San Francisco Bay Times - September 6, 2018

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LGBTQ News & Calendar for the Bay Area

CELEBRATING FOUR DECADES (1978–2018) September 6–19, 2018 | sfbaytimes.com

Soirée on the Bay, September 17 Benefiting Richmond/Ermet Aid Foundation SEE THE CENTERFOLD POSTER PAGES 16–17

FALL ARTS PREVIEW

PAGES 22–25

“Songs of the Free” in Oakland to Honor

CREDIT: GERARD ROWAN (MILLMAINE)

Nelson Mandela Centenary

In the News ‘Rise for Climate Jobs + Justice’ Expected to Be Largest Ever West Coast Climate March Thousands of rallies across the world are being planned for September 8 to demand that local leaders commit to building a fossil fuel-free world that puts people and justice before prof its. The San Francisco rally, “Rise for Climate Jobs + Justice,” is expected to be the largest ever climate march on the West Coast.

Participants will include numerous members of our LGBTQ community, including those who participated in the comparable worldwide Women’s March on January 21 of last year.

The organizers of the upcoming rallies support the goals of the Paris A g reement ( ht t ps://u n fccc.i nt/ process-and-meetings/the-parisagreement/the-paris-agreement) and further call for “a fast, fair and just transition to 100% renewable energy and an immediate end to new fossil fuel projects.”

For more information about the San Francisco march: https://ca.riseforclimate.org/ California Passes First State Legislation Recognizing Bodily Autonomy of Intersex Individuals

During the rally, Waechter and other union members announced that a strike authorization vote will take place on September 13. The action would be against Marriott International, Inc., the global lodging company with numerous hotels, including the Westin St. Francis and others in San Francisco. https://www.wcvb.com/article/75hotel-workers-arrested-at-labor-dayprotest-in-california/22943101 and multiple other reports.

LGBT Groups Decry SCOTUS Nominee Brett Kavanaugh As Hearings Begin The National Center for Lesbian Rights, the Transgender Law Center and other San Francisco-based LGBT groups have expressed their opposition of U.S. Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh, whose confirmation hearings began on September 4. They join LGBT groups nationwide in voicing opposition to Kavanaugh, selected by President Trump to replace now-retired Justice Anthony Kennedy.

The California Legislature on August 27 passed Senate Concurrent Resolution 110 (SCR 110), authored by Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and Assemblymember Tony Thurmond (D- Richmond), calling on those in the medical community to recognize the human rights of individuals born with variations in their sex characteristics, sometimes referred to as intersex traits. Specifically, the medical community is to stop performing sex assignment surgeries on intersex infants at birth. Instead, the surgery can be delayed until the intersex individual may decide for themselves whether to pursue surgery at all, at an age when informed consent is possible. The resolution is the first-ever successful piece of state legislation to explicitly recognize the bodily autonomy of intersex individuals, and to celebrate the bodily autonomy of intersex youth. SCR 110 passed the Senate with 25 votes in support.

Leaders from the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), NA R AL , National Women’s Law Center, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and others joined a press call Tuesday morning ahead of the hearings. HRC National Press Secretary Sarah McBride said: “Make no mistake, in nominating Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court, Donald Trump has picked someone he fully expects to do his bidding in gutting protections for those with pre-existing conditions and in ripping health care away from millions, from women to LGBTQ people to those living with HIV. The American people cannot afford for senators to pretend that Judge Kavanaugh’s nomination is anything short of a direct threat on our access to health care, on our rights and on our progress.”

Senator Wiener said, “Physicians should not immediately seek to ‘correct’ how people are born through irreversible surgeries, unless they are medically necessary. These surgeries can have significant negative impacts on people’s lives, particularly if the gender chosen by the physician and parents is different from the child’s ultimate gender identity. I am proud that the California Legislature understands that intersex people deserve the right to identify with the gender of their choosing, and not have that decision be made for them before they are able to consent.”

Sa n Fr a nc i sco M ayor L ondon Breed on Aug ust 24 announced her endorsements for the Board of Supervisors races on the November 6 ballot. They are as follows: District 2, Supervisor Catherine Stefani; District 4, Jessica Ho; District 6, dual endorsement of Christine Johnson and Sonja Trauss; District 8, Supervisor Rafael Mandelman; and District 10, dual endorsement of Shamann Walton and Theo Ellington. The Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club also listed its complete slate of endorsements for the November elect ion ( ht t p://w w w.m i l kclub. org/) as did the A lice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club (http:// www.alicebtoklas.org/2018/04/ november18endorsements/).

Read the full text of SCR 110: http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/ faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_ id=201720180SCR110 LGBTQ Activist Cleve Jones and District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman Arrested on Labor Day While Supporting Hotel Workers When We Rise author/activist Cleve Jones and San Francisco Supervisor Rafael Mandelman were among those arrested on September 3 during a rally at the Westin St. Francis hotel. Seventy-five hotel workers were arrested as well, all for blocking the street via a sit-in. The Labor Day action was taken on behalf of hotel workers desiring job protection and better pay. Unite Here Local 2 spokesman Ted Waechter explained that 8,000 workers in more than 50 hotels in San Francisco and 6 other North American cities are working without a contract. He added that many of the workers must hold two jobs, having only received a salary increase of 7 percent in a decade.

Mayor Breed, LGBT Democratic Clubs Announce Endorsements for November Ballot

Popular Castro Farmers’ Market Vendor Killed in Highway Collision Ly Thao Nyia Yi, head of his family’s Nyia Yi Farms that has been a vendor at the Castro Market for numerous seasons, was killed in a highway collision on August 25. Having left the College of San Mateo Farmers’ Market, he was driving his box truck on the eastbound 92 San Mateo Bridge when the collision occurred. He was on his way to pick up his wife, who was selling vegetables at the Union City Farmers’ Market. From there, they were supposed to come home, but he never made it.

His son King Ly wrote: “His pure heart touched everyone he met. His smiles and laughter will be missed forever. He left us too soon and without saying goodbye. He will not only be (continued on page 9) S AN F R ANC IS C O BAY T IM ES

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At Stake in the Kavanaugh Nomination: Exclusion and Separation and they’ll do it quickly and violently.”

6/26 and Beyond Stuart Gaffney & John Lewis

These types of tactics, used in many different forms for decades to oppose LGBTIQ rights along with women’s rights and other civil liberties, have recently gained prominence again in relation to LGBTIQ issues because of successes such as marriage equality. The U.S. Supreme Court will play a critical role in determining the degree to which these conservative efforts affect public policy, and thus people’s lives.

Few matters could be more important to the lives of LGBTIQ Americans than defeating the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court. Today we look at one issue: businesses attempting to deny service to LGBTIQ people in the name of religion—most often conservative Christianity.

The Supreme Court largely sidestepped the issue in this June’s Masterpiece Cakeshop decision regarding a baker’s refusal to bake a custom wedding cake for Charlie Craig and David Mullins, a samesex couple engaged to be married.

However, Justice Kennedy’s majority opinion, joined by conservatives When people choose to open busi- Roberts, Alito, and Gorsuch, innesses to make profit off of the pub- cluded significant language in support of LGBTIQ rights. lic, the law requires them to put aside personal religious or other views that Observing that “[o]ur society has would exclude members of the public come to the recognition that gay whom anti-discrimination laws pro- persons and gay couples cannot be tect. The ability to be served just like treated as social outcasts or as infeanybody else at businesses ranging rior in dignity and worth,” Kennefrom overnight accommodations to dy stated that personal “religious food establishments to myriad ser- or philosophical objections” do vice providers is crucial to the digni- not generally “allow business ownty, health and wellbeing of LGBTIQ ers and other actors in the econopeople, other groups that face dis- my and in society to deny protected crimination and our society at large. persons equal access to goods and services.” With respect to marriage Pandering to his evangelical Chris- equality, any such objections must tian political base, President Trump, be “suff iciently constrained, lest who nominated Kavanaugh, would all purveyors of goods and serviclike to have it otherwise—declaring es who object to gay marriages for on “Religious Freedom Day” that no moral and religious reasons in efbusiness “should be forced to choose fect be allowed to put up signs saybetween the tenets of faith or adher- ing ‘no goods or services will be sold ence to the law.” And last month, if they will be used for gay marriagAttorney General Jeff Sessions an- es,’ something that would impose nounced creation of the so-called a serious stigma on gay persons.”

“Religious Liberty Task Force,” in the face of what he claims is “a dan- Yet Kennedy also opined that disgerous movement, undetected by putes regarding LGBTIQ peomany” that “is now challenging and ple’s right to receive services in the face of religious opposition eroding ... religious freedom.” also “must be resolved with tolerThere’s a reason the movement is ance, without undue disrespect to “undetected”—there’s actually no sincere religious beliefs.” And alsuch movement at all. The rhetoric is though we take some encouragepart of a years-long campaign to in- ment that three conservative jusstill fear, particularly in conservative tices signed on to the majority’s Christians, as a means to raise mon- LGBTIQ supportive language, ey from them and to get them to vote concurrences from Justices Thomfor conservative candidates and mea- as, Alito, and Gorsuch suggest that sures, thereby furthering the political they might support sweeping expower of particular conservative or- ceptions to laws that protect LGganizations, leaders and officehold- BTIQ people from discrimination. ers. Indeed, Trump, in an August 27 closed door meeting, told evangelical Justice Roberts characteristicalChristian leaders that the midterm ly held his cards close to his vest elections are a “referendum on your and was the only justice other than religion” and that opponents “will Kennedy who merely signed on to overturn everything that we’ve done the majority decision without ex-

Women’s Equality Day 2018

pressing his views further. However, in his strongly worded dissent from the 2015 nationwide marriage equality decision, Roberts stated that the decision “creates serious questions about religious liberty.”

That’s why the person who replaces Kennedy on the Court could likely have a crucial fifth vote on the issue.

Cases raising issues similar to Craig and Mullin’s are percolating in lower courts or commissions around the country and could someday reach the high court. They include similar refusals to provide custom wedding cakes: a florist refusing to provide custom designed flower arrangements; and a stationery and calligraphy store, graphic design company, videography business and wedding venue all attempting to exempt themselves from state and local anti-discrimination laws.

Other cases include a Hawaii bed and breakfast’s refusal to provide a room to a lesbian couple, a transgender person’s right to have a custom designed cake to celebrate their transgender birthday, and a screen printer’s refusal to make tshirts for an LGBTQ Pride celebration—again all in violation of state or local anti-discrimination measures.

Out of curiosity, we looked at online reviews of the Hawaii bed and breakfast involved in one of the cases. One reviewer described how one of the bedrooms “looked right out on the ocean and Koko Head.”

Another reviewer described the hosts as “truly gracious, friendly and unobtrusive.” We were particularly disturbed by the idea that the two of us would not be permitted to enjoy the amazing views from the B&B that heterosexual couples could and that the hosts described as so welcoming would not welcome us.

The marriage equality movement has enjoyed enormous success because of the personal connections LGBTIQ Americans have made with other Americans. It seems tragic that religious views or ideology would stand in the way of that human connection. We want a Supreme Court that does not endorse such exclusion and separation.

Stuart Gaffney and John Lewis, together for over three decades, were plaintiffs in the California case for equal marriage rights decided by the California Supreme Court in 2008. Their leadership in the grassroots organization Marriage Equality USA contributed in 2015 to making same-sex marriage legal nationwide.

Photos by Rink

San Francisco’s Department on the Status of Women and SF League of Women Voters joined City Assessor Carmen Chu in hosting Women’s Equality Day events held on August 23. A new program known as the “W Challenge” was launched with the goal of expanding women’s voter participation and representation on City boards and commissions. Joining Chu and Mayor London Breed on the steps of City Hall were Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, Catherine Stefani, Katy Tang and numerous other civic and business leaders including San Francisco Bay Times contributors Andrea Shorter and Debra Walker, both of whom are City commissioners.

Read current and past issues of San Francisco Bay Times at http://www.issuu.com

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LGBTQ News & Calendar for the Bay Area CELEBRATING FOUR DECADES (1978–2018)

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Call to Order: Reckoning with John McCain’s Last Stand weight campaign contributor Charles Keating’s failed Lincoln Savings and Loan debacle of the 1980s, and his initial expressed objections to creating a national Martin Luther King, Jr., Day, were perhaps the initial episodes in which the Senator’s long tenure would become noticeably marred.

Cross Currents Andrea Shorter On the same day that tributes were being paid to the lives of iconic American figures Aretha Franklin and U.S. Senator John McCain, ABC News released a national poll showing disapproval of the President of the United States plummeting to an all-time low.

With 60% disapproving of his job per for mance and 63% suppor ting the Mueller investigation, numbers climbed to 49% in favor of his impeachment, giving some further inkling of hope for correcting a careening ship’s course towards calmer waters with a blue wave forecasted for the upcoming November elections.

Alongside the voluminous respectful tributes and eulogies about the life and legacy of John McCain’s journey from a heroic Vietnam War prisoner of war to 35-year political career to becoming heralded as a Maverick and “Lion of the U.S. Senate,” we were also reminded of the less than ideal moments concerning the Republican Senator from Arizona.

His involvement as one of the Keating Five senators, who worked to cover for corrupt banking practices of heavy-

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As a self-described imperfect man who strove to live up to his Naval and personal creed of honor and valor in public service, McCain was also known to own up to his own regrettable mistakes and actions that fell painfully short of his creed.

McCain’s introduction of Sarah Palin, the former Governor of Alaska, as his running mate in his last bid for the presidency against Barack Obama in 2008 would perhaps become his most regrettable, grievous act. Palin’s stir up of extreme right, hyper-partisanship rooted in racially divisive grievances and resentment served handily to pave the path towards the ugly populism that eventually prevailed towards the ascendency of Donald Trump’s harshly definitive postObama presidency.

Palin’s “going rogue” would not only overshadow and further his second bid into ruin, but it would also most tragically cast a pall on his legacy as having helped Trump become President. McCain’s understanding of, and reckoning with, his role in this darkest turn of events were evident in his end of life redemptive attempts to right the ship away from the titanic gale forces consuming his party, the presidency, the rule of law and the fate of the nation.

McCain’s last gasp attempts to rally the Congress’ return to a much reminisced, yet valued, bi-partisanship to wrestle away from Trump’s dictatorial death grip stranglehold around the

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neck of American political discourse, democratic principles and destiny were literally and tactically expressed all the way to his grave. The five-day funeral procession was carefully detailed and planned by the Senator to amplify his call to action by f lanking his expected tributes with the delivery of eulogies by his contenders in former presidents Bush and Obama, the selection of pallbearers to include Russian dissident Vladimir Vladimirovich Kara-Murza, and pointedly to disinvite the grossly personally and politically offensive sitting U.S. president.

It was McCain’s simple call to return to an idyllic, civil bi-partisan adherence to functional and institutional democratic process, robust vetting of legislative proposals and resolutions, and compromise that remain most perplexing. As a conservative, McCain’s own record did reflect his maverick work across the aisle ways with votes landing about 60/40 in the respective conservative and liberal columns. On balance, McCain the maverick might have therefore actually proven to have walked the talk of bipartisanship.

Still, striking legislative and political compromise in these pivotal, dark days calls for dig-deep heroic and willful might to push into balance on axis against the gravitational pull of an unabashed overt demagogue who admires, and aspires to establish, a wholly anti-democratic dictatorial reign and rule.

What compromises are to be expected with a party bowed to the rule of order that traffics in blatant racism, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, isolationism, nationalism and fascism? What compromises will result from the likely seating of a Supreme Court justice nominee poised to turn

back the clock on civil and human rights, women’s reproductive rights, LGBTQ rights, workers’ rights, and environmental justice for the next 40 plus years? What possibilities for civil discourse on such essential matters to living in an increasingly racially diverse society can be realistically expected under a president whose disdain for inclusion and relish for stoking division play to, cater to and prey upon the fears and hatefulness of a minor, yet eagerly enthralled and delusional, threatened base?

Within just a few days of McCain’s death, gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum and Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, candidate for U.S. Senate, won their Democratic party primaries in their respective states of Florida and Arizona. I had the pleasure of getting acquainted with both Gillum and Sinema through our shared in common fellowships at the Harvard Kennedy School, and remain in eager and high hopes for their bids for higher office. Both are branded as new wave Democrats, with each in their own way embodying diverse demographics by age, race and sexual orientation that should be represented in elected office.

Within 24 hours of Gillum’s upsetting win, his GOP opponent, a devoted Trump devotee, on a national news broadcast quite speedily cast a racebaiting, dog-whistle warning to the Florida electorate not to “monkey this up” by affording Gillum a November win. Per usual in these shameless cases of dog-whistling, Ron DeSantis and his team dismissed the statement as being misconstrued as racist, as it was apparent that he was warning against the progressive, socialist policies of Gillum, and not a statement about him as a Black man.

Really? Such is the reality of the atmosphere and context within which McCain’s rally towards civility in political discourse and return to robust democratic debate and process now reside.

Upon the death of deemed heroic political figures, the prose of tribute and praise of famous men can be prone to nostalgia, idealization and even absolution of less than perfect men and women whose histories were replete with contradictory, contrarian and even gravely regrettable, imperfect actions while declaratively striving to make a more perfect union for us all.

Perhaps such is particularly expected in the case with John McCain.

No one action or inaction should rest as the sum of any person’s life. McCain’s better moment and reveal of someone who at least strove to be as a man of honor was when he grabbed the mic away from audience members during a campaign tour town hall.

Expressing their fears and prejudices against his opponent, Barack Obama, as an “Arab” and danger to America, he made a choice: allow this racist rant and hatred to fester as a boon to his campaign (as Trump would eventually and opportunistically do), or stand up against it.

