The Pride LA October 15, 2021

the pride

ISSUE NUMBER 66, VOLUME 37 | OCTOBER 15 – OCTOBER 29, 2021 10.15.2021 – 10.29.2021

WWW.THEPRIDELA.COM

LOS ANGELES

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THE LOS ANGELES LGBT NEWSPAPER

Hermosa Beach Pride Tower is Here to Stay

LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn announces rainbow paint will stay

By SaM CataNZarO

Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn has announced that the Pride Tower in Hermosa Beach is here to stay.

The 13th street Los Angeles County Lifeguard Tower, which was painted rainbow in June, was originally meant to be repainted its original blue color at the end of summer.

The rainbow paint job will now be permanent, Hahn’s office announced September 20.

“The rainbow tower is beautiful and has become a symbol of this community’s love and support for LGBTQ rights,” Hahn said.

“None of us wanted to see it painted over and

I am proud to announce that the Pride Tower is here to stay.”

The idea to paint the tower originally came

from lzzy Bacallao, a local non-binary teen.

Izzy, who uses the pronouns they and them, was responding to the burning of rainbow-

painted Pride lifeguard tower in Long Beach in March. The rainbow-painted tower was

unveiled at the Hermosa Beach Pride event June 26, 2021.

The new Pride Tower’s rainbow paint

job will be maintained by the Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors

which maintains all LA County Lifeguard Towers. The Department of Beaches and

Harbors also maintains another permanent Pride tower in Venice.

Photo: hahn.lacounty.gov

AIDS/LifeCycle Kick-Off Ride Training season to begin October 16 By tiMOtHy MiCHaeL AIDS/LifeCycle is kicking off its 2022 training season to end AIDS on October 16th.

Riders can sign up for the first in-person event of the season, AIDS/LifeCycle Kickoff Ride. Beginner and advanced riders are encouraged to register since AIDS/LifeCycle fully supports both long and short ride options, offering the perfect opportunity to safely meet or reconnect with the community.

The first ride is a 13-mile route that offers glimpses of the ocean while pedaling from Santa Monica to Marina del Rey and back. This route opens immediately after the bicycle skills clinic however the route is subject to change.

The more advanced ride is a 37-mile route which also offers glimpses of the ocean while pedaling from Santa

Monica to Marina del Rey, however, this route continues onto the Ballona Creek bike path and into South LA where the turnaround point is at the Los Angeles LGBT Center South! Center South is hosting Rest Stop 2 and offering micro tours! This route is also subject to change.

Check-in opens at 7:15 am and shortly after a stage program will kick off at 8:30 a.m. The 37-mile route and bicycle skills clinic opens at 9 a.m. with the 13-mile route opening at 9:30 a.m.

Riders who register for the Ride can meet community partners, enjoy reststop snacks, hydration, and a meal at the finish line.

According to the AIDS/LifeCycle website proof of vaccination, photo ID verification, and masks are required for participation. All participants must have received one Johnson & Johnson shot or second Pfizer/Moderna shot by October 2.

Photo: Facebook (@AIDSLifeCycle)

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Los Angeles LGBT Center Applauds L.A. County Board Of Supervisors For Funding $3.6 Million To Serve LGBTQ Foster Youth

By Staff Writer

The Los Angeles LGBT Center recently applied the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for passing a supplemental budget today to its fiscal year 2021-2022, which includes an allocation of $3.6 million to provide direct services and support to LGBTQ foster youth under its care. Led by Supervisors Sheila Kuehl and Hilda L. Solis, and with the determined leadership of Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS) Director Bobby Cagle, this commendable decision finally will begin to address the well-documented and unmet needs of these young people.

“The Los Angeles LGBT Center has seen far too many LGBTQ foster youth suffer due to the lack of support they need to thrive,” said Center CEO Lorri L. Jean. “By appropriating $3.6 million that will tailor services specific to these youth, the Supervisors and DCFS Director Cagle championed the county’s efforts to support and affirm these underserved youth in achieving independence. We thank them for making it known that ignoring the needs of LGBTQ foster youth can no longer be tolerated.”

