ISSUE 30
C E L E B R AT I N G
VOLUME 49
47 YEARS
F R I D AY
IN
J U LY 2 3 , 2 0 2 1
PRINT S E AT T L E ’ S L G B T Q I A + N E W S & E N T E R TA I N M E N T W E E K LY S I N C E 19 74
“TO BE MY OWN BOSS” by Paige McGlauflin SGN Contributing Writer An estimated seven out of ten LGBT+ people have experienced discrimination from a medical provider, according to John Hopkins Medicine. Experiences for Trans and gendernonconforming individuals can often be worse, one in five of whom experience being turned away from care because of their gender identity, the National LGBTQ+ Task Force states. Dr. Pat Vigil, who operates the newly opened Vigil Family Medicine in Tacoma, understands the barriers the LGBTQ+ population faces regarding medical care, both as a primary care practitioner and as an openly Transgender woman.
see DR. PAT VIGIL page 5
Dr. Pat Vigil brings gender-affirming care to Tacoma Photo courtesy of Dr. Pat Vigil
Zaila wins The Bee: A 13-year-old girl makes spelling bee history Zaila Avant-garde – Photo courtesy of Scripps National Spelling Bee
by Janice Athill SGN Contributing Writer Nemesis. Today the word is used to describe a long-standing rival. But in 1936, the most common definition of this word was the Greek goddess of retribution (making it a proper noun) — and the word itself was used by despicable people to deliver punishment on a young girl deemed unworthy.
When 13-year-old MacNolia Cox from Akron, Ohio qualified for the National Spelling Bee held in Washington, DC, that year, racism and discrimination turned what should have been an exciting adventure into a personal trial. First, segregation and Jim Crow laws kept Cox and Elizabeth Kenny (another
see SPELLING BEE page 17
SGN EXCLUSIVE:
Crystal Liston, candidate for Seattle School Board Position 5 Crystal Liston – Photo courtesy of Crystal Liston
by Daniel Lindsley SGN Contributing Writer Crystal Liston’s campaign website describes her as a “gay, disabled mother of two stepsons,” and a “professional volunteer” who has worked with 20 different schools in Seattle — with the ultimate goal of volunteering at all 103. She has two college degrees and is pursuing a master’s in museum studies at
Johns Hopkins University. Liston said she intends to foster what her website calls a “paradigm shift,” in which schools, administrators, the school board itself, and the greater Seattle community — unions, associations, and parents — communicate and collaborate with each other. But a prevailing “disconnect,” Liston argues,
see CRYSTAL LISTON page 4