SGN Mar 26, 2021

Seattle Gay News

DR. RACHEL LEVINE

by A.V. Eichenbaum

SGN Associate Editor

In a historic vote Wednesday, March 25th, the US Senate confirmed Dr. Rachel Levine to be the Assistant Health Secretary of the US Dept of Health and Human Services. Levine is the first openly Transgender federal official in the history of the United States, and many see her confirmation as a glimpse at brighter days ahead. Unsung

see LEVINE page 9

An interview with Aaron Bear, director of Yes I Am: The Ric Weiland Stor y

by Gregg Shapiro

Special to the SGN

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the term “unsung hero” was tossed around a lot, as average yet extraordinary people struggled to find alternative means of survival because the government failed to protect them.

To a whole generation of gay men, this experience had an eerily familiar feeling.

If the late Ric Weiland (1953–2006), a true unsung hero if ever there was one, were still alive, he would most likely agree.

Weiland, an openly gay man who cofounded Microsoft along with Bill Gates and Paul Allen, still found a way to make a lasting impact on causes near and dear to him, including HIV/AIDS research and marriage equality, by leaving significant financial endowments to various LGBTQ organizations.

With his informative documentary Yes

I Am: The Ric Weiland Story (World of Wonder), gay filmmaker Aaron Bear illu-

see BEAR page 14

by Michael K. Lavers Washington Blade

ATLANTA (March 20, 2021) — The shootings at three Atlanta-area spas and massage parlors on March 16 have left members of the LGBTQ Asian American and Pacific Islander community deeply shaken and angry.

A gunman killed eight people when he opened fire at Young’s Asian Massage in Acworth in suburban Cherokee County and at the Gold Massage and Aromatherapy

Spas in Atlanta. Six of the victims were women of Asian descent.

Georgia state Rep. Sam Park, an openly gay man of Korean descent who represents suburban Gwinnett County in the Georgia House of Representatives, is among the local AAPI community leaders who met with President Biden and Vice President Harris on Friday in Atlanta. Park spoke with the Washington Blade a couple of hours before the meeting.

see ATLANTA page 9

Op-Ed

Take action against anti-Asian hate

To the editor:

The tragic incidents that took place last week in Atlanta are another example of the terrible increase in hate crimes perpetrated against Asian American communities.

The GSBA stands in solidarity against the racism, hatred, and violence that resulted in the March 16 murder of eight people, including six Asian women.

Too often, words ring hollow in response to another mass murder. As a predominantly white-led organization, we believe that it is incumbent on us to center and amplify the voices of our partner organizations, and to work to be better allies. White supremacy, which is so deeply imbedded in our institutions, lies at the core of what we must all work to dismantle, and we pledge to continue this work.

We urge our members to speak out against this deadly rise of anti-Asian hate and to support local, regional, and national organizations that actively are working to advance justice for Asian Americans.

Small businesses in Washington should be particularly attuned to this issue. The majority of the attacks this past year are reported to have happened in businesses, and Washington has had the third-highest reporting of attacks in the country (after California and New York).

Connect with your neighbors and partners who are part of the Asian community. As we have asked in response to attacks on LGBTQ and Black people, learn how you can intervene in incidents happening in

JESSE’S JOURNAL

your business to support your coworkers, your clients, and everyone in your community.

Here are some resources to get involved and show your support:

Community resources

• Asian Counseling & Referral Service

• API Chaya

• WA Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs

• Hollaback! Bystander Intervention & De-escalation Trainings

• Stop AAPI Hate

Business resources

• Ethnic Chambers of Commerce Coalition

• SCIDPDA

• Friends of Little Saigon

• Greater Seattle Chinese Chamber of Commerce

• Intentionalist

We have had to send messages like this one far too often. Once again, we strongly urge the GSBA community to actively support the communities facing discrimination and violence. All of our struggles are connected, and we need to go beyond platitudes to achieve justice and progress in our society.

Mark Rosén, acting president and CEO, GSBA Jay Petterson, board chair, GSBA

Davide Durrell McGonigle: Song Stylist and Demisexual

by Jesse Monteagudo

SGN Contributing Writer

A song stylist is a singer with a distinctive or original style. Fort Lauderdale’s own Davide [pronounced Dah-ví-day] Durrell McGonigle has expressed his love for the art for decades, having done commercials, theater, television, film, and even some nude modeling. “I am an entertainer,” Davide told me, “a singer, dancer, actor, and comedian.”

He also established himself as a hair stylist to the stars and was a co-owner of Another Look Salon in Coral Springs. In the words of JackLynn magazine, “his work with hair has always been a way to connect with people and make them feel better about themselves.”

After humble beginnings in community theater, he landed the leading role in a 1985 Baltimore production of Pippin, where he caught the attention of then-President Ronald Reagan. He was a member of the National Association of Unknown Players (1986); as Davide Durrell, he was a contestant on Star Search and a bit player in Homicide: Life on the Street with Andre Brougher and The Replacements with Keanu Reeves.

“I had my own show [in 1998 and 1999] at Holt Park that brought in their largest audience in the history of shows performed at the amphitheater at that time,” said Davide. He recorded three albums and was featured in JackLynn, where he became (at 60) the oldest male nude centerfold model in the history of that online magazine.

