Watermark Issue 27.12: Justice?

Your LGBTQ Life.

June 11 - June 24, 2020 • Issue 27.12

Justice?

The Supreme Court weighs LGBTQ workplace equality

One Orlando Alliance forms anti-racism committee Tampa Bay artists ‘Don’t Ask, Do Tell’ for Pride Month

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June 11 - June 24 , 2020 // Issue 27.12 wat e r m a r konline .com

departments 7 // Publisher’s Desk

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8 // Central Florida News 10// Tampa Bay News

This country’s values are rooted in the belief that all people are created – and should be treated – equally. No one should fear being fired or face discrimination because of who they love or who they are.”

—Equality Florida Public Policy Director Jon Harris Maurer

12// State News 13 // Nation & World News 17// COVID-19 Resources 19 // Talking Points 31// Tampa Bay Out & About 33// Central Fl Out & About 34// Tampa Bay Marketplace 36// Central Fl Marketplace On the cover

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page Creating Community:

Justice?: The Supreme Court weighs LGBTQ workplace equality.

Credit:

“Architect of the Capitol.”

Statue: Contempation of Justice by James Earle Fraser on the supreme court building’s main steps.

scan qr code for

WatermarkOnline.com

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LGBTQ artists share their Pride in “Don’t Ask, Do Tell” at MIZE Gallery in Tampa Bay.

Watermark Issue 26.12 // June 11 - June 24, 2019

Needed Change

St. Pete Proud

Say his Name

Rainbow Vision

page One Orlando Alliance forms anti-racism committee within organization.

page The City of St. Petersburg kicks off Pride Month 2020.

page

page

Read It Online!

In addition to a Web site with daily LGBTQ updates, a digital version of each issue of the publication is made available on WatermarkOnline.com

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12

Black trans man killed

by Tallahassee Police in shooting.

29

Orlando Gay Chorus celebrates 30 years with virtual concert.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @WatermarkOnline and Like us on Facebook. watermark Your LGBTQ life.

June 11 - June 24 , 2020 // Issue 27.12 wat e r m a r konline .com

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watermark Your LGBTQ life.

June 11 - June 24 , 2020 // Issue 27.12 wat e r m a r konline .com

Publisher’s

Rick Claggett PUblisher

Rick@WatermarkOnline.com

I

Desk

want to acknowledge right

away that this issue of Watermark does not focus on the Black Lives Matter movement.

We are working with black LGBTQ leaders to open much needed space for their voices in our next issue and making connections to provide continued space for underserved voices moving forward.

Most of us think we are good people. That is to say in the fight of good versus evil we tend to think we are the good ones, fighting the good fight and behaving righteously. Innately I guess there is nothing wrong with that. We tell each other to value ourselves, that we are loved and important. But what do we do when we aren’t good people? Can we see that?

This is a difficult column to write, not because I am at

a loss for words but because I am struggling to find my place.

Welcome to the party, right?

It’s a good space for me to be in because it forces me to reflect.

I tend to share personal stories in this space of my mistakes.

I don’t do it looking for absolution or sympathy, rather to be honest and transparent and hope others can then be honest and transparent with themselves. Perhaps together we can find solutions.

I am the epitome of white privilege. To some this is a badge of honor, to others a trigger for anger and denial.

For me it’s a realization that continuously grows stronger. It doesn’t negate my accomplishments, and it doesn’t mean I haven’t had struggles.

It just acknowledges I had an advantage in overcoming them.

I had been pulled over three times while driving drunk before I was finally arrested in 2015. I was issued a field sobriety test each time and released to continue driving on two of those incidents. The third I was asked to have a friend come pick me up. No ticket, no arrest, clearly drunk.

When I was eventually arrested, my fourth attempt to pass the field test, I was driving without headlights. I had the mental capacity to turn them on, they just burned out and I didn’t have the faculties to realize it. The officer who pulled me over called for backup once he smelled my breath. Next thing I knew I was in handcuffs in the back of the Sherriff’s car. I was hauled off to the DUI processing center where they asked me to blow into a breathalyzer, to which I refused.

I spent the next few hours in a cell with a mid-20s black guy who I am pretty sure was family.

We had been arrested at the same time, for the same offense.

There were no accidents in both cases and it was both of our first offenses – well, first time getting caught. We talked each other through the night and parted ways that morning when our bails posted. A few months later, thanks to the Safety Council’s 12-step requirement, he and I crossed paths and exchanged war stories.

I had assumed his experience was the same as mine since

Business Manager: Kathleen Sadler • Ext. 101 Kathleen@WatermarkOnline.com

It’s past time to be better. It’s time to do better.

I can admit I have experienced white fragility. I see, too, how unconscious bias plays a negative role in our community and my role in that.

It’s past time to be better. It’s time to do better. Good people do bad things, we just need understand it, grow from it, make it right and do the next thing right.

In this issue of Watermark we dive deep into the impending rulings of the Supreme Court on LGBTQ rights. It’s June and we await our fate, as we did more than 50 years ago. Regardless of the outcome we must work for a better world for all.

We strive to bring you a variety of stories, your stories. I hope you enjoy this latest issue.

contributors Edward Segarra

currently attends the University of Central Florida as a journalism major. They enjoy writing about pop culture and hope to work in entertainment journalism upon graduating from college. Page 8, 12

Jeff Prystajko

has been with Come Out With Pride since migrating to Orlando in 2015 and has served as Board President since February 2018. Page 16

Sabrina Ambra, Nathan Bruemmer, Scottie Campbell, Miguel Fuller, Divine Grace, Holly Kapherr Alejos, Jason Leclerc, Melody Maia Monet, Jerick Mediavilla, Greg Stemm, Dr. Steve yacovelli, Michael wanzie

photography Brian Becnel, Nick Cardello, Bruce Hardin, Jamarqus Mosley, Chris Stephenson, Lee Vandergrift

distribution LVNLIF2 Distributing, Ken Carraway, Vanessa Maresca-Cruz

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watermark staff Owner & Publisher: Rick Claggett • Ext. 110 Rick@WatermarkOnline.com

they were so similar. The reality was different. I had been accepted into a pretrial diversion program, he had not.

I got through without formal charges being brought, he has a criminal record. Despite driving without headlights and refusing a breathalyzer, I got off easier. I find it hard to believe the system was not stacked in my favor.

I have a hard time finding the right words to say these days because I don’t know to what extent I should be saying words at all. What I can do is recognize I have benefitted from white privilege, and although it is a hard pill to swallow

persons or members of such organizations.

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June 11 - June 24 , 2020 // Issue 27.12 wat e r m a r konline .com

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central florida news

Space Coast Pride cancels 2020 fall events Jeremy Williams

M

ELBOURNE, Fla. | Space Coast Pride announced June 4 its fall Pride celebration has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Space Coast Pride’s 14th annual parade and festival, held in the Eau Gallie Arts District in Melbourne, Florida, was scheduled for Sept. 26.

“As a result of these disruptions and for the safety of our volunteers and supporters, the Space Coast Pride Board of Directors has made the difficult decision to CANCEL,” the organization wrote in a letter to its sponsors.

Along with the parade and festival, Space Coast Pride 2020 was also to include a Pride Gala and Ambassador Pageant, both of which were cancelled.

While the fall events have been cancelled, Space Coast Pride does plan to organize social distancing community events including converting The Rainbow Run 5K into a virtual race and other community outreach activities.

For more information on upcoming virtual events or to support Space Coast Pride through a monetary donation, visit SpaceCoastPride.org.

Se7en Bites Owner Appears on national TV Edward Segarra

O

RLANDO | Trina Gregory-Propst, chef and owner of Orlando bakeshop Se7en Bites, shared the recipe for her Grilled Peaches and Cream Ice Box Cake on “Good Morning America” May 27. The recipe was inspired by her personal love of peaches, as well as the seasonable nature of the fruit during this time of year.

“The first thing that came to mind was grilled peaches[,] which is a favorite of mine every summer and we are in the peak of peach season now,” she says.

This is not the first time that Gregory-Propst has appeared in the national spotlight. She was featured on the Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives” with Guy Fieri on two occasions.

Gregory-Propst runs Se7en Bites with her wife Va Propst. And while she is open about this “source of joy in [her] life,” she doesn’t necessarily view her status as an openly gay woman as being a contributing factor to her success as a business owner.

“I don’t believe they are synonymous, being a gay woman and a successful business owner,” she says. “[It’s] simply from applying myself, hard work and the will to succeed when nothing less will do.”

Se7en Bites is currently open for takeout and outdoor dine-in eating on Thursday-Sunday. For more details on how to make Grilled Peaches and Cream Ice Box Cake, visit WatermarkOnline.com.

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to the streets:

Protesters have taken to Orlando’s streets calling for an end to police violence.

Photo by Jeremy Williams

Needed Change One Orlando Alliance forms antiracism committee Jeremy Williams

O

RLANDO | The One Orlando Alliance, a grouping of more than 40 Central Florida LGBTQ organizations, announced June 9 the formation of an anti-racism committee within its organization to address the issues of systemic racism within Central Florida’s LGBTQ community.

“We are committed to creating a safe and inclusive environment for all who reside and visit here,” the Alliance stated in a press release.

“Since the senseless murder of George Floyd, our nation and our local community have asked that individuals and organizations take a deep look at what they are doing to be neither complicit nor perpetuate the ills of structural racism.”

The Alliance established its anti-racism committee in an emergency coalition meeting June 5. The meeting came one week after the Alliance joined more than 600 LGBTQ organizations nationwide in signing a letter committing to “embrace anti-racism and end white supremacy, not as necessary corollaries to our mission, but

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

as integral to the objective of full equality for LGBTQ+ people.” The letter also affirms that the signed-on organizations “understand what it means to rise up and push back against a culture that tells us we are less than, that our lives don’t matter.”

The Alliance named Charlotte “Cha Cha” Davis, longtime activist in the LGBTQ+ black community and leader behind the #WeExist movement, to head the committee.

“We have finally gotten to the point where we need to address these issues and this committee will create a level of transparency within the Alliance and the organizations that are involved,” Davis says.

Along with the creation of the committee — which the Alliance will require each member group to designate a representative to — and establishing Davis as the Racial Equality Liaison, the organization’s June 5 meeting also expanded on the Alliance Agenda’s Top 10 Issues Facing Central Florida’s LGBTQ+ Community. It changed the focus from “Racial Inequality” to “Anti-Racism,” adding a series of firm commitments to that section which will be taken to build a more equitable community.

June 11 - June 24 , 2020 // Issue 27.12 wat e r m a r konline .com

The Alliance’s anti-racism committee held its first meeting June 7. Topics discussed ranged from revising membership requirements and developing and revising internal inclusion strategies to leveraging relationships with government, corporate and philanthropic leaders to ensure that the leadership of the LGBTQ communities that have historically been marginalized are elevated.

“I have worked with all of the organizations within the Alliance and I’ve been bringing up racial inequalities here in Orlando for the past 12 years now,” Davis says, “and there’s a huge gap between the LGBTQ community as a whole and the black LGBTQ community.

I think that’s what the need is now, to bridge that gap and open up the lines of communication that haven’t been there because we haven’t been included in a lot of the conversations.”

