San Francisco Bay Times - June 23, 2022

June 23–July 13, 2022 http://sfbaytimes.com

Centenarian and National Parks Icon Betty Reid Soskin See pages 2–3

100 Years Proud

Betty Reid Soskin with SF Pride Board Member Di’ara Melite Kitty Reid and Charlie

PHOTOS BY LUTHER BAILEY/SPECIAL TO SAN FRANCISCO BAY TIMES

The San Francisco Bay Times is proud to be an official sponsor of San Francisco Pride

Betty Reid Soskin to Become SF Pride Parade's Oldest Ever Dignitary Betty Reid Soskin is a national treasure who has broken many records over the past century. Until her retirement on March 31, 2022, at age 100, she was the oldest serving National Park Ranger in the United States. She was one of the first songwriters of the Civil Rights Movement. She cofounded Reid's Records, which until its closing in 2019 was California's oldest record shop and one of the nation's oldest Black-owned businesses. Reid's Records also was one of the first stores to focus on Black-produced music. She was a key fundraiser for the Black Panthers fighting racial injustice. And on June 26, 2022, she will become the oldest known dignitary ever to be featured in the San Francisco Pride Parade. The San Francisco Bay Times is beyond proud to present Soskin in our 2022 contingent and to share just some of her incredible story. As she told Daphne White of Berkeleyside, she considers herself to be "an absolutely ordinary extraordinary person." She has packed at least nine lives into one, with chapters still left to be written. Great-Grandmother Born into Slavery Born Betty Charbonnet on September 22, 1921, in Detroit, Soskin was raised by parents who respectively came from Creole and Cajun backgrounds. Her great-grandmother had been born into slavery in 1846. Soskin spent her early childhood living in New Orleans until a hurricane and flood destroyed her family's home and business in 1927. That year, her

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family moved to Oakland, CA, where Black families had begun to settle since 1869, when the city became the western terminus for the Transcontinental Railroad. Oakland was nearly as far west in the continental U.S. as individuals hoping to escape racial injustice could go, and the railroad offered steady work in positions such as porters, maids, cooks, waiters, and much more. The shipyards offered numerous jobs too. Soskin attended Castlemont High School in Oakland just years after its founding. By 1938, the year she graduated, the school already had a diverse student base. The father of a San Francisco Bay Times team member graduated shortly after Soskin from this same high school. Both recalled frequent fires in the Oakland Hills during the summer and fall months, a pattern that sadly seems even more pronounced today. Soskin would become a lifetime advocate for nature, and later, a voice in the fight against climate change. Despite the relative diversity of Oakland at the time, Soskin and her family frequently experienced overt prejudice. In her blog she has looked back on what it has been like "living while Black": “We’ve still not processed that history as a nation, from a time when the women of my world (women of color) fell into 3 categories (house slaves, fields slaves, and 'breeders'). And for a period of 300 years! From a time when white men were using rape as a tool with which to increase their ‘stock’ after the

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English had outlawed slavery and ships were no longer bringing human beings for purchase into our ports. From a time in our history when white men were quite literally selling their own children on the block. Tell me how one does that in today’s world without explosive rage begging to be released?”

Luther Bailey/Special to the San Francisco Bay Times

Stepping Up to Help During World War II Just a year after Soskin graduated from high school, World War II began when Germany invaded Poland, leading to multiple countries around San Franicsco Pride Parade Grand Marshal Melanie DeMore (left) with Betty Reid Soskin; Betty’s daughter Di'ara Reid, who is a member of the San Francisco Pride Board of Directors; and Di'ara's pup Charlie.

Betty Reid Soskin proudly wearing the Progress Pride Flag at the Rosie the Riveter World War II National Historical Park in Richmond, CA

These photos from 1938 are what Betty Reid Soskin calls her "beauty-contestant years." She entered a contest on Treasure Island in connection with the Exposition in 1938. Photos courtesy of Betty Reid Soskin, NPS.

the globe declaring war on Germany. The U.S. entered the war in December 1941. Soskin immediately did what she could to help. She went to the Boilermakers Union A-36, an all-Black trade union founded in 1893 for boilermakers and related occupations. There she worked as a file clerk, a job for which she took much pride. Being in an administrative position was considered to be a step up from the more hands-on, blue-collar service work of her older relatives. Workers on the home front during the war, however, were often segregated. She shared more about those years in an interview for the National World War II Museum: https://tinyurl.com/ypv7vptr Reid's Records During the war, in 1943, she married Melvin Reid, who had been an all-star athlete at Berkeley High School. He went on to play both professional baseball and football, being on such teams as the Oakland Larks, Oakland Giants, San Francisco Clippers, and Hawaiian Warriors as part of the Pacific Coast Professional Football League. He and Soskin shared a love of music and a passion for racial justice. They desired to sell "race records"—music that few if any white-owned business would offer—to the Bay Area's burgeoning Black population hungry for such music. At first Soskin sold records through a window in their home garage. Reid worked at Kaiser Shipyards, saved money, and together the couple opened Reid's Records on June 1, 1945, in the ground floor space of the duplex they lived in. Initially the store primarily sold jazz and blues music. In 1947, however, Reid launched a radio program on KRE named Gospel Gems and quickly became the leading DJ of Black gospel music in the Bay Area. This led to an expansion of their music selection and, in turn, an expansion of their business, which was moved next door to their duplex at a storefront at 3101 Sacramento Street in Berkeley. As Black music genres multiplied, Reid's Records started to carry new idioms like funk and soul. Even as other major record store chains opened in the area, Reid's remained the undisputed source for music by Black artists, and particularly gospel. Singer and Songwriter Soskin and Reid moved to Walnut Creek, which then had few Black families. The couple experienced frequent racism and even death threats. As the Civil Rights Movement strengthened in the 1960s, along with the SingerSongwriter Movement, Soskin devoted more time to singing and songwriting that she had enjoyed for much of her life. She began to perform at colleges and community events in Northern CA, using music to voice her frustrations, hopes, and beliefs. As she told Andrew Gilbert at KQED: "I could sing things I couldn’t say. If they were said, they would be too harsh. If they were sung, people would hear them.” Soskin and Reid divorced in 1972, yet her interest in music has continued. Reid's Records went on for nearly another three decades under their family's ownership. Gentrification took its toll,

though. Reid's Records closed on October 19, 2019, ending nearly 75 years of operation. Just two years later, in 2021, Sign My Name to Freedom: The Unheard Songs of Betty Reid Soskin was presented at the Brava Theater. The new musical created by jazz vocalist Jamie Zee highlighted Soskin's years performing as a guitar-strumming singer/songwriter. Community Activist Yet another chapter of Reid's life concerns community activism. During the Civil Rights Era she collected money from individuals in cities and suburbs near her home and then delivered it to Kathleen and Eldridge Cleaver—renowned for their involvement in the Black Panther Party and the Black Power Movement. She later referred to herself as the "bag lady" of the time, since she was often transporting bags of money she collected from primarily white liberal donors to the Black Panthers. In 1978 she married William Soskin, who was a psychology professor at UC Berkeley. She grew more active in the Democratic Party, having previously served as a national convention delegate during the 1972 presidential campaign of George McGovern. She additionally worked as a field representative for California State Assemblywomen Dion Aroner and Loni Hancock. In those positions she became actively involved in the early planning stages and development of a park to memorialize the role of women on the home front during World War II. World's Oldest Park Ranger The plans for the park came to fruition when the Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park was established in 2000. Located in Richmond, CA, the park preserves and interprets the legacy of the U.S. home front during World War II including the Kaiser Richmond Shipyards, the Victory ship SS Red Oak Victory, a tank factory, housing developments, and other facilities built to support America's entry into the war. In particular, the role of Black individuals and women in war industries is explored and honored at the park. After a state job and serving as a consultant at the park, Soskin at the age of 85 became a park ranger with the National Park Service in 2007. For the next 15 years she conducted park tours and helped explain the park's purpose, history, various sites, and museum collections to visitors. She has been celebrated, such as in the former Oakland Tribune, as "a tireless voice for making sure the African-American wartime experience—both the positive steps toward integration and the presence of discrimination—has a prominent place in the Park's history." She suffered a stroke in September 2021 (while speaking during an event, which she did not wish to leave unfinished for the sake of guests, even immediately after the stroke!) yet returned to work just a few months later. When she retired this year, she was the nation's oldest serving park ranger and remains a legendary, iconic figure in the National Park Service. (continued on page 30) S AN F R ANC IS C O BAY T IM ES

JUNE 23, 2022

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San Francisco Bay Times Pride Parade Contingent 2022

San Francisco Bay Times Photos

at UC Berkeley, a featured presenter for SpeakOut!—the Institute for Democratic Education and Culture, and was the Artistic Conductor of The Oakland Children's Community Choir with Living Jazz for nine years.

San Francisco Bay Times contingent at SF Pride 2016 (above) and 2017 (below)

The San Francisco Bay Times is a proud longtime media sponsor of the SF Pride Parade and has had multiple award-winning contingents over the years. For 2022, the Bay Times contingent will follow that of Grand Marshal (Member's Choice) Melanie DeMore, who is one of the most outstanding vocal artists of today helping to preserve the African American Folk Tradition through song and Gullah stick pounding. She was a focus of the December 2, 2021, issue of the Bay Times and is the subject of the documentary Stick and

DeMore was a founding member of the Grammy-nominated Linda Tillery and the Cultural Heritage Choir and has had the pleasure of sharing the stage with such varied Grand Marshal (2022) Melanie DeMore in the San Francisco Bay Times contingent at artists as Odetta, Richie Havens, SF Pride (2015) Pete Seeger, the Trinity Choir, MUSE Cincinnati Women's Chorus, Pound that showcases Gullah and many others. tradition.

DeMore has a career spanning 30 years dedicated to teaching, lecturing, mentoring, conducting, directing, and inspiring children and adults about the power of song as social and political change. She is a sought-after presenter, conductor, and soloist at national and international choral and music festivals, including Festival 500 in Newfoundland, Canada, and Chorus America. She is a song/prayer facilitator, creating spontaneous choirs for the Trinity Institute, the Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society, and the Powell Foundation, as well as many varied spiritual and faithbased organizations. She is adjunct faculty at the California Institute for Integral Studies, Master teaching artist in music for Cal Performances

She is a three-time Grammy nominee and vocal activist who believes in the power of voices raised together. As she says, “A song can hold you up when there seems to be no ground beneath you.” Joining our contingent in support of DeMore and to celebrate Pride will be Betty Reid Soskin (see pages 2–3 of this issue) and Soskin's daughter, SF Pride Board member Di'ara Melite Kitty Reid. Di'ara, a transgender rights activist, ran Reid's Records in Berkeley for nearly two decades from 1990 to its closing in 2019. Also supporting DeMore will be Kin Folkz, a former SF Pride Grand Marshal who founded and co-founded numerous organizations. They include Spectrum Queer Media, Omni: The Bi/Pan/Trans Women and Transmen of Color Network, and the REVOLVE

Creative Arts + Film Fest. Lauren Hewitt, the owner of the former Baybrick Inn—a popular lesbian guest house, bar, and club in the SOMA district of San Francisco— will be cheering on DeMore. L-R Regina Wells, Linda Tillery, Mary Watkins, (front), Soskin will not be the only Melanie DeMore, Judy Young and Maria Cora in the San National Park Service Francisco Bay Times contingent (2015) (NPS) legend in the Bay Times contingent's group for from the Bay Times contingent. They DeMore. It will also include retired include well-known pianist Tammy Supervisory Park Ranger Elizabeth Hall (check out her bio at Tucker, an LGBTQ trailblazer. https://www.tammyhall.com ) According to a recent report in and Sharon Washington of the The Richmond Standard, Tucker is a Washington Sisters who performed founding member of the GALA hundreds of concerts in the U.S. and Yosemite Chapter (the Gay and Canada blending jazz, blues, gospel, Lesbian Association of the NPS), and more as a basis for promoting participated in the SF Pride Parade women's rights, pride, and cultural before the NPS permitted rangers to diversity. do so in uniform, and collaborated with Public Historian Donna Graves Members and supporters of the to create the first official LGBTQIA Bay Times team will also be in the exhibit in a national park visitor contingent, such as television and center at Richmond’s Rosie the radio personalities Jan Wahl and Riveter WWII Home Front National Liam Mayclem, Out & Equal Historical Park. Founder Selisse Berry, AGUILAS Executive Director Dr. Eduardo Several out and proud music legends will also be cheering on DeMore (continued on page 30)

After Being Tested, SF Pride Is Boldly Back

Pride is Back! Now Let’s Get to Work By Suzanne Ford

achieved our goals. Some people may not be happy with the agreement with the San Francisco Police Department and Mayor Breed, but we got what we asked for; 99% of the law enforcement members will be part of a contingency group in casual wear. Per regulations, police brass is marching in their Class A uniforms.

It's been two long years, but San Francisco Pride is back!

During our discussions with the SFPD and the mayor, we were clear that there is still a lot of work to do for all members of the LGBTQ community to feel safe with the police. Unfortunately, we're not there yet. Marginalized community members see that uniform as representing something more than just a uniform.

Coming out of the pandemic, we want everyone to celebrate Pride's resiliency, our beloved city's resiliency, and the LGBTQ community's resiliency.

But we also acknowledge that there are queer police officers—they are part of our family—and that visibility, which the Pride Alliance speaks to, is also important.

Pride is the most iconic event in San Francisco and the most iconic Pride event in the world. We're going to march down Market Street. We're going to have a damn good party.

We want Pride to be a 365-day event. One of the agreements with the Pride Alliance is that we will have several community forums throughout the year that bring together police officers and members of the LGBTQ community, so our community can be seen and heard.

As a trans woman, I'm very concerned with the use of trans issues to divide people, especially in red states. The world needs to see this event. It's not just about us having a big party—although we can't wait— but we want to let everyone know that we're not going anywhere. We're not going back into the closet; we're not going backward regarding our rights and who we are and love. We're not going to be ashamed, and we're not going to be cowards. San Francisco Pride can't solve all the problems within the city or our community. Our job is to provide a platform where marginalized voices are heard. And we did that. We 4

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We are also looking at how we fund Pride. The city doesn't fund us, and now we are asking to be included in the budget for the first time. Also this year for the first time, we have the Kaiser Permanente stage. We appreciate partnering with an organization that shares our equity values. But we also have serious generational issues in the LGTBQ community that we must address. Older people in the community see visibility as a cause for celebration; they remember J U NE 2 3 , 2 0 2 2

when there were no queer police officers or corporations who would hire anyone who was out. They want acknowledgement and appreciation for their accomplishments over these last 40-to-50 years. They want to celebrate corporate involvement and the Pride Alliance Group. For young queer people, being visible is not enough. Visibility is essential, but that's not the goal; liberation is the goal. Visibility is just a stop on the way. Our younger members see the racism, sexism, and transphobia that exists in the community. They see a lot more work that needs to get done. San Francisco is the place to start having these conversations. We have a platform and resources. So, I'm excited to be a part of that effort moving forward. I didn't come out until I was 46 years old. Growing up in Kentucky, I'd watch the Pride event once a year on national news and think, "Oh man, if I could get out to San Francisco, I could find my people." It took me a long time to find my people, but I did, and now I find myself in this chair, and it's incredibly gratifying. I know how important it is if you're a little kid in the closet in a state like Kentucky to see that we exist and that there is a city in this country where we are not only tolerated but are celebrated. I never lose sight of that. Through all of this, I know we must ensure that people in our community are seen and heard. But I also must make sure that Pride takes place. That's our first job—to do our best to give everyone a safe Pride that they deserve. We’re looking forward to an amazing Pride! Suzanne Ford is the Interim Executive Director, San Francisco Pride.

What Dubb Says Carolyn Wysinger As of this writing we are at day 133 of Black Lesbian WNBA Baller Brittney Griner being detained as a political prisoner in Russia. We need to continually advocate for President Biden to work towards getting her home. Please sign the petition to support her release: https://tinyurl.com/mzv7vufv In just two days we will kick off the first SF Pride in 2 ½ years and it has been a hell of a journey. I remember the day I got the call to join our then Executive Director Fred Lopez and our Festival Producer Scott Shuemake for breakfast to discuss this thing called COVID-19. What would this mean for the celebration in June? At the time it was thought that we would just be in quarantine for two weeks and then everything would be okay. We wondered, though, is it that bad? What happens when you cancel Pride?! They said two weeks. It has been two years. In those years, SF Pride as an organization and family has grown, stretched, contracted, expanded, and been tested in every way possible. We lost two executive directors. We cultivated the most diverse board that the organization has ever had. We created smaller opportunities for community to gather in the form of the SF Pride Golf Tournament, Chinatown Pride (in collaboration with the Chinese Cultural Center), and the Juneteenth Black Liberation Celebration (in collaboration with the African American Arts & Cultural

Complex), and supported countless smaller events and organizations across the city. Fred & Scott spearheaded the very first major Pride event in a large-scale stadium by partnering with the Giants for Pride Movie Night in the Park. But more importantly, it gave us an opportunity to be thoughtful in how we could come back stronger when we were allowed a full-scale celebration again. That day is finally here, and I will be truthful, there were days I thought we wouldn’t make it here. Even more truthfully there were days when I believed the pandemic would outlast me in this organization. But it was fellow Bay Times columnist Donna Sachet who said to me, “Your story isn’t finished being written yet. You have to lead us back to Market Street!" Writing this column forced me to sit down and remember all the challenges it took for us to get here. The fights, the grind, the heartache, the fear. I may or may not be crying right now. I just want you all to know how grateful I am for all of you. I am so honored to have been able to meet you all and serve in this way. I am honored to share this place in the history of this organization and this city with you. Join us at Divas & Drinks on Thursday, June 23, for the “President’s Party” as we celebrate ahead of this Pride Weekend in grand fashion. And if you are still standing after Pride Weekend, join me in closing out Pride Month with a special Campaign Fundraiser (remember, I am running for El Cerrito City Council lol) at Teeth at 2323 Mission Street on June 30 from 5:30 pm–7 pm. Happy Pride, Y'all! Carolyn Wysinger is an LGBTQ author, activist, and President of the SF Pride Board of Directors. She has written for Autostraddle, Everyday Feminism, and Black Girl Dangerous. She can be found starting trouble on Instagram & Twitter @CdubbTheHost

“Steven Jacobs ... Max Navalta ... Andy M ... Jessica Williams ... .” Hour after hour, throughout the weekend, the names of the dead floated out over the Quilt, as visitors quietly, respectfully, and often tearfully walked through the display, viewing panel after panel after panel, immersed in beauty, love, and immense loss.

In Case You Missed It Joanie Juster Happy Pride! Each year as the rainbow flags go up along Market Street, I find myself reflecting on Pride. I’m proud of everyone who has the courage to live their authentic life openly and proudly, often in the face of prejudice and threats. I’m proud of everyone who stands up to the bullies in their communities and in our legislative bodies who are attempting to silence and diminish them. And I’m especially proud of everyone who, despite those challenges, finds the strength and courage to face the world each day with joy, love, compassion, and yes, pride.

“Steve Abeyta ... Tom Horan ... Baby Jessica ... .” For two full days volunteers read over 15,000 names—a small fraction of the over 110,000 names represented in the Quilt. Many added the names of their own loved ones, a painful but courageous act that for many provided catharsis and release. At the Quilt, surrounded by people who had suffered similar losses, they found a family of people who understood what they had been through, and a safe place to talk about their pain.

