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“EX-GAY”

Milo Yiannopoulos is now “ex-gay”

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Right-wing troll Milo Yiannopoulos is now an “ex-gay,” he claims.

In an interview with the Christian right website LifeSite News, Yiannopoulos says he’s undergone a spiritual awakening.

Dedicating his life to St. Joseph, he claims

see “EX-GAY” page 5

Milo Yiannopoulos – Photo by Janet Van Ham / HBO via AP

Atlanta billboard campaign demands end to violence against Black Trans people Photo by Michael K. Lavers / Washington Blade

by Michael K. Lavers Washington Blade ATLANTA (March 5, 2021) — An Atlanta advocacy group has created a billboard campaign that demands an end to violence against Black transgender people.

The I Am Human Foundation campaign debuted in January, and features billboards with the slogan “Black trans lives matter” against the backdrop of the trans Pride flag.

The billboards also contain the hashtag #StopTheViolence.

Alex Santiago, the executive director of the I Am Human Foundation, told the Washington Blade on Feb. 21 that the idea behind the campaign emerged last summer after he attended marches in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

“There was a lot of conversation back in the summer with the Black Lives Mat-

see BILLBOARD page 8

President Biden signs $1.9 trillion economic relief package President Joe Biden – Photo by Andrew Harnik / AP

by Paige McGlauflin SGN Contributing Writer President Joe Biden signed the $1.9 trillion stimulus package on Thursday, following its final approval in the House on Wednesday. The economic relief bill is one of the largest packages in U.S. history, second only to the $2 trillion package approved just under a year ago by the Trump administration.

The Democratic-led Congress pushed to have the stimulus package approved before federal unemployment benefits expire on March 14. The Senate approved its own version of the legislation with a 50-49 vote on Saturday, and the House gave final approval to the Senate’s version on Wednesday. Every Republican in the House and Senate, and one House Democrat, Jared Golden (D-Maine), voted against the relief bill.

see STIMULUS page 5

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FROM MARCH 12, 2010:

Mississippi school district cancels prom over Lesbian student This Week in SGN History

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Publisher Angela Cragin Editors SGN Staff Copy Editor SGN Staff • Richard Isaac Advertising Maggie Bloodstone, Advertising Manager National Advertising Rep. Rivendell Media (212) 242-6863 Staff Writers Mike Andrew • Sara Michelle Fetters Contributing Writers Janice Athill • Alice Bloch Maggie Bloodstone • Kylin Brown Sharon Cumberland • Miryam Gordon Paige McGlauflin • Jesse Monteagudo David Nguyen aka Teriyaki Temple Tom Orr • Rod Parke • Tim Peter Jessica Price • Renee Raketty • Scott Rice Hannah Saunders • MK Scott • Mark Segal Gaysha Starr • Sarah Toce • Ed Walsh Social Media Manager MK Scott Cartoonist Ken Campbell Photographers Nate Gowdy • Renee Raketty Chris Rojas • MK Scott Production Mike Pham Website Designer Barry Thorsness / Digital Team Works Seattle Gay News is published by Angela Cragin. © 2020. All Rights Reserved. Reprints by permission.

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Constance McMillen – Photo courtesy of The McMillen Family / ACLU / Mississippi AP

[Editor’s note: Over 47 years, the Seattle Gay News has covered thousands of stories that still resonate today. This week we look back at one from March 2010, with an update.]

by James Whitely SGN Staff Writer “Thanks for ruining my senior year.”

That’s what a high school student said to Constance McMillen, an 18-year-old Fulton, Mississippi, high school senior, after her school district canceled her senior prom instead of allowing her to attend the celebration with her girlfriend.

McMillen admitted that she didn’t want to return to school after the Itawamba County school board’s decision, but her father told her she needed to face her classmates, teachers, and school officials.

“My daddy told me that I needed to show them that I’m still proud of who I am,” McMillen told the Associated Press in a telephone interview. McMillen identifies as a Lesbian.

The Itawamba County School District announced on March 10 that it wouldn’t host the April 2 prom “due to the distrac-

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tions to the educational process caused by recent events.”

The decision was voted in after the American Civil Liberties Union told the school board that a policy banning samesex prom dates violated students’ civil rights, and that not allowing McMillen to wear a tuxedo violated her free expression rights.

The statement did not mention McMillen or the ACLU. When asked by an Associated Press reporter if McMillen’s actions led to the cancelation of the event, Itawamba County School Board attorney Michele Floyd said she could only reference the statement.

“I am a little bummed out about it,” said Anna Watson, 17, a junior in the high school. “I guess it’s a decision that had to be made. Either way someone was going to get disappointed. Either Constance was, or we were. I don’t agree with homosexuality, but I can’t change what another person thinks or does.”

McKenzie Chaney, 16, said that she hadn’t planned on attending the prom, but “it’s kind of ridiculous that they can’t let her wear the tuxedo and it all be over with.”

Fulton Mayor Paul Walker said he sup-

ports the school district’s decision, also noting, “I think the community as a whole is probably in support of the school district.”

Same-sex prom dates and cross-dressing are new issues for many high schools around the country, said Daryl Presgraves, a spokesman for the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN).

“A lot of schools actually react, rather than do the research and find out what the rights of these students are,” said Presgraves.

March 12, 2021

Seattle Gay News 3

UPDATE: When the ACLU sued the Itawamba County School District for excluding Constance McMillen from attending her high school prom, the story dominated the headlines for nearly a month.

The school district settled the lawsuit by agreeing to pay McMillen and adopting a sexual orientation nondiscrimination policy. McMillen had won — but the school had still canceled the prom, and many parents organized a secret one, excluding McMillen. Another official prom that included her was not well attended. In 2016, The Prom, loosely based on the story, was produced on Broadway, and in 2020, a movie version starring Meryl Streep premiered on Netflix.

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Local News

New Girl Scout troop reaches out to LGBTQ community

by Renee Raketty SGN Contributing Writer TACOMA (March 5, 2021) — Jennifer Kopf is a lifelong Girl Scout. She began as a Brownie in second grade and continued on to become a Cadette in eighth grade. Three years ago, she became a volunteer.

“I moved around a lot. Nonetheless, I always felt like I had friends with every troop that I joined, because we all had that common background and that common knowledge,” recalled Kopf. “I learned how to cook outdoors. I learned how to camp. I learned how to fish. I learned how to swim. I learned how to boat. I learned how to ride a horse.