“Queer youth are more likely than any other set of young people to be homeless, to face financial instability and to have mental health issues, but research shows that targeted support for these young people can mean better outcomes tomorrow,” said Supervisor Sheila

Kuehl. “The approval of significant funding in this year’s County budget will allow us to work so that our LGBTQ young people will have increased opportunity to thrive. My deep thanks to DCFS Bobby Cagle for pushing for this and to the Center for its longtime advocacy going all the way back to when the Third District’s own Torie Osborn was the Center’s Executive Director.”

According to research commissioned by the Center and conducted by UCLA’s Williams Institute in 2014, approximately 20 percent of foster youth—that’s 1 in 5—identify as LGBTQ and more than 90 percent of them are youth of color. Other studies have indicated that as many as 30 percent of foster youth identify as LGBTQ. “Los Angeles County has a responsibility to provide LGBTQ youth in foster care with tailored services, services that help them recover from trauma and allow them to live happy and safe lives,” said Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chair Hilda L. Solis, Supervisor to the First District. “The $3.6 million investment is critical—it is not just a statement, but action.

I stand with the young people of this County, and I thank the Los Angeles LGBT Center for its partnership.”

To identify and address the inequities which LGBTQ youth experience within the County’s foster care system, the Los Angeles LGBT Center developed the groundbreaking RISE (Recognize Intervene Support Empower) Project in 2010.

The federally-funded RISE Project is recognized

Photo: Facebook (@lalgbtcenter)

today as one of the nation’s leading LGBTQ+ programs addressing the disproportionate outcomes for youth in systems of care. With a consistent connection between direct services as well as training and coaching, the Center’s RISE Project is committed to evolving continually into a more robust program and advocating to achieve broader systems of care at local, state, and federal levels.

“It is a heartbreaking fact that significant numbers of LGBTQ+ children and youth are abused and neglected by their families simply because of who they are,” said DCFS Director Bobby Cagle. “However, we also know families

struggle to understand and cope with differences in sexual orientation, gender identity and expression. I greatly appreciate the support of the Board of Supervisors for this initial funding to build a system of education, prevention, early intervention, supports, and development of specific placements for our LGBTQ+ children, youth and families. I believe this is a solid foundation on which to build a more proactive and holistic system of care for this underserved population.”

To learn more on how to support LGBTQ+ foster youth, visit lalgbtcenter.org/rise.

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First-of-its-kind Trans Center to Open in WeHo

By Staff Writer

The Connie Norman Trans Empowerment Center—believed to be the first facility of its kind nationwide serving Trans and NonBinary individuals and communities of, by and for Trans and nonbinary individuals— opened in West Hollywood (1001 N. Martel Ave., 90046) last month, with a formal ribbon-cutting ceremony, reception and tours of the facility.

The facility is named and being dedicated in honor of Connie Norman, known as the ‘AIDS Diva,’ a fearless Transgender and AIDS activist who died of the disease in 1996. The Connie Norman Trans Empowerment Center will serve as a home for several Trans-led organizations including FLUX and the Unique Woman’s Coalition (UWC). The center will focus on building capacity, advocacy and overall health and wellness of the Transgender and Non-Binary communities. Built and originally operated

by AHF in the 1990s as Linn House, a hospice for people dying from AIDS, this 20,000 square-foot building is now repurposed to function as a sort of ‘WeWork’ space for Trans-led organizations to have a place to do their work, grow and be affirmed.

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), FLUX, an AHF affinity group dedicated to creating safe spaces for Trans and gender nonconforming individuals through advocacy and outreach, and Unique Woman’s Coalition

(UWC), a collective voice centering on the narratives and needs of Black Trans culture and a group committed to fostering the next generation of black Trans leadership, are teaming together in this innovative center with the intention of creating a long term home for Trans-led organizations and community.