Davis says that there have been inroads made over the last four years in the LGBTQ community, since the tragedy at Pulse, and that since then she can see that the climate is definitely changing.

“I can say now that we are starting to see those issues addressed with the Alliance, having genuine authentic people at the table and hearing from voices of people that have lived experiences,” Davis says.

For more information on the One Orlando Alliance and its anti-racism committee, visit OneOrlandoAlliance.org.

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June 11 - June 24 , 2020 // Issue 27.12 wat e r m a r konline .com

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tampa bay news

LGBTQ Bars cautiously reopen Ryan Williams-Jent

T

AMPA BAY | LGBTQ and ally bars began reopening June 5 after suspending operations in response to COVID-19.

Gov. Ron DeSantis announced June 3 that statewide measures enacted to slow the spread of the coronavirus would ease. Bars may now open with an indoor capacity of 50%, with full capacity outside.

Tampa’s City Side Lounge reopened first at 11 a.m.

They urged patrons to practice social distancing and proper hygiene, introducing temperature checks and encouraging sick patrons to stay at home.

“On behalf of the entire staff, I personally want to thank everyone who came out last night,” owner James Encke shared afterwards. “It was amazing to see so many of our friends, no that’s not right; OUR FAMILY, once again.”

The Garage in St. Petersburg reopened at 1 p.m. “Play the jukebox all night long and enjoy the wonderful patio,” the locale shared.

Quench Lounge, which utilized much of its closure to “spruce up” its Largo location, followed at 2 p.m. “The bar has been updated and sanitized from top to bottom,” they shared June 4. “We will be following CDC and COVID-19 guidelines to keep you and the staff safe.”

Southern Nights Tampa, which voluntarily closed ahead of the state’s mandatory order, opened its doors at 7 p.m. “We’re thrilled to be welcoming you back,” owners shared. “However, during this unprecedented time, the health of our customers and staff is of utmost importance.”

Southern advised that staff would wear face masks at all times and encouraged customers to do so when they weren’t seated. Proper hygiene and other safety measures were also encouraged.

“We recognize this is a unique moment in history,” they advised, “where we all have a greater responsibility to maintain the health of our community. We ask for your patience and cooperation as we adjust to this new normal.”

Sarasota’s Oasis also reopened, with three of Tampa Bay’s other LGBTQ hotspots following June 6: Clearwater’s Pro Shop Pub and Tampa’s Cristoph’s and Bradley’s on 7th. St. Petersburg’s Lucky Star Lounge waited until June 10 and Ybor’s The Honey Pot until June 12.

Enigma St. Pete, noting that “your well being is far more important than any profit,” shared it would reevaluate its plan to reopen in mid-July.

“We want to return to our normal lives as much as you do,” owner Ed Gonzalez shared. “However, as much as we look forward to reopening, we will not do so until we feel confident that our staff and all of you will be safe! … Until then, please stay safe!!”

The bars follow the lead of Hamburger Mary’s Clearwater and Punky’s Bar and Grill, restaurants which reopened during Florida’s first phase.

The Florida Dept. of Health notes that as of June 9, 1,627 Pinellas County residents have contracted COVID-19, resulting in 424 hospitalizations and 99 deaths. In Hillsborough County, 2,862 residents have tested positive, resulting in 488 hospitalizations and 93 deaths.

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PRIDE AND PRECAUTION:

St. Petersburg leaders including Rep. Charlie Crist (L) and Mayor Rick Kriseman (C) raise the Pride flag at City Hall in a small ceremony June 1.

PHOTO VIA REP. CRIST

St. Pete Proud St. Petersburg kicks off Pride Month Ryan Williams-Jent

S

T. PETERSBURG | Community leaders recognized Pride Month June 1 by raising the Pride flag at City Hall ahead of that evening’s “Light Up with Pride.”

The flag raising was intentionally kept small and socially distant.

While normally attended en masse, this year it was broadcast via social media in response to COVID-19.

The mayor began by recognizing those in attendance, including Congressman Charlie Crist, LGBTQ Liaison Jim Nixon and representatives from St Pete Pride.

The coronavirus prompted the organization to cancel in-person festivities this year.

Kriseman began his address by thanking those gathered for their work to make St. Petersburg a beautiful and inclusive city, soon turning to current events. “I want to say a word about this moment we find ourselves in,” he shared.

“We are in the middle of a global pandemic that has claimed the lives of more than 100,000 Americans – including one of our LGBTQ champions here in St. Pete, Mr. Bob Barnum,” Kriseman continued.

“Today when we raise the flag

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we also pay tribute to him and all others.”

The mayor also discussed the country’s protests in response to the murder of George Floyd. “I know this is not unfamiliar territory for our LGBTQ community – after all it was just last year that we marked the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots,” he said. “And this is certainly not unfamiliar territory as it relates to race in America. In fact, sadly it’s all too common.

“But today, while mindful of all that is not right in the world, we must do what we always do in St. Pete – and that’s to look ahead to brighter days,” Kriseman said. “We won’t be having a Pride parade or festival this year, but we will still celebrate and there will still be a lot of Pride in our community.”

St Pete Pride Vice President Nathan Bruemmer spoke next, reflecting on the circumstances leading to this year’s cancellation.

Calling it “one of the toughest decisions we’ve ever made,” he noted the safety of our community made it necessary.

Bruemmer then discussed LGBTQ history, systemic racism and St Pete Pride’s mission to lift up all LGBTQ voices. “This more than ever right now is about hope,”

June 11 - June 24 , 2020 // Issue 27.12 wat e r m a r konline .com

he said of the Pride flag’s raising.

“For our entire country, for all of us who have been marginalized, who have been oppressed, who have been victims of the systems and the structures that exist in this country.

We all come together and we feel that moment here in my beautiful city and I am so thankful for the community we have here.”

Rep. Crist thanked leadership for ensuring the ceremony moved forward. Raising the flag signaled “that all in St. Petersburg, one of the friendliest places in the world, understand how important our entire community is,” he shared.

His office joined landmarks throughout the city that evening in “Light Up with Pride,” an initiative formed by Nixon. Locations including the Museum of Fine Arts, LGBTQ Welcome Center and more proudly illuminated their spaces with rainbow colors to show their support for the LGBTQ community.

“I am immensely proud of the community we live in and ‘Light Up with Pride’ goes beyond just pride,” Nixon says. “It is our commitment to celebrate diversity, equity and inclusion even in the face of a global pandemic that shows who we are.

I hope the celebration continues – I know St. Pete continues to be a light in the darkness for many.”

To view a full gallery of photos from “Light Up with Pride,” watch the city’s ceremony and view our frequently updated coverage about COVID-19’s impact on Tampa Bay’s LGBTQ community, visit WatermarkOnline.com.

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June 11 - June 24 , 2020 // Issue 27.12 wat e r m a r konline .com

11

state news

Stuart Milk praises protests against police brutality Michael K. Lavers of The Washington Blade, Courtesy of the National LGBT Media Association

F

ORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. | The nephew of Harvey Milk expressed his support June 4 for those who are protesting against police brutality in the wake of George Floyd’s death.

“I’m inspired by the protests,” Stuart Milk told the Washington Blade during a brief interview at a Fort Lauderdale restaurant. “I am really hopeful that maybe we can create some systemic change.”

Milk spoke with the Blade less than two weeks after Floyd died after then-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck.

Minnesota prosecutors have charged Chauvin with second-degree murder in connection with Floyd’s death. The Associated Press notes the three other now former police officers who were with Chauvin face charges of aiding and abetting second-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.

Christopher Street West, the group that organizes Los Angeles’ annual Pride parade, has announced it will hold a march “in response to racial injustice, systematic racism and all forms of oppression.” Milk told the Blade he “would like to see more of that and hopefully one day we can do that on our global scale.”

“It’s been nine days … sometimes we see these things really light up and then fizzle out and then we move on to something else,” he said. “It’s my hope and desire that we don’t move on and that we as an LGBTQ community keep that fire burning.”

“Unless there is justice for everyone in the United States there is justice for no one,” added Milk.

Milk also talked about the Trump administration’s campaign to encourage countries to decriminalize consensual same-sex relations.

The White House last year tapped outgoing U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell to spearhead the initiative.

The U.S. Embassy in Germany last summer hosted a group of LGBTQ rights activists from around the world. Grenell and U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Kelly Knight Craft late last year organized an event on the sidelines of a U.N. Security Council meeting that focused on efforts to decriminalize homosexuality around the world.

“The campaign has had some deep back door discussions that I think are important,” Milk told the Blade. “It’s important that we keep global LGBT rights moving forward.”

Milk added “it’s just totally unacceptable that we have over 70 countries where it’s still illegal and criminalized to be LGBT.”

12

Black transgender man killed by Tallahassee police in shooting Edward Segarra

T

ALLAHASSEE, Fla. | A black transgender man was killed by a Tallahassee police officer May 27 in the third officer-involved shooting in the city in the past two months, according to local reports.

38-year-old Tony McDade was identified by Tallahassee Police as matching the description of a suspect in a fatal stabbing that had taken place that morning, the area’s ABC affiliate shared.

McDade had uploaded a Facebook Live video on that date, in which he said he planned to have a confrontation with the police to avoid future incarceration. CBS affiliate WCTV noted that his criminal record included a 10-year sentence on weapons charges.

“Just know before I kill myself through a shootout, because that’s what’s going to happen, because I’m [going to] pull it out and you know these officers nowadays they see a gun they just [going to] shoot,” McDade said in the video, as transcribed by WFSU Public Media. “So that’s what I’m pushing for, because I don’t want to be here on earth dealing with the government.”

TPD officers said McDade was armed with a gun, which he aimed at a responding officer while the officer was sitting in his vehicle.

This instance led to the shooting of McDade by the TPD officer.

“The suspect then made a move consistent with using the firearm against the officer, who fired their issued handgun, fatally striking the … suspect,” the WTXL report states.

The TPD officer who shot McDade did not suffer injuries as a result of the shooting and according to the outlet has been placed on administrative leave. The name of the officer will be released on June 8 by the city of Tallahassee.

The victim of the fatal stabbing has been identified as 21-year-old Malik Jackson, one of five men whom McDade alleged had attacked him. In the Facebook Live video he posted, McDade vowed revenge on his assailants.

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

“It took five of you to kick and punch and have me on the ground in a fetal position,” McDade said.

“And I came out looking the same way I was before I went in that fetal position. But y’all know what, y’all aint gone look the same when them bullets touch your dome.

And I’m posting this live. Warning comes before destruction. And I’m telling you five m— f— that you’re going to die.”

Abigail Jackson, Malik’s aunt, condemned the use of lethal force

by TPD, and argued that a different outcome could have been reached if officers would have been more proactive in the situation.

“If TPD would have done their job two lives would have been saved, meaning find the person that I called the police on,” Jackson said. “And whether that person was locked up whether Baker Acted or incarcerated, that would have saved that person’s life and my nephew’s life.”

McDade has been misgendered by police and local media in their reporting of the incident.

Equality Florida addressed the shooting via social media May 28, calling it reflective of the large-scale violence committed against transgender people of color in the United States.

“Tony’s death brings national scrutiny and is a stark reminder of the epidemic of violence that disproportionately claims the lives of Black transgender people in America,” the nonprofit shared. “His death arrives as the country is roiled by the murder of George Floyd by law enforcement in Minneapolis and the police brutality that disproportionately targets communities of color.”