“There are just so many things I learned that make me the woman I am today. For example, selling Girl Scout cookies taught me how to market, how to budget. I learned how to talk to people and develop skills, socializing and working as a team, and working toward a goal. That’s how I paid for my summer camps at Girl Scouts.”

However, Kopf’s life took a new path when a family member came out as a member of Tacoma’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community. From there, she joined several LGBTQ and allied groups on social media, where she read one account after another of youth and parents who said that they didn’t fit in with the local social opportunities available to them.

“Girl Scouts has been a long part of my own history, and I just want to make sure that it’s available to every child who wants to do it,” she explained. “It’s personal to me. I’ve got a family member who is in the community that I’ve supported through their own transition.”

Kopf and her son Vinn, who will be coleader, decided to start Troop 43130 to help give LGBTQ youth, the children of LGBTQ parents, and LGBTQ adult volunteers a safe space to feel welcome in scouting.

“It’s going to be normal Girl Scouts. It’s not just going to be all Pride all the time,” she said. “They’re going to be doing all of the outdoor activities, the STEM activities, the robotics, the art, the music, and the ‘take action’ projects. They are going to sell cookies.

“Other than maybe some different pronouns that will be used, that’s about the only difference that I foresee. All troops pick their own ‘take action’ projects of how to support their communities. So, if the troop decides that they want to help the Oasis Youth Center or the Rainbow Center or some other LGBTQ community group, then maybe that will be different. It doesn’t mean that some other non-focused troop wouldn’t do the same thing… I can’t say, because it’s girl-focused and it’s girl-led.

So, they’ll decide how to move forward.”

Kopf described the troop as Girls Scouts with an asterisk after the word “girl.”

“We’ll use your name. We’ll use your pronouns,” she said. “We don’t care how short your hair is. We don’t care what you’re wearing. None of that’s going to matter, because you are you and we respect that.”

The Girl Scouts of Troop 43130 will also get a special Pride patch to adhere to their uniform.

How does a troop for the LGBTQ community and its allies meet during a pandemic? A troop open to any youth living in the council’s territory? The challenge is not lost on Kopf.

“I’m trying to get the word out there, but without schools being in session and in person, it’s very hard to get it in front of them, to bring their attention to it so that they can talk to their parents about joining,” she said. “Anyone who can participate via Zoom — whether by camera or by phone call — is welcome to

4 Seattle Gay News

Girl Scouts of Troop 43130 will get a special Pride patch – Photo by Renee Raketty

join the troop. Even people who struggle with Zoom, who want to be a part of the troop, are welcome. I can mail out packets of information about what badges we’re working on, and they can continue to participate.

“Eventually, when we’re able to start meeting in person again, they will have to decide if they want to join or start a troop in their area if they’re too far away from a central meeting location, or if they’re willing to come down once a month to meet with the entire troop. That’s kind of a personal decision. However, we’ll continue to meet virtually as a troop for the foreseeable future because everyone will have developed bonds and friendships.”

The Girls Scouts of Western Washington have long been seen as a diverse and inclusive organization. A vision statement reads that the Girl Scouts “represents every race,

March 12, 2021

ethnicity, income level, sexual orientation, ability, and religion; reflects a spectrum of gender identity; and connects across geographic locations” and by “focusing our attention on community members who are furthest from racial, economic, and social justice, Girl Scouts can be an instrument of change, promoting equitable outcomes for all.” Likewise, the local council defines gender broadly, stating that it welcomes “children from across the gender spectrum: those who identify as transgender, agender, androgynous, etc., and those who are in transition or questioning their gender identity.”

Last month, Megan Ferland, the CEO of Girl Scouts of Western Washington, posted to the website an “Action Plan for Promoting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” that outlined several initiatives to “grow as an antiracist and anti-oppressive organization.”

Kopf said this commitment diversity in the Girl Scouts is reinforced among its volunteers. “I believe that I’m supported and encouraged to train and educate myself and to find ways to break down any barriers that exist — for all cultures, all socioeconomic backgrounds,” she said. “We want to make Girl Scouts available and accessible to everybody, to break down any kind of exclusion and/or racism that may have existed in the system.”

Troop 43130 [held] its first Parents’ Information Night via Zoom from 6 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 9. Those interested in joining should contact Kathy Sullivan at ksullivan@GirlScoutsWW.org.

Reprinted from the Tacoma Weekly News

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National News

Milo Yiannopoulos – Photo by Jeremy Papasso / AP

“EX-GAY”

continued from cover “When I used to kid that I only became gay to torment my mother, I wasn’t entirely joking,” Yiannopoulos said.

“Of course, I was never wholly at home in the gay lifestyle — who is? who could be? — and only leaned heavily into it in public because it drove liberals crazy to see a handsome, charismatic, intelligent gay man riotously celebrating conservative principles.

“That’s not to say I didn’t throw myself

enthusiastically into degeneracy of all kinds in my private life. I suppose I felt that’s all I deserved. I’d love to say it was all an act, and I’ve been straight this whole time, but even I don’t have that kind of commitment to performance art.”

Yiannopoulos added that the husband he married in 2017 has been “demoted to housemate.”

“It helps that I can still just about afford to keep him in Givenchy and a new Porsche every year. Could be worse for him, I guess,” Yiannopoulos remarked.

Although he has described himself alternatively as Greek and Jewish, Yian-

nopoulos quoted from Roman Catholic authors during the interview, and said he now wants to dedicate his life to St Joseph.

He also wants to hang drag queens who read stories to kids at libraries.

“I have enjoyed a lifelong affection for the absurd and the outrageous, so part of me gleefully anticipates the day I can seize the moral high ground, however briefly, to denounce others for failures of piety and sobriety. I hope people will support and pray for me, if for no other reason than they share my delight at the prospect of Milo Yiannopoulos furiously and indignantly railing against homosexuals for sins of the flesh.

“They say if you let one sin in, others will follow, and now I truly know what that means: As I’ve begun to resist sinful sexual urges, I’ve found myself drinking less, smoking less … you name it. I confess my weakness for designer shoes and handbags is yet to dissipate,” Yiannopoulus added.

“But I am coming to realize, however slowly, that lust — per Augustine — is disordered desire for all sorts of things, not just NFL players.”

Yiannopoulos built a social media empire in the early 21st century posing as a flamboyantly Gay homocon but fell from favor after comments that seemed to justify pedophilia.

STIMULUS

continued from cover King County and Seattle are still expected to receive $437 million and $239 million in federal aid, respectively. Over $20 billion has also been allocated to establish a national COVID-19 vaccination program. Mayor Jenny Durkan praised President Biden and those representing Seattle in Congress for the aid that will be provided to the city.