Remember Their Names

Thousands of people came to this 35th anniversary display of the Quilt, the largest in San Francisco history. Many came because the Quilt, and the early days of the AIDS epidemic, were essential, formative parts of their personal history. Caregivers, nurses and doctors, long-term survivors, all came and shared stories, and paid their respects to long-gone family, friends, lovers, patients, neighbors. Others had never seen the Quilt before, and found it to be a transformative experience. Walking through the middle of the display, it was impossible not to feel its power, and begin to understand.

Saturday, June 11, dawned clear and bright in Golden Gate Park—one of those rare, perfect San Francisco summer days. In the sunny meadow, teams of volunteers started unfolding over 3,000 panels from the AIDS Memorial Quilt, while other volun-

A new generation was introduced to the Quilt over the weekend. They learned about its history, how it grew out of both grief and protest. They saw how a community had come together to take care of its own when our government did not. They learned about loss, and compassion. Eyes and hearts were opened.

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The Quilt continues its work every day, as sections of the Quilt are on display all over the country. For more information, to volunteer, to make a panel, or to donate: https://tinyurl.com/ms6hbtha Take Me Out to the Ballgame Excitement was high on June 11 for the San Francisco Giants’ Pride Day. Players for both the Giants and the Dodgers wore Pride-themed caps, and Oakland’s own Amy Schneider, the transgender icon who won fame and fortune this year on Jeopardy! with the second-longest winning streak in the show’s history, threw out the first pitch.

By Supervisor Rafael Mandelman This year’s SF Pride theme is “Love Will Keep Us Together,” a reminder of how far we’ve come since the world stopped due to the COVID pandemic. For the first time since 2019, we are finally able to fully celebrate Pride with our families, both bioand chosen.

The San Francisco Giants have been at the forefront of being allies to the LGBTQ+ community for many years, long before there was a bandwagon to jump on. They have held an annual Until There’s a Cure Day since 1994, raising funds and awareness for HIV/ AIDS, and their Pride Days have Amy Schneider throwing out become poputhe first pitch at the SF Giants’ lar annual events. Pride Night 2022 In contrast, five members of the Tampa Bay Rays chose not to participate in their team’s Pride Night, claiming a “lifestyle ... that maybe we don’t want to encourage.”

Our city does Pride Month like no other. The month’s festivities feature different marches that celebrate the diversity of our LGBTQ+ community, events that educate our youth and honor the history of those who fought for our rights, and deeply significant traditions that bring us together.

Giants manager Gabe Kapler emphasized his support for the team’s Pride Day participation. “[I]t’s not enough to reluctantly accept

I wish you a safe and happy Pride!

GRETCHEN ERKS KOHL/FACEBOOK SCREEN SHOT

teers started reading the names from the Quilt over the sound system.

Welcome to SF Pride!

(continued on page 28)

At a time when queer people are threatened in places across this country and across the world, I am so grateful to represent a city that invests in and stands up for our queer communities. At City Hall, we’re announcing significant new investments to support San Francisco’s Getting to Zero HIV infections efforts and an unprecedented commitment to ending trans homelessness by 2027. And throughout San Francisco we’re seeing several “Pride firsts”—like the first Japantown Pride flag raising—as we continue our work to make Pride more inclusive for everyone. Our work continues to educate, commemorate, and continue the fight for queer liberation. San Francisco will always serve as a beacon of inclusivity and a safe haven for those who want to live their most authentic lives. Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, a former “San Francisco Bay Times” columnist, represents District 8 on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

COURTESY OF CAMPAIGN TO RE-ELECT SUPERVISOR RAFAEL MANDELMAN

Pride and Prejudice

Memories of Prides Past

By Marsha H. Levine

Even before I moved to San Francisco, I was pretty familiar with San Francisco Pride, as it stood out as the Pride event and took place in “the gay mecca.” I’d first met Rick Turner, from their Board at the time, back in April of 1981. We were attending a UCLA-hosted conference where a gathering of national queer activists was trying to put together a political organization called NOLAG (National Organization of Lesbians and Gays). I recall we took a lunch break together one day, aside from the main group, and shared information about our different organizations (I was with Boston Pride and also part of the Massachusetts Gay & Lesbian Political Caucus), exchanged promotional buttons, and promised to send each other our Pride t-shirts. We also lamented that this conference clearly did not address any concerns we had as Pride organizers, and how nice it would be if we had our own gathering.

Ken Jones, whom I had just met at the second meeting of InterPride held in San Diego just days before. Some of the soon-to-be incorporators of the San Francisco Lesbian/ Gay Freedom Day Parade and Celebration Committee, as it was soon to be known, were present and included luminaries such as Linda Boyd, Barbara Cameron, Richard Gorin, Autumn Courtney, Reid Condit, and Jonna Harlan.

Then, in 1982, I created NAL/GPC, the National Association of Lesbian/ Gay Pride Coordinators (now renamed and known as InterPride), and put out a “call to unite” to about 50 Pride organizations in the United States. That October I met SF Pride attendees Glenne McElhinney and Konstantin Berlandt, who invited me to stop in and visit if I was ever in town. I took them up on that offer when I vacationed in San Francisco in 1983, even attending an SF Pride meeting, where I caught up with

That started my consistent years of involvement, where I was on and off the Board of SF Pride, or just a volunteer in any number of areas: Police Liaison and Dispatch for the “Safety Committee,” Medical Liaison, Parade Co-Chair for several years with a variety of male co-chairs, among them Edward Goehring, Empress Sissy Spaceout (Steven Lindsay), and Gilbert Baker. Back in the early 90s, we had to switch our Parade route due to construction on Market Street, marching from the

Ken wasted no time recruiting me to join SF Pride when he heard I was relocating at the end of 1985. He arranged for me to run for female co-chair of the Main Stage Subcommittee within a week or so of settling in, with almost unanimous approval. No doubt having spent the last three years as President of the Boston Lesbian/Gay Pride Committee, expanding its rally on the Boston Common, and bringing in talent like Romanovsky & Phillips, Blackberri, and some of the Olivia Records stars was a deciding factor. I tried to replicate that diversity on the Main Stage here in 1986.

Castro to Civic Center. As we were waving groups to step off and start the Parade, I remember I caught sight of a giant red patent leather purse artifact hoisted above a contingent of red patent leather pursecarrying individuals with a banner that read “Satanic Purses”—a parody of Salman Rushdie’s infamous Satanic Verses. I enjoyed a goodnatured laugh over that one! There was also the Barbie Support Group and a group of poodles dyed all sorts of bright colors. But the often outrageous are not the only contingents I remember. Every year there is at least one contingent that will turn the corner onto Market Street and my eyes get misty: PFLAG SF, United in Spirit, Our Family Coalition, and others— reminders that not all of us came out during times or in places where acceptance was received with a more open heart, by organized religion or our parents, and LGBTQ children have felt isolated, alone, desolate. It is like watching a time capsule unfold before you. Also in the early 90s, Civic Center was being renovated at one point, which meant moving our event down to the Embarcadero. I recall making an appointment with some of their Port of San Francisco planners and officials at the Ferry Building, my proposal and a blueprint map in hand, showing them exactly how it would work—if we could close the roadway from Washington Street to Mission Street. This was a nonstarter for them, but I persisted until they agreed to close the southbound

side for us and granted us permission to use all the center parking lots for dance areas and exhibitor booths. I recall the main stage being over in what we now call Sue Bierman Park. Great, green, and grassy with a slight rise toward the back, it was a much nicer setting than mostly cement and fenced gardens. I believe the dance area was on the Embarcadero near Mission Street. I have a vague memory of 1997— when we were at that end of Market again, due to some other construction—that there was a stage in the AC Transit bus parking lot near Folsom and Main Street, a second stage elsewhere, plus a dance area, too. I was serving as the Police Liaison that weekend, stationed in an Embarcadero tower office suite overlooking the Vaillancourt Fountain, which someone had filled with soapsuds that were overflowing and flying everywhere. There are so many memories that stand out like snapshots throughout the years. The giant vulva sculpture on, I think, the Vagina University float that appeared at the end of the Parade for a couple of years back in the early 2000s. The crude bridge of the starship Enterprise float made by the Gayglers, who convinced George Takei to make a surprise appearance in the Captain’s chair. GAPA’s boat and its members dressed up like sushi was great fun. There were Taiko drums, martial arts, and the Tsunami swim team wearing bathing caps, goggles, and flippers. I think of The Golden State Rodeo Association on their horses. And the

first time I saw Recology’s garbage collectors doing a coordinated moving routine with their rolling garbage cans. I have 16 years of Parade lineups I could review to jog more of those images. To backtrack a little, overall cochairing with Ggreg Taylor in 1993 was fun, exciting, and a wonderful adventure. He had a strapless rainbow chiffon “petal” dress made for me that I wore to every event we attended in May and June. Sisters Hellen Wheels and Dana Van Iquity dressed me up as a nun ... though I could not wear white or black because I was not initiated, so we picked red. Sister Dana keeps threatening to pull out a picture she has, but the threat is empty so far. Ggreg was delighted and nicknamed me Princess Tomato since I was in headto-toe vermilion. He also frequently accompanied me in full drag as his outrageous NAMBLA the Clown persona. Our media person, Allen White, along with Allen Klein came to the two of us with the idea of using Sen. Jesse Helms’s own words lambasting SF Pride, for a PSA to get people to come to our event. As I recall, it was a montage of shots of the Parade, with a clip of Jesse intoning, “That gay, that gay, that gay pride parade, and I wish everyone in America could see it ... ” closing with the date, time, and location to show up. Absolute genius! Oh, I cannot forget that the community picked “Year of the Queer” (continued on page 28)

Dykes on Bikes® Tales From Two Wheels Hello! My name is Michelle Reynolds and I ride a sweet, super loud, 2014 black and chrome HarleyDavidson Road King named Vader. As far back as I can remember, I’ve been around motorcycles. My parents and grandparents both owned and rode motorcycles. My parents would put my younger brother and I on the back of their motorcycles and ride across my native state of Colorado. This is where my love for two wheels started. When I moved to California in 2017, I attended the San Francisco Pride Parade. I had always heard of the Dykes on Bikes® (DOB) but didn’t really know much about them. When I heard the roar of exhaust and saw them roll down Market Street, something in my head clicked and I was inspired to get my own motorcycle and meet all these women. I bought a 2007 Honda Shadow and used it to commute. Every time I got on my bike, my passion for motorcycles grew. Whether it was a short ride or a weekend getaway, I fell in love with riding.

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After a few years, I decided to reach out to the DOB. My first ride with the DOB was a late summer cruise around the city. We rode through Mission Bay and Oracle Park, up to Fisherman’s Wharf, over to the Presidio, and through Golden Gate Park, and finally through the Castro; everywhere we went, people would cheer and car horns would blare in solidarity. That was the moment I knew I wanted to learn more. After attending a few rides and a lot of meetings, I knew this was the group for me. I Michelle Reynolds on “Vader” and with the DOB during a have always heard peo- ride through the Sacramento Delta ple say that community was important, and you should find yours. I have been in social clubs, LGBT clubs, and trans-based groups; I never really felt like I fit in with any of them. I am not really a social person, but this was different— I had found my community. I didn’t have to hide who I was. I could be completely open and unapologetically myself, and I knew that was okay. I asked to prospect in 2021. Prospecting was the most fun experience that I have ever had. I have met so many amazing and inspiring women and we have ridden all over—from Palm Springs to Calistoga and everywhere in between. On April 2, 2022, my prospect sister and I were waiting outside of our meet-up spot for an overnight ride I had planned. Riders started trickling in, and before we departed, we were presented with our patches. The amount of excitement and confidence I had when receiving this was overwhelming. I made it. I have never been someone who openly talked about their queerness before, but earning this patch has empowered me to own the label Dyke. I now proudly wear my San Francisco Dykes on Bikes® WMC patch wherever Vader takes me. https://www.dykesonbikes.org/

PHOTOS COURTESY OFF DYKES ON BIKES®

Michelle Reynolds

Pride 2022: 'We Are Panda Dulce'

Don't Check Hate Out of the Library

library staff feared that the men were armed and might open fire on them. Thankfully, they did not. But only after the sheriff’s department was called and all of the men had gone, could the then-terrorized participants continue with the story hour.

6/26 and Beyond Stuart Gaffney and John Lewis Six years to the day that 49 mostly Latinx members of the LGBTIQ community were senselessly shot and killed, and 53 others wounded at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida, another very public hate crime against our community took place right here in the Bay Area. As the beautiful and talented drag queen Panda Dulce sang her welcome song to the little children gathered for Drag Queen Story Hour at the San Lorenzo Public Library, a threatening and intimidating group of men thought to be members of the far-right extremist Proud Boys barged into the library to disrupt the event, shouting transphobic and other anti-LGBTIQ slurs. One man’s shirt had an image of an assault weapon emblazoned upon it with the menacing phrase: “Kill Your Local Pedophile.” Dulce, the children, their parents, and the

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return to finish the story time to send a message to the disruptors and the children. I, along with over 60 fellow Alameda County LGBTQ+ elected officials and allies, joined together to condemn the LGBTQ+ hate crime by a white supremacist group during a family time Drag Queen Story Hour at the San Lorenzo Public Library on June 11 in a letter published on June 13.

Six years ago, we marched in the San Francisco Pride Parade with hundreds of other people wearing matching t-shirts that read: “We Are Orlando.” This year, we say: “We Are Panda Dulce.” Dulce’s actions and words that day and in subsequent days, as reported by various news sources identified here, truly inspire us. As the incident unfolded and the men ignored the librarian’s request that they leave, Dulce immediately had an instinctive wisdom and clarity of mind to deescalate the situation in order to help protect the safety of the children and everyone else there. In a social media post, Dulce described how the men "totally freaked out the kids. They got right in our faces. They jeered. They attempted to escalate to violence." Instead of engaging the men in a shouting match, Dulce “realized that I wasn’t helping the situation by still being present, so I was taken to a safe room and the sheriff was called.” Dulce has been completely honest and revealing about how frightening the men’s actions were. "No words can appropriately capture the immediacy and terror [you] feel when [you] realize there is no buffer between [you] and these men. That they are likely armed and you are utterly defenseless," she explained. And her trauma was ongoing. Over two days after the event, she said, “I still feel like I’m in that room. I’ve had trouble sleeping. Everyone’s asking if I’m okay and the answer is I’m not.” Dulce’s authenticity and not putting on false bravado offers validation and hope to all of us who have been subject to bullying or acts of hate or violence, and (continued on page 30)

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Out of the Closet and into City Hall Oakland City Councilmember At-Large, Rebecca Kaplan On Saturday, June 11, the San Lorenzo Public Library hosted a Drag Queen Story Hour. Drag Queen Story Hour started in San Francisco and has spread around the world. This event was part of a series of events throughout the Alameda County Library system designed to celebrate Pride Month and uplift LGBTQ+ stories and experiences. During this event, members of the Proud Boys, a right-wing hate group, stormed the story hour yelling homophobic and transphobic slurs, with the obvious intent of threatening and intimidating the participants of the event. Panda Dulce, the drag queen featured at the event, had to be escorted away from Story Hour. But Panda Dulce did

As part of a group of out and proud LGBTQ+ and allied elected officials and community leaders, I denounce the acts of hate during the Drag Queen Story Hour at the San Lorenzo Public Library, and send solidarity, support, and appreciation to all involved in organizing these and other events to promote pride and justice. Right wing violence and prejudice have been escalating and all people of conscience must unite in denouncing white supremacy, misogyny, and attacks on the LGBT community. Additionally, I urge our non-LGBTQ+ allies in offices across the region and state to provide additional support and affirmation to our community during these increasingly challenging times. I am honored to serve as an openly-LGBT official, and to fight for fairness and respect for all of our communities. Pride Month is supposed to be a time of love, pride, acceptance, and understanding; not a time of fear and hate. I continue to choose love and will not bow down to hate and those who traffic in it. Councilmember At-Large Rebecca Kaplan was elected in 2008 to serve as Oakland’s citywide Councilmember; she was re-elected in 2016. She also serves on the Alameda County Transportation Commission (ACTC). Follow Councilmember Kaplan on Twitter @Kaplan4Oakland ( https://twitter.com/Kaplan4Oakland ) and Facebook ( https://www.facebook.com/Kaplan4Oakland/ ).

Celebrating Pride Month Together

Assemblymember Phil Ting As Pride events return to the Bay Area this month, LGBTQ+ allies will join community members in public celebrations of love, unity, and freedom. However, as we all know, the fight for social justice requires continuous efforts that go beyond this annual month of festivities. When corporations remove the Pride flags from their advertisements at the end of June, it is crucial for the public—allies, especially—to remember that the uplifting of the LGBTQ+ community cannot be isolated to this month.

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gratitude to our LGBTQ+ community organizers and activists. Not only are they putting together the myriad of Pride events we will enjoy this month, but they are foundational to our resistance against bigotry. When I attended the National AIDS Memorial Quilt Display on June 11, celebrating 35 years of their community quilt project, I was reminded again of how fortunate we are to have such dedicated and resilient advocates all around us. As a former board member of Equality California, the largest statewide LGBTQ+ civil rights group in the country, I can attest to how much I learn as an ally of this community through this type of work. However, in order to make even bigger strides towards equality, legislation and institutional support must progress in parallel with the work of activists on the ground. In my role as an Assemblymember and the Chair of the Assembly Budget Committee, I have worked hard to allocate state resources to ensure the wellness of the LGBTQ+ community, which has been marginalized and underserved by our public institutions for far too long.

This is particularly pressing, given the organized campaigns across the country to attack the LGBTQ+ population and restrict the basic liberties of its members. From bills that outright prohibit classroom discussions of gender and sexuality, to hate groups who aim to do nothing but disturb LGBTQ+ community spaces and events, each occurrence is a harsh reminder of the reality in which we live in and the uphill battles that still lie ahead.

Several items in our recently passed Budget in the Legislature align with these equity goals. First, I am pleased to announce that $5 million will be going to healthcare and community organizations to improve services for LGBTQ+ foster youth, giving younger generations the care that they deserve. In addition, increased funding will enable the Office of School Health to create a new position dedicated to supporting LGBTQ+ initiatives in our public schools.

While our national climate is disheartening, I feel an incredible amount of

Additionally, a combined $49 million over the next three years will go

towards outreach screenings and service linkages for syphilis and congenital syphilis through the End the Epidemics program. $8 million will also be allocated for hepatitis B. These vital investments are supported by the landmark legislation and funding we have seen in recent years. This includes my tax equality bill for samesex couples, which was passed during my first year in the Legislature. In 2016, I also worked with several LGBTQ+ organizations to write my inclusive restroom access bill, which finally made single-gender facilities statewide inclusive to all gender identities. This year, my proposed Youth Bill of Rights would extend protections to prohibit discrimination again incarcerated youth on the basis of sexual orientation, gender expression, or HIV status. The successes we have gained together give me hope for the future, even when facing the vocal bigotry and “othering” we witness in our country. I am proud to be an ally to the LGBTQ+ community and grateful to community members who share with me their experiences, stories, and perspectives. The road to social justice is never-ending, but when we collaborate on community work and policy, we take a few steps closer. Happy Pride month to all, and I look forward to celebrating with you in this year’s parade. Phil Ting represents the 19th Assembly District, which includes the Westside of San Francisco and portions of South San Francisco along with the communities of Broadmoor, Colma, and Daly City.

