SGN May 8, 2020

Celebrating 46 Years!

Issue 19 Volume 48

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Seattle Gay News S E AT T L E ’ S L G B T Q N E W S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T W E E K LY

DURKAN DIGEST:

Extending COVID-19 relief programs for Seattle

Photo courtesy of the Office of the Mayor of Seattle

SEATTLE (May 5, 2020) – Gov. Inslee has led our state during the COVID-19 crisis by relying on science and data to make decisions. Yesterday, he signed the extension of the Stay Home, Stay Healthy order until

May 31, and in recent days, he has outlined a phased approach to reopening – both are critical to saving lives and preventing an exponential resurgence of the COVID-19.

see DURKAN page 4

HRC endorses Joe Biden

Vice President Joe Biden – Photo courtesy of HRC

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has endorsed Joe Biden for president of the United States. The not-unexpected move was formalized in a May 6 press release and a video announcement by the group’s president, Alphonso David.

“The HRC’s Board of Directors, comprised of 26 community leaders from across the nation, unanimously and enthusiastically voted to endorse former Vice President Joe Biden for president of the United States. The endorsement comes on the 8th anniversary of Biden’s endorsement of marriage equality in an interview on

see BIDEN page 8

Patti LuPone: A comeback in quarantine

Stage icon talks Hollywood, her basement videos and why “Ladies Who Lunch” will never be the same

Patti LuPone in Hollywood – Photo courtesy of Netflix

by Chris Azzopardi Q Syndicate In Ryan Murphy’s Hollywood, the wife becomes the boss, the “black screenwriter” is simply a screenwriter, and the gay lead-

ing man is just himself. Naturally, it stars Broadway icon Patti LuPone, who, in conversations like the one we had recently, thrives on brazen authenticity.

see PATTI LUPONE page 18

Murray on Trump response: “failed and continues to fail”

Photo by Evan Vucci / AP

WASHINGTON, DC (May 7, 2020) – Today, US Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, delivered opening remarks at a HELP Committee hearing on the COVID19 crisis and the need to improve testing. In her remarks, Sen. Murray sharply criticized the Trump administration for its handling of the crisis over the last few months.

“Our committee’s last hearing on COVID-19 was on March 3rd. During that hearing I expressed my intense frustration at the administration’s lack of preparedness, its failure to ramp up testing, the White House’s constant contradictions of public health experts’ guidance, and more.

More than 60 days later, I wish I could say

see MURRAY page 7

2 Seattle Gay News

May 8, 2020

Celebrating 46 Years!

Seattle Gay News F O U N D E D 1974 MEMBER

2018

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Love in the lockdown

by DW Hamilton Special to the SGN For those of us who have been socially distancing solo, the question begs asking, “At what point is a booty call an essential activity?” Like many things during the Coronavirus Virus epidemic, we are all making personal sacrifices to prevent the spread of this deadly infection. Who isn’t on board for limiting gatherings of five or over if it helps save lives? But what about gatherings of just two? A mid-April 2020 US Weekly video interview with Tiger King’s Dillon Passage shows him eager for a conjugal visit with his husband, Joe Exotic after a separation of over a year and a half. He hadn’t seen him since the morning of his arrest, and had never hugged and kissed him goodbye. A year and a half is a long time under any circumstances, but for lovers torn apart across physical distances by the Pandemic, six weeks can seem just as long.

The challenges for couples living in self-sequestration are one thing. Couples shut in together may undoubtedly test their compatibility and resourcefulness to etch out meaningful bits of private time for themselves inside a one-bedroom apartment. Some couples may emerge out into the new normal with a profoundly deeper level of dedication in their relationships.

Others may not, as enforced familiarity causes contempt to flourish for those tiny details that can work a mate’s nerve. But what about couples who were not cohabitating? What about relationships just at a point when it was about to go to the next level, only for the ongoing romance to be given the kebash by the Governor’s orders?

In my personal situation, my LTR of nearly twenty years and myself used, “Live close and visit often,” to describe the reason for the long-term success of our relationship. Even though we slept together most nights over our decades long courtship, we chose to keep separate apartments. Now we engage in multiple telephone conversations daily, some with video facetime. But, all this communications technology can not replace human contact such as hugs or sleeping together.

What to do? Other than a masked walk around Capitol Hill for two hours one afternoon, I haven’t seen my sweetie since our self-sequestration began over six weeks ago.

As America’s ground zero for the 2020 Pandemic, Seattle has performed like the

Visit us online www.sgn.org

Photo courtesy of Pexels

scientific role models we aspire to be. We have flattened that curve. A lot of it had to do with the enforcement guidance our governor, Jay Inslee, gave the state with his “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order on March 23, 2020.

This “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order is similar to orders that other governors, in places such as California and New York, issued that same week. The proclamation requires every Washingtonian to stay home unless they need to pursue an essential activity; bans all gatherings for social, spiritual and recreational purposes; and closes all businesses except essential businesses.

“The less time we spend in public, the more lives we will save,” Inslee said.

Me and my partner definitely want to save lives. We wouldn’t keep apart as long as we have if we didn’t. But let’s be honest, in terms of physical matters, this thing is stretching on. Science has shown that people who sleep together live longer, too. Notice the Governor’s proclamation lays out no exception for booty calls. It is very vague about what the definition of gathering is, but I’m pretty certain that sex with one’s partner constitutes a gathering of two. I’m starting to think it is an essential gathering.

A person in private lockdown can look to the guidelines Washington State gives our incarcerated. As of March 13, 2020, visitation at all correctional facilities had been suspended. In the State of Washington conjugal visits in prison definitely defy the social distancing order. These rules vary

from state to state, and even among correctional facilities within the same state.

The possibility that Exotic Joe could have a conjugal visit with his husband sprang from Joe’s impending transfer to a new jailhouse with different policies.

In my particular case, there are factors that reinforce our self-imposed separation. My partner is over 60, therefore in a high-risk group. There was a Coronavirus death in his apartment building, a community designed for people over 55. A notice had gone out to the residents of his building banning visitors under penalty of fine and misdemeanor charges.

We certainly took that as a warning not to hook-up, should the temptation become too great. There is nothing that says I couldn’t host my boyfriend overnight at my place, except our own unknown status regarding if it could transmit between us, and by extension to our community. Having survived the deaths, pain, alienation and sacrifices of the AIDS epidemic thirty years ago, this is something that we as Gay men of a certain generation understand. We need to play safely, once again. We get it.

And so we wait for a sign it is okay to fall into the arms of our loved ones. We hope for testing and tracking soon to tell us which link in the six degrees of separation is okay to close. We are waiting for our Governor and Mayor to recognize when it is okay to once again, let love win, and allow for gatherings of two in the privacy of our own home.

May 8, 2020

Seattle Gay News 3

Gov. Inslee announces new initiative to expand language access to COVID-19 information

Governor Jay Inslee – Photo by Ted S. Warren / AP

CAMP MURRAY, WA (April 30, 2020) – Yesterday, Gov. Jay Inslee issued a memo to state agencies detailing a new language access plan that will ensure that state agencies can provide vital COVID-19 information to individuals with disabilities and with limited

English proficiency.

“Information is one of the best tools we have in this fight against COVID-19,” said Gov. Inslee. “But not every community has equal access to information. This plan helps ensure [that] every Washingtonian is better

able to stay safe and healthy by making sure our state agencies are providing information that is culturally relevant and accessible.”

The plan, which was developed in coordination with the state’s COVID-19 Joint Information Center (JIC), provides

DURKAN

Seattle launches mobile assessment teams to test city’s most vulnerable to COVID-19 Building on the landmark first-inthe-nation first responder testing facility, administered by first responders, Seattle Mayor Jenny A. Durkan and Fire Chief Harold Scoggins announced that the City has created and deployed two mobile assessment teams to test our most vulnerable, primarily focusing on senior and longterm care establishments at the forefront of the COVID-19 crisis. Recently, the City has also added capacity at the first-responder testing site to test frontline city employees and workers from other high-risk facilities, including shelters for people experiencing homelessness.

Each mobile assessment team [comprises] three SFD paramedics or EMTs; the department currently has a pool of approximately 20 personnel to utilize for testing. The facilities tested are determined in consultation with Public Health – Seattle & King County (PHSKC), and each team has the ability to test up to 120 individuals per day.

Extending facility closures and reopening golf courses Mayor Jenny A. Durkan issued an executive order to extend deadlines for the City of Seattle’s policies on facility closures and parking to align with Gov. Inslee’s statewide “Stay Home, Stay Healthy: order, which is now extended until May 31.

The following closures will be extended through May 31: • Seattle Parks and Recreation (SPR) community centers, playgrounds, athletic fields, sport courts, pools, environmental learning centers, and select parking lots serving the city’s largest parks, except for those centers offering childcare, shower services, and social distancing shelters.

• Seattle Public Library (SPL) locations, except those open 10 am–6 pm for restroom use only • Cedar River Watershed Education Center and Rattlesnake Ledge Recreation Area • In-person access to all City departments’ public-facing customer-service counters. Online and telephonic access will continue.

• All permitted City events, as announced on March 13, 2020, with the exception of farmers markets, which will continue to be evaluated for permit renewals on a weekly basis.

Following last week’s order from Gov. Inslee on recreational activities, the City of Seattle also announced today the reopening of all four of the city’s municipal golf courses with limited hours, effective Tuesday, May 5: Jefferson Park Golf Course, West Seattle Golf Course, Jackson Golf Course, and Interbay Golf Course. Courses will follow new operational guidelines and strict physical distancing practices, which include: signage to indicate social distancing guidelines, minimized face-to-face interactions, removing high-touch surfaces, increasing sanitization practices, converting sit-down food and beverage service to take-out only, eliminating equipment rentals, closing minigolf, and using golf ambassadors to enforce social distancing. Seattle Parks and Recreation is also developing a pilot to provide hours when the public can run, bike, or walk within the golf courses.

continued from cover While we have flattened the curve, saved lives, and prevented our health care systems from being overwhelmed, Seattle and King County are still seeing hundreds of new cases every week. We have to remember that there are significantly more cases in our community now than early March when we began restrictions. We know it is still far too early to take our foot off the brake on our response to this disease or we risk an exponential resurgence of the virus. Every one of us must continue physical distancing until our infection rates have dropped significantly.

Since the beginning of this pandemic, the measures we have put in place to reduce the spread of the virus and keep our communities safe have been hard on everyone and have had real economic consequences for our region’s most vulnerable and many working families. I know that this extension presents yet another challenge to many who are already struggling.

This weekend, I extended the City of Seattle’s moratorium on evictions for residents, businesses, and nonprofit tenants in Seattle until June 4th. This was one of the first measures we took to bring relief to our city and why it is critical to maintain during this unprecedented time, especially as many residents have not yet received stimulus checks, expanded unemployment assistance, or relief from the federal government’s small business programs.

The City will continue our work to provide immediate relief to working people and small businesses. The City has also created a comprehensive resource page for residents and small businesses impacted by COVID-19. You can find the latest City and local programs [at http://www.seattle.gov/ mayor/covid-19].

I will continue to advocate for the resources we need to address this pandemic and reopen. For now, please continue to do your part and stay home. If you need to leave your house, keep our health care workers in mind and be smart about it – wear a face covering and keep six feet between you and other people.

4 Seattle Gay News

Seattle Department of Transportation surpasses 20 miles of Stay Healthy streets!

Building off the success of the Stay Healthy Streets opened across the city, last weekend the Seattle Department of Transportation opened 11 additional miles of low-traffic streets for public recreation.

Lake City, Aurora Licton Springs, Ballard, and Delridge/Highland Park communities are able to access essential services, recreate, and walk their dogs near their homes while protecting the neighbors by keeping six feet apart.

Stay Healthy Streets are in place 24 hours a day, seven days a week until further notice. Lake City will be in place on May 1, and the rest early next week.

The City of Seattle also extended the Central District route to include 22nd Ave. E. to E. Olive St., creating a total of 20 miles of Stay Healthy Streets. Stay Healthy Streets builds off the 196 miles of Seattle’s bike facilities and trails and helps people #KeepItMoving.

May 8, 2020

a streamlined new process for agencies to translate vital information related to COVID-19 into the top 37 languages spoken in Washington state. These top languages are spoken by at least 5% of the state population or 1,000 people based on 2016 Office of Financial Management (OFM) data. The plan also provides guidance for state agencies to establish telephonic interpretation services, which allow real-time translation over the phone.

“A number of communities are disproportionately impacted by this pandemic.

One way we can reduce that injustice is by meeting our obligation to communicate in ways that are accessible and culturally and linguistically relevant,” said Washington State Secretary of Health John Wiesman.

The state Department of Health in coordination with the state’s JIC has made COVID19 health information available in at least 26 languages and has produced an American Sign Language COVID-19 video series.