“Our reopening and recovery start with vaccinations. We are making significant progress with nearly one out of every four residents with a first dose,” Durkan said in a press statement. “In the coming weeks, I’ll be proposing a plan to kick-start our economic recovery, support downtown and neighborhood small businesses, and address the critical needs of our residents, including individuals experiencing homelessness.”

Several changes were made on the final legislation, however, including the plan to continue federal unemployment benefits and who qualifies for the third round of stimulus checks.

Fewer Americans will qualify for the $1,400 stimulus checks under the final American Rescue Act. Individuals earning less than $80,000 and couples earning less than $160,000 will now qualify for the check and can expect to receive it by the end of March. Unemployment benefits were also changed, from $400 a week in aid through Aug. 29 to $300 a week in aid through Sept. 6. Those who received unemployment benefits in 2020 will get tax exemption for up to $10,200 in aid received.

Additionally, qualifying families with

Governor Jay Inslee, Mayor Jenny Durkan, and Executive Dow Constantine speak at Lumen Field Event Center – Photo courtesy of the City of Seattle

children aged 6 through 17 will receive $3,000 for the child tax credit, with half of the credit being paid in advance by the IRS from July through December of 2021. Qualifying families with children under the age of six will receive a $3,600 tax credit.

The House’s original plan to include a $15 federal minimum wage was ultimately scrapped when an amendment introduced in the Senate failed to get majority

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approval. All Republican senators and eight Democrats voted against the amendment, including Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), who infamously curtsied while delivering her “nay” vote.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal’s Feeding Homeless Youth During COVID-19 Act, intended to provide food assistance to homeless young adults, was also included in the final relief bill.

“There is still more work to be done to help those in need, give workers a longoverdue raise, and lift people out of poverty, but our aid package is a crucial downpayment on the $3 to $4.5 trillion in stimulus funding necessary to fully recover from this crisis,” Rep. Jayapal said in a press statement Wednesday.

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National News

Tallying the lost years for LGBT seniors

Paulette Thomas-Martin & Pat Martin collectively "lost" 56 years – Photo by Karsten Thormaehlen for “Not Another Second”

by Michael Schulman New Yorker Staff Writer To see Pearl in all her glory, you have to make an appointment at the Watermark, a new “luxury senior community” in Brooklyn Heights. You enter a lobby with a grand piano, get a thermal scan, then emerge onto a mezzanine. You scan a QR code on the wall and download an augmented-reality app. Pearl’s photo hangs to the right: drawn-on eyebrows, hand over mouth, delighted eyes. If you hold up your phone, the portrait comes to life on the app, and you can watch Pearl tell the story of how she became herself. If this level of technology eludes you — maybe, like Pearl, you’re seventy — you can use a pair of headphones connected to an iPad. There are some three million LGBT seniors in the United States; twelve of them are represented in “Not Another Second,” the residence’s inaugural exhibition.

Many carry the burdens of less accepting times, before Stonewall or gay marriage or RuPaul’s Drag Race. Their numbers are diminished from AIDS, and thirty-four percent of them fear having to go back into the closet when seeking senior housing.

Watermark, a national chain, is trying to

6 Seattle Gay News

change that, by pursuing a platinum accreditation from sage, an organization that serves LGBT elders. (SAGE avoids the “Q,” for “queer,” because it still sounds pejorative to many of its members.)

For “Not Another Second,” the subjects were photographed by Karsten Thormaehlen. “They gave me the superstar treatment,” Pearl said, recalling her shoot, at a warehouse in Greenpoint. “There was a full buffet. There was a makeup artist. They said, ‘What music would get you in the mood to relax?’” (Whitney Houston.) Her last name is Bennett, but it took many years to become Pearl. She grew up in West Palm Beach, Florida; her father was a landscaper, and her mother cleaned houses. Her brothers were jocks, but she was more interested in Easy-Bake Ovens. She moved to Brooklyn in 1970 and got into the underground disco scene, living as a gay man. Some nights, she and her friends would hit the clubs on Christopher Street in drag. “I would wake up the next morning, still in that dress,” she recalled. “I wouldn’t want to take it off.”

She started performing on Fire Island as Mother Pearl — a church-lady drag character, modeled on her mother. But something was off. “My life felt hollow, like I was

March 12, 2021

going through the motions,” she said. “I felt more like I was in drag as Ken.” Just before she turned fifty, in 1999, she had an odd experience on Fire Island. “I said to one of the performers, ‘Something is wrong. For some reason, Pearl’s not letting me take off this dress.’” She took the train back to town as Pearl and never wore men’s clothing again. After a year, she began hormone therapy: “I would wake up and I would touch my breasts and say, ‘Ah, that wasn’t just a dream!’” In “Not Another Second,” the participants each tabulate their “years lost,” before they began living as their authentic selves. Pearl’s number is fifty.

Ray Cunningham, 83, and Richard Prescott, 79, were photographed together.

Both served in the Navy in the fifties. One of Cunningham’s duties was to file paperwork for “undesirable” discharges, including homosexuals. “I realized that I could be in their boat — excuse the pun,” he said.

“It hurt, to the point where I went into the Navy with the idea of having a career and retiring in thirty-five years or whatever, and I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t live under those circumstances of always looking over my shoulder.” He left the Navy and moved to San Francisco. He and Prescott were both

middle-aged and driving buses when they met, in 1991. “We enjoyed camping. We enjoyed model trains,” Prescott said. They married in 2008, in Palm Springs. Years lost: a combined hundred and fifteen.

Lujira Cooper, 73, was born in Queens.

At twenty, she started working as a telephone operator at the YMCA on 34th Street, known as a gay haven, and dated a female co-worker. When Stonewall happened, she shrugged. “I remember saying, ‘Oh, they’ve actually decided to do something about how we’re treated,’” she recalled. “I’m sorry that I didn’t pay more attention, but at the same time I don’t like crowds, particularly.” A few years ago, she was homeless for ten months. “My biggest challenge became not blaming other people for anything,” she said. She got a place on the Upper West Side, earned three degrees in four years, and is working on her second detective novel. “I don’t think I ever came out, because I don’t think I was ever in the closet,” she said. Years lost: zero.

Published in the print edition of the March 8, 2021, issue of the New Yorker, with the headline “Years Lost.” Reprinted with permission.