By defending his opponent as a “decent family man” with whom he just happened to “disagree on issues,” he attempted to steer the ship away from a course clearly sailing towards deep, dark and troubling waters. The tempest in the tidal wave that was to become a Trump presidency might not have been easily predictable then, but the forecast and warning bells were there—the ship was careening into a fatal colossal collision of titanic proportion. (continued on page 9)

School Is Open – For All with other students during overnight trips and are forced to stay in hotel rooms by themselves.

In rescinding the Obama administration’s nationwide guidance, DeVos remarked that states and local school districts should set these policies. We, in California, couldn’t agree more—when policies are open and inclusive.

Assemblymember Phil Ting Summer is over, and our kids have returned to school. Unfortunately, our federal Department of Education is turning back the clock. Under Secretary Betsy DeVos, the department has stopped investigating civil rights complaints from transgender students who have been barred from using campus bathrooms that match their gender identity. This reverses an Obama administration policy set in 2016, which determined that this type of exclusion would be considered a form of sex discrimination under Title IX. This about-face is just one of this administration’s many indignities.

Across the country, transgender students face bias and discrimination every single day. Fellow students, and sometimes even school administrators, stop them from using the restroom that corresponds with their gender identity. Transgender students are often forced to use single-stall restrooms that require long walks across school buildings or campuses, adding to the feeling of being different. Transgender students tell stories about how they are not allowed to stay

Our state has a long history of establishing education policy that should serve as a model for the rest of the nation.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the defeat of Proposition 6, the Briggs Initiative, which sought to ban openly gay teachers in California. With the proposal significantly leading in the polls in 1978, then-San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk led a groundbreaking campaign that inspired many to come out and talk to friends and neighbors about the harmful measure. These efforts successfully changed hearts and minds, leading to a double-digit defeat that November. Proposition 6 even lost in conservative areas, such as the Central Valley and Orange County.

Decades later, California continues to lead the way in pushing for progress in our schools. In 2013, my former Assembly colleague from the east side of San Francisco, Tom Ammiano, authored Assembly Bill (AB) 1266, the School Success and Opportunity Act. It allows students to participate in activities or use facilities, such as playing on sports teams or using locker rooms, in line with their gender identity. It’s fitting that Ammiano blazed the trail on this issue, because as one of San Francisco’s first openly gay teachers, he also worked on Supervisor Milk’s pioneering team to beat down Proposition 6.

I am proud to walk down the same path as an ally in state efforts for equality. In 2016, I authored AB 1732, which eliminated gender designations for all single-occupancy restrooms in publicly accessible places, such as restaurants and stores. It is the most progressive restroom access policy in the country and has made daily life simpler for people across all walks of life. I will continue working with groups like Equality California and the Transgender Law Center to break down barriers and to ensure that all people are treated fairly. Together, we will advance our shared goals and fight injustices at the federal level.

Phil Ting represents the 19th Assembly District, which includes the Westside of San Francisco along with the communities of Broadmoor, Colma and Daly City.

NEWS (continued from page 3) missed by his family and friends, but by the many loyal customers he had in San Mateo and all over the Bay Area and Central Valley.”

https://sanfrancisco.cbslocal. com/2018/09/03/fatality-in-dublin-closes-sbi-680-connector-to-westbound-i-580/

A GoFundMe page has been established to help the family: https://is.gd/DppyTy

Retail Cannabis Store Planned for Central Castro Location

Female Transgender Patient Dies After Exiting Ambulance on Dublin Freeway Ramp

Ray Connolly and husband Desmond Morgan are planning to open a cannabis store called “Sugar” at 3989 17th Street, fronting Jane Warner Plaza and Muni’s F-Line Historical Streetcars Terminal, according to Daniel Bergerac, President of Castro Merchants.

Connolly had previously made plans for a “Castro Place” cannabis shop in the former Worn Out West space at 2352 Market, but those plans now are superseded by Sugar at the new location. A number of steps are still needed for the required Planning Department process.

A female transgender patient on September 3 exited an ambulance headed to John George Psychiatric Pavilion ( JGPP) in San Leandro, ran into traffic and died after being struck by a vehicle. The tragic series of events began with reports of the woman—as of yet unnamed— driving recklessly, hitting multiple vehicles and a pedestrian. Officers say that when they arrived at the scene, she struggled and tried to obtain one of their guns. A Taser was used to subdue her and she was taken to ValleyCare Medical Center in Pleasanton for a medical clearance.

Norcal Ambulance subsequently responded to take her to JGPP. She was placed in restraints, but reportedly managed to undo them. Because of the problems, the ambulance stopped on the side of the road at the connector ramp from southbound Interstate 680 to westbound Interstate 580 in Dublin. It was there that she escaped and ran into traffic. The incident may lead to scrutiny of procedures in handling the transportation of psychiatric patients.

The Castro, already a retail cannabis destination, is poised to become even more so with others having high hopes of cashing in on California’s legalization of recreational marijuana sales, which began on January 1. Flore coowner Terrence Alan and minority owner J.D. Petras, for example, are working to open the Flore Store pot shop in the fall at 258 Noe, where Flore currently operates an off-site kitchen. http://www.castromerchants.com/

SHORTER (continued from page 8) Perhaps his stance in those moments against the hate and fear of a Black president was not only in defense of Obama, and in defense of whom he believed himself to be, but also in defense and protection of what he at least idealized as the bigger and better of whom we should all be as a democratic nation.

McCain’s noble call for bi-partisan civility is most certainly worth fighting for. Civility without surrendering to compromise on hardfought civil and human rights, principles of inclusion and equality that are the life’s blood, soul, courage and honor of a truly thriving de-

mocracy against the madness of demagoguery is the brutal, bloody fight, call to order and call to duty we must now survive—and prevail.

Andrea Shorter is a Commissioner and the former President of the historic San Francisco Commission on the Status of Women. She is a longtime advocate for criminal and juvenile justice reform, voter rights, and marriage equality. A Co-founder of the Bayard Rustin LGBT Coalition, she was a 2009 David Bohnett LGBT Leadership Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

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Oakland Celebrates Pride Week and LGBTQ Community Center’s Successful First Year programming like Racism Under the Rainbow, the Center’s anti-racism workshop series.”

The Art of Living Kin Folkz Oakland, California, finally has its own much-needed and long-awaited LGBTQ Center.

Although public acceptance of LGBTQ people and culture has increased over the years, a recent California Department of Justice report shows that our state has experienced an 11% increase in hate crimes since 2015. The top targets of hate are African Americans and gay men. At the local level, the California Attorney General’s Office found a 46% rise in reported hate crimes between 2016 and 2017 in Alameda County. Additionally, the Polaris Project reports that nearly 40% of homeless youth identify as LGBTQ, in comparison to 7% of the general population.

Before the Oakland LGBTQ Community Center opened last year, Oakland was the only major city in the state without an LGBTQ community center. The Center’s Executive Director and Co-founder, Joe Hawkins, told me for the San Francisco Bay Times: “When we first opened last year, the Center consisted of one small office, shared by myself and the other Cofounder, now board president, Jeff Meyers.”

The two Co-founders are the first African Americans to found an all-inclusive, multi-ethnic and intergenerational LGBTQ community center in California.

In less than a year, the two Co-founders, with the support of their inaugural board of directors, and donations from the community, managed to take over the entire off ice space.

The Oakland LGBTQ Community C e nt e r i s now a s ub l a nd lor d leasing to tenants who serve the Oa k l a nd L GB T Q c om mu n it y.

Almost 3000 people have visited the Oakland LGBTQ Community Center since it opened. It has become the hub of LGBTQ wellness support and hosts over 30 peer support groups and community building activities. The Oakland LGBTQ Center expanded its of ferings by partnering w ith Spectrum Queer Media (sQm), the creative arts consulting organization that I founded. I additionally joined the Oakland LGBTQ Center as its Healing Arts + Cultural Programs Director.

The Oakland LGBTQ Community Center’s approach to community service earnestly advocates for immediate access to wellness programs for our community—especially those most disenfranchised. Their actions align with sQm’s best practices.

The offerings of sQm donated to the center include the internationally known Oakland Queer and Trans Open Mic, QTPOC Sunday Matinee, The Spectrum LGBTQ+ Digital Storytelling Project, The Oakland Pride Fun Run and The Annual Oakland People’s Pride Creative Arts + LGBTQ Film Fest. I have also founded an LGBTQ restorative justice approach at the Center that includes workshops.

The collaboration, Hawkins said, “has allowed us to co-create unique 10

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Hawkins continued, “We have also created substantive partnerships with other organizations, including the Berkeley-based Pacific Center, which facilitates a weekly ‘Older & Out’ therapeutic support group for LGBTQ elders 60+ every Friday. We are currently partnered with Merritt College in a new pilot program that offers college-level introductory computer science classes on-site here at the Center.”

The Oakland LGBTQ Community Center’s one-year anniversary will unfold on Friday, September 7, at 5:30 pm at its headquarters on 3207 Lakeshore Ave. The Center’s anniversary celebration is being honored as part of the 8-day 7th Annual REVOLVE Oakland Pride Creative Arts and Film Fest founded and curated by sQm. The fest, which is energized by a volunteer coalition and welcomes all LGBTQ community members and allies, includes the Oakland Pride 5k Fun Run, Walk + Roll, 3 nights of

f ilm at the Piedmont Theater and Grand Lake Theater, book readings and signings, The Queer Bay Cruise, The Oakland LGBTQ Center 1st Anniversary Party and Comedy show, Be Steadwell and Friends in Concert, and the 1st Vogue Ball in the Park with the Legendary Father George Mizrahi and Father Ryan Energi. The fest culminates with their co-curation of the Community stage at the Oakland Pride Festival.

The R EVOLV E Oa k land Pr ide Creative Arts and Film Fest has c ho s en t o u s e it s s p on s or s h ip appeal to help raise funds for The O a k l a nd L GB T Q C om mu n it y Center. To become a sponsor and to secure your free and low-cost tickets, visit the websites for sQm (http://www.spectrumqueermedia. com/) and the Oakland LGBTQ Community Center (https://www. oaklandlgbtqcenter.org/).

Kin Folkz is the Founde r and Executive Director of Spectrum Q uee r Media ( ht t p://www. spectr umqueer media.com/), an Oakland-based national LGBTQ rights advocacy organization.

Pride and Prejudice

Out of the Closet and into City Hall Oakland City Councilmember At-Large, Rebecca Kaplan This coming weekend will be the annual Oakland Pride celebration—an important opportunity to build unity, strengthen community and more.

The Oakland Pride festival, organized largely by grassroots volunteers, has offerings for families with children, and attendees of all ages, as well as food and drink, booths from local organizations and multiple music stages.

Oakland Pride takes place Sunday, September 9, from 11a m–7pm, starting with a parade up Broadway a nd fol lowe d b y t he fe s t i v a l , which will take up several blocks around 20th and Broadway. More information can be found online at www.OaklandPride.org In America today, even as many of our communities have been building events and festivals and strengthening community with advances like the Oakland LGBTQ Community Center now open, and more of our members opening businesses and non-profits—we are also facing a troubling surge of prejudice and hate crimes in our society.

And so, we must further dedicate ourselves to continuing to fight for justice in every form. As the federal government’s anti-immigrant crusade continues, we as LGBT people have a moral obligation to oppose any forms of oppression, including denouncing bigotry against Muslims, Latinos, Africans and others. We can, and should, recognize that LGBT immigrants are also being subjected to many of those attacks, including being denied the ability to flee anti-LGBT prejudice in other counties, and facing ongoing attempts to refuse to recognize our marriages and relationships.

Similarly, as we should all be taking action to help solve the skyrocketing homelessness that is causing suffering for so many in the Bay Area. Our solutions also need to include the ways that LGBT people continue to be underserved. This includes that some homeless services have been unwelcoming to LGBT people or divide people up based on gender binary norms that leave some of us out. And there is a large disproportionate share of LGBT youth who are homeless and are not being reached with help.

You can join us Tuesday, September 11, at 4pm at the Life Enrichment Committee at Oakland City Hall to help advocate for meaningful, comprehensive and inclusive homeless solutions.

Let us continue to work for a future of mutual respect and alliances to end prejudice and oppression, and to build communities that we can all be proud of.

Councilmember At-Large Rebecca Kaplan was elected in 2008 to serve as Oakland’s citywide Councilmember; she was re-elected in 2016. She also serves on the Alameda County Transportation Commission (ACTC).

Follow Councilmember Kaplan on Twitter @Kaplan4Oakland https://twitter.com/Kaplan4Oakland Facebook: https://is.gd/BYvGYH

Main Stage Entertainment Oakland Pride 2018 will feature a line-up of nationally known and locallly cherished entertainers including singer Amara La Negra of Miami, the Bay Area’s own star Marga Gomez, Oakland native Tre aka Rebel, rap artist Papi Torres and DJ Kill Bill.

Photos courtesy of Oakland Pride

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Family taking

Care of family

Family of Choice Homecare, LLC offers compassionate inhome care that addresses the unique needs and concerns of LGBT older adults, and allows them to age authentically and with pride in their homes and communities for as long as they can.

SERVICES: Light Housekeeping • Companionship • Mobility Support • Dementia/ Alzheimer’s Care • Medication Reminders • Fall Prevention • Shopping • Personal Appointments • Eating Assistance • Menu Planning & Preparation • HIV Care • Transgender Aging

We invite you to contact us directly to discuss your needs or a FREE initial inhome assessment.

We look forward to becoming your family of choice!

Kevin Pete & Kenneth Boozer, owners Call (510) 285-6484 FamilyofChoice.us

Openhouse Forms New Partnership to Support the LGBTQ Community

Aging in Community Dr. Karen Skultety Ask anyone you know about how they envision aging and you are likely to hear, “I never want to end up in a nursing home.” People of all ages and backgrounds share a common goal: to age in the place they call home, surrounded by people they love, in a community where they feel they belong. The desire to age and thrive at home is no different for LGBTQ seniors, but the risks of living in an institutionalized setting are.

Research tells us that LGBTQ seniors face discrimination and mistreatment in long-term care facilities. According to “Stories from the Field: LGBT Older Adults in Long-Term Care Facilities,” published in 2011 by the National Senior Citizens Law Center, 78% of those interviewed felt it would be unsafe for an LGBT senior to be “out” in a care facility. Over 80% believed that staff and other residents would discriminate against an LGBT elder who was out of the closet, and 43% reported personally witnessing or knowing individuals who experienced instances of mistreatment.

In addition, for transgender seniors, these risks are even higher. Denial of care is common for transgender seniors and many report thoughts of ending their lives rather than moving into long-term care (Witten, 2014).

Openhouse has listened to community members who have shared their fears about what it would be like for them to leave their homes and to move into a nursing home. We believe LGBTQ seniors who have lifetimes of fighting for the rights of our community should not endure going back in the closet as they age. The ideal solution is one that aims to support LGBTQ seniors to age in their homes.

We are thrilled to announce that Openhouse is partnering with On Lok to design a solution that ensures our community can age as who they are, with dignity and support. On Lok is a family of nonprofit organizations founded in the early 1970s by

a group of citizens concerned about the plight of seniors and the lack of long-term care options in the community. With 46 years of history and experience both in creating innovative models of care and serving diverse senior communities through integrated health and social services, On Lok has a wide-reaching experience base and is a trusted partner in its communities. In fact, On Lok is the creator of the Program for All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE), a nationwide model created specifically to support seniors who desire to age in their communities, rather than in a nursing home.

On Lok’s expertise combined with Openhouse’s leadership in delivering programs and advocating for LGBTQ seniors can create a muchneeded solution—a program that is designed with the LGBTQ community, for the LGBTQ community. This new program will be one of the many Openhouse offerings at our new community center at 75 Laguna Street scheduled to open in April 2019. It will add to the continuum of services Openhouse currently offers to LGBTQ seniors, both for those living in the on-site housing and to the larger community.

Dr. Marcy Adelman, founder of Openhouse, believes that addressing this unmet need is critical to achieving the founding vision of Openhouse. “From the beginning, we wanted to make comprehensive and LGBTQ aff irming long-term care services available to our community.

Access to these services means that San Francisco LGBTQ seniors across the city, especially those living with dementia or other chronic conditions, will be able to stay in their homes as they age. Many years in the making, this partnership is a dream come true; it brings together On Lok’s expertise in long-term care with Openhouse’s commitment and proven track record. “ Reports show that current long-term care and aging services are not being utilized by LGBTQ seniors. Data from the recent Dignity Fund Needs Assessment suggest that LGBTQ seniors are 4 to 10 times less likely than their heterosexual peers to access available services in San Francisco.

In addition, LGBTQ seniors are estimated to make up less than 2% of the population in programs designed for seniors at risk of nursing home placement—such as Adult Day Health Care, Community-Based Adult Services and social day programs. That’s less than 2%, despite the fact that LGBTQ seniors make up 11–12% of the

city’s senior population and are more likely to be at risk for nursing home placement due to lack of family support, health disparities and other risk factors.

The reality is that either LGBTQ seniors are not enrolled in these programs, or that they are using the programs but are hiding who they are.

This double-bind of being forced to choose between being “out” or receiving services is untenable and unacceptable. Certainly, an important first step in addressing this challenge is the LGBTQ Bill of Rights, passed in 2016 to support the rights and protections for LGBTQ seniors living in long-term care facilities. Openhouse is proud to be part of leading efforts to implement this historic legislation.