For those with questions about COVID19, the state has also established a hotline at 1-800-525-0127. For interpretative services, press # when they answer and say your language. The hotline is open from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. daily. For questions about your own health, COVID-19 testing, or testing results, please contact your health care provider.

Courtesy of the Joint Information Center Mayor Durkan joins 10 leading mayors to head up Global Mayors COVID19 Recovery Task Force Today C40 Cities announced Mayor Jenny Durkan as one of the 11 mayors confirmed to participate in the newly launched Global Mayors COVID-19 Recovery Task Force, to drive forward a sustainable, equitable economic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis.

The members of the task force are: Mayor of Milan, Italy, Giuseppe Sala (chair of the Task Force); Mayor of Freetown, Sierra Leone, Yvonne Aki Sawyerr; Secretary for the Environment of Hong Kong, China, KS Wong; Mayor of Lisbon, Portugal, Fernando Medina; Mayor of Rotterdam, Netherlands, Ahmed Aboutaleb; Mayor of Medellín, Colombia, Daniel Quintero Calle; Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Australia, Sally Capp; Mayor of Montréal, Canada, Valérie Plante; Mayor of New Orleans, USA, LaToya Cantrell; Mayor of Seattle, USA, Jenny Durkan; Mayor of Seoul, South Korea, Won-soon Park.

City surpasses 700,000 items in PPE collection This week, Mayor Durkan announced that companies, organizations, and individuals have contributed over 700,000 pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE) to the City of Seattle, culminating with a second distribution of PPE to first responders, shelters, community health clinics, and long-term care facilities on the frontline of the COVID-19.

Over the past two weeks, the City has distributed 512,000 items of PPE, including N95 respirators, surgical masks, gloves, and gowns to first responders in the region and 93,000 items to 47 organizations focused on protecting our most vulnerable communities across the region.

The City has seen tremendous support from the international community, as PPE supplies have been sent or pledged by several Chinese cities, including our long time sister city of Chongqing, as well as partner cities of Hangzhou and Shenzhen adding to more than 67,000 items.

To subscribe to the Durkan Digest, visit www.seattle.gov/mayor.

Courtesy of the Seattle Office of the Mayor

Celebrating 46 Years!

Visit us online www.sgn.org

May 8, 2020

Seattle Gay News 5

Seattle Transgender Film Festival May 7-10 Hi Seattle Gay News team: I hope this message finds you well!

My name is Phoebe Liebling and I am a volunteer with the Northwest Film Forum, a nonprofit film center and community hub located in the heart of Capitol Hill and Translations: Seattle Transgender Film Festival produced by Three Dollar Bill Cinema.

We know that highly-curated digital content is valued at this time, which is why we are excited to be screening our programming online. Right now, we are pleased to be partnering with Three Dollar Bill Cinema to present the 15th Annual Translations: Seattle Transgender Film Festival, screening online worldwide May 7-10! [https://threedollarbillcinema.org/ translations2020] Translations: Seattle Transgender Online Film Festival is a groundbreaking film festival produced by Three Dollar Bill Cinema for 15 years that provides the Pacific Northwest with a venue for films by, for, and about transgender, non-binary, and gender-diverse people and the issues facing the community. Launched in 2006, Translations places emphasis on visibility and positive representations.

You can find the list of screenings and panels on Three Dollar Bill Cinema’s website, Northwest Film Forum’s website, and our Facebook events section. [https://www. facebook.com/pg/seatransfilm/events/] We’re also hosting text-based watch par-

So Pretty – Photo courtesy of Three Dollar Bill Cinema

ties via the Translations 2020 Watch Party Facebook group to make a space for folks to chat before, during, and after the programs.

All screenings are a set PDT time [Pacific Daylight Time] and links will expire after the screening (this is a real film festival!). A link and password will be automatically sent to the e-mail address you purchase your ticket with! (Don’t see it? Check your spam filter.) Passwords will expire at the end of the film. No late seating!

If you do not receive an email by show-

time, please contact translations2020@ threedollarbillcinema.org to follow up.

(But please, check your spam!)

Despite our doors being closed, we are thrilled to offer this incredible film festival.

And, despite going online, your purchase continues to support Three Dollar Bill Cinema and the Northwest Film Forum during this time!

Please feel free to share these with your communities, as we find new ways to continue to foster the arts.

Best, Phoebe Liebling https://threedollarbillcinema.org/translations2020 https://nwfilmforum.org/festivals/translations-seattle-transgender-film-festival2020-online/ Courtesy of Northwest Film Forum

10,000+ supporters rally behind Ohio teacher fired for being gay Dear Editor, A Catholic high school in Ohio is facing local and national scrutiny this morning amidst news they’ve fired a teacher of more than 20 years because he’s married to a man. Nearly 10,000 supporters have signed a Change.org petition this morning supporting Jim Zimmerman, an English teacher at Archbishop Alter High School in Kettering, Ohio. Zimmerman’s teaching contract was not renewed after diocesan officials in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati were alerted about his marriage to a man.

The school’s principal confirmed the news and called the loss of Zimmerman “unfortunate.”

The petition, started by a student of Zimmerman’s named Michael Ferguson, has blown up overnight and at nearly

Photo courtesy of Archbishop Alter HS

10,000 signatures is the fastest-growing LGBT petition on Change.org. Ferguson says in his petition that the way Zimmerman is being treated does not reflect the Christian values of love and acceptance he’s been taught in school.

“The Church has always told me and my fellow students to love and accept others,” writes Ferguson. “But what the Arch-

diocese is doing is not accepting nor loving Mr. Zimmerman but pushing him away just because [of] who he loves.”

Current and former students of Zimmerman, as well as many parents in the community, have signed the petition and are leaving comments on it stating their support for the teacher.

“I had Mr. Zimmerman as an English teacher in 2004. He was engaging of all students and encouraged us to read and comprehend the depth of material from his lessons. I enjoyed his class and remember his personality to this day. Keep him!” writes Springsboro, Ohio, resident and petition signer Brendan Harnish.

“Both of my children had Mr. Zimmerman as a teacher and both of them have expressed that he is an excellent teacher.

The fact that he is gay has nothing to do

with the job he does,” writes Dayton, Ohio, resident and petition signer Gail Mignerey.

“Mr. Zimmerman was my high school teacher 12 years ago. As a current educator, I now know he is a teacher that everyone should strive to be like. This is so disappointing,” writes Middletown, Ohio, resident and petition signer Stephanie O. You can view hundreds of other comments on the petition, and see real-time signatures, at www.change.org/SupportMrZimmerman.

Best, Amanda Mustafic Communications Manager Change.org Courtesy of Change.org

It takes an ecosystem: Astraea’s 2019 annual report Friends, We hope this email finds you and your communities healthy and safe.

As we and the communities we’re a part of move deeper into this global COVID-19 crisis, we know that our mission and our work are as critical as ever. What we also know to be absolutely true is that it takes not one but all of us to fight for a brighter world. Our work – supporting powerful, grassroots LBTQI movements around the world over the last 42 years – has shown us just this: it truly takes an ecosystem to create resilient, thriving, joyful communities.

That’s why we’re so proud to share our 2019 Annual Report with you, “Building Power: Creating Ecosystems of Liberation” [https://bit.ly/2SF5aU8].

The movements we support continue to push for the critical change we now all understand to be essential: equal access to health care and essential services; ending mass criminalization and state violence;

6 Seattle Gay News

Image courtesy of Astraea

working against deportation and detention of migrants; and advocating for joy, belonging, and equal rights for all of us.

As funders, we hold a great responsibility to nourish our movements to do what they do best – fight for justice, and build joyful futures. In 2019, we granted over $4.2 million to 190 grantee partners in the United States and around the world.

May 8, 2020

Part of building strong ecosystems is ensuring that those who are most impacted by oppression, violence, and discrimination are also the most supported. That’s why: • 99% of our US funding supported queer, trans, and gender-nonconforming people of color • 63% of our international funding went to groups in repressed and closing civil

societies • To date, we have leveraged over $2m for the growing global intersex network • We are one of only two funders worldwide giving more than 10% of our funding to trans organizations Our 2019 Year in Review [https://bit. ly/2SF5qm4] is all about what it takes to build ecosystems that last. Ecosystems that endure challenging times, are strengthened by collaboration and community, and shift power back into the hands of grassroots movements. Join us and read about the creative, dynamic, and strategic ways our movements are working to bring into being the world we’ve all been dreaming.

In solidarity, Sandy Nathan Interim Executive Director Courtesy of Astraea

Celebrating 46 Years!

The 2020 Dyke March will go on as a virtual march and rally this year Out of abundance of caution and with the knowledge of how deeply we need each other, the Dyke March will go on as a virtual march and rally at our regularly scheduled time, Saturday June 27, 2020 at 5:00pm. We are developing a plan to have a virtual Dyke March experience.

“Since 1994, the Seattle Dyke March has been providing a space to amplify the voices for Dykes, inclusively defined.

COVID-19 requires us to pivot and find new and creative ways to do this and we’re excited for the challenge,” said Jill Mullins, Seattle Dyke March Organizer.

In addition to the global pandemic, queer communities across the US are in a precarious situation. We have seen some of our gains begin to erode. We are bracing for two important Supreme Court decisions this summer, Zarda v Altitude Express and EEOC v. RG & GR Harris Funeral Homes, which could make a significant difference in workplace discrimination. The decisions will either make it clear discrimination based on LGBTQ identity violates federal law or the decision will improperly determine LGBTQ people are excluded from Title VII’s nondiscrimination protections.

Either way, we will need a place to celebrate or agitate – together.

As an organization committed to intersectional feminism, we will highlight the way systemic inequality, sexism, racism, and a multitude of oppressions, result in the

MURRAY

continued from cover that I had better things to say about the administration’s response, but I do not,” said Sen. Murray.

“The only difference is that now, over 800 people in my home state have died, nationwide over 73,000 people are dead, and tens of millions are unemployed.

Meanwhile, the President is still denying the severity of this crisis, he is still insisting it is not his problem, and he is increasingly attempting to control and silence those who want the truth to be told. The President is afraid of the truth, because here it is: he failed – and continues to fail – to protect lives, our economy, and our way of life.”

Sen. Murray also spoke at length about the need for the Trump administration to release and implement a national plan to rapidly ramp up testing. Sen. Murray secured language in Congress’s most recent COVID-19 response legislation requiring the Trump administration to submit such a plan by May 24. In her remarks, Sen. Murray stressed the importance of this plan, and detailed the issues the administration’s plan needs to address.

“The problem isn’t a lack of innovation – it’s a lack of national leadership, and a plan from the White House. You can innovate the fastest car in the world; it still won’t get you where you’re going without a good driver and good directions. And when it comes to testing, this administration has had no map, and no one at the wheel,” said Sen. Murray. “There’s a reason they say failing to plan is planning to fail, and it absolutely applies here… No matter how innovative our tests are, we can’t reopen our country safely until they are fast, free, and everywhere.”

Testifying at today’s hearing were Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, and Dr. Gary Disbrow, acting director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority.

The HELP Committee will have another hearing on the COVID-19 response next Tuesday with Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Insti-

Photo courtesy of Seattle Dyke March

disproportionate trauma inflicted upon the parts of our community that have multiple marginalized identities. We will center the work of people fighting for those who are most at risk. We will center the talents and artistic expression of our entire community.

The Dyke March is requesting community members send photos and videos

of prior Dyke Marches and Rallies to help us curate possibilities for this year’s Dyke March. To help shape the virtual Dyke March, complete our survey – https://forms. gle/xpfMK61YTJcsNtzf8. If you have the capabilities, add the year the photo was taken to the photo or video. If you want, give yourself the photo credit and add it to the

photo. Photos may be sent to info@seattledykemarch.com. Together we are rising.

For more information, visit seattledykemarch.com or email organizers@seattledykemarch.com.

tutes of Health; Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Admiral Brett Giroir, Assistant Secretary for Health; and Dr. Stephen Hahn, Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration.

Read Sen. Murray’s full remarks below: “Thank you, Chairman Alexander. I’d also like to thank our committee staff who helped set up the technology to make this hearing possible, and our witnesses, for joining us today.

“Our committee’s last hearing on COVID-19 was on March 3rd. During that hearing I expressed my intense frustration at the Administration’s lack of preparedness, its failure to ramp up testing, the White House’s constant contradictions of public health experts’ guidance, and more.

“More than 60 days later, I wish I could say that I had better things to say about the Administration’s response, but I do not.

“The only difference is that now, over 800 people in my home state have died, nationwide over 73,000 people are dead, and tens of millions are unemployed.

“Meanwhile, the President is still denying the severity of this crisis, he is still insisting it is not his problem, and he is increasingly attempting to control and silence those who want the truth to be told.

“The President is afraid of the truth, because here it is: he failed – and continues to fail – to protect lives, our economy, and our way of life.

“And that brings me to our witnesses. I appreciate you being here, and I expect you to tell the truth today.