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Ray Cunningham and Richard Prescott have collectively “lost” 115 years – Photo by Karsten Thormaehlen for “Not Another Second”

Installation view – Photo courtesy of “Not Another Second”

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National News

Collins, Manchin vote to defund schools allowing trans kids in sports

Photo by Rachel Leathe / Bozeman Daily Chronicle / AP

by Chris Johnson Washington Blade (March 6, 2021) — Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) voted for an amendment that would have defunded schools allowing transgender kids in sports.

The US Senate Saturday morning narrowly rejected a Republican amendment to the coronavirus relief package that would have defunded schools allowing transgender kids to participate in sports.

The amendment, introduced by Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), was proposed as part of the American Rescue Plan and defeated by a vote of 49-50, largely along

party lines. The measure needed 60 votes to pass as part of the $1.9 trillion package.

However, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) broke with Democrats to vote in favor of the amendment, and Sen. Lisa Murkowksi (R-Alaska) broke with Republicans to vote against it.

Manchin’s vote for the amendment is consistent with his lack of support for the Equality Act out of concerns about guidance on students undergoing gender transition. Murkowski’s vote, on the other hand, is consistent with her declaration in 2018 she voted as a citizen at the ballot in Anchorage against a proposed anti-transgender bathroom ordinance.

Notably, Sen. Collins voted in favor of

the amendment to defund schools allowing transgender kids in sports, even though she has a reputation of being the most proLGBTQ Republican in the Senate. Previously, Collins has co-sponsored legislation seeking to reverse former President Trump’s transgender military ban and spoke out against a Trump administration regulation that would have allowed antitrans discrimination in health care.

Annie Clark, a Collins spokesperson, said via email in response to a Blade inquiry on why the senator voted for the amendment that the issue of transgender kids is “complex” and “needs further study,” “Sen. Collins has been a leading advocate for transgender rights, and also for

BILLBOARD continued from cover

ter (protests), and there was even a divide in the LGBTQ community where they were saying, okay, well, are we included in that because, you know, when it comes to cisgender Black people, they don’t include us,” said Santiago, who is also the co-chair of FLUX Atlanta, an AIDS Healthcare Foundation project that serves trans and gendernonconforming people.

“A lot of them don’t feel like we even fit with them, so with the Black Lives Matter campaign, there were huge debates about that.”

Santiago said he brought posters in support of Black trans people to the Black Lives Matter protests he attended. Santiago said participants’ reaction to them “was amazing,” but he added that some LGBTQ people did question why he decided to participate.

“At first I was like, well I don’t understand why you aren’t supporting it, because before anybody knows that you’re gay, before they know you’re trans, they know you’re Black, because they can see you, but then I had to think about it,” said Santiago.

“But you know what? Maybe we’re not included in that.”

Santiago told the Blade there is “very little trans support” in Atlanta, so he thought about ways to make the city’s trans community more visible.

“I was like, okay, I got to bring awareness to Atlanta that we’re here and that we matter,” said Santiago.

8 Seattle Gay News

Alex Santiago, Executive Director – Photo courtesy of the I Am Human Foundation

He met with the owner of a local PR agency, who is a cisgender woman, to discuss the campaign. Santiago said she “was

March 12, 2021

like, oh my god, I think this amazing” and agreed to offer the I Am Human Foundation four billboards for the price of one.

girls’ and women’s sports,” Clark said.

“She believes this is a complex issue that needs further study. “ The measure would have prohibited funds made available under Title II of the Elementary & Secondary Education Act of 1965 to states, local educational agencies, and institutions of higher education that permit any student whose biological sex is male to participate in sports designated for women or girls, essentially barring transgender athletes from being to compete.

Reprinted from the Washington Blade

One of the billboards is located adjacent to the University Avenue exit of the Downtown Connector, which is one of Atlanta’s main expressways. The other three are located on Ponce de Leon Avenue near the Ponce City Market and on Moreland Avenue near the Starlight Drive-In Theatre.

The campaign was only scheduled to run for four weeks, but Santiago said the PR agency has allowed the billboards to remain in place as long as nobody else wants to buy the space.

“I’ve gotten great, great, great response,” he said.

The Human Rights Campaign notes at least nine trans or gender-nonconforming people have been reported killed so far this year.

Bianca “Muffin” Bankz, a Black trans woman, was shot to death in Atlanta on Jan. 17. Other trans or gender-nonconforming people have been murdered in Illinois, Puerto Rico, Mississippi, Louisiana, Florida, and Pennsylvania.

Santiago said he didn’t know about Bankz’ murder until he read about it on HRC’s website.

“I didn’t know anything about it,” he said. “It’s like, how do I not know in my own city that this happened?”

Santiago told the Blade that his organization is working on a second billboard campaign that will demand an end to the murders of Black trans women. Santiago said he plans to place a billboard near Atlanta City Hall “because I just feel like … nobody cares.”

Reprinted from the Washington Blade

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Health & Medicine

Once-a-month PrEP drug going to Phase 3 trials

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Islatravir, a new drug designed to be a one-dose-per-month PrEP medication, is completing its Phase 2 trials, and heading for Phase 3, according to its maker, Merck Pharmaceuticals.

For the drug to be approved for sale in the US, it must pass at least three different trials and be submitted to the FDA for approval.

Formerly known as MK-8591, islatravir has shown what are described as “promising results” in its Phase 2 trial.

Among those studying its effects is Sharon L. Hillier, PhD, professor of reproductive infectious disease at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and director of reproductive infectious disease research at UPMC Magee-Women’s Hospital in Pittsburgh.

According to Healio magazine, Hillier told reporters during a virtual HIV prevention meeting that islatravir was “extremely potent [with] an extremely long half-life, which means that it’s a long-acting agent that can be used for prevention or treatment.”

Hillier added that because the drug has a long half-life — the length of time it takes to decrease in potency by half — the drug would likely protect patients for longer than 30 days, meaning it would probably not matter if people were a little late taking their meds.

In the Phase 2 trial, 250 participants at low risk of HIV were recruited to receive either six monthly doses of islatravir or a placebo. Those taking islatravir were monitored to see how quickly the medicine entered their bodies and how long it remained potent.

Photo courtesy of Merck

The islatravir recipients were found to have levels of the drug “well above the prespecified PK threshold for HIV-1.” Additional testing showed “rapid, sustained, and adequate distribution” throughout all tissue samples.

Hillier said a Phase 3 trial will commence later this year, first on cisgender women in the US and Africa, and then on Trans women and Gay men globally.

Success in the Phase 3 trials will be critical for approval by the FDA. Last November, the FDA called a longacting PrEP injection a “breakthrough therapy.”