In his new DVD album collection, My DemiSexuality, available free on YouTube, Davide sings about the sexual orientation where people only experience sexual

attraction to folks that they have close emotional connections with. In other words, demisexual people only experience sexual attraction after an emotional bond has

formed. They can be gay, straight, bisexual, or pansexual, and may have any gender identity.

In the album, Davide tells “the story of my life, my existence. All that makes me tick: love, compassion, desire, decency, demisexuality, and a passion to express myself through my own music.”

Sadly, amidst his triumphs, Davide has had to deal with “multiple disabling, lifechanging illnesses.” Now a breast cancer survivor, he had two radical bilateral mastectomies, which, he says, “affects your life in ways few can understand. How you deal with the illness on a physical way and in an emotional way. It affected me enormously [regarding] how to proceed with my sexual desires and reactions to be touched and treated.”

In “My Life in Pain,” a Facebook post, Davide lists his lifelong struggle with various illnesses. “After two failed heart surgeries, the surgeon informed me he can no longer help me. I have broken my leg 3 times in a year. I am beyond insanely weak now. I ask for prayers.” We sincerely wish him well.

Meanwhile, Davide Durrell McGonigle continues to delight us with his personality and with his talent. May he be with us for a long time.

For samples of Davide’s songs and nude modeling, visit http://davidemcgonigle.wixsite.com/davide-durrell. A Fort Lauderdale resident since 2003, Davide performs at Hunter’s nightclub and other local venues.

Making monsters of the innocent

by Janice Athill SGN Contributing Writer

If you consider that one person on death row has been proven innocent for every nine people executed in the US, it becomes easy to see the alarming rate at which innocent people have been sentenced to death. People have a habit of viewing all death row inmates as less than human — and many of them are indeed monsters. However, a large number of them have also been proven innocent after just a little digging into their cases.

In November 1988, Bryan Stevenson, the director of the newly formed Alabama Capital Representation Resource Center in Montgomery, began working on the case of Walter McMillian. The unorthodox specialist in post-conviction law quickly uncovered the race-based corruption of the Alabama legal system, seeing not only that Walter’s whole case centered around the word of a convicted white felon but that the treatment he received was grossly unjust.

Much to his dismay, Stevenson discovered that McMillian had been placed on death row a year before his trial in an attempt to force a confession and that facts proving his innocence had been withheld to ensure his conviction. After visiting McMillian’s family, Stevenson learned not only that he had a solid alibi that placed him 11 miles away from the murder but that he was preparing

for a public event hosted by his family, with more than 12 witnesses to his whereabouts at the exact time of the murder.

Several Alabama judges, presented with these facts, still refused to reopen McMillian’s case, content to allow an innocent Black man to die rather than admit he was falsely convicted. Ultimately, McMillian’s conviction was overturned by the Alabama

Court of Criminal Appeals in 1993 and McMillian was released after spending six years on death row. Without Stevenson taking the facts of this case national, an innocent man would have lost his life for a heinous crime he didn’t commit — and he would not have been the first or the last.

It is also rather alarming how secure we are in the fact that children are different from adults when it comes to alcohol, smoking, voting, and enlisting in the military. Yet for some reason we also think it’s fair and just to try a 13-year-old as an adult for capital murder, even when the circumstances involve defending the life of another.

In his years as a post-conviction lawyer, Stevenson has met wrongly accused adults and children being prosecuted to the full extent of the law for crimes committed in self-defense or to protect others, the majority being members of the Black community. He himself has battled racism in the courtroom, forcing himself to laugh alongside a judge who had assumed he was the case’s defendant and found it laughable that this Black man in a suit was actually the defendant’s attorney.

For this reason, Stevenson started the Equal Justice Initiative, his attempt to change the conversation about race in this country. He wants to change the way we view civil rights victories, feeling that we focus too much on celebration and not the hardships that were endured. The ways

our fight for civil rights is discussed gives the false image of immediate change. This undermines the efforts of those who fought and attempts to hide the decades of trauma and injustice that the Black community is still attempting to heal from, while still being held down by the government that is supposed to protect them.

“We’ve done a very poor job of really reflecting on our legacy of racial inequality,” Stevenson said in a 2014 interview on “Fresh Air.” “You see it in the South, but it’s everywhere. And we want to talk more about slavery, and we want to talk more about this era between Reconstruction and World War II, which I call an era of terrorism, of racial terror and violence that shaped attitudes.”

Stevenson has committed himself to justice. He sees the humanity in people both wrongfully and rightly accused of horrible crimes and puts his efforts into getting these people the help they deserve. He has freed innocent men and gotten children convicted for the murder of their mother’s abuser transferred from adult prisons to juvenile facilities, where they would more likely receive the treatment and counseling they desperately need.

Bryan Stevenson is more than a lawyer; he’s a hero and a name everyone should know.

Is a Gay Captain America supposed to inspire me?

by A.V. Eichenbaum SGN Associate Editor

America’s a melting pot.

If you work hard and believe in the American Dream, you’ll make it places.

That’s what the after-school specials told us. That’s what we’ve heard echo in classrooms for generations. So how could it be wrong?

Maybe it’s not, but defining the American Dream on its own is a near-impossible task. In the past few years, we’ve experienced open hate and division on an enormous scale. In the last year alone, we’ve been shown time after time that the government doesn’t care about the working class, minorities, or even what’s left of the middle class. From what I saw through the tear gas, the BLM marches may have been about race and oppression, but the ensuing riots were just as much about classism in a society that doesn’t care about its hungry masses as they were about police brutality.