GLBT Fortnight in Review As Maine Goes, So Goes the Nation Readers, forgive me for dropping lengthy blocks of other people’s writing into this column, normally an inexcusably lazy approach, but in this case, a defensible one. Writing in dissent, Justice Sotomayor rebuked the 6–3 majority, led by Roberts, that ruled on June 21 that Maine’s program to subsidize parents who lived outside of a public school district must direct taxpayer dollars to religious schools if a parent so wished, even to schools that teach conservative Christian doctrine. The decision caps a series of rightwing Court opinions that have gradually eroded the wall between church and state. As Sotomayor put it: “What a difference five years makes. In 2017, I feared that the Court was ‘lead[ing] us ... to a place where separation of church and state is a constitutional slogan, not a constitutional commitment,’” she wrote, quoting herself in the case of Trinity Lutheran v Comer. “Today, the Court leads us to a place where separation of church and state becomes a constitutional violation (emphasis mine). If a State cannot offer subsidies to its citizens without being required to fund religious exercise, any State that values its historic antiestablishment interests more than this Court does will have to curtail the support it offers to its citizens. With growing concern for where this Court will lead us next, I respectfully dissent.” Trinity Lutheran, you may recall from our scintillating coverage in these pages, was the case in which the state of Missouri refused to let religious groups benefit from a pro-

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gram that supplied rubber from old tires to playground operators. The Court downplayed the religious nature of the church that wanted to use this material as a playground surface, and indeed, it sounded pretty innocuous. Why would anyone care if a church took advantage of taxpayer funded scrap rubber? Well, as Sotomayor implied in a dissent at the time, money is fungible. The thousand dollars or whatever that Trinity saved on its playground presumably served a religious purpose. Fast forward a couple of years, and the Roberts Court ruled that parents could not be barred from state tuition tax breaks because they chose a religious school. Montana’s policy, wrote Roberts for the 5–4 Court, impermissibly discriminated against such schools for their religious affiliation alone, not for their religious practices. Now, however, the Court has jumped the shark. The parents who fought Maine’s non-sectarian tuition program aimed to send their kids to farright Christian schools, schools that use the Bible in math class, teach the inerrancy of scripture, call homosexuality a sin, and so forth. The Court has ruled, not just that Maine can subsidize such teachings under the guise of providing a public education, but that Maine must do so. As Justice Breyer asked in his own dissent: “What happens once ‘may’ becomes ‘must’?” “Does that transformation mean that a school district that pays for public schools must pay equivalent funds to parents who wish to send their children to religious schools? Does it mean that school districts that give vouchers for use at charter schools

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By Ann Rostow must pay equivalent funds to parents who wish to give their children a religious education? What other social benefits are there the State’s provision of which means—under the majority’s interpretation of the Free Exercise Clause—that the State must pay parents for the religious equivalent of the secular benefit provided?” Keep in mind that Maine’s program didn’t automatically classify a school as “sectarian” simply because it was associated with a church. The schools that Maine refused to pay for were those that taught with a religious emphasis, like Bangor Christian and Temple Academy. Bangor Christian teaches intelligent design and boasts that its academic and religious instructions are “completely intertwined.” Temple, Breyer tells us, aims to “foster within each student an attitude of love and reverence of the Bible as the infallible, inerrant, and authoritative Word of God.” This is not the education that Roberts approved of in the 2020 Montana case, and it’s certainly not the seemingly harmless use of taxpayer funds spent on the playgrounds of Missouri. It’s a blatant violation of the First Amendment, and as Sotomayor pointed out elsewhere in her dissent, “ ... while purporting to protect against discrimination of one kind, the Court requires Maine to fund what many of its citizens believe to be discrimination of other kinds.” In other words, as the Court insists Maine is “discriminating” on the basis of religion, its remedy requires the state to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, any religion that is not fundamentalist Christian, any taxpayer who doesn’t follow religion in the first

place and God knows who else might object to the lesson plans at Bangor and Temple. All the state wanted to do was stay out of the fray as required by the Constitution. But the Roberts Court insists on picking a side, and my friends, they’re not on our side. There are 13 more cases to be decided this month, with several opinions expected as we go to press on Thursday. We are waiting, of course, for the Mississippi abortion ruling, but also for the case of Joseph Kennedy, the public school football coach who held Christian prayers at the fifty-yard line after games. How do you think that one’s going to turn out? And what would the Court have thought of Joseph Kennedy if he had put down a prayer rug facing Mecca and thanked Allah for a good game? And There’s More There’s a lot to cover this week. FINA, the international swimming authorities, have banned transgender women who went through puberty as males, arguing essentially that testosterone levels don’t really matter once a person has experienced whatever one experiences when they go through puberty. I know you’ve read about the gang of crazies who were caught headed for a Pride festival in Idaho to cause trouble and throw smoke bombs. Then there’s another school case that caught our eye, a decision by the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit that brought the hammer down on a school that forced girls to wear skirts under the theory that females were fragile and males should be taught chivalry. That school, Charter Day School in North

Carolina, receives federal funds and was found in violation of the girls’ right to Equal Protection under the Constitution. Future litigation will determine if Charter Day also violated Title IX’s ban on sex discrimination. That makes one wonder if the students at Bangor Christian can raise a claim under Maine constitutional law. Of course, they’d need their own lawyers since their parents aren’t going to object to whatever sexist nonsense they’re no doubt learning in class. And, of course, it’s Pride Week. It’s not, however, the Pride Week of a few years ago when our community seemed to be breaking the back of widespread social hostility and poised to enjoy carefree celebrations filled with frolic and fun. It’s the postTrumpian world of open misogyny, gay hatred, race-baiting, and transphobic domestic terror. Have a great time, everyone! Fear Itself There’s an article in the June 17 Washington Post that pretty much sums up the state of affairs as we roll into Pride 2022. The three dozen members of the “Patriot Front” that were arrested in Idaho for conspiracy to riot at Coeur d’Alene Pride generated national headlines with their metal poles, smoke bombs, protective gear, paramilitary uniforms, and anti-GLBT planning. But as the Post recounts, these jokers represented only the most visible tip of the iceberg. A talk show host called for executing GLBT advocates. A Texas pastor said GLBT people “should be (continued on page 28)

BAY TIMES S

Rink’s Rainbows

Photos by Rink

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LGBTQ News & Calendar for the Bay Area CELEBRATING FOUR DECADES (1978–2022)

San Francisco Bay Times lead photographer Rink has complied an extensive collection of photos illustrating the use of Gilbert Baker’s original rainbow flag as well as variations on display at locations all over the city.

A book about Harvey Milk and the rainbow flag on display in the front window at Fabulosa Books

The rainbow flag at Harvey Milk Plaza with the Pink Triangle visible atop Twin Peaks

Rainbow flags on the flag poles at the St. Francis Hotel on Powell Street at Union Square

Rainbow flags are installed, as they are each year during Pride Month, on historic light poles and other utility poles on Market Street.

A brightly colored window dressing at Cliff’s Variety on Castro Street

A rainbow flag at the entrance of the San Francisco Marriott Marquis

Each of the flag poles, at the entrance of the historic Fairmont Hotel that usually displays an array of international flags from many nations, presents a rainbow flag during the month of June.

Rainbow flags are flyiing at Tropisueño located near Yerba Buena Gardens.

An arrangement of flags in the front window at Vanguard Properties on Castro Street

T Mobile’s storefront, located at Grand and Market Streets, presents a large flowing rainbow display behind the company’s logo.

A rainbow-styled outfit in the window at Terrasol, 1526 California Street

Rainbow imagery is presented throughout the window displays at Macy’s at Union Square.

The Pride rainbow theme continues on walls and columns inside the T Mobile shop at Grant and Market.

Rainbow-print clothing and accessories for sale at Knobs on Castro Street

S AN F R ANC IS C O BAY T IM ES

JUNE 23, 2022 15

Looking Back on Pivotal LGBTQ+ Moments After Stonewall First National Conference of Third World Lesbians and Gays, 1979

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

2261 Market Street, No. 309 San Francisco CA 94114 Phone: 415-601-2113 525 Bellevue Avenue Oakland CA 94610 E-mail: editor@sfbaytimes.com www.sfbaytimes.com

Nuestra Voz

The Bay Times was the first newspaper in California, and among the first in the world, to be jointly and equally produced by lesbians and gay men. We honor our history and the paper’s ability to build and strengthen unity in our community.

Eduardo Morales, Ph.D.

The Bay Times is proud to be the first and only LGBTQ newspaper in San Francisco to be named a Legacy Business, recognizing that it is a longstanding, community-serving business that is a valuable cultural asset to the city. Dr. Betty L. Sullivan Jennifer L. Viegas Co-Publishers & Co-Editors

Beth Greene, Michael Delgado, John Signer, Abby Zimberg Design & Production

Kate Laws Business Manager Blake Dillon Calendar Editor

Kit Kennedy

Poet-In-Residence

J.H. Herren Technology Director Carla Ramos Web Coordinator Mario Ordonez Distribution

Juan R. Davila Volunteer Coordinator CONTRIBUTORS

Association of Lesbian and Gay Psychologists (ALGP) Advances a Long-Needed Change, 1974 The ALGP, formed in 1973, took the lead in having the American Psychological Association (APA) remove homosexuality as a disorder in 1974, supporting the 1973 decision of the American Psychiatric Association. After numerous forums and sessions with fellow psychologists, we worked with APA members to take responsibility for the discrimination and stigma that resulted in noting homosexuality as a mental disorder. The Council of APA generated a statement deploring all public and private discrimination in such areas as employment, housing, public accommodation, and licensing. Since 1975, the APA has called on psychologists to take the lead in removing the stigma of mental illness associated with LGBTQ+ persons, and has urged the enactment of civil rights legislation at all governmental levels and the repeal of all discriminatory legislation against homosexual acts.

The First National Conference of Third World Lesbians and Gays convened in Washington, D.C., at Howard University from October 12 to 15, 1979, with over 450 participants—including myself—attending. The conference made history by addressing invisibility and to boldly assert our leading place in race, sex, sexuality, and workingclass movements. Blacks, Chicanos, Native Americans, Asian Americans, Whites, Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, Nicaraguans, and Canadians attended from various organizations. On the Sunday morning of October 14, I and other conference participants marched from Howard University to the site where individuals were convening for the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. As we walked through the D.C. streets, we were observed by residents on their way to church that morning. We continued to march and voice our chants for LGBTQ+ rights. I was asked to take the front banner of the march as we passed through the local streets, and walked in front of the Supreme Court Building where international photographers took pictures of us marching. We finally arrived at the site where the National March was convening. We were grateful that this D.C. march in the streets was peaceful and without incident. The organizers of the National March instructed everyone that it was to be led by lesbians. There were about 200,000 people overall who marched. Inspired by the 1963

march led by Martin Luther King, Jr., and galvanized by the assassination of Harvey Milk in 1978, the National LGBTQ+ March had a route that included various sites of major federal buildings, including the White House. The march aimed to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation, urging then President Jimmy Carter to sign a bill to stop all discrimination against gays and lesbians in the military and in federal jobs, and demanded that Congress include sexual orientation in the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Some of the aims were to repeal anti-gay legislation, and to pass family protection laws allowing gay and lesbian parents to receive fair custody trials. The 1987 National March on Washington For the National March on Washington in 1987, various Latinx LGBTQ+ individuals provided funds to publish a program announcement for a gathering of our community at this march. To our surprise, over 70 people from over 13 states and Puerto Rico attended this gathering called El Primer Encuentro de Gais y Lesbianas in a building on Pennsylvania Avenue. We agreed to meet in February of 1988 at UCLA at the Segundo Encuentro to form and establish a national Latinx LGBTQ+ organization. There, the group drafted bylaws and elected an interim board of directors. I proposed the name LLEGO, which was an acronym for Latinas/os LEsbian and Gay Organizers. The purpose of LLEGO was to build a national network that would address our concerns locally, statewide, and nationally. It would educate and sensitize

ourselves and our various communities on issues related to homophobia, sexism, and discrimination. The main office of LLEGO was to be in Washington, D.C., to have access to national legislators. The bylaws created an elected board representing four major regions of the U.S. with four representatives from each of the regions. Through various contracts and grants, LLEGO obtained resources to address HIV/ AIDS within the Latinx LGBTQ+ communities. After 17 years, LLEGO closed its doors by its Board due to financial and administrative problems. We attempted to restart a National Latinx LGBTQ+ organization in a gathering called Sigamos Adelante: The LGBT Latina/o National Forum in Seattle, Washington. This new national organization was called Unid@s: National Latina/o Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender Human Rights Organization and designated a committee to follow up on the plans created. In 2007, a board was formed for obtaining funding and developing a membership; a related press release concerning this was issued on April 25, 2007. To date, this group appears to be inactive. Eduardo Morales, PhD, is one of the founders of AGUILAS, where he serves as Executive Director. He is also a Professor Emeritus and retired Distinguished Professor of Psychology at Alliant International University and is the current Past President of the National Latinx Psychological Association.

Writers Rink, Sister Dana Van Iquity, Ann Rostow, Patrick Carney, Carolyn Wysinger, Leslie Sbrocco, Heather Freyer, Kate Kendell, Heidi Beeler, Gary M. Kramer, Joanie Juster, Julie Peri, Jennifer Kroot, Robert Holgate, Eduardo Morales, Dennis McMillan, Tim Seelig, John Chen, Rafael Mandelman, Tabitha Parent, Jewelle Gomez, Phil Ting, Rebecca Kaplan, Leslie Katz, Philip Ruth, Bill Lipsky, Elisa Quinzi, Liam Mayclem, Karen Williams, Donna Sachet, Gary Virginia, Zoe Dunning, Derek Barnes, Marcy Adelman, Jan Wahl, Stuart Gaffney & John Lewis Brandon Miller, Jamie Leno Zimron, Michele Karlsberg, Randy Coleman, Debra Walker, Howard Steiermann, Andrea Shorter, Lou Fischer, Brett Andrews, David Landis Photographers Rink, Phyllis Costa, Jane Higgins Paul Margolis, Chloe Jackman, Bill Wilson, Jo-Lynn Otto, Sandy Morris, Abby Zimberg, Joanie Juster, Darryl Pelletier, Vincent Marcel ADVERTISING Display Advertising Standard Rate Cards http://sfbaytimes.com/ or 415-503-1375 Custom ad sizes are available. Ads are reviewed by the publishers. National Advertising: Contact Bay Times / San Francisco. Represented by Rivendell Media: 908-232-2021 Circulation is verified by an independent agency Reprints by permission only. CALENDAR Submit events for consideration by e-mail to: calendar@sfbaytimes.com © 2022 Bay Times Media Company Co-owned by Betty L. Sullivan & Jennifer L. Viegas

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The San Francisco Bay Times wishes you a happy and safe PRIDE! J U NE 2 3 , 2 0 2 2

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In a Battle for Best City, San Francisco Beats Out Boston

Bi-Coastal Tabitha Parent At a college where most of the students hail from Massachusetts, New York, or New Jersey, being a girl from the Golden State is bound to earn you a few double takes. For starters, you’re probably going to be one of the only (natural) blondes on campus. And when the snow comes, you’ll surprisingly have the best winter gear because any true New Englander won’t be caught dead admitting that the weather is bothering them. But even native Bostonians want to know what made you “ship up to Boston” for this next chapter of your life—because why would you ever leave sunshine and In-N-Out behind? In truth, Boston and San Francisco are well-matched in the Battle for Best City. Boston has "baconeggandcheeses" and San Francisco has avocado toast. Boston has an (over)abundance of college students and San Francisco has tech bros. Boston has Dunkin’ Donuts and San Francisco has boba tea. Boston has clam chowder and San Francisco has sushi. Boston has

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And yet, despite their relatively even matchups in matters of food, drink, and notable landmarks, San Francisco has a very specific edge over Boston. It is by far the more accepting out of the two, if not in the whole nation. Even in my very first few weeks at school, it was abundantly clear that San Franciscans had the whole “welcoming” thing down, way more than Bostonians. More people smiled at me on the street at home, more people picked up their trash and threw it away (in the right bin) at home, and more people were just slightly less aggressive/bad drivers at home. But why is that? For the answer, we need to take it back to colonial times. Boston, as we know, was first shaped by its Puritan Pilgrim founders. The arrival of Irish-Catholics during the Great Irish Famine in the 19th century, however, shook things up a bit and helped to form the canonically Irish-Catholic (think Celtics) city that we are all familiar with today. It’s partially here that we also get the idea of Boston’s distinct, almost cliquey neighborhoods. That, and the fact that Boston is one of the most racially segregated cities in the country. But I digress. Bostonians seem to take after the Irish clans that so many of them are descended from and tend to be fiercely loyal to their own—and steadfastly wary of the unknown.

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Cliquey was certainly something I felt during my first year of college. Many of the students I encountered were from New England and were quick to stick with their other New England counterparts. They shied away from outsiders and preferred discussing the Patriots and what their favorite Dunkin’ Donuts drink was amongst themselves, rather than including those of us who were lost on what “wicked pissah” meant in the conversation. It wasn’t just a general sense of standoffishness that I received from my new classmates. At home, I felt like most San Franciscans made the extra effort to ensure that anyone they interacted with felt safe and welcomed, regardless of their gender identity, sexuality, or race. But at school in Boston, I’d never encountered more casual homophobia, sexism, or racism. I’d hear off-the-cuff f-slurs amongst groups at parties, watch white kids call each other “my n-word,” and listen to boys dominate the classroom conversations with their blatant sexism. Suddenly, this Bostonian “fear of outsiders” had taken on a whole new meaning. San Francisco is not perfect. It is not some haven of unadulterated peace and love. There is much that I think that our city can do to improve and become an even more welcoming, safe place for all people who desire to come here. We’ve barely scratched the surface of that potential. But at the end of the day, what makes a city so great is not the number of Revolutionary War battle sites it has or how many rainbow flags fly from its rooftops, but the character

From the podium following the Opening Ceremony, Tabitha Parent served as a "Names Reader" at the historic AIDS Memorial Quilt display in Golden Gate Park on Sunday, June 18.

of its citizens. I’m not saying that homophobia, racism, and sexism don’t exist in San Francisco at all— because they certainly do. But, as a whole, San Franciscans take pride in the diversity of their city and its inhabitants and strive to uphold those values of inclusion as much as they can. Boston would do well to take a few pages out of San Francisco’s very colorful book.

Tabitha Parent was born and raised in San Francisco and has just completed her first year of college at Boston College. In the fall, she will be a sophomore at Northwestern University studying journalism at the Medill School of Journalism. In her free time, she enjoys writing poetry and running on trails in the Presidio.

PHOTO COURTESY OF TABITHA PARENT

colonial attractions for miles and San Francisco has the Golden Gate Bridge. Boston has all four seasons and San Francisco has Karl the Fog. You get the picture.

“Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.” – Judy Garland

By Donna Sachet

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ay back in February, when we looked at the upcoming calendar for June, we seriously considered planning a trip out of town. The lingering pall of the pandemic, although briefly promising a respite, left little hope of a month like those we have cherished for so many years, celebrating the LGBTQ+ Community in all its beautiful diversity. Then, SF Pride announced that we would have a Parade & Celebration! Within weeks, related events were scheduled, virtual activities were converted to in-person, and the excitement of returning to active socialization became contagious. By the time June arrived, we were so glad that those plans out of town never came about. To quote a line from the musical Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel, “June Is Bustin’ Out All Over!” Sister Roma hosted Heels for Hope, on June 4, an engaging variety show at Marines’ Memorial Theatre with a full house, benefiting Maitri. This residential care facility has long provided compassionate care for those living with AIDS and is now addressing the unique needs of those undergoing gender transformation. Performers FC Sierra, Amelia Anna Quintet, Marcus J. Paige Fou Fou Ha, and Helena Levin entertained the crowd, but the showstopper was Executive Director Michael Armentrout in red heels to encourage bidding on the auction and other donations. “Only this one time,” he promised. They raised over $100,000! Thursday, June 23 Divas & Drinks President’s Party Bay Times Pride party Hosted by Donna Sachet Featuring SF Pride President Carolyn Wysinger, Mayor Breed DJs Christie James and Rockaway, Bacardí specialties The Academy, 2166 Market Street $15 https://www.academy-sf.com/

The Business of Pride at the Four Seasons Hotel on June 9 celebrated the many companies and individuals in the Bay Area that set themselves apart with LGBTQ+ sensitive programs, affiliate groups, and positive action. It was a veritable Who’s Who of the business world and the networking was non-stop. We were proud to see friends Brett Andrews, Craig Zodikoff, Michele Bettencourt, Akirra Jackson, Sean Livingston, and Gayle Roberts among the many honorees. The highlight of the evening, notwithstanding an unexpected fire alarm that required a quick evacuation and regrouping, was the presentation of the Selisse Berry Legacy Award by Selisse herself to CoFounder of the Oakland LGBTQ Community Center, Joe Hawkins. His candid and unabashed acceptance speech drew complete attention and thunderous applause. In case you missed the memo, Judy Garland would have been 100 years old this year and so The Academy hosted a coterie of “Friends of Dorothy” for a fun evening on June 10. Russell Deason started off singing and playing the keyboard, we emceed and hosted, but the evening belonged to incredible performer Connie Champagne as Judy Garland, accompanied by Katy Stephan. The audience swooned to every popular song and even a few written well after her demise, but somehow terribly appropriate. Didn’t Amy Winehouse and Judy have a lot in common? It was delightful trip down memory lane!

Friday, June 24 An Evening with Donna Sachet Music, drinks, & conversation The Academy, 2166 Market Street 7 pm $20 https://www.academy-sf.com/ Saturday, June 25 Gary Virginia & Donna Sachet’s 24th Annual Pride Brunch Gourmet brunch, Grand Marshals, entertainment, auction Benefits PRC Westin St. Francis Hotel ballroom 11 am–2 pm $150 & up https://prcsf.org/

The following night, June 11, we had the great privilege of performing with the Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band under the baton of Guest Artistic Director Dee Spencer. Spotlight on Hollywood gave the band a chance to explore the many theme songs and mood music behind popular films and they never sounded better! The Yerba Buena Center for the Arts provided high ceilings for wonderful full sound, but intimate cabaret tables and lighting for a more personal experience. Midway through the concert, solo instrumentalist and singers provided a true cabaret feeling, including vocalist Mike Wong from the band, and a lively auction included a handmade quilt donated by Judy Sims Billings, the sister of the creator of the band, Jon Sims. The most highly anticipated guest performer was Renée Lubin of Beach Blanket Babylon fame who brought the house down with a haunting Miss Celie’s Blues and a rousing tribute to the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin. We rounded the night out with sing-alongs to favorite cinema songs while deftly managing multiple costume changes.

Sunday, June 26 SF Pride Parade & Celebration Market Street & Civic Center 10 am Free! https://sfpride.org/

Glitter Worthy, the creation of Celso Dulay & Chris Knight, hosted a dazzling fashion show at The Academy on June 17 to showcase their latest creations of whimsical, yet topical novelty tees, jackets, jogging ensembles, and more. The outdoor garden proved the perfect place for the crowd to ogle this line and the models. We applaud Celso and Chris’ commitment to producing distinctive clothing with attention to the community. The night wrapped up with a fast-paced and very entertaining drag show starring Mercedez Munro, Paju Munro, BeBe Sweetbriar, Laundra Tyme, and Cassidy LeBlance. No wonder they are some of the busiest gals in town; their talent that night was amazing!

Wednesday, July 13 Final Words, SF Gay Men’s Chorus Final concert led by Dr. Tim Seelig, Artistic Director With the SF Symphony & Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir Davies Symphony Hall, 201 Van Ness Avenue 7:30 pm $150 & up https://www.sfsymphony.org/

SF Opera hosted its Pride Night on June 18 with a stunning performance of Don Giovanni. Not only do we have a world-class opera company in San Francisco, but also one that chooses to embrace the LGBTQ+ Community, offering a post-performance get-together on the third floor of the Opera House with gorgeous architectural elements, subtle rainbow lighting, and pop music to lighten up the crowd. We were thrilled to be joined by visiting Empress of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Joan E., whose love of opera served her well in the impromptu Lip Sync for Your Life competition, which she handily won.

That night we attended the return of the crowd-pleasing Fairy Tales, a Broadway Bares styled show produced by the Richmond/Ermet Aid Foundation. After a two-year absence, this show was simply the best yet, professionally executed, wonderfully danced and acted, colorful costuming and special effects, with an easy, sensible storyline, oh ... and lots of beautiful bodies! The crowd was rapturous in their appreciation. Next year, get your tickets early and

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We finished off the weekend first at The Fairmont Hotel for Queens on Top, a boisterous drag brunch hosted by Sister Roma, with DJ Juanita MORE!, and a powerhouse cast of Dulce de Leche, Bionka Simone, Mahlae Balenciaga, Madd Dog, and Reigning Empress Ehra Amaya. With tasty rainbow themed cuisine and the excellent company of Demetri Hayes, Jan Wahl, and Suzanne Ford, how could we go wrong?

a location near the stage for maximum benefit! Don’t miss it! With another space allocation hovering around us, we end this column with the spirit that always captures us during Pride Month, a spirit that is the Donna and Peanut, who is all grown up now, envy of so many with Desmond Perrotto in front of 440 Castro. more restricted places and that we should never take for granted. Yes, there will be a live and in-person Pride Brunch on Saturday, June 25, at the Westin St. Francis in Union Square! Yes, there will be an SF Pride Parade on Sunday, June 26! And yes, we want to see each and every one of you out and about proudly representing this beautiful LGBTQ+ Community we have come to love so much! Happy Pride! Donna Sachet is a celebrated performer, fundraiser, activist, and philanthropist who has dedicated over two decades to the LGBTQ Community in San Francisco. Contact her at empsachet@gmail.com

President Biden's Executive Order Granting LGBTQ Protections youth mental health counseling, strengthen non-discrimination protections in the foster care system, and clarify that federal funded programs cannot be used for conversion therapy. HHS is also charged with expanding LGBTQ youth access to suicide prevention resources to help prevent youth suicides.

Aging in Community Dr. Marcy Adelman Timed for Pride Month 2022 and primarily directed at the antiLGBTQ state measures that are an assault on the safety and civil rights of LGBTQ children, President Biden signed an executive order on June 15, 2022, granting protections and supports for LGBTQ children, especially trans children and their families, as well as actions supporting and protecting LGBTQ older adults.

ABC NEWS/SCREEN SHOT

The executive order directs the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to work with the states to expand gender-affirming care, increase access to family and

Two new policy groups were ordered, one in the Department of Housing and Urban Development in LGBTQ Homelessness and Housing Equity to reduce barriers to housing for LGBTQ people, and the other in the Department of Education to promote safe and inclusive learning environments for LGBTQ students and families. The President's executive order also acknowledges the challenges that LGBTQ older adults face with respect to discrimination, isolation, and poverty, and directs HHS to publish a "Bill of Rights for LGBTQ older adults and new guidance on the nondiscrimination protections for older people in long term care settings."

HHS is also charged with "exploring new rulemaking to establish that LGTBQ individuals are included in the definition of populations of 'greatest social need' under the Older Americans Act." The executive order expands federal data collection on sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) by President Joe Biden marked Pride Month with a ceremony at The White establishing a new House, attended by Vice President Harris, First Lady Jill Biden and federal coordinating numerous community leaders, with the signing of an executive order sup- committee on SOGI

data to expand data collection, "while safeguarding privacy protections and civil rights for LGBTQ individuals." San Francisco local and state legislatures, working closely with the city's LGBTQ advocates, played an important role in advancing these protections and supports for LGBTQ older adults. In 2015, California passed the LGBT Disparities Reduction Act that mandated several state departments collect SOGI data. At the time, California was just the second state in the nation to enact such legislation. The collection of SOGI data is essential to developing smart policies, creating effective services, and securing funding for those services. The first LGBT Senior Care Facilities Bill of Rights in the country was passed in San Francisco in 2015. Two years later, San Francisco passed the LGBT Data Collection Ordinance. Both legislations had previously been recommended by the San Francisco LGBT Aging Policy Task Force. In the executive order, Biden reiterates his support for the Equality Act that provides non-discrimination protection for LGBT people. This act would replace the less comprehensive state anti-discrimination laws with a (continued on page 30)

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

porting the rights of LGBTQ people.

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Business of Pride 2022 San Francisco Business Times Publisher Mary Huss held her glass aloft and led a welcome toast to the Business of Pride 2022 honorees, launching the event’s program that included a few surprises. The annual ceremony brings recognition each year to a new class of Outstanding Voices, individuals recognized for their leadership journey, life lessons, and overcoming adversity. A total of 13 new honorees were introduced at this year’s event, which was held at the Four Seasons Hotel on Thursday, June 9. Recipient of the 2022 Selisse Berry Legacy Leadership Award was Joe Hawkins, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Oakland LGBTQ Community Center. Honored with the Corporate Pride Award was Nkarta Therapeutics. The program was momentarily interrupted by a fire alarm, but afterwards guests and others in the hotel exited via back stairs to the Market Street sidewalk, all’s well was declared, and the program was continued. The San Francisco Bay Times was honored to serve as the LGBT community Media Sponsor for the 2022 Business of Pride. https://tinyurl.com/mr6ktnyb

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LGBTQ News & Calendar for the Bay Area CELEBRATING FOUR DECADES (1978–2022)

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any community. It is really important that everybody feels welcome and wanted and appreciated. And that is absolutely true for the LGBTQ+ community. We’re going to do everything in our power to ensure that the feeling of being welcomed is really evident in our ballpark.” Thank you, SF Giants, for leading by example and from the heart, and giving us one more reason to root for you. And congratulations, Amy! Let’s Be Careful Out There Pride Month may be a time of celebration and festivity, but this month has already proven that there is need for caution. On June 11, 31 members of the Patriot Front, an extremist hate group, were arrested in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, for threatening to attack a local Pride celebration. Arriving with plans for inciting a riot, they clearly meant business—and they were not alone. On the same day, five members of the extremist hate group Proud Boys burst into a public library in San Lorenzo, California, disrupting a peaceful Drag Queen Story Hour with homophobic and transphobic insults, terrorizing the performers, the library staff, and the children. On June 4, a Pride event in Karlsruhe, Germany, was violently disrupted when 30 men attacked the man carrying the rainbow flag, then beat others who were trying to help. They then stole the flag and burned it. These attacks are horrifying, but not surprising. They are a direct and predictable result of the increasingly hateful legislation being passed around our country and the world, and the increasingly hateful, homophobic verbal attacks by civic leaders. The haters are becoming bolder and more brazen. Turning the tide will take courageous, consistent effort from all of us, as well as voting out leaders who have so little regard for human rights. It is up to all of us to stop hate speech, and hateful actions, when we encounter them. While you’re celebrating Pride, please be careful out there, and watch out for each other. Training New Entrepreneurs The LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District is launching a nine-week Entrepreneur Training Program to help leather community entrepreneurs learn how to build their businesses from the ground up. Participants who complete the program will receive a $500 grant to help with startup costs. The program is intended for new or young businesses planning to either serve or locate in the LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District. Eddie Tang, a local, seasoned business consultant, will lead the program and share his knowledge of getting businesses going and keeping them healthy. Informational Zoom sessions are planned for Thursday, June 30, at 1 pm and 7 pm. Info & Zoom link: https://tinyurl.com/LeathBiz ICYMI: Pride for Everyone Pride celebrations are back in full swing, and it would be impossible to make a comprehensive list of all the events in the Bay Area. You undoubt-

edly know about some of the bigger ones, like the SF Pride Parade, the Dyke March, and the Trans March. But here are a few others that are proud and inclusive: Through June 26: The Oakland Black Pride Festival has returned with a theme of “Happy Hereafter.” All the events carry the positive message of “finding our happiness now and prospecting it in times to come,” an important sentiment in these uncertain times. The festival opened with “Breaking Bread,” a six-course meal prepared by Chef Zeus, then in continuing with a Queer Pub Crawl, Queer Expo, an adults-only Black Pride Party on Saturday night, and a wrap up on Sunday the 26th with Black Masq: A Masqueerade Gala. https://tinyurl.com/OPB22 On Friday, June 24, The Bayard Rustin Coalition and Soul of Pride will present their 2022 Pride Reception, “Let’s Celebrate Love,” at Art Attack SF (2358 Market St.). The event will feature African Diaspora art, wine, delicious bites, and lively music. Come honor SF Pride Grand Marshals, Black community leaders, the African-American LGBTQ Community, friends, and allies. https://tinyurl.com/BRCPride You might have to clone yourself to cover all the events, but my own annual favorite is Gary Virginia and Donna Sachet’s Pride Brunch benefiting PRC, this year on Saturday, June 25, Marking its 24th year, the Pride Brunch is a joyful celebration of the Pride spirit. One of the highlights: Grand Marshals of the SF Pride Parade are honored at this event. It is a rare and wonderful opportunity to meet the Grand Marshals, and hear them tell their stories. This year the Pride Brunch will be at the elegant Westin St. Francis Hotel Grand Ballroom, and will feature live music, hosted bars, a delicious 3-course meal, silent and live auction, and much more. Gary and Donna’s brunch benefits PRC’s integrated legal, social, and behavioral health services for those affected by HIV/AIDS, mental health issues, and substance abuse. https://tinyurl.com/pridebrunch2022 The third annual People’s March and Rally, on Sunday, June 26, will be a potent reminder that Pride began as a protest. The march and rally—a grassroots effort produced without corporate support—will once again be led by activists Alex U. Inn and Juanita MORE! in support of all Black, Brown, and Indigenous peoples, as well as trans and queer family, friends, lovers, and neighbors. True to its activist roots, the event advocates for social justice and systemic change. And despite its serious intent, it is also colorful, joyful, community-oriented, and inspiring. It begins at 10:30 am at Washington and Polk Streets, and marches down Polk Street. https://fb.me/e/1FlyIi9lj There are many options for celebrating Pride. Wherever and however you celebrate, may your Pride be safe and joyful! Joanie Juster is a long-time community volunteer, activist, and ally.

lined up against the wall and shot in the back of the head.” Two fires at places with rainbow flags were set in Baltimore, where three people were injured. The Human Rights Campaign says transgender violence hit a new high this year. And transgender Americans were targeted in many of the 250 anti-GLBT state legislative proposals, another new high, of which at least 24 were enacted, another record.

I have a few other weird stories. Here’s one from Oklahoma where a judge removed a lesbian mother from her son’s birth certificate after she divorced her wife, the birth mother. Oh, and the judge stuck the women’s sperm donor in place of the ex. That decision was later reversed by the same judge, but still! I was going to do some research on this little tidbit but I can’t be bothered at this late stage of our time together.

Proud Boys screamed down a drag queen story time in San Lorenzo, while another group of Proud Boys in Texas disrupted a drag brunch, threatening citizens’ arrests. The Anti-Defamation League catalogued seven anti-gay incidents in one weekend this month, including a threat that led to a Pride event being canceled in Georgia and there was an antigay protest by white supremacists in New Jersey. After one drag story time event was cancelled out of fear in North Carolina, Equality North Carolina stepped in and held the story time, vowing that they would fight attempts “to invade our spaces, to silence us, to disperse us, and limit our freedom to be ourselves in our community.”

Oh, what the hell. It sounds like a mess. The birth mother has filed for a restraining order against the other one, whom she accused of various bad things. She now lives with the sperm donor, whom they got off a website, and who has a dozen other children. He wants custody, too. The judge originally told the other mother she could be removed from the birth certificate because she never adopted her son (even though the women were married at the time). I’m not sure why the judge changed her mind, because I didn’t do that much research. Just the bare minimum to satisfy your curiosity. Oklahoma! Am I right?

I got all of that from one article. One thing is key. Our old adversaries on the Christian right have mutated into a larger and more dangerous collection of far-right hate mongers, brought together not just out of hatred for our community, but for a widespread venomous attack on women, Democrats, people of color, immigrants, pacifists, foreigners of any sort, nonbelievers, intellectuals, and anyone who makes them feel insecure in any way. Their methods are not limited to church sermons or political referenda, but include violence, threats, and hate speech. Our community seems to touch all their sore spots. And it feels as if they can barely control their rage at the world around them and those who embody their fears. It seems just a matter of time before they hit us, not with smoke grenades or metal poles, but with gunfire. And make no mistake. The Christian right may seem tame by comparison, but the current situation is their handiwork. The nastiness, the animosity, the disdain for those who don’t follow scriptural rules, the Trump administration judges and justices fresh off the most conservative wishlists, the narrow, patriarchal view of women, the racism built into evangelical society. They opened a Pandora’s box of humanity’s worst impulses, so, um, thanks for that, guys. Somehow, I don’t think Jesus would approve. Life in These United States

Well, maybe not just Oklahoma. Republicans in Texas approved a bonkers party platform that says Biden’s election was fraudulent, promotes the (unconstitutional) right to secede from the United States, and calls homosexuality an “abnormal lifestyle choice.” I could go on, but I won’t. And did you see the commercial for Missouri senate candidate Eric Greitens? This guy, who resigned as governor of the state after being accused of tying up his mistress and abusing his kids, is pictured with a shotgun going “RINO hunting” with some other armed men. Greitens urges his supporters to get their “RINO hunting permit,” and promises: “There’s no bagging limit, no tagging limit, and it doesn’t expire until we save our country.” His campaign manager is none other than the frightening Kimberly Guilfoyle. Part of our dilemma, and I’m speaking for the majority of Americans, is that we are not violent; we do not fight fire with fire. Because how can we? We are not insane. So, we are faced, not just with unmatched aggression, but with unmatched craziness as well. We fight haplessly with committee hearings and podcasts and The New York Times op-eds. We need an American backlash, but it doesn’t seem imminent. Our courts and our politicians seem impotent. And our compatriots care more about gas prices and inflation than the fact that we are coming apart at the seams. I know this is a depressing column, but at least I didn’t quote “The Second Coming.” arostow@aol.com

LEVINE (continued from page 8) for the 1993 theme, which created a small firestorm of outrage, but we held a community town hall meeting, backed up the decision, and used it everywhere on everything.

book were gone, and credit card receipts did not match what bills we could find.

Leadership roles would change depending upon who could get themselves elected. Sometimes, the organization fell into the hands of those who used it to elevate themselves and their interests instead of centering the event and our community. Sadly, this sometimes included misuse of funds and assets. That has been disappointing.

We set into immediate action and worked with our sponsors to get advances on funds to help us keep running, set an austere budget, held community meetings to share what our plans were to reshape SF Pride, and we fundraised like crazy. Within the year, we had successfully paid off all debts, and even had a little extra money left over post event. Ggreg and I were the last overall co-chairs—we eliminated the position and the stipend that came with it. Instead, we established a working Board largely made up of volunteers and members who had played key roles in the production and operation of SF Pride—as well as worked on a strategic plan.

