Salon, 2101 Webster Street #170, Oakland.

Sponsored by Jazzwomen & Girls Advocates and open to everyone, the event is a supportive venue for musicians to meet, greet and make some music. oaklandoctopus.org Miss Kitty’s Trivia Night – 7 pm @ Wild Side West, 424 Cortland Street. Kit Tapata hosts a weekly evening of fun in the popular Bernal Heights bar. wildsidewest.com Wrangler Wednesdays – Weekly evening event @ Rainbow Cattle Company, 16220 Main Street, Guerneville. queersteer.com

9 : Thursday Film Screening of Gay San Francisco and Meat Rack – 6:45 pm @ Roxie Theater, 3117 16th Street. The Tenderloin Museum hosts a double feature of a previously lost documentary and an underground film with a modern art house cult following. tenderloinmuseum.org Elaine Magree in Holding the Edge – 8 pm @ 1062 Valencia St. (at 22nd St.). The story of a personal journey through the socio-politi-

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NEWS (continued from page 3)

ROSTOW (continued from page 15)

San Francisco. Mary Ann Singleton (Besty Wolfe), a fresh arrival from Ohio, falls into a diverse band of Bohemians and blue-bloods, as families are created and rediscovered under the watchful eye of mystical landlady Anna Madrigal (Justin Vivian Bond). The musical was first developed at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center’s National Music Theater Conference in 2009, and had a subsequent run at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco in 2011. All proceeds from the event will benefit the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center and The Trevor Project, which provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to LGBTQ young

Listen, I’m the first person to decry the special snowflake attitude that appears to pervade America’s college campuses these days, where the slightest threat to someone’s fragile sense of self is met like a sledgehammer coming down on a gnat. But life is complicated, and there’s certainly room for mass protests against a vile, nasty, hard right, hateful racist snot who thinks pedophilia is funny. We can chew gum and walk at the same time.

We can defend free speech and tell someone like Milo to take a hike, all without being hypocritical (because demonstrations like the one at Berkeley the other day are examples of free speech as well).

SEELIG (continued from page 13)

So I applauded Berkeley’s angry rally, which led to the cancellation of a speech by the gay contrarian. And I suppose I applaud the powers that be at the Conservative Political Action Conference who disinvited the man from their annual hoedown after he was caught on tape joking around about child sexual abuse. But you have to ask yourself why CPAC invited Milo Yiannopoulos to speak in the first place. As Jonah Goldberg noted, “apparently, the racism and antiSemitism wasn’t a deal breaker.”

actually being a friend of Dr. Maya Angelou. I had the pleasure of being in her home on several occasions sharing an adult cocktail—or five—with just her and her sister. When it came time, I had the honor of pretty much single-handedly planning and hosting her 80th birthday celebration. It was held at the Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas and filled with 2,000 fans—mostly LGBTQ folks.

Dr. Angelou, somewhat frail, sat on a stool and delivered her message to a rapt audience. It was a very specific message to those gathered. Our community never had a greater ally. The message for us was not to despair, but to keep on keeping on because: “There’s a rainbow in every cloud.” It was a message for us that day, and continues to resonate today. We have been through the storm, and yet the clouds gather once again on the horizon. They may be full of rain and wind and thunder and lightning. But when the sun comes out—and it will eventually come out— there will be a rainbow. We will have lived to have seen the sun once again.

It’s a promise we must hold on to.

LIKE us on Facebook at facebook.com/ SanFranciscoBayTimes

Rain, rain, don’t go away. Come again another day. We will try to remember the good. And to buy a better umbrella.

Dr. Tim Seelig is the Artistic Director of the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus.

Simon & Schuster has cancelled publication of Milo’s book, even though it has advance sales of 50,000 copies (WTF people?), and I gather Breitbart itself may be on the verge of canning the commentator in a news conference set for February 21, although who knows, they might give him a pass. (Editor’s Note: Milo Yiannopoulos resigned from his editorial position at Breitbart News on February 21, per the story on page 3 of this issue.)