Who do you turn to when you feel alienated by your country? Where do you look for hope when you’ve got no heroes in government?

Well, a lot of us turn to superheroes, the modern-day myths sold to us by a very savvy marketing team.

Enter Aaron Fischer, the Captain America of the Railways. This folk punk teen is an openly Gay, everyday admirer of Captain America who will be introduced to Marvel Comics in June’s The United States of Captain America limited series.

Now, I have a confession to make. I’m a huge geek.

While I don’t wear it like a badge of honor like some of my millennial counterparts, there’s no denying that growing up a queer Jew divorced from my own heritage and weaned on superhero comics instead influenced the way I think. In fact, Peter Parker and Clark Kent are early heroes of mine — before Anthony Bourdain or Hunter S. Thompson even entered the picture. The X-Men were there for me when I couldn’t quite figure out why I was different (besides having webbed toes).

The superheroes of my youth stood up for the little guy. They helped the helpless, and sometimes fought cosmic, psychedelic aliens. In the case of the X-Men, they gave homes to those who couldn’t find a place

elsewhere. In theory, Aaron Fischer is a dream come true for a fan like me.

The character, created by writer Aaron Trujillo and Trans artist Joshua Trujillo, is modeled after “activists, leaders, and every-

day folks pushing for a better life,” according to a statement released by Marvel. He helps fight for the houseless and forgotten. Fisher even looks like some friends of mine: tattooed and angry, his very body

language and lean physique acknowledging his ongoing fight against impossible odds. He doesn’t have any powers. He’s got nose piercings, for Christ’s sake. There’s no doubt he could be inspiring for younger generations of queers for years to come.

As far as it’s known so far, the Captain America of the Railways will only be in one issue. He’s not replacing Captain America; he’ll be on display as a queer who is inspired by the super patriot to do good in his community.

So why does his introduction feel hollow?

It might be the fact that Marvel already has openly Gay characters like Hulkling, Northstar, and Miss America, but they’re often overlooked by the more extensive movie-loving fans of Marvel, and honestly, I think more representation is needed.

It might be that this Aaron Fischer character is being blown out of proportion, having incited AIDS jokes within days of his announcement from every half-assed hack trying to fill Limbaugh’s shoes and halfhearted write-ups by every straight comics journalist in the country.

When it comes down to it, maybe it’s my own jaded thoughts getting in the way. I can’t imagine any queer, activist teen actively donning the ol’ Red, White & Blue in earnest to help people. These days the American flag makes me wince when I see it flying from the back of a pickup. I grew up in a mid-sized rural town. I’ve had bottles thrown at me from trucks like those, and I’ve seen Neo-Nazis piled up in the back. This character feels like an attempt to call us back to whatever version of America we thought we were in pre-Trump.

This upcoming series is supposed to remind us, the fans, that America is one big melting pot, just working together to try to get by. For this humble writer, however, it just serves as a reminder that we refuse to see our country for what it is.

I don’t share the hope of the young, fictional Aaron Fischer. It was beaten out of me by an SPD officer’s boot last summer. The oppressed remain oppressed, even as the media shifts its gaze. And there are still people starving in the streets, unable to afford rent, food, or medical care. A patriotic twink with bad tattoos won’t fix that. Even if he is kind of cute.

Op-Ed

The art of the double standard

Texas school district book ban highlights who’s really canceling the culture

by Maggie Bloodstone SGN Contributing Writer

“What about the children?!”

Without a doubt, that’s the most clichéd and least sincere phrase that could fall from the lips of any right-leaning “culture warrior” (hand-wringing and Helen Lovejoy impersonation optional).

This trope has been a constant ever since the ultimate example of “cancel culture,” the assisted suicide of Socrates for his alleged “corruption” of Athenian youth waaay back in the day.

But outside of actual fascist and theocratic societies, no one can top the US for spittleflecked mass conniptions regularly thrown by “concerned citizens” whenever the real world threatens to intrude on the idyllic mental Candyland of the American juvenile.

After almost a century of this kind of selective moral vigilance, small wonder the ne plus ultra of this obsessive mindset has manifested in the highly dangerous mass hallucination of QAnon. But the favorite go-to target of the rabid religious and regressive right remains the printed word. And if those words include pictures, then the fear of the “corruption of youth” kicks up a notch. Because comics are still dismissed as “kid stuff” to many, no matter how many Pulitzer Prizes or National Book Awards they win.

And the latest example of this attitude has recently emerged in the school district of Leander, Texas.

English teachers and staff in Leander had recently added a number of fiction and nonfiction titles to their reading lists, with diversity of subject matter and dialogue between parents, teachers, and children in mind — and some of their choices immediately drew fire from a parents’ group, unoriginally named “Texas Values,” for “inappropriate” content.

It will come as a surprise to no one reading this that most of the problematic content happens to deal with LGBTQ issues and characters. At a recent school board meeting, parents used phrases like “child abuse,” “erotica for teens,” and “anti-Christian themes” to describe the works in question, according to the Austin American-Statesman

But the showstopper was indisputably the brandishing of a strap-on complete with dildo by one mother to illustrate a similar item mentioned in one targeted book, In the Dreamhouse by Carmen Maria Machado, a memoir of the author’s abusive relationship with a former girlfriend. Which has got to be the most counterproductive use of a visual aid in the history of ever.