“It also comes in the wake of armed vigilantes murdering Ahmaud Arbery near Brunswick, Georgia while he was out jogging and of police officers fatally shooting Breonna Taylor eight times in her Louisville, Kentucky apartment while serving a ‘no knock’ warrant,” they continued.

Calling Florida “an epicenter of anti-trans violence,” the organization reflected on the seven black transgender women who have been murdered in the state

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since 2018. They also discussed misgendering by law enforcement and media, which “often cloud[s] initial reports of trans related violence, disrespecting the victim and impacting ongoing law enforcement investigations.”

“It is important to the victim, their families, and the community that accurate information is consistently reported and the victim is treated with dignity and respect,” they noted.

The organization subsequently joined 75 others in condemning violent racism May 29 in a letter initiated by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). McDade’s name is referenced within the letter and HRC also released a separate statement about his death.

“The Human Rights Campaign and the entire transgender and non-binary community demand accountability and answers for Tony’s death – and countless violent deaths of trans people, Black people and, disproportionately, Black transgender people,” said Tori Cooper, HRC director of community engagement for the Transgender Justice Initiative.

“While these deaths are visible due to recordings and social media, we know far too many go completely ignored. Black people, LGBTQ people, and especially all LGBTQ people of color are at greater risk for violence every day in this country. This must end. Our hearts are heavy as we mourn with Tony’s family and friends.”

Equality Florida welcomed HRC President Alponso David and others to a virtual town hall on June 3, where panelists discussed “the intersections of systemic racism and injustice against the LGBTQ community and call[ed] on supporters of LGBTQ civil rights to take action.”

The McDade family is currently being represented by Akbar Law Firm, PA and they are seeking the release of police bodycam and dashboard footage from the day of the incident.

nation+world news

Biden recognizes 50th anniversary of Pride Month Chris Johnson of The Washington Blade, Courtesy of the National LGBT Media Association

F

ormer Vice President Joe Biden issued a statement June 1 recognizing June as Pride Month, saying “much work remains” to advance LGBTQ people despite the progress made after the first Pride 50 years ago in memorial of the Stonewall riots.

“Despite our progress, much work remains,” Biden wrote. “As our nation grapples with the uncomfortable truths of systemic racism, a devastating pandemic that’s claimed more than 100,000 lives in the United States and left more than 40 million people filing for unemployment, and a president that’s waged an all-out assault on the rights of our most vulnerable, including LGBTQ+ people, we are reminded of why those first brave souls took to the streets to march 50 years ago.”

As of press time, President Trump has not recognized Pride Month. Last year, Trump in a tweet became the first Republican U.S. president to do so, but said nothing in his first two years in office.

“Pride has come to be recognized as a global movement of love, self-expression, and community — resilient in the face of oppression and fear and hopeful for a better future,” Biden wrote. “This month, let us recommit to those principles of Pride and remain steadfast in the fight for justice and equality.”

He also invoked the memories of LGBTQ activists who have died in recent weeks: Larry Kramer, the AIDS activist who founded ACT Up; Aimee Stephens, a transgender plaintiff in the Supreme Court cases that will decide whether federal civil rights law applies to LGBTQ people; and Lorena Borjas, a transgender immigrant activist.

Biden also cited the anti-LGBTQ policies of the Trump administration, such as the transgender military ban, and condemned Trump and Vice President Mike Pence for providing

“safe harbor to white supremacists and other forms of hate.”

He also expressed support for the Equality Act pending before Congress and said he’ll take “swift action to reverse” the Trump administration’s anti-LGBTQ policies.

The White House hasn’t responded to repeated requests from the Washington Blade to comment why Trump hasn’t issued any statement recognizing Pride Month.

Alphonso David, president of the Human Rights Campaign, slammed Trump in a statement for ignoring it.

“This June, the Trump-Pence administration has yet again failed to recognize Pride Month to honor the history of the LGBTQ community and acknowledge the ongoing movement toward full equality,” David said. “In a global pandemic and national crisis highlighting ongoing racial violence and police brutality across the country — violence that particularly targets Black lives — Trump and his administration have stoked division, hate, and anger with continued attacks on LGBTQ people, people of color, immigrants, and other vulnerable communities.”

LGBTQ organizations unite against racist violence Ryan Williams-Jent

T

he Human Rights Campaign (HRC) released an open letter May 29 initially signed by 75 LGBTQ organizations to unite against racism, a number which has continued to grow.

“The racist violence that has filled our television, computer and phone screens this spring is a stark reminder of how far we still must go to ensure that the promise of America is not dependent on the color of one’s skin,” HRC President Alphonso David said.

“When we see injustice, we must speak out as strongly as we can,” he continued. “Otherwise, we are complicit in oppression. And we have seen a lot of injustice lately.”

David cited several examples, those of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Christian Cooper and Nina Pop. Floyd was murdered in Minneapolis, Taylor in Kentucky, Arbery in Georgia and Pop in Missouri. Cooper was targeted

under false pretenses while bird watching in New York.

“The LGBTQ community is familiar with fighting against systems of power that are set up to serve the privileged few,” he said. “And we are united to fight the systems that target our Black and brown siblings, today and always.”

The letter begins by quoting human rights activist Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who more than 30 years ago wrote that “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” The organizations shared that those words should serve as a call to action for the LGBTQ community.

“All of these incidents are stark reminders of why we must speak out when hate, violence, and systemic racism claim — too often with impunity — Black Lives,” the letter reads. “The LGBTQ Movement’s work has earned significant victories in expanding the civil rights of LGBTQ people. But what good are civil rights without the freedom to enjoy them?”

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

The letter explains that while many of the signers have made progress in adopting intersectionality as core values in their work, racial injustice requires more.

“This moment requires that we go further,” it reads, “that we make explicit commitments to embrace anti-racism and end white supremacy, not as necessary corollaries to our mission, but as integral to the objective of full equality for LGBTQ people.”

“We understand what it means to rise up and push back against a culture that tells us we are less than, that our lives don’t matter,” the letter concludes. “Today, we join together again to say #BlackLivesMatter and commit ourselves to the action those words require.”

Initial signers of the letter include the American Civil Liberties Union, GLAAD, the Trevor Project and state and citywide LGBTQ organizations like Equality Arizona, Equality California, Equality Florida and the One Orlando Alliance.

in other news Costa Rica welcomes marriage equality Costa Rica became the Central American country to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples on May 26. Two women wed in the municipality of Heredia shortly after midnight local time that day. “Costa Rica officially recognizes marriage equality,” tweeted President Carlos Alvarado. “Today we celebrate liberty, equality and democratic institutions. May empathy and love be the moral compass that allows us to move forward and build a country where everyone belongs.”

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights issued a ruling in 2018 that recognized same-sex marriage and transgender rights. “The day has arrived,” equality campaign Si, Acepto shared May 26.

Wisconsin Capitol flies lgbtq pride flag Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers ordered a rainbow Pride flag be flown over the state Capitol for the second time in state history June 5. It was raised over the East Wing of the capitol building and will fly until sunset on June 30. “Happy Pride Month, Wisconsin,” the governor shared via social media. “Pride was born out of a movement not unlike what we see today, and as we celebrate the diversity and resiliency of the LGBTQ community this month, it also is a reminder of the work we must do to ensure our state is inclusive and just for all.”

Zambia’s president pardons lgbtq couple The president of Zambia pardoned a gay couple in late May who was sentenced to 15 years in prison under the country’s colonial-era sodomy law. The two men were among the upwards of 3,000 people who President Edgar Lungu pardoned in commemoration of Africa Freedom Day, which marks the anniversary of the creation of the Organization of African Unity.

A Zambian court last fall sentenced the couple to 15 years in prison after they were convicted of “crimes against the order of nature.” Zambia is among the dozens of countries in which consensual same-sex sexual relations remain illegal.

Puerto Rico civil code excludes LGBTQ citizens Puerto Rico activists criticized Gov. Wanda Vazquez after she signed a new Civil Code excluding LGBTQ citizens June 1. Vazquez signed it against continued criticism of her administration’s response to the murders of nearly a dozen LGBTQ Puerto Ricans over the last year and a half. Five transgender Puerto Ricans have been killed in the U.S. commonwealth this year.

“They removed the discrimination bans in order not to include sexual orientation and gender identity,” LGBTQ advocacy group Puerto Rico Para Tod@s shared. “When they gouge LGBTTIQ+ people’s eyes out, they gouge everyone’s eyes out.”

June 11 - June 24 , 2020 // Issue 27.12 wat e r m a r konline .com

13

IMPORTANT FACTS FOR BIKTARVY®

This is only a brief summary of important information about BIKTARVY and does not replace talking to your healthcare provider about your condition and your treatment.

MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT BIKTARVY

POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OF BIKTARVY

BIKTARVY may cause serious side effects, including:

BIKTARVY may cause serious side effects, including:  Those in the “Most Important Information About BIKTARVY” section.  Changes in your immune system. Your immune system may get stronger and begin to fight infections. Tell your healthcare provider if you have any new symptoms after you start taking BIKTARVY.  Kidney problems, including kidney failure. Your healthcare provider should do blood and urine tests to check your kidneys. If you develop new or worse kidney problems, they may tell you to stop taking BIKTARVY.  Too much lactic acid in your blood (lactic acidosis), which is a serious but rare medical emergency that can lead to death.

Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: weakness or being more tired than usual, unusual muscle pain, being short of breath or fast breathing, stomach pain with nausea and vomiting, cold or blue hands and feet, feel dizzy or lightheaded, or a fast or abnormal heartbeat.  Severe liver problems, which in rare cases can lead to death.

Tell your healthcare provider right away if you get these symptoms: skin or the white part of your eyes turns yellow, dark “tea-colored” urine, light-colored stools, loss of appetite for several days or longer, nausea, or stomach-area pain.  The most common side effects of BIKTARVY in clinical studies were diarrhea (6%), nausea (6%), and headache (5%).

These are not all the possible side effects of BIKTARVY. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any new symptoms while taking BIKTARVY. You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.FDA.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

Your healthcare provider will need to do tests to monitor your health before and during treatment with BIKTARVY.

 Worsening of hepatitis B (HBV) infection. If you have both HIV-1 and HBV, your HBV may suddenly get worse if you stop taking BIKTARVY. Do not stop taking BIKTARVY without first talking to your healthcare provider, as they will need to check your health regularly for several months.

ABOUT BIKTARVY BIKTARVY is a complete, 1-pill, once-a-day prescription medicine used to treat HIV-1 in adults and children who weigh at least 55 pounds. It can either be used in people who have never taken HIV-1 medicines before, or people who are replacing their current HIV-1 medicines and whose healthcare provider determines they meet certain requirements.

BIKTARVY does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS. HIV-1 is the virus that causes AIDS. Do NOT take BIKTARVY if you also take a medicine that contains:  dofetilide  rifampin  any other medicines to treat HIV-1

BEFORE TAKING BIKTARVY Tell your healthcare provider if you:  Have or have had any kidney or liver problems, including hepatitis infection.  Have any other health problems.  Are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if BIKTARVY can harm your unborn baby. Tell your healthcare provider if you become pregnant while taking BIKTARVY.  Are breastfeeding (nursing) or plan to breastfeed. Do not breastfeed. HIV-1 can be passed to the baby in breast milk.

Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take:  Keep a list that includes all prescription and over-the-counter medicines, antacids, laxatives, vitamins, and herbal supplements, and show it to your healthcare provider and pharmacist.  BIKTARVY and other medicines may affect each other.

Ask your healthcare provider and pharmacist about medicines that interact with BIKTARVY, and ask if it is safe to take BIKTARVY with all your other medicines.

Get HIV support by downloading a free app at

MyDailyCharge.com

BVYC0218_BIKTARVY_B_9-25X10-1_Watermark_Chad_r1v1jl.indd All Pages

14

(bik-TAR-vee)

HOW TO TAKE BIKTARVY Take BIKTARVY 1 time each day with or without food.

GET MORE INFORMATION  This is only a brief summary of important information about BIKTARVY. Talk to your healthcare provider or pharmacist to learn more.  Go to BIKTARVY.com or call 1-800-GILEAD-5  If you need help paying for your medicine, visit BIKTARVY.com for program information.

BIKTARVY, the BIKTARVY Logo, DAILY CHARGE, the DAILY CHARGE Logo, KEEP CREATING, LOVE WHAT’S INSIDE, GILEAD, and the GILEAD Logo are trademarks of Gilead Sciences, Inc., or its related companies. Version date: February 2020 © 2020 Gilead Sciences, Inc. All rights reserved. BVYC0218 04/20

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

June 11 - June 24 , 2020 // Issue 27.12 wat e r m a r konline .com

CHAD LIVING WITH HIV SINCE 2018 REAL BIKTARVY PATIENT

es

h r

ut t

m

D,

KEEP CREATING.

Because HIV doesn’t change who you are.

BIKTARVY® is a complete, 1-pill, once-a-day prescription medicine used to treat HIV-1 in certain adults. BIKTARVY does not cure HIV-1 or AIDS.

Ask your healthcare provider if BIKTARVY is right for you.

See Chad’s story at BIKTARVY.com.

Featured patient compensated by Gilead.

Please see Important Facts about BIKTARVY, including important warnings, on the previous page and visit BIKTARVY.com.

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

June 11 - June 24 , 2020 // Issue 27.12 wat e r m a r konline .com

5/26/20 3:47 PM

15

viewpoint

Jeff Prystajko

It’s Pride Month

J

Let’s remember where we started une 1969. 51 years ago,

Pride began as a protest.

Backed into a corner and frustrated by how society had ignored, persecuted and attacked them — Marsha P. Johnson, a Black Trans woman and Sylvia Rivera, a Trans Latina — led Black and Brown activists to rise up and change the course of history. It was the first time the LGBTQ+ community was truly heard by the world.

Progress and victories would come, albeit slowly. Leaders appeared; the rainbow flag would later become a powerful symbol recognized everywhere. Nonetheless the community endured countless setbacks. It is evident today more than ever that the path to equality is far from over.

That said, everyone in our community has a unique perspective of what Pride means to them.

It is impossible to agree on one definition, nor will I attempt to judge one viewpoint over another.

What we can acknowledge however is that many in the LGBTQ+ community often have a shared experience that connects us. Your mileage may vary, but how many of us were bullied in school?

Didn’t fit in because of our athletic (in)ability, stood out in our outfits or we preferred to play with the “wrong” toys?

16

Fast forward to our teenage years, full of confusion over our bodies and conflicting feelings preventing us from coming to terms with ourselves. Parents, teachers and others close to us built psychological walls preventing us from realizing our own destinies and desires.

Depression. Repression.

Suppression. This was life.

We felt alone.

Then, at times and places and circumstances unique to each of us, something ignites. Turns out there were others like us. For many, like a phoenix rising out of the ashes, a new life begins.

Being authentic and true to oneself can open doors, but not everyone walks through, nor can everyone follow. What of those parents, teachers and others close to us — how do we fit outside the parameters they set? Some reject us outright. Some hug us warmly and affirm their love.

But they don’t quite understand our world.

We invite friends and colleagues to our fabulous same-sex weddings. The straight guests are proud to shout “LOVE IS LOVE!” and we love them for the heartfelt sentiment.

But they don’t know the history or the struggle to simply get there.

We share our Pride parades and celebrations with the masses. Once a small protest, now an epic annual opportunity to change hearts and minds on a grand scale.

But for some, they don’t recognize the significance or honor those who helped pave the way. It’s all one sheer spectacle, mixed with a chance to take home some colorful swag.

Then in one horrible instant, we witnessed an understanding. When 49 souls were taken four years ago, the world grieved together, and our

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

community experienced more love and support than ever before.

The messages of love were genuine. The dollars that were raised were impactful. But no one in our community should be wronged for possibly wondering, “why

experiences. These are personal, intimate, and not easily understood by outsiders. It shouldn’t take a leap of logic then to recognize that for many of us observing the current epidemic of racism in our country — and I’m speaking directly to those

early heroes finally had a voice that could no longer be silenced. Those fighting for Black Lives Matter have been screaming for years, and for years we’ve ignored them. This Pride Month, if we really want to honor our LGBTQ+ history and the trailblazers who

did it take a tragedy for people to act?”

Blame it on the human condition and how we’re wired perhaps. I don’t pretend to be a neuroscientist, psychologist or anyone else who can adequately explain our behavior.

I would like to think however, that in times of crisis — particularly of significant magnitude — our blinders come off, our hearts open, and we’re able to create a connection amongst those who may otherwise be unable to genuinely see eye to eye.

This door that divides us is heavy and wants to close. It takes courage and a strong will to keep it open.

Our communities, large and small, physical and intangible, are heavily built upon shared

of us who sit outside the intersectionality of LGBTQ+ and Black and Brown communities — we cannot fully understand this crisis because it is not our story to tell.

It is important for us to show empathy, to try and take the experiences we know and understand — both the joys and the struggles — and realize that there’s more that connects us all than sets us apart. But let’s not for a moment profess that we have the answers, or that we can take what we know and directly apply it to this or any other community. Our thoughts and suggestions are not what’s most needed right now — we need to listen.

51 years later, our LGBTQ+ community exists because through actions and words our movement’s

fought and died for us, we need to do the right thing.

Listen to the conversation around you.

Take it to heart.

Re-evaluate what you think you know and what you’ve been taught is correct because for others it is very much broken.

Give yourself the grace to accept you don’t know what you don’t know.

Then finally make sure the door stays open and we keep listening and taking action. We can choose to remember 2020 as the year we all pray we forget. Or we can remember it as the year we took advantage of this amazing opportunity to transform the world into one with fairness and equality for everyone.

We can choose to remember 2020 as the year we all pray we forget. Or we can remember it as the year we took advantage of this amazing opportunity to transform the world into one with fairness and equality for everyone.

Read It Online!

Head to WatermarkOnline.com and click on the Digital Publications link to a read a digital version of the printed newspaper!

June 11 - June 24 , 2020 // Issue 27.12 wat e r m a r konline .com

COVID-19 resources

Tampa Bay

Central Florida

FINANCIAL RESOURCES

FINANCIAL RESOURCES

One Tampa: Relief Now, Rise Together Fund, OneTampa.org

St. Pete Fighting Chance Fund, StPete.org

Central Florida LGBTQ+ Relief Fund, OneOrlandoAlliance.org/donate

Tampa is helping small businesses and individuals with emergency grants focused on rent and essential utilities. Round two began June 1 and individuals/families may receive up to $1,000 for rent or mortgage and up to $250 for utilities. Small

St. Petersburg created an emergency grant for locally-owned and independently-operated small businesses and individuals. Businesses may receive up to $5,000 and individuals may receive up to $500

The Central Florida LGBTQ+ Relief Fund, launched

by Contigo Fund, is meant to assist Orlando area LGBTQ+ community members who are most in need as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. This grassroots effort is led by LGBTQ+ community members, nonprofit leaders and allies including the One

businesses may receive up to $4,000 and $1,000.

Pinellas County CARES Small Business Grants, PCED.org/Cares Pinellas County is providing emergency financial support for qualified small businesses negatively impacted by COVID-19 due to orders to close or limit operations with an extended June 30 application deadline. One-time $5,000 grants are available to help offset significant, temporary loss of revenue.

from an allocated $6.8 million.

Tampa Bay Resiliency Fund, PinellasCF.org/TBRF The Pinellas Community Foundation, Allegany Franciscan Ministries, Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg and United Way Suncoast have partnered for funding assistance available to nonprofits and governmental agencies. It supports them in DeSoso, Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pinellas and Sarasota counties.

FOOD/HEALTH CARE/SERVICE RESOURCES 211 Tampa Bay Cares, 211TampaBay.org, 727-210-4211 Call 211 from any phone or

Feeding Tampa Bay, FeedingTampaBay.org, 813-254-1190 Offering mobile pantries, meals, a market, senior

text your zip code to 898211 for help.

grocery resources, homebound help and more.

CAN Community Health, CANCommunityHealth.org, 941-366-0134

Love the Golden Rule, LoveTheGoldenRule.com, 727-826-0700

Use computers or mobile devices to access health care services remotely and manage health

the ability to pay. Call for more details.

care needs.

Offering primary and specialized care regardless of

Metro Inclusive Health, MetroTampaBay.org, 727-321-3854

EPIC Food Pantry, MyEPIC.org To schedule pickups or donations, call 727-328-3260 in Pinellas County or 813-237-3066 in Hillsborough County.

Receive access to primary care, counseling, hormone replacement therapy and PrEP via Telehealth.

Pre-screening is necessary before accessing a testing site and is available via virtual visit at BayCareAnywhere.org. Tests are $85 at any BayCare facility without insurance but fees are not due at testing. For patients with insurance, the federal government has noted all payors should cover tests.

BayCare Urgent Care (Carillon) tests 8-11 a.m. on weekdays at 900 Carillon Parkway, Ste. 106 in St. Petersburg. Gulf High School tests weekdays from 8-11 a.m. at 5355 School Rd. in Port Richey.

Hillsborough County Testing, HillsboroughCounty.org, 813-272-5900 Pre-screening and registration are required at all sites, visit their website or call to make an appointment. Testing will be administered to individuals weekdays from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. There is no charge and sites include Raymond James Stadium, at 4201 N. Dale Mabry Hwy. in Tampa; Lee Davis Community Resource Center, at 3402 N. 22nd St. in Tampa; Plant City Community Resource Center, at 307 N. Michigan Ave. in Plant City and SouthShore Community Resource Center, at 201 14th Ave. SE in

Community Health Centers Testing, CHCPinellas.org, 727-824-8181 Testing is available via same day walk or drive up but appointments are highly recommended. Call the number above and select option 0 to schedule.

Tests are available Mondays-Fridays from 8:30 a.m.

– 1:30 p.m. at 707 E. Druid Rd. in Clearwater, 7550 43rd St. N in Pinellas Park and 1344 22nd St. S. in St. Petersburg. It is available Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays at 5175 45th St. N. in St. Petersburg.

Sarasota County Testing, SCGov.net, 941-861-2883 Testing is available by appointment only in North Port and Laurel for those experiencing symptoms or working in health care. Call to schedule an appt.