We believe the next crucial step is addressing the desire for LGBTQ seniors to avoid nursing home care altogether. So, after years of thinking about this unmet need, Openhouse has found the right partner to help us design a solution.

Over the coming months, Openhouse and On Lok will look to LGBTQ community members to help share their experiences and ideas about service delivery and to shape this program to ensure it meets the needs of our community. We look forward to working in partnership with On Lok and the LGBTQ community. Together, we can transform aging services in San Francisco and ensure that every senior can age in the place they call home.

Karyn Skultety, PhD, is the Executive Director of Openhouse. Openhouse enables San Francisco Bay Area LGBTQ seniors to overcome the unique challenges they face as they age by providing housing, direct services and community programs. Openhouse programs include: resource, housing and referral navigation; community engagement programs; support and wellness services. In addition, Openhouse provides training, advocacy and support to aging services providers caring for LGBTQ seniors across the Bay Area.

Dr. Marcy Adelman oversees the Aging in Community column. For her summary of current LGBT senior challenges and opportunities, please go to: https://is.gd/sJshLu

Alegre Home Care is proud to support Dr. Marcy Adelman’s Aging in Community column in the San Francisco Bay Times.

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Business Tips from GGBA

Spend More Time Determining the ‘What’ of Your Business By Collaboration Business Consulting In partnering with Bay Area companies, those of us at Collaboration Business Consulting have been impressed with the strong work ethic placed on how a business expects to accomplish its goals. Outstanding reputation, exceptional talent, diverse service offerings and impressive customer service are all key strengths that we have identified in our recent clients. Solving problems is what they know how to do really well. Their commitment to their customers and employees is remarkable.

However, a number of these companies describe that things still aren’t clicking right—they seem to be spinning their wheels and are exhausted from the long hours spent on their business. Why is this? Shouldn’t intense focus on selling your product or service be enough? Working hard and trying new tactics lead to better results, right?

Our experience as consultants taught us that producing real results requires a focus on opportunities rather than on problems. Ask yourself questions like: What is your specific target audi-

GGBA Member Spotlight

ence? What is your real competitive value proposition? The answers are the “what” of accomplishing business goals and require an adjustment of your spotlight. Start by determining the customers who are the right match for your business, and those who are not.

Bottom Line The shift from a tactical mindset to making real business choices may lead you to substantive long-lasting results. More importantly, a focus on the “what” may provide you with more time to finally take that vacation you’ve been talking about.

Visit the Collaboration complimentary business resource center for a library of webinars, white papers and case studies focused on helping organizations to lead, scale and succeed: http://collaboration-llc.com/resources/

Blueprint NYC clients’ needs from multiple angles. This makes us a better partner. We started out as 5 people, and here we are six years later with nearly 40 people on our team!

Blueprint NYC is a full-service events and communications company that specializes in audience engagement with unbridled creativity, relentless drive and years of experience. For the San Francisco Bay Times, we interviewed the managing partners at the company: DJ Hanson and John Sideris. Keep on reading to learn more about them and how to make your next event extraordinary!

GGBA: Please tell us about your business, its mission and values, as well as what kinds of problems you are helping your customers to solve.

DJ Hanson and John Sideris: Blueprint NYC is a fullservice events and communications company that specializes in audience engagement. We help our clients to connect with their employees and customers by producing engaging and innovative experiences through live meetings and events, cutting edge training, and internal communications.

“What’s your differentiator?” We get this question a lot!

First off, we bring the “wow factor” to every project we do!

Big or small, we believe that every audience wants more and deserves more. We are fierce audience advocates and that comes through in the results of our work. Second, in our most recent client satisfaction survey, we were proud to see that we outpaced our competitors in being strategic, creative and adaptable.

When you see your clients respond by saying that you are a strategic partner, creative powerhouse and a fun, dedicated team to work with, you know you are doing something right!

GGBA: Why did you decide to create Blueprint NYC? DJ Hanson and John Sideris: We created Blueprint NYC six years ago because we saw a need in the market. We saw companies hiring one agency for production, one for training and one for creative. There were so many inefficiencies in that model—time, money and, often, the quality of the work—that we knew there was a better way.

We wanted to approach things differently.

Bringing all of these different areas under one company enabled us to bring more value to our clients and really upped the creativity that we brought to the table because we had strategy, creative and execution all under one roof.

GGBA: Do you have any specific policies in place that benefit the LGBT Community?

DJ Hanson and John Sideris: As a small business, our approach to recruiting and retaining talent is one way we support the LGBT community. A good portion of our team members are with us as a result of our internal team’s personal network. The second way is through a community focus. For years, we have been doing pro-bono work for organizations like TAG (Treatment Action Group), and this year we formalized our employee efforts through our Give

The nerve-wracking part is keeping the balance between what we need for our business today, and what we will need for the future.

We love the work that we do and we love our clients, but all good businesses know how to be thinking about “what’s next and how do we get there” in order to stay ahead of the competition.

GGBA: What advice would you give someone who is thinking of starting their own business?

Back program. We host 2 company-wide volunteer days, 4 volunteer socials, and 2 paid days off that enable our people to support an organization that’s near and dear to their heart. For many of our team members, this includes supporting national and local LGBT initiatives.

DJ Hanson and John Sideris: Pick something you are passionate about and create the vision. Starting your own business is hard, so you will need people around you who believe in you and challenge you. Being able to share your vision and how it fills a gap for something that is “missing today” helps you to pull together the right confidants, colleagues and potential investors to make your passion come to life.

GGBA: Do you have any specific policies in place regarding workplace equality?

For more information: http://www.blueprintnyc.com/

DJ Hanson and John Sideris: First and foremost is diversity of thought and experience—we have people on our team who have grown up in this industry, and people who spent years doing something completely different. We strive for a mix of gender, ethnicity, age and sexual orientation, but what’s most important to us is fit with our culture. We look for people with drive, a desire to learn and contribute, and those who are self-motivated.

GGBA: How did you hear about GGBA and why did you decide to join?

DJ Hanson and John Sideris: We are a bi-coastal office.

Our East Coast office joined the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) New York about two years ago, which is around the time we had created our West Coast office. In New York, we’ve been able to connect with 30+ different businesses each quarter through things like social events, biz pitch forums and direct access to the local chapter director.

As we started to build our team base on the West Coast and began to see the value in the local connections we were making with the New York chapter, we realized we needed to get engaged with GBBA! It is uplifting to surround yourself with other businesses that nurture and grow the culture and community you live in.

GGBA: You are an LGBTBE certified business.

How has the certification helped your business?

DJ Hanson and John Sideris: Completing our certification with the NGLCC enabled us to approach companies in a new way in regard to supplier diversity and accelerated our ability to connect with procurement in companies where we had no connections. It’s also helped us to connect with other LGBT business owners and to identify ways that we can support each other.

GGBA: What has been your biggest reward during your journey as an entrepreneur? And your biggest disappointment or nerve-wracking situation?

DJ Hanson and John Sideris: One of the biggest rewards has been building our amazing team! We bring in people with different backgrounds, so our team members have worked in theatre, television, healthcare, food & beverage, financial services and more. They bring a unique perspective from their experiences and help us to look at our

GGBA CALENDAR Register for all of the San Francisco events listed here at https://ggba.com/

September Make Contact & Annual Meeting Tuesday, September 11 6–8 pm GAP Headquarters 2 Folsom Street EDGE Master Class for High-Performing LGBT Businesses: Goal Setting for Increased Business Performance and Long-term Professional Growth Tuesday, September 18 1:30 pm - Registration 2–5 pm - Workshop 5–6 pm - Networking Reception Hosted at ZillowGroup 535 Mission Street, Suite 700 Stand Up & Speak OUT! Bi-Weekly Workshop on how to be a more effective Speaker and Communicator Featuring National Award-Winning Speaker, Gina Grahame Wednesday, September 19 3–5 pm Offices of the U.S. Small Business Administration 455 Market Street, 6th Floor October Make Contact Tuesday, October 9 6–8 pm Perform 4 Life 61 Gough Street

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The People of the State of California vs. Travis Miner

Photos courtesy of Dr. Bill Lipsky

went into effect on August 2, 1921, read: “Any person participating in the act of copulating the mouth of one person with the sexual organ of another is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for not exceeding 15 years.”

Faces from Our LGBT Past Dr. Bill Lipsky Saturday, October 23, 1937, was an unseasonably warm day in Southern California. With the temperature in the high 80s and business slow, Travis Miner, 37, left his flower shop at 644 East Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena to “take an airing” in his delivery truck. Without destination, he drove east along Valley Boulevard until he neared the Alhambra Airport, since abandoned, where he noticed a sailor, Donald Jones, 22, walking in the same direction. Those being simpler times, he offered the enlisted man a lift. Invitation accepted, off they went together.

The two men made small talk for a while, but eventually their conversation turned to more intimate topics.

As Miner explained later, “We were both animated by the apparent same desire for sexual relief.” Almost to Pomona, they began looking for “a place where it would be possible without interruption.” They thought that they had found one near the Kellogg Horse Farm, now part of California Polytechnic State University’s Pomona campus. Unfortunately, they were mistaken.

Miner parked his truck on the shoulder of the road. The men climbed a fence, walked up and over a nearby hill and sat down under some sheltering trees. Nowhere, they thought, could be more private. Their pleasure, however, lasted only brief ly.

Glancing sideways, Miner noticed a Highway Patrol motorcycle off icer walking down the hillside to where they now were hurriedly re-buttoning their clothes.

The two men explained that what they had been doing was by mutual consent, that “there was no mercenary consideration,” and no harm done. The officer seemed sympathetic. He said that because he had been in the Navy himself, he would not take them into custody before discussing the situation with his captain—a statement now open to several interpretations. The following Wednesday, Miner was arrested at his shop for violating Section 288a of the California Penal Code.

Miner was in serious legal jeopardy.

“Prohibiting sex perversions and prescribing a penalty for violation of the perversions,” Section 288a, which

When his case went to court on December 1, Miner pled guilty. Before passing sentence, however, the judge noted that “the basic condition here is either pathological, psychological or psychiatric,” which medical experts argued “may be relieved by surgical aid.” With only anecdotal evidence of success, he was “personally very confident that the suggested procedure will result in the anticipated relief of the situation here existing.” So, “in the interests of future cases ... the effort should be made to experiment.”

As an incentive, His Honor offered to place Miner on probation for ten years instead of giving him prison time should he choose to remain intact. Consulting with his attorney and two physicians, including a brain specialist, who saw “this operation as a positive and immediate cure,” he agreed to be castrated. The statute had not mentioned this as an alternative to prison.

California had been sterilizing men and women convicted of “degrading, lewd, immoral” offenses since 1909. In 1937, the year of Miner’s difficulties, the state broadened its authority, stating sterilization could be ordered for someone confined to “any state hospital or state home” who was “afflicted with, or suffers from ... marked departures from normal mentality”— a definition that included homosexuality—using “any operation or treatment that will permanently sterilize but not unsex the patient.”

The state was not alone. For hundreds of years, civil governments had sought ways to punish, control or prevent the desires of men who sought same-sex intimacy. Sterilization offered an easy and inexpensive means to do all three at once. Not until the 20th century, however, did researchers argue that sexual orientation could be changed by either physical or psychological intervention, offering “scientific cures” for those “troubled” by their homosexual “condition.”

Eugen Steinlach, a Viennese endocrinologist, became convinced that there was a simple biological explanation for sexuality. Testing his theory first with guinea pigs and then with human subjects, he concluded that the testicular secretions in homosexual men, especially the hormones produced by the intercellular tissue, were abnormal. It was these that caused their brains to develop a sexual interest in men. His solution? Transplanting testicles from heterosexual men into “effeminate, passive homosexuals.”

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Shops along East Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena c. 1930

The good doctor first published his findings in 1917, amplified the next year in his article “Conversion of Homosexuality through Exchange of Puberty Glands,” but eventually the procedure was exposed as both worthless and contemptible. No one’s sexual orientation was changed; only the subject’s physical appearance, energy, strength and mood.

Even so, castration, with or without a hetero-testicular transplant, continued as a treatment for same-sex desire for many more years. Eventually it would be superseded by psychosurgery, insulin shock programs, massive injections of male hormones, mood-altering medicines and aversion therapy.

Whether or not he believed himself to be “cured,” Miner apparently did not violate his probation again. On February 10, 1941, it was terminated and his case was closed. He eventually gave up the flower shop to work for the United States Credit Bureau. He died on April 8, 1981, five years after same-sex intimacy between consenting adults became legal in California.

Bill Lipsky, Ph.D., author of “Gay and Lesbian San Francisco” (2006), is a member of the Rainbow Honor Walk board of directors.

Pomona Valley in the 1930s 14

Pasadena Pomona map, 1937

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Highway from Pasadena to Pomona, 1937

AIDS and Me in Three Acts

TLC: Tears, Laughs and Conversation Dr. Tim Seelig Act 1: 1980s Discovery Act 2: 1990s Devastation Act 3: 2010s Dedication Prologue In a few weeks, a couple of events will bring my relationship with AIDS full circle. For me, the journey began one sweltering August evening in 1987 in Dallas, Texas. For each of you, it unquestionably began in a different time and place and under different circumstances. As my own story unfolds, I hope that you will take the time to remember your own. You’ll have to wait a bit on the full circle unveiling. When I came out at the age of 35, I knew absolutely nothing about the gays or the “lifestyle choice” I had joined my church in decrying. Nothing. Had I not come out, there would be no story to tell. As hard as it has been, I am so grateful for every twist, turn and lesson.

Act 1: Discovery Back to that scorching even i n g. B r i g ht- e y e d a n d bushy-tailed, I walked into my first rehearsal as conductor of the Turtle Creek Chorale, Dallas’ gay men’s chorus. Nine months before, I was married and working for the Baptists. Three months before, I had no idea that there was such a thing as a gay chorus. But there I was, called upon to get up to speed really quickly. The chorus was in dire financial straits, dysfunctional and co-dependent. We were a perfect match.

The choir began to grow. Many came for that healing power of music and community. In 1991, the chorus commissioned the world’s first AIDS Requiem: When We No Longer Touch.

That’s a hint at the full circle coming shortly. It was a powerful mix of Latin mass text set against the stages of grief. PBS approached us about doing a documentary about our path. Many pushed back, fearing TCC would be become known as “the AIDS choir.”

In the end, we agreed and the filming began. The resulting documentary was titled After Goodbye: An AIDS Story.

It won 12 major awards culminating with the national Emmy for best documentary in 1994. It has been viewed by millions and truly made a difference.

As with many of you, our days back then were filled with little other than dealing with this dreadful disease.

The San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus was hit especially hard. Choruses across the country were called on to sing memorial service after memorial service—for members, their partners and friends. Every rehearsal included announcements about who had died, who had entered hospice, who needed care at home that week or a visit in the hospital. And then we sang some more. We were in every stage of grief—all at once.

When I began conducting in Dallas, we had lost 11 singers. When I left, the number was around 175. In San Francisco, the number is 300. The chorus sang, raised money, raised

cal. I was expecting the: “Your cholesterol is high. If you don’t drop some pounds, you’ll need to start taking a pill!” My doctor sat down in the examination room, but did not have cholesterol on his mind. This is the conversation as I remember it (most definitely not the one that actually happened.)

Doctor: Tim, you have been an AIDS activist for years. You’ve buried countless dear friends. Have you ever stopped to ponder how you would react if you yourself were HIV positive?

Tim: Well, of course I have.

Doctor: That’s good. Because you are.

That’s obviously how I remember receiving the news; not how it really happened. I have no idea what he said. It wouldn’t have mattered.

The earth fell away. My T-cells were around the number of singers in my chorus. I began medication immediately.

The next dreaded steps were those taken by millions—how to share the news. The hardest thing was telling my daughter. It was a bright sunny morning. It was a Starbucks. Corianna was a nurse. She knew way too much about AIDS. She had walked with me through the massive losses.

When I told her, in a very uncharacteristic emotional outburst, she literally wailed, through tears, “No!” I held her. I had failed her—once again. My coming out—when she was nine and her brother seven—was apparently not enough devastating

A fter a shor t i nt roduction of the new conductor, I took the podium. As I raised my arms to conduct, I looked down to see a beautiful young man in the front row covered in sores. I could not imagine what was wrong with him and why he would come to rehearsal like that.

That wouldn’t have happened in the choir at the Baptist church. At break, I asked John, one of the singers I had met, about it. He gave me a pitying southern “bless your heart” look and explained that Jeff had fullblown AIDS. Singing with his brothers each week was literally keeping him alive. It Artist renderings of the new Artists Portal to be created at the National AIDS Memorial Grove in Golden Gate Park was the music and the family. awareness and fought the fight every It was certainly not any medical pro- day. And I led them. In 1996, I was news to take about Dad and their broken lives. Nope, there was more. tocol available in 1987. selected to carry the Olympic torch as I, too, was devastated. The shame I My life changed that night. I wit- a warrior in the fight against AIDS. felt was indescribable. I knew better I carried it on behalf of the chorus— nessed the power of this “singing than to allow this to happen. I knew and all choruses—and those we had together” thing we do. Oh, I had how to save myself from the plague. I lost.

Of course, it was John who nompreached it before, but now, there it had told countless others. I was a role inated me!

I was as entrenched in the was right in front of me. Jeff was the model, after all. I had failed myself, proof. It turns out that John was the epidemic as one could be. I have not my family and my friends. run since.