Though in 1992–1993, club promoter Ggreg Taylor and I paired up and successfully staged a coup to unseat the current overall co-chairs at the time. The co-chair position mirrored what is now the executive director role with similar duties and responsibilities. Within a day of taking office, we found the organization was in deep debt, the ledger was missing, pages from the duplicate form check-

At the end of 1993, I was elected as Vice President of Production, with Joe Wagenhofer as Vice President of Operations, and we split oversight of all the various subcommittees between us. Robert Allen was a strong and efficient President, and by post-event 1994, we had banked a sizeable CD, to hold as reserve funds—the first time SF Pride was not in debt and had a nest egg. By late

But it wasn’t always good and fun and happy or exciting. In 1990, when I was the Board President, there were lawsuits to navigate, disputes to mediate, and a lot of bridges to build to repair previous community damage.

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1995, I was in a new relationship and feeling a bit burned out after three years of intense repair and rebuilding of the organization, so taking a break from the day-to-day operations, I became a day-of volunteer and loyal member again. I watched once more as the fiscal protocols I helped put in place were either discarded or ignored, and an over-zealous Board with little thought to the bottom line managed to rack up an enormous deficit, an even larger debt than Ggreg and I and our Board had erased. There was wild overspending and lack of adherence to the budget, a lot of self-indulging. What usually happens afterwards is that the membership reacts and elects a more fiscally committed Board of Directors, which, of course, happened. Then, SF Pride was righted again and managed to hire its first executive director, Teddy Witherington, in August of 1997. I had the distinct pleasure of meeting him at an InterPride conference a few years before and we had become fast friends, so I was delighted when he called to tell me about the opportunity he accepted. He did an astounding job cleaning up the bylaws and standing rules, putting order to the chaos, and hir-

ing staff when he could to assist him in our mission. I worked with him to train two staffers do the Parade lineup and assembly—each moving on after one year, and then had to step in to sub for volunteer Parade co-chairs that quit in the week or so before Pride. Finally, he and Joe Wagenhofer invited me to lunch in 2000 and said it was ridiculous that I had succession-trained so many and then had stepped in at the last minute, that they offered me a contractor role as Parade Manager, a position I held until the end of 2017. In January of 2018, I was hired as Community Relations Manager, which I still hold, and my assistant Mike Taft was promoted. Alas, after Teddy moved on in 2006, and sometime afterwards, history repeated itself and at least once more, after Brendan Behan did a short turn as Interim Executive Director, and as a result of subsequent less than effective hires, the organization was sent into another fiscal decline. In 2013, a slate of candidates calling for “transparency and inclusion” successfully was selected, after an extremely contentious election, and the hiring of George Ridgely as the new executive director gave SF Pride the stabil-

ity and accountability it had lacked. After almost 7 years under his direction, SF Pride was able to continue making large grants back to the community, put away a sizeable reserve fund, hire more staff, and most importantly, increase its diversity as well as meet many of its inclusion goals. It’s been a rollercoaster adventure with moments I will both treasure and lament, but I have loved and been loyal to San Francisco Pride because of the way it centers our community first, keeping our event one of the last free Prides in California and possibly the United States, too. That’s a legacy we can be proud to live up to. Marsha H. Levine is a 42-year Pride veteran, Founder of InterPride (a 40-year-old international organization for LGBTQI+ Pride organizers) as well as one of their Vice Presidents of Global Outreach and Partnership Management. She also serves as the Co-President of the United States Association of Prides and is currently employed by San Francisco Pride, which she has consistently been involved with for 37 years, as their Community Relations Manager.

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Morales, marriage equality activists John Lewis and Stuart Gaffney, Bay Times founding News Editor Randy Alfred, columnist Sister Dana Van Iquity of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, Bay Times publishers Dr. Betty Sullivan and Jen Viegas, LaTonya Lawson of Celebrity Cruises, Beth Schnitzer of SpritzSF, winemaker Joe Shirley of Napa Cellars, Extreme Pizza founder Todd Parent and his daughter Tabitha, and many others.

federal anti-discrimination law, consistent across the country, with full protection in all areas of life from employment, housing, etc. The Equality Act. passed in the House, doesn’t have the votes to succeed in the Senate. There is much in the President's executive order to be grateful about. It comes at a time when the safety and civil rights of LGBTQ youth and their families are under attack. Our community needs and welcomes these federal supports. But we know how easy it is to lose ground in this battle and that the closer we get to achieving full equality, the fiercer the push back. This Pride, as always, be relentless.

The Bay Times thanks contingent sponsors Napa Cellars, Extreme Pizza, Grubstake, La Méditerranée, ellaprint, and the UCSF National Center of Excellence in Women's Health.

GAFFNEY/LEWIS (continued from page 10) For more information concerning the Executive Order Advancing Equality for LGBTQI+ Individuals: https://tinyurl.com/2vp2v3fk

feel shame or embarrassment about the fear and trauma we experienced at the hands of our abusers. Dulce assures us: “Queer people are resilient and creative and resourceful, and we’re going to be fine.”

Dr. Marcy Adelman, a psychologist and LGBTQ+ longevity advocate and policy adviser, oversees the Aging in Community column. She serves on the California Commission on Aging, the Board of the Alzheimer’s Association of Northern California, the California Master Plan on Aging Equity Advisory Committee, and the San Francisco Dignity Fund Oversight and Advisory Committee. She is the Co-Founder of Openhouse, the only San Francisco nonprofit exclusively focused on the health and well-being of LGBTQ+ older adults.

Most importantly, Dulce did not let her fear stop her from returning and resuming the story hour. "I refuse to be intimidated by people who have myopic worldviews,” she said.

SOSKIN (continued from page 3) Support for LGBTQ Family Members and Others Soskin had four children: Dale Richard Reid, Robert Thomas Reid, Di'ara Melite Kitty Reid, and Dorian Leon Reid. One is developmentally disabled, one was openly gay and has since passed, and another— Di'ara—is proudly transgender and is a member of the San Francisco Pride Board of Directors. (Betty also has four grandchildren: Kokee Amanda Reid, Rhico Melvin Reid, Alanya Leon Reid, and Tamaya Alejandra Reid. And she has a great-grandchild: Patrick Kayden Hebert.) Soskin has always celebrated and supported her children along with the LGBTQ community. For this issue of the San Francisco Bay Times, she wore the Progress Pride Flag with ease and honor. She will be with Di'ara in our contingent for the SF Pride Parade, along with friends, other family members, and former colleagues. It would take not just one book, but many, to properly cover Soskin's life and achievements so far. We recommend Sign My Name to Freedom: A Memoir of a Pioneering Life, written by Soskin in 2018. She has received numerous honors, including:

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• California Woman of the Year, California Legislature, 1995; • Builders of Communities and Dreams, National Women's History Project, 2006; • Attended President Obama's Inauguration as a guest of Rep. George Miller, 2009; • Proclamation honoring her by Richmond Mayor Gayle McLaughlin on behalf of Richmond City Council, 2009; • Received honorary doctorate at California College of the Arts at Spring Commencement, 2010; • Received the WAVE award as one of three "Women of Achievement" by GirlSource of San Francisco, 2010; • Awarded the National WWII Museum Silver Service Medallion, at the American Spirit Awards gala, 2016; • Recognition in the Congressional Record in 2016 and 2019; • Received honorary Doctorate of Arts and Letters at Mills College, 2017; • Received the Robin W. Winks Award for Enhancing Public Understanding of National Parks from the National Parks Conservation Association, 2018; • Juan Crespi Middle School in the West Contra Costa Unified School District was renamed Betty Reid Soskin Middle School

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to honor Soskin; the renaming ceremony was held on her hundredth birthday on September 22, 2021; • and Google recently named a room at its headquarters after her, June 2022. On June 26, 2022, she will become what is believed to be the oldest dignitary ever to be presented in the San Francisco Pride Parade when she rides in the San Francisco Bay Times contingent. We hope that you will be there to cheer her and the contingent on! She remains an inspiration for us all. In the foreword to her memoir, Oaklandbased activist and journalist Jesse Douglas Allen-Taylor (who sadly passed earlier this year) wrote: "It was Betty Reid Soskin who took the path we mistakenly assign to Rosa Parks. Betty rarely chose her life's battles in advance, as Rosa did. Instead, she faced them as they came—working, raising a family, choosing a home, operating a business on her own. Her sign-ups for the freedom fight were generally unplanned and spontaneous, and in that, she showed all of us what ordinary citizens facing up to their fears can accomplish." https://tinyurl.com/2cz9wpfn

Dulce shared that a central purpose of Drag Queen Story Hour is to provide “kids access to diverse role models,” something that “is universally beneficial whether you’re queer, trans, or cis, because our world is diverse.” She especially wants to be there for LGBTIQ kids: “I did not have queer icons to look up to and I didn't have representation to model myself after. And when you do story hour, sometimes there are queer kids, and you can really tell because they light up in a way where you just know, and you have that immediate connection.” On that terrifying Saturday afternoon, "I continued the reading even though it was so scary because I want kids to know even though they might get flack for being who they are, that they need to persist and that they are doing the absolute right thing showing up as their selves." Doing drag is about many things, among them self-worth, empowerment, and joy. As a librarian featured on Panda Dulce’s website says, “Kids just love drag queens. Because they’re fabulous. They’re magical creatures.” We love how Panda Dulce embodies the vibrancy and courage of drag queens and the LGBTIQ community more generally. Initially referring to the men who tried to disrupt the San Lorenzo story hour, she proclaimed: “These people have clearly never met a drag queen before, because drag queens do not do obscurity. Queer people do not do quiet. We know that silence equals death, and we are not going to back down. We are not going to shrink back into the closet." That’s what Pride is all about. Happy Pride 2022, everyone! We are Panda Dulce. (We gratefully acknowledge the reporting of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Teen Vogue, Yahoo News, NBC Bay Area, and KQED.) John Lewis and Stuart Gaffney, together for over three decades, were plaintiffs in the California case for equal marriage rights decided by the California Supreme Court in 2008. Their leadership in the grassroots organization Marriage Equality USA contributed in 2015 to making same-sex marriage legal nationwide.

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San Francisco Bay Times team members were among those on Market Street to experience and record the Warriors Championship Parade. They and others in the huge crowd estimated at tens of thousands turned out to enthusiastically cheer the Warriors players, coaches, staff, friends, and families who were riding high in blue buses by Big Bus Tours, the same company that will provide vehicles for the San Francisco Bay Times contingent in the SF Pride Parade coming up on Sunday, June 26.

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BEFORE SF PRIDE San Francisco’s first official Pride parade, held on Sunday, June 25, 1972, was called: A) The Age of Aquarius Parade B) Christopher Street West C) Stonewall West D) Stonewall Gay Parade

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Pride Quotes from Famous Queers & Awesome Allies Liam’s LGBTQI List Liam P. Mayclem “I know that you cannot live on hope alone, but without it, life is not worth living. And you ... gotta give ‘em hope.” —Harvey Milk Pride Month in San Francisco is one of my favorite times of the year and there is no place I would rather be for the month than the city by the bay, the place I call home. Seeing Gilbert Baker’s rainbow flag displayed proudly along Market Street and in store fronts and homes all around us fills me with hope, and yes, pride.

I attended my first Pride in 1994 soon after moving to San Francisco. A year later I was riding in a car with my QTV team. We were actually in the parade and I beamed broadly and proudly every inch of the route. I even shed a few tears; it was so moving seeing nothing but joy and smiles and cheers of acceptance as we made our way up Market Street. It was a magical day. It’s true that every queen loves a parade! Over the years I have been lucky enough to interview my Queer heroes and allies. I have enjoyed more “pinch me bum” moments than I truly deserve. I do not take them lightly, and the best part is that I get to share those moments on radio and TV and with San Francisco Bay Times readers. I delved deep into my interview archive and found some fun quotes from my favorite Queer people and awesome allies: from music icon David Bowie, whom I interviewed for ZDTV in 1999, to Pink, whom I hosted on the WilliamsSonoma

Liam with Sting

Culinary Stage at BottleRock Napa Valley last month. Legendary Bay Area authors like Alice Walker and Armistead Maupin touched our hearts and minds with their words. Then there are the community icons who paved the way for a generation like Cleve Jones, Kate Liam with Lionel Ritchie Kendell, former State Senator Mark Leno, and Sister Roma. How lucky are we to still have them among us leading and steering the way? We owe our fearless fighters so much. For now, a huge, heartfelt thank you for your fighting spirit, for your quotes, and words to live by. On Saturday, June 25, I will perform as Auctioneer at the Pride Brunch 2022 by Donna Sachet & Gary Virginia benefiting PRC. https://tinyurl.com/2p93pbyc Liam with Juanita MORE! I hope to see you on Pride Sunday, June 26! I am thrilled Jimmy: “Mighty Real” to pieces that the entire city will be by Sylvester—the live celebrating SF Pride together, in version recorded here in person once again. It will be more San Francisco. It gives festive than ever. We need this. We me goosebumps. need to be loud and proud! I will Martha Stewart be walking proudly in the parade “I’ve been to a lot of with the San Francisco Bay Times. gay weddings. They are Then, on the afternoon of June always fabulous. When I 26, starting at 2 pm, I will be am invited, I am always hosting the sold-out Stern Grove impressed as they (the Festival Pride Sunday concert wedding couple) clearly with music guests Liz Phair, Madi up their game.” Diaz, Peaches Christ, and DJ Lady Quentin Crisp Ryan. Liam: Are you a practichttps://www.sterngrove.org ing homosexual?

On Pride Sunday there is also one party I never miss, yes, Juanita MORE!’s Pride party at 620 Jones, this year benefiting Q Foundation. https://juanitamore.com/ “Love, Love, Love is all you need,” to quote The Beatles. Happy Pride!

Sting (regarding Quentin Crisp) “If ‘manners maketh’ man, as someone said, He’s the hero of the day.

Anderson Cooper “I think being gay is a blessing and it’s something I am thankful for every single day.”

Lionel Richie Liam: May I kiss you?

Chaz Bono “I’ve been embraced by a new community. That’s what happens when you’re finally honest about who you are; you find others like you.” Jimmy Somerville Liam: Do you have a song by another artist that fills you with Pride?

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Liam with Chef Dominique Crenn

It takes a man to suffer ignorance and smile.

California State Senator (2008–2016) Mark Leno “Pride is remembering from where we came and knowing where we yet need to go.”

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Quentin: No. I am already perfect.

Liam with Diana Ross

Alice Walker “No person is your friend who demands your silence or denies your right to grow.”

David Bowie “We are here to be fully expressed. Is there any other way to be?”

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Liam with Armistead Maupin

Be yourself no matter what they say.”

Lionel: Yes, if you promise to listen to my new CD. Sister Roma “Pride to me is a celebration of our vibrant, colorful community and a political statement of strength and solidarity. Despite attempts to silence us, dehumanize us, and even criminalize us, we clap back with a powerful loud and proud Pride Parade and celebration that love wins every time.” Laverne Cox “We are not what other people say we are. We are who we know ourselves to be, and we are what we love.” Armistead Maupin “My only regret about being gay is that I repressed it for so long.”

Cleve Jones “Gay rights are human rights.” Chef Dominique Crenn “Be true to yourself and keep dancing.” Andy Bell (of Erasure) Liam; What is the Pride Parade to you? Andy: My life is a Pride Parade. Almost every day I go to work it’s like a parade. I feel so bloody lucky. Pink (while at BottleRock Napa Valley) Pink: I love my gays and my gay bars. Do you know The Cock? Liam: Yes, love. I am most familiar with the cock (chuckles). It’s my favorite bar in New York. Pink: I learned what it means to be part of a community in my days hanging in gay bars. Emmy Award-winning radio and television personality Liam Mayclem is regularly featured on KPIX as well as KCBS, where he is the popular Foodie Chap. Born in London, Mayclem is now at home in the Bay Area, where he lives with his husband, photographer Rick Camargo. For more information: https://www.bookliam.com/

Pride Night at the Opera: Don Giovanni The San Francisco Bay Times was proud to be the media sponsor of the 2022 Pride Night at the San Francisco Opera, which took place on Saturday, June 18. After a performance of Don Giovanni—Mozart’s dark take on Don Juan—Bay Times columnist and legendary entertainer/fundraiser Donna Sachet hosted the After Party that included Lip Sync for Your Life: Aria Edition, as well as photos on the Rainbow Carpet, a Most Fabulously Dressed Contest (“head-totoe, darling!”), and much more. The SF Opera’s Michael Bragg helped to welcome guests. Accompanying Sachet was Joan-E, Empress of Vancouver, Canada. Other members of the San Francisco Bay Times team who attended included columnist Lou Fischer and her partner Amy Myers, columnist/intern Tabitha Parent, and Bay Times volunteer coordinator Juan Davila. https://www.sfopera.com/

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FILM FESTIVAL PREVIEW 2022

More Films to View as Frameline46 Enters Its Final Weekend By Gary M. Kramer

Film Gary M. Kramer There are still plenty of films to catch as Frameline Film Festival continues in theaters through June 26, with many titles streaming online June 24 until June 30. Check out the organization's website for further details: https://www.frameline.org/ Meanwhile, here is a rundown of what to see. Please Baby Please ( June 23, 6 pm AMC Kabuki 8) is a very peculiar, highly stylized, but uneven film. Arthur (Harry Melling) and Suze (a very expressive Andrea

Riseborough) have a life-changing encounter with Teddy (Karl Glusman) and his gang, The Young Gents. The film, directed and cowritten by Amanda Kramer (no relation), is affected with both camp and 50s-era sensibilities that will charm or annoy. Kramer candy-coats each scene and fetishizes its characters— Teddy especially (Glusman oozes sex appeal)—as they pose, fight, sing, and dance. Please Baby Please is not just all mood, though. Its characters espouse heady comments about gender, masculinity, and vulnerability. Harry claims he “doesn’t feel a need to act male,” while Suze becomes more mannish over the course of the story. There are also some nifty musical numbers and striking vignettes, from one featuring Maureen (Demi Moore) as a “slum starlet” neighbor, to a scene in a club with a flirty gay character, and another sequence at a Bijou movie theater. Please Baby Please can feel like it is trying too hard, but it is a unique and, at times, impressive accomplishment. It Is in Us All ( June 23, 8 pm AMC Kabuki 8) has Hamish Considine (Cosmo Jarvis), a British man The Unabridged Mrs. Vera's Daybook

traveling to Ireland to deal with his late aunt's house. En route, however, he gets into a nasty car accident that kills one boy but spares another, Evan (Rhys Mannion). As Hamish and Evan strike up an uneasy friendship, Hamish learns more about his family, especially his late mother. It Is in Us All is all about the grief and pain these two solitary characters feel, and how they rely on each other to cope—but it is not especially gay. (There is only some mild homoerotic tension.) Nor is it especially illuminating, as writer/director Antonia Campbell-Hughes goes heavy on the atmosphere, but thin on the plot. Nevertheless, Cosmo Jarvis gives a blistering performance—a scene of him caring for his wounds, in particular, is quite stunning. Maybe Someday, ( June 23, 1:15 pm, AMC Kabuki 8; also streaming) is a modest, low-key, and engaging drama about the non-binary Jay (writer/director Michelle Ehlen), who has decided to move across the country after separating from her wife, Lily ( Janeen Robinson). On her journey, Jay stops and stays with Jess (Shaela Cook), her best friend (and secret crush) growing up. She also befriends Tommy (Charlie Steers), a gay comedian who is funnier off stage than on. Maybe Someday flashes back to Jay and Jess as teens, but the best scenes are the hangout moments featuring Jay and Tommy shooting pool, going camping, or performing in drag. Jay’s friends might lift her spirits, but Ehlen is more interested in having viewers feel the pain of depression and heartbreak. The filmmaker gives a poignant performance as Jay has various emotional responses to the people in her life. My Emptiness and I ( June 24, 6 pm, Roxie; also streaming) is a wonderful comedy-drama about Raphaëlle (cowriter Raphaëlle