Monday-Friday from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. No appointment is necessary for drive-thru testing at University Town Center Mall at 140 University Town Ctr. Dr. Testing is available daily from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Walk-up testing is also available at the Robert L. Taylor Community Complex at 1845 34th St. daily from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. or until capacity is reached. Call the number above or text SRQCOVID19 to 888777 for details.

Ruskin. Raymond James offers drive-thru only.

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Bounce Back Orlando, BounceBackOrlando.com 321-800-3946 Launching May 1, The Pride Chamber’s Bounce Back Orlando will be a directory of small businesses in Orlando and the surrounding metro that will encourage residents and visitors to patronize our local small businesses. If you own a small business in the Greater Orlando Metro area you can register your business at the website free of charge.

CSCF is providing virtual reemployment assistance for those who have lost their job due to COVID-19.

CSCF can assist you in filling out the Department of Economic Opportunity application online. You can also take advantage of the CSCF’s virtual services such as career guidance, resume review, workshops and online learning free of charge.

United Way of Central Florida (UWCF), UWCF.org, 2-1-1 The United Way of Central Florida (UWCF) is assisting those impacted by COVID-19 with food needs, paying bills and other essential services. Call 2-1-1 to speak to a UWCF representative who can help you if you are in need.

FOOD/HEALTH CARE/SERVICE RESOURCES Joy MCC, 407-894-1081 Joy MCC, located at 2351 S. Ferncreek Ave. in Orlando, is offering food assistance to those in need due to the pandemic. Hours of operation are Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Call ahead to verify hours has not changed and food availability.

Orange County Public Schools, OCPS.net Grab-and-Go meals are available for students in need. Meals are available for pick-up between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Site locations can be found on their website.

Osceola County School District, OsceolaSchools.net

The district’s School Nutrition Services Department will provide FREE breakfast and lunch to children 18 years and under during the extended school closure.

Meals will be available for pickup between 9:30 a.m.12:00 p.m. at each location. Site locations can be found on their website.

Seminole County Public Schools, SCPS.k12.fl.us Seminole County Public Schools (SCPS) will be providing FREE Breakfast and Lunch meals for its students (18 years old and younger) during the extended school closure period. Meals will be available for pick-up between 10:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. (Pine Crest Elementary 10:30 a.m. and 12:00 p.m.) in the car loop of each school site. Site locations can be found on their website.

TESTING Locations

TESTING LOCATIONS BayCare, BayCare.org, 1-800-BayCare

Orlando Alliance and the LGBT+ Center Orlando.

CareerSource Central Florida (CSCF), CareerSourceCentralFlorida.com/ Coronavirus-Support, 800-757-4598

City of Orlando, Orlando.gov/ COVID19Testing , 407-246-3104

online with Quest Diagnostics. These sites are open only to individuals with respiratory symptoms, preexisting conditions, first responders, heath care workers and those who believe they have had close contact with someone who tested positive.

Locations are:

Orange County has a non-mobile testing site at the Orange County Convention Center daily, starting at 9 a.m. until the daily limit is reached with no appointment needed. Testing at this site is open to all Central Florida residents, no symptoms required. You must be 18 or older with a photo ID. Maximum of 5 people per vehicle, vehicle windows must be operational. Test type at this site is a throat swab. Antibody testing is available for free for the general public.

-Walmart at 5991 Goldenrod Rd. Testing, which is offered by the City of Orlando, is Mon.-Sat. from 7 a.m.-1 p.m.

-Walmart at 11250 E. Colonial Dr. Testing, which is offered by Orange County, is Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 7-10 a.m.

-Walmart at 8101 S. John Young Pkwy. Testing, which is offered by Orange County, is Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7-10 a.m.

Orange County Government, OCFL.net/COVID19

The City of Orlando has mobile drive-thru testing every Wednesday, rotating to a new location in the city on each operating day. Locations will be announced on a rolling basis. Testing is free of charge and no insurance is needed; however, appointments are required and can be book online or by phone. Testing is available to Orlando residents who are 18 years of age or older and you do not have to be exhibiting symptoms to be tested.

Mobile testing sites are set up in several Walmart parking lots and are by appointment only. Schedule

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UCF, in partnership with AventusBiolabs, has a non-mobile testing site available by appointment only at its main campus. For more information, visit AventusBiolabs.com. There is also a non-mobile testing site at UCF’s Lake Nona Cancer Center.

Testing is by appointment only and requires either an order for a test from your health care provider or requires you to be a patient at UCF Health. UCF employees may also be tested at this site. For more information, visit UCF.edu.

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June 11 - June 24 , 2020 // Issue 27.12 wat e r m a r konline .com

talking points

The U.S. has an

estimated 513,000

married same-sex couples.

293,000

It’s impossible for me as a black woman who has been the target of blatant racism over the course of my life not to take the killing of George Floyd personally. Being black in America should not be a death sentence.

— Lori Lightfoot, Chicago’s first black female mayor and first openly LGBTQ leader, speaking about the murder of George Floyd at the hands of four Minneapolis police officers

Disney-Pixar’s ‘Out’ makes history with gay charcter

A

new Pixar short film on Disney+ explores the coming-out experience and helps break down barriers in the world of animation.

“Out” follows the story of Greg, a gay man in the closet to his parents, as he prepares to move to the city with his boyfriend, Manuel. However, moving day is quickly complicated for Greg when his parents show up at his house for an unexpected visit. “Out” is a product of SparkShorts, a short film series created by Pixar. The film — directed by Steven Clay Hunter and starring Kyle McDaniel as Greg and Bernadette Sullivan as his mother —marks the first animated Disney film to feature a gay person as the main character. “Out” is currently available exclusively on Disney+.

of

these couples

— more than half —

have married

since the

Supreme Court’s marriage equality decision in June 2015.

—The Williams Institute

Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird to host sports awards

S

occer star Megan Rapinoe and three-time WNBA champion Sue Bird, along with Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, will preside over The ESPYs, a two-hour sports broadcast airing June 21 on ESPN. Instead of its usual July date, the show has been rescheduled and re-imagined as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Arthur Ashe Award for Courage, the Pat Tillman Award for Service and Jimmy V Award for Perseverance are among the honors to be presented, but there won’t be the usual acceptance speeches. All three hosts live in the Seattle area.

Rapinoe and Bird are partners who share a household, which conveniently eases some logistics.

Wilson’s singer-wife, Ciara, is likely to make an appearance, too.

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Ryan Murphy’s ‘AHS’ spin-off receives green light

C

able network FX has officially greenlit a spin-off series to producer Ryan Murphy’s popular series “American Horror Story.” In contrast to the structure of “AHS,” in which each season presents a self-contained storyline from beginning to end, “American Horror Stories” – the upcoming spin-off – will be a weekly anthology.

This means that each episode, as opposed to each season, will have its own unique storyline. While the series currently has no official release date, it has been included as part of FX’s slate of original programming for 2021, indicating a release for the following year.

“AHS” season 10’s release date has been officially pushed back to 2021 as well.

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‘Queer Eye’ tackles religion in new season

T

he Emmy-winning Netflix series “Queer Eye” explores the relationship between religious faith and LGBTQ+ identity in its fifth season, which premiered on Netflix June 5. The new season finds the Fab Five heading to the city of Philadelphia as the base for their hero makeovers. In the new season, one of the heroes is a gay priest who expresses difficulty in reconciling his sexual orientation and religious leadership. The Fab Five help him begin the process of overcoming these emotional concerns by connecting him with other LGBTQ-inclusive religious leaders.

“Queer Eye” originally premiered on Netflix in 2018 and has won seven Emmy awards. The new season is streaming now on Netflix.

19

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Justice?

The Supreme Court weighs LGBTQ workplace equality

T

Ryan Williams-Jent

he fight for civil rights in America

is as old as the country itself, which first declared that we were all created equal with the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness in 1776. From the nation’s imperfect founders to its 45th president today, our country’s changemakers have challenged American leadership to honor those ideals ever since.

U.S. Supreme Court Building “Architect of the Capitol.”

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

It’s why the LGBTQ community honors Pride Month each June; a celebration bore from the 1969 riots at New York City’s Stonewall Inn. The modern movement for LGBTQ equality began as a product of its time, a response to abusive authorities in a decade rich with protests for the rights of minorities.

As those same minorities press on today, fighting for equality in the streets and voting booths across the country, the courts charged with ensuring our American right to life and liberty continues to debate it. That includes our nation’s highest, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS).

A total of 114 Americans have served as Justices on the court, nominated by presidents of each major political party and confirmed by the Senate to serve lifetime appointments. In its 228-year history, four have been women, three have been people of color and none have openly identified as LGBTQ. Its current makeup of nine features one Chief Justice – John Roberts, nominated by former President George W. Bush, and eight associates. They are Associate Justices Thomas, nominated by George H.W. Bush; Ginsburg and Breyer, nominated by Bill Clinton; Alito, nominated by George W. Bush; Sotomayor and Kagan, nominated by Barack Obama and Gorsuch and Kavanaugh, nominated by Donald Trump.

Continued on pg. 23 | uu |

June 11 - June 24 , 2020 // Issue 27.12 wat e r m a r konline .com

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June 11 - June 24 , 2020 // Issue 27.12 wat e r m a r konline .com

| uu | Justice?

from pg.21

This Pride Month, they are expected to decide if LGBTQ Americans are protected from employment discrimination under federal civil rights law.

THE LAW

U.S. presidents have done more to advance or diminish American equality than nominate justices. On June 11, 1963, former President John F. Kennedy addressed an embattled nation from the Oval Office to deliver his Report to the American People on Civil Rights.

The historical address was a response to threats of violence at the University of Alabama as its campus admitted its first African American students. His administration sent the National Guard to the school, calling civil rights an issue of morality.

“This nation was founded by men of many nations and backgrounds,” Kennedy shared.

“It was founded on the principle that all men are created equal, and that the rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.”

Inequality wasn’t a partisan issue, he noted, but a moral crisis as “clear as the American Constitution.” Kennedy advised that “the heart of the question is whether all Americans are to be afforded equal rights and equal opportunities, whether we are going to treat our fellow Americans as we want to be treated.”

It’s why he asked Congress “to enact legislation giving all Americans the right to be served in facilities which are open to the public – hotels, restaurants, theaters, retail stores and similar establishments.”

“This seems to me to be an elementary right,” he shared. “Its denial is an arbitrary indignity that no American in 1963 should have to endure, but many do.”

Kennedy was assassinated just over five months later, but the legislation he proposed moved forward with his successor. President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 into federal law the following July.

The landmark legislation ended public segregation based on race, religion or national origin. Its Title VII also barred employment discrimination on

supreme showdown: LGBTQ community advocates and organizations like the Human Rights Campaign rally at the Supreme Court in D.C. on Oct. 8, 2019 in support of LGBTQ workplace equality. Photo courtesy the human rights campaign

the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin. Nearly 60 years later, SCOTUS has now weighed whether that pertains to LGBTQ workers.

THE CASES

SCOTUS announced that it would review three LGBTQ-focused cases on April 22, 2019. Two of them address workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation – Altitude Express Inc. v. Zarda and Bostock v. Clayton County – and the third addresses discrimination based on gender identity, R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes Inc. v. the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

The first dates back to 2010, when the late skydiving instructor Donald Zarda was fired from Altitude Express in New York. He lost his job after revealing he was gay to a female client before a shared skydiving session.

