<< Pride 2017
12 • BAY AREA REPORTER • June 1-7, 2017
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SF library celebrates Pride by Michael Nugent
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he San Francisco Public Library kicks off Pride Month in a big way with book and author talks, rainbow crafts, exhibits, and its beloved Drag Queen Story Hour. “There is no better place to celebrate Pride than at the public library,” said Tom Fortin, a gay man who is chief of the main library. “The public library has often been the singular place where many in the queer community first found acceptance, whether through literature or programming. The Hormel center exemplifies the best public libraries have to offer and we celebrate being the queerest library ever.” The library’s James C. Hormel LGBTQIA Center starts Pride month Thursday (June 1) with RADAR Superstars, the annual birthday bash for superstar and emerging writers. Featured on the stage of the main library’s Koret Auditorium will be Ana María Montenegro, Clement Goldberg, and MariNaomi, hosted by Juliana Delgado Lopera. RADAR Productions will also be bringing Drag Queen Story Hour to three different libraries on Saturdays in June. Take the whole family to these crowd-pleasing events at the main library, and the Bernal Heights and Eureka Valley/Harvey Milk Memorial branches, featuring Panda Dulce, Honey Mahogany, and Yves St. Croissant. “We love the different twist on story time that Drag Queen Story Hour provides,” explained Jason Hill, a gay man and the children’s librarian who booked this year’s program with RADAR Productions. “This is the first year that we’re having the Drag Queen Story Hour at the main library and at the Bernal
Courtesy SFPL
Honey Mahogany is one of several drag queens who will take part in the San Francisco Public Library’s Pride Month programming.
Heights branch – places where the kids and families don’t usually see this type of program. “We want to highlight cultural diversity – there’s always a book about being one-of-a-kind and the kids get to dress up and celebrate their own uniqueness,” he added. “And of course, we’re returning to the Eureka Valley/Harvey Milk Memorial branch as well.” A Pride Month highlight will be a reading with lesbian author Dorothy Allison June 3 at the main library. Allison is the author of the iconic book, “Bastard out of Carolina.” Allison will talk about her work, share some of her recent projects, and be available for a book signing. The exhibit, “Homopolis: Photos from Gay San Francisco in 1981,” fills the Hormel center through August 24 with photographer Robert van der Hilst’s images that poignantly capture the heady days just prior to the AIDS epidemic. The library’s Chinatown/Him
Mark Lai Branch celebrates Pride this year with a book discussion and film screening on June 3 featuring the Oscar Wilde classic, “The Importance of Being Earnest.” On June 17, the Castro branch library will feature author and retired librarian Lynne Barnes reading from her poetic memoir, “Falling into Flowers.” In addition, the library has also gone full rainbow with rainbow storytimes, rainbow candy necklaces, and rainbow bridge building. t For a full list of Pride programs, events, and book selections, visit the library’s Pride page at https://sfpl.org/index. php?pg=2000991201. Pride programs are supported by Friends of the San Francisco Public Library. All events are free and open to the public.
Researcher seeks ‘Tales’ fans compiled by Cynthia Laird
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f you read the groundbreaking “Tales of the City” when it appeared in the newspaper, a gay researcher wants to hear your story. Author Ramzi Fawaz, Ph.D., who’s an assistant professor of English and LGBTQ studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, is in San Francisco this summer and looking for people who read Armistead Maupin’s serialized gay fiction “Tales of the City” in its original format that ran in the San Francisco Chronicle between 1976-1983. According to a flier, Fawaz, who is in San Francisco from June 1 until August 31, is available to meet with eligible study participants. Interviews, which can be done in person, or via phone or video chat, will be recorded. People who read the Chronicle series can also send him an email or letter describing their reading experiences. Maupin’s stories revolved around a cast of eccentric characters – gay and straight – led by marijuana-growing landlady Anna Madrigal, who lived at 28 Barbary Lane. An entry in Wikipedia noted that because the stories were published so soon after Maupin wrote them, they included references to events at the time. Fawaz is also the author of “The New Mutants: Superheroes and the Radical Imagination of American Cities.” Fawaz can be contacted at fawaz@ wisc.edu. Letters can be sent to him at 600 North Park Street, Madison, Wisconsin, 53706. For more information about Fawaz, visit www.ramzifawaz.com .
Paul Jermann
Researcher Ramzi Fawaz
‘Patient No More’ exhibit at SF library
An interactive, multimedia exhibit about the disability rights movement will be at the San Francisco Public Library to commemorate the 40th anniversary of an iconic Bay Area event that continues to transform lives of disabled and nondisabled people today. “Patient No More: People with Disabilities Securing Civil Rights,” will be in the Skylight Gallery at the main library, 100 Larkin Street, from June 10 through September 3. The exhibit, organized by San Francisco State University’s Paul K. Longmore Institute on Disability, tells the story of how more than 100 people with disabilities occupied 50 UN Plaza in San Francisco for nearly a month in April 1977 to demand that a precursor to
the Americans with Disabilities Act, known as Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, be signed. Supported by groups such as the Black Panthers, Delancey Street, Glide Memorial Church, and politicians, including Philip Burton, George Miller, and Mayor George Moscone, the protesters emerged victorious after a 26-day demonstration. The exhibit was previously shown at the Ed Roberts Campus in Berkeley two years ago, and has been on tour since then. “Patient No More” features video interviews with some of the protesters and has built-in accessibility features so that those with various cognitive disabilities, vision, hearing, and mobility impairments can visit. Some of the changes the protesters fought for are now taken for granted. “Like curb cuts for wheelchair users that now help parents with strollers, bike riders, and skateboarders, these access features have unintended benefits for everyone,” said Catherine Kudlick, professor of history and director of the Longmore Institute. The exhibit will be open during the library’s regular hours, and will have several guided tours and accompanying programs. To learn more and explore the virtual exhibit, visit www.patientnomore.org .
San Mateo County Youth Commission seeks members
The San Mateo County Youth Commission is looking for passionate young people between the ages of 13-20 to join a strong, energetic group of youth dedicated to making a difference in the community. See page 18 >>