Fortunately, for every tone-deaf parent inadvertently giving every kid in the school district an education they weren’t expecting, there are those who actually respect their own children’s intelligence and ability to know when they’re being lied to. Like mom of three Katie Ibarra: “These books were selected so every child would be included and wouldn’t be left behind. I have a child that will only read graphic novels, so if they remove all the graphic novels and don’t intend to make the program more equitable, he and other children like him would be left behind. This program is intended to be inclusive of every child, and yet the opposers of the program don’t see that.”

Ibarra went on to mention that parents who object to the books in question have the option to choose alternate titles from the reading list — meaning that the pro-ban parents simply don’t want children who aren’t theirs to have the choice to read those books. Which leaves the door wide open to harassment and ostracization of kids who read “evil” books and the parents who let them.

Several graphic novels were among the

books under fire by “Texas Values,” including My Friend Dahmer, by Derf Backderf, a well-told and illustrated remembrance of high school days with the entertaining misfit who would become one of the most notorious serial killers of the 20th century (and the source material for the film of the same name). Despite the subject matter, the book has no graphic sex or violence. The most unsettling image is probably the skull of one of Dahmer’s canine victims on a stake, synchronistically harking back to a book on my own 1973 sophomore English syllabus, as well as a member of many a banned book list, Lord of the Flies

Leander district English teacher Alexia Huddleston tweeted that My Friend Dahmer “is a story of systems and adults that consistently fail our young people. So naturally, adults are proving its point by banning it and again, failing our young people.” An accurate evaluation, which makes one wonder if that might not be the true reason “Texas Values” objected to it in the first place. Because the only thing “concerned parents” hate more than sex and violence is being held responsible for their own failures.

But that might be giving them too much credit, since they would have had to have actually read the book to come to that conclusion. Which I tend to doubt, considering willful lack of knowledge of a given subject is a basic requirement for any guardian of public morals/censor worth their salt.

I mention the Leander kerfuffle as only the latest in a seemingly interminable crusade waged by self-appointed “protectors” of The Children and their assumed “innocence” against the Real World. That’s what they’ll call it, of course. What they definitely won’t call it is “cancel culture,” which, like “political correctness,” they

apply exclusively to those slightly to the left of, say, Mussolini.

Speaking of whom, it seems the “concerned parents” of Leander have their own brownshirts in the form of Mass Resistance, an anti-gay hate group (whose most prominent member happens to be none other than The Obnoxious M.T.G.), and the Wind Therapy Freedom Riders (or WTFers, har-de-har), an Austin biker gang just as anti-freedom as their oxymoron of a name would suggest and who have been making appearances at school board meetings. These groups so far have not been connected to any actual violence as yet, but if recent history tells us anything, it will be only a matter of time and official permission from police or authority figures.

Oh, and Mass Resistance have predictably declared that any teacher against the book bans is a pedophile. Because of course they did. With so many people taking these kind of deranged accusations seriously these days, there’s no need to vandalize homes, burn books, or publicly execute the “corrupters of youth.” Yet.

“What about the children?” is the new “I’m not racist, but...” Our self-appointed censors lost the culture wars in the ’60s. They could no longer get away with keeping “objectionable” material out of the hands of adults, so their focus shifted to faux concern for youth. The same zealots who insisted that heavy metal records played backwards contained Satanic messages in the 1980s are now gnashing their teeth over their children not being able to see archaic racial stereotypes in 80-year old Dr. Seuss books they themselves had never heard of, much less read, even in their own youth.

And while sex and violence are the easi-

est targets, they definitely have their sights fixed on other ideas: their war against science and actual freedom of religion is all too well known and anything but subtle. And then there was Trump’s ill-fated attempt to obliterate the 1619 Project and replace it with his own whitewashed (accent on white) interpretation of American history, the 1776 Project.

Nathalie Baptiste writes in Mother Jones of the conflation of Dr. Seuss and the song “WAP” by the right, who disingenuously suggest that a black woman’s ribald lyrics are “okay” to expose to children, but Dr. Seuss “isn’t.” Of course, it’s all about distraction. We have a popular Democratic president whose biggest task is cleaning up after the shitnado of the past four years, so the right defaults to the tried-and-true culture wars in order to keep themselves relevant. Again.

Like “political correctness,” a concept originally coined by the left to take the piss out of the more humorless and ideologically hidebound among us, the right has appropriated the concept of “cancel culture,” reforming it to mean rampant censorship by the left for the most minor ideological transgression, as opposed to zero tolerance of sexual abuse.

It’s all about distraction, and Americans in particular are the most easily distracted beings on the planet, demanding constant stimulation without the responsibility of discernment. The right wing knows this and continues to put far more time and energy into keeping their hordes overstimulated and undercritical.

Never mind the children. What about the adults?!

Local News

Seattle Pride awards $2K to support Swedish Medical Center’s 4th annual LGBTQI+ Health Symposium

SEATTLE (March 22, 2021) – The LGBTQIA+ community experiences more barriers to healthcare than nonLGBTQIA+ individuals. With 15% of LGBTQIA+ Americans reporting postponing or avoiding medical treatment due to discrimination, there is work to be done to make accessing equitable and quality healthcare possible.