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Pérez), a transwoman navigating the dating scene and her gender identity. She wants someone to love her as she is—she is deciding about having surgery—but most men are wary, if not downright obnoxious, about dating a transwoman. Raphaëlle meets regularly with other transwomen and participates in artistic endeavors, such as a play, which help her determine what she wants and who she is. My Emptiness and I is a fantastic showcase for Pérez, and a charming and hopeful love story wrapped in a poignant drama about self-acceptance. Girl Picture ( June 24 at 6 pm, Castro) is a terrific romantic drama from Finland about three young women grappling with love, sex, and their very sensitive emotions. Mimmi (Aamu Milonoff), a lesbian, and her straight best friend, Rönkko (Eleonoora Kauhanen), work together at a smoothie bar. Mimmi is tough and acerbic, but when she meets Emma

(Linnea Leino), a figure skater, she lets down her guard and gets romantic. Emma, whose life has been dominated by sports, falls hard in return and discovers a sense of freedom and rebellion. Director Alli Haapasalo’s film is refreshing for allowing its heroines to make mistakes and behave badly because they are inexperienced and scared. The three leads are all engaging and come across as awkward and real, which is why the film is so gratifying. Three Tidy Tigers Tied a Tighter Tie ( June 24, 6 pm New Parkway; also streaming) is Gustavo Vinagre’s whimsical comedy about (continued on page 40) Girl Picture

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FILM FESTIVAL PREVIEW 2022 (continued from page 38) two roommates—sex worker Pedro (Pedro Ribeiro) and student Isabella (Isabella Pereira)—spending the day with Pedro’s nephew, Jonata ( Jonata Vieira), who has come to the city for his HIV treatment. Shot during the pandemic, amnesia seems to be the overriding symptom as various characters have memory issues. There is a sweet scene of Jonata cracking a man’s back in Roosevelt Park and a tender moment between Pedro and his client Omar (Everaldo Pontes), but much of this subversive film is addressing issues of race and class— there are several references to "crapitalism”—as well as regression and oppression. Vinagre has concocted a shaggy hangout film with moments of magical realism, as well as a strange musical sequence. This is an ambitious and inventive film. It may not be for all tastes, but it certainly has its charms. Esther Newton Made Me Gay ( June 25 at 1:15 pm, Roxie; also streaming), is a valentine to the titular cultural anthropologist and dog agility trainer. Director Jean Carlomusto traces Newton’s life, from her childhood and self-awareness about her sexuality and butch identity—as well as her first lesbian experiences—to her activism (“The personal is political.") Inspired by Margaret Mead and Gertrude Stein, Newton forged a path for queer studies in academia, writing about drag queens and gender roles. Esther Newton Made Me Gay celebrates the life,

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loves, and influence of this pioneering figure in queer studies. The Unabridged Mrs. Vera’s Daybook ( June 25, 1:15 pm, Castro; also streaming) is an effusive documentary about San Francisco icons David Faulk and Michael Johnstone, who created the drag character Mrs. Vera and her fabulous, colorful outfits. Director Robert James’ film recounts the backstory of David and Michael, who lived through the AIDS crisis; both are HIV-positive. They thrived by creating a “Daybook” of photographs featuring Mrs. Vera and helped establish the “VeraSphere,” a larger community of fans, friends and followers that join them in the annual Pride Parade. The joy they provide is infectious, and Mrs. Vera’ Daybook celebrates the style and charm of these inspiring men. The Sixth Reel ( June 25, 3:30 pm, Castro; also streaming) is the latest cinematic piffle from the iconic drag performer Charles Busch. Jimmy (Busch) is a small-time dealer in classic movie ephemera. When his friend Gerald dies, Jimmy and Gerald’s niece, Helen ( Julie Halston), hold an estate sale and stumble upon the last reel of a thought-to-be-lost Lon Chaney film. This discovery soon creates a madcap scramble among rival collectors. Will Michael (Tim Daly), the NYU professor, donate it to a museum? Will Doris Pang (Margaret Cho) sell it to the highest bidder? Jimmy dons drag (in

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classic Charles Busch fashion) to find out. If this slight comedy is about as unstable as nitrate film stock, Busch, working with his co-writer/co-director Carl Andress, generates a few smiles from some barbed one-liners, and the game cast feeds into these Hollywood dreams. Petit Mal ( June 25, 8:30 pm, New Parkway; also streaming), is an interesting hybrid documentary/fiction about a throuple: Marti (Silvia Varón), Anto (Anta María Otálora), and Laia (writer/director Ruth Caudeli). The strong bond among these three lovers is felt in the opening scenes of them sharing paella and playing word games. However, when Laia goes off for a job, Marti and Anto are bereft. The film shifts into black and white to convey their loneliness—Anto performs a poignant song—and calls with Laia freeze or are dropped. Laia cries and

misses her girlfriends when they do connect. Petit Mal artfully examines the difficulties of maintaining an equilateral balance in the relationship, especially as Marti and Anto become closer during Laia’s absence. When they grow angry with Laia for failing to respond to their messages, there is noticeable silence when Laia returns from her trip. Petit Mal examines the singular dynamic of this trouple, and it is hard not to root for them to stay together—if only because they all look so adorable in their matching bear sleepwear. Pat Rocco Dared ( June 25, 9:15 pm, Castro; also streaming) is an affectionate valentine to the trailblazing gay filmmaker and activist who died in 2018. Rocco started making films in 1966 that featured nude men in sex-positive ways— kissing and cuddling, posing on a freeway, even using a pogo stick! It Is in Us All

One short, which depicted a loving gay couple in Disneyland, was banned. Rocco’s films were erotic but never pornographic. They depicted a “perfect queer world,” where being gay was not an issue, and that may be why they were so popular. Pat Rocco Dared has out gay filmmaker Charlie David interviewing Rocco about his work. David also probes Rocco about his activism, which includes helping Harvey Milk get elected, coordinating the first Pride parade (not march), helping homeless LGBTQ folks, and documenting transgender lives. One of the best sequences shows how David’s films were influenced by Rocco’s. This engaging documentary should inspire viewers to seek out Rocco’s work. © 2022 Gary M. Kramer Gary M. Kramer is the author of “Independent Queer Cinema: Reviews and Interviews,” and the co-editor of “Directory of World Cinema: Argentina.” Follow him on Twitter @garymkramer

To: All the Friends I Killed humor, too. It’s easy to take loss too seriously. It can be freeing, and wild, and, well, insane. It doesn’t make total sense why some live, some die. I mean that as a metaphor—if some people live more freely, some live with a wicked illness.

Words Michele Karlsberg Michele Karlsberg: Joshua Kent Bookman’s debut novel, Close to Elsewhere: Stories of Translocation and Whimsy, was well received by critics. His long awaited second novel, To: All The Friends I Killed (LYS), is now available. In this coming-of-age novel, we are faced with the life choices of the millennial generation, the postponement of traditional benchmarks in our twenties, and the queer or asexual attitude towards contemporary loneliness. Bestselling writer Stephen McCauley wrote, “A memorably original work, full of mystery, madness, and wicked laugh-out-loud humor.” Novelist Sarah Hollister recently sat with Joshua to discuss his book. Please enjoy an excerpt from their conversation. Sarah Hollister: When I saw the title of your book, I wondered if it was a thriller. Now that I’ve read the book, I sense it’s more a metaphor for loss. Can you tell us what the title means to you? Joshua Kent Bookman: It’s a provocative title, for sure. I think you put it nicely. There’s a lot of loss in this book. But I think a sense of

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Sarah Hollister: You write, “We live in one place at a time, but the impressions of many remodel what’s considered the present. I could describe it like fog, which is both ground and atmosphere, or as an open vault, where memories, like prized possessions, never get entirely stored away.” Can you expand on that? Joshua Kent Bookman: I think “be in the present,” “stay in the present,” a quote like that (which we hear about a lot from health gurus and meditation experts) is slightly misleading. Like, I’m all for higher quality, higher vibrational life (my Los Angeles voice for an instant), but our present is a collection of past experiences. Some good, some bad, many of the bad that stick, resurface; many of the good that tan, like nostalgia. What I also mean to say is that if you’ve lived in more than one place—a city, a village, a different country—you get the sense that you can’t take everything with you. The food is different, the friends, the weather—so the language we use to describe the present isn’t fair when the present city we live in can’t carry the sum total of our many lives we’ve killed off. Sarah Hollister: Was this the story you set out to write? Joshua Kent Bookman: I struggled after my first book. I was excited to have finished something, to have been given a chance by Sofi (my edi-

Joshua Kent Bookman

tor) to set out and execute a long piece of fiction. [It was a] huge emotional letdown after it was published. Didn’t have an agent or publicist, didn’t understand the publishing industry. That was brutal. Not because I wanted success, but because there were specific things I was “supposed to do.” I was supposed to have an agent. I was supposed to fit a genre. I was supposed to have a traditional narrative people could follow. I’m saying this as context only because the path to becoming a writer was simultaneously unplanned and unnecessarily complicated. The investment was imaginary. That’s all to say that I didn’t know what to write. Not just because of the content, but because I felt this need to evolve my writing and to elevate to a level that people would understand. I’m not someone who just writes for myself and thinks, if you like it, great, but if you don’t, that it’s somehow your fault you don’t get it. So, when I started writing this, I knew that I wanted to write something that was relevant. It took three years to write. I think the search for home, the search for meaningful friendship, they’re both things that matter to me. Now that I’ve lived in so many places, I no longer live in one place. I’d like to think that marriage isn’t the only option, that even if that’s a right that’s accessible, it doesn’t mean it’s my highest aspiration. I wonder what’s happened to my childhood friends, my (continued on page 60)

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Afterparties (fiction - paperback) by Anthony Veasna So Now in paperback! Afterparties is a fantastic collection of a writer considered by many to be a genius of satire. Sharp, nuanced, filled with gritty humor, and emotionally alive, these stories capture America as it is today— addressing race, gender, class, sexuality, friendship, and family in an intersectional way. It is set in the Cambodian American immigrant community where he grew up in central California. So’s story the “Three Women of Chuck’s Donuts” made a big splash and put him on the radar of general readers. Writers have been fans for a long time: Kar, Brit Bennett, George Saunders, Bryan Washington , and Dana Spiotta all blurb this collection. So grew up in Stockton and lived in San Francisco. He passed away unexpectedly on December 8, 2020. Gay Bar: Why We Went Out (nonfiction/memoir- paperback) by Jeremy Atherton Lin As gay bars continue to close at an alarming rate, a writer looks back to find out what’s being lost in this intimate, stylish, and indispensable celebration of queer history. Strobing lights and dark rooms; throbbing house and drag queens on counters; first kisses, last call: the gay bar has long been a place of solidarity and sexual expression—whatever your scene, whomever you’re seeking. But in urban centers around the world, they are closing, a cultural demolition that has Jeremy Atherton Lin wondering: What was the gay bar? How have they shaped him? And could this spell the end of gay identity as we know it? In Gay Bar, the author embarks upon a transatlantic tour of the hangouts that marked his life, with each club, pub, and dive revealing itself to be a palimpsest of queer history. The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School (YA fiction- hardbound) by Sonora Reyes This is an impressive YA debut about a queer Mexican American girl learning to celebrate who she is at her very core. There is lots of in-house love for this one—a great sibling relationship, a well-depicted mother character, plus multiple wonderful romances. The story concerns Yamilet Flores, whose mom throws her into Catholic school at the first sign of her younger brother’s hanging with the bad crowd. Yamilet is supposed to be looking out for him, but navigating her new school becomes even more difficult when she decides that the only way she and her brother are going to make it is if she remains in the closet. Upcoming Events Thursday, June 23 @ 5:30pm (Free-Online) - Davey Davis, Author of X For the last installment of the Book Passage Pride Program 2022, we present Davey Davis and their new novel, X. A thrilling portrait of political terror and the violent pleasures found in warehouses, bathrooms, and dungeons across New York City, X is a novel that delves into the psyches of characters on the margins. Davis’ first book, The Earthquake Room, was released by

TigerBee Press in 2017. They write a weekly newsletter and mutual aid fundraiser about art, culture, sexuality, and people. Subscribe at: https://itsdavid.substack.com/ Sunday, June 26 @ Noon (Free- Online) Lucasta Miller, Author of Keats, in Conversation with Adam Gopnik Keats offers a dazzling new look into the short but intense, tragic life and remarkable work of John Keats, one of the greatest lyric poets of the English language. He is seen in a whole new light, not as the mythologized Victorian guileless nature-lover, but as the subversive, bawdy complex cynic whose life and poetry were lived and created (continued on page 60)

Lit Snax Disasterama! Adventures in The Queer Underground 1977–1997 by Alvin Orloff This is a memoir of social life in the sexy, zany, and thoroughly decadent queer underground at a time when the manic frivolity of youth and queer liberation collided with the deadly reality of AIDS. If You’re a Drag Queen and You Know It by Lil Miss Hot Mess and Olga de Dios Right when we need more color & joy than ever, along comes this exquisite children’s book, just perfect for reading aloud, singing and ... slaying!

Zami: A New Spelling of My Name: A Biomythography by Audre Lorde This is the queer document of the 20th century. Audre Lorde chronicles Black and lesbian life in the 1950s with the vigor and poetic beauty for which she was and is so rightly esteemed. https://www.fabulosabooks.com/

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The concert was hosted by Donna Sachet, who performed favorites such as “When You Wish Upon a Star” from Walt Disney’s Pinocchio and selections from The Wiz and West Side Story. The program featured guest artist Renée Lubin and guest Artistic Director Dr. Dee Spencer. Lubin wowed the audience with her performance of Aretha Franklin songs from the movie Respect. The program additionally included both silent and live auctions benefiting the band. Among the items offered was a unique handmade quilt created for the SFLGFB by the sister of Jon Reed Sims (1947–1984). Sims, a talented visionary, was the founder of the band, the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus, and the Lesbian/Gay Chorus of San Francisco. Save a spot on your calendar during the winter holidays for the return of the Dance-Along Nutcracker®, SFLGFB’s signature concert beloved by adults and children and all ages. Kudos to all of the band’s musicians, board members, and to Artistic Directors Pete Nowlen and Michael Wong. https://www.sflgfb.org/

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On Saturday, June 11, the City of San Francisco’s Official Band, the San Francisco Lesbian/ Gay Freedom Band (SFLGFB), presented a gala concert celebration and fundraiser, Spotlight on Hollywood, at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.

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Tim Seelig

Photos courtesy of the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus

CELEBRATING HIS HISTORIC LEGACY

Dr. Tim Seelig's enjoyment of music and the performing arts are on full display at concert events, including (top) at Davies Symphony Hall, and (bottom) the annual SFGMC Holiday Concert series held at multiple locations throughout December.

Celebrating the Historic Legacy of Dr. Tim Seelig San Francisco Bay Times columnist Dr. Tim Seelig, who is the Artistic Director of the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus (SFGMC), is one of the most talented professionals we at the Bay Times have ever worked with over the years. He has been supportive in every way possible, has never missed a deadline, and is thoughtful beyond measure. We are honored that, although he will soon be retiring from his position with the chorus, he will continue his column for the Bay Times. Retirement for him will be Seelig-style, meaning that his calendar is already full of guest conductor events and other projects, given that he remains one of the most sought-after talents in the musical field. SFGMC recently announced the program for Final Words, a one-nightonly farewell concert for Seelig taking place on Wednesday, July 13, at 7:30 pm at San Francisco’s Davies Symphony Hall (201 Van Ness Avenue). Tickets are on-sale now by 415-864-6000 or visiting https://www.sfgmc.org/ Final Words will celebrate the spectacular legacy of Seelig as he conducts his final concert as Artistic Director of SFGMC. This extraordinary evening will feature a deeply personal playlist curated by him highlighting the past 11.5 years of his artistic influence. Making this historic moment even more special, the San Francisco Symphony will join SFGMC on-stage for the first time in the chorus’ 43-year history. Works include selections from Unbreakable and I Am Harvey Milk by Andrew

Lippa, A Chorus Line, The Lion King, Tyler’s Suite, and more. Special guests include the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir. “Final Words is the culmination of a career dedicated to not only music education and choral conducting, but to community—building, activism, and social justice,” said SFGMC Executive Director Chris Verdugo. “We are deeply grateful for Tim’s service and dedication to the chorus and community at large. His immense impact will be felt for decades to come. We look forward to celebrating him and his incredible achievements on July 13.” “It is a rare moment in time when a conductor is allowed to create a program that is made up 100% of his favorite pieces,” added Seelig. “This is exactly what I am being blessed with as I end 11 1⁄2 years with SFGMC and 35 years conducting LGBTQ+ choruses around the world. I had help in the selection process to be sure, but the final program couldn’t reflect my career any better.” Considered one of the nation’s most prolific choral directors, Seelig’s 11 1⁄2 seasons at SFGMC are marked by several distinguished milestones, including the Lavender Pen Tour, the groundbreaking tour that took the chorus through five southern states in the fall of 2017; the subsequent release of Gay Chorus Deep South, the award-winning documentary chronicling the Lavender Pen Tour; the creation of the Artists Portal at San Francisco’s National AIDS Memorial Grove; the purchase of 170 Valencia, the new home of the SFGMC and The Chan National Queer Arts Center; the launch of RHYTHM, SFGMC’s educational outreach program to youth that has stretched nationwide; and more. Throughout his leadership, Seelig forged intimate and important working collaborations with distinguished composers and musicians that have resulted in six major commissioned pieces of works. They include “Testimony” by Stephen Schwartz; “I Am Harvey Milk” by Andrew Lippa; “Tyler’s Suite,” featuring the work of nine celebrated composers including Jake Heggie, Ann Hampton Callaway, John Corigliano, Stephen Flaherty, and more; “#twitterlieder” by James Eakin; “Unbreakable” by Andrew Lippa; “@queerz” by Julian Hornik; and the upcoming “Songs of the Phoenix.” Many of these works have since been performed by other choral ensembles around the world. Please consider attending the July 13 historic event not only to be present for what promises to be an exceptional night of music but also to join us in thanking and giving some love back to Seelig for his invaluable and unforgettable time with the SFGMC over the last decade plus. S AN F R ANC IS C O BAY T IM ES

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CELEBRATING HIS HISTORIC LEGACY

Dr. Tim Seelig Receives Commendation from SF Board of Supervisors

San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus’ ‘Dream Fund’ Honoring Dr. Tim Seelig

Dr. Tim Seelig on June 14, 2022, received a Certificate of Honor during a meeting of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors at SF City Hall in the Legislative Chamber, Room 250. The certificate was presented to Dr. Seelig by Supervisor Rafael Mandelman “on the occasion of his retirement from the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus and in recognition of his musical accomplishments.” In attendance were friends and members of the chorus. Supervisor Mandelman later proudly posted a photo. You can watch the commendation ceremony on YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/mrywtsxe

Hug a Tim Farewell Party The San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus is hosting a Hug a Tim Farewell Party to, in a relaxed setting, celebrate the retirement of Dr. Tim Seelig as Artistic Director of the chorus. It will be at Zeitgeist, 199 Valencia Street in San Francisco, on July 14 from 7 pm–10 pm. The venue’s entire bar and garden will be reserved for the event that has no cover charge. As the organizers share, “Come celebrate the end of (SFGMC’s) Season 44 and wish Tim well on his journey north to Portland.”

