January 6, 2017 | Volume XIV, Issue 18
The Best Offense is...
SELF DEFENSE By Aaron Cahall Chase Brexton Health Care The LGBT Health Resource Center of Chase Brexton Health Care will host “Queer Protection: An LGBTQ Self Defense Class for our Community” on Saturday, January 14th from 9 to 11:30 a.m. at its Mt. Vernon Center (1111 North Charles Street, Baltimore).The three-hour class will include instruction on awareness prevention and self-realization of your own physical power. “We’ve seen a dramatic spike in hate crimes against LGBT people across the country recentAcclaimed playwright Tarell McCraney
ly, and so many of us are on edge because of it,” said Nate Sweeney, executive director of the LGBT Health Resource Center. “Now, more than ever, it’s important to provide an affirming space for our community to learn practical skills to protect themselves in the face of violence.” A c cording to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, over a fifth of the 5,818 single-bias hate crimes reported in 2015 were because of the Actually, target’s sexual way more orientation or nuanced!
gender identity. Angie M. Tarighi, CEO and founder of the Women’s Self Defense Institute, will serve as the guest instructor for the class. Tarighi has been teaching self-defense programs for over 20 years, and is a tireless advocate of self-reliance and responsibility, encouraging women to actively protect life through awareness and education. “It was very important for us to find an LGBTQ-identified instructor for an LGBTQ classroom,” said Sweeney, “We are thrilled to have Angie come and teach the community in Baltimore about safety and self-defense. No one class can completely insulate our community from violence, but we want to make as many tools for protection available as possible.” —continued on page 4
Angie M. Tarighi...
Three-hour class coming up January 14th at Chase Brexton – register now!
... founder of the Women’s Self Defense Institute, leading workshop January 14th
Moonlight Becomes Him
By Gregg Shapiro It’s no exaggeration to say that you haven’t seen anything like Moonlight). Written and directed by Miami-native Barry Jenkins, Moonlight is based on a short play by gay playwright and Miami-native Tarell McCraney. Presented in three separate chapters, Moonlight tells the heartrending story of Chiron, as a child, a teen, and an adult, growing up in Miami’s Liberty City neighborhood. The three actors – Alex Hibbert, Ashton Sanders, and Trevante Rhodes – are exceptional, and the supporting cast, including Mahershala Ali (drug kingpin Juan), Janelle Monae (Juan’s girlfriend
An interview with Tarell McCraney
Teresa), Naomie Harris (Chiron’s mother Paula), and André Holland (the adult Kevin, the great love of Chiron’s life), are all outstanding. That sound you hear? That’s the well-deserved Oscar buzz about Moonlight. I spoke with Tarell McCraney about the movie at the Standard in Miami Beach in October 2016. Gregg Shapiro: I want to begin by congratulating you on the reception that Moonlight has received. What does the favorable response to the movie mean to you? TM: Thank you, first of all. I don’t think
any of us expected the response we’re getting, to be honest. GS: Really? TM: Well, a lot of this has been a passion project. I wrote the original script as something that was more of a personal exploration. I think (director) Barry (Jenkins) got involved because he could personally see himself there and wanted to tell a story about Liberty City. We kind of didn’t think past just doing that. I think what’s been great is that people are responding to that personal passion. All —continued on page 17