“I will want to know your honest assessment of where we stand on testing capacity, and whether we’re preparing appropriately to have a safe, effective vaccine as soon as possible. I will want to understand how you’re planning to prioritize public health over political influence and corporate profits, and I will want your commitment that you will protect workers at HHS who speak out when they see public health isn’t being put first.

“Dr. Disbrow, you’re here instead of Dr. Rick Bright, who filed a complaint earlier this week detailing a shocking, culture of corruption that prioritized cronyism over public health, including at an agency criti-

cal to vaccine development and distribution. You can expect questions from me on that, and again, I will expect the truth.

“And while I appreciate the interest in this ‘shark tank’ initiative to develop new tests, we have to remember the fight against this virus is reality – not reality television.

It must be led by scientists and prioritize public health – not profits or politics.

“And while innovation plays an important role in the development of vaccines, treatments, and tests, there is no silver bullet. In fact, we’ve already innovated faster, high-throughput tests, at home collection tests, and point-of-care tests – and, critically, there is much more in the pipeline.

“The problem isn’t a lack of innovation – it’s a lack of national leadership, and a plan from the White House.

“You can innovate the fastest car in the world – it still won’t get you where you’re going without a good driver and good directions. And when it comes to testing, this administration has had no map, and no one at the wheel.

“There’s a reason they say failing to plan is planning to fail, and it absolutely applies here.

“Because the fastest, most innovative test is not much use if we don’t know how many tests we need, if we don’t have a supply chain with capacity to manufacture all the tests and supplies we need and if we don’t have the workforce and lab capacity to actually use those tests and supplies.

“And even if we had enough tests, supplies, labs, and workers, they can’t have the necessary impact if they aren’t distributed widely across the country; if they don’t reach essential workers, underserved communities, tribes, people with disabilities, homebound seniors, communities of color, and high-risk populations; if tests don’t become available to asymptomatic people; or if we don’t enforce current law that requires free testing for everyone.

“And even addressing these issues won’t be enough without plans to use testing results as effectively as possible to fight coronavirus – like rapidly recruiting, training, and sustaining the workforce we need for public health efforts like contact tracing, quarantine, and isolation, and using data to surveil and track this disease within

our communities – while protecting privacy.

“Now I was pleased the administration finally told Washington state last week it would be sending all states a significant number of supplies to help expand testing capacity. However, even if they finally deliver the supplies we’ve been asking for – for months – that’s still not a plan, it’s just one piece of the puzzle.

“As long as the administration refuses to look at the full picture and develop a detailed, national plan to rapidly ramp up testing, we aren’t going to make the progress we need to get people safely back to school, work, and some sense of normal life on a national scale. Because our experts won’t have the visibility into transmission they need to ensure public health drives our efforts to reopen.

“That’s why I fought to secure language in the latest COVID-19 package Congress passed that requires the administration to submit a strategic testing plan no later than May 24. I’m going to be watching closely to make sure their plan addresses all of the questions we desperately need answered.

“And I’m going to be pushing for more resources to build and sustain the testing efforts we need, support contact tracing and other public health efforts, and to plan for vaccine production and distribution so that as soon as we have an effective vaccine we can scale it up quickly and make it available and free to everyone.

“While the $25 billion we passed for testing recently was a good start, it’s going to take a lot more to get the job done.

“Yes, it will take innovation, but it will also take some semblance of leadership from the President.

“Because no matter how innovative our tests are, we can’t reopen our country safely until they are fast, free, and everywhere.

“And no matter how hard frontline workers, governors, and families work to do their part, we will still need the federal government – and its President – to step up and finally start doing its part.

“Thank you.”

May 8, 2020

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Courtesy of Seattle Dyke March

Courtesy of Sen. Patty Murray

HRC endorses Vice President Joe Biden for president

Image courtesy of HRC

WASHINGTON, DC (May 6, 2020) – Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights organization, announced its endorsement of Joe Biden for president.

The HRC’s Board of Directors, comprising 26 community leaders from across the nation, unanimously and enthusiastically voted to endorse former Vice President Joe Biden for president of the United States.

The endorsement comes on the eighth anniversary of Biden’s endorsement of marriage equality in an interview on Meet the Press.

“Vice President Joe Biden is the leader our community and our country need at this moment,” said HRC President Alphonso David. “His dedication to advancing LGBTQ equality, even when it was unpopular to do so, has pushed our country and our movement forward. This November, the stakes could not be higher.

Far too many LGBTQ people, and particularly those who are most vulnerable, face discrimination, intimidation, and violence simply because of who they are and who they love. But rather than have our backs, Donald Trump and Mike Pence have spent the last three and a half years rolling back and rescinding protections for LGBTQ people. Joe Biden will be a president who stands up for all of us. The HRC and our more than three million members and supporters will work day and night to ensure he is the next president of the United States.”

From his advocacy for strengthening hate crime laws in the late 1980s to championing landmark nondiscrimination legislation such as the Equality Act, Joe Biden’s decades-long record supporting LGBTQ people is both strong and multifaceted. Few other national politicians have such a long record of acting on behalf of LGBTQ equality.

Throughout his campaign, Biden has committed to advancing LGBTQ equality as president. In 2019, just weeks after announcing his candidacy, Biden committed to passing the Equality Act as president at the 36th Human Rights Campaign Columbus Dinner. His campaign’s LGBTQ platform is the most comprehensive LGBTQ equality plan by a presumptive presidential nominee in our nation’s history.

As a member of Congress over 36 years, Biden championed dozens of pieces of legislation providing greater protections for LGBTQ people. His support of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA)

advocated for our dignity in the workplace.

And his courage to do what’s right, even though it may be unpopular, was clear when he twice stopped two constitutional amendments enshrining marriage discrimination as the law of the land. Biden’s early support for HIV/AIDS resources helped establish the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program. While as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Biden helped secure the reauthorization of PEPFAR, which significantly expanded the funding and targets for treatment, care, and prevention of HIV/ AIDS and repealed a statutory ban on visas for people who were HIV positive.

As vice president, Biden continued his decades-long fight for LGBTQ hate crime prevention, playing an integral role in passing the landmark Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. He played a leading role in repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and opening service for transgender people, giving LGBTQ service members the visibility and respect they deserve. In 2012, his support for the freedom to marry marked a major turning point for the marriage equality movement, contributing to a sea change in public opinion that ultimately culminated in a Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges that made marriage equality the law of the land.

Throughout his career, Biden has been ahead of the curve on expanding protections and rights for transgender Americans.

In 2012, he called transgender rights the “civil rights issue of our time” articulating a truth that many – even in his own party at the time – left unaddressed. He reiterated that statement when launching his LGBTQ platform earlier this year. He worked with President Obama to appoint transgender Americans throughout the administration, including to positions in the White House.

Throughout his campaign, Biden has elevated the need to address the epidemic of violence facing the transgender community – especially transgender women of color – and articulated a strong plan to empower transgender Americans in the workforce to help combat conditions that lead to that disproportionate violence.

In 2020, our engagement and mobilization efforts will only deepen. The HRC has elevated Texas to a top-tier target state, growing our top targets to seven states: Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania Texas, and Wisconsin. Across our seven target states, the HRC has identified 3.4

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May 8, 2020

million Equality Voters at risk of not turning out; these voters will serve as our central focus in the months ahead of Election Day. The HRC will have at least 45 fulltime staff in these seven priority states and an additional 20 staff focused on a second tier of states and districts.

In 2017, the HRC began the largest grassroots expansion in the organization’s four-decade-long history. As part of that initiative, the HRC has mobilized pro-equality voters nationwide to resist the Trump administration’s attacks on LGBTQ people, immigrants, communities of color, and other marginalized communities. To that end, more than three years ago, the HRC placed full-time staff in six battleground states – Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin – to help mobilize our 3.3 million members and 57 million Equality Voters, voters who prioritize LGBTQ equality at the ballot box, including LGBTQ people and our allies. The HRC boosted turnout amongst Equality Voters from 36% in 2014 to 56% in 2018. In the 2018 midterms, the HRC registered more than 32,000 voters and

BIDEN

continued from cover Meet the Press,” the HRC’s statement said.

Biden’s Meet the Press interview was widely considered another “Biden gaffe” at the time, since the Obama administration had not yet officially endorsed the idea of marriage equality. But the then vice president’s remarks turned out to be an omen of Obama’s “evolution” on the issue.

David, who assumed the leadership of the organization last August, both praised Biden and criticized the Trump-Pence administration in a video.

“Vice President Joe Biden is the leader our community and our country need at this moment,” he said.

“His dedication to advancing LGBTQ equality, even when it was unpopular to do so, has pushed our country and our movement forward. This November, the stakes could not be higher. Far too many LGBTQ people, and particularly those who are most vulnerable, face discrimination, intimidation, and violence simply because of who they are and who they love.

“But rather than have our backs, Donald Trump and Mike Pence have spent the

recruited more than 4,200 volunteers, who worked over 9,400 shifts and clocked more than 30,000 volunteer hours. In the critical final four days of the campaign, HRC staff and volunteers in get-out-the-vote efforts alone knocked on more than 80,000 doors and held 36,400 conversations with voters at their doors and by phone on behalf of our endorsed candidates. That engagement led to an 81% win rate for the HRC’s 480 endorsed candidates, allowing us to pull the emergency brake on the hateful anti-LGBTQ agenda of the Trump-Pence administration and elect a Congress that would hold them accountable.

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people.

The HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work, and in every community.

Courtesy of the HRC last three and a half years rolling back and rescinding protections for LGBTQ people.

Joe Biden will be a president who stands up for all of us. The HRC and our more than three million members and supporters will work day and night to ensure he is the next president of the United States.”

In spite of his support for marriage equality, Biden has had a checkered relationship with the LGBT community. In the current race for the Democratic presidential nomination, Biden trailed far behind favorite Bernie Sanders among LGBT voters.

Biden was heckled at a 2019 Seattle fundraiser when he casually remarked that as recently as five years ago, homophobic remarks would not have been considered offensive.

As vice president, he officiated at a 2016 same-sex wedding at his official residence in the US Naval Observatory. He was also instrumental in lining up Senate votes for the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.

As a US senator in 1996, he voted for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which would make it illegal for employers to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation. However, he also voted for DOMA in the same year.

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HRC donates 15,000 face masks to 50 organizations WASHINGTON, DC (May 4 2020) – This week, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) — the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights organization — is launching HRC Gives Back, a digital campaign designed to raise funds for the critical fight for LGBTQ rights while benefiting essential workers and a wide variety of community organizations.

In its weeklong pilot, HRC Gives Back received nearly 7,000 membership contributions and donated nearly 15,000 cloth face masks to 50 organizations. HRC Gives Back is on track to be the most successful digital fundraising campaign that HRC has launched in 2020.

“We are living in unprecedented times, and the overwhelming success of HRC Gives Back is an especially heartening development, showing that people continue to understand the critical importance of fighting for LGBTQ rights while giving back to those on the front lines,” said HRC President Alphonso David. “We’re grateful to our members and supporters for helping make this important initiative successful.”

“We are overwhelmed and heartwarmed by the support from our members and supporters,” said Chris Speron, senior vice president of development and marketing. “We thank our longstanding members for redoubling their commitment to the HRC’s mission, and we welcome all of our new members, who will play a critical role

Image courtesy of HRC

in the fight for LGBTQ rights and the battle to retake the White House.”

HRC Gives Back offers one of five versions of HRC-branded face masks and donates two blue masks on behalf of every new member who joins the HRC community through this promotion. At least 50 community partners stand to benefit, including the HRC’s partner, Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health, a health care organization that provides holistic services for people living with emotional, behavioral, or cognitive differences across the country. Devereux is a partner of the HRC’s All Children’s All Families program,

which promotes LGBTQ-inclusive policies and affirming practices among child welfare agencies and formally recognizes those agencies that are leading the field with innovative approaches to inclusion.

Devereux has already received 7,200 face masks as a part of HRC Gives Back.

“We are incredibly grateful to the HRC – and its membership – for being included in the HRC Gives Back campaign,” said Devereux’s president and CEO, Carl E. Clark II. “Like other hospitals and health care providers, Devereux is in need of personal protective equipment to help protect our essential frontline staff as they continue

to serve and support the children, adolescents, and adults entrusted to our care. The HRC’s generous donation of face masks will go a long way to bolster the health and safety of the individuals we serve, and our dedicated team members. On behalf of all of us at Devereux, we are sending a huge ‘thank you!’ to the HRC for its commitment to keeping our communities safe.”

As part of this initiative, the HRC is also partnering with the National Transgender Visibility March (NTVM) to get masks to more than 30 transgender-led communitybased organizations.

“We see, even in this COVID-19 pandemic, the resilience of the transgender community, standing tall and together,” said NVTM Senior Director of Operations Marissa Miller. “These masks will help organizers at community-based organizations continue doing essential work in a safe way.”