Zarda did so “in an effort to make her more comfortable with their close physical contact,” his sister has advised. After his accidental death in 2014, she and his surviving partner have continued his estate’s legal battle.

After a federal trial court rejected the discrimination claim, an appeal to the U.S. Court’s Second Circuit ruled in 2018 that the Civil Rights Act should have protected his employment.

The second case was brought

by Gerald Lynn Bostock, a gay

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

man who worked in child welfare in the juvenile court system in Clayton County, Georgia. He was fired in 2013 after he began playing for the area’s LGBTQ softball league, which he’s said led to high profile criticism in the workplace and ultimately his termination, all due to his sexual orientation.

Bostock’s workplace discrimination suit was dismissed in 2016 by a district court. He subsequently appealed to the U.S. Court’s Eleventh Circuit in 2018, which affirmed the decision, leading him to petition SCOTUS for review.

The final case centers on the late Aimee Stephens, who died May 12. She was fired from her role as an embalmer and the R.G. and G.R. Harris Funeral Home funeral director in Garden City, Michigan after revealing she was transgender in 2013.

Her firing prompted Stephens to file a complaint with the EEOC, which was created to enforce the Civil Rights Act. After a district court ruled in favor of the funeral home, the U.S. Circuit’s Sixth Circuit reversed the decision in 2018 before they appealed to SCOTUS.

THE RESPONSE

The news that the court would review the high profile cases prompted LGBTQ organizations to mobilize around the country – including Equality Florida, the state’s largest.

“This country’s values are rooted in the belief that all people are created – and should be treated – equally,” Equality Florida Public Policy Director Jon Harris Maurer shared. “No one should fear being fired or face discrimination because of who they love or who they are.

“Federal courts have affirmed time and again that discrimination against the LGBTQ community is against the law,” he continued. “The Supreme Court now has the opportunity to solidify those protections and reaffirm that all people should be free to work and live without fear of discrimination.”

Equality Florida called on state lawmakers to pass the Florida Competitive Workforce Act (FCWA) in response. First introduced in 2009, it would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression in employment, housing and public accommodations throughout the state.

The FCWA has received widespread, bipartisan support but has not been granted a hearing in the Republican-controlled state legislature. Only 60% of LGBTQ Floridians are covered by local protections.

Equality Florida’s calls for action echoed those of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest organization dedicated to securing LGBTQ equality. They called upon

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Congress to immediately pass the Equality Act. Once signed into law, it would amend existing federal civil rights law – including the Civil Rights Act of 1964 – to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, housing, public accommodations, public education and more.

It passed in the Democratic-controlled U.S. House of Representatives on May 20 but to date has not been advanced by the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate.

In Aug. 2019, the White House spoke out against the Equality Act’s partial movement, claiming it was “filled with poison pills.”

The dissent echoed the Trump administration’s stance that SCOTUS should rule against LGBTQ workers, arguing that protections from the Civil Rights Act do not extend to sexual orientation or gender identity.

More than 200 major businesses and organizations disagreed, filing a landmark “friend of the court” brief in support of LGBTQ workers.

The organizations represented more than 7 million employees and more than $5 trillion in revenue from a wide range of industries, from Apple to the Walt Disney Company.

HRC was joined by fellow advocacy organizations Lambda Legal, Out & Equal, Out Leadership and Freedom for All Americans in announcing the brief. Signers argued that LGBTQ nondiscrimination and inclusion are beneficial for both big business and ultimately the American economy.

“At this critical moment in the fight for LGBTQ equality, these leading businesses are sending a clear message to the Supreme Court that LGBTQ people should, like their fellow Americans, continue to be protected from discrimination,” HRC Senior Vice President for Programs, Research and Training Jay Brown shared.

“These employers know first-hand that protecting the LGBTQ community is both good for business and the right thing to do,” he continued. “With so much progress on the line, we are grateful that so many major American companies are standing up for the rights and dignity of their LGBTQ employees, family members and customers.”

Continued on pg. 25 | uu |

23

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Valour! Compassion! and Master Class to Ragtime, The Visit and Mothers and Sons.

Tuesday, June 16 11:00PM WEDU Follow queer actor Dyllón Burnside on a journey to discover how LGBTQ Americans are finding ways to live authentically and with pride in the modern South.

The Lavender Scare

Monday, June 22 11:00PM WEDU The Lavender Scare is a documentary chronicling a 40-year campaign to remove homosexuals from the federal workplace.

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Monday, June 15 10:30PM WEDQ Monday, June 15 11:30PM WEDU “The Committee is a documentary about the littleknown Florida Legislative Investigative Committee of the State Legislature from 1956-1965 that was successful in firing or expelling more than 200 suspected gay and lesbian teachers and students.

24

LGBTQ+ Pride!

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Tuesday, June 23 11:00PM WEDU When police raided the Stonewall Inn, the street erupted into violent protests marking a major turning point in the modern gay civil rights movement around the world.

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| uu | Justice?

from pg.23

THE HEARING SCOTUS heard more than two hours of debate in a crowded courtroom on the morning of Oct. 8, 2019. Altitude Express Inc. v. Zarda and Bostock v. Clayton County were argued together, followed by R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes Inc. v. the EEOC. Experts observed that the justices appeared divided, emphasizing the high stakes involved in each case. Reports noted that the four whose views have been deemed more liberal – Ginsburg, Sotomayor, Kagan and Breyer – advocated for LGBTQ inclusion with their questioning and contemplation. Those deemed more conservative, now the court’s majority, challenged it.

Roberts, the SCOTUS’ conservative Chief Justice, remarked that Congress did not intend to include LGBTQ workers in 1964. Breyer countered that the Civil Rights Act was enacted to help the most vulnerable of Americans.

“In the 60s, we were only 10 years away from where people who were real slaves and discriminated against obtained a degree of freedom,” Breyer advised. “These statutes were all part of a civil rights movement that was designed to include in our society people who had been truly discriminated against for the worst of reasons … this civil rights statute, when it was passed, would have put in the category gay people, transgender people as people who were suffering terrible discrimination.”

In an analysis shared after the hearing via SCOTUSblog, the definitive, long-running resource dedicated to high court coverage, its former editor Amy Howe called the forthcoming ruling unclear.

The outcome “could hinge on Justice Neil Gorsuch, who at times appeared sympathetic to the plaintiffs’ argument,” she wrote, “but also expressed concern about the ‘massive social upheaval’ that he believed would follow from a ruling for them.”

HRC quickly called on SCOTUS to uphold LGBTQ employment protections. “Multiple federal courts have ruled that anti-LGBTQ discrimination is a form of sex discrimination that violates federal law,” they shared that day. “These courts have found that discrimination against LGBTQ people violates laws including

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and the Affordable Care Act. “The Trump-Pence administration, however, has recently attempted to redefine federal sex discrimination through regulations in an effort to erase protections for transgender people, and has asked the Supreme Court to reverse course and bar LGBTQ people from receiving federal non-discrimination protections,” they continued. “The Supreme Court’s decision in these cases could effectively decide whether to solidify or take away non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people under federal civil rights laws — which prohibit sex discrimination in contexts ranging from employment to housing,

More than one year after SCOTUS announced it would weigh workplace equality, studies found that LGBTQ discrimination throughout the country is surging.

The Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Law and Public Policy at the UCLA, which advances public policy through independent research, released results from its Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics on April 29.

Researchers found that there are an estimated 7.1 million lesbian, gay and bisexual workers in the U.S. ages 16 and older, with 3.4 million living in states without employment protections. Another 1 million are estimated to identify as transgender, with 536,000 workers living in unprotected states.

That includes Florida. The

various state and local laws and private corporate policies – protections that can change as they move or get new jobs,” she continued. “This inconsistency could create particular hardships right now, as many people in the U.S., including LGBT people, are facing under or unemployment.”

THE FUTURE

Whatever SCOTUS decides, Equality Florida notes that it’s important to remember that while statewide protections are lacking, 60% of LGBTQ Floridians are covered by either city or county measures. “The Supreme Court’s ruling does not undo those existing protections,” Maurer says.

“The lack of federal protections is effectively a right for businesses

The growing legal consensus is that our nation’s civil rights laws protect LGBTQ people against discrimination under sex nondiscrimination laws … This decision will have very real consequences for millions of LGBTQ people across the country.

— Human Rights Campaign President Alphonso David healthcare and education.”

“The growing legal consensus is that our nation’s civil rights laws protect LGBTQ people against discrimination under sex non-discrimination laws,” HRC President Alphonso David added. “The Supreme Court has an opportunity to clarify this area of law to ensure protections for LGBTQ people in many important areas of life. This decision will have very real consequences for millions of LGBTQ people across the country.”

THE IMPACT

Despite unprecedented support from leading American businesses and the historical, bipartisan passage of the Equality Act in the U.S. House, LGBTQ workers continue to lack federal protections.

In 27 states, there are also no explicit laws prohibiting LGBTQ discrimination in employment, housing or public accommodations.

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Institute’s research found that 545,000 workers identify as members of the LGBTQ community; 474,000 as L, G and B and 71,000 as T. They also reported that nationally, 60% of LGB people shared they had been fired from or denied a job, with 48% advising that they were denied a promotion or received negative evaluations.

By comparison, the numbers were 40% and 32% respectively for their heterosexual co-workers.

“If the Court holds that Title VII does not prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, millions of LGBT employees will be left without any protection from employment discrimination whatsoever,” the report’s co-author and Williams Institute State & Local Policy Director Christy Mallory said.

“And all LGBT people will face a patchwork of protections under

to discriminate against their employees,” he explains. “It means a hard-working employee could be fired and lose that opportunity to provide for themself and their family simply because their boss doesn’t like LGBTQ people.”

He adds it also means that passing the statewide FCWA is more critical than ever to establish clear LGBTQ nondiscrimination protections. “Full security and equality for the LGBTQ community means explicit protections at the federal, state and local levels,” Maurer says. “Last session the Florida Competitive Workforce Act was the most cosponsored legislation and we will continue to build support for these critical protections.”

Nationally, the HRC points to the U.S. Senate. “Regardless of how the Supreme Court decides, the Senate should join the House in acting immediately to pass the Equality Act,” the organization advises, “which would provide

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clear, comprehensive protections for LGBTQ people across key areas of life, including employment, housing, credit, education, public spaces and services, federally-funded programs and jury service.”

According to the Public Religion Research Institute, it’s time. The nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to conducting independent research found last year that the majority of the country supports LGBTQ nondiscrimination protections.

That support crosses party lines, demographics and geographical location, they concluded – with majorities in every single state. In summary for the nation, HRC’s president notes, “no one should be denied a job or fired simply because of who they are or whom they love.”

THE BIG DAY

SCOTUS is expected to release their decision June 15, 22 or 29, though the court has the ability to issue a decision any day through Pride Month. Both HRC and Equality Florida have partnered with DecisionDay.org to prepare a response.

They will join the National Equality Action Team, National LGBTQ Task Force, PFLAG and National Center for Transgender Equality in raising awareness about virtual events. ​​“This spring, community organizations, LGBTQ+ state groups, faith communities and everyday individuals are organizing to respond when the U.S. Supreme Court issues its decision,” DecisionDay.org reads.