But the whole hullabaloo reminds us that the far right political movement that used a puritanical view of Christianity to propel republicans into power has devolved into a freak show where Bible-belted stone throwers line up with skinheads and brown shirts to aim projectiles at the rest of us while the self-professed sinless wonders that started the whole circus cheer from the sidelines.

SISTER DANA (continued from page 21) nered with the GLBT HISTORICAL SOCIETY, who provided historical information and loaned BBE items from their collection to mark the event. Food has been generously donated by Rainbow Grocery and the San Francisco Department of Public Health (DPH). DPH will also be on site to offer free HIV/STI testing for all male attendees. sfaf.org Their Most Imperial Majesties Emperor Salvador Tovar and Empress Emma Peel announce San Francisco’s 52nd Imperial Coronation, “IMPERIAL BEAUX ARTS BALL: A REGAL BLACK AND WHITE COSTUMED AFFAIR” on February 25 at San Francisco Design Center, 101 Henry Adams Street. Doors 5 pm, Coronation promptly at 6 pm. facebook.com/events/1160851660701389 “FLIM FLAM” is the hilarious tale of three desperate actors taking to the road in search of roles. Along the way, they encounter highway hooligans, porno shoots, offended PC youths, and all the crazies of America. “All the world’s a stage” and it’s an actor’s nightmare in this comedy about America “trying to be great again.”

(Trump fans will not be seated. Heeheehee). Flim Flam starts February 24 to March 1, 8 pm at Eureka Theater, 215 Jackson Street. Presented by THEATRE RHINOCEROS productions. therhino.org Get ready for an amazing night at the 37th annual ACADEMY OF FRIENDS’ OSCAR NIGHT GALA AND VIEWING PARTY benefiting San Francisco Bay Area HIV/AIDS organizations! It’s on February 26, 5 pm–11:30 pm at The Midway, 900 Marin Street, San Francisco. In typical Academy of Friends’ fashion, everyone at the “SHANGHAI NIGHTS” gala will enjoy delicious food provided by the Bay Area’s finest restaurants and caterers, wine, and champagne by amazing vintners along with a fun way to watch the 2017 Oscars. 100% of ticket sales will be distributed to the six HIV/ 30

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Defending Marriage Tennessee lawmakers are pushing a bill to make same-sex marriage illegal in the Volunteer State, an unconstitutional waste of time that makes you wonder how stupid these people think their citizens are.

stitution when it refuses to list a gay spouse on a birth certificate. South Carolina officials had been requiring gay parents to adopt their own kids or get a court order if they wanted to appear on their children’s birth certificates.

And yet every time some court or legislature lashes back at the High Court’s 2015 marriage equality decision, guess who has to waste their time reminding everyone that marriage equality is a matter of settled law? Our lawyers, that’s who.

So here’s a question: Are we going to have to litigate each instance of marriage rights back to the U.S. Supreme Court? For now, this is the game our lawyers are being forced to play.

In Arkansas, the state supreme court has ruled that it’s fine to omit the name of a same-sex parent from a child’s birth certificate, even when said parent is legally married to the person who just gave birth to said child. The state reportedly claimed that listing only biological parents on birth certificates was important for public health, although Arkansas has no problem putting a non-biological father on a certificate without question when he is married to a child’s mother.

Perhaps you noticed that I resisted a crazed essay this week on the subject of Trump’s surreal press conference, but keep in mind that this column isn’t over yet. Oh, I’m not going to go ballistic over the entire performance. I just want to point out one little moment that speaks volumes.

No, don’t go back and reread that cumbersome last sentence. Just recognize that our marriage rights are continually under attack by nasty little buzzing insects, trying to sting us here and bite us there and force us to keep scratching and spraying ourselves. In the Arkansas case, the National Center for Lesbian Rights has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene, much as they asked the Justices to slam their collective gavel when Alabama tried to annul a legal adoption transacted in Georgia by two married women. The Justices promptly overruled the Alabama Supreme Court without even bothering with arguments, and we hope they do so again to the Hogtied Court, where three dissenting judges called the majority opinion hogwash—or words to that effect.