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people.

The HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community.

Courtesy of the HRC

Native Son, Color of Change, and the HRC call for improved data collection on impact of COVID-19 on black communities NEW YORK (April 29, 2020) – Today Native Son, a platform and safe space that empowers and celebrates the Black gay male community; Color of Change, the nation’s largest online racial justice organization; and the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights organization, announce #WEDEMAND – a calling for Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar to release demographic data on the impact of COVID-19 on marginalized communities in order to mount an effective national response so that we do not risk deepening the inequities illuminated by the current crisis.

Native Son’s founder, Emil Wilbekin; Human Rights Campaign President Alphonso David; and Color of Change President Rashad Robinson note that data is critical to mobilizing directly impacted communities to advocate and hold federal, state, and local leaders accountable for equitable rapid distribution of essential health care and social safety net resources.

Complete data is also necessary to inform the development of effective, culturally competent public messaging on social distancing and other personal and community safety measures. Inequity and discrimination thrive under the cloak of invisibility, and illuminating the impacts of this pandemic on those most at risk must play a critical role in our national effort.

“It is imperative that we have access to racialized data so that we understand the impact of COVID-19 on Black, Brown, and LGBTQI+ communities,” said Wilbekin.

“Native Son’s mission is to harness the collective power of Black gay men. During this global pandemic, it is urgent and essential that we lock arms and aims with the HRC and Color of Change to ensure that marginalized people are counted and receive equitable treatment.”

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Image courtesy of HRC

“We cannot ignore the fact that marginalized communities, particularly Black and Brown people, are being disproportionately impacted by this virus,” said David. “The HRC has long called for inclusive data collection to ensure that all people are counted, and today we are proud to join with Native Son and Color of Change to demand robust demographic data collection. Data is necessary to ensuring that our leaders are held accountable in directing necessary resources to the communities that need it most.”

“As we see desperate death rates from COVID-19 in Black communities, collecting complete and accurate nationwide demographic information is becoming a life-or-death issue. Analyzing the distribution of relief resources will help us flatten the curve as a country; until we do so, no community in our country will be safe from this illness,” said Robinson.

A legacy of racism and implicit bias in our health care system has put Black people at greater risk of advanced disease progression.

This increased risk factor is compounded by a host of other structural disadvantages that make social distancing and other recommended practices significantly more difficult

May 8, 2020

for Black Americans. These include disparities in rates of unemployment and underemployment, incarceration, and access to safe housing and health care resources.

In addition the immediate call-to-action to quell the rapid spread of COVID-19 in marginalized communities, Native Son, the HRC, and Color of Change specifically call for the following: • Consistent and readily accessible publication of anonymized COVID-related racial and demographic data, including testing rates, test results, hospitalizations, treatment, and mortality in compliance with existing health care privacy laws.

• Development of a comprehensive, standardized data collection and publication protocol across all actors in the virus response, including local and state public health departments and private companies providing testing and laboratory services.

• Required comprehensive data collection and reporting for all health care system recipients of federal COVID relief funding across an expanded set of demographics, including race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, socioeconomic status, and engagement with the criminal legal system among others.

• Strong collaboration between the federal government and private testing and laboratory companies to ensure the collection and reporting of comprehensive demographic data in compliance with existing health care privacy laws.

• The devastating effects of this virus on Black communities in the United States demands a transformational effort by our leaders to rebuild a truly equitable and resilient health care system – a system that is not only prepared to handle the consequences of a new and unknown pathogen but one also equipped to deal with the crippling effects of racism that have placed the Black community squarely in the crosshairs of this current crisis.

The HRC recently published a research brief outlining the particular health and economic risks faced by the LGBTQ community during the COVID-19 public health crisis.

Read the full brief [at https://bit.ly/2WaAJrc] and find specific information on the economic impact of COVID-19 on the LGBTQ community [at https://bit.ly/2WM5rGr].

For more information on #WEDEMAND visit @nativesonnow, @HRC, and @colorofchange.

Native Son is a movement that exemplifies the duality of being Black and gay in a society that often shuns and belittles their unique experiences. This movement aims to create a safe space where the Black gay male community can fellowship, celebrate and empower each other, and – most importantly – see themselves. From the worldrenowned to the up-and-coming, Native Son aims to connect and celebrate the members of this influential, yet long-ignored community in the realms of arts, business, media, fashion, politics, and health care.

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people. The HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work, and in every community.

Color of Change is the nation’s largest online racial justice organization. It helps people respond effectively to injustice in the world around us. As a national online force driven by over 1.7 million members, it moves decision-makers in corporations and government to create a more human and less hostile world for Black people in America.

Visit www.colorofchange.org.

Courtesy of the HRC

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Celebrating 46 Years!

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Celebrating 46 Years!

LGBTQ Victory Fund calls on Trenton Councilwoman Robin Vaughn to resign after homophobic tirade targeting LGBTQ mayor Reed Gusciora

Reed Gusciora, Mayor of Trenton, NJ – Photo courtesy of the LGBTQ Victory Fund

WASHINGTON, DC (May 4, 2020) – Today the LGBTQ Victory Fund, the only national organization dedicated to electing LGBTQ leaders to public office, demanded the resignation of Trenton City Councilwoman Robin Vaughn after she called the city’s openly LGBTQ mayor, Reed Gusciora, a “pedophile” and claimed he brought “a bunch of young boys” to City Hall and that they are “sitting up there in the mayor’s suite.” She also said Mayor Gusciora and Councilmember Joe Harrison were not “real men” and “bitches” and that the councilmember “sucks the mayor’s dick,” based on the transcript provided by The Trentonian.

The homophobic tirade by Vaughn occurred during a daily coronavirus briefing for Trenton city officials that quickly devolved into insults, according to The Trentonian. But Vaughn – who was heavily criticized last September for defending a councilmember who used an antisemitic slur – was vitriolic in attacking her colleagues.

Mayor Annise Parker, president and CEO of the LGBTQ Victory Fund, released

the following statement in calling for her resignation: “Councilwoman Vaughn relied on the oldest and ugliest of stereotypes to launch her homophobic tirade against Mayor Gusciora – much as she did in defending antisemitic comments last September. It is now a pattern, and her use of and support of such hateful language proves she is entirely unfit to hold public office. As one of the few openly LGBTQ mayors in New Jersey and one of the first public officials to advocate for marriage equality, Mayor Gusciora has developed tough skin and will continue to lead. But for the many LGBTQ kids in the West Ward who already struggle to take pride in who they are, we call on Trenton city leaders to unite in demanding the resignation of Councilwoman Vaughn.

“Trenton, like the rest of the nation, is in the midst of a pandemic, and it is sad an important coronavirus briefing among elected officials would devolve into such pandemonium. The presiding officer had a duty to call Vaughn to order or recess the

meeting when she launched her screaming tirade, her colleagues had a responsibility to end the quorum until civility was restored, and the mayor should have tempered his response. But what is clear is that Vaughn is toxic and unfit to serve in an elective body.”

Garden State Equality, New Jersey’s statewide LGBTQ advocacy group, also called on Vaughn to resign.

Mayor Gusciora is the first openly LGBTQ mayor of Trenton and was the first openly LGBTQ member of the New Jersey state legislature. He was endorsed by the Victory Fund in his mayoral and state legislative races.

The LGBTQ Victory Fund works to change the face and voice of America’s politics and achieve equality for LGBTQ Americans by increasing the number of openly LGBTQ elected officials at all levels of government. More at victoryfund.org.

Courtesy of the LGBTQ Victory Fund

Rep. Maxine Waters, Josie Totah, D.J. “Shangela” Pierce, Bob the Drag Queen, and Eureka to speak at HRC and GLSEN virtual LGBTQ+ graduation ceremony WASHINGTON, DC (May 7, 2020) – Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation, the educational arm of America’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) civil rights organization, and GLSEN, the leading national organization focused on LGBTQ issues in K-12 education, announced that Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), Josie Totah, Shangela, Bob the Drag Queen, and Eureka will speak to the LGBTQ+ high school and college class of 2020 on Friday, May 8 at 4 p.m. ET. This effort will honor the nearly half a million LGBTQ+ students the HRC estimates are graduating this spring, who may be impacted by school and graduation cancellations and disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.

“Maxine Waters is a steadfast defender of equality who is fighting to reclaim the United States from the Trump-Pence agenda of hate, fear, and discrimination,” said HRC President Alphonso David. “For years, Rep. Waters has been standing up for the marginalized and oppressed in our society. We are truly honored to have her share her thoughts and wisdom with the LGBTQ+ graduating class of 2020.”

Rep. Maxine Waters is considered by many to be one of the most powerful women in American politics today. She has earned a reputation as a fearless and outspoken advocate for women, children, people of color, and the poor. Elected in November 2018 to her fifteenth term in the US House of Representatives, where she proudly represents California’s 43rd District, Waters made history in 2019 as the first woman and first African-American to chair the powerful House Financial Services Committee.

“By living her truth as a trans woman, Josie Totah is setting an inspiring example for transgender, nonbinary, and gender-expansive young people everywhere that they can live and thrive as their true

selves,” said David. “We are so proud to call this impressive young actor part of our HRC family, and know that her powerful message will galvanize the LGBTQ+ graduating class of 2020 to live authentically, follow their dreams, and be proud of their LGBTQ+ identity and community.”

Josie Totah, who starred in the NBC sitcom “Champions” and will appear in the reboot of “Saved by the Bell,” came out as transgender in a powerful op-ed for Time.

“My pronouns are she, her, and hers,” Totah wrote. “I identify as female, specifically as a transgender female. And my name is Josie Totah.” Totah began her acting career at a young age, with breakout television roles on the Disney Channel and network shows, including a recurring role on “Glee.”

David continued, “Shangela, Bob the Drag Queen, and Eureka have fought to ensure the LGBTQ community – and especially our gender-nonconforming siblings – is represented and celebrated in media and in activism. As we know from their strong presence on HBO’s ‘We’re Here,’ these three will no doubt bring their charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent to this event and encourage the graduating class of 2020 to walk proudly into their next chapter with the same verve.”

Actor and performer D.J. “Shangela” Pierce continues to climb in [fame].

Shangela recently completed a 184-city international tour to sold-out audiences and was included in the prestigious TIME 100 Next List from Time magazine. Shangela starred in the scene-stealing role as Lady Gaga’s drag mother in the Academy Award–winning film A Star Is Born.

The alter ego of comic and actor Caldwell Tidicue, Bob the Drag Queen is a talented, confident drag star. With multiple acting roles under her belt – as well as a podcast and tour – she is no stranger to the spotlight.

Also known as David Huggard, Eureka

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is a plus-size drag superstar. Eureka has taken the singing, acting, and modeling worlds by storm with the goal to give bigger people around the world the confidence to go out and live their dreams. All three are now taking the world by storm as stars of the new HBO series “We’re Here.”

Singer, songwriter, and advocate Shea Diamond released her debut EP Seen It All through Asylum Records in 2018 and that same year performed at the HRC’s National Dinner and multiple HRC events across the country. A proud Black transgender woman from the South, she also participated in the HRC’s Americans for the Equality Act video series last spring, which featured actors, athletes, influencers, and musicians calling on Congress to advance the Equality Act. Her latest single, “I Am America,” is featured as the theme to the new HBO series “We’re Here.”

“Shea Diamond’s powerful story and message of resilience and hope resonates with LGBTQ youth across the country,” said David. “Through her music, Shea uses her voice to amplify the experiences of her community and to assert a truth that everyone needs to hear: that we all deserve our piece of the American pie. We are so excited to welcome Shea at this ceremony.”

Additional speakers and performers include HRC President Alphonso David, GLSEN Executive Director Eliza Byard, Dillard University President Walter M Kimbrough, Marshall Fundamental Secondary School (Pasadena, Calif.) Principal Mark Anderson, University of Central Arkansas 2020 student and former HRC Youth Ambassador Lucas Segal, South Carolina State University 2020 student Charles C. Patton, and Class of 2020 high school students Jessica Chiriboga and Elle Smith. HRC Youth Ambassador Nhandi, formerly known as dj young 1, will perform to honor the graduates immediately following the ceremony on her Instagram.

May 8, 2020

Given the severity of this pandemic, the HRC has taken steps to protect the health and safety of our staff, members, volunteers, supporters, and all those who are fighting so hard to advance equality and build a better world for all of us. Find a full list of all of the HRC’s efforts and resources at [www.hrc.org/campaigns/covid-19].

Read HRC’s brief on how COVID-19 disproportionately affects the LGBTQ+ community [at www.hrc.org/resources/ the-lives-and-livelihoods-of-many-in-thelgbtq-community-are-at-risk-amidst].

For more information on GLSEN’s student leadership initiatives, professional development for educators, policy advocacy, research, international partnerships, and network of local chapters, visit www. glsen.org.