Designating a treatment as a “breakthrough” means the FDA has been impressed by trial results and will work with a pharmaceutical company to speed up the approval process.

The drug cabotegravir has already been designed to be administered by a health professional once every eight weeks.

Doctors have found that some patients struggle keeping to a daily PrEP regimen, including those with mental health or substance abuse issues. Longer-acting pills or injections would help patients adhere to their med schedule, researchers hope.

National News

Criminal charges against Breonna Taylor’s boyfriend Kenneth Walker permanently dropped

by Ishena Robinson The Root (March 9, 2021) – Nearly a year to the [day after] Louisville Metro Police Department officers entered 26-year-old Breonna Taylor’s home in a raid that ended with them shooting and killing the young woman, charges have finally been permanently dropped against her boyfriend Kenneth Walker.

Judge Olu Stevens in Louisville, Kentucky, has ruled that the charges of attempted murder and assault of a police officer Walker faced would be dismissed with prejudice, reports the Louisville Courier Journal. The ruling means Walker cannot be recharged in the case — which prosecutors have previously indicated was a possibility.

The targeting of Kenneth Walker for criminal prosecution was one of the most ironic and telling examples of the various injustices surrounding Taylor’s tragic death. After officers entered Taylor’s home on a so-called “no-knock” warrant on the night of March 13 last year, Walker says he used his licensed firearm in self-defense to protect himself and Taylor, believing intruders were trying to break in.

He fired one shot, which officers say led them to unload a barrage of bullets, striking Taylor five times and even firing into neighboring apartments. In the aftermath, Taylor was dead and Walker was charged with assault and attempted murder of a police officer for allegedly shooting one of the cops, Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly, in the leg

12 Seattle Gay News

Kenneth Walker – Photo by Amy Harris / Invision / AP

during the raid.

Those charges were temporarily dropped last May as uproar spread against the lack of accountability for the cops involved in Taylor’s killing. At the time, local prosecutor Thomas Wine had left the door open for Walker to be recharged pending the results of a grand jury investigation in October.

That grand jury investigation, though resulting in none of the officers being

March 12, 2021

indicted in Taylor’s death, opened up a whole host of questions about the veracity of the clear-cut “official” story relayed

by Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron. Only one witness reportedly corroborated officers’ testimony that they announced themselves before entering Taylor’s apartment. A ballistics report also could not conclusively show that Mattingly was shot by Walker, rather than friendly

fire from another cop, despite Cameron’s public announcement that officers were justified in their lethal use of force because Walker injured an officer.

The permanent dismissal of the charges against Walker comes after Wine wrote to the court last week with a motion saying that no new information to support the charges against him had been revealed.

In a statement about the closing of the criminal case against his client, Walker’s attorney Steven Romines said, “We believe the city used Kenneth as a pawn to cover up the events that took place on March 13, 2020, and further used him to cover up the deep-seated failures within the Louisville Metro Police Department.”

“It does not go unnoticed that neither the city nor the LMPD has apologized for using Kenneth as a scapegoat for an improper raid gone bad,” he added.

Walker has sued the LMPD and the City of Louisville for false arrest and police misconduct and has sought immunity from prosecution in the shooting. Though dismissing the charges against him, the judge denied Walker’s motion for immunity on the basis that it was moot. The lack of immunity — even in light of Kentucky’s stand-your-ground self-defense law — means that Walker could still be liable if Mattingly wins a civil case against him for emotional distress, assault and battery.

Reprinted from The Root

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International News

Gay journalist egged by men in a car at Pride celebration

by Juwan J. Holmes LGBTQ Nation (March 8, 2021) – An out crime reporter has confirmed what he outlined on social media this weekend: he and a group of friends were egged by assailants driving by in a car.

Now police are investigating and the victims of the immature act believe they were targeted because of their sexuality.

Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) journalist Mark Reddie apparently took to Twitter right after the incident, writing that while “walking home with a group of gay guys, a car drives by & the men inside throw cartons of eggs at us.”

Reddie, a Sydney-based reporter who regularly appears on television and reports on the crime beat himself, added, “The male occupants laughing as they sped off.”

The attack took place as Reddie and the group were traveling on their way home just the morning after Mardi Gras, which is Sydney’s Pride celebration.

Reddie said of the attack, “Wow. If you think some eggs are going to rattle us, think again. You did not succeed. I truly hope you find happiness. That is all.”

Still, Reddie did not receive sympathy from other Twitter users, with some quick to compare him to Jussie Smollett, who was accused of making up a homophobic attack

Mark Reddie – Photo courtesy of ABC News

two years ago, and others trying to assert that the victims being gay was “a coincidence.”

He replied to one detractor, “You have no idea. It was a gay hate crime. We were targeted because of sexuality.”

“The reason I shared it was not to give

Media

it air time, but to show that we still have a long way to go,” he added in a later tweet.

Although some might not have immediately believed Reddie, he was clear in dealing with this attack seriously. He went to the New South Wales (NSW) Police Force and filed a report within 48 hours of the attack.

He even confirmed the news to News.com. au, including photos of the ground after the egging.

Other people in reply to Reddie’s story also noted that they were attacked with eggs in the same immediate area before.

“Similar attacks happened in the area according to reports. I’d encourage anyone who was attacked to contact police,” the journalist noted.

Reddie shared more details with the Australian LGBTQ publication Star Observer: “We were leaving a Mardi Gras party and there was a group of four of us.

We were walking along Riley Street and a car screeched on its brakes and threw boxes of eggs at us,” he shared.

“They sped off laughing. As we walked up the road, there were eggshells everywhere. Clearly they were targeting the LGBTQI community — gay hate crimes still exist.”

Reddie has been working for the Australian ABC since 2013. He was previously with the BBC, Al Jazeera, and Sky News.

In a statement on the event, ABC said, “Mark has made a report to police and he has the full support of the ABC.” Adding that the attack is deplorable, they concluded, “We have offered him any assistance he needs.”

Reprinted from LGBTQ Nation

Over 80 years of diverse Seattle newspapers now online at Chronicling America OLYMPIA (March 9, 2021) — The Washington State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State, recently digitized over 80,000 pages of historic newspapers for the Library of Congress’s Chronicling America website.

The newspapers include the Northwest Enterprise (from 1921 to 1952), the Northwest Times (from 1947 to 1955), the Filipino Forum (from 1928 to 1963), and the Scandinavian American (from 1945 to 1956). These publications and their respective date ranges were selected by a grant advisory committee due to their strong representation of the diverse communities in early Washington state and their impact on Pacific Northwest and national issues.