As my 70th Birthday approached in January 2021, I decided to invite my family and friends to donate to a “dream” fund to allow me to do some amazing things that were not in our normal budget. Oh boy, did you turn out in force! Over the next 18 months, I have been able to use that fund for some incredible initiatives such as the extraordinary video about the creation of the Artists Portal at the National AIDS Memorial Grove at Golden Gate Park. I helped us hire dancers, fancy costumes, and even have a memorial service for eight of our singers who passed away during the pandemic and were not able to have services. All of it was wonderful. You’ll get to see some of it on July 13 when I pass the baton to Jake (Stensberg). As I retire, I would love nothing more than to leave such a fund for him to use as he sees fit. It has most definitely allowed me to stretch and, yes, dream. What do you give someone who is retiring? Geritol is tacky. A recliner is too expensive. The “dream fund” is the perfect solution. And, with a donation of any size, you have the opportunity to leave me a message for me to read in my rocking chair come August. Thank you for helping me leave a wonderful kick-off gift for Jake. Love, Tim To make a donation to the chorus honoring Dr. Tim Seelig: https://tinyurl.com/ymn242m2 Dr. Tim Seelig is the Artistic Director of the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus.

To register: https://tinyurl.com/449m9wt2

Dr. Tim Seelig with the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus at the historic Stonewall Inn in New York City

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DAVE EARL PHOTOGRAPHY

GARETH GOOCH PHOTOGRAPHY

The Frameline Film Festival premiere of the film Gay Chorus Deep South; (below) leading the Chorus in crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, during the Lavender Pen Tour in 2019;

PHOTO BY JP LOR

PHOTO COURTESY OF SUPERVISOR RAFAEL MANDELMAN

By Dr. Tim Seelig

PHOTO COURTESY OF DR. TIM SEELIG

Tim Seelig

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Goodbye. Not

TLC: Tears, Laughs and Conversation Dr. Tim Seelig Dear readers, here we are at another turning point together. You have shared the life and times of Tim so faithfully over these last 11+ years. My relationship with the San Francisco Bay Times began in 2012 with an invitation to write a single article. Unbeknownst to me, I think they were making sure I was able to at least express myself fairly intelligently through the written word. They already knew I had the gift of gab (understatement). They asked me to write a couple more articles. On March 10, 2016, I wrote the first installation of my new monthly column. I was ecstatic. I passed the test. Now, I had to learn how to spell! About that gift of gab? Well, they told me they were looking for 750–800 words for each article. I assumed they meant as the introduction. My articles range from, oh, 1600–2200 words. And, to their credit, they’ve never cut a word. They have allowed me to write anything I wanted, even wild and crazy things.

I’ve penned 76 articles to date. In a few weeks, I’m retiring from SFGMC, but not the San Francisco Bay Times. My articles will simply be taking different turns when my life is not synonymous with SFGMC. Tater Tot and my Grand Girls will still be active participants! My therapists have said for years that conducting LGBTQ+ choruses is not who I am but what I do. I’m still doubtful. Over the last six years, some of the topics have been: Music. Lots of it. (duh). AIDS. Lots of it. I’ve spent 35 years in the fight and as an HIV+ man. Christmas. Lots of it. It’s come around every year. Religion. Can’t help it. Abortion. Co-written by my daughter. Dogs. From Grace, Tater Tot, and Muttville. San Francisco. Because I am smitten with every aspect of it. And yes, I’ll leave my heart here. Loves, Loss, Death. Survival, Loneliness. Music. I am even more grateful for the opportunity/challenge to write an article every month because many of the articles found a home in my memoire, Tale of Two Tims: Big Ol’ Baptist, Big Ol’ Gay! https://tinyurl.com/yr8ryc57 This article is not goodbye. It’s just wrapping up themes that have been prevalent in my columns and replacing them with other wonders! My last concert with the chorus on July 13 is titled Final Words. That’s just the last time I get to hog the stage at Davies Symphony Hall and spill my guts verbally and “wave my arms at the gays.” This column is far from my final words in writing! Those who have been with me for these wonderful years know that at some point in almost every single article there has been some mention or use of music, and often, some reference to religion. It’s not my fault. I spent 35 years in the womb of the church (or belly of the beast, depending on your viewpoint). In fact, my relationships with music, religion, and San Francisco all date back to 1968! I was an eager 17-year-old. My Southern Baptist youth choir from Fort Worth, Texas, came here on a mission trip. We’d been told many things about this Sodom and Gomorrah by the Bay and we came to save the heathens. On our bus drive down Haight, I looked out of the bus windows at those very heathens. I saw happy people. They were festively attired in the most fabulous tiedye outfits and they were playing guitars and tambourines. I was so jealous of those people being themselves! I wanted that—to be one of them—to be me. It was two decades before I realized I was the one who needed saving! And 43 years before this now self-described heathen finally made it back to San Francisco as a permanent resident. 35 years ago, this month, as a newly out gay, I auditioned to conduct a group of people just like me. I waved my arms. They sang. I cried. They hired me anyway. I also saw the face of AIDS for the first time as one of the singers on the front row was covered in lesions. My life was changed forever. I had this brilliant idea to rewrite the lyrics to the beloved anthem from Rent, “Seasons of Love.” If there is a single person out there that can’t sing along, please give your gay card back and, if you’re not gay, move on to the Broadway section of your homosexualization education program. For everyone else, sing along:

“Five hundred, twenty-five thousand, six hundred minutes, how do you measure the year in a life?” So, I got out my calculator to adjust to 35 years. Now, sing along: “Eighteen million, three hundred ninety-six thousand minutes, how do you measure thirty-five years of a life?” OK, that part doesn’t work. But it keeps going. “It’s time now to sing out Though the story never ends. Let’s celebrate and remember 35 years in the life of a friend Measure in love.” My time here has absolutely been measured in love. You have allowed me to be me ... a proud HIV+ gay man. Very gay. You have supported the chorus, its music, and its mission for 44 glorious years. I felt that tsunami of support the moment I stepped in front of the chorus and when, together, we stepped on the stage at Davies. The ovations have been overwhelming at times and I will carry the memory of every single one of them. None were more palpable than this past December when the curtain opened after almost two years and the singers removed their masks. While the pandemic was not over at that point, we knew we had survived our 2nd pandemic.

Tim performing with his mother, Virginia Garrett Seelig

In just a few weeks, an amazing new conductor, Jake Stensberg, will begin what will no doubt be an amazing next chapter in the very long book titled SFGMC. He’ll turn the first page of the chapter titled “Jake.” I’ll write my last page of the “Tim” chapter. My first concert with SFGMC in April 2011 was titled Words. We are repeating some of the pieces from that night and many favorites performed since then. In a couple of weeks, 11 ½ years later, we present the bookend, Final Words. Every piece on the program holds deep meaning for me and the singers.

Tim Seelig with three of his granddaughters

When I step back and ponder these incredible 11 ½ years, I am filled with the deepest gratitude. We dreamed, reached, stretched, sang, danced, toured, built, laughed, cried, and loved. All the things that make for a family—and an extraordinary chapter. Am I afraid? You bet I am. Everything is going to change. I began work as a dishwasher at age 14 and have not stopped working since. All of a sudden, I won’t have work. I’ll be in a new city. I’ll be on that dreaded “fixed income” thing you hear about. But Tater Tot and I will have a lot of time to discover Portland and beyond. I remind myself of how many times I have quoted my favorite saying by a friend, Patrick Overton, and repeat it again. “When you come to the edge of all the light you know, faith is knowing one of two things will happen: you will step on solid ground or be taught to fly.” I’ve been at that stepping off place many times in my life. It’s time once again for me to listen and believe.

Tim with his father, John Earl Seelig

Tim with his daughter, Corianna Kai SeeligGustafson (1977–2018)

I would not have been able to pen these monthly articles without the guidance and generosity of Betty and Jen at the San Francisco Bay Times and my dear bestie Dan England, who knows me better than anyone and read each one to make sure I didn’t say something really dumb! To the staff and readers of the Bay Times, I will quote one more showtune. This one is by our friend Stephen Schwartz. “Because I knew you, I have been changed for good.” Thank you for allowing me to come into your reading presence all these years. Next installation will be from my rocking chair in Portland, OR. I’ll have plenty of stories! Dr. Tim Seelig is the Artistic Director of the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus.

Tim Seelig with his son Judson and granddaughter Eden Dr. Tim Seelig's close ties with family and friends date back to his early years and experience as a musician and minister of music. Photos courtesy of Dr. Tim Seelig

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High on Pride about her own life before I was born,” Roma said. “In my egocentric youth, I never asked her about what books she liked, whom she hung out with, how many guys she dated, what her favorite Christmas gift was, and if she ever got drunk. I would’ve liked to have gotten to know the woman who happened to be my mom.”

Off the Wahl Jan Wahl

My favorite lyricist Johnny Mercer may not have been gay, but he had a three-decade torrid love affair with Judy Garland. That counts since I’m for anyone who could make our troubled Judy happy. But it’s Mercer’s lyrics I woke up to this morning, having just dreamt of riding once again in the San Francisco Pride Parade. Mercer’s song begins: “You’ve got to accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative, latch on to the affirmative, don’t mess with Mr. In-Between.” I’m with him. It’s so easy to come up with negatives about life, love, and the complicated times we live in. But to breathe in the affirmative, that’s the ticket! One of the ways I find joy is to communicate with friends and colleagues about something I’m interested in and would like their responses. In this case, it’s: “What’s a movie you want everyone to see?” And the follow-up: “Is there someone you’d like to see a documentary about?” Here are a few of the fabulous and often surprising responses that I’ve received.

One of my best go-to friends and colleagues for Hollywood scandals is author Laurie Jacobson (Hollywood Haunted: A Ghostly Tour of Filmland, Dishing Hollywood: The Real Scoop on Tinseltown’s Most Notorious Scandals). Laurie is married to former child star Jon Provost. Together they wrote a wonderful memoir, Timmy’s in the Well: The Jon Provost Story. Jon was Lassie’s sidekick and best friend for years on television. Jon loved to recommend Forrest Gump. As for Laurie, she would like everyone to see the classic Sullivan’s Travels “to get back in touch with our shared humanity,” she told me. She would love a documentary about journalist and What’s My Line panelist Dorothy Kilgallen. She said, “Dorothy was murdered because of what she knew about the JFK assassination and nobody has really told the story.” Dr. Tim Seelig, one of my favorite humans on the planet, mentioned The Mission. This gorgeous movie is about an 18th century Jesuit missionary in South America, and stars Robert DeNiro and Jeremy Irons. Tim said, “I saw The Mission a cou-

Sister Roma absolutely adores the Pixar film Inside Out. “This movie explains how our emotions, especially joy and sadness, work together. It is genius. I laugh, I cry, and I think every parent should watch it with their children.” For a documentary, my darling Roma would like to see one done on her own mother. “She rarely talked

ple of months after I came out. The way it depicted the cruelty of the church touched a deep chord at that time in my life.” Another fellow San Francisco Bay Times columnist is David Landis, a terrific foodie. He and I should hang out since we both love Auntie Mame with Rosalind Russell. “This movie opens one’s mind to a world that is bigger and more delightful than anyone can (continued on page 60) S AN F R ANC IS C O BAY T IM ES

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of Luis Felipe because of their erotic quality. https://www.queerartsfeatured.com/

By Sister Dana Van Iquity Sister Dana sez, “Happy LGBTQ PRIDE WEEKEND to everyone! I look forward to once again sitting atop the SF Bay Times open-top vehicle wearing rainbow nun habit to wave fervently, flash peace signs, and blow kisses to the crowd along the Parade route! See you there!” GAY PRIDE 1985 was the day I became a member of THE SISTERS OF PERPETUAL INDULGENCE, and I will forever treasure that beautiful day! This will be my 37th year happily serving with The San Francisco Order of SPI. Devlin Shand, Fadi Salah, and Erika Pappas have created QUEER A.F. (Queer Arts Featured) on the historic site of Harvey Milk›s former camera shop, 575 Castro Street—to serve the queer arts community in the SF Bay Area. As a gallery, boutique, and gathering space, Queer A.F. will feature art across all mediums, with a focus on the work of underrepresented, disenfranchised, and emerging local Queer artists and makers while minimizing financial barriers. They strive to keep The Castro Queer A.F. They held their grand opening party on June 10. I was particularly drawn (no pun intended) to the graphite works

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Sister Dana sez, “The astonishing JANUARY 6th INSURRECTION HEARINGS were broadcast on every major news station but Fox-TV news. Great! So, the very viewers who really and truly should have seen that coverage were purposely deprived!” Vice Chair Liz Cheney brilliantly exhorted at the beginning of the Hearing: “I say this to my Republican colleagues who are defending the indefensible: There will come a day when Donald Trump is gone; but your dishonor will remain!” LUNA RIENNE GALLERY held a stunning opening reception on June 11 to display SOWING SEEDS, featuring originals and reproductions of selected works by urban contemporary artist Norm “Nomzee” Maxwell (1969–2016). Created between the years of 2002–2015, these works are among his most colorful and positive—reflecting his growing family, fond memories of his Philadelphia youth, and metaphysical aspirations. Despite his passing, his work remains not only relevant but also visionary. My fave is mos’ def’ “Pop On A Platter: Beyoncé Lisa (2010),” Maxwell’s Giclee print on canvas interpretation of the pop diva as the famous Mona Lisa. Maxell’s works, as well as many other artists’ pieces, are now on exhibition at 3318 22nd Street (@ Valencia). https://lunarienne.com/art/ President Joe Biden signed an EXECUTIVE ORDER on June 15 aimed at protecting LGBTQ people from a cascade of legislation in conservative states that increasingly

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targets the rights of gays, lesbians, transgender youth, and others. The order is designed to counter efforts by Republican politicians like Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, who has pushed through a measure—the “Don’t Say Gay” law—banning teachers from providing instruction regarding gender identity or sexual orientation. Other laws passed in conservative states include prohibitions on transgender girls competing in high school sports and efforts to ban the provision of gender-affirming care. White House officials have called the new laws “un-American” and said they are designed to discriminate against families and children based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. Sister Dana sez, “Uvalde. Buffalo. El Paso. Dayton. Gilroy. Pulse. Santa Fe. Parkland. Sutherland Springs. Las Vegas. Sandy Hook. Aurora. Virginia Tech. Columbine. Many others. How many more Americans must be massacred by assault rifles until Congress gets these weapons of war off our streets? Other countries have taken decisive action to ban assault rifles and have seen drastic reductions in gun violence. We MUST do the same!” On June 11, more than 450 rallies were staged nationwide in the MARCH FOR OUR LIVES gun reform demonstrations—including one in SF and another in Oakland. President Joe Biden has officially declared JUNETEENTH as a federal holiday, commemorating the emancipation of enslaved African Americans. It is also often observed for celebrating African-American culture. Originating in Galveston,

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Sister Dana Sez: Words of Wisdumb from a Fun Nun

Sister Dana presided over the San Francisco Bay Times SF Pride Parade contingent (2017) from his position in the front atop one of two buses carrying Parade participants. Watch for him again this year when the Parade returns as an in-person event on Sunday, June 26. Tune into ABC7 to view the Parade, starting at 10:30am, when SF Bay Times columnist Donna Sachet will return as co-anchor of the official Parade coverage.

Texas, it has been celebrated annually on June 19 in various parts of the United States since 1865. “Juneteenth” was definitely observed joyously all over the Bay Area this year. Mayor London N. Breed joined elected and city officials and community members on June 19 to kick off a series of community-led events to honor the Juneteenth holiday in San Francisco. Following President Joe Biden’s 2021 resolution declaring Juneteenth a federal holiday, Mayor Breed signed an order declaring June 19 an official holiday in San Francisco. “Juneteenth is a recognition of our culture and accomplishments, but it’s also a solemn reminder of the bonds of slavery and the struggle for equality that continues today,” said Mayor Breed. “For years, San Francisco’s Black community has commemorated this day through celebrations across our city, but this year is special as it is the first time we are coming together to celebrate Juneteenth as an official holi-

day. I want to thank the community and our city leaders who continue to put in the work to ensure that Black San Franciscans have an opportunity to thrive.” Gary Virginia and Donna Sachet’s PRIDE BRUNCH is back, in person! Marking its 24th year, this annual celebration of all things Pride during SF’s Pride Weekend returns to the beautiful Westin St. Francis Hotel, 355 Powell Street on Saturday, June 25, 11 am–2 pm— including a three-course meal, hosted bar, and a joyous commemoration of the PRIDE PARADE’s Grand Marshals and a coming together three years in the making. All proceeds from this LOVE IS IN THE AIR fundraiser support PRC’s lifesaving, integrated social, legal, and behavioral health services that help San Francisco’s most vulnerable populations struggling with HIV-AIDS, substance use, and mental health issues. Services help over (continued on page 60)

Bay Times Dines

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LGBTQ News & Calendar for the Bay Area CELEBRATING FOUR DECADES (1978–2022)

Celebrity Chef Todd English to Open New Bay Area Restaurant and Hotel between, along with his dynamic business partner, Keith Burkard. Here are some highlights: Gay Gourmet: Todd, how did you get your culinary start?

The Gay Gourmet David Landis It’s not what they call a British Invasion—it’s an English Invasion. And the Bay Area culinary scene will be all the better for it. I’m happy to report (in fact, even happier to scoop!) that celebrity chef Todd English (known for his famous Olive’s in Las Vegas and numerous restaurants throughout the country) will be opening a new Olive’s fine dining Italian restaurant in San Francisco, as well as a potential new The English Hotel in downtown Napa. I’ve been a fan of Chef English since dining years ago at Olive’s in Las Vegas, where I still have fond memories of his signature fig pizza (we also celebrity spotted James Caan, but that’s a different story!). I recently had the pleasure of interviewing the chef who has restaurants (as well as hotels) from Vegas to New York and all points in

Todd English: My first professional cooking job was when I was 15 years old. Yes, I started working in kitchens when I was 15, but I really was aspiring to be a baseball player. And I loved playing baseball and was recruited at a number of schools for baseball and also for soccer. So, I pursued that for a little while and ended up getting injured and stepped back a little bit. In those days, there was not the rehabilitation that happens today. I ended up cooking because I loved it and to make a living. I worked under some really cool chefs who taught me the ropes. I worked in European kitchens and around the world. In those days, (you’re talking 1970s and 1980s), there were not a lot of professional American chefs who were doing this, except for some of the French restaurants in New York. I ended up pursuing it, then applying to the Culinary Institute of America, and the rest is history. Once I went to school there, I was convinced that’s what I wanted to do. Gay Gourmet: Has the pandemic changed the way you think about restaurants?