“Named after a Diva like Connie Norman, supported by an institution like AHF and lead by two respected Trans orgs like the UWC and FLUX—this is historic! An entire building where trans people are at the helm, making decisions and innovating,” said Queen Victoria Ortega, Founder and International President of FLUX. “We are committed to making sure our community has a voice. Now, we have this incredible building as a home for those voices. I believe that great things are going to happen here, really great things!”

“Unique Woman’s Coalition is excited to embark on this incredible new partnership.

This facility brings us one step closer to achieving equity for Trans and Non-Binary communities here in Southern California and my hope is that it may also serve as a model for such Trans service facilities across the country,” said Chela Demuir, Pioneer, Founder and Executive Director of Unique Woman’s Coalition and International Vice President of FLUX. Connie Norman, the self-appointed “AIDS Diva,” was a fearless ‘transsexual’

AIDS activist so far ahead of her time that her lifetime experience and tireless activism preceded widespread use of the term Transgender. A member of Act Up Los Angeles and passionate advocate for the creation of AHF’s first AIDS care facility, the Chris Brownlie Hospice, where she passed away from AIDS after admitting herself, she

told the LA Weekly at the time in 1996, in a final act of “self-loving to myself.”

Director Dante Allencastre was so captivated by Norman’s trailblazing story that he researched, produced and directed “AIDS Diva: The Legend of Connie Norman,” a

Trans Center, see page 7

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Xtra’s off the Chart: An Intimate Perspective on the Loves and Losses of LA’S Most Dramatic Lesbians and Bisexuals

By Staff Writer With a lack of queer women-focused series on television, OFF THE CHART, Xtra’s recap and discussion podcast of The L Word: Generation Q is bringing that energy back to your airwaves.

Get a unique, intimate perspective on the loves and losses of L.A.’s most dramatic lesbians and bisexuals, direct from one of the world’s oldest independent queer media organizations. Erica Lenti (Xtra senior editor) and Chelle Turingan (managing producer, video) come to the podcast with a passion for untangling the chart - breaking down every relationship and recap with the precision only diehard L Word fans can muster.

And the podcast, nominated for a Digital Publishing Award in 2020, is now videofirst! Our hosts Erica and Chelle bring their unfiltered takes, from their home studios, direct to your screens.

Listen in as these two friends gossip about Shane’s latest hook-ups and gush about the show’s newest ships. From our co-host, Erica Lenti: “The L Word is known best for pioneering a kind of

television series never before seen in the early aughts—most queer women I know have memories of seeing the loving, laughing, kissing, cheating and breathing between women who look and dress and talk like they do for the first time on screen. The L Word: Generation Q brings that visibility to a new audience, merging millennial queer sensibilities with our favourite L.A. lesbians of yore.”

It’s like talking about the show with your best queer friends - right in their living rooms. But there’s no Zoom in sight here. With high-quality video production and peak audio quality, the podcast is exemplary of Xtra’s work today - a LGBTQ2S+ media trailblazer that’s mastering multimedia. Our director of editorial, Rachel Giese says, “Like other outlets, the pandemic has forced us to be creative in audio and video production— setting up home studios and shooting remotely—but, for us, that’s been a virtue.

Xtra has always had a scrappy, can-do, DIY ethos, which reflects the ingenuity and resourcefulness of our communities.”

We’re online in text format, on video and in audio, no matter what kind of

Photo: sho.com

content you’re looking for. For listening to Off The Chart on the go, the podcast is also available in audio format from your favourite podcast app.

“We’re inspired by the new ways we’ve been able to reach and connect with our audiences over the past year and a half,” says Giese, “whether that’s our live Kiki with Kevin online events to chat about all things Drag Race or our new newsletter offerings, like the pop up Rainbow Votes

2021 covering the Canadian federal election, or our feature documentary, Small Town Pride.”