The Northwest Enterprise was one of the longest-running African American newspapers covering racial justice and equality issues. The Northwest Times was the “only all-English Nisei newspaper in the Pacific Northwest,” a semiweekly highlighting the life of Japanese Americans returning home after World War II. The Filipino Forum featured poetry and social and labor issues important to local Filipino Americans. The Scandinavian American was “dedicated to the interests of the Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Finnish, and Icelandic population of the Great Northwest.”

Many other Seattle newspapers were included in the grant. A full list can be found for Washington [at http://bit. ly/30sfS43].

Funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities as part of the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP), the Washington State Library has contributed over 400,000 pages of historic Washington papers — from as early

Southwest Washington Labor Press, Spokane Woman, the Vashon Island Record, and the White Bluffs Spokesman, […] are now available. Each title includes a brief history of the publication and available date ranges.

All of the newspapers on Chronicling America are in the public domain and free for public use.

The Washington State Library’s extensive physical newspaper collection in Olympia includes over 6,500 newspaper titles [on] more than 50,000 reels of microfilm. The state’s online collection contains over 450,000 pages freely available to the public. For more information about the Washington Digital Newspapers program and Washington State Library, visit washingtondigitalnewspapers.org and sos. wa.gov/library, or Ask A Librarian [www. sos.wa.gov/library/ask.aspx] about interlibrary loans or visitation appointments.

The Enterprise – Image courtesy of the Library of Congress

as 1852 through 1963 — all of which are accessible online to the public at no charge.

“Historians, genealogists, students, and anyone who wants to learn more about local perspectives on world events now have greater access to their area’s rich history,” said Shawn Schollmeyer, Washington Digital Newspapers (WDN) coordinator, Washington State Library. “We are grateful for our many partnerships with museums, libraries, archives, and publishers statewide

Visit us online www.sgn.org

that share our commitment to preserving our communities’ cultural heritage.”

In 2018, the Washington State Library received a $324,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to participate in the NDNP by digitizing 100,000 more pages for Chronicling America, a national newspaper site hosted by the Library of Congress that has over 15 million keyword-searchable pages. New titles, including the Fairhaven Herald, the

March 12, 2021

Washington’s Office of the Secretary of State oversees a number of areas within state government, including managing state elections, registering corporations and charities, and governing the use of the state flag and state seal. The office also manages the State Archives and the State Library, documents extraordinary stories in Washington’s history through Legacy Washington, oversees the Combined Fund Drive for charitable giving by state employees, and administers the state’s Address Confidentiality Program to help protect survivors of crime.

Courtesy of the Office of the Secretary of State

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Film & Television

Nomadland and The Crown lead winners at the 26th annual Critics Choice Awards

Frances McDormand in Nomadland – Photo courtesy of Searchlight Pictures

LOS ANGELES (March 7, 2021) – Tonight, the Critics Choice Association (CCA) announced the winners of the 26th annual Critics Choice Awards live on The CW during an in-person/virtual hybrid ceremony hosted for the third time by acclaimed film, television, and stage star Taye Diggs. The full list of winners can be found [at https://www.criticschoice. com/2021/03/winners-at-the-26th-annualcritics-choice-awards/].

Nomadland led the winners in the film categories, taking home four awards: Best

comedy genre, Ted Lasso won all three categories for which it was nominated: Best Comedy Series, Best Actor in a Comedy Series for Jason Sudeikis, and Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for Hannah Waddingham. The Queen’s Gambit took the prize for Best Limited Series, and its leading lady Anya Taylor-Joy won Best Actress in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television.

The race for Best Comedy Special, which was dominated entirely by Netflix nominees, resulted in a tie between Jerry

The Critics Choice Association is the largest critics organization in the United States and Canada, representing more than 400 television, radio, and online critics and entertainment reporters. It was established in 2019 from the formal merger of the Broadcast Film Critics Association and the Broadcast Television Journalists Association, recognizing the blurring of the distinctions between film, television, and streaming content. For more information, visit www.CriticsChoice.com.

Pictures) BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY Emerald Fennell – Promising Young Woman (Focus Features) BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY Chloé Zhao – Nomadland (Searchlight Pictures) BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY Joshua James Richards – Nomadland (Searchlight Pictures) BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN Donald Graham Burt, Jan Pascale – Mank (Netflix)

Chadwick Boseman Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom – Photo courtesy of Netflix

Carey Mulligan Promising Young Woman – Photo courtesy of Focus Features

Daniel Kaluuya Judas and the Black Messiah – Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

Maria Bakalova Borat Subsequent Moviefilm – Photo courtesy of Amazon Studios

Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay for Chloé Zhao, and Best Cinematography for Joshua James Richards.

Zhao is the first Chinese woman to win as either director or writer.

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom followed closely behind, winning three categories: Best Actor for the late Chadwick Boseman, Best Costume Design, and Best Hair and Makeup.

Best Actress was awarded to Carey Mulligan for Promising Young Woman, which also earned a Best Original Screenplay win for Emerald Fennell.

Best Supporting Actor went to Daniel Kaluuya for Judas and the Black Messiah, and Best Supporting Actress to Maria Bakalova for Borat Subsequent Moviefilm.

In the series categories, The Crown took four categories, the most of the night, winning Best Drama Series, Best Actor in a Drama Series for Josh O’Connor, Best Actress in a Drama Series for Emma Corrin, and Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for Gillian Anderson. In the

Seinfeld: 23 Hours to Kill and Michelle Buteau: Welcome to Buteaupia.

As was previously announced, John David Washington presented this year’s SeeHer Award to his Malcolm & Marie costar, Zendaya. The SeeHer Award recognizes a woman who embodies the values set forth by the SeeHer movement, to push boundaries, defy stereotypes, and acknowledge the importance of authentic portrayals of women across the entertainment landscape.

After leading the nominations, Netflix also won the most awards of any studio/ network with a total of 14. Amazon Studios and Searchlight Pictures each won four.

Critics Choice Awards are bestowed annually to honor the finest in cinematic and television achievement. Historically, they are the most accurate predictor of Academy Award nominations.

The 26th annual Critics Choice Awards show was produced by Bob Bain Productions and Berlin Entertainment. The CCA is represented by Dan Black of Greenberg Traurig.