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation is the educational arm of America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people. The HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work, and in every community.

GLSEN works to create safe and inclusive schools for all. It envisions a world in which every child learns to respect and accept all people, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, and/or gender expression. Each year, GLSEN programs and resources reach millions of students and educators in K-12 schools, via action at the national, state, and local level. Since 1990, GLSEN has improved conditions for LGBTQ students across the United States and helped launch an international movement to address LGBTQ issues in education.

Courtesy of the HRC

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Largest survey on nonreligious Americans reveals widespread discrimination and stigma, especially against LGBTQ nonbelievers CRANFORD, NJ (May 5, 2020) – Today, the nonreligious identity organization American Atheists released “Reality Check: Being Nonreligious in America,” a comprehensive report drawn from the groundbreaking US Secular Survey. Counting nearly 34,000 nonreligious participants and organized by a team of researchers at Strength in Numbers Consulting Group, the US Secular Survey is the largest ever data collection project on secular Americans and their experiences.

“At 75 million people, religiously unaffiliated Americans are as large a demographic as either Evangelical Christians or Catholics, and explicitly nonreligious people comprise a growing share of the population, yet before the US Secular Survey, there had

been a lack of focused research on our community,” said Alison Gill, vice president for legal and policy at American Atheists, who helped lead the project. “What we found shocked us. Discrimination and stigma against nonreligious Americans is widespread and extremely harmful.”

Due to their nonreligious identity, more than half of participants (54.5%) had negative experiences with family members, nearly one-third (29.4%) in education, and more than one in five (21.7%) in the workplace. Of those who experienced discrimination within their families, there was a 73.3% higher rate of likely depression.

“The nonreligious community is not a monolith,” said Gill. “With nearly half of all LGBTQ people being nonreligious, it’s all

the more troubling that we face discrimination for being both LGBTQ and secular.”

LGBTQ participants were significantly more likely to have had “very” or “somewhat” unsupportive parents (43.0%) compared to non-LGBTQ participants (35.1%).

Participants with unsupportive parents had a 71.2% higher rate of likely depression than those with very supportive parents.

“The struggles of nonreligious Americans, especially LGBTQ nonbelievers, are far too often overlooked. Thankfully, the US Secular Survey has revealed the discrimination our diverse community regularly faces,” said Nick Fish, president of American Atheists. “With that well established, we need to find solutions and work toward ending the stigma that leads to that discrimination.”

The report found that involvement with organized secular community groups is an important protective factor that correlated with reduced likelihood of loneliness and depression. Members of national secular organizations were 34.8% less likely than nonmembers to be at risk for depression, while members of local secular groups were 29.3% less likely.

“We know the power of being a part of a shared community and support structures. Now it’s up to secular organizations to dedicate resources to strengthening these networks across the nation,” added Fish.

Courtesy of Target Cue

BOOKS

Mother-Daughter Banquet a poignant memoir of love and loss

by Sharon Cumberland SGN Contributing Writer MOTHER-DAUGHTER BANQUET: A MEMOIR

BY ALICE BLOCH MINERVA RISING PRESS (2019) Mother’s Day spotlights the most essential person in each of our lives – the one who brought us physically into the world, regardless of how well they might have treated us later. There’s a man in the picture, of course, and if we’re lucky enough to have had a good dad we celebrate him on Father’s Day. But in spite of showering it with flowers and sentimental greetings, Mother’s Day is one of the more complex celebrations on the calendar – a spectrum of questions and possibilities rather than a straightforward tribute. Did our mother love us? Did she want us? Did she raise us well or neglect us?

Did she allow us to be ourselves or did she try to shape us into a mini-version of herself? Did she have so many personal issues that we were in her way? Were we a sidebar to her real life? An impediment to who she might have been if she hadn’t had to cope with us? Or was she as good as the greeting cards claim – did she sacrifice the best years of her life so that we could be safe, valued and educated? Are we one of her proudest accomplishments?

Alice Bloch, in Mother-Daughter Banquet: A Memoir, has written a fascinating exploration of these questions as they occurred in her own life. Because her mother died when Bloch was only nine years old – the eldest of five children left behind with a grieving father – the matter of motherly love is as complicated as the subtext of Mother’s Day itself. Not only did Bloch become a mommy-substitute to her little siblings at an age when she needed her mother as much as they did, but she had to negotiate the other-mothers who stepped in to help: a grandmother, an aunt, and, eventually, a step-mother.

As Bloch probes her relationships with the four mothers in her life, the significance of the term “mother-daughter banquet” moves from what first appears to be a tribute to motherly generosity – a banquet of love – to the nuanced complexities of

16 Seattle Gay News

Mother-Daughter Banquet – Image courtesy of Minerva Rising Press

Alice Bloch – Photo by Rick Dahms

four very different temperaments with different perceptions and goals. The book’s title, which sounds so sweet, actually refers to one of the most painful moments in the book. A year after her mother’s death, ten-year-old Alice is invited by her grandmother to attend the annual motherdaughter banquet offered by their Temple.

“I didn’t want to be there;” Bloch writes, “I almost felt I didn’t deserve to be there, as though by attending the banquet I was pretending I had a mother, pretending Grandma was my mother, betraying my mother by pretending she could be replaced.” The layers of imaginary-mother, imitation-mother, and dead mother in a setting of blithely secure daughters is as tortured as it gets for a young child trying to make sense of her losses.

Mother-Daughter Banquet navigates these fragmented fields of loss, resentment, loneliness and confusion through a masterful use of narrative metaphor. There is an old photograph of Bloch’s mother in a jacket “of lovely soft wool in a pale shade of pink that isn’t being used anymore, a rosy off-white like the inside of a seashell.” It is the jacket of youth – lamblike, cloud soft, the color of babies’ skin. But it’s

also the color of death – a color that “isn’t being used anymore,” like the delicate, abandoned carapace of a creature washed away. There are also old home movies that have been rescued and copied at random onto video, so that the children and their mother hop backward and forward in time, their mother with a babe in arms, who is now on a trike, who is now in the womb, approximating the uncharted randomness of memory.

One of the most striking aspects of this memoir, which is told in sections devoted to each mother/figure, is the arrival of Bloch’s glamorous, unpredictable stepmom, whose idea of motherly attention was to teach fourteen-year-old Alice to make chocolate mousse and to give her backrubs in bed at night. For the impressionable teenager, “Mom-Jean” was her first crush, the vision of possibilities that eventually led Bloch to her lesbian identity. Bloch is emphatic that Mom-Jean’s attentions were kindly and that no abuse was imagined, much less manifested. But decades later, after Bloch was settled and married to her wife, Mom-Jean acknowledged that there was no place in 1960s Ohio for her feelings for women, and that marriage to a man was the only stable

May 8, 2020

choice she could make. But she celebrated the fact that Bloch was able to live the life she was meant to have as the person she was meant to be.

The identity themes that run through this beautifully written book range from Judaism, immigration, and women’s empowerment, to music – a deeply generational commitment and love of music that demonstrates how determined parents can instill life-enhancing disciplines in their children that serve them all their lives.

Alice Bloch’s account of her mother’s short life, told from the perspective of a child, is as moving an account of any in this genre that you could hope to read. Even as her parents were trying to meet the mortgage payments, Bloch’s father bought his beloved wife a grand piano – not only the source of family music, but a great shield against the harsh realities of illness and death, where the Bloch children could crawl underneath and shut out the anxieties and mysteries of the adults around them. And though the piano, nicknamed “Tickle” by the children, could not protect them from the real loss of their mother, it seems as though all the mothers in Bloch’s life played the piano to some degree or another, and that music, from “Pistol Packin’ Mama” to Bach inventions, formed the soundtrack to this emotionally intense account of family tragedy and its hopeful outcomes.

Bloch’s memoir – which is an amazing feat of restored, gathered, and ordered memory – demonstrates that when we celebrate our mothers, we celebrate ourselves.

It shows us who we became because she was willing to do the hard work of having us, raising us, and loving us through our messy infancy, our snarky teens, our wobbly young adulthood, our steps and missteps, and our successes. For Alice Bloch, this job was done by a committee of mothers who did their best by five bewildered, sorrowful youngsters.

This Mother’s Day you might get in touch with your own memories of those who raised you by reading a masterful example written by someone whose multitextured, often funny, always poignant memoir, Mother-Daughter Banquet, shows how much we are the product of the people who loved us into being.

Celebrating 46 Years!

FILM

Friday Harbor Film Festival announces Virtual Film Festival May 8-23 The Friday Harbor Film Festival in cooperation with Bullfrog Communities is proud to present a Virtual Film Festival of climate-change-related films in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Earth Day 2020.

Beginning May 8th and continuing through May 23rd, FHFF will offer seven powerful, environmentally focused documentary feature films for online streaming.

Viewing costs only $1.99 per film or $7.99 for an All-Access Festival Pass. Films will be available for viewing during the two-week streaming period. View trailers at fhff.org.

Purchase your tickets or All-Access Festival Pass at the Festival website, fhff. org. After purchase, you will be provided a link to access the Screening Room for viewing each film.

Here is the exciting line-up: Anthropocene examines whether human impact has tipped the planet into a new geological epoch, with all of its political, social, and behavioral implications. (97 minutes) Biophilic Design explores a design revolution that connects buildings to the natural world, buildings where people feel and perform better. (62 minutes) Bringing it Home extols the many benefits of industrial hemp for the environment and human health, while revealing the obstacles to what could be a thriving industry for U.S. farmers. (52 minutes) Cultivating Kids is a 23-minute short film about one way our neighboring Whidbey Island is educating kids to get back to nature and farming.

Image courtesy of Friday Harbor Film Festival

DamNation explores the sea change in our national attitude from pride in big dams as engineering wonders to the growing awareness that our own future is bound to the life and health of our rivers. (87 minutes) Planetary is a provocative cinematic journey that explores our cosmic origins and our future as a species. (84 minutes)

The Sequel looks at the influential work of David Fleming, who dared to re-imagine a thriving civilization after the collapse of our current mainstream economies and inspired the Transition Towns movement. (61 minutes) The Wisdom to Survive examines the challenges that climate change poses and discusses meaningful action that can be taken by individuals and communities. (56 minutes)

This Virtual Film Festival is generously sponsored by KCTS9, Kings Market, and The Nowbutlater Initiative.

Courtesy of Friday Harbor Film Festival

Telescope Film announces SIFF Retrospective 2020 New microsite will pay tribute to SIFF’s 45-year history SEATTLE (May 7, 2020) – Telescope Film, the definitive resource for international film in the US, in collaboration with the Seattle International Film Festival, is proud to announce the launch of the SIFF Retrospective 2020 microsite telescopefilm.com/SIFFretrospective.

The SIFF Retrospective 2020 microsite will showcase all of the films that have won awards at SIFF in its 45-year history that are currently available online, with links to where to watch them.

The films will include winners of the Golden Space Needle and SIFF’s audience choice awards, as well as juried awards, including the Official Competition, the New Directors Competition, the Documentary Competition, the New American Cinema Competition, and the Ibero-American Competition. The site will be live from May 14 to June 7, the dates for which the 2020 festival was originally scheduled. The 2020 edition of SIFF was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Film festivals are one of the primary ways that films are introduced to audiences.

Unfortunately, COVID-19 has caused the cancellation of film festivals all over the world. Under these unique circumstances, we wanted to take the opportunity to celebrate SIFF and recognize its importance by looking back at some of the amazing films that have played here over the years,” said Justine Barda, CEO of Telescope Film and senior programmer at SIFF. “The Seattle International Film Festival has celebrated outstanding international and independent film for the last 45 years, and we are thrilled to partner with Telescope to reintroduce and celebrate these incredible award-winning films from SIFF’s past,” said Beth Barrett, artistic director of SIFF. “Through this 25-day retrospective, we hope that people will be able to discover new voices and revisit old favorites.”

Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994 Golden Space Needle Award for Best Film) – Photo courtesy of Telescope Film

The SIFF Retrospective 2020 microsite, telescopefilm.com/siffretrospective, will launch on May 14, 2020.

Telescope Film is the definitive site for international film in the US. With a database of more than 450,000 films, Telescope enables users to search and filter by options including title, director, country, language, and genre, and provides oneclick access to over 100 streaming services. The site also offers curation, custom recommendations, and a variety of other features to help users discover movies and series from around the world.

Visit us online www.sgn.org

Founded in 1976, SIFF creates experiences that bring people together to discover extraordinary films from around the world with the Seattle International Film Festival, SIFF Cinema, and SIFF Education. Recognized as one of the top film festivals in North America, the Seattle International Film Festival is the longest, most highly attended film festival in the United States, reaching more than 140,000 annually. The 25-day festival is renowned for its wide-ranging and eclectic programming, presenting over 400 features, short films, and documentaries from over 80 countries each year. SIFF Cinema exhibits premiere theatrical engagements,

arthouse, international titles, and classic repertory film showings daily on five screens at the SIFF Cinema Uptown, SIFF Cinema Egyptian, and SIFF Film Center, reaching more than 150,000 attendees annually.