The L Word: Generation Q is a sequel series to the uber-popular Showtime drama that ran from 2004 to 2009. Showcasing characters both original and new, the update to the historic show has been a hit with queer audiences, and is reviving nostalgia in everyone who loved it first.

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WeHo Recognizes October as Domestic Violence and Intimate Partner Violence Awareness Month By tiMOtHy MiCHaeL The City of West Hollywood has announced that it would recognize October as Domestic Violence and Intimate Partner Violence Awareness Month.

In recognition of Domestic Violence and Intimate Partner Violence Awareness Month during October, the City of West Hollywood will, throughout the month, focus awareness efforts on highlighting the impact of domestic violence/ intimate partner violence in the LGBTQ community and through the lens of Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Expression (SOGIE) and will share information and resources with the community about intimate partner violence.

From Sunday, October 3, 2021 through Sunday, October 10, 2021, the globe lanterns above Santa Monica Boulevard between N. Robertson Boulevard and Hancock Avenue in the City of West Hollywood will glow in purple in recognition of Domestic Violence and Intimate Partner Violence Awareness

Month.

According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, in the United States, more than 10 million adults experience domestic violence annually.

On average, nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States. On a typical day, domestic violence hotlines receive more than 20,000 calls, an average of close to 15 calls every minute.

Domestic violence is prevalent in every community and affects all people regardless of age, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, gender, race, religion, or nationality. Domestic violence, also referred to as intimate partner violence, which is abuse or aggression that occurs in a romantic relationship. It occurs in same- and opposite-sex relationships, and among those who are married, in long-term, and short-term relationships.

Domestic violence can take many forms; in addition to physical abuse, it can include sexual abuse, verbal abuse, emotional abuse, intimidation, controlling behaviors, isolating behaviors, and economic abuse. The

Since 2007

devastating consequences of domestic violence can cross generations and last a lifetime. About 1 in 4 women and 1 in 10 men have experienced sexual violence, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner during their lifetime.

According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, domestic violence can occur in LGBTQ relationships at rates equal to or even greater to that of cisgender/heterosexual relationships. Statistics indicate that: • 44 percent of lesbians, 61 percent of bisexual women and 35 percent of heterosexual women experience rape, physical violence, or stalking by an

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intimate partner in their lifetimes; • 26 percent of gay men, 37 percent of bisexual men and 29 percent of heterosexual men experience rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetimes; and • The 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey found that more than half (54 percent) of transgender and non-binary respondents experienced intimate partner violence in their lifetimes.

The following resources are listed on the City’s website at www.weho.org/ lgbtq.

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Los Angeles Community College District Successfully Sponsors Passage of $10 Million State Budget Allocation for Trailblazing LGBTQ+ Pilot Programs

By Staff Writer The Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) successfully advocated for passage of the first-ever California legislative budget earmark that provides $10 million in funds for LGBTQ+ student support services at community college campuses across the state.

“With California passing the largest and most comprehensive higher education budget in the history of the state—with a distinct focus on making attending community college as affordable and accessible as possible—this initiative meets the needs of LGBTQ+ students and fits with the state’s forward looking and inspiring approach to education equity,” said LACCD Second Vice President and budget sponsor Trustee David Vela.

This one-time request of $10 million in funding will build long-term supports for LGBTQ+ students, who have been shown to be the least connected to the larger campus community. The funding will be distributed in competitive grants of up to $500,000 for applying colleges, with allocations determined by the proportional share of students they serve, as well as equity metrics in order to ensure that small rural colleges and large urban community colleges have an equal opportunities to access this transformative funding for LGBTQ+ students.

“LGBTQ+ students are integral to our campuses, and we can and must do more to ensure community colleges are always safe and inclusive,” said LACCD Board President Steve Veres. “This initiative provides the necessary funding to think long-term and build these support systems, which benefits all students.”