The English Hotel

Todd English: Yeah, very much so. I think about why people go to restaurants. People are very gregarious and want to be with each other and be part of something that is either a dining experience or an entertainment experience. So, we’re really starting to incorporate all those into the restaurants, even at a bigger level. I believe that the restaurants will be not only about food, but also very much about a night out, like a Broadway show or a movie or a sporting event. Gay Gourmet: A lot of our readers head to Vegas to have fun. Tell me a little bit about your restaurants there and what makes them different. Keith Burkard: Olives is Todd’s marquis restaurant, great tableside dishes, amazing fig pizza (his signature dish), and Italian-Mediterranean cuisine. The Beast at Area15 is an arts/ Burning Man theme experience, with immersive activities throughout the facility. The Beast is a sit-down, table-service Americanthemed restaurant. It has a high concentration on BBQ and smokehouse, meat and non-meat offerings (vegan BBQ, BBQ carrot ribs, cauliflower steaks), Todd’s burgers, sandwiches, and pizzas as well. The Pepper Club is situated in the new English Hotel property. It’s an Asian-fusion restaurant with a full suite of sushi; different American-Italian dishes with Asian accents; and a fun, creative, and engaging cocktail menu as well. Todd and I did the basic design. Todd English: With The Pepper Club, we tried to combine two of my favorite cuisines to be zones and cuisines that I think are extremely popular. As chefs, we have very creative tools and can make combinations that are different, fun, and exciting—and allow us to have a new perspective on things. The Pepper Club features a combination of Japanese and Mediterranean, two of my favorites. Both have always had a long history of raw fish. Both have had a lot of history of vegetables, deep flavors, and salami flavors. It’s a fun place. It’s just fun. That’s what it is, because I think it needs to be fun and light. Olives is obviously my original brand from 1989. It was really meant to be an everyday restaurant, a place that you could go if you’re in Vegas, for example, one day for lunch and then a couple of days later for dinner. It’s a gathering place where you can meet at the bar and have a bite if you want to. It’s meant to be a lot of things for a lot of people. So, I think that’s kind of spe-

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Keith Burkard

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cial and it has a lot of fond memories for people. As far as The Beast goes, I think it’s kind of a little bit of everything. It’s got young kids during the day who love the interactive art on the walls and the digital programing there. Then you’ve got a sort of later night grab. The venue features psychedelic fun things that are certainly mind expanding, experimental, and fun. That’s another thing that you’re seeing there. We try to be playful with the food, very Instagrammable— it’s presented differently and it’s fun to look at. Most importantly, it tastes good. Gay Gourmet: Tell me about the The English Hospitality Group (EHG). You’ve gotten into the hotel business, in addition to restaurants. What is the model? Keith Burkard: During COVID, the craziness that happened, Todd and I teamed up with different backgrounds (his as a culinary innovator and mine in finance, entrepreneurship, design). We thought, let’s work together and create the next wave of hybrid hospitality. We’re already on track as a leading global operator and developer. The English Hotel just launched in Vegas in February. We were able to build it during COVID, it’s been a raging success. We’re positioning a top tier team to execute on identifying real estate possibilities.

cially since Californians are the leaders of culinary innovation. Gay Gourmet: Would you be opening a hotel in San Francisco? Keith Burkard: Not the city, but we’re in discussions with potential options in downtown Napa. I’d like to do something not too big. Gay Gourmet: How have you structured/built the company? What are the hallmarks of an EHG experience? Keith Burkard: The key hallmarks are an elevated dining experience like no other. We take pride in our dishes, the process, the service, and the offerings we have in all of our restaurants. They are very unique and it creates a memorable experience.

Gay Gourmet: Are there any plans for the Bay Area?

Gay Gourmet: What are your favorite dishes?

Keith Burkard: Todd English’s daughter Belle is a chef for Williams Sonoma and we’re trying to identify a location—an Olives restaurant that creates an Italian cuisine in San Francisco that touches on meats and meatless offerings, espe-

Todd English: Well, it’s really difficult to say. It’s like saying, what is my favorite child? I think more about what are my favorite inspirations or my favorite trends or (continued on page 55)

Bay Times Dines

The Pepper Club

things that I’m pursuing. One of them is that I’m infatuated with vegan barbecue, very excited about smoking and taking vegetables and making them the star of the plate and not necessarily using the Beyond Meats, etc. to do that. I think that making vegetables the main star is the way I like to The Beast

approach it. So, we do a baby back ribs of carrots where we line up carrots and smoke them for 6 hours with that barbecue glaze. You break them apart and you think, well, maybe I am eating barbecue pork, but it’s real true carrots, sweet, delicious, savory and light, and you feel good eating it. I love combining flavors and spices and ideas around food that really make it impactful. There are only so many ways you can cook curriculum, but when you cook vegetables, there are thousands of ways to do it. Keith Burkard: I have two favorite dishes—cauliflower parmesan; and a broccoli and cauliflower soup that is amazing. Gay Gourmet: Keith, I’m going to put you on the spot. Do you have a favorite Todd English restaurant? Keith Burkard: Olives in the Bahamas—it’s a beautiful restaurant on the bay canal; the weather is perfect; the fish is fresh caught; it’s the ultimate dining experience. Gay Gourmet: What are your favorite San Francisco restaurants? Keith Burkard: Altovino in North Beach. Todd English: Lazy Bear. Gay Gourmet: What’s happening in

New York with your restaurants? Todd English: Regarding New York: The food hall, New York City Plaza hasn’t reopened and that’s just for a lot of reasons, but certainly we’re trying to get that back open soon. You know, I love that space, and I love the whole idea of it. It was kind of one of the first of its kind here in the States. The definition of a food hall is changing and we’re sort of redeveloping that as we speak. The Park Rose venue in New York is a developing concept as well. We’re hoping that’ll be open in the next year to 18 months. It’s a very exciting space, with a lot of history. It’s in a building that at one point was the tallest building in New York at the turn of the century and does overlook the old City Hall. It’s a very dynamic neighborhood. Gay Gourmet: What’s next? Keith Burkard: Going forward, we’re making sure to identify all the key variables in all hospitality. We want to focus on community, art, cuisine, and ultimately employee development. We want to build an ecosystem that empowers and incentivizes employees to grow with the organization over time and own a piece of the action. We want to be that leader in the hospitality industry. Todd English restaurants: https://tinyurl.com/yc2vnm4r The English Hotel, Las Vegas: https://theenglishhotel.com/ Readers, please note: The Gay Gourmet is skipping a month of “Bits and Bites,” but look for an expanded “Bits and Bites” feature in my next column. David Landis, aka “The Gay Gourmet,” is a foodie, a freelance writer and a retired PR maven. Follow him on Instagram @GayGourmetSF or email him at: davidlandissf@gmail.com Or visit him online at: www.gaygourmetsf.com S AN F R ANC IS C O BAY T IM ES

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LGBTQ News & Calendar for the Bay Area CELEBRATING FOUR DECADES (1978–2022)

Cocktails With Heather Heather Freyer

Celebrate Pride and Summer 2022 with this ultimate cocktail for the season. A twist on a cooler, it is the perfect balance on fruity and refreshing. It is ideal for a Pride party, barbecue, shared with friends underneath Independence Day fireworks, and more.

SUMMER WATERMELON COOLER 1 1/2 ounces Bacardí Superior 3/4 ounce watermelon juice 2 ounces grapefruit soda lime wedge and blueberries for garnish

Fill a tall glass with lots of ice. Measure and pour all ingredients, except for garnishes, into your iced glass. Quickly stir to combine. Top with blueberries and garnish with a lime wedge. https://www.bacardi.com/us/en/where-to-buy/

Heather Freyer is a beverage expert who is the Vice President and General Manager for Open West States at Bacardí USA. Previously she was with Trinchero Wine Estates, Castle Rock Winery, Cost Plus World Market, and more.

PHOTO BY RINK

Enjoy the Castro Farmers’ Market

Artichokes from Jacob’s Market booth at the Castro Farmers’ Market

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Take Me Home with You! Fitness SF Trainer Tip of the Month

“My name is Armstrong! I’m a big boy, clocking in at 75 pounds. I’m a sweet and sometimes sensitive soul, and I’m looking for the right person who will help me to blossom. If you’re OK going slow, I promise it will be worth the effort. I have so much love to give to the right person, and I’m ready for my second chance!”

Steven Luibrand at Fitness SF Mid-Market “Exercise is the canary in the coal mine. Failing to exercise consistently is a sign that your life is becoming unmanageable.”

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

Dr. Jennifer Scarlett and Pup

To meet Armstrong, visit the SF SPCA Mission Campus @ 201 Alabama Street. It is open for appointments from 8 am–6 pm daily. For more information: https://www.sfspca.org/adoptions/

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

Note: There is a special Summer of Lovin’ adoption promotion going on now. SF SPCA is waiving adoption fees for all adult dogs (5+ months). It is a great time to adopt, because the shelter is full and there are a variety of pups currently available. Cats too!

As Heard on the Street . . . How do you deal with stress?

compiled by Rink

Carly Ozard

Per Sia

Samuel Favela

Jay Greene

“Singing. And I play with my dog, Daisy”

“Chamomile tea and finding safe places for me, a transgender womaan of color.”

“Sleep.”

“I use the Calm App for 10 minutes, and I try to exercise at least 3 times a week”

Artshot Abby Zimberg

Church Street garage

Sanchez Street garage Abby Zimberg is a licensed California Marriage Family Therapist with training in art therapy. She formerly worked as a graphic designer and has always been a photographer. https://theartoftherapysf.com/ Sanchez Street house 58

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SISTER DANA (continued from page 52)

BOOK PASSAGE (continued from page 43)

5,000 clients annually on their path toward stability and better health and financial outcomes. https://tinyurl.com/2bmndf95 THE SAN FRANCISCO TRANS MARCH —San Francisco’s largest transgender Pride event and one of the largest trans events in the entire world is always the Friday of Pride weekend, and thousands of people attend. It’s June 24, 6 pm in Dolores Park (Dolores and 18th Streets) for the street march, which is approximately a 45-minute walk. Bring signs, banners, posters, megaphones—you know the drill. Earlier activities begin at 10:30 am throughout the day. https://www.transmarch.org/ THE SAN FRANCISCO DYKE MARCH is marching at 5 pm on June 25 at the intersection of Dolores Street and 18th Street in San Francisco. No rally in Dolores Park is planned beforehand. https://www.thedykemarch.org/ Congratulations go to “A STRANGE LOOP,” an irreverent, sexually frank work about Blackness and queerness winning Best New Musical at the TONY AWARDS on June 12. Michael R. Jackson’s 2020 Pulitzer Prize drama winner is all about a Black gay man writing a show about a Black gay man. Jackson also won for best book. Sister Dana sez, “Oh, we GOTTA go catch this winner when it comes to the Bay Area— which it hopefully will do!” THE VINE SING-ALONG PRIDE MASS at Grace Cathedral was back! We belted out our favorite queer anthems in an utterly rainbow-bedecked cathedral. I was, of course, Sister Dana the rainbow nun, along with many other fellow SPI nuns. This year’s theme was “Family Values.” We decided the Religious Right shouldn’t have all the fun, so we leaned-in hard to celebrate the joy, resilience, and struggle of what it means for our LGBTQ community to be family. We heard an inspiring message from the Rev. Dr. Cameron Partridge—a justice warrior, theologian, and openly transgender man. He has taught at Harvard University, spoken at Why Christian, and currently serves as Rector to St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church in SF. After the service, we all enjoyed rainbow cake!

Juanita MORE!’s 18th annual PRIDE PARTY is June 26, noon to 7 pm, 620 Jones Street. Miss MORE! continues to raise the bar with this annual nonprofit Pride extravaganza. It focuses on supporting some of SF’s most impactful organizations. Over the years, Juanita’s efforts have raised over $1 million dollars for the LGBTQ community. With the donations raised through this year’s party, Q FOUNDATION will use those contributions to continue their important work throughout San Francisco and spearhead new initiatives which include acquiring residential real estate. Q Foundation is the home for homelessness prevention and rapid re-housing services for the LGBTQIA, and members of the HIV+ communities. They provide advocacy leadership at the national, state, and local levels and direct services to thousands of San Francisco residents. https://juanitamore.com/pride SAN FRANCISCO PLAYHOUSE (Artistic Director Bill English; Producing Director Susi Damilano) announces FOLLIES by James Goldman and Stephen Sondheim. The musical will run on the San Francisco Playhouse main stage, 450 Post Street, from June 30 through September 10. Originally slated for the Playhouse’s 2019/20 Season and canceled due to COVID-19, the show marks the first fully staged professional production of Follies in San Francisco. The musical, which won seven Tony Awards in 1972 and has been heralded by The New York Times as “one of the greatest musicals ever written,” closed on Broadway after 522 performances and never went on a national tour. So, now’s our chance! https://tinyurl.com/yzdfkxpc On Saturday, July 9, join the summer fun around the Eagle Plaza, on 12th Street, between Folsom and Harrison for the next SOMA SECOND SATURDAYS. The first weekly Eagle Plaza Farmers Market will be open from 9 am–12:30 pm. SOMA Second Saturday brings out our local, community Artists and Craftspeople. https://tinyurl.com/2zaj7y57 Sister Dana sez, “As you march in the Parade or are in the crowd cheering, be sure to look up and notice the gorgeous PINK TRIANGLE way up in Twin Peaks! And when the sun goes down, the Pink Triangle lights up in all its glory!”

on the edge. In this brief life, acclaimed biographer Lucasta Miller takes nine of Keats’s best-known poems and excavates how they came to be and what in Keats’s life led to their creation. She writes of aspects of Keats’s life that have been overlooked, and explores his imagination in the context of his world and experience, paying tribute to the unique quality of his mind. Thursday, June 30 @ 1 pm (Free - Online) Andy Dunn, Author of Burn Rate At twenty-eight, fresh from Stanford’s MBA program and steeped in the move-fast-and-break-things ethos of Silicon Valley, Andy Dunn was on top of the world. He was building a new kind of startup—a digitally native, direct-to-consumer brand—out of his Manhattan apartment. Bonobos was a new-school approach to selling an old-school product: men’s pants. Against all odds, business was booming. Hustling to scale the fledgling venture, Dunn raised tens of millions of dollars while boundaries between work and life evaporated. Burn Rate is an unconventional entrepreneurial memoir, a parable for the twenty-first-century economy, and a revelatory look at the prevalence of mental illness in the startup community. With intimate prose, Dunn fearlessly shines a light on the dark side of success and challenges us all to take part in the deepening conversation around creativity, performance, and disorder. https://www.bookpassage.com/

KARLSBERG (continued from page 42) friends in my twenties, what’s happened to the lives I could’ve lived, with or without them. It’s something I couldn’t find from looking them up on the internet. It’s something I had to write. Joshua Kent Bookman was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and reformed by life and work in Sweden, France, and Italy. Previous published works include “Fruits of Mer” (Paulette Éditrice), “close to elsewhere,” “Hitom,” and “Some Reverse American Dreams” (LYS Förlag). “To: All The Friends I Killed” is Bookman’s second novel. https://www.joshbookman.com Sarah Hollister is an American novelist and playwright living in the Swedish archipelago. Her plays “Sisters’ Dance” and “Relative Truth” have been produced in New York, and she co-authored the Nordic noir thriller, “This Land Is No Stranger” (LYS Förlag). Hollister is a member of the Dramatikerförbund (Sweden’s drama guild) and has been the recipient of several residencies at the Henning Mankell House in northern Sweden. https://sarahhollister.com Michele Karlsberg Marketing and Management specializes in publicity for the LGBTQ+ community. This year, Karlsberg celebrates 33 years of successful marketing campaigns. For more information: https://www.michelekarlsberg.com

WAHL (continued from page 51) imagine.” His cites two great quotes: “Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death,” and Auntie Mame’s instructions for the perfect martini: “Never use olives. They take up too much room in the glass.” (If I wake up not feeling great, I always quote this from the film: “Dahling, your Auntie Mame is hung.”) Back to the divine Mr. Landis, he’d like to see a documentary on the incomparable composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim. “There have been several shows about him, but he is my Broadway hero. His musicals broke new ground, his lyrics are unexpected and catchy. His themes strike at the heart of the human experience. I love his ‘Take Me to the World’ from Evening Primrose. It’s particularly apt after our forced and long secluded life during the pandemic.” Another of the best humans is publicist extraordinaire Lawrence Helman. He is a fan of Grey Gardens from 1975 by the brilliant Maysles Brothers. “In my opinion, it is one of the most prescient and powerful documentaries ever made. It explores aspects of the human condition, this time between a mother and a daughter. It kept me in a trance of disbelief for the entire 100 minutes.” Lawrence’s documentary choice is personal, the story of his childhood doctor who was involved in a sordid and tragic abortion. Lawrence has such passion for this that I’d love to see him write and produce it. Jo Schuman Silver (Beach Blanket Babylon) adores The Offer, a miniseries streaming on Paramount Plus. It is the backstory of how The Godfather was made. Of course, Jo is an innovative producer herself, so it seems right that her favorite documentary is The Kid Stays in the Picture, about studio mogul and producer Robert Evans.

QUEER

POP QUIZ

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ANSWER (Question on pg 33) B) Christopher Street West The name honored New York City’s Christopher Street, where Stonewall Inn—of the Stonewall Riots of 1969— is located. In the 1970s, Christopher Street became the “Main Street” of gay New York, attracting large numbers of LGBTQ individuals and particularly gay men. The Age of Aquarius Parade took place on Folsom Street in San Francisco in August 1971. It included some LGBTQ participants, but was not specifically gay-focused.

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Donna Sachet and I love Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Harry Litt and I cry at The Wizard of Oz. Everyone sits high in the saddle for Brokeback Mountain and the sweetness of Big Eden, and thrills to an out of the closet Victorian lesbian in HBO’s Gentleman Jack, just to name a few others for this season. With documentaries I always salute The Celluloid Closet, Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt, The Times of Harvey Milk, and Paragraph 175. Thank you, Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman. And thank you to all my friends reading and enjoying our paper. Happy Pride, everyone! Jan Wahl is a Hollywood historian, film critic on various broadcast outlets, and has her own YouTube channel series, “Jan Wahl Showbiz.” She has two Emmys and many awards for her longtime work on behalf of film buffs and the LGBTQ community. Contact her at www.janwahl.com

Round About - All Over Town

Donna Sachet with author David Perry at Fabulosa Books on Castro Street for a signing of Perry’s book Upon this Rock.

Photos by Rink

Volunteer Andrew Galvin and his boyfriend Howard May distributed Frameline Festival guides on Castro Street on June 14.

Jeffery Jiang and Justin Mei offered Frameline46 t-shirts and tickets to films showing during the Festival that continues through June 26.

Artist Jun Yang at the Pride Show exhibit opening at the office of Supervisor Rafael Mandelman.

Bri Santo displayed her work for sale at her Sumi Ware Ceramics booth during the Castro Art Walk.

Artist Simon Malvaez with his work on display at the Pride Show exhibit, curated by artist Jun Yang and Joseph Abbati, at the office of Supervisor Rafael Mandelman at City Hall.

Artist and performer Siobhan Aluvalot offered her artwork and clothing designs at the Art Capsule near the Market and Castro intersection during the Castro Art Walk on June 4.

Frameline’s James Woolley displayed his slice of rainbow cake at the Pride Show exhibit opening at the office of Supervisor Rafael Mandelman. 62

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Photographer JB Higgins offered his work for sale at the Sausage Factory parklet during the Castro Art Walk on June 4.

Round About - All Over Town

Photos by Rink

CASTRO STREETCAM presented by

Supervisor Rafael Mandelman (second from right) with co-owners of the Queer AF art space recently opened at 575 Castro Street (left to right: Fadi Salah, Devlin Shand, Supervisor Mandelman and Erika Pappas)

http://sfbaytimes.com/

Coordinator Gary McCoy welcomed visitors to the newly opened campaign office on Castro Street of Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi

Co-emcees Sister Roma and Helena Levin at Maitri’s Heels for Hope benefit

Co-owner Devlin Shand welcomed customers to the Queer AF art space on Castro Street

Co-emcees Sister Roma and Helena Levin with entertainers at the Maitri Project Heels for Hope benefit held at the Marines’ Memorial Theatre on June 4

Volunteers Joanie Juster and Joe Mac at Maitri’s Heels for Hope benefit

Maitri board members attending the Heels for Hope benefit on June 4

Donna Sachet and PRC’s Brett Andrews at the Maitri Project’s Heels for Hope benefit

Emulating the style of Playbill, the Heels for Hope program was received by guests attending the Maitri benefit. S AN F R ANC IS C O BAY T IM ES

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