SIFF Education offers educational programs for all audiences serving more than 8,000 students and youth in the community each year.

May 8, 2020

Seattle Gay News 17

Courtesy of SIFF

David Corenswet and Patti LuPone in Hollywood – Photo courtesy of Netflix

PATTI LUPONE continued from cover

In the seven-episode Netflix series, LuPone portrays Avis Amberg, the wife of a studio head whose work is relegated to the kitchen. But not for long, thanks to Murphy’s 1940s corrective where power dynamics shift in favor of the underdogs and outsiders in this alternate reality, a fantasy depiction of Tinseltown’s Golden Age reimagined as diverse, inclusive and unabashedly queer.

That LuPone, 71, portrays a grand Hollywood dame and housewife-turned-studio head – in, of course, only the most glam fur-fringed couture – should be no surprise given how she’s been commanding the stage through a variety of extravagant personas for a half century. In 1979, as Eva Perón, she won her first Tony for Evita; her second win came in 2008, for her portrayal of Rose in Gypsy. She’s also been nominated for roles in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, War Paint, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown and Anything Goes.

On Broadway is where she was throwing back martinis in Stephen Sondheim’s 1970 musical Company, as Joanne, until the pandemic lockdown forced theaters to shut down.

Now quarantined in rural Connecticut with her husband, Matthew Johnston, and son Josh, LuPone has been doling out delicious bits on social media. In one video she posted to Twitter, she channeled Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard, making a dramatic entrance from her basement steps (when Glenn Close got the role for the Broadway run of the show in 1994, LuPone said she reacted by trashing a dressing room). Other at-home videos of LuPone involve her giving aptly chaotic, hungover tours of her treasure-filled basement.

When we connect via phone, I tell LuPone that she might actually be happy that, for once, this conversation is occurring between phone lines, not on Zoom.

“You’re right,” she says, roaring with laughter. “It really is the Brady Bunch.”

18 Seattle Gay News

Do you have any more basement videos in the works?

My problem right now is focus and structure. If I don’t do something in the morning, I’m in bed till 4:30 in the afternoon. So my kid – we’ve come up with a couple more. We just have to get down to it. We have to get up in the morning and go, “OK, now we’re gonna do the video.” We have two plans. So we’ll see.

The problem, Chris, is it has to be spontaneous. It’s the only way it’s funny. The day after my birthday when I was so hungover I went, half-asleep, (slurring, drowsy) “Let’s … go … make … a … video, I’m ... re–a–dy.” (Laughs.)

If it weren’t for COVID, you’d be throwing back martinis on Broadway in Company. So I’m happy to hear you’re still throwing back martinis – or something!

Well, last night we had frozen strawberry daiquiris, but that was really the first time, because I was texting with a friend of mine and she said, “Go have a daiquiri,” and I went, “You know what? That sounds like a good idea.” And we seem to have all the fixings for it! So my kid made daiquiris for my husband, himself and me. Then I had red wine, which wasn’t too smart. What I’m drinking a lot of right now is red wine.

And I’m just trying … you know it’s really easy to let yourself go!

Have you completely let yourself go?

No! No! I’m holding it together. I have to! (Laughs.) Years ago a friend of mine, when he was on unemployment, I said, “What are you doing, Tony?” He said I’m preparing for my comeback! So, Chris, I’m prepping my comeback!

You made me teary when you recently sang “Anyone Can Whistle” for Stephen Sondheim’s virtual 90th birthday party.

Do you like performing virtually?

What was difficult about it was the technical aspect. My kid was filming it and I had one AirPod in and I’m going, “I can’t really hear,” and then my kid said, “You’re pitchy,” and I was like, “WHAT DO YOU MEAN I’M PITCHY. I’m NEVER pitchy!”

May 8, 2020

There’s always the fear that, you know, you’re gonna sound like shit. And Stephen’s thanking everybody who partook, and I wrote him back and I said, “The rub is that we all wish we could’ve done better.” It’s true. I’m sure everybody thought, “Damn, if only I was in costume and makeup and on the stage at the Philharmonic with a full orchestra behind me.”

You were singing “The Ladies Who Lunch” in Company, which Meryl Streep, Christine Baranski and Audra McDonald performed during that same birthday celebration. What did you think of their version?

(Explodes into a thunderous, dragged out cackle.) When it was over, I went, “I’ll never be able to sing ‘Ladies Who Lunch’ again!”

Yeah? Because they set the bar?

No. I don’t think they set the bar – I think they trashed the number!

They set the bar for trashing the number?

Yeah, exactly! That’s what I think! I mean, I say that with great humor, but I’m not going to be able to sing it without thinking of them doing it. (Laughs.) This is all a joke, by the way! This is all humor!

Let’s talk about Hollywood. Does it feel good to be part of a project that’s beaming with hopefulness in a time when hope seems harder and harder to find?

Yes, yes, yes. And I hope that is translated across the board. It’s hard. It’s really, really hard. I mean, I’m having a hard time.

We all are. I’m not unique. And my problem is, I don’t know who to believe anymore.

I’m so confused by what everybody’s saying. It’s just … I just … ahh. And you can’t stick your head in the sand because any minute now we’ll be “hi Hitler”-ing (President Trump). So I’m just really confused.

I’m confused, I’m lost.

So how do you keep your mind straight? By drinking strawberry daiquiris?

(Laughs.) How do I keep my mind straight? That’s the question! Because my

problem has been structure, and I’m the kind of person that goes, “OK, you have to be on the set or you have to be at the theater – OK, great. I know what my schedule is.” But without a schedule, I’m lost. I’m going, “I don’t know what to do.” I guess I am my work.

For structure, what’s the first thing you do in the morning?

I started working out remotely with my trainer. Just to do something, just to feel like something is done. And then as soon as the weather gets really nice I’m gonna walk up our road, which is part of a mountain, and walk back down. And I have shows coming up, unless they’re going to be canceled, in January. I haven’t done them in a while, so what I started to do, because the weather still isn’t that great where I am right now, I’m listening to the shows that I have to sing in January, just to remember them. I haven’t sung them in a while. Then I’ll feel like I’ve accomplished something in the day and it hasn’t been – this is our lives! And our lives are being wasted! Not that work is the only thing, but if we can’t figure out what to do in the time that we have been given, that’s pathetic! It’s a blessing, really!

If you were running Hollywood right now, what changes would you make?

I would listen to the artists, I would listen to the writers. And I would not greenlight pictures because of statistics. I would ignore the statistics, and I would greenlight films and television shows that I thought were going to be beneficial for education and for parents as opposed to, “Well, that was a big hit; let’s make 9,000 more of those Marvel comics.”

Would you let them make another Mamma Mia! movie?

(Deliberates, speaks flatly, deadpans.)

No. We don’t need a third?

I hate ABBA. I have always hated ABBA. I will not go see Mamma Mia! because I hate ABBA. And I’ve hated ABBA since I was a kid, because I’m a closet rocker; when ABBA came out, I went, “Oh, you’ve got to be kidding.” My favorite band

Celebrating 46 Years!

Patti LuPone in Hollywood – Photo courtesy of Netflix

David Corenswet in Hollywood – Photo courtesy of Netflix

is The Band, and so if you’re a rocker, and if you’re a rocker and The Band is your favorite band and ABBA comes along, there’s no way. And so I don’t support ABBA at all.

So you haven’t even seen the Mamma Mia! movies?

No. Can’t support ABBA! Is Hollywood the gayest thing you’ve ever been a part of?

Is it? Let me think.

Consider that pool party scene – all those naked men, penises hanging out.

Yeah! And the thing that was kind of distressing to me when I was shooting it was: Why am I going home?! Why is Avis going home?!

Yeah. Why doesn’t Avis get to go to the party?

(Feigns weeping.) Why couldn’t she just sit there and ogle the penises? No. I go home early.

Didn’t you talk to Ryan about that?

Trust me, I thought about that. But no, I didn’t. That was in the script and I went, “OK, I gotta leave the party.” But I’m trying to think – is that the gayest thing? Maybe it is. I’m trying to think of anything I’ve done.

I can’t remember anything that I do and that I’ve done. Maybe. I don’t know.

That party that Avis doesn’t get to go to – have you ever gone to an industry party like that in your life?

No. I mean, I’ve gone to pool parties with tons of Broadway dancers who were gay, but they kept their clothes on.

That seems less fun.

Well, their bodies were incredible to look at, but they were all clothed. Well, _barely_ clothed! Everybody had a speedo on!

If someone decides to reimagine your life in 70 years, what parts of it would you ask that they keep factually intact and which parts would you allow them to reimagine?

All of it! I think they should keep it all factually intact! It’s been a rebellious life.

And it’s been interesting. I hope it’s not over – the rebellion part, and the interesting part. No – they don’t have to reimagine anything. It’s been a lot of fun.

You’ve turned down diva roles in the past, like one that Ryan offered you on Glee. Avis does have some diva qualities, though. What about her divaness made you say yes to playing her?

I hadn’t read any scripts when Ryan pitched it to me. All Ryan said was that I was going to be the wife of a studio head and I would inherit the studio and make movies for gays, minorities and women. That’s all he told me. But Ryan is such a champion, and I’m not offered a lot of roles, and I’m not going to turn down Ryan or a role that he offers me. He expanded the role for me in the process, and of course it’s the most stunning era for women. Every time I would go to a costume fitting I was reeling with delight because the stuff was stunning. You feel so glamorous in that time period. I felt really, really glamorous, and I’m just thrilled.

Visit us online www.sgn.org

I’ll tell you, even though I knew from a very early age that I was born for the Broadway musical stage, I was one of those kids who wanted to go to Hollywood and be a movie star. Who doesn’t? If you’re in the business, who doesn’t want to be a movie star, especially when you go to a movie theater and see your idols up on the silver screen? When I was 12, I saw Disney’s Swiss Family Robinson with Tommy Kirk and marched out of that movie theater determined to go to Hollywood and be his leading lady. At 12!

To be challenging the patriarchy like Avis does – was that cathartic for you?

Yeah, I think so. Any time a woman gets to push back on any kind of male authority, it’s cathartic. Push back and succeed. But I seem to have done that all my life, just in life, and then in my career. But I’ve always kind of pushed back because authority needs to be explained to me. I need to understand, “Why do you have authority? If it’s something you want me to do as a human being, I’ll do it; but if you are authoritarian about it, I need to understand why.

When in your career have you felt slighted or like you didn’t get what you deserved because you’re a woman?

Hmm. A lot of times. I would say the majority of my career – not necessarily on the musical stage. You know, I think I got what I deserve as far as roles are concerned.

I think I’ve had a varied career. But in the development of them, I think that I’ve been

May 8, 2020

stifled because I was a woman. The opinion that you have is not valued because you’re a woman. That kind of stuff. I’ve always questioned authority and I’ve always spoken up for what I perceived as injustice.

Always. I think it’s just in my DNA. That’s just how I thought. And it has nothing to do with being a woman or a man – it has to do with me being Patti.

It was different to watch you have that rough sex scene with actor David Corenswet because I was like, “Oh, wait – we don’t typically see this.” We don’t get to see a woman over 50 go at it in full view like you two do.

Yeah!

Did you relish that moment because for whatever stupid reason it’s still so rare to see that onscreen?

Yep, are you kidding? Gimme more Gina, as they say! I had a sex scene with Dylan McDermott that was rougher but that was cut! Yeah. That was sad. (Laughs.)

What advice did the intimacy coach give you? How does that even work?

He was a great guy. And he was always there to make us comfortable. I don’t know what other intimacy coaches do, but I don’t think I need an intimacy coach. I think I know what I’m doing. I’m certainly not uncomfortable, and if I was uncomfortable, I would talk to the director or the actor I was working with. As long as the coaches don’t interfere with acting, I’m fine with them. But if they start to interpret for us, then I’m not happy.

As we near the upcoming presidential election, I was curious: What advice do you have for LGBTQ people who struggle with the fact that some of their family members are still voting for Trump?

Oh, I’m having a real hard time with that, Chris. I don’t have family members necessarily that I discuss it with, so I don’t know if they do. But I have close friends and I actually had to cut one loose. It’s heartbreaking. But I’m thinking of my own mental health and I’m not going to get into an argument with anybody about that Piece. Of. Shit. I’m just not. I can’t. I have very dear friends; they’re Republicans; it’s really hard. It’s really hard to talk to people.

I don’t even want to talk to these people.

As editor of Q Syndicate, the LGBTQ wire service, Chris Azzopardi has interviewed a multitude of superstars, including Cher, Meryl Streep, Mariah Carey and Beyoncé. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, Vanity Fair, GQ and Billboard. Reach him via Twitter @chrisazzopardi.