Seattle Pride has awarded its latest community grant of $2,000 to Swedish Medical Center in support of its 4th annual LGBTQI+ Health Symposium to help address the issue of equitable healthcare.

“Seattle Pride aims to support organizations that are doing the work to help our LGBTQIA+ community achieve equality — which includes equal access to healthcare and health services — through our community grant and sponsorship programs,” said Seattle Pride Executive Director Krystal Marx. “We’re excited to work with organizations like Swedish Medical Center to help the LGBTQIA+ community through their areas of expertise and focus.”

The event, scheduled for April 9, 2021, will focus on healthcare for the intersex population. The conference aims to enhance the ability for healthcare providers to provide medical care for the intersex community. By discussing collaborative care approaches for patients with variations of sex development, Swedish Medical Center hopes to improve health outcomes as well as the healthcare experiences of intersex individuals.

“Swedish is grateful for Seattle Pride’s grant to support our fourth annual LGBTQI+ Medical Education Conference. The additional funds provided by Seattle Pride will help Swedish continue to offer LGBTQI+ health education to a broader, national audience especially as we move towards virtual platforms. This year’s conference will focus on our intersex community or those born with variations in sexual development to help reduce barriers to healthcare and provide equitable care for all individuals,” stated Michelle Eng, manager, Swedish Continuing Medical Education Program.

This symposium is part of Swedish’s LGBTQI+ Initiative to provide comprehensive care and develop recommendations to ensure health access to our LGBTQI+ community, and aligns with Swedish’s mission and values to improve the well-being of each person we serve and demonstrate dignity and respect for all individuals.

For more information about the 4th annual LGBTQIA+ Health Symposium, please visit Swedish Medical Center’s website.

For a complete list of Seattle Pride grants by year, visit SeattlePride.org.

National News

Seattle Out & Proud/Seattle Pride is a 501©(4) not-for-profit organization that produces the Seattle Pride Parade, Seattle Pride in the Park, and other Pride-related events and promotions, as well as yearround statewide advocacy in support of diversity, inclusivity, and equal human rights for all.

The Seattle Out & Proud Foundation is Seattle Pride’s 501(c)(3) nonprofit foundation that provides grants and sponsorship support to community-based LGBTQIA+ organizations statewide [and] educates members of the public about the LGBTQIA+ community and the rights of its members, to eliminate discrimination against and further the civil rights of members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and to connect, inspire, and strengthen the LGBTQIA+ community by promoting the arts and supporting leadership development.

To learn more about Seattle Pride and Pride-related events, grants and advocacy, visit www.SeattlePride.org; subscribe to e-newsletters and advocacy alerts; and follow it on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn @SeattlePride, and on Pinterest and Twitter @OurSeattlePride.

Courtesy of Why for Good

New poll: majority of Republicans support marriage equality

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

A majority of Republicans now support same-sex marriage, according to a new poll from the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI).

The poll, released March 23, shows that 51% of Republicans, 72% of independents, and 75% of Democrats agree with marriage equality.

This is the first time a majority within all partisan groups, including Republicans, support same-sex marriage, according to the PRRI.

In 2019, only 47% of Republicans backed same-sex marriage. Approval also increased among independents. In previous years, support among independents hovered in the mid-60s.

Democratic approval was similar to previous polling years.

The same survey found that the majority of all partisan groups also support LGBTQ+ nondiscrimination protections in housing, careers, and public accommodations, including 62% of Republicans, 79% of independents, and 85% of Democrats.

People who oppose pro-LGBTQ policies are still more likely to identify as Republicans, and most of them (75%) have a favorable view of former President Trump. Only one in four respondents to the survey who don’t support LGTBQ+ rights

have an unfavorable opinion of Trump. Results from the study are based on 50,334 bilingual telephone interviews conducted between January 7, 2020 and December 20, 2020, according to the PRRI.

Last month, the US House passed the Equality Act, which would prohibit dis-

Evanston, Ill., becomes first American city to launch reparations program for Black residents

by Joe Jurado The Root

(March 23, 2021) – A small, Illinois suburb has finally done the thing that America has kept hand-wringing about since the end of slavery: reparations.

The Washington Post reports that on Monday night, the Evanston City Council voted 8-1 in favor of a resolution to launch the first phase of reparations in the city, with $450,000 being allocated toward grants for homeownership and repairs. Applicants can receive up to $25,000 in grants and mortgage assistance if they can prove they are descendants of Black people who lived in Evanston from 1919 to 1969. The first phase of the city’s reparations program is focused on repairing the damage that came from discriminatory housing practices in the city.

Research by a city subcommittee found that practices such as redlining and other discriminatory rules resulted in the Black population limited to a small, concentrated area in the city, according to the Chicago Tribune

“The Local Reparations Restorative Housing Program...acknowledges the harm caused to Black/African-American Evanston residents due to discriminatory housing policies and practices and inaction on

Gay Fort Lauderdale mayor criticized for honoring anti-LGBTQ church National News

by Lou Chibbaro Jr. Washington Blade

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. (March 17, 2021) — Attorney and longtime LGBTQ rights advocate Dean Trantalis, who is serving as the first openly gay mayor of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., came under criticism by LGBTQ activists this week for backing and signing a proclamation approved by the Fort Lauderdale City Commission honoring the city’s Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church.