The website is maintaining a list of virtual events throughout the country and plans to hold a national rally and town hall on whichever date Decision Day lands.

LGBTQ leaders from across the nation and those who led the fight for the cases will hold a rally at 7 p.m. EST before a town hall with a panel of experts begins at 8 p.m.

“Let’s come together, lift each other up during difficult times, and give thanks to those who fought this case for our community,” the organization advises.

“No matter what the decision, we know the fight continues!”

For more information about registering for a #DecisionDay event, visit DecisionDay.org.

For more information about the Human Rights Campaign or Equality Florida, visit HRC.org and EQFL.org.

25

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art

Creating Community LGBTQ artists share their Pride in ‘Don’t Ask, Do Tell’

(above)

pieces of me:

Participating Tampa Bay artist Andrea Pawlisz’s submission for “Don’t Ask, Do Tell.”

Photo courtesy chad mize/ mize gallery

“W

Ryan Williams-Jent

e don’t need an actual

parade or all of the events surrounding it to celebrate our Pride,” openly LGBTQ artist Chad Mize says.

It’s something the owner of the St. Petersburg-based MIZE Gallery understands well – the LGBTQ safe space has continued to host lucrative art shows virtually while Tampa Bay’s arts community has grappled with the wide-ranging effects of COVID-19.

Mize understands how fortunate his gallery and the featured artists who have sold work there have been in that regard. He says he’s grateful for the support patrons have shown as the need for social distance keeps them apart physically, forfeiting in-person celebrations like gallery openings and of course, St Pete Pride.

The state’s largest LGBTQ celebration cancelled in-person festivities this year in response to the coronavirus, a necessary but disheartening decision that Mize

joined in mourning. It was originally scheduled for June 26-28 with events surrounding it, including MIZE Gallery’s annual Pride exhibit.

As he had with his gallery’s other shows, Mize proudly moved forward with “Don’t Ask, Do Tell.” It will open virtually June 19 and runs through July 5. As social distancing measures are relaxed statewide, it will also feature limited in-person gallery hours.

“I love this month because I love Pride,” the artist and curator says, “the nature of it. We can still celebrate – I feel like we do throughout the whole year in St. Pete, by being individuals and being out.

My work kind of speaks to that, to being yourself.”

That mantra is essentially the exhibit’s call to action. Its 21 featured

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

artists were tasked with creating a new piece of work in their preferred medium that speaks of them identifying as both a member of the LGBTQ community and as an artist.

To assemble those featured, Mize enlisted co-curator Kurt Piazza. Like Mize, the Clearwater-based, openly LGBTQ artist has had work featured regionally and nationally.

“I was thrilled when Chad asked me to co-curate his annual Pride show,” Piazza says. “He was familiar with my background as a curator and wanted me to bring some of the LGBTQ+ artists I’ve worked with and who haven’t shown at MIZE before.

Likewise, as an artist who identifies as LGBTQ+, he also invited me to show my own work.”

Mize says he enjoys the creative process of working with co-curators, which he did heavily in 2019 but hadn’t yet this year.

“We brainstormed and came up with the name,” Mize recalls, “and he brought in half of the artists – a lot of them that I hadn’t known about which is really cool.”

Piazza included artists like Santiago Echeverry, the University of Tampa’s associate professor of Digital Arts. “His work utilizes ‘mapping’ software, which he applies to the human body to create beautiful line compositions in both 2D and video formats,” he explains.

“Another artist is California-based Diran Lyons,” Piazza continues.

“A graduate of UC Santa Barbara, for this show, Diran is creating politically-themed collages based on old master paintings.

It will also feature multimedia artist Gabriel Ramos, a Cornell graduate who “creates gorgeous 2D and 3D works, mostly out of paper and wire,” he says. “His work involves the construction of abstracted compositions aligned to a fusion of tropical landscape elements, architecture and various other representational components. The exhibition as a whole highlights the diversity and range of artists who identify as LGBTQIA.” Mize says the majority of featured artists call Florida home, including

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the Central Florida triad known as the Three Bears. “I’ve shown their pieces before,” he says. “Cake Marquez is an amazing oil painter and Michael McGrath or Mikey Bear has an acrylic, kind of surreal style.

They do great work.”

Tampa Bay artists include elementary school art teacher Perry deVick, “an amazing oil painter,” as well as designer Andrea Pawlisz.

“She’s doing smaller pieces and bringing them together,” Mize explains. “Each one represents a part of her. Also, Lego artist Jay Hoff is featured so he’ll do something neat.”

Mize and Hoff will reunite for “Don’t Ask, Do Tell” after collaborating on “Pride & Love” last year, the SHINE Mural Festival’s first LGBTQ-themed mural. Mize has incorporated a community project into the annual art event every year since 2015 and called it a perfect fit.

He welcomed Hoff to design the piece in the Grand Central District, St. Petersburg’s “gayborhood,” ahead of Come OUT St Pete 2019. “St. Pete is not only known for the arts,” Mize told Watermark last year, “but it’s known for having a large LGBTQ population. It makes sense.”

Tampa Bay’s support for the LGBTQ community is likely to contribute to the success of “Don’t Ask, Do Tell.” In addition to those listed above, including its co-curators, the exhibit will also feature fan favorite LGBTQ artists Saumitra Chandratreya, Christian Cortes, Cole Foust, Chad Jacobs, Lucky LeRoy, Diran Lyons, Spencer Meyers, Juliane Montoya, Gabriel Ramos, Matthew Schlagbaum, Justin Sears and Angela Warren.

Watermark’s own creative designer and photographer Dylan Todd will also be featured.

Mize says he aims to represent the entire LGBTQ community in his exhibitions, which he adds has continued to lean on art throughout a troubling year. He looks forward to celebrating Pride with art enthusiasts virtually and in person during “Don’t Ask, Do Tell.”

“Don’t Ask, Do Tell – An LGBTQIA+ Exhibit” runs June 19-July 5 and multimedia art varies in price. Its opening will be held virtually via the gallery’s social media channels June 19 from 6-10 p.m. Visit Facebook and Instagram.com/ MIZEGallery to stream.

Limited in-person gallery hours with safety precautions will follow at MIZE Gallery, located at 689 Dr. MLK Jr. St. N., Unit C in St. Petersburg.

For hours and additional information, call 727-251-8529 and visit ChadMize.com.

27

JUNE 12, 2016 We will never forget the 49 Angels.

Stanley Almodovar III

Alejandro Barrios Martinez

Amanda L. Alvear

Brenda Marquez McCool

Oscar A. Aracena Montero

Gilberto R. Silva Menendez

Rodolfo Ayala Ayala

Kimberly Jean Morris

Antonio “Tony” Brown

Akyra Monet Murray

Darryl Roman Burt II

Luis Omar Ocasio Capo

Angel Candelario-Padro

Gerardo A. Ortiz Jimenez

Juan Chavez Martinez

Eric Ivan Ortiz-Rivera

Luis D. Conde

Joel Rayon Paniagua

Cory James Connell

Jean C. Mendez Perez

Tevin Eugene Crosby

Enrique L. Rios Jr

Deonka “Dee Dee” Drayton

Jean Carlos Nieves Rodríguez

Simón Adrian Carrillo Fernández

Xavier Emmanuel Serrano Rosado

Leroy Valentin Fernandez

Christopher Joseph Sanfeliz

Mercedez Marisol Flores

Yilmary Rodríguez Solivan

Peter Ommy Gonzalez Cruz

Eddie Sotomayor, Jr.

Juan Ramon Guerrero

Shane Evan Tomlinson

Paul Terrell Henry

Martin Benitez Torres

Frank Hernandez

Jonathan A. Camuy Vega

Miguel Angel Honorato

Juan Pablo Rivera Velázquez

Javier Jorge Reyes

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Franky Jimmy DeJesus Velázquez

Eddie Jamal Droy Justice

Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon

Anthony Luis Laureano Disla

Jerry Wright

Christopher Andrew Leinonen

49 Remembrance 2020.indd 1

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5/27/20 8:44 AM

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music

Rainbow Vision

Orlando Gay Chorus celebrates 30 years with virtual Pride concert

(above)

Singing Proud:

The Orlando Gay Chorus, gathered in front of the Dr. Phillips Cetner in Orlando during the OOA’s Love and Kindness event in June 2019.

Photo by Jeremy Williams

W

Jeremy Williams

hen James Rode, the artistic

director for the Orlando Gay Chorus (OGC), first realized that live performances of every kind — theaters, exhibits, shows, concerts — were being cancelled due to the COIVD-19 pandemic, he had a bit of a panic.

“I was like shit,” he says. “We had been working on our next concert, our singers had been working so hard, we had already spent money, it was heartbreaking.”

OGC — who is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year — had scheduled a concert at the Wayne Densch Performing Arts Center in Sanford on March 29. “Send in the Crowns” was going to be a tribute to legendary LGBTQ pop icons like Elton John, Madonna and Queen. As news of the shutdown of nonessential businesses started in mid-March, OGC’s spring concert was first postponed and then cancelled.

As Rode and OGC looked forward to their next concert, a Pride-focused

concert called “Rainbow Vision” scheduled for May 16-17, quarantining and social distancing looked like it might continue through the summer.

“So as everything is continuing to get cancelled, we just took a step back and thought okay what can we do,” Rode says. “So I said let’s postpone the concert ‘til July and we’re just going to wait and see what’s going on.”

Interactions for OGC stopped as the community, and the country, started to shelter themselves. Then Rode saw that The Connecticut Gay Men’s Chorus started online rehearsals.

“When I saw that, I knew we had to do something,” he says. “Then I was really inspired by something Jennifer Foster [Executive Director of the One

watermark Your LGBTQ life.

Orlando Alliance] said in one of our Alliance meetings: ‘We have to be cognizant of our members and their well being.’”

Rode knew that no matter how they did it, he had to bring the chorus together in some capacity.

“For 120 people this is their thing,” he says. “We have people that come in from Lake County, Polk County, Brevard County and for some of them this is the one gay thing they can do, so we need to keep them engaged.”

OGC started Wednesday night rehearsals on Zoom. They also held virtual workshops bringing in guest speakers from other musical organizations, holding classes like yoga for performers and more. When Come Out With Pride (COWP) started up its virtual “Stay In With Pride” shows, OGC supplied them with singers from the chorus.

“So I was talking with [COWP board president] Jeff Prystajko after some of our singers appeared on the show and he said ‘We would like to do more with you all, what do you think?’ I was like, ‘Well funny enough we really want to do an online concert.’”

Rode was inspired with what he saw COWP doing for “Stay In With Pride” and wanted to do something similar for OGC. “Rainbow Vision 2020,” a virtual OGC concert was born.

“This ‘Rainbow Vision’ is going to be a very different take than what the original concert was to be,” Rode says. “We’ve hired a team of video editors and I said from the beginning whatever we do it is not going to be 15 virtual ‘Brady Bunch’ squares. No one’s going to tune into that.”

The event will be a combination of live and recorded moments. Rode says the chorus has looked at each song and explored where they can put a different, more interesting take on them.