Earlier this month, Lambda Legal won a similar messing-around-withbirth-certif icate case out of South Carolina, where a federal judge ruled that the state violates the U.S. Con-

AIDS services beneficiaries following the gala. academyoffriends.org Celebrate FAT TUESDAY (Mardi Gras 2017) with SF’s KREWE DE KINQUE! This annual bar crawl aboard the KDK Party Bus is always a night to remember with elaborate costumes, masks, beads, hurricanes on the bus, yummy snacks, Jell-O shots, authentic music, and fun bar stops with photo taking and other N’Awlins fun. (BYOB is allowable; no host at visiting bars.) We’re keeping our price the same as from our first crawl in 2004—just $20.

RSVP REQUIRED. Crawl schedule to be announced. Queen II Deana Dawn will keep us on track, and our new King Barry & Queen Lady Cuki will lead the Second Line parade entrances to each bar. Noisemakers, umbrellas, bling & boas encouraged! This year’s beneficiary for the bus crawl is HOMOBILES. 21 and over. The party bus has upholstered seats, overhead storage, music, and restroom. We meet at Lookout on February 28 and ride on from there at 7 pm. Laissez les bons temps rouler! facebook.com/groups/202756774136 Come and celebrate STRUT’s ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY! They opened their doors one year ago, and it has been a wonderful first year. They are very proud of their accomplishments and invite the community to come and share in the celebration. Join them for appetizers, wine and cake. There will be a special program and entertainment. The celebration is March 6, 6:30–8:30 pm. Strut is at 470 Castro Street. strutsf.org Sister Dana sez, “T-rump plans to completely eliminate the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. The administration wants to shrink federal government spending by eliminating ‘waste.’ Not only are art, culture, and creativity vital to a thriving society, but funding for NEA and NEH is a very tiny portion of the federal budget! RESIST!”

Trump, Actually

You recall the back and forth between Trump and reporter Peter Alexander, who pointed out that no, Trump’s electoral college victory margin was not the largest since Ronald Reagan.

In fact, it was the third smallest. Well, Trump finally admitted it; someone gave me that information.

It seemed for a minute that the man had been boxed into a corner and forced to face up to an inaccurate boast, right? But then as the exchange trailed off, Trump added: “Actually, I’ve seen that information around.”

What exactly did he mean by that?

Well, it’s in plain English, so there is only one answer: He meant that his erroneous victory margin assertion might “actually” be true. He meant that others in the media had been talking about how his victory margin was “actually” the highest since Reagan.

He meant that the fact-based, confirmed, published, universally accepted results of the last nine U.S. elections might “actually” be wrong. He meant that his grip on reality might be even more tenuous than we think. arostow@aol.com

STUDENT VOICES (continued from page 22) looked at a map that showed the diversity of gender expression and identity around the world.

All students need to learn about cultures that don’t have the extreme gender binary of our own colonial culture. We cannot forget the other identities in the world. This ignorance hurts a lot of students because they internalize the gender binary, and they also teach that to their kids. For us to advance, we need to reclaim our roots so we can live in a world where everyone is accepted.

Love to SF and LGBTQ+ Studies Angelina, 10th Grade Gender expression, and playing with gender identity, is a beautiful thing because it allows us to show our unique true selves. I feel so lucky to live in San Francisco; here we have a variety of personalities, looks, and ways to love.

I never thought too much about gender identity until I came to this LGBTQ+ class. We started class by introducing ourselves by name and preferred gender pronouns. I first thought that this was silly, but now I understood that not everyone in the world identifies with the sex they were born into. Being able to say my preferred pronouns and being able to hear from others in the class makes me feel safe and comfortable in our class.

