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Serving the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer communities since 1971
Vol. 53 • No. 31 • August 3-9, 2023
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Courtesy Henry Walker
Christian Aguirre
New owners of the building at 3991 18th Street informed tenants that this Pride flag would have to go.
East Bay’s Rainbow center has new ED
Fate of Castro Pride flag in limbo after new landlord’s demand
by John Ferrannini
Making a point at Up Your Alley
A
dancer makes their point at the Up Your Alley street fair held July 30 in San Francisco’s South of Market neighborhood. The fair returned to just about normal after more than three years of the COVID pandemic with sunny skies and large
by John Ferrannini
Gooch
T
he new landlords of a Castro apartment building demanded last week that a rainbow Pride flag that’s been flying there for decades come down “or we will remove it and dispose of it,” according to an email to tenants. Now, gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman’s office has told the Bay Area Reporter that a resolution to the controversy has been reached – but this hasn’t been confirmed by either the landlords or tenants. See page 10 >>
crowds. People were struttin’ in their leather and kink – or nothing at all – during the event, which included games and entertainment. Next up, of course, is the Folsom Street Fair on September 24. Both kink fests produced by Folsom Street Events.
California Humanities leader aims to amplify LGBTQ voices by Matthew S. Bajko
W
ith LGBTQ issues again a flashpoint in the country’s cultural and political arenas, the new leader of a statewide humanities organization in California is aiming to amplify the voices of LGBTQ individuals and organizations. The goal is to not just benefit those based in the Golden State, but those living and headquartered in states less affirming of LGBTQ rights. For years California Humanities, the statewide nonprofit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities, has been funding LGBTQ initiatives and programs. It continues to do so, recently announcing grants to several LGBTQ agencies in the state. But the current backlash against LGBTQ rights sweeping across the country, from Republicancontrolled statehouses in the South and Midwest to conservative-led school boards and city councils in California, has Rick Noguchi pledging to redouble Cal Humanities’ efforts in support of the LGBTQ community. A straight ally, Noguchi took over as Cal Humanities’ president and CEO in May. In a recent interview with the Bay Area Reporter, the Los Angeles resident said he sees the agency as playing an important role in counterbalancing the anti-LGBTQ voices and rhetoric growing louder throughout the U.S. “I believe that equity should be at the heart of the
Courtesy Cal Humanities
Rick Noguchi took over as president and CEO of California Humanities in May.
the Hi-Desert Queer & Trans Oral History Project, a recipient of one of its quick grants this year for smaller organizations. The project is working to preserve the history of the LGBTQIA+ community in Southern California’s western Mojave Desert region. “It was important for us to put that as the first story and to make that statement this is normality, or should be, in California. There are all these different stories, and we should celebrate the LGBTQ+ community,” said Noguchi. “I am very aware of my See page 10 >>
humanities. I am committed to continuing California Humanities’ efforts for supporting, sharing and respecting stories from across the state and including those from the LGBTQ-plus community,” said Noguchi, 55, formerly the chief operating officer at the Japanese American National Museum in his hometown. “We have a long tradition at California Humanities of amplifying those voices of the LGBTQplus community in California.” As an example, for its emailed newsletter at the start of Pride Month in June, the agency highlighted
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hristian Aguirre, an eight-year veteran of the Rainbow Community Center, is the new executive director of the only LGBTQ community center in Contra Costa County. Aguirre, a 31-year-old gay man, had been the agency’s adult and family program director, overseeing programs relating to older adults, HIV and sexually transmitted infection prevention, the food pantry, and volunteers. He also performs as drag queen Bella Aldama at Club 1220, an LGBTQ bar in Walnut Creek, as well as at venues in Oakland and in San Francisco’s LGBTQ Castro neighborhood. The day before speaking to the Bay Area Reporter, Aguirre attended the annual San Francisco AIDS Walk in Golden Gate Park in drag. “I was the one who actually did the first drag queen story hour in Brentwood, and it was all over the news,” Aguirre said. KTVU-TV reported at the time that the 2019 drag story hour was a success in spite of pushback from people on Facebook who thought it was inappropriate, an experience that foreshadowed for Aguirre some of the more heated vitriol against such drag events that has come in the past couple years. “It really helped me learn about how different communities are impacted, whether it’s young children, parents, family,” he said. “I went to the event thinking there’d be 30 people but actually 700 people showed up, which is amazing, especially for a city like Brentwood where there’s not so much LGBTQ+ visibility.” Aguirre’s journey to heading the East Bay center begins in his home of Guadalajara, Mexico. He immigrated to the United States in his youth, first settling in Martinez. “Rainbow was the only LGBTQ nonprofit nearby in Contra Costa which made me realize how important these spaces are for the community,” he said. At 14, Aguirre joined the center’s youth program. At 18, he became a volunteer. “From there, you know, for me it was very important to connect with the community that gave so much to me – I had a hard time when I was freshly arrived to the United States and I was figuring out more about myself, my identity, before coming out as gay, and I saw that I did not have enough support at the time, because I didn’t See page 5 >>
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“I’ve lost so much sleep ter thinking wher worr ying abou leave. I love e I might go. I don’t t it and this want to Yet Mooney city.” might have to leave if the efforts See page 12 >>
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Rick Gerhar