Founded in 1960 by televangelist Rev. D. James Kennedy, the church became a platform for Kennedy’s strong anti-gay views for over 30 years, including his promotion of debunked “conversion therapy” to change someone’s sexual orientation from gay to straight.

By the 1980s, its television ministry, from which Kennedy preached at an enlarged church building with a 300-foottall tower in Fort Lauderdale, had an audience of 3.5 million viewers, according to the St. Petersburg Times.

Wayne Besen, executive director of the LGBTQ group Truth Wins Out, urged Trantalis not to sign the proclamation. He pointed out that the Southern Poverty Law Center in 2011 listed Coral Ridge Ministries, the church’s political action arm controlled by Kennedy, as an anti-LGBTQ hate group.

Some observers say the church has moderated its positions and public statements on homosexuality since Kennedy’s successors took over in 2007 after Kennedy’s death. But Besen told the Washington Blade the church has yet to change its official anti-LGBTQ positions and has not apologized for its past “hurtful” actions toward the LGBTQ community.

Trantalis defended his support for the proclamation during the five-member City Commission’s meeting Tuesday evening, March 16, which was broadcast over Zoom. Trantalis, who is a member of the commis-

the part of the City,” the resolution read.

As mentioned earlier, this is only the first phase, and more programs and initiatives are expected to be created over the next decade. They will all be financed by a $10 million fund that comes both from the city’s three percent cannabis tax as well as from private donations.

Ald. Robin Rue Simmons, who introduced the resolution for reparations, was celebratory but noted the city still has a long way to go. “It’s a first tangible step,” Simmons said. “It is, alone, not enough. It is not full repair alone in this one initiative. But we all know that the road to repair

injustice in the Black community will be a generation of work...I’m excited to know more voices will come to the process.”

While there were plenty who celebrated the symbolic importance of the resolution’s passage, there were those who felt it didn’t go far enough. Some of those who spoke during the debate period before the vote said they would prefer direct cash payments over housing assistance.

“I want reparations like any Black person in this city does,” Evanston resident Rose Cannon, who supports cash payments, said during the meeting. “[But] I am willing to step back and not take this in the package

sion, spoke after Vice Mayor Steven Glassman, who is gay and also serves as a commissioner, read a statement criticizing the proclamation.

Glassman called the proclamation honoring Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church a “sanitized and whitewashed history of Dr. Kennedy and the church,” according to the South Florida Gay News, which covered the commission meeting.

The proclamation honors the church in recognition of the 60th anniversary of its founding and the 50th anniversary of the founding of its church school, the Westminster Academy.

“It’s time to build a future based on love and not hate, and it’s time for those who still harbor resentment to let go of it,” the SFGN quoted Trantalis as saying to his fellow commission members. “I know I have, and I know my community has,” the paper quoted him as saying.

“There’s no doubt that the Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church and one of its previous pastors have been a difficult challenge for

our community, and to say the least, I stood out there on sidewalks and demonstrated in front of the convention center as well as their church, in which we protested the types of practices that the church engaged in once upon a time,” said Trantalis as reported by the SFGN

In a statement that Trantalis released to the statewide LGBTQ advocacy group Equality Florida, which urged Trantalis not to sign the proclamation, he suggested that members of the Coral Ridge Church were among people of faith he has spoken with who have been “eager to bring our communities together.”

During Tuesday’s City Commission meeting, Commissioner Heather Moraitis, who is a member of the Coral Ridge Church and serves as the church school’s development director, expressed support for LGBTQ people, the SFGN reported.

“My grandfather had 13 children and came out as a gay gentleman, and I will always love him and value him,” the SFGN quoted her as saying. “I’ve loved many other gay men and women, including you, Steve, and you, Dean, and it’s a privilege to serve with you,” she said referring to Vice Mayor Glassman and Trantalis.

According to the SFGN, the church’s current pastor, Rev. Rob Pacienza, was present during the commission meeting to officially receive the proclamation.

“I think for far too long, the church has been known more for what they’ve been against than what they’ve been for, and we look forward to building those bridges,” the SFGN quoted him as saying.

Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins, senior minister of Sunshine Cathedral in Fort Lauderdale, which has a mostly LGBTQ congregation and is affiliated with the LGBTQ Metropolitan Community Churches, sent the following statement in response to a Blade inquiry:

“Sunshine Cathedral does have an his-

in which it’s presented to me.”

Ald. Cicely Fleming was the lone “no” vote on the measure, explaining “what we have here before us tonight, I would counter, is a housing program with the title reparations.”

While, understandably, some Evanston residents may find the resolution wanting, I still think it’s impressive that the city is doing anything at all when it comes to reparations. We’ve seen the idea floated around for eons now, with most proposals going nowhere off jump because white people see reparation as “handouts” and not “fixing what you fucking broke.”

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) introduced a bill in the House two years ago that would commission a study into potential reparations. While it might have a chance of passing the House, it will have a tougher time in the Senate, and it’s still unclear if President Biden would even sign the bill into law should it pass.

So for now, it looks like Evanston is going to remain the leader when it comes to reparations. Hopefully, over the next few years Evanston will be able to provide a blueprint for other cities to follow suit.

Reprinted from The Root

toric affiliation with Metropolitan Community Churches but also is affiliated with other organizations, such as the International Council of Community Churches.

“Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church is well known for its very conservative theology and social views, and in the past, for being overtly homophobic. I don’t know if they are as openly hostile to LGBTQ+ people as they once were. I doubt if their values have changed dramatically, but I am far less aware of hostile tones and intentions since the end of the D. James Kennedy era. I don’t know if they continue to support the cruel and dehumanizing practice of ‘conversion therapy.’ I hope not.

“I do not personally know Rev. Rob Pacienza.

“I do hope that Coral Ridge will one day see that their homophobic rhetoric was hurtful to many people and will try to make amends for the harm they caused. I have no idea if such a day is at hand.

“As far as the mayor, I trust that his intention is to be the mayor for all people and all communities within his city and that he believes honoring CRPC for [its] longevity is the proper thing to do. Of course some will disagree with him, but I do believe that his intentions are good and that he is operating within the guidelines of his own integrity. I have found Mayor Trantalis to be open to all constituencies. I am not surprised that he would show kindness to an organization that at least a few years ago would have undoubtedly been unwelcoming of him. It is consistent with what I know of his character.

“I can’t at this moment condone or condemn the council’s decision to honor CRPC, but in my experience of Mayor Trantalis, he consistently tries to build bridges and model a spirit of generosity and goodwill.”

Reprinted from the Washington Blade

lives to be thrust into the national spotlight but also for the many of us who are and know Asian American women and femmes who have experienced assault and violence.”

“It is a historic, inspiring day for the LGBTQ community, particularly transgender people, who are finally able to see themselves reflected at the highest levels of our government,” said Human Rights Campaign President Alphnso David. “With the confirmation of Dr. Rachel Levine, we are one step closer to a government that mirrors the beautiful diversity of its people. It is absolutely critical that everybody has a seat at the table and the Biden-Harris administration has made a dedicated, applaudable effort to ensure that outcome.”

Levine joins a diverse cabinet including many other “firsts,” but the importance of a Transgender healthcare official isn’t being overlooked.

“Dr. Levine’s confirmation is significant

on many levels,” said Erin Uritus, CEO of Out & Equal Workplace Advocates, in a statement sent to the Seattle Gay News Wednesday afternoon. “The HHS has served as a tool to target LGBTQ – especially transgender – healthcare rights. Most notably, the HHS unraveled trans health protections implemented under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act. Dr. Levine will be able to bring her new skill sets and empathy into this position to help protect LGBTQ healthcare rights.”

In her own statement after the nomination, Levine said, “I look forward to the opportunity to continue to serve Pennsylvanians, and all Americans.”

The vote was close: 52-48. Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) were the only two Republicans to vote across party lines in favor of Dr. Levine’s confirmation.

ment to the Blade said, “Our community has repeatedly been subjected to anti-Asian rhetoric and brutality towards our elderly.”

“It’s been tough,” said Park when asked about his reaction to the shootings. “As an elected representative, as someone who wants to serve and be a voice for the Asian American community, to stand and be with them during this difficult period of time, it’s challenging.”

Park also noted “the vast majority of Asian Americans who live in Georgia” live in Gwinnett County, which is northeast of Atlanta.

“There’s a lot of grief and outrage,” he said.

Andrea Marra, a transgender woman of Korean descent who is the executive director of the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, described the shootings as “gut-wrenching” in a message she wrote on her Facebook page.

“I woke up to the news of six Asian women gunned down by a 21-year-old white man in Atlanta, said Marra. “And this only follows the growing coverage of hate violence targeting Asian women and elders nationwide.”

“Asian communities across the country are right now grappling with overwhelming amounts of grief, despair and outrage,” she added. “We are mourning for our dead, fearing for our lives, and finding ways to protect loved ones while attempting to organize against the rising and unchecked tides of anti-Asian violence. And all during an ongoing global pandemic that was used by Trump to further demonize Asian people.”

Asian and Pacific Islander Queers United for Action (AQUA) DC co-organized a vigil for the victims that took place on Wednesday in DC’s Chinatown.

AQUA DC Political Chair Nicholas L. Hatcher told the Blade that the LGBTQ AAPI “community really needs time to mourn and grieve, not just for these women who did not ask for their deaths and their

Trump ‘capitalized upon’ anti-AAPI narrative during pandemic

The shootings took place against the backdrop of an increase in violence against AAPI people. Activists in the LGBTQ AAPI community with whom the Blade spoke say former President Trump bears some responsibility because of the antiAAPI rhetoric and slurs he used in his comments about the pandemic.

Sammie Ablaza Wills, executive director of APIENC, a San Francisco-based LGBTQ AAPI group, on Friday told the Blade that Trump “has continued a longstanding rhetoric of Asian American communities as perpetual foreigners, and as the harbingers of disease.”

“When the COVID pandemic hit, he capitalized upon an already standing narrative that has been baked into the DNA of the United States,” said Wills. “[He] has pushed it to a new degree in the modern age, saying things at the federal level, like the ‘China virus,’ or the ‘kung flu,’ which only allows people’s minds to hook on to those ideas, and furthers the belief that Asian folks deserve to be targeted, deserve to be other eyes, and deserve to be attacked, because of some kind of washed-out, tired idea of who Asian people are and what they bring.”