We should be heard from the heart, rather than from what society proscribes for us.

Since taking this Gender Studies/LGBTQ+ class, I have looked much more deeply into my own sense self: considering who I am and where I want to be. This class has motivated me into doing things I’d never thought I’d ever do, like going to a protest for sexual and gender equality and writing an article for the San Francisco Bay Times.

Mission High School: https://mhs-sfusd-ca.schoolloop.com/ Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts: http://www. sfsota.org/ LGBTQ Scholarship Opportunities: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/52c7dc91e4b0c06fbd156f6b/t/53b63fb8e4b0 79c1947dbdfa/1404452792563/LGBTQ.pdf

Round About - All Over Town

Photos by RINK

A Valentine’s display at Brownies Hardware on Polk Street

Server Kalene Krause presented a strawberry cheesecake for Valentine’s Day at Sweet Inspiration on Market Street, a favorite first date spot in the Castro.

Owner Christopher Graves and his colleague Mejia Reese displayed Valentine’s chocolates at Littlejohn’s Candies on Market Street.

The “Resist Table” - featuring postcards ready to be used for sending messages to politicians - is on display at Dog Eared Books on Castro Street.

A group of guests enjoyed cocktails at Strut during the reception for the artist known as Boston Elements whose show included unique gold decorated photographs and artwork.

Sporting their vintage Women’s March Bay Area sweatshirts, friends of philanthropist Rita Rockett (center) shared a hug with their honoree at 400 Castro.

An inclusion-themed sign posted outside 440 Castro reaffirms that all races, religions, countries of origin, sexual orientations and genders are welcome to come inside.

Surrounded by friends and family, singer Gail Wilson (front center), formerly of the City Swing Band, and philanthropist Rita Rockett (rear center) received bouquets at a party held in their honor recently at 440 Castro.

A Cliff’s Variety window presents a “Diversity Is Reality” theme on Valentine’s Day.

CAAMFEST (Center for Asian American Media Festival) director Masashi Niwano (left) introduced filmmaker Lena Kahn who discussed her film The Tiger Hunter, a comedy addressing immigration and assimilation issues faced by immigrants.

GLBT Historical Society’s Jeremy Prince (right) joined noted bear cartoonist Fran Frisch (left) for an interview and discussion at the Society’s Museum.

SFPD Cadet Rodriguez, Lt. Troy Dangerfield and other SFPD neighborhood officers hosted a “Coffee With A Cop” event at Toast restaurant on Polk Street on February 15.

Mr. GAPA Jeffery and Miss GAPA Juicy Liu were on the red carpet welcoming guests at the Gay Asian and Pacific Alliance (GAPA) Lunar New Year’s Party at Strut.

A large crowd of attendees watched the show on the red carpet, feautring entertainer Estee Longah, at the Gay Asian and Pacific Alliance (GAPA) Lunar New Year’s Party at Strut.

The 21st Berlin & Beyond Film Festival was opened with a welcome from Festival director Sophoan Sorn who spoke prior to the Opening Night screening of Scrappin at the Castro Theatre.

CAAMFEST directors and colleagues, inluding Stephen Gong, Debbie Ng, Lin Kung, Masashi Niwano and Linda Blackaby, welcomed attendees to their press conference promoting the festival that opened on February 9 and continues through March 19 at San Francisco and Oakland venues.

Publicist Karen Larsen (second from right) and her colleagues Murahd Shawki, Sarah Frei, Brian Ray and Vince Johnson at the CAAMFEST press conference held at the New Mission Theater’s Alamo Drafthouse.

A group of young filmmakers surrounded the Berlin & Beyond Film Festival’s director Sophoan Sorn (front row, second from right) at the German Consulate.

Filmmaker Ingo Rasper, actress Julia Jentsch and filmmaker Jan Tenhaven were on hand at the German Consulate for a party honoring the 2017 Berlin & Beyond Film Festival.

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