Executive Director of the AIDS Resource Center. He said, “You really Act 2: Devastation I did what I had done several times in need help!” I agreed. We became best my life. I picked myself up, dusted myfriends. We had lunch almost every Shortly after my brief running career self off and started waving my arms at week for the next nine years—before ended, I went for my routine physi- people! Before that, I was fighting for

PHOTO BY PHIL SHERMEISTER

he died with me holding his hand. But I get ahead of myself.

St. Ignatius Church will be the venue for SFGMC’s Tribute Concert on Friday, October 26, launching the organization’s 40th Birthday Weekend.

“them.” Now, I was fighting and singing and waving for “us.” It was yet another huge paradigm shift for Tim. Act 3: Dedication Fast forward to 2011. I arrived to begin my job waving at men in San Francisco. One of my first stops was the National AIDS Memorial Grove. I was completely overwhelmed with its beauty and serenity. Here was a place for me! I looked for where the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus’ name was listed. It was nowhere to be found. There is no shame in that whatsoever. It had been discussed many times, but simply had not come to fruition.

From that point, I was like a dog with a bone. I started thinking of having the Chorus’ name engraved in the Circle of Friends. While amazing, it just didn’t seem right. I moved to an engraved boulder. Nope. Then to a bench. Getting warmer. All of this time, we were working with the amazing folks at NAMG to make sure that when the chorus entered the Grove, it would be just right.

On October 27, on our 40th birthday weekend, we will finally break ground for the memorial to the 300 singers the Chorus lost. But more than that, it is to all artists everywhere. We are building a beautiful Artists Portal for all. And, for the first time in Grove history, the memorial will include an 8-foot emperor chime. The tradition of striking a gong or a bell in meditation and memory has been a part of rituals across the globe and for centuries.

“Ring the chime. Speak a name.”

You can find out much more about the memorial at our web site. You can help us complete our dream https:// is.gd/klOr4U. If you knew a singer or dancer or artist, consider adding their name to the Artists Portal.

personal from Jeff, sitting 20 feet in front of me, literally singing for his life. I learned about this plague from my sweet friend, John. I learned about the stigma firsthand when I came out as HIV+.

I am still learning what a community can do to make a difference in our world. In a few weeks, we will dedicate the most beautiful “circle.” While the memorial sits on a full circle, the bench is a broken circle to symbolize the fact that our hearts and our lives will never really be whole again.

I could not imagine a more amazing finish to Act 3 than to help facilitate a permanent memorial that will be there long after I am gone!

There is one more full circle moment.

The night before the groundbreaking, the chorus is going to perform When We No Longer Touch at St. Ignatius Catholic Church. This is the very church the Chorus was banned from, resulting in the Chorus suing the Diocese—and winning. It is 27 years after the world premiere of the Requiem. Of course, we will sing at the groundbreaking, too. I have a feeling it will be the most beautiful music ever heard, except for the fact that weeping does horrible things to your voice. It won’t matter. We’ll be surround by angels who will fill in as needed.

Epilogue At every turn of the three acts described above, there were amazing people there to help pick me up, hold me and encourage me to keep going.

I would not be here without them.

Without them, the play would have had a very different ending. In a few weeks, we will memorialize heroes from all over the world and honor organizations in the same way. Those of us who survived must redouble our efforts to tell our story. I will continue to tell mine. Will you do the same?

What a way to celebrate a 40th birthday!

Dr. Tim Seelig is the Artistic Director of the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus.

So, here we are. Full circle. I learned of this horrible plague up close and S AN F R ANC IS C O BAY T IM ES

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PHOTO BY MICHEL VERDURE

24 Hours Aboard a Celebrity Cruise Celebrity Cruises is one of the most LGBTQ-friendly cruise lines and is known for valuing all aspects of diversity—reflected among the guests and crew. As a result, Celebrity received the LGBTQ+ Friendly Travel Company of the year award for 2016 at the TTG Travel Awards. Celebrity also won the title of Best Large Ship Cruise Line for LGBTQ+ Passengers at the Cruizie Awards for four years running.

As of last year, same-sex marriages performed on board Celebrity ships by the Captain are legally recognized. In a historic ceremony hosted aboard Celebrity Equinox in January 2018, Francisco Vargas and Benjamin Gray became the first same-sex couple ever to be legally married at sea on a major cruise line!

PHOTO BY QUENTIN BACON

Guests therefore often come for weddings, honeymoon celebrations, memorable vacations or even Pride events. This past June’s Pride Party at Sea was the largest such party on an ocean liner.

Celebrity has also been a major sponsor for Miami Beach Gay Pride, with over 400+ of their employees marching in the parade this past year alone.

We further appreciate Celebrity’s recognized efforts at environmental stewardship. Read more about that at: https://www.celebritycruises.com/ content/dam/celebrity/pdf/Our_ Approach_to_Sound_Stewardship_ Published.pdf

PHOTO BY STEVE BEAUDET

PHOTO BY QUENTIN BACON

PHOTO BY STEVE BEAUDET

PHOTO BY STEVE BEAUDET

Even without leaving the ship, guests can enjoy an unforgettable experience.

This photospread provides just a taste of what 24 hours might include on the various elegant Celebrity ships as they transport guests to exotic locations across the globe. See upcoming destinations and cruise deals at: https://www.celebritycruises.com/

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Soirée on the Bay: Celebrity Cruises Celebrates Love + Diversity This year marks the 40th Anniversary of both the San Francisco Bay Times and the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus (along with many other LGBT groups and businesses). We invite you to party with us on September 17 aboard the Celebrity Solstice, the lead ship of the Solstice-class of elegant vessels operated by Celebrity Cruises. The event will benefit the Richmond/Ermet Aid Foundation, which supports programs providing food for the needy and programs helping homeless and disenfranchised youth, in addition to continued funding for HIV programs in the Bay Area.

PHOTO BY MICHEL VERDURE

Soirée on the Bay will take place from 6–9 pm on board the Solstice at Pier 27. Guests will be treated to champagne in the Solarium upon arrival. Emceed by Fernando and Greg from the popular 99.7 NOW! radio show, the evening will include a performance from the Broadway touring cast of the Tony Award-winning Phantom of the Opera.

Guests will also enjoy handcrafted cocktails from a full hosted bar, gourmet appetizers, and singers and dancers from Celebrity’s onboard entertainment team. Attendees will be among the first to preview The Celebrity Revolution, the brand’s largest modernization program, with over 11,641 staterooms being revolutionized over the span of five years across 12 ships.

Guests as well as members of the media will additionally be able to tour the rest of the ship and get a sneakpeek of the features of the hotly anticipated new Celebrity Edge, launching in November 2018, with the brand’s most technologically advanced theater and revolutionary entertainment.

Due to Port regulations, all tickets must be ordered by no later than September 10, so please consider joining us for this memorable evening!

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For more information and tickets: https://is.gd/TEPMgS

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GLBT Fortnight in Review

By Ann Rostow Roland Schembari and Bill Hartman, Co-Founders Randy Alfred, Founding News Editor 1978 Kim Corsaro Publisher 1981-2011

2261 Market Street, No. 309 San Francisco CA 94114 Phone: 415-601-2113 525 Bellevue Avenue Oakland CA 94610 E-mail: editor@sfbaytimes.com www.sfbaytimes.com The Bay Times was the first newspaper in California, and among the first in the world, to be jointly and equally produced by lesbians and gay men.

We honor our history and the paper’s ability to build and strengthen unity in our community.

The Bay Times is proud to be the only newspaper for the LGBT community in San Francisco that is 100% owned and operated by LGBT individuals.

Dr. Betty L. Sullivan Jennifer L. Viegas Co-Publishers & Co-Editors

Beth Greene Michael Delgado Abby Zimberg Design & Production

Kate Laws Business Manager Blake Dillon Calendar Editor

Kit Kennedy Poet-In-Residence J.H. Herren Technology Director Carla Ramos

Web Coordinator

Mario Ordonez Juan Ordonez Distribution

CONTRIBUTORS Writers Rink, Sister Dana Van Iquity, Ann Rostow, Patrick Carney, Kate Kendell, Alex Randolph, Heidi Beeler, Gary M. Kramer, Dennis McMillan, Tom Moon, Tim Seelig, Cinder Ernst, John Chen Rafael Mandelman, Jewelle Gomez, Phil Ting, Rebecca Kaplan, Kin Folkz, Leslie Katz, Philip Ruth, Peter Gallotta, Bill Lipsky, Karen Williams, Donna Sachet, Gary Virginia, Zoe Dunning, Marcy Adelman, Stuart Gaffney & John Lewis Brandon Miller, Jamie Leno Zimron Michele Karlsberg Lyndsey Schlax, Randy Coleman, Debra Walker, Howard Steiermann, Andrea Shorter, Scott Tsui, Tom Temprano, Lou Fischer, Frankie Bashan, Karin Jaffie, Brett Andrews Photographers Rink, Phyllis Costa, Jane Higgins Paul Margolis, Chloe Jackman, Bill Wilson, Jo-Lynn Otto, Sandy Morris, Abby Zimberg, Morgan Shidler ADVERTISING Display Advertising Standard Rate Cards sfbaytimes.com or 415-503-1375 Custom ad sizes are available. Ads are reviewed by the publishers.

National Advertising: Contact Bay Times / San Francisco.

Represented by Rivendell Media: 908-232-2021 Circulation is verified by an independent agency Reprints by permission only.

CALENDAR Submit events for consideration by e-mail to: calendar@sfbaytimes.com. © 2018 Bay Times Media Company Co-owned by Betty L. Sullivan & Jennifer L. Viegas

The Puffins!

I’m seeing headlines like the following all of the time: “Same-sex marriage is a challenging and delicate issue for Fiji, some political parties say.”

The fact is, marriage equality is under debate, for better or ill, in parts of the world that once would balk at the subject, and yet unfortunately for my readers, I don’t care that much.

How can I care whether or not Fiji wins marriage equality, when there are parts of the world where gays and lesbians can be killed or imprisoned for who they are? If I’m going to stray beyond our borders, I have to have multi-dimensional stories. Maybe it’s someone who fights for marriage equality and can freestyle a two-hundred-foot sheer rock wall at the same time. Perhaps it’s an affianced couple who are also committed to saving Iceland’s endangered puffins. Or how about two married transwomen who were once married to each other before their transitions?

So, I hear you reply, I understand why you avoid the regular marriage items, but why don’t you at least cover the really horrible developments in really horrible countries? All I can say is that those stories leave me helpless and depressed. Oddly, I always feel involved in the GLBT news of America. I always feel as if we can do something to make things better in our own country, even when we probably can’t.

But what can we do about events in places like Malaysia, where two lesbians were just publicly caned before about a hundred onlookers for violating Sharia law? According to the Associated Press, the women sat on stools and absorbed six strokes each from a “light rattan cane.” Really? It doesn’t sound that painful, unless you consider dehumanizing abasement at the hands of a moralistic religious authority to be “painful.”

Ever y week I have a handful of these unbelievable stories that make Trump’s America look like a utopian paradise from sea to shining sea.

Rather than being forced into that kind of implicit comparison, I’d rather stick to the United States beat from the start.

But before we return to the homeland, I have to add that Apple’s pride watch face, a rainbow effect that you can download to your Apple Watch, reportedly fades away once you switch to the Russian version of the Apple Watch. I know that there’s a law against rainbow flags and other progay images in Russia, but does Apple really have to follow that law? Does the Apple Watch really need the Russian market, or does the Russian market need Apple?

Who’s That Lady?

I guess by now you may have heard about the smug woman with the RBF who sat directly behind Brett Kavanaugh on Day One of his Senate hearings. Thirty-something Zina Bash is a Harvard Law graduate from south Texas who also appeared to be covertly flashing a white power hand sign at the very large cable TV audience tuned in to the hooplah last Tuesday. (Editor’s Note: For another RBF example, see the third or so image at this site: https://betches. com/womens-march-signs/) (Fine, fine, fine. The concept of RBF is sexist and beneath all of us. But it really fits in this case! Inexplicably, Republicans consider Zina Bash, a

Trump employee, to be one of the most beautiful women in Washington. I’m not sure I could find anyone on our side in agreement.)

But back to the hand signal—the “okay” sign, with the last three fingers sticking straight out. Does it really send a conspiratorial message to one’s fellow racists? The answer is yes and no. It seems to have started as an in-joke among the white supremacist crowd, who thought it would be amusing if liberals and others “thought” that the okay sign meant “white power.” Ha ha! Stupid idiots! Of course it’s meaningless, but every time we pose with it, liberals go into a rage.

That was the joke, except over time it seems to have transcended its antic origins and become a truly offensive gesture. Four police officers were recently suspended in Jasper, Alabama, for using the signal in a photo, and last January, a New Jersey cop lost his job for the same transgression.

In short, the okay sign now has many meanings, including white power.

And since it’s not a natural configuration for the hand of a woman seated in a Senate hearing, we have to assume that Zina was making a statement. I don’t like jumping to the worst conclusions, but how many times does this administration have to brush up against white supremacists before we become truly alarmed? This is like the sixth or seventh racist thing in the last month. Alarmed isn’t the word.

What’s the word for sickened and frightened at the same time?

Hopeless in Washington, D.C. So, speaking of the Kavanaugh hearings, anyone who’s ever given a dime to a Democratic or GLBT organization is now inundated with emails about how Brett Kavanaugh is the worst thing since unsliced bread, which may well be true. The only problem is that the next person on the list may well be even worse. Indeed, since we don’t have a whole lot of information about Kavanaugh’s attitudes towards our community, I would guess that the next person on the list would very likely be worse. As such, the appeals to donate money in order to stop Kavanaugh are disingenuous at best. Barring a Deus Ex Machina, we cannot stop a conservative justice from replacing the tragic hero that is Anthony Kennedy. Gone are the days when a Democrat might hand us a Whizzer White or a Republican might accidentally nominate a David Souter. These days, our fate is sealed.

Now I’m reading, accurately I would think, that John Roberts is to be our new swing justice. How far our swing has shifted rightward from the time when Sandra Day O’Connor held the position. That said, I was interested to see that the High Court recently declined to intervene in an ongoing dispute between the City of Philadelphia, which protects gays and lesbians, and Catholic Social Services, which refuses to place foster kids with gay parents. Philadelphia stopped sending children to the Catholics on account of this discrimination, and the group sued.

In the course of their suit, Catholic Social Services has tried and failed to force the city to continue to place foster kids through its organization while the litigation continues. Both the lower court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit have refused to reinstate the foster program. And now, when asked, the High Court also declined to step in.

Dissenting from that decision without

comment were Justices Thomas, Alito and Gorsuch. Roberts said nothing, although there’s no reason to think he would not have provided a clinching fifth vote for the injunction if only his new buddy were sworn in.

That said, his discretion in the Philadelphia case is mildly heartening.

More Nonsense with Catholics We have a lot of news emanating from Roncalli High in Indianapolis, where the Catholic school authorities are poised to dump Shelly Fitzgerald, a lesbian school counselor who got married, but did not reveal her contractviolating wedding to the Roncalli mandarins.

Fitzgerald (who will be on the Ellen show September 7) married her partner of 20 years in a ceremony she kept secret from her employers. After working at the school for 15 years, Fitzgerald was found out by someone who dug up her marriage license in the public record. The school then told her to dissolve her marriage or leave her job. Lest you think this can’t be true, I am reading the Indianapolis Star.

Students and parents have jumped to Fitzgerald’s side, with rainbow bracelets and other gestures of solidarity appearing on campus. According to the Star, the administration has recently banned posters advertising a pride event. Some students said the principal, Chuck Weisenbach, had banned all rainbow paraphernalia, but Weisenbach insisted that the pride announcements were the only targets of his prohibition.

Then in a non sequitor, Weisenbach was accused of using the N-word during an assembly speech about bad words you shouldn’t use and apologized. I’m not sure if or how this incident was linked to the Fitzgerald fiasco. Fitzgerald is technically on administrative leave, but it sounds like her days at Roncalli are numbered.

Say What?

By the way, speaking of the N-word, the Human Rights Campaign has basically fired a key executive, Mary Beth Maxwell, after a colleague reported that the N-word dropped from her lips. Normally, I’d be nodding my head in approval, until I read that Maxwell, head of the HRC Foundation, used the word twice while she was telling a disturbing personal story in which someone else used the Nword and other slurs. Maxwell, who resigned in disgrace, did not use it herself, but quoted someone else.

This is crazy. Context matters.

I agree it was ill advised to use the whole word, rather than the euphemism, but it is not at all the same as actually using the word oneself.

“Not having bad intent in using the word does not make it acceptable,” said HRC chief Chad Griffin. “I want to be clear, intent does not matter. It is the impact of the word that matters.

It is simply never acceptable for that word to be said by an employee in the workplace ever.”

I have to assume this Orwellian explanation is a cover for bad blood between Ms. Maxwell and the powers that be at HRC. What’s really going on here?

In other HRC news, the D.C.-based gay rights lobbyists are under a bit of community fire for supporting New York governor Andrew Cuomo in his primary fight against Cynthia Nixon, who is gay. Here I reluctantly favor HRC. Cuomo has been a staunch gay

rights advocate. To withdraw support for allies just because a gay person enters the arena would render HRC ineffectual, because why should anyone bother to win HRC’s backing if they could be cavalierly tossed aside for an attractive newcomer?

And there’s my one nice thing to say about HRC for the year. (Cue: drum roll/cymbal clap.)

Sad Things There’s a heartbreaking story about a nine-year-old boy in Colorado, Jamel Myles, who came out to his mother over the summer. Her loving response gave him the confidence to come out to his classmates when school started.

After four days of bullying, including calls to kill himself from his pre-pubescent peers, he did just that. It’s just horrific and I can’t help but feel that the meanness and cruelty pouring out of Washington is seeping into every crevice or American society—even the nine-year-old cohort in Denver.