“We’ve got some ensembles, some full chorus ensembles, we converted some things into solos for people to do live, but they will all still be Pride power anthems,” Rode says. “A full OGC concert is usually around 16 songs, but I don’t think in this format that will work, so we are

June 11 - June 24 , 2020 // Issue 27.12 wat e r m a r konline .com

looking at keeping the entire show to 90 minutes.”

The show will include some inspirational pieces, including a take on the Indigo Girls song “Closer to Fine.” “’Closer to Fine’ is going to be an ode to women who have been leaders in the LGBTQ movement,” Rode says.

“We’re going to have pictures of them, quotes by them. Sylvia Rivera, Martha P. Johnson, all these women who have been vital in the fight for equality.”

There will also be some fun, upbeat performances including a Zoom-inspired parody of “9 to 5” and a take on “YMCA,” with costumes and all.

Along with the performances, the show will include a virtual silent auction, a preview of next season, a message to encourage community members to join the chorus and personal messages from chorus members as they celebrate 30 years of OGC, reflect on where they have been and look ahead to the future.

“These segments will be interspersed throughout the concert,” Rode says. “They’ll be people’s dream of what they hope Pride will be, what our community look like in another 20 years. We’ll hear from the founding members, we have 10 who are still with OGC.” The OGC’s founding members segments are sure to be some of the show’s most poignant moments. OGC began with a small group of about 30 individuals on Valentine’s Day 1990 during another pandemic — the AIDS crisis, and for three decades now, they have been a part of the LGBTQ community through the highs — they sang on the steps of Orlando City Hall when Florida legalized marriage equality — and the lows — They performed at 110 Pulse-related events the first year after the tragedy.

“From its beginning all the way through, some people always ask why do we need a gay chorus?” Rode says.

“Zebra Coalition is here to help the youth, The Center is here to do testing, Hope & Help is here to help with HIV healthcare; all of these organizations have their events, and OGC is there at those events, singing and performing and helping sell tickets. It’s a social thing for the members but it’s also a way for them to give back to the LGBTQ community. A community we all love.”

The Orlando Gay Chorus’ “Rainbow Vision 2020” presented by Come Out With Pride will be on July 8. Visit OGC and COWP’s Facebook pages for more information on how to stream the event.

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watermark Your LGBTQ life.

June 11 - June 24 , 2020 // Issue 27.12 wat e r m a r konline .com

announcements

tampa bay out+about

Congratulations Lakeland Pulse rebranded as The Parrot May 30.

Tampa’s Te Monet and Brent Garza were engaged May 30.

Brian Longstreth announced his Punky’s Bar and Grill retirement June 5.

Sarasota Chef Christopher Covelli will host a cooking show for Whirlpool Corporation June 18.

Condolences Former Pro Shop Pub bartender Tony Hartman died May 27 and Sarasota Pride volunteer Margaret Naylor died May 29. They will be missed.

1

Reopenings

2 3

Bars may reopen at 50% capacity inside, 100% inside.

Virtual Shows/Events The Tampa Bay LGBT Chamber’s Business of Pride Awards will be held virtually June 11 and June 18.

Project Pride will hold a Car Parade in Sarasota June 13 and celebrate “Taste of Pride” beginning June 15.

Local Birthdays Tampa Bay real estate agent Ken Hodges, Tampa marketer La’Trice Sharpe, SoyBright co-owner Tim Huff, Tsunami owner Samuel Dean Ray (June 11); Tampa native bear Ryan Morris, St. Pete city councilmember Darden Rice, Metro Inclusive Health’s Lucas Aiden Wehle, Tampa Bay Diversity Chamber president Justice Gennari (June 12); PNC Diversity & Inclusion VP Ashley T. Brundage, Project Pride’s Josh Beadle, Red Mesa Cantina marketing manager Tony Pullaro, Oxford Exchange server Curtis Lynch, St. Pete Deputy Mayor Kanika Tomalin (June 13); City Side Lounge’s Raven Lunatique, former TIGLFF president Chris Constantinou, Gay Men’s Chorus of Tampa Bay president Bill Kanouff, Sarasota socialite Trent Henderson (June 14); Photographer Poly Costas, St Pete Q&A founder Jimmy Biascan (June 15); Bodywork Massage owner Roger Medrano, Banker Travis Hilborne, Sarasota filmmaker Anthony Paull, St. Pete bartender Taylor Pruett (June 16); St. Pete priest Fr. Victor Ray, former GaYbor Coalition board member John Gorman, Photographer J.J. Respondek, Tampa Bay entertainer Arabella McQueen (June 17); Sherloq Solutions’ Jonah VandenBussche, Flex Traffic School’s Tito Rhodes (June 20); Watermark senior Tampa Bay account manager Russ Martin, Chauffer Marty Theriot, St. Pete handyman Adam Miller, KW Realtor Jordan Conover (June 21); I’dRatherBeNaked’s Jason Lee, Yoga instructor Andre Sur, Tampa Bay entertainer Riquette Ramsey, Tampa Bay Sister Agatha Frisky, Polk County Schools’ Sarah Fortney, Tampa Bay realtor Tabi Deas (June 22); Tampa Bay performer Ashlee T. Bankx, Tampa Keller Realty star Bill Knecht, Derby diva Mark O’Hara, Treasure Island politico Gail Caldwell, The Mertailor Eric Ducharme (June 23); Tampa stylist Jeremy Beauchamp, Enigma bartender Jeremy Fetters, St. Pete realtor Todd Fixler, TinkerFluff photographer Paul Kinchen, Diamond in the rough Lindsey Burkholder (June 24)

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PUT A RING ON IT: Brent Garza (L) and Te Monet celebrate their engagement beachside May 30. PHOTO COURTESY TE MONET

2

HITTING THE STREETS: Project No Labels marches for black lives in Tampa May 31. PHOTO

COURTESY PROJECT NO LABELS

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READ, DRINK AND BE MARY: Hamburger Mary’s Clearwater General Manager Kori March welcomes diners with Watermark June 1. PHOTO COURTESY

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REGAL RETURN: (L-R) Quench Lounge queens Crystal Reigns, Juno Vibranz, Jay Miah and Veronica Vixen reopen with a show June 6. PHOTO

COURTESY QUENCH LOUNGE

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SEASON’S GREETINGS: Mayor Rick Kriseman (L) and Rep. Charlie Crist say hello as St. Petersburg kicks off Pride Month at City Hall June 1.

PHOTO COURTESY RICK KRISEMAN

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LARGO LOVE: City of Largo staff and supporters raise the Progress Pride flag above City Hall June 3.

PHOTO COURTESY MICHAEL SMITH

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BLACK LIVES MATTER: Equality Florida Executive Director Nadine Smith marches through St. Petersburg June 7. PHOTO

6

COURTESY NADINE SMITH

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GULFPORT PROUD: City Councilmember Paul Ray (L), staff and Rep. Jennifer Webb (R) raise the Pride flag at the LGBTQ Resource Center at the Gulfport Public Library May 28. PHOTO COURTESY LGBTQ RESOURCE CENTER

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8 7 June 11 - June 24 , 2020 // Issue 27.12 wat e r m a r konline .com

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watermark Your LGBTQ life.

June 11 - June 24 , 2020 // Issue 27.12 wat e r m a r konline .com

announcements

central florida out+about

Congratulations Ivanhoe 1915, a new bar from the team that brought you Savoy and located at 1915 N. Orange Ave., opened its doors June 5.

Cancellations The downtown and citywide Orlando curfew as well as the Orange County curfew were all lifted June 8.

2

Reopenings Stonewall Bar reopened at 50% capacity.

Southern Nights’ outside patio has reopened for select nights. Visit its Facebook page for more information.

District Dive reopened at 50% capacity June 5.

Savoy Orlando reopened at 50% capacity June 5.

The Bear Den at Parliament House Orlando reopened at 50% capacity June 5.

Hanks reopened at 50% capacity June 5.

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3

5

6

Barcodes reopened at 50% capacity June 5.

Hope & Help has reopened by appointment only.

The LGBT+ Center Orlando is reopened with limited services.

The Footlight Theatre reopens June 26 with TVLandLive’s “Gilligan’z Island.” Visit TVLandLive.com for more information and tickets.

Virtual Shows/Events Enzian Theater continues its Enzian On Demand service, allowing fans to stream arthouse films from the comfort of their homes. For more information and to see a list of films available to stream, visit Enzian.org.

Local Birthdays Flag World Orlando’s GM Rocky Ruvola (June 11); Watermark Central Florida Bureau Chief Jeremy Williams, Orlando activist Wendy Elkes (June 12); Department of Transportation employee John Stimis, Former Watermark sales rep Dalton Connell (June 13); Orlando DJ and model Marisa Maddox, Opera Orlando’s Grand Preisser, The Glass Knife’s Steve Brown (June 14); Parliament House pianist Tim Turner (June 15); Central Florida Sounds of Freedom president Joe Kennedy (June 16); CTS Agency’s Carolyn Capern, Central Florida LGBTQ history buff Ken Kazmerski (June 17); Come Out With Pride board member Juleigh Mayfield, CBP Martial Arts Academy Orlando’s Milena Ofsowitz (June 18); Watermark sales manager Danny Garcia (June 19); Flight attendant Andrew Elder, Miracle of Love’s Mpowerment program coordinator Lester Burges, Chiropractor and Joie De Vivr owner Dr. Will Llewelyn (June 20); Drag legend Ange Sheridan, Steelers fan Jimmy Guzic, Central Florida Softball League diva Eric Hans (June 21); Central Florida immigration attorney Henry Lim (June 22); UCF Musical Theatre Specialist Jim Brown (June 23); Parliament House bar manager Dana Tetreault, Arkham Assailant Amanda Hippensteel (June 24).

4

1

Say ‘I Do’: Felipe Sousa-Lazaballet and Luis Alberto Sousa-Lazaballet (center) with their wedding party after their social-distanced wedding in Orlando June 6. Photo by J.D. Casto

2

Calling for change: State Attorney candidate Monique Worrell speaks during a Black Lives Matter rally at Orlando’s City Hall June 3.

Photo by Jeremy Williams

3

Marching for equlaity: Sam Graper (L) and “Sweet. ThePodcast’s” Will.

TheThird march in a Black Lives Matter protest at Lake Eola Park in Orlando June 6.

Photo courtesy Sam Graper

4

showing her red spirit: The Center’s Roxy Santiago shows off her red shirt for Red Shirt Pride Day in Orlando June 6.

Photo courtesy Roxy Santiago

5

Yes, we’re open: Sean Wiggins grabs a selfie as The Bear Den re-opens at the Parliament House in Orlando June 8.

Photo courtesy Sean Wiggins

6

enough is enough: Lila Marie Hicks (L) and Darcel Stevens still practice COVID-19 safety as they march against police brutality June 5.

Photo courtesy Lila Marie Hicks

7

7

staying safe: IUPAT DC78 Glazier Rep. Alex Vargas (L) and State House Rep. Anna V. Eskamani assess the damage after a tornado hits in downtown Orlando June 6.

Photo courtesy Steve Hall

8

The Ribbon MakeR: Ben Johansen prepares the last batch of Rainbow Ribbons going out before the four-year mark of Pulse in Orlando June 7.

Photo courtesy Ben Johansen

8 watermark Your LGBTQ life.

June 11 - June 24 , 2020 // Issue 27.12 wat e r m a r konline .com

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