Seattle Gay News 19

ART

National Nordic Museum’s Nordic Innovation Summit to focus on sustainability, corporate responsibility, and health care innovation SEATTLE (April 30, 2020) – National Nordic Museum CEO Eric Nelson unveiled the full program for the Nordic Innovation Summit, a free half-day virtual event May 14 featuring top leaders and thinkers from the Nordic region and the Pacific Northwest. The event will now include a report on how each Nordic country is dealing with the COVID-19 challenge as well as updates from Ericsson, a world leader in 5G technology, on how this will be more important than [ever] in recovering economies.

The free online event is open to anyone anywhere in the world interested in the latest thinking about sustainable economic growth, environmental stewardship, and corporate social responsibility.

[It] will include presentations and panels on critical issues, including sustainable economic growth, environmental stewardship, health care innovation, and the role of technology in society.

Highlights will include: • A keynote address from Linda Hofstad Helleland, the dynamic Minister of Regional Development and Digitalization in the government of Norway • A report on how each of the Nordic countries is confronting the COVID-19 challenge, by Svein Harald Øygard, economist, author, and former interim Central Bank Governor of Iceland • A timely update from Ericsson, the world leader in fifth-generation wireless technology, on how 5G will transform and strengthen communications, manufacturing, health care, and virtually every sector, which will be more important than ever as the world recovers and rebuilds after COVID-19

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• An insider’s perspective on the role of technology in society by Finland’s Mårten Mickos, CEO, Hacker One, the world’s leading digital security and bug bounty platform.

• Insightful panels on corporate reinvention through sustainability leadership, how to transform traditional industries into green industries, and Nordic health care innovation.

The National Nordic Museum’s reimagined Virtual Nordic Innovation Summit 2020 presented by Ericsson will take place online from 8:30 am until 11:30 am Pacific time, Thursday, May 14. Anyone interested can sign up to attend at www.nordicmuseum.org/innovation.

The presenting sponsor for the virtual Nordic Innovation Summit 2020 is Erics-

son, a worldwide leader in 5G communications technology and corporate sustainability. For a full list of sponsors and/or current agenda, visit www.nordicmuseum.org/ innovation.

Courtesy of the National Nordic Museum

GAMES

Kissing Taylor Swift’s Brother Across 1 Nine inches 5 Lie beside 9 Roddy McDowall’s Planet of the ___ 13 Woody Guthrie’s son 14 Lesbian magazine Vice ___ 15 Part used in forking around 16 Like a generation, to Stein 17 More frigid 18 “Here it is!”

19 Come on a ship 21 With 23-Across, movie in which 34-Across kisses Austin Swift 23 See 21-Across 25 Box to Vidal 27 Behind, financially 28 Large splits 29 Collette of The Hours 30 To no ___ (in vain) 33 X, sometimes 34 Draco Malfoy portrayer in the Harry Potter series 38 Some commuter trains 41 Bob Marley, e.g.

42 Cut 46 “Get your rear in gear!”

48 Like Captain Jack Sparrow 51 Port in the land of samurai 52 Recurring cry of 54-Across 54 Character played by 34-Across 56 Shoot your wad 57 Ice queen Katarina 58 Corydon author Gide 60 Pussy ___ of punk rock 62 Jodie Foster’s alma mater 63 ___ to a Small Planet 64 French 101 verb 65 Straights on the Kinsey Scale

20 Seattle Gay News

66 Bus. school course 67 Twosome Down 1 Mineo of movies 2 In favor of Chaz?

3 Mere participant 4 Zip 5 Old nuclear power org.

6 Cash inducement 7 Visitors at advocate.com 8 Scarlett’s plantation 9 Hun head 10 Barbara Higbie, for one 11 When queening usually occurs 12 Sebastian’s “Under the ___” 14 Gore, who wrote 63-Across 20 P on Socrates’ paper 22 Frida played by Salma 23 Seizure for Caesar 24 Figwear for Adam and Steve 26 IRS info 28 Op. ___ 31 Doc for lions and tigers and bears 32 It arouses you in bed 35 Phantom’s Opera instrument 36 Red Book author 37 Kept from being a breeder 38 ”Xanadu” band, for short 39 L of GLAAD 40 Scare the pants off of 43 Characteristic of Diana 44 Dancer Duncan 45 Your, among Friends 47 Emulates Dick Button 49 Day one 50 Log Cabin org.

52 Like some Greek columns

May 8, 2020

53 Linda Ellerbee’s ___ It Goes 55 Presidential title role for Kevin Kline 57 The Laramie Project st.

59 ___ Tin Tin

61 Homophobe senator Cruz (Answer key on Page 22)

Celebrating 46 Years!

Allyship - an organization of LGBTQ individuals fighting for economic and social justice. www.LGBTQAllyship. org, allyship@yahoo.com, (206) 279-8169.

American Veterans for Equal Rights - www.aver.us Another Gay Social Club! - www.meetup.com/AnotherGay-Social-Club/ Bellingham/Whatcom County - www.theslowlane. com/guide.html BiNet Seattle is a mixed gender, social group for Bisexuals, their partners & other Bi-friendly folks - www. binetseattle.org.

Bremerton/Kitsap County - www.outwestsound.org Capitol Hill Alano Club - www.chacseattle.org Cascade Rainbow Community Center (Mount Vernon) - (360) 840-8499 and on Facebook.

Central Washington University GALA Hotline: (509) 963-1994.

Channel Q 103.3 FM - LGBTQ+ Talk Radio Network News and information, pop culture and music. radio.com COLAGE unites people with LGBTQ parents and caregivers into a network of peers and supports them as they nurture and empower each other to be skilled, self-confident, and just leaders in our collective communities - www.colage.org DIFFA/Northwest (Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS). (206) 763-8885; www.diffanorthwest. org DOMESTIC VIOLENCE & SEXUAL ASSAULT: Crisis Clinic, (206) 461-3222 (24 hour line); King County Sexual Assault Resource Center (KCSARC) - 24-hour crisis line for information, support, & medical & legal assistance: 1-888-99-VOICE; Northwest Network support & advocacy for Bisexual, Trans, Lesbian & Gay Survivors of Abuse & Dating Violence, (206) 568-7777 (voice), 517-9670 (tty), www.nwnetwork.org; Pierce County Domestic Violence Helpline: Teresa, (253) 798-4166; Seattle Counseling Service for Sexual Minorities - offers on-going support groups for men: 323-1768; Seattle Police Dept Domestic Violence Unit, (206) 684-0330; State Wide Domestic Violence Hot Line, 1-800-562-6025. In an emergency call 911.

Report domestic violence and sexual assault.

Equal Rights Washington - (206) 324-2570; www. equalrightswashington.org Everett/Snohomish Cty - www.gaysnohomish.org Freely Speaking Toastmasters - www.freelyspeaking.org Gay City promotes wellness in LGBTQ communities by providing health services, connecting people to resources, fostering arts, and building community. Gay City Health Project’s Wellness Center provides anonymous & confidential HIV/STD testing. 517 E Pike St. More info or to schedule an appointment, (206) 860-6969. www.gaycity.org Gay & Lesbian National Hotline (GLNH): 1-888-THEGLNH (1-888-843-4564). Non-profit, peer-counseling, information & local resources telephone hotline for GLBT people across the country.

Generations Aging With Pride empowers elder LGBTQ adults to live with pride and dignity by promoting, connecting, and developing innovative programs and services that enhance belonging and support, eliminate discrimination, and honor the lives of older members of our community - (206) 393-3400; info@gapseattle.org; gapseattle.org GLSEN/WA - Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network - (206) 330-2099; www.glsenwa.org Greater Seattle Business Association (GSBA) - (206) 363-9188; www.thegsba.org HIV/AIDS Program, Seattle/King County Dept of Public Health, provides confidential/anonymous information about & testing for HIV/AIDS. (206) 205-7837. For a comprehensive list of HIV/AIDS service organizations see the GSBA Guide or visit www.thegsba.org or call Lifelong AIDS Alliance, (206) 328-8979.

Imperial Sovereign Court of Seattle & the Olympic & Rainier Empire - www.facebook.com/ISCSORE; www. imperialcourtofseattle.com Lambert House - (206) 322-2515; www.lamberthouse. org LGBT Library - 517 E Pike St. Open Mon-Fri 2-8pm; Sat 2-5pm. A wide range of fiction and non-fiction for the LGBT community and allies can be borrowed free of charge.

LGBT MS Connection - (425) 785-8593; lgbtmsconnections@comcast.net. Support group for LGBT persons with MS and their partners and their caregivers.

Sponsored by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Lifelong AIDS Alliance - (206) 328-8979, www.lifelongaids alliance.org Lion’s Main Art Collective - www.lionsmain.org MEN: Gay City: (206) 860-6969, www.gaycity.org; Knights of Mantra: (206) 329-0886, www.jetchapterkofm.com; Mature Friends: Gay men & women 40 & over, www.maturefriends.org; Northwest Bears: www. nwbears.com; The Olympians: www.TheOlympians. net; POZSeattle: www.pozseattle.com; Q-Squared: www.qsquared.org; Rain City Jacks: www.raincityjacks. org; Seattle Gay Couples: www. seattlegaycouples.org; Seattle Men in Leather: www.seattlemeninleather. org; Seattle Prime Timers: Gay & Bi men 40 & over, www. seattle primetimers.org; Tacoma Older LGBT: www. tacomaolderlgbt.org. (See also listings under Bisexual, Parenthood, People of Color, Transgender.)

MUSIC: Diverse Harmony: www.diverseharmony. org; Rainbow City Band: 1-866-841-9139 ext 2126; rainbowcityband@onebox.com; www.rainbowcity band. com; Seattle Men’s Chorus and Seattle Women’s Chorus: (206) 388-1408, (206) 323-0750. www.seattlechoruses.org.

Northwest Lesbian & Gay History Museum Project - gayhistnw@aol.com

Sponsors Tacoma Pride Festival. (253) 383-2318, www. rainbowcntr.org SEAMEC interviews, researches & rates candidates for public office on issues of concern to the LGBT community. www.voteseamec.org Seattle Area Support Groups & Community Center (SASG) i- SEE LISTING for Peer Seattle.

Seattle Bisexual Women’s Network - BiSeattle.wixsite. com/SBWN and on Facebook.

Seattle Counseling Service for Sexual Minorities is a community mental health service for GLBT persons & their families providing comprehensive mental health services on a sliding scale. (206) 323-1768.

Seattle LGBTQ Commission - (206) 684-4503. www/ seattle.gov/lgbtq Seattle Out & Proud - (206) 322-9561; www.seattlepride.org Seattle Police Department Sexual Minorities Community Advisory Council: kim.bogucki@seattle.gov Seattle PrideFest - www.seattlepridefest.org Servicemembers Legal Defense Network - (202) 328-3244; www.sldn.org Sex Workers Outreach Project - https://seattle. swopusa.org Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, The Abbey of St. Joan - (206) 860-3666; www.theabbey.org Snohomish Health District HIV/AIDS Program provides free confidential/anonymous HIV counseling & testing 9am-5pm Monday-Friday, until 7pm Tuesdays.

(425) 339-5298.

South Sound Q Calendar - LGBTQ events in Tacoma, Olympia & Sound Puget Sound area; www.SouthSoundQCal.com Spokane/Inland Northwest - www.outspokane.com; www.stonewallnews.net SPORTS & RECREATION: Bent Car Guys: www. bentcarguys.org; Border Riders Motorcycle Club: www.borderriders.com; Bottom Dwellers Scuba Club: www.bottomdwellers.org; Capitol Hill Cyclers: join their Facebook group or email capitolhillcycling@ groups.facebook.com or jordan.l.simonson@gmail.com; Cascade Flag Football: www.cascadeflagfootball.org; Cascade Flyers: www.cascadeflyers.org; Emerald City Mudhen Rugby: www.mudhenrugby.com; Emerald City Softball Association: www.emeraldcitysoftball. org, www.eteamz.com/womensecsa; Ethyl Forever Car Club: ethylforever@hotmail.com; Festival of the Babes: www.festivalofthebabes.com; Olympic Yacht Club: www.oycnw.org; OutVentures: outdoor education & recreation activities, www.outventures.org; Pacific Northwest Gay Rodeo Association: www.pacificnwgra.org; Puddletown Squares: www.puddletownsquares.org; Rain City Soccer: www.raincitysoccer.org; Rain Country Dance Association: a country-western dance organization catering to the LGBTQ community but open to all, www.raincountrydance.org; Sea Dawgs: LGBT ice hockey - SkateSeaDawgs@gmail.com and on Facebook; Seattle Frontrunners: www.seattlefrontrunners.org; Seattle Gay Basketball Association: www. seattlegaybasketballassociation.com; Seattle Orca Swim Team: www.orcaswimteam.org; Seattle Otters Water Polo: www.otterpolo.com; Seattle Quake Rugby: www.quakerugby.com; Seattle Tennis Alliance: www. seattletennisalliance.org; Seattle Unified Bowling Association (SUBA): magee98106@aol.com, www. teamseattle.org/bowling.htm, www.theprideleague. com, Century 21 League; Seattle Volleyball Club: www.seattlevolleyballclub.com; Ski Buddies: www. skibuddies.org; Team Seattle Gay Sports Network is an umbrella organization for a wide range of local GLBT sports activities, (206) 367-4064, www.teamseattle.org (see website for comprehensive list of sports clubs); Triangle Recreation Camp at Bender Creek: recreational camping for GLBT folks. Must be 21; ID required. trc@ camptrc.org, www.camptrc.org, 1122 E Pike St #1069, Seattle 98122-3934.