As part of the initiative, participating colleges will be able to use their share of the funds for a wide range of authorized purposes that promote mental health, safety and an inclusive academic environment for LGBTQ+ students, including: • LGBTQ+ Centers • D evelopment of safe zones and providing safe zone training • LGBTQ+-focused mental health services • Housing and basic need services • LGBTQ+ learning communities • Support for gay-straight alliance clubs • LGBTQ+ curriculum development

Trans Center, from page 4

new documentary that recently screened at the Directors Guild as part of OUTFEST. Throughout the film, Norman’s activism, passions and larger-than-life personality— as well as her humanity—come through in remarkable archival footage and compelling

Photo: teachlarc.org

West Los Angeels College.

• Lavender graduation celebrations • Workshops, professional development or speaker series • Other initiatives focused on LGBTQ+ community with proven track records of success “The California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus recognized early in the pandemic that a full recovery will require a greater commitment to equity. With the help of a historic budget surplus, the LGBTQ Caucus is proud to see its promises fulfilled with landmark investments in our community, specifically for higher education. The $10 million dollar investment in our LGBTQ+ community college students, who have repeatedly called for more resources, will help create programs and build impactful, sustainable community spaces.

These funds are crucial to reminding all California residents that our LGBTQ+ students are valued, they belong, and they deserve our unconditional support,” said Assemblymember Evan Low, Chair of the State Legislative LGBTQ Caucus and Senator Susan Talamantes Eggman, Vice Chair of the Caucus.

“We thank and applaud the California Legislative LGBTQ Caucus for their support of this comprehensive and landmark budget allocation, enabling community colleges across the state to develop innovative model LGBTQ+ programs and services that will serve as proof of concept for possible ongoing funding,” said Trustee Vela.

The Los Angeles Community College District is the nation’s largest and has long been a weathervane for community college districts across the country. This $10 million in dedicated LGBTQ+ funding sets a strong example and showcases the impact of dedicated resources to meet the needs of students who have traditionally been overlooked.

“Equity and opportunity are our north stars of this district, which is why this initiative is so important,” said LACCD Chancellor Francisco C. Rodriguez, Ph.D. “I have seen firsthand how support centers designed for the individual needs of students build welcoming and inclusive environments that lead to improved outcomes in student retention, support and graduation.”

interviews with many who knew and loved her. In one clip, Norman remarks: “I often tell people that I am an ex-drag queen, exhooker, ex-IV drug user, ex-high-risk youth, and current postoperative transsexual woman who is HIV positive” and simply “a human being seeking my humanity.”

“When Connie Norman was living her final days at AHF’s Chris Brownlie Hospice,

she bequeathed her childhood teddy bear to me, asking that I please help look after her Trans sisters and brothers she was leaving behind. I can think of no better way to honor that request than with this Connie Norman Trans Empowerment Center that we dedicate today,” said Michael Weinstein, president of AHF and a good friend of Norman’s.

Norman’s teddy bear will also now

In

2019,

established Committee

the

on

Chancellor

Rodriguez

Chancellor’s Advisory LGBTQIA+

Affairs,

which meets regularly and advises the

Chancellor and the Board of Trustees on

educational programs and services that support LACCD’s LGBTQIA+ students,

staff and faculty. In October 2020, the

LACCD Board of Trustees passed a Board Resolution in support of an LGBTQIA+

Bill of Rights that incorporates many of the programs and services that will be funded with this landmark state budget allocation.

The LACCD colleges include: Los

Angeles City College; East Los Angeles College; Los Angeles Harbor College; Los

Angeles Mission College; Los Angeles

Pierce College; Los Angeles Southwest College;

Los Angeles Trade-Technical

College; Los Angeles Valley College and West Los Angeles College.

take up residence at the new facility in a commemorative plexiglass display case.

The facility is also home to a food bank opening onsite. A ‘Clothing Closet’ to assist Trans and other individuals will also open onsite in the future and an AHF Healthcare Center serving the needs of Trans and nonbinary patients is set to open in 2022.

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