New Castro walking tour
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Serving the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender communities since 1971
Vol. 45 • No. 21 • May 21-27, 2015
CA LGBT history project launches
Rick Gerharter
Project Open Hand Co-CEOs Mark Ryle, left, and Simon Pitchford stand in front of the donor wall at their offices.
by Matthew S. Bajko
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POH leaders prep for study data by Seth Hemmelgarn
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Federally Insured by NCUA.
he new heads of a San Franciscobased nonprofit that provides meals to people living with AIDS and other diseases are preparing for the release of data linking nutrition’s impact on health as the agency marks its 30th year. Simon Pitchford and Mark Ryle took over as co-chief executive officers at Project Open Hand in April after former executive director Kevin Winge stepped down to help care for sick family members. Pitchford and Simon, who are both gay, have been with the agency for years. Pitchford indicated the agency doesn’t have any major changes on the horizon. Rather, he said, it will be “continuing the momentum” it’s built. Part of that involves a study called Food=Medicine, which was conducted in partnership with the UCSF School of Medicine in an effort to show good nutrition’s ability to improve health and well-being for people living with critical illness and lead to reduced medical costs. The data are currently being analyzed to help understand health outcomes based on the food provisions. The results are expected this summer. The pilot study will help determine “what the right level of nutrition is to provide the maximum health benefit to our client base,” Pitchford said. People who are living with HIV might have different needs than those living with diabetes, for example, he said. The agency is “trying to be more tailored to the individual’s needs,” Ryle said. POH spokeswoman Maria Stokes said in an email, “We aren’t yet ready to share any findings from the pilot study,” but she pointed to comments Dr. Sheri Weiser, who’s leading the evaluation, made in a news release announcing the study in July 2014. Weiser is an associate professor of medicine at UCSF’s Division of HIV/AIDS at San Francisco General Hospital. “We know that inadequate access to nutritious food can lead to increased hospitalizaSee page 8 >>
Jane Philomen Cleland
Protest outside Catholic picnic
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small number of protesters showed up outside Sue Bierman Park Saturday, May 16 where San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone was holding a free family picnic that was designed to show support for the controversial Catholic leader. Erin Zanthe, left, joined Billy
Bradford, Breana Galvan, and Jeanz Galvan. The group was critical of Cordileone, who in recent months has proposed morality clauses for the teacher handbooks for Catholic high schools in the diocese and wants to reclassify school faculty as “ministry” so that they are exempt from anti-discrimination laws.
project has been launched in California to focus on the state’s LGBT history as work advances on a National Historic Landmark LGBTQ Theme Study and proposed framework for the National Park Service. Called California Pride: Mapping LGBTQ Histories, the online, crowdsourced archive will feature, according to organizers, the “memories, stories, and images related to sites throughout the Golden State associated with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer experience.” A series of statewide meetings, called pinning parties, is being held to collect information on sites across the state that are of special significance to the LGBT community. The launch event will take place in San Francisco Wednesday, June 10 and will focus on the Bay Area’s lesbian history. Attendees will learn how to “pin” their favorite See page 9 >>
Police bias the focus at LGBT club meeting by Yael Chanoff
out of this one and that it’s not going to go away.” n May 11, San Francisco Panelist Susan B. Christian, a police Sergeant Yulanda lesbian who is an assistant disWilliams was pulled over. trict attorney and chair of the Williams lives on the north San Francisco Human Rights slope of Potrero Hill. It’s the maCommission, also commented jority white half of a sharply dividon law enforcement’s issues as an ed neighborhood, and Williams is institution. black. That seemed to be the only “It’s difficult sometimes to be a reason she was pulled over while part of a system that has so many driving her Mercedes near her problems,” she said. “Systemic Alana Perino home. Williams said she waited problems, hidden problems.” for the cop to get out of his car and San Francisco Police Sergeant Yulanda Williams, center, spoke Christian is currently working begin to approach her before tak- about race and law enforcement at a recent meeting of the Alice B. against these systemic problems ing out her badge and holding it Toklas LGBT Democratic Club as Assistant District Attorney Susan with a program addressing individup to the window. She says the of- B. Christian, chair of the San Francisco Human Rights Commission, ual bias. She led the effort to begin ficer didn’t give any reason for the and Police Commissioner Julius Turman look on. an implicit bias training program stop. He just said, “Sorry, Sarge. I for city employees. The first traindidn’t know that was your car.” were revealed in March. The texts made several ing took place April 1, and about “Young man, I don’t think you know all the references to Ku Klux Klan-style violence and 50 department heads attended, including police cars I do have,” was her reply. disparaged women and LGBT people. Williams Chief Greg Suhr. Another session, specifically for Even if Williams had been spared that act of was insulted by name in the texts. high-ranking police, was held May 5. racial profiling that day, she still would have had “The things that are going on in the police Christian said the training addresses not just plenty to say when she spoke later that night at a department right now are systemic. It’s a cul- racial bias, but a long list of different types of panel on race and law enforcement at a meeting ture that has tolerated racism, sexism, and every biases, including homophobia and transphobia. of the Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club. other -ism for the last 150 to 200 years,” Wil“It’s about bias. It’s not limited to race, genAs president of the local organization Officers liams said at the panel. der, sexual orientation,” Christian said. for Justice-Peace Officers Association, a group But after scandals like “Textgate” and the Two more training dates are scheduled as representing African American officers, Wilpower of the Black Lives Matter movement, part of the pilot, which will be over in July. liams has focused on diversifying the police she said, “there’s a realization that we have to be After that, Christian said, “My goal is for it department for decades. And she herself was held far more accountable.” to be mandatory training for all city employees attacked as part of a series of racist text mes“It’s a conglomeration of everything,” Williams in an ongoing way,” – but she expects a fight, sages sent by San Francisco police officers that said. SFPD “realized that they can’t talk their way See page 10 >>
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