You may also have read about Maddie, a 12-year-old transgirl just entering middle school (God help her) in Achille, Oklahoma. After using a staff bathroom in her previous school, Maddie used the girls’ bathroom on her first day of seventh grade.

Parent Jamie Crenshaw jumped on her Facebook page to bemoan the situation: “The transgender is already using the girls’ bathroom,” she wrote.

“We have been told how the school has gone above and beyond to make sure he has his own restroom yet he is still using the girls. REALLY ... .

Looks like it’s gonna be a long year.”

The vitriol that followed from parents and others included calls to “beat it up” and bring a “very sharp knife” to school to finish off Maddie’s transition. One man, a 58-year-old Frontier Airlines pilot named Kevin Bickerstaff, was suspended by the airline after calling for kids to beat up Maddie and drive her off campus. Meanwhile, the local sheriff closed the school for two days in order to investigate the threats.

In the end, Maddie’s family decided to move to Houston, their third attempt in two years to find a safe space for their daughter to live.

I can see that I won’t have the space to continue the theme of “increasingly nasty.” But let’s just touch on the case of Marsha Wetzel, an Illinois senior who moved to a retirement home after her partner of thirty years died.

Kicked out of the house by the partner’s family, Wetzel found herself at Glen St. Andrew Living Community in Niles. It was fine for a time, but then other retirees began bullying her for being gay, calling her names and even attacking her physically.

In a lawsuit, Wetzel said the Glen St. Andrew authorities did nothing to help, and indeed cut back on her services. That lawsuit was dismissed. But in late August, a unanimous panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reinstated the case, ruling that federal housing laws cover sexual orientation discrimination.

Are we all depressed now? Where’s that bartender? arostow@aol.com

Join the San Francisco Bay Times in celebrating our 40th Anniversary at three upcoming events!

Monday, September 17 - Soirée on the Bay with Celebrity Cruises http://www.reaf.org Friday, September 28 - San Francisco Bay Times: Four Decades of an LGBT Free Press http://www.glbthistory.org Saturday, September 29 - Play on the Bay with DJ Rockaway http://www.djrockaway.com 18

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Remembering Marcia Iris Baum, LCSW, MSW Noted San Francisco psychotherapist Marcia Iris Baum died on Saturday, August 18, as a result of severe injuries sustained in an automobile crash near the intersections of Highways 1 and 84 close to San Gregorio Beach in San Mateo County.

As reported by members of the organization Gaylesta, the LGBT organization supporting mental health professionals, she was returning from Año Nuevo State Park where she had volunteered earlier in the day. Her BMW was hit head-on by another vehicle attempting to pass on the two-lane highway. She was airlifted to Stanford Hospital but was removed from life support later that day.

According to the Half Moon Bay Review, the other driver, an 18-yearold Hayward man, sustained minor injuries, while his 17-yearold female passenger, also from Hayward, sustained major injuries.

Baum had been a docent at Año Nuevo State Park for about a year and led tours, such as hiking to see elephant seals.

“She was definitely well-liked in the community,” Mike Merritt, a State Parks interpreter who serves as the lead volunteer coordinator at Año Nuevo State Park, told the Review. “She was a great docent and a great supporter of the parks.”

A native New Yorker, Baum lived all of her adult life in San Francisco. As a professional counselor, she was in private practice for more than thirty-five years. She was an instructor at San Francisco State University and conducted accredited continuing education trainings. She was a frequent speaker on the mental health needs of LGBT people. As a founding member of Gaylesta since its origins, Baum frequently volunteered for the organization, serving on the board of directors and as copresident from 2012–2016.

Members of the San Francisco Bay Times team were deeply saddened when word of her death became known. Baum was for many years a frequent participant in outdoor and networking activities hosted by “Betty’s List” and was also an advocate and supporter of the Bay Times since the change in ownership in 2011.

“We lost one of the most trustworthy and caring people I’ve ever known,” said San Francisco Bay Times co-publisher and “Betty’s List” founder Betty Sullivan. “She was greatly admired among her colleagues and as someone who truly deserved to be called ‘a therapist’s therapist.’ Marcia’s passing has created an unexpected and deeply felt loss among so many of us who knew her and admired the humanity she exemplified. Our thoughts and prayers are with her immediate and extended family during a very difficult time.”

A memorial service was held on August 23 at Eternal Home Cemetery in Colma.

To connect with Marcia Iris Baum’s colleagues who are members of the Bay Area’s LGBT community and professionals in the mental health fields, please visit the Gaylesta website where you can learn more about the organization. http://www.gaylesta.org

GGBA’s Make Contact - August

Photos by Paul Margolis

The Golden Gate Business Association’s incoming president Audry deLucia and past president Paul Pendergast, along with other board members and volunteers, welcomed guests to the organization’s August business networking mixer. Make Contact events, as the mixers are known, have provided members and friends with opportunities to meet and greet with new business contacts and friends on a monthly basis. Held at the Castro-based gallery Art Attack SF on Market Street where owner James Capadona and gallery manager Ashley Voss were on hand to host the event. GGBA’s upcoming event, to be held on September 11, at Gap Inc. headquarters, will be the group’s Annual Meeting. http://www.ggba.com

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LGBTQ News & Calendar for the Bay Are) a CELEBRATING FOUR DECADES (1978–2018

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ink captured this intimate moment shared by a couple at the 1978 Castro Street Fair. It was an extraordinary year for our community. When this photo was taken, Harvey Milk (1930–1978) was on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and Gilbert Baker (1951–2017), along with a collective, had crafted the first Rainbow Flag. The San Francisco Bay Times had been founded, soon to be followed by the San Francisco Lesbian/ Gay Freedom Band, the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus and numerous other LGBT organizations and businesses.

The Castro Street Fair, however, was four years old in 1978. Rink explains, “Harvey Milk founded the Castro Street Fair in 1974, after I took him to the North Beach Fair, and we stopped by Live Opera Day at Caffè Trieste in North Beach, on Saturdays.”

The North Beach Fair was already well known at the time. Founded in 1954 as the Upper Grant Avenue Street Fair, the popular event inspired many other fairs and festivals throughout the Bay Area.

Thoughts of such outings with Rink and others likely remained in Milk’s mind as he contemplated how to attract more visitors to the Castro and to the businesses of the Castro Village Association, of which he was president.

More than 5,000 attended the first Castro Street Fair. Rink has attended them all.

Perhaps he will take your photo at the 45th annual Castro Street Fair, which will take place on Sunday, October 7? We hope to see you there. For more info: https://castrostreetfair.org/

Round About - All Over Town

Beth Schnitzer, Patrik Gallineaux and Carol Batte at REAF’s Help Is on the Way at the Herbst Theater

Castro Merchant Association’s Daniel Bergerac with Botellón’s Pedro Alvarez at the Association’s mixer on August 23.

Donna Sachet with REAF’s Ken Henderson at the Help Is on the Way benefit on August 19

Jean Meyer and SF Pride’s George Ridgely at the Castro Merchants Association’s mixer at Botellón restaurant

Sean Tryder and David Bjorngaard at the GGBA Make Contact Mixer held at Art Attack Gallery

GGBA’s in-coming president, Audry deLucia (center) at the Art Attack Gallery with owner James Capadona and staffer Ashley Voss during the August Make Contact mixer on August 14

Newly crowned Miss GAPA Shu Mai and Mr. GAPA Christo Roma (center) were congratulated by emcees Jezebel Patel and Sir Whitney Queers at the GAPA Runway After Party at Herbst Theater on August 25.

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Photos by Rink

Mary Wilson, founding member of The Supremes, was a featured performer at REAF’s Help Is on the Way benefit at Herbst Theater on August 19.

Richard McGary and Samood Samereie welcomed guests arriving for the Castro Merchant Association’s mixer at Botellón.

Win Pham and Chris Lintz of Cheer San Francisco’s Cheer for Life program at the VIP After Party in the Green Room held following the REAF Help Is on the Way benefit

Emcees Galilea and Misty Blue with Queen Mother Nicole the Great and friends at the annual Imperial Council High Tea held at Twin Peaks bar on August 18

Ken Coelho, Anita Hero and Lawrence Wong at the GAPA Runway After Party on August 25

Weddings, Occasions & Relationships How to Feel More Confident About Lesbian Dating Feeling more confident about lesbian dating isn’t about dating at all. It’s about how you feel about yourself. If you’re unhappy with the way you look, feel discouraged by your dating options or your expectations are too high, feeling more confident about lesbian dating will not be easy. You need to do a deep dive and change your mindset, believe in yourself, remember why people love you and take extra care of yourself. You also need to do things that you find “impossible.”

The Lesbian Love Doctor Dr. Frankie Bashan Maybe you’ve been single for a while, or maybe your date seems too good to be true. But when you’re trying to put your best foot forward in the dating world, doubt and self-consciousness can prevent you from being bold.

As a lesbian dating coach, I hear from women of all ages, types and careers who are struggling with the same thing: feeling confident on a date. No amount of money, success or privilege makes you immune to these feelings.

The good news? Gaining confidence is completely possible. By putting into practice the simple tips that follow, you’ll feel more confident and lesbian dating won’t be quite as daunting.

Consider what confidence really is.

According to Forbes magazine, “people often think of conf idence as a behavior only a lucky few are born with and the rest of us are left wishing for. Not true. Confidence is not a fixed attribute; it’s the outcome of the thoughts we think and the actions we take. It is not based on your actual ability to succeed at a task but your belief in your ability to succeed.”

For example: Do you believe in your ability to go on a first date? Do you believe in your ability to carry a conversation? Do you believe in your ability to speak to a stranger?

Transform the impossible into possible.

Think about how you feel after you’ve achieved something that you’ve been working on very hard.

Victorious? Courageous? Confident? Yes! When you achieve a goal that you consider to be “impossible,” your confidence grows. Why? Because you took a risk.

Risks are defined by the individual. The key is to find the thing that you consider to be risky and to go for it. Maybe you’re a rock climber, but not a public speaker.

If so, you could join a business association and speak about a topic that you’re familiar with. Or maybe you’re not particularly sporty, but you’ve always wanted to finish a marathon. You might then join a training group and work toward your goal.

Alex Malley, bestselling author of The Naked CEO, says, “The only way to build self-confidence is to take a risk and take action despite your fear of failure, messing up or embarrassment. If things work out, then you now know you can do more than you think. If things don’t work out, you now know that you can handle more than you think. Either way, you’re better off.”

It’s risky to go on a date. It’s risky to run a marathon. It’s risky to start your own business. But the only way you’re going to grow is by tackling the very things that scare you. The confidence boost you’ll feel afterward may be just what you need.

Change your mindset.

It’s a bit easy to get carried away when initially meeting someone, especially when this is the f irst good connection made in a while.

Some people get caught up in the excitement of meeting someone new and think too much about winning over that person’s affection and getting a relationship label. During moments like those, take a deep breath to calm those stomach butterflies. Think about why people date in the first place.

Going on dates with someone new is meant to be fun. You are getting to know them as another human soul, and vice versa. This is where you get to hear stories about another person’s life, and in the process figure out your chemistry.

The more you focus on getting to know the person rather than worrying about whether they would like you, the more you’ll be able to calm your self-doubt. As they say, it’s not entirely about the destination. It’s about the journey.

Love yourself.

Loving your personality and how you look is a crucial step in feeling confident. I wrote in a previous article on my website that it’s far too easy to hold ourselves to an impossible standard in the age of social media and curated feeds. People are drawn to others who are comfortable with themselves and have an enriched life.

That being said, there’s no harm in trying new styles and grooming (continued on page 28)

Sister Dana Sez: Words of Wisdumb from a Fun Nun olence in all the corners of the globe. We weaken it when we hide behind walls, rather than tear them down; when we doubt the power of our ideals, rather than trust them to be the great force for change they have always been.’ Amen!”

PHOTO COURTESY OF DENNIS MCMILLAN

GAPA (GAY ASIAN PACIFIC ALLIANCE) presented their third annual pageant, QUEST FOR THE PEARL, a jolly pirate-themed contest to find the next Mister and Miss

By Sister Dana Van Iquity GAPA, on August 25 at Herbst TheSister Dana sez, “God bless the atre. Congratulations to this year’s late Senator John McCain for RUNWAY 30 winners, Miss GAPA his inspirational last words: 2018, Miss Shu Mai and Mis‘We weaken our greatness when ter GAPA 2018, Christo Roma! we confuse our patriotism with Both are now ambassadors and reptribal rivalries that have sown resentatives of GAPA Foundation resentment and hatred and viand the queer API community. This was also the stepping down of Mr. GAPA 2017 Danny Chung and co-titled Miss GAPA 2017 Ehra Amaya & Miss GAPA 2017 Mimi Osa. The other “Scallywags” aka Runway Contestants for Mr. GAPA were Namaste Pham, Robert Schulte, and Caretaker Danny.

Other contestants for Miss GAPA were Mo Li Hua, Michimera, Loveyah Minora, Mocha Fapalatte, and Phoebe Cakes. After the Fantasy category of talent, and then the Formalwear Dennis McMillan (aka Sister Dana) enjoys grilling on the back patio. category of two different in-

terview questions, the results by the panel of judges were 1st runner-up now known as First Prince Caretaker Danny and Second Prince Robert Schulte, First Princess Phoebe Cakes and Second Princess Mocha Fapalatte. https://gapafoundation.org Dozens assembled in SF Civic Center Plaza on August 26 at noon under the banner of “UNITE FOR JUSTICE” to demonstrate against the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.

Mayor London Breed joined Congresswoman Barbara Lee, State Senator Scott Wiener, Assemblymember David Chiu, and other elected officials and community leaders for the Unite for Justice event. Protesters carried signs stating, “KAVA NOPE!” “Kava No!” “We Deserve a Justice for All!” and “Imagine if every criminal got to pick his judge.” This nominee is anti-woman, anti-gay, anti-immigrant, anti-progressivism, and pro-Trump (including his misguided belief that a sitting president cannot be indicted or impeached). Frightening!

August 26 was a very busy day.

In San Jose, they celebrated LGBTQ pride with a PARADE AND PRIDE FESTIVAL after party in Plaza de Caesar Chavez. More than 80 contingents marched proudly and loudly down Market Street. (continued on page 28) S AN F R ANC IS C O BAY T IM ES

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Watch for Donna Sachet’s New Column Coming in Our Next Issue!

OCTOBER–NOVEMBER PART II Marga Gomez

Carol Burnett

Amikaeyla Gaston

If you missed Part I of the Fall Arts Preview, check it out at http://sfbaytimes.com/ The Boy from Oz

Bay Area Rainbow Symphony

San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus Tammy Hall

Holly Near San Francisco Lesbian Gay Freedom Band

Rufus Wainwright Danica Roem

Anne Lamott Chita Rivera

Marcelle DaviesLashley

Kinsey Sicks

OCTOBER Marga Gomez - Latin Standards October 5–November 17 The Marsh Berkeley Arts Center 2120 Allston Way Berkeley

performance of their Off-Broadway hit musical. There’s no question about it. Winnie, Rachel, Trixie and Trampolina will entertain you. http://www.kinseysicks.com

LGBT community favorite Marga Gomez will bring her critically acclaimed show Latin Standards to Berkeley’s Marsh Theater. The 12th and final work in the solo performance genre mixes social commentary and comic edge in the loving, funny and true story of perseverance and creative addiction passed down from immigrant father to lesbian daughter. http://www.themarsh.org RuPaul’s Drag Race Werq the World October 5 Curran Theater 445 Geary Street San Francisco The event will be hosted by celebrity judge Michelle Visage with performances by Season 10 finalists Aquaria, Asia O’Hara, Eureka and Kameron Michaels along with fan favorites Bob the Drag Queen, Kim Chi and Violet Chachki. http://www.sfcurran.com The Kinsey Sicks 25th Anniversary - Things You Shouldn’t Say October 5–6 Marines’ Memorial Theatre 609 Sutter Avenue San Francisco Presented by Boxcar Theatre, the group known as America’s Favorite Dragapella Beautyshop Quartet will celebrate their 25th anniversary with an encore

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San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band Community Fall Concert October 6 Everett Middle School 450 Church Street San Francisco In 1978, musician Jon Sims founded the San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band, which is celebrating its 40th Anniversary this year! Read more about the Band in a special June 7 issue of the San Francisco Bay Times (https://issuu.com/ sfbt/docs/bay_times_06.07.18.band), and consider attending this sure-to-be fantastic concert that will be held at Everett Middle School’s beautiful auditorium located at the border of the Castro and Mission districts. http://sflgfb.townalive.com/season-events/ Holly Near with Tammy Hall & Jan Martinelli October 7 Sweetwater Music Hall 19 Corte Madera Avenue Mill Valley Holly Near has been singing for a more equitable world for well over 50 creative years. She is an insightful storyteller through her music, and is committed to keeping the work rooted in contemporary activism. Respected around the world for her music and activism, she has just released her 31st album.

Another significant arena of Holly’s activism is the LGBTQ community. Her interest is both personal and political. She was one of the first celebrities to discuss her sexual orientation during a pioneering 1976 interview with People magazine. https://www.sweetwatermusichall.com

Danica Roem - National Coming Out Day @ JCCSF October 11 Jewish Community Center of San Francisco Arts & Ideas Kanbar Hall 3200 California Street San Francisco In honor of the 30th anniversary of National Coming Out Day, the JCCSF is proud to present Danica Roem.