Strength Over Speed - www.strengthoverspeed.org Tacoma/Pierce County - Rainbow Center, 2215 Pacific Ave, Tacoma, a resource center for the LGBTIQA community of Pierce County, (253) 383-2318, www. rainbowcntr.org Three Dollar Bill Cinema - TWIST: Seattle Queer Film Festival; Translations: Seattle Transgender Film Festival; Outdoor Cinema at Cal Anderson Park. www. threedollarbillcinema.org TRANSGENDER: Emerald City Social Club: (425) 827-9494; Gender Alliance of the South Sound: www.

SouthSoundGender.com; Gender Diversity: www. genderdiversity.org; Gender Justice League: www.genderjusticeleague.org; Gender Odyssey: www.genderodyssey.com; Hermanos Trans Latino & Foreign-Born

Support Group: (206) 322-7700; Ingersoll Gender Center: (206) 329-6651, www.ingersollcenter.org; Lion’s Main Art Collective: www.lionsmain.org; The New BoyZ Club: www.olympiaftmgroup.webs.com; Olympia Trans Discussion Group: www.facebook.com/pages/ Olympia-Trans-Discussion-Group/262449878114; [trans] ACTION: Trans* & Gender Non-Conforming Sex Workers’ Support Group - a safe, peer-led space. mail@utopiaseattle.org; TRANSform Washington: transformwashington.com; Trans Resource & Referral Guide: kctransguide.org; Trans Women of Color Solidarity Network: Funding the collective liberation of Trans women of color – https://m.facebook.com/ TWOCSolidarityNW/; Washington Gender Alliance: (360) 445-2411, www.washington genderalliance.com WOMEN: Aging Ballard Lesbian Exchange (A.B.L.E.): We are Lesbians 60 years (generally) and up, living (mostly) in the north half of Seattle. The purpose of the group is to connect, socialize and support each other. ruthemilyvogel@gmail.com; Aging Lesbians in South Seattle (ALISS) - Lesbian Group at the Southeast Seattle Senior Center. This is a gathering primarily for Lesbians but all are welcome to attend. Kate, (206) 722-0317; www.sessc.org; BABES: support groups for HIV+ women. (206) 720-5566, 1-888-292-1912; Coming Out Women Support Group of Tacoma: www. comingoutwomen.org; Festival of the Babes: www. festivalofthebabes.com; Mature Friends: Gay men & women 40 & over, www.maturefriends.org; Puget Sound Old Lesbian Organizing for Change: http:// psoloc.org, (253) 777-3357; Older Lesbians Organizing for Change/WA State Chapter: gloria@oloc.org, mary@oloc.org, www.oloc.org; Pacific Northwest Lesbian Archives: www.pnwlesbianarchives.org; RainshadowWomen: RainshadowWomen@aol. com; Seattle Bisexual Women’s Network: BiSeattle. wixsite.com/SBWN; Seattle Girls of Leather: www. sgol.org; Tacoma Lesbian Concern (TLC): www.tacomalesbianconcern.org; Tacoma Older LGBT: www. tacomaolderlgbt.org; Women of West Seattle (WOWS): a fun, member-driven social group for Lesbians, http:// groups.yahoo.com/group/womenofwestseattle; YWCA Women’s Health Outreach: providing low or no-cost mammograms for income eligible 40+ LBTQ individuals. Follow us at http://lbtqhealth-ywca.blogspot.com, twitter.com/ingridWHO or email lbthealth@ywcaworks. org, (206) 461-4493. (See also listings under Bisexual, Parenthood, People of Color, Transgender.)

YOUTH: B-GLAD (Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, Trans & Questioning Adolescent Drop-In Group): Youth Eastside Services offers many programs for GLBT youth, including B-GLAD, (425) 747-4937; Coyote Central: www.coyotecentral.org; Diverse Harmony: www.diverseharmony. org; GLSEN/Washington State (Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network) & Washington State GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance) Network: GLSEN works to create safe schools for LGBT students. WA GSA Network supports youth-led GSA’s to fight harassment & homophobia in Washington state schools. (206) 330-2099; www.glsenwa. org; www.wagsa.org. GLOBE (GLBTQ Loving Ourselves, Becoming Empowered): a support group & HIV/STD prevention program for GLBTQ youth, 14-20, in Everett, (425) 263-2908, www. globeyouth.org; It Gets Better Project: www.itgetsbetter.org; Lambert House: an activities & resource center for LGBT youth, 14-22, 1818 15th Ave @ E Denny Way, with additional support groups organized in smaller towns throughout King County, (206) 322-2515, www. lamberthouse.org; Lifelong HEYO (Health Education Youth Outreach): for LGBTQ youth, ages 16-24: (206) 957-1665; www.llaa.org/HEYO; www.MatthewsPlace. com; The Mockingbird Society: (206) 323-KIDS (5437), www.mockingbirdsociety.org; New Horizons: social services and shelter for homeless youth, 2708 3rd Ave (in Belltown), (206) 374-0866, http://namin.org; Oasis Youth Center: for GLBTQ youth, ages 14-25, in Tacoma, (253) 671-2838, www.oasisyouthcenter. org; OKAY! LGBTQ+ Outreach for Kent Area Youth: (253) 859-0699 ext 3034. OKAY! is an open support group for youth ages 13-19 who identify as LGBTQ+. A program of Kent Youth & Family Services; OUT There Adventures: www.outthereadventures.org; Parents, Family & Friends of Lesbians & Gays (PFLAG)/ Puget Sound: (206) 325-7724, www.seattle-pflag.org; Pizza Klatch: weekly lunchtime support groups for LGBTQ youth in Thurston County, www.pizzaklatch. org; Prism: for LGBTQ youth, 14-21, in Puyallup Cherise.Alexander@ multicare.org; www.facebook. com/PuyallupPrism; Proud Out Wonderful (POW!): for LGBTQ youth, 13-21, in South King County, (206) 326-9112, www.facebook.com/proudoutwonderful; Q Youth Resources: in Kitsap County - (360) 698-3335; www.kchaf.org; Roots Young Adult Shelter: 1415 NE 43rd St., (206) 632-1635; www.rootsinfo.org; Safe Schools Coalition: www.safeschoolscoalition.org; (206) 451-SAFE, (206) 451-7233 (non-emergency), 1-877-SAFE-SAFE (1-877-723-3723) (crisis line); Seattle Young People’s Project (Queer Youth Resource Board): (206) 860-9606, www.sypp.org; Street Youth Ministries (SYM): (206) 524-7301 ext 111; www. streetyouthministries.org; Teen Link: (206) 461-4922, 1-888-431-TEEN; The Trevor Project: 866-4-U-Trevor; www.thetrevorproject.org; True Colors - Connecting LGBTQ Teens: in Shoreline, (206) 362-7282 x 8018, lbagley@chs-nw.org; The Vera Project: fuels personal & community transformation through collaborative youthdriven engagement in music and art. (206) 956-8372; theveraproject.org; Vista Youth Center: for LGBTQ, questioning and allied youth, ages 14-21, in Kennewick, (509) 396-5198, www.vistayouthcenter.org; YouthCare/ Isis Program (Transitional Living Home for LGBTQ Young Adults, 18-22): (206) 522-8412; YouthCare/ Orion Center Young Adult Shelter: 1828 Yale Ave @ Stewart St. (206) 622-5555; Youth in Focus: (206) 723-1479; www.youthinfocus.org; Youth Suicide Prevention Program (OUTLoud-GLBTQ): (206) 297-5922, ext 116, 1-800-273-TALK, www.yspp.org

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Seattle Gay News 21

community resources Northwest Rainbow Alliance for the Deaf - www. nwrad.org Olympia/Thurston County - www.RainbowCenterOly. org Out & Equal Workplace Advocates/Seattle Regional Affiliate supports the work of LGBT employees and the growing number of ERGs (Employee Resource Groups) making a difference within local companies, including Alaska Airlines, Amazon.com, Amgen, AT&T, Bank of America, Deloitte, Macy’s, Microsoft, Russell Investments, Safeco Insurance, Starbucks Coffee, Xerox. www.outandequal.org/affiliates/seattle Out & Proud Grays Harbor Coalition - http://outandproudgh.org PARENTHOOD: Families Like Ours provides a gateway for LGBT families interested in adoption & provides a network of safe placement agencies, training, support & resources: (206) 441-7602, www.familieslikeours. org; Family Works offers support, information & activities for LGBT families: (206) 694-6727, www.familyworksseattle. org; Gay Fathers’ Association of Seattle offers support groups & social activities: www.gfas. org; Proud & Loud Families - Northwest, www.meetup.com/proudand-loud-families-northwest, plfnorthwest@aol.com; Queer Parent Networking Dinners: (206) 568-7777, qpnd@nwnetwork.org, www.nwnetwork.org; Rainbow Families of Puget Sound: www.rainbowfamiliesps.org PFLAG is the national organization for parents, families, allies, and LGBTQ people united for equality with chapters in Seattle, Bellevue/Eastside, the Puget Sound region and across Washington state. PFLAG Seattle: (206) 325-7724, info@pflagseattle.org, and www.pflagseattle.org; PFLAG Bellevue/Eastside: (425) 483-6642, info@bellevue-pflag.org, http://community. pflag.org/PFLAGBellevue; PFLAG Pacific Northwest: www.pnwpflag.org; PFLAG Washington State Council: www.pflagwsc.org.

Peer Seattle (formerly Seattle Area Support Groups) is a non-profit organization that builds community and cultivates powerful, healthy lives by providing emotional support and personal development services to those affected by HIV/AIDS, the Queer communities, and those who love them. Our work is done in a spirit of safety, trust, inclusiveness, and celebration of individual differences.

(206) 322-2437; www.peerseattle.org PEOPLE OF COLOR: AARTH (African American Reach & Teach Health Ministry), (206) 850-2070, www.aarth.org; Asian/Pacific Islander Queer Network Program at API Chaya, (206) 467-9976; Center for MultiCultural Health, (206) 461-6910, www.multiculturalhealth.org; Entre Hermanos, GLBT Latinos/as, (206) 322-7700, www.entrehermanos.org; Ile LaiLai, (206) 781-3565, iya@ilelailai.org; Men of All Colors & Cultures Together (MACCT), (206) 923-8313, macctseattle@yahoo.com, www.macctsea.org; Northwest Two Spirit Society, https://www.facebook.com/ groups/nw2spiritsociety/, Nubian Pride Productions, nubianpride@gmail.com; People of Color Against AIDS Network (POCAAN) offers rapid HIV testing, M-F, 10am-5pm, (206) 322-7061, www.pocaan.org and on Facebook; QBASS - Queer Black Alliance of the South Sound, (253) 256-1846, weareqbass@gmail. com; Sistah 2 Sistah, LBT women of African descent, (206) 322-7061, (206) 255-8951; Somos Seattle, somosseattle.org; Trikone-Northwest, GLBT South Asians, (425) 985-4376, www.trikonenw.org; Two-Spirit Honor Project, 1-866-685-0164; U.T.O.P.I.A. Seattle, www.utopiaseattlewa.org; VietQ Greater Seattle, vietqorganization@gmail.com Pierce County AIDS Foundation - (253) 383-2565; www.piercecountyaids.org Pride Foundation - (206) 323-3318; www.pridefoundation. org Pride Lives - www.facebook.com/PrideLives/ Pride Radio 93.3 HD2 Project NEON is a program of Seattle Counseling Service providing FREE information & services to Gay & Bi men to reduce health risks associated with methamphetamine use. (206) 323-1768. www.crystalneon.org Public Health-Seattle & King County Online Comprehensive Health Information for Sexual Minorities: www.kingcounty.gov/healthservices/health/personal/ glbt.aspx Q Law: The GLBT Bar Association of WA - (206) 682-6711; www.q-law.org Q Law GLBT Legal Clinic - (206) 235-7235.

Queer Geek! - queergeekseattle.org Rainbow Center - Resource Center for Tacoma/Pierce County LGBTIQA community. Through education, advocacy and celebration, the Rainbow Center expands resources, and safe space for the LGBTQIA community.

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