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Queer the census!
Pride flags raised
Boards repurposed
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Magical history tour
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Vol. 50 • No. 23 • June 4-10, 2020
Pride Month begins with calls for police reforms across US by Matthew S. Bajko Rick Gerharter
Shanell Williams stood for a recent photo in Koshland Park, near where she grew up in the Western Addition.
City College board prez Williams seeks 2nd term by Matthew S. Bajko
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t has been a tumultuous first term for City College board member Shanell Williams, once a student of the San Francisco community college and now president of its oversight body. Williams, a bisexual woman, was elected in 2016 amid fears the school would lose its accreditation and be forced to close its doors. Part of a four-person out majority on the college’s oversight body at the time, Williams and her fellow trustees worked with the campus community and other elected officials to keep the institution accredited. They also hired a new permanent chancellor, Mark Rocha, as they grappled with serious budget deficits and declining enrollment. Last summer, the board adopted its first balanced budget in 10 years, though it faced backlash from students and faculty because they achieved the milestone by cutting courses and staff. It was then learned that Rocha had buried deep within the budget documents significant pay increases for the college’s administrators. Amid a fierce backlash, the board revoked the pay hikes and instead approved raising administrative pay by 10%. Then in March, weeks after city voters approved an $845 million bond to repair City College’s buildings, the board placed Rocha on administrative leave. Days later Rocha resigned, and the board again launched a search for new leadership for the college. Meanwhile, the school was forced to shift its summer and fall semesters to remote learning due to the novel coronavirus outbreak and recently held a virtual graduation ceremony. And the college’s finances continue to crater, leading the board last week to end its long-term lease for its satellite campus at Fort Mason in order to save money. The decision was criticized not only by seniors who take arts classes at the Marina location but also by former Mayor Willie Brown in his San Francisco Chronicle Sunday column. Of the four incumbent trustees whose terms expire this year, two have decided not to seek reelection – Ivy Lee and Alex Randolph, one of two gay men on the board. The other, board vice See page 10 >>
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year ago Pride organizers around the country were wrestling with calls from some within the LGBT community that they order police officers not to march in uniform or ban them outright from the annual parades. Few did, and in San Francisco protesters blocked the city’s event for nearly an hour largely due to the issue. Some demonstrators held signs reading,“cops kill.” Twelve months later and Pride Month was ushered in Monday, June 1, by nationwide protests against police brutality, numerous LGBTQ organizations pronouncing solidarity with people of color, and rainbow flag ceremonies punctuated with the names of African Americans killed by police officers and transgender people murdered in recent months. Gay Congressman Mark Takano (D-Riverside), the lone LGBT member of the House from California, specifically called out the killings of three black Americans – two straight, one a transgender man – in announcing his support Tuesday for a resolution co-authored by Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) that condemns police brutality, excessive use of force, and racial profiling.
Rick Gerharter
Participants at a kneel-in outside San Francisco City Hall Monday, June 1, heard from actor Jamie Foxx and Mayor London Breed as they demanded justice for the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
“We must also acknowledge that racist police brutality has gone without impunity for far too long in America. George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, are the most re-
cent cases of black men and women who have died at the hands of police – that we know of,” stated Takano. “Too often, the results of invesSee page 8 >>
Mandelman discusses Brousseau shooting in online meeting
by John Ferrannini
G
ay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman hosted an online town hall May 27 to answer questions about the recent Mission District shooting that killed a bisexual transit advocate and injured one other person. “This is our opportunity to talk about the horrific incident that occurred,” Mandelman said in his opening remarks. “In speaking with the immediate neighbors, it seemed like there was an interest in having a meeting.” As the Bay Area Reporter previously reported, Courtney Brousseau, 22, died several days after he was shot May 1 at around 8:22 p.m. at the intersection of 14th and Guerrero streets. A second person was injured in a fuselage of 50-60 gunshots. Captain Gaetano Caltagirone of the San Francisco Police Department’s Mission Station could not explicitly say much about the investigation into the shooting. “It’s an ongoing investigation and I can’t reveal a lot about it because I don’t want to jeopardize the case,” Caltagirone said.
Scott Wazlowski
A memorial was set up at 14th and Guerrero streets honoring bi transit advocate Courtney Brousseau, who died after he was shot at the intersection May 1.
Caltagirone did say, however, that SFPD’s gang task force was trying to identify suspects and make an arrest. “It’s a sad situation, what happened,” he said. “It’s just a tragic thing. “We’re continuing to have high visibility in the area, and what I’m asking community mem-
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bers is if you see something suspicious – like a car without a license plate – call 911. You can be anonymous,” Caltagirone added. James Caldwell, representing the office of Mayor London Breed, suggested that the May 1 See page 8 >>
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