In January 2018, she made history as the first openly transgender woman to serve in a state legislature. Running on a Democratic platform of traffic and road improvements, raising teacher pay and expanding access to healthcare in her district, she unseated Virginia’s 20-year House of Delegates incumbent of the 13th district, Bob Marshall. Delegate Roem will discuss her trailblazing journey to the legislature and will share insights on what it means to be a political leader in our country today. https://www.jccsf.org/arts-ideas/upcoming-events/ Up & Away - Chanticleer’s 40th Anniversary Gala & Reunion October 17 The Wilsey Center for Opera San Francisco War Memorial 301 Van Ness Avenue San Francisco Chanticleer, an orchestra of voices seamlessly blending the song stylings of twelve men, has been celebrating its 40th year by making flash appearances in the schools of the San Francisco Unified School District. This 40th Anniversary Gala & Reunion concert will be a one-night-only concert and reunion of former singers in a spectacular evening of live performance, historical audio-visuals and special guests. http://www.chanticleer.org

PATIENT, KIND LOVE Who was the lesbian musician who worked with Macklemore and Ryan Lewis on their LGBTQ rights single, “Same Love”?

A) Demi Lovato

B) Lady Sovereign

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C) Mary Lambert

D) Kera Armendariz

Karin Jaffie, aka Kit/Kitty Tapata, won the title of Mr. Gay San Francisco in 2011 and has earned many other honors since. Connect with Jaffie via Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/pg/ktapata

FALL arts PREVIEW Photos by Andy Phillipson

Soweto Gospel Choir to Present ‘Songs of the Free’ Honoring Nelson Mandela The spectacular two-time Grammy Award winning Soweto Gospel Choir (SGC) soon will return to Northern California with a special concert celebrating the 100th anniversary of the birth of their rainbow nation father, Nelson Mandela (1918– 2013).

Mandela, an anti-apartheid revolutionary who spent 27 years in prison, became South Africa’s first Black president in 1994. A popular leader, he declined a second presidential term in 1999. Through the Nelson Mandela Foundation, he instead worked to combat poverty and HIV/AIDS. The Foundation (https://www.nelsonmandela.org/) lives on, as does Mandela’s legacy concerning democracy and social justice.

SGC helps to carry the torch. Hailing from the town of Soweto (South West Township), the birthplace of South Africa’s democratic movement’s struggle for freedom, the Choir has thrilled audiences around the world with a unique blend of African gospel, freedom songs and international classics.

“Songs of the Free,” to be performed at Carmel’s beautiful Sunset Center on October 11 and at the Art Deco landmark Paramount Theatre in Oakland on October 13, will offer a fitting tribute to Mandela on his centenary. SGC performed for Mandela on many occasions during his life, and even sang at his State funeral at home in South Africa as well as at his commemorative service at Westminster Cathedral in London. Combining earthy rhythms and rich harmonies, this special occasion promises to be a moving performance that will uplift the soul.

Ahead of the California shows, we enjoyed catching up with soprano Mary Mulovhedzi, a lead singer, dancer and percussionist with SGC. Born in Soweto in 1980, she started singing in church at the age of 8 and has been singing gospel ever since. Her audiences have included not only Mandela, but also Michael Jackson and the Chinese Prime Minister. Hopefully you too will soon be able to enjoy Mulovhedzi and the rest of the SGC for “Songs of the Free.”

San Francisco Bay Times: Please share what Mandela’s legacy means to you personally, and how it has inf luenced both the choir and this special collection of songs.

Mary Mulovhedzi: Nelson Mandela was a hero and courageous man. He sacrificed his life and went to prison for 27 years just to see all South Africans free and united. He taught me and the choir to spread the message of love, peace and unity through music.

San Francisco Bay Times: What lessons do you think that we can all learn from Mandela’s important work?

Mary Mulovhedzi: The lesson we have learned from Mandela’s important work is to stand for your rights and what you believe in. Now it is our hands to make the world a beautiful and a safe place for all.

San Francisco Bay Times: What are some of the highlights of “Songs of the Free” that audiences can look forward to experiencing?

Mary Mulovhedzi: The songs that the audience can look forward to are songs like “Asimbonanga,” which was written by Jonny Clegg. It means we don’t know how Mandela and other freedom fighters are doing in prison.

(Editor’s Note: The lyrics are at http://www.metrolyrics.com/asimbonangalyrics-johnny-clegg-savuka.html) My second favorite is “Jikijela.” It is a song that was sung by women. They were fighting against apartheid oppressors and they decided to use stones as their weapons. We also finish our show with Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” of which we have made our version, to give thanks to Nelson Mandela for the peace he has brought to South Africa.

We have 11 official languages and we sing in 6 of those. We also support a charity foundation called “Nkosi heaven Vukani” that supports HIV and AIDS orphans in South Africa.

San Francisco Bay Times: Have you visited the San Francisco Bay Area/Northern California before? What are you most looking forward to seeing and doing, both in the San Francisco Bay Area and in the Carmel/Central California area?

Mary Mulovhedzi: I have been to San Francisco before, but I don’t recall going to (other parts of ) the Bay Area. I look forward to taking pictures for my kids and obviously to performing and spreading the message of forgiveness and unity through music.

See below for additional information about the Northern California performances of “Songs of the Free.”

Soweto Gospel Choir: Songs of the Free In Honor of Nelson Mandela’s 100th Birthday October 11 Sunset Center San Carlos Street at Ninth Avenue, Carmel-by-the-Sea October 13 Paramount Theatre 2025 Broadway, Oakland http://www.sunsetcenter.org http://calperformances.org/performances/2018-19/worldstage/soweto-gospel-choir-songs-of-the-free.php

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FALL arts PREVIEW Carol Burnett - An Evening of Laughter and Reflection October 18 Paramount Theatre 2025 Broadway Oakland As a highly acclaimed actress, Burnett has been honored with Emmys, Golden Globes, People’s Choice Awards, the Horatio Alger Award, an Ace Award and the Peabody. A Kennedy Center Honoree, she has also been honored with the Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for Humor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame, and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. During An Evening of Laughter and Reflection, Burnett will take questions from the audience and will show video clips from her shows in a format that harkens back to the legendary openings of The Carol Burnett Show. http://www.paramounttheatre.com San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus Tribute: Our 40th Birthday October 26 St Ignatius Church 65 Parker Street San Francisco The Chorus will perform When We No Longer Touch. Composed in 1991, this work is the first requiem dedicated to those individuals lost to AIDS. Featuring the Chorus, orchestra and acclaimed soprano Ellie Dehn (Teatro alla Scala, San Francisco Opera, Metropolitan Opera), this momentous occasion will also mark the first time San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus has performed at the acoustical gem, St. Ignatius Catholic Church. https://www.sfgmc.org/ Theatre Rhino - The Boy from Oz October 26–November 18 Gateway Theatre 215 Jackson Street San Francisco The Rhino will return to Australia by way of San Francisco for a musical biography of Peter Allen, who was arguably the most flamboyant gay man from down under. Among Allen’s hits included in the story of the songwriter entertainer are “I Go to Rio,” “Arthur’s Theme,” “Don’t Cry Out Loud,” and “I Honestly Love You.” http://therhino.org/season-2018-19/

NOVEMBER Anne Lamott & Eve Ensler: In Conversation November 1 Luther Burbank Center for the Arts 50 Mark West Springs Road Santa Rosa Two fearless warriors and literary pioneers, who are noted for bringing forward previously unmentionable topics, will match wits in an onstage discussion. Ensler is a Tony Award-winning playwright (The Vagina Monologues), performer, feminist and activist, and Lamott is a beloved author whose bestsellers include Small Victories, Hallelujah Anyway, Rediscovering Mercy and her latest entitled Almost Everything: Notes on Hope.

The topics that they will address include sex, religion, alcoholism, violence against women, orgasms, motherhood, lesbianism, cancer, genital mutilation, social and political injustice and death. https://is.gd/vsMNWq Chita Rivera November 9–11 Feinstein’s at The Nikko 222 Mason Street San Francisco The ten-time Tony Award nominee and two-time Tony Award winner will recreate signature moments from her legendary career including numbers from West Side Story, Sweet Charity, Chicago, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Bye Bye Birdie, The Rink and The Visit. In addition to a special tribute to John Kander & Fred Ebb, the timeless music of Leonard Bernstein, Charles Strouse, Jerry Herman and Stephen Sondheim will also be featured.

Rivera received the coveted Kennedy Center Honor in 2002, was awarded The Presidential Medal of Freedom by former President Barack Obama in 2009 as well as a 2018 Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre. http://www.feinsteinsatthenikko.com Bay Area Rainbow Symphony Winter Concert with Guest Conductor Leif Bjaland November 10 Calvary Presbyterian Church 2515 Fillmore Street San Francisco The second concert in the Bay Area Rainbow Symphony (BARS) 2018–19 season will be led by guest conductor Leif Bjaland and will feature Byron Addams’ Capriccio Concertante for Orchestra, Elgar’s Enigma Variations and more. The concert is one in the ongoing BARS LGBTQ Composer and Performing Artist Series. http://www.bars-sf.org Rufus Wainwright - All These Poses November 10 Nob Hill Masonic Center 1111 California Street San Francisco On the 20th anniversary of his initial albums, Rufus Wainwright and Poses, the Grammy-nominated singer and composer will come to San Francisco during his current Live Nation-produced North American tour, All These Poses. His second opera, Hadrian, inspired by the Roman Emperor’s love

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for Antinous, will premiere in October at the Canadian Opera Company. http://www.rufuswainwright.com From the Diary of Anne Frank November 15–18 San Francisco Symphony Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall 201 Van Ness Avenue San Francisco A showcase of programs and collaborations of legendary conductor Michael Tilson Thomas will kick-off with the performance of Thomas’ spellbinding musical about Anne Frank written for UNICEF in 1990 marking the 70th anniversary of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The series will continue November 23–25 with MTT’s conducting of Beethoven’s Ninth. https://is.gd/2Ww5qV Requiem for Ghost Ship - Oakland Symphony November 16 Paramount Theatre 2025 Broadway Oakland December 2016 shook us all. This evening will be dedicated to the artists and dreamers lost in the tragic Ghost Ship fire and will be anchored by the world premiere of Richard Marriott’s moving cello concerto commissioned in their memory. Brahms’ Requiem, featuring the Oakland Symphony Chorus, will contemplate death as a part of life, one that embraces its beauty and sorrow. The evening will also feature Leonard Bernstein’s “Take Care of this House” from the musical 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. http://www.oaklandsymphony.org Joan Baez - Fare Thee Well Tour 2018 November 17 & 18 Fox Theater 1807 Telegraph Avenue Oakland Already officially sold out, but with resale tickets still available as of this writing, the show will be part of Baez’s last announced year of formal touring. The show will come to Oakland for a two-night series and will spotlight the legendary singer’s new album, Whistle Down the Wind. http://www.thefoxoakland.com Community Women’s Orchestra - Family Fall Concert November 18 Lake Merritt United Methodist Church 1330 Lakeshore Drive Oakland Founded in 1985, the Community Women’s Orchestra will launch its 34th Season with the annual Family Fall Concert. Kids of all ages are encouraged to participate in planned activities prior to and during the event. Led by music director Dana Sadava and composer-in-residence June Bonacich, CWO is comprised of members from the Bay Area who share a passion for promoting women in music. http://www.communitywomensorchestra.org/ A John Waters Christmas at Great American Music Hall November 29 Great American Music Hall 859 O’Farrell Street San Francisco Like a damaged St. Nick for the Christmas corrupted, legendary filmmaker John Waters will hitchhike into town again with a bag full of sticks and stones for the devoted, spreading Yuletide profanity and perverted piety with his critically acclaimed one-man show. The Pope of Trash will give you a Cool Yule like no other. https://is.gd/tdA4bS Laurie Anderson with Tammy Hall - Songs for Women November 29 SF Jazz Center - Miner Auditorium 201 Franklin Street San Francisco SF Jazz resident artistic director Laurie Anderson will team with noted jazz musician Tammy Hall, who is an LGBT community favorite, for another show in her series. From Anderson: “The first part of the series was inspired by the composer Tammy Hall’s beautiful piece ‘For Miss Jones.’ I love music that’s written for a real person and tries to capture her in a song. I thought it would be interesting to do a collection of pieces we’ve both written for women and make it into a celebration that crosses back and forth from jazz to stories to electronics.” https://www.sfjazz.org/tickets/productions/laurie-anderson-songs-forwomen/?performanceNumber=11266 Try/Step/Trip November 26–December 2 The Rueff at A.C.T.’s Strand Theater 1127 Market Street San Francisco Presented as a work in progress, Try/Step/Trip is a spoken word, multicharacter musical performed in the body through the language of step dance. The show follows the journey of an anonymous narrator as he reimagines his experience in a court-ordered drug rehabilitation program through a montage of lucid, sobriety-induced dreams. Try/Step/Trip recounts a familiar story: a young black man is stopped by the police without clear cause, then again and again, until one encounter lands him before the courts. https://is.gd/RA2v9K

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Same-Sex Ballroom Dancing Documentary Hot to Trot Sizzles with Artistic, Political Passions Photos: Chris Phan/First Run Features

Film Gary M. Kramer At 4:30 pm on September 22, the Roxie Theater will screen Hot to Trot, director Gail Freedman’s fabulous, crowd-pleasing documentary about same-sex ballroom dancing. The film prof iles two couples—Emily Coles and Kieren Jameson in San Francisco, and Ernesto Palma and Nikolai Shpakov in New York—over four years, starting in 2012. Freedman gracefully captures the beauty and energy of the dancers, as well as the tensions that arise while they prepare for the 2014 Gay Games and a nailbiter of a competition.

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Le Creuset Mini Cocotte in Indigo Officially launched September 1st, Le Creuset’s newest color Indigo does not disappoint. The deep dramatic blue is the epitome of its namesake and is guaranteed to be the center of attention on any tabletop.

T

here is just no such thing as 4 seasons in San Francisco.

We tend to mark time by events more than weather.

August/September is Tourist season. October is marked by our annual week of sunshine and Halloween. And then it is Christmas...(yes we know Thanksgiving falls in there too, but in retail it is Christmas!) As we start to change over our counters to mark these fall “seasons” please take a minute to appreciate that we didn’t put up Halloween and Christmas in July.

Freedman recently chatted, via Skype, with me for the San Francisco Bay Times about her film.

Gary M. K ramer: W hat was your criteria for the couples you profiled?

Gail Freedman: I met Emily and Kieren on my first shoot at the 2012 April Follies. I knew right away I’d use them. They were great dancers, attractive and really comfortable with me and in front of the camera. They had interesting backstories. They were a well-oiled machine.

I also wanted a male dance couple. I wanted one that was new, to see what happened with a new partnership. I met Ernesto in New York, and within five minutes, he told me his entire life story. But he didn’t have a dance partner at that time. When Ernesto wanted to go to the Gay Games, he convinced Nikolai, who never danced same-sex ballroom before. But he went to an event with Ernesto and they danced, and we talked, and it was clear that this was a really interesting combination. I started shooting them together and I knew they were keepers.

Gary M. Kramer: You show the dancers’ full bodies, but also shoot close-ups to capture the emotions and the dancers’ concentration on their faces. Can you talk about your approach to filming?

Gail Freedman: Joel Shapiro, who was my primary cinematographer, and has shot a lot of dance, said there are all these rules—which we broke:

you show the whole body, you don’t break the frame, you don’t move your camera. But we couldn’t be on the f loor during competition. Rehearsing was a different story. I wanted sweaty close-ups, gasping for breath, and a hand on a back and the sweep of the room and the gorgeousness of the choreography.

Gary M. Kramer: There is an intimacy in the partnerships that I think you capture well.

Can you talk about how the couples relate and respond to one another?

Gail Freedman: Most dance couples are not life couples. They practice 20 hours a week. These relationships are difficult to navigate. There’s this creative tension between Ernesto and Nikolai that is good for the film, and I think in the film it was good for each of them that they expressed that. Ernesto says, “Nikolai gives me what I am not, and I give him what he is not.”

Gary M. K ramer: We get to know the dancers, their struggles in their personal lives, their relationships with their parents and their partners. Can you talk about how you presented them?

Gail Freedman: LGBT rights are the civil rights issue of the time. We have a core gay audience, but I real-

ly wanted the film to have a crossover mainstream appeal. I didn’t want to make a teachy-preachy film. You got to know these people where their humanity, in its fullest sense, just unfolds. I didn’t know what was going to happen with their lives. We were going on this journey together. They all have dignity and they were gracious enough to let me in and share that. They trusted that I would portray them in an honest, not saccharine, way.

Gary M. Kramer: Why do you think that ballroom is not bigger in the U.S.?

Gail Freedman: I think it’s becoming bigger in the U.S., but dance in general, and ballroom in particular, is much more prominent in European culture. That doesn’t happen as much here. Same-sex dance began in Europe, so a lot of dancers and LGBT dancers came to America because of acceptance, and that helped build the culture here. Dancing with the Stars helped. Latin dance doesn’t require as much space, and in New York there aren’t many places to dance (ballroom).

Gary M. Kramer: For competitors and others, is the approach dif ferent for same-sex ballroom than it is for other dance competitions?

Gail Freedman: I think that there is something about the supportiveness of the community that is not mirrored at a mainstream competition.

Everybody cheers for everyone else, even if they screw up and their competitors get a better score. It’s “smallp” political even as they express their creativity and artistry. It’s important to them. Dance is a sport at the Gay Games, and not at the Olympics. And you can be amateurs. It’s about inclusion, personal best and community.