Winners of the 26th Annual Critics Choice Awards

BEST EDITING – TIE Alan Baumgarten – The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Netflix) Mikkel E. G. Nielsen – Sound of Metal (Amazon Studios) BEST COSTUME DESIGN Ann Roth – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Netflix) BEST HAIR AND MAKEUP Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Netflix) BEST VISUAL EFFECTS Tenet (Warner Bros.)

BEST COMEDY Palm Springs (Hulu and NEON) BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM Minari (A24) BEST SONG Speak Now – One Night in Miami (Amazon Studios) BEST SCORE Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, and Jon Batiste – Soul (Disney)

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March 12, 2021

FILM CATEGORIES BEST PICTURE Nomadland (Searchlight Pictures) BEST ACTOR Chadwick Boseman – Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Netflix) BEST ACTRESS Carey Mulligan – Promising Young Woman (Focus Features) BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR Daniel Kaluuya – Judas and the Black Messiah (Warner Bros.)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Maria Bakalova – Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (Amazon Studios) BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS Alan Kim – Minari (A24) BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE The Trial of the Chicago 7 (Netflix) BEST DIRECTOR Chloé Zhao – Nomadland (Searchlight

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Daniel Levy and Catherine O'Hara in Schitt’s Creek – Photo courtesy of Pop

SERIES CATEGORIES BEST DRAMA SERIES The Crown (Netflix) BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES Josh O’Connor – The Crown (Netflix) BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES Emma Corrin – The Crown (Netflix) BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES Michael K. Williams – Lovecraft Country (HBO) BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES Gillian Anderson – The Crown (Netflix) BEST COMEDY SERIES Ted Lasso (Apple TV+) BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES Jason Sudeikis – Ted Lasso (Apple TV+) BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES Catherine O’Hara – Schitt’s Creek (Pop) BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES Daniel Levy – Schitt’s Creek (Pop) BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES Hannah Waddingham – Ted Lasso (Apple TV+) BEST LIMITED SERIES The Queen’s Gambit (Netflix) BEST MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION Hamilton (Disney+) BEST ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION John Boyega – Small Axe (Amazon Studios) BEST ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION Anya Taylor-Joy – The Queen’s Gambit (Netflix) BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION

Donald Sutherland – The Undoing (HBO) BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION Uzo Aduba – Mrs. America (FX) BEST TALK SHOW Late Night with Seth Meyers (NBC) BEST COMEDY SPECIAL – TIE Jerry Seinfeld: 23 Hours to Kill (Netflix) Michelle Buteau: Welcome to Buteaupia (Netflix) BEST SHORT FORM SERIES Better Call Saul: Ethics Training with Kim Wexler (AMC/Youtube) WINNERS BY FILM BORAT SUBSEQUENT MOVIEFILM (Amazon Studios) – 1 Best Supporting Actress – Maria Bakalova JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH (Warner Bros.) – 1 Best Supporting Actor – Daniel Kaluuya MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM (Netflix) – 3 Best Actor – Chadwick Boseman Best Costume Design – Ann Roth Best Hair and Makeup MANK (Netflix) – 1 Best Production Design – Donald Graham Burt, Jan Pascale MINARI (A24) – 2 Best Young Actor/Actress – Alan Kim Best Foreign Language Film NOMADLAND (Searchlight Pictures) –4 Best Picture Best Director – Chloé Zhao Best Adapted Screenplay – Chloé Zhao Best Cinematography – Joshua James Richards ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI (Amazon Studios) – 1 Best Song – Speak Now, Performed by Leslie Odom, Jr., Written by Leslie Odom, Jr. and Sam Ashworth PALM SPRINGS (Hulu and NEON) – 1

Visit us online www.sgn.org

Best Comedy PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN (Focus Features) – 2 Best Actress – Carey Mulligan Best Original Screenplay – Emerald Fennell SOUL (Disney) – 1 Best Score – Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, and Jon Batiste SOUND OF METAL (Amazon Studios) –1 Best Editing – Mikkel E. G. Nielsen – TIE TENET (Warner Bros.) – 1 Best Visual Effects THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7 (Netflix) – 2 Best Acting Ensemble Best Editing – Alan Baumgarten – TIE WINNERS BY SERIES BETTER CALL SAUL: ETHICS TRAINING WITH KIM WEXLER (AMC/Youtube) – 1 Best Short Form Series HAMILTON (Disney+) – 1 Best Movie Made for Television JERRY SEINFELD: 23 HOURS TO KILL (Netflix) – 1 Best Comedy Special – TIE LATE NIGHT WITH SETH MEYERS (NBC) – 1 Best Talk Show LOVECRAFT COUNTRY (HBO) – 1 Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series – Michael K. Williams MICHELLE BUTEAU: WELCOME TO BUTEAUPIA (Netflix) – 1 Best Comedy Special – TIE MRS. AMERICA (FX) – 1 Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television – Uzo Aduba SCHITT’S CREEK (Pop) – 2 Best Actress in a Comedy Series – Catherine O’Hara Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series – Daniel Levy

March 12, 2021

SMALL AXE (Amazon Studios) – 1 Best Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television – John Boyega TED LASSO (Apple TV+) – 3 Best Comedy Series Best Actor in a Comedy Series – Jason Sudeikis Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series – Hannah Waddingham THE CROWN (Netflix) – 4 Best Drama Series Best Actor in a Drama Series – Josh O’Connor Best Actress in a Drama Series – Emma Corrin Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series – Gillian Anderson THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT (Netflix) – 2 Best Limited Series Best Actress in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television – Anya Taylor-Joy THE UNDOING (HBO) – 1 Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television – Donald Sutherland WINS BY STUDIO/NETWORK Netflix – 14 Amazon Studios – 4 Searchlight Pictures – 4 Apple TV+ – 3 A24 – 2 Disney/Disney+ – 2 Focus Features – 2 HBO – 2 Pop – 2 Warner Bros. – 2 AMC YouTube – 1 FX – 1 Hulu – 1 NBC – 1 NEON – 1 Courtesy of the Critics Choice Association

Seattle Gay News 15

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

16 Seattle Gay News

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.

March 12, 2021

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

Celebrating 47 Years!

www.gofundme.com/f/seattle-gay-news-needs-your-support-now • VISIT SGN.ORG

Arts

Let’s Get Back to the Party a long slog that pays off

by Terri Schlichenmeyer Special to the SGN Let’s Get Back to the Party: A Novel

by Zak Salih Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill $25.95, 288 pages The place is filled with balloons.

They’re floating near the ceiling, strings just out of reach for now, some on the floor.

The lights seem to be on a “twinkle” setting, and there are candles carefully nestled in centerpieces, so the entire room sparkles from corner to corner. The guest of honor isn’t there yet, but you are, and in Let’s Get Back to the Party by Zak Salih, you already wish you hadn’t come.

Sebastian Mote hadn’t seen Oscar Burnham in a decade, not since they were kids, but the guy across the room at the wedding reception sure looked like Oscar. If it was, Sebastian wondered if Oscar would remember him, or their once-close friendship, or afternoons together in the basement and the things they did to one another.

Oscar Burnham was truthfully more

Image courtesy of Algonquin Books

interested in a cruising app than he was in rekindling a boyhood friendship. Sebastian was every bit as boring as Oscar remembered; he was probably one of those queens whose only focus, now that gay marriage was legal, was to have a husband and a bunch of obnoxious kids. It irritated Oscar that he was forced to exchange phone numbers with Sebastian, and lame promises to hang out soon.

Soon. More like not-soon, since Oscar was busy with someone he met when an app date didn’t show up. Sean Stokes was an older man, a writer, and though Oscar professed to dislike reading, he was captivated by Sean’s explicit tales of queer life before Oscar was even born. He couldn’t get enough of Sean — and vice versa, apparently, because Sean asked for Oscar’s stories, and it eventually became clear that Sean’s next book would be about Oscar.

There was no denying that Oscar’s ghosting hurt Sebastian, but he rather expected it. Instead, he threw himself into a friendship with a young student at his school, daring to let himself become obsessed with seventeen-year-old Arthur.

It was painful, hopeful, and something he

could never admit to anyone else.

Least of all, his boyhood pal, Oscar...

At first browse, Let’s Get Back to the Party can seem long and very wordy. It hangs on the lives of two men who are mostly not very likable, to themselves or to one another, and how they hold on to their history with fingernails on one hand, pushing each other away with the other hand. You’ll want to shake them, but the thing is, it’s hard not to want to watch them make their own lives worse: this novel is a little schadenfreudey, but with a degree of sympathy.

The sympathy wins, as author Zak Salih shows sides of both Sebastian and Oscar that neither character would admit, and reasons why each becomes contemptuous [of] the other. The truth, for one of them, is a devastating shocker that slams the brakes on the tale but alas, getting there takes awhile; you’ll want to ride that wave to this books’ fitting end.

And in that end, Let’s Get Back to the Party really pops.

Reprinted from the Washington Blade

Music of Remembrance to produce and stream rare Jake Heggie/Gene Scheer double bill

Composer Jake Heggie and librettist Gene Sheer – Photo courtesy of Music of Remembrance

SEATTLE (March 5, 2021) —This June, Music of Remembrance (MOR) will stream a special all-new production of two works by composer Jake Heggie and librettist Gene Scheer: For a Look or a Touch and Intonations: Songs from the Violins of Hope. The concert was originally scheduled for live performances at Seattle’s Benaroya Hall and San Francisco’s Presidio Theatre. Because of continuing pandemic restrictions, MOR will instead create a compelling video production and make it available around the world on its streaming platform. Details on the exact streaming date will be announced soon, along with ticketing information.

For a Look or a Touch was the first and remains the only major musical work to address the Nazi persecution of homosexuals. It tells the story of two idealistic young men whose lives and love were torn apart during the Third Reich. This new production, directed by Erich Parce, features rising star baritone Jarrett Ott as Manfred Lewin and the amazing musical actor Curt Branom as Gad Beck. The work takes its title from

a provision in the German penal code that made even an affectionate glance or caress a reason for suspicion and arrest. MOR commissioned and premiered For a Look or a Touch in 2007, and since then the work has traveled the world. This production, especially resonant in June during Pride Month, brings it back in an expanded version.

Intonations: Songs from the Violins of Hope was inspired by the same Holocaust instruments Music of Remembrance brought to Seattle in March 2020, just before the pandemic shut performance venues.

They are part of a private collection of string instruments that belonged to Jews who played them before and during the Holocaust. Lovingly restored over the past two decades by Israeli violin makers Amnon and Avshalom Weinstein, these precious instruments can sing again even though their owners were silenced. Heggie and Scheer’s Intonations: Songs from the Violins of Hope was premiered in 2020 by Music at Kohl Mansion. Its six haunting songs share the stories of those instruments and imagine how their owners would tell their own stories. Music of

Visit us online www.sgn.org

MOR debut performances by Jarrett Ott, Curt Branom, and Laura Krumm – Photos courtesy of Music of Remembrance

Remembrance’s ensemble, featuring violinist Mikhail Shmidt as soloist, will be joined

by Metropolitan Opera mezzo soprano Laura Krumm.

This program completes Music of Remembrance’s 23rd season “Endurance of Hope,” bringing music with messages of strength and perseverance for our troubled time. “At a time when the pandemic has sent us on a voyage that none of us could have expected,” remarked Artistic Director Mina Miller. “Our season’s theme is also one of journeys: journeys in search of safety and freedom, of identity, of hope in the face of daunting odds, and odysseys to new lives in new lands. Remembering these stories strengthens our resolve to prevent human tragedies from happening again.”

Librettist Gene Scheer’s words touched the hearts of millions around the country and the world when President Biden shared inspiring lines from Scheer’s song “American Anthem” in his inauguration address. Scheer’s recent comments encapsulate MOR’s message of hope and renewal: “Music of Remembrance has highlighted

the reality that in the end we really are like a like a grove of aspen trees. We all share a common root network, and if one tree is sick, we all feel the effects. We’re not just learning about what happened. We’re learning about how we can grow as human beings.”

Tickets and more information are at www.musicofremembrance.org.

March 12, 2021

Seattle Gay News 17

Now in its 23rd year, Music of Remembrance remembers the Holocaust through music and honors the resilience of all people excluded or persecuted for their faith, nationality, ethnicity, gender, or sexuality.

In addition to rediscovering and performing music from the Holocaust, MOR has commissioned and premiered more than 30 new works by some of today’s leading composers, drawing on the Holocaust’s lessons to address urgent questions for our own time. MOR’s stellar ensemble is drawn from the ranks of the Seattle Symphony.

Courtesy of Music of Remembrance

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18 Seattle Gay News

March 12, 2021

Celebrating 47 Years!

It’s time to start healing.

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1100 NW 50th St. Seattle ~ 206.789.6288 ~ sacredrainhealing.com ~ info@sacredrainhealing.com

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March 12, 2021

Seattle Gay News 19