That’s why same-sex dance will continue to thrive. © 2018 Gary M. Kramer Gary M. Kramer is the author of “Independent Queer Cinema: Reviews and Interviews,” and the co-editor of “Directory of World Cinema: Argentina.” Follow him on Twitter @ garymkramer

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SISTER DANA (continued from page 21) Remember the trial of the homophobic baker at Masterpiece Cakeshop?

Well, John Fisher, director and playwright of THEATRE RHINOCEROS, has written an amazingly authentic account in his latest brilliant play, MASTERPIECE. I was fortunate to attend a one-time stage reading at Spark Arts in the Castro on August 28. Four long tables were attached where the actors could read their parts. Opposite them was the audience, the court of public opinion. The prologue depicted the scene where the gay couple tried to order a wedding cake but was refused “for religious reasons” and later took the case to the Supreme Court. Fisher has quoted from the official Supreme Court transcripts (with a little necessary humor injected) as each actor has now become a judge. Following the disappointing verdict given to the cake maker, in the epilogue, Fisher ends with a surprise trans twist. He told me he doubted the play would ever be staged, and I begged him to mount this “masterpiece.”

DROP’N’GIMME FIFTY! was the fabulosa festive full-tilt celebration of JOHN WEBER’S 5OTH BIRTHDAY at Flore on September 1. This was BFF Emperor XXXVI John Weber’s 50th birthday bash from 4 to 9 pm at Flore (one hour for every decade of his glorious life) as a community celebration in recognition of his years of community work and involvement. Catered food was southern and soulful. Gathered together were his peeps—the Imperial Court, the Ducal Court, the Krewe de Kinque social and fundraiser club, and The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence (well ... moi). Emcees were Empress XLVI SF Saybeline & Grand Duchess XXXVI Landa Lake. Among the many many incredible performances were by songstress BeBe Sweetbriar, hoop extraordinaire Sean Eiserne Drossel Twomey, Krewe de

Kinque XIV Lady Cuki Couture, future Grand Duchess MGM Grande, violinist extraordinaire Kippy Marks, Empress XLV Renita Valdez, Grand Duke Madd Dogg 20/20, and Grand Duchess Miss Shugana. But the hit of the night was surely by birthday boy John Weber doing Aretha’s “Natural Woman,” for which we could all relate as this awesome diva has passed over. DJ Jay Reezy dropped the beats for us to enjoy and dance to. And who could forget the truly decadent chocolate supreme birthday cake brought out as we all gleefully sang the “Happy Birthday Song” to the man of the hour?! What a man! and what a night!

Sister Dana sez, “If you’re as angry and depressed as I am every time you see that autocratic president’s orange face on the news, here’s a way to help relieve that anger and depression: simply give an energetic third-finger salute to the screen.

Flip those birds to that terrible tweeter! Meanwhile, tie a string around your finger to remind you of these excellent upcoming events.”

THEATRE RHINOCEROS presents the Bay Area premiere of Chisa Hutchinson’s DEAD AND BREATHING for 15 performances (September 6–22) at Gateway Theatre, 215 Jackson Street. Story: Cranky old Carolyn Whitlock has been in hospice for far too long and just wants to die already. But she’ll have to work harder than she ever has in her privileged life to convince her over-sharing and very Christian nurse to help her end it. Through surprising humor and persistent questioning, Dead and Breathing investigates morality, mortality, and the intense tug-of-war between the right to die with dignity and the idea of life as a gift. www.TheRhino.org

KIT’N KITTY’S

QUEER POP QUIZ ANSWER (Question on pg 22) C) Mary Lambert Mary Lambert’s contributions to “Same Love” drew upon her experiences as “a lesbian growing up in a tumultuous, Christian upbringing,” she told HuffPost.

Emperor Leandro Gonzales and Empress Pollo Del Mar in conjunction with THE IMPERIAL COUNCIL OF SAN FRANCISCO, INC. will present the 2018 GOLDEN GATE GAYMES hosted by Mr. Golden Gate Mikey T and Miss Golden Gate Scarlet Menzie. Join them for a day of fun, food and frolic at the Collingwood Park Baseball Diamond in the Heart of the Castro. Gather a team of 4 to compete in the games.

Entry fee is $100 and includes food/ beverage for all four team members.

Prizes will be awarded after the always fun, sometimes infamous, “Lip Sync or Swim” contest. Games in the park will include Kickball (10 Run Rule), Corn-hole, Wheel of Misfortune, Spoon and Egg Race and Frisbee. Don’t want to compete?

Come and spend a day in the park watching all of the fun. $20 at the gate gets you food/beverage and great seats in the bleachers. Help to celebrate the great work of Mikey T and Scarlett as they wrap up their year of service to their community.

After the Park, everyone will head to Beaux to see who will be crowned the new Mr. & Miss Golden Gate 2018/19. https://www.facebook. com/events/316935798872112 As you likely know, LYRIC (based in San Francisco) is one of the oldest and most innovative youth development organizations in the nation serving LGBTQQ youth, with a strong focus on integrating racial equity in their programming. LYRIC is looking for a new Program Director to help lead the organization through a key period of strategic growth and expansion, overseeing a team of 15 program staff and leading and promoting leadership development opportunities for staff and youth participants. Additionally, the Talent Manager will be tasked with overseeing fundamental learning and development opportunities throughout the organization, equipping team members with the key tools and resources they need to drive impact. https:// nonprofitprofessionals.com/ A new exhibition opens September 14 at the GLBT HISTORY MUSEUM marking the 40th anniversary of the defeat of a California ballot measure that would have banned lesbian and gay people and supporters of lesbian and gay rights from teaching in public schools. “THE BRIGGS INITIATIVE: A SCARY PROPOSITION” recounts the history of this turning point for LGBTQ rights. Sponsored by State Senator John Briggs, Proposition Six was

part of a wave of homophobic ballot measures across the U.S. On November 7, 1978, Californians decisively voted down the measure. The No on Six campaign was the first to succeed in stopping anti-gay forces in the voting booth. Among the best remembered leaders of the effort was Harvey Milk, but many other groups and individuals also made vital contributions. “The Briggs Initiative: A Scary Proposition” opens Friday, September 14, 4127 18th Street, with a public reception set for 7 to 9 pm.

The curators will offer introductory remarks, and light refreshments will be served. Admission is $5.00; free for members of the GLBT Historical Society. The exhibition runs through January 20, 2019.

When local businesses, artists, advocates, community members, and your favorite clown nuns gather enthusiastically, you just know it’s going to be a great event. On September 15, 7–11 pm at SOMArts Cultural Center, 934 Brannan Street, we SF Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, Inc. bring you our outrageous annual event, PROJECT NUNWAY 9 TO 5: WORK! We’re eager to see how our crafty designers visually represent themes of labor, professionalism and the workplace as they adorn us nuns in recycled regalia. “Supermodel” Sister Dana will be working the runway with my fellow nun models. Along with the fashion, this unique experience includes outstanding performances by local artists all coming together to raise money for an outstanding local nonprofit serving the Bay Area’s most vulnerable residents. Our selected nonprofit is POSITIVE RESOURCE CENTER (PRC).

The mission of PRC is to help people affected by HIV/AIDS, substance use or mental health to better realize opportunities by providing integrated legal, social, and health services that address the broad range of social risk factors that impact wellness and limit potential. We are excited to raise funds for such a great cause. If you’d like to know more about them, please visit their website (https://prcsf. org/). Featuring our fabulous talent: Emcees: Sister Roma & Steven LeMay with entertainment by DJ Legendary Spiider and Friends, Alex U. Inn & Momma’s Boyz, Baloney Boys, Queen Dilly Dally’s Royal Variety Show and Celebrity Judges: Heklina, Juanita More!, Empress Pollo del Mar, Emperor Leandro Gonzalez, & Kit Tapata. This is an 18+ age event, so leave the kiddies at home with their nannies. Or nunnies.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ project-nunway-9-to-5-work-tickets CELEBRITY CRUISES presents SOIRÉE ON THE BAY and celebrates Love + Diversity onboard “Celebrity Solstice,” Pier 27, San Francisco on September 17, 6–9 pm.

(See story on page 17.) https://www.eventbrite.com/e/soiree-on-the-bay-tickets-47214505858 VERASPHERE 25 YEARS: ART, LOVE, JOY is Friday, September 21, 6 to 9 pm at Harvey Milk Photo Center, 50 Scott Street. Come to the OPENING RECEPTION celebrating the collaborative Partners works of photography, costumes, and paintings by artists David Faulk (“Mrs. Vera”) and Michael Johnstone. Featuring the “Mrs. Vera’s Daybook” series of photographs, examining everyday life, alienation, magic, and longterm survival; costumes made with up-cycled items; and images of the Verasphere Group, an everexpanding bunch that marches in Pride SF. Sponsored by San Francisco Recreation & Parks, Harvey Milk Photo Center Curator: Dave Christensen, Special Sponsor: Art Saves Lives, Thomasina DeMaio. https://www.facebook. com/events/1880961738652387 Bringing together a creative community of artists, galleries, art donors, art patrons, sponsors, and media, the UCSF ALLIANCE HEALTH PROJECT presents ART FOR AIDS to connect the art world with one of the nation’s leading HIV/AIDS and LGBTQ mental health organizations. Enjoy the excitement of the art auction while sipping cocktails and enjoying hors d’oeuvres from some of the Bay Area’s premier purveyors. All of the art and fun are at City View at the Metreon, 135 Fourth Street, Friday, September 21, 6 pm. Enjoy all the artists’ various works on all four walls! https://ucsfaids.ejoinme.org/ artforaids2018 Sister Dana sez, “Dana Rohrabacher, the Orange County congressman known for his close ties to the Kremlin, said that Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions should resign after showing disloyalty to President Trump by refusing to shut down the Russia investigation. Dana has brought disgrace to both my Sister name and to my state. Neither I nor California is fascist, Mr. Trumpbacker!”

BASHAN (continued from page 21) habits that make you look and feel like a million bucks. It’s the key to expressing your most authentic and best self. If you feel pressured to keep up a certain appearance, you’ll end up feeling miserable.

Reach out to your friend circle.

Sometimes people over-analyze text messages, social media posts and conversations.

These actions are driven by the fear that the person we are trying to woo can suddenly be uninterested in dating us at the drop of a hat. During such times, think of the people whom you trust most in the world, the ones who have been in your corner since day one.

These people choose to keep you in their lives and they truly care. Don’t be afraid to lean on your friends when you’re feeling insecure, and believe them when they tell you how wonderful you are.

Indulge in self-care.

It’s very important to date from a healthy mental place. Whether it’s coloring, deleting apps, exercise or therapy, developing habits allows you to press a reset button on your anxiety. Pursue passions that provide some enrichment outside of a romantic relationship like club sports, volunteering and industry organizations. Doing something that you love is not only good for the soul, 28

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but also it makes you more attractive to potential partners.

Are you feeling more confident about lesbian dating yet? Maybe now, after reading this, you’re still struggling with more than just a lack of confidence. If so, I encourage you to reach out to a professional. If you can’t honestly say, “I love myself,” or you have heavy feelings of inadequacy or sadness, get help. Even a few sessions with a psychologist and/or dating coaching can set you on the right path.

With consistent effort, and the courage to take a risk, we can gradually expand our conf idence, and with it, our capacity to build more of it!

Dr. Frankie Bashan is a psychologist, matchmaker and relationship guru who has been using her psycholog y background combined with technolog y and personalized algorithms to successfully match lesbian couples nationwide. As the founder of Little Gay Book, the only exclusively lesbian/bi matchmaking agency in the U.S., she helps women in every state to find authentic, healthy, righteous, fullblown love and she knows what makes relationships tick. For more info: https:// www.littlegaybook.com/

Bay Area LGBT Athletes Bring Home Gold

Sports John Chen The 2018 Gay Games held August 4–12 in Paris, France, have come and gone in the blink of an eye, but they left lasting memories and friendships for the many Bay Area LGBT athletes who made the quadrennial pilgrimage to compete and represent San Francisco. Conceived by Dr. Tom Waddell, a former Olympic decathlete, the first Gay Games commenced in 1982 in our very own city, where 1,350 athletes from 12 nations competed in 17 sports.

The stated mission of the Federation of Gay Games “is to promote equality through the organization of the premiere international LGBT and gay-friendly sports and cultural event known as the Gay Games.” The Federation wants “the widest possible participation, regardless of age, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, health status or athletic ability.

Everyone is welcome!”

The 10th Gay Games in Paris attracted over 10,000 athletes, nearly octuple the participants from the first competition in San Francisco. These competitors represented 91 countries in 36 sports. For all of the Bay Area LGBT athletes who traveled to France, the Gay Games held special meaning, whether it was their first time or their tenth.

Rick Thoman, a track and field iron man, is a one of a kind LGBT athlete who has competed in all 10 Gay

Games, and won at least one medal in all of them!

Thoman’s path to athletic glory was never easy; it was one of sheer physical and mental streng th, ded ication, persevera nce a nd never-say-die spirit.

The Games provided Thoman with great motivation and drive to continue to strive for excellence in spite of father time, strained muscles, surgeries and broken bones. More important than the gold, the silver and the bronze is how the Gay Games changed Thoman’s life as a gay man.

“The Gay Games helped me to reconcile being gay and being athletic,” Thoman told me for the San Francisco Bay Times. “The stereotype of gays being sissies and lisping fairies did not jive with the masculine image of athletes. That I was able to be recognized as both gay and an athlete was the self-esteem I needed to fully come out. Through the Gay Games, Dr. Waddell showed the world that gay people aren’t just drag queens but we are also runners, swimmers, wrestlers, basketball players ... . We are athletic and we are competitive.

We aren’t fragile—we are tough and strong and can endure the training it takes to be among the best.”

In our Bay Area and all over the world, there are many, many more Rick Thomans who have overcome tremendous physical, emotional and self-image challenges through LGBT sports and through the positive channels that the Gay Games can provide.

To honor and pay tribute to Bay Area LGBT athletes whose hard work paid dividends, I’ve compiled a list of local teams and individual medal winners below. An official complete list was not available as of this writing, but for updates and more information about the 10th Gay Games, please go to: https://www.paris2018.com/ Congratulations to all of the winners and participants!

Basketball Gold, San Francisco Rockdogs, A Division Silver, San Francisco Jas, C Division Cycling Silver, Bill Tucker, Men’s 35–39 37km Race Dance Sport Silver, Ron Jekins/ Photis Pishiaras, Ballroom Dance/Senior Men Standard B Silver, San Francisco Vima Vice Squad, Team Show Dance Silver, Cheer San Francisco, Formation Teams Ice Hockey Bronze, San Francisco Team Riptide Martial Arts Gold, Chris Yang, Men’s Open Hand Form, Intermediate Gold, DeVante Allen, Men’s Open Hand Form, Black Belt Gold, DeVante Allen, Men’s Musical Form, Black Belt

Gold,

Take Me Home with You!

“My name is Willis! I’m 70 pounds and have been described many times as a gentle giant. I’ve lived with Willis young children before and I love everyone I meet! I’m 6 years old, so I’ve moved on from the rambunctious puppy phase and understand how to be very well behaved. If you have room in your life for a big boy like me, please come and introduce yourself!”

Willis is presented to San Francisco Bay Times readers by Dr. Jennifer Scarlett, the SF SPCA’s Co-President. Our thanks also go to Krista Maloney for helping to get the word out about lovable pets like Willis.

To meet Willis, as well as other pets seeking their forever homes, please visit:

Long Wu, Weapons Form, Senior Black Belt Silver, DeVante Allen, Men’s Weapon Form, Black Belt Silver, Louise Rafkin, Women’s Musical Form, Black Belt Silver, Louise Rafkin, Women’s Forms 52 and Up, Black Belt Silver, Cinthia Varkivissor, Empty Hands Form, Women’s Black Belt 52 and Below Bronze, Long Wu, Empty Hands Form, Senior Black Belt Soccer Gold, San Francisco Spikes Soccer Club, Men’s 11 v 11 Division 2B Bronze, San Francisco Spikes Soccer Club, Women’s 7 v 7 Softball Silver, San Francisco Inferno Blaze, Women’s Division Silver, San Francisco Inferno Blaze, Open B Division Bronze, San Francisco Eagles, Open A Division Swimming Gold, Bart McDermott, 50m Fly Gold, Bart McDermott, 100m Fly Gold, Bart McDermott, 200m Fly Silver, Bart McDermott, 200m Free Tennis Gold, Alex Liou/Kilby Featherston, Men’s 18+ A Doubles Gold, Ben Zseto/Jerry Ball, Men’s 40+ C Doubles Gold, Alvin Chua/Gino Tagyolo, Men’s 40+ Open Doubles Gold, Alvin Chua/Carrie Portis, Mixed 40+ A Doubles Gold, Barbara Dunn/Michele McGeoy, Mixed 50+ Doubles Gold, Curtis Dunn, Men’s 18+ Open Singles Gold, David Chen, Men’s 40+ A Singles Gold, Carries Portis, Women’s 40+ B Singles Gold, Laurie Watters, Women’s 60+ Singles Silver, Hiro Hongo/Marcus Lo, Men’s 18+ A Doubles Silver, Santi Soumpholphady/Karen Gee, Mixed 40+ A Doubles Silver, Barbara Dunn/Karen Gee, Women’s 40+ A Doubles Bronze, Fred Allemann/Tyler Cole, Men’s 40+ B Doubles Bronze, Charles King/Mary Beth Meyer, Mixed 40+ B Doubles Bronze, Michele McGeoy/Dora Dome, Women’s 40+ A Doubles

San Francisco SPCA Mission Campus 250 Florida Street San Francisco, CA 94103 415-522-3500 Aside from major holidays, the adoption center is open Mon–Fri: 1–6 pm and Sat– Sun: 10 am–5 pm. Free parking is available for those wishing to adopt!

For more information: www.sfspca.org/adopt

Dr. Jennifer Scarlett and Pup

Fitness SF Trainer Tip of the Month Daniel Hom -

Fitness SF Embarcadero “Kickboxing has always been a passion of mine. It’s the perfect combination of cardiovascular exercise and core strength technique.

It’s also a fantastic way to relieve some stress. Stop by Fitness SF Embarcadero and I can teach you some new moves!

Tore Kelly, Director of Creative & Social Media for Fitness SF, provides monthly tips that he has learned from professional trainers. For more information: https://fitnesssf.com/

Bronze, Mary Beth Meyer/Laurie Watters, Women’s 50+/60+ Doubles Bronze, David Chen/Linda Scaparotti, Mixed 40+ A Doubles Bronze, Santi Soumpholphakdy/ Schulhoff Tam, Men’s 40+ Open Doubles Bronze, David Sauzeat/Elenie Opfer, Mixed 40+ C Doubles Bronze, Curtis Dunn/Kerry Mitchell, Men’s 18+ Open Doubles Bronze, Alvin Chua, Men’s 40+ Open Singles Bronze, Pete Torres, Men’s 40+ A Singles Bronze, Mary Beth Miller, Women’s 60+ Singles Bronze, Kilby Featherston, Men’s 18+ A Singles Track & Field Gold, Rick Thoman (San Francisco Track & Field Club), Javelin

Gold, Rick Thoman, 4 x 100m Gold, Sean Au (San Francisco Track & Field Club), Pole Vault Gold, Sean Au, 4 x 200m Gold, Sean Au, 4 x 400m Silver, Rick Thoman, Shotput Silver, Sean Au, Retro Running 100m Bronze, Rick Thoman, 100m Bronze, Sean Au, 4 x 100m Water Polo Gold, San Francisco Tsunami, Recreation Division Silver, San Francisco Tsunami, Competitive Division (Editor’s Note: For more about the 10th Gay Games held this year in Paris, see the July 26 and August 23 issues.)

John Chen, a UCLA alumnus and an avid sports fan, has competed as well as coached tennis, volleyball, softball and football teams.

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LGBTQ News & Calendar for the Bay Area CELEBRATING FOUR DECADES (1978–2018)

COMING UP

Compiled by Blake Dillon

CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS http://sfbaytimes.com/

6 Thursday Jennifer Banzaca Spotlight Exhibition Opening Reception @ Art Attack, 2358 Market Street, Suite 1. Banzaca’s new exhibit will be on view through September 30.

12noon-8pm. http://www.artattacksf.com Book Discussion with Avery Cassell @ Dog Eared Books Castro, 489 Castro Street. Author Avery Cassell will present her book, Butch Lesbians of the ’50s, ’60s, and ‘70s Coloring Book. 7-9pm. http://www.dogearedbooks.com Laugh Your Gays Off @ Midnight Sun, 4067 18th Street. This installment of the ongoing series will feature Max Eddy, Mike Whitaker, James Mwawra, Brooke Heinichen, Natasha Muse and host Daniele Midi. 9pm. http://www.midnightsunsf.com Tomorrow We Inherit the Earth: Performing Queer Muslim Futures @ The Stud, 399 9th Street. The event is a futuristic evening using fashion, performance, video, sound art and music to explore and challenge histories of violence, colonialism and imperialism enacted on Muslim bodies.

After party follows with DJs Arshia Haq and Discostan. http://www.studsf.com

7 Friday Ebabes @ The Terrace Room at Lake Merritt Hotel, 1900 Madison, Oakland. The long-standing monthly mixer for women welcomes the band Mary Lou’s Apartment for a night of dining and dancing. 6pm mixer/7pm performance. http://www.theterraeroom.com Lookout’s 11th Anniversary Party @ Lookout, 3600 16th Street. DJ Sergio Fedasz and special guest Tommy K will provide music and a free Happy Hour buffet will be available 6-8pm. 3:30pm-2am. http://www.lookoutsf.com Keep Oakland Queer: Benefit for Qulture Collective @ Qulture Collective, 1714 Franklin, Oakland. The evening includes open studios, auctions, craft cocktails and more with the goal of keeping the doors open and welcoming for the queer and trans community in Oakland. 7pm. http://www.qulturecollective.com

8 Saturday Oakland LGBTQ Center People’s Pride Run, Wellness Expo, Vogue Ball and Fairyland Day @ Lake Merritt Pergola (7:30am), Run (8:30am), Family Fairyland Day (11am-2pm), Hella Gay with DJ Gray (9am12noon), Fashion Show (1-3:30pm), Dance Contest (1:30-2:30pm); Vogue Ball.(2:30-5pm). http://www.spectrumqueermedia.com Women for Climate Justice at Rise for Climate, Jobs, Justice @ Steuart Street between Market & Mission Streets starting point. The Women for Climate Justice contingent will march in the Rise for Climate, Jobs and Justice March in San Francisco, which is part of a network of marches happening nationally. 10am meeting time and continues to 4pm. https://peoplesclimate.org/actions/ women-climate-justice/ Ghirardelli Chocolate Festival @ Ghirardelli Square, 900 N. Point Street.

Benefiting Project Open Hand, this annual two-day festival has become a favorite for chocolate lovers. 12:30pm-7pm. http://www.ghirardellisq.com 30

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Daphne Gooch - Live! in the Castro @ Jane Warner Plaza, 17th and Castro Streets. The event is one in the ongoing series sponsored by the Castro Community Business District. 1pm. http://www.castrocbd.org

Women’s Jazz & Blues Jam @ Octopus Literary Salon, 2101 Webster Street #170, Oakland. An open venue for musicians to network and jam where all are welcome.

7-9pm. http://www.oaklandoctopus.org

Hey Girl Hey & Little Gay Book Oakland Pride Party @ Era Art Bar and Lounge, 19 Grand Avenue, Oakland. DJs Osco, Scott Free and Campbell will be spinning dance music for this popular party that will sell out.

5-10pm. http://www.heygirlproductions.com

The Gay Uncle in San Francisco @ Exit Theatre, 156 Eddy Street. Presented as part of the SF Fringe Festival, the play is about a guy who learned life in the underground, gay, camp and pop cultures of the 60s and 70s.

Multiple performances through September 15. http://www.sffringe.org

Soulskin’s Hero World Premiere @ Dance Mission Theater, 3316 24th Street.

The politically themed ballet explores the question of what defines a hero in today’s society. 8-10pm continuing September 8 & 9. http://www.missionlocal.org

9 Sunday Sha’ar Zahav’s Rosh Hashanah @ Multiple locations and activities will take place on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, September 9-11, in celebration of the New Year in the Jewish calendar. http://www.shaarzahav.org Oakland Pride Pool Party @ Waterfront Hotel, 10 Washington Street, Oakland. Featuring music with Black Velveteen, there is no cover charge to attend.

9-11am. smcisaac@jdvhotels.com Oakland Pride & Festival @ Franklin Street, Oakland. Oakland Pride’s annual parade and festival. 10:30am-7pm. http://www.oaklandpride.org Sunday’s A Drag @ The Starlight Room, Powell Street. Hosted by Donna Sachet, the event features a brunch and a troupe of entertainers. It is described as “The Greatest Drag Show in San Francisco,” and we agree that is is great! Two shows: 11am and 2pm. http://www.starlightroomsf.com Jason Brock & Dee Spencer - Live! in the Castro @ Jane Warner Plaza, 17th and Castro Streets. The event is one in the series sponsored by the Castro Community Business District. 1pm. http://www.castrocbd.org

10 Monday Girls in Tech Networking & Recruiting Dinner @ Thirsty Bear Brewing Co., 661 Howard Street. The event is a monthly networking opportunity for people of all backgrounds and genders. 6-9pm. http://www.girlsintech.org The Future of LGBTQ Rights in a Changing Supreme Court @ SF LGBT Center, 1800 Market Street. Team Q of the United Democratic Club will present this panel discussion featuring Elizabeth Gill of ACLU Northern California interviewed by journalist Joel Engardio. 6:30-8pm. http://www.sfcenter.org SF Eagle Karaoke @ SF Eagle, 398 12th Street. The weekly event on Mondays is hosted by Beth Bicostal, Eduardo Wagar and Rahni Nothingmore. 9pm-1am. http://www.sf-eagle.com

Women of the West Exhibit @ Scott Nichols Gallery, 49 Geary Street. An exhibition of and by women photographers who are from the West or who have documented the West, featuring Dorothea Lange and more than fifteen others.

Tuesday through Saturday, 11am-5:30pm. http://www.scottnicholsgallery.com

12 Wednesday Global Climate Action Summit @ Moscone Center South. A gathering of international participants, co-chaired by Governor Jerry Brown, Michael Bloomberg and other luminaries representing the United Nations and more. The three-day event will include events in various formats addressing accomplishments, challenges and the urgency of the threat posed by climate change. http://www.globalclimateactionsummit.org LGBTQ Estate Planning Issues - It’s Not All About Death & Taxes! @ TransAmerica Pyramid, 600 Montgomery Street. An event for financial advisors, estate planners, attorneys and other professionals to be led by Linda Scaparotti, Barry Taylor and Deb Stallings. http://www.horizonsfoundation.org Fabulosa Fest 2018 @ Big Table Ranch, Coulterville (address provided upon registration). A five-day annual gathering for women that welcomes feminist-minded people of all genders; featuring live entertainment, pool parties and other activities. September 12-16. http://www.fabulosa.org Castro LGBTQ Cultural District Committee Meeting @ GLBT Historical Society, 4127 18th Street. The event will be an open meeting for discussion of the proposed ordinance establishing the Castro LGBTQ Cultural District. 6-8pm. http://www.castrolgbtq.org

13 Thursday Connect: 2018 @ San Jose Museum of Art, 110 South Market Street, San Jose. The Rainbow Chamber Silicon Valley’s annual business networking event attended by elected officials, representatives of corporations with supplier diversity programs or employee resource groups, non-profits and community members. http://www.rainbowchamber.org

11 Tuesday

LGBTQ Alumni Intercollegiate Mixer @ Lookout, 3600 16th Street.

Harvard Gender and Sexuality Caucus members and friends will gather for an evening mixer featuring “The Crimson” and “Puritan” speciality drinks. 6-9pm. jane.aceituno@gmail.com

Perfectly Queer Reading’s Ancestors @ Dogeared Books Castro, 489 Castro Street. Featured guests Wayne Goodman, Andrew Lam and Anand Vedawala will discuss Ancestors: Real, Imagined & Literary. 7pm. http://www.dogearedbooks.com

Retelling Gay Literary Firsts @ San Francisco Public Library, Hormel Center, 100 Larkin Street. Author Wayne Goodman will discuss his books retelling historicallysignificant and nearly lost works of gay fiction.

6-7:30pm. http://www.sfpl.org

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NightLife Live 2018 @ California Academy of Sciences, 55 Music Concourse Drive, Golden Gate Park. The fifth annual Nightlife Live summer music festival presents CLASSIXX with SUMif and DJ Sweater Funk presented by Noise Pop. The evening is one in the Academy’s ongoing Thursday Night NightLife series featuring art, music, performances and science. 6-10pm. http://www.calacademy.org Queer Love on Barbary Lane: Sexual Politics in Tales of the City @ GLBT Historical Society, 4127 18th Street. Ramzi Fawaz will present his research with Bay Area residents about their experiences related to Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City. 7-9pm. http://www.glbthistory.org

14 Friday Uptown Funk - Bruno Mars Tribute @ Empress Theatre, 330 Virginia Street, Vallejo. Dubbed as one of the greatest tribute bands in the industry. Uptown Funk will present a selection of Bruno’s top hits with a memorable stage production. 7pm. http://www.empresstheatre.org “The Briggs Initiative: A Scary Proposition” Opening Reception @ GLBT History Museum, 4127 18th Street.

The event will celebrate the opening of a new exhibit marking the 40th anniversary of the campaign to defeat the Briggs Initiative. 7-9pm. http://www.glbthistory.org UHAUL SF @ SF Oasis, 298 11th Street. A safe space party for girls who love girls. Happening since 2014, the event welcomes queer, trans and questioning communities and features music with DJ Jibbz, go-gos and photography. 10pm-2am. http://www.sfoasis.com Opening Reception with the Parkers @ The Randall Museum, 199 Museum Way. A longtime favorite destination among LGBT families, the Museum opens a weekend of programming featuring the legendary Parker Family including master weaver Julia Parker, curators of the current exhibit A Tradition of Making: California Native Basketry. 6:30pm with all day workshops on September 15 and 16. http://www.randallmuseum.org Parenting Transgender Youth Book Discussion @ Copperfield’s Books Novato, 999 Grant Avenue, Suite 105, Novato. A group of four local mothers will present an engaging discussion about their experiences parenting transgender children. Copies of their books will be available. 7-8pm. http://www.copperfieldsbooks.com

15 Saturday Mill Valley Fall Arts Festival @ Old Mill Park, 300 Throckmorton Avenue, Mill Valley.

With more than 130 artists featured, this twoday festival includes live music, entertainment, crafts for kids and more. 10am-5pm. http://www.mvfaf.org The 5th Oakland Black-Eyed Pea Festival @ 4351 Broadway, Oakland.

The Ominara Institute and Choir will host this celebration of African American culture featuring musicians, artists, crafts vendors, health and community information booths and Black-Eyed Pea themed food and a farmer’s market. 11am-6pm. http://www.omnirainstitute.org

Vintage Streetcar Ride with Gypsy Jazz by Gaucho - Live! in the Castro @ Jane Warner Plaza, 17th and Castro Streets. The event is one in the series sponsored by the Castro Community Business District and features a ride aboard the historic F-Market street car to the Orbit Room with vintage clothes encouraged. 1pm. http://www.castrocbd.org San Francisco Pride Annual Meeting & Elections @ SF LGBT Center, Rainbow Rm, 1800 Market Street. Members will vote to elect nominees to open seats on the Board of Directors. 2-5pm. http://www.sfpride.org Drag Queen Storytime @ Dr. Martin Luther King Library, 150 E. San Fernando Street, San Jose.

This family-friendly event, where drag queens read to youngsters, has reached San Jose. 11am-12noon. http://www.sjpl.org/earlyeducation Project Nunway 9 to 5: WORK! @ SOMArts Cultural Center, 934 Brannon Street.

The 9th annual Project Nunway event celebrating labor and work and featuring unique fashions by designers modeled by members of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.

7-11pm. http://www.thesisters.org

16 Sunday Kever Avot v’Imahot High Holiday Cemetary Service @ Hill of Eternity, 1301 El Camino Real. Congregation Sha’ar Zahav members will continue the tradition of visiting the graves of parents and loved ones between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. http://www.shaarzahav.org Kippy Marks - Live! in the Castro @ Jane Warner Plaza, 17th and Castro Streets.

The event is one in the series sponsored by the Castro Community Business District. 1pm. http://www.castrocbd.org Women’s Tea Dance! @ U.U. Fellowship Hall, 1606 Bonita & Cedar Streets, Berkeley. Dancing for women with DJ Judy Graboyes.

3-5:30pm.

A Taste of Asian Food, Art & Culture LGBTQ + You Potluck @ Art Object Gallery, 592 N. 5th Street, San Jose. Bring an Asian-inspired dish to share at this free event. 3-7pm. http://www.chopsticksalleyart.org Bay Area Rainbow Symphony Fall Concert @ San Francisco Conservatory of Music, 50 Oak Street. Guest conductor Michael Morgan will conduct selections from Bernstein, Bruch, Mozart and Tchaikovsky at this event that is part of the Symphony’s LGBTQ Composer and Performing Artist Series. 8-10pm. http://www.bars-sf.org

17 Monday Soirée on the Bay @ Celebrity Solstice, Pier 27 on the Embarcadero. Celebrity Cruises hosts a benefit for REAF featuring a champagne reception, entertainment by the Phantom of the Opera cast and Celebrity performers, and honoring the 40th anniversaries of the San Francisco Bay Times and the SF Gay Men’s Chorus. 6-9pm. http://www.reaforg

18 Tuesday

Durst will present the latest in his series of shows with this one taking a look at where American society stands post 2016 election.

Tuesdays through October 30. 8pm. http://www.themarsh.org

Yom Kippur Day @ Congregation Sha’ar Zahav, 290 Delores Street. A schedule of programs will be offered along with childcare, beginning with family service. 9:30am-9pm. http://www.shaarzahav.org

Boy George @ Culture Club and The B-52s with Tom Bailey @ Mountain Winery. 14831 Pierce Road, Saratoga. The Life Tour comes to the Bay Area. 6:30pm. http://www.mountainwinery.com

Durst Case Scenario: Midterm Madness @ The Marsh San Francisco, 1062 Valencia Street. Comedian Will

19 Wednesday Positive Parenting Program for LGBTQ+ Parents @

Our Family Coalition, 1385 Mission Street. For parents and caregivers of children 2-10 years old, the program promotes positive parenting practices in the community to encourage children’s social, emotional and behavioral development. 6pm. http//www.ourfamily.org Fundraiser for Czech Marriage Equality @ PIlsner Inn, 225 Church Street. Czeslaw Walek, head of the Czech marriage equality campaign, will be on hand to talk about the upcoming vote in Czechia to take place this year. 6:30-8:30pm. http://www.friendsofpraguepride.org S AN F R ANC IS C O BAY T IM ES

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