Media reports indicate that a spokesperson for the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, who said the shooter had a “really bad day” when he spoke at a Wednesday press conference with Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and other local officials, previously sold T-shirts with antiAAPI slogans about the coronavirus. CNN reported that Baker is no longer a spokesperson for the case.

The San Francisco-based Prism Foundation advocates for the LGBTQ AAPI community. Its board of directors in a state-

The statement adds that “recent events, including the premeditated murders in Atlanta, make it evidently clear the refusal to recognize the atrocities for what they are — hate and racism.”

“These events perpetuate the model minority myth that anti-Asian racism isn’t real,” it reads. “We must make it plainly clear: the hate and violence on the API community must stop. Our community will be seen and heard.”

Guam Lt. Gov. Josh Tenorio, who is openly gay, said elected and religious leaders can no longer remain silent about racism.

“What bothers me most about the shootings in Atlanta, the violent attacks on Asians, especially the elderly, and the insurrection at the Capitol is the silence and indifference of so many leaders, both elected and religious,” he told the Blade “We cannot allow these acts to go unpunished and must hold these leaders accountable for their roles in sowing division.”

Wills said the shootings raise larger questions about the treatment of AAPI people in the US.

“There’s a few different things that come to mind, and some of it is deeply systemic,” they told the Blade

“A question that comes to mind for me very, very, very easily is why was the massage parlor even open during a pandemic? Why did these folks have to work in the middle of a global crisis that necessitates people not touching? Why were they not cared for by society and the state more deeply, to the point at which they had to do this labor?” added Wills.

“I even think about … the kind of broader things about it, about how legacies of war and imperialism made it so that Asian women, Asian trans folks, Asian sex workers are overly fetishized and thought of as just bodies for pleasure and not humans, not full humans,” they told

the Blade. “There’s things like that when it [sic] when I think of this as a preventable violence, I’m like, these folks should not have had to work in the ways that they had not had that [sic], that they had to work and show up and earn money to live and survive. And these folks as humans should not have had to exist in the society in which they were dehumanized from so many different angles.”

A reporter during Wednesday’s press conference asked Bottoms whether the three spas “were places where somebody could have had sexual encounters.”

“We are not about to get into victim blaming, victim shaming here,” said Bottoms.

Shootings “clearly a hate crime”

Authorities have not charged the shooter under Georgia’s hate crimes law, which took effect last summer. Park told the Blade he “would” categorize the shootings as a hate crime.

Michael T. Nguyen, chair of the GLBTQ+ Asian Pacific Alliance, a San Francisco-based LGBTQ AAPI advocacy group, agreed.

“The shooter hit up three different massage parlors,” Nguyen told the Blade. “It’s very intentional. You don’t just go drive, park, kill, go back, drive, park, and kill. To me, it’s clearly a hate crime.”

Wills said the shootings were “100% motivated by race and gender and hate, but was hesitant to describe them as a hate crime.

“I don’t like the framing of hate crime, because it doesn’t matter,” they said. “The legality of it is not the focus to me … the criminalization part is not the focus.”

“The sheriff of the county is rushing to humanize the assailant, while people continue to dehumanize those of those who have been lost,” added Wills. “This is an act of racialized and gendered violence, fueled by hate and vitriolic belief.”

Reprinted from the Washington Blade

Religion

Intrigue at the Vatican: Catholic “sources” say Pope wants to distance himself from paper on same-sex couples

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

Pope Francis wants to distance himself from the Vatican paper — supposedly issued with his approval — barring Catholic priests from blessing same-sex couples.

According to America magazine, published by the powerful Jesuit order, the Pope’s March 21 sermon was a critique of the Vatican position paper, although expressed in indirect language.

The Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the agency that oversees adherence to Catholic dogma, ruled on March 15 that priests may not bless samesex couples because “God cannot bless sin.”

While the Catholic Church has long held that priests my not marry same-sex couples, many priests have been willing to hold blessing ceremonies for same-sex couples. The Vatican position paper was intended to foreclose that possibility.

America magazine said that “three sources” told them that the Pope did not entirely agree with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and wished to register his dissent.

In a sermon on March 21, the Pope called on the Church to give witness to Jesus “not with theoretical condemnations but with gestures of love.”

Francis explained that this “means sowing seeds of love, not with fleeting words but through concrete, simple, and courageous examples; not with theoretical condemnations but with gestures of love.”

In an apparent reference to the Vatican document, the Pope added that “the Lord,

with his grace, makes us bear fruit, even when the soil is dry due to misunderstandings, difficulty, or persecution or claims of legalism or clerical moralism.”

According to America, its sources are “senior” Vatican figures who declined to be named because they were not authorized to speak on behalf of the Pope.

The magazine did not ask them why the Pope would have to resort to roundabout criticism of a paper said to have been issued with his approval.

According to the Inside The Vatican podcast, the document was drafted by a small group of Vatican officials, and “rushed past the Pope” without giving him time to edit it.

The Vatican’s position paper was not met with universal approval, even within the conservative Roman Catholic hierarchy.

Immediately after the paper was published, a group of dissident German and Austrian priests calling themselves the Parish Priests Initiative said they would continue to bless any couple that came to them.

“We members of the Parish Priests Initiative are deeply appalled by the new Roman decree that seeks to prohibit the blessing of same-sex loving couples. This is a relapse into times that we had hoped to have overcome with Pope Francis,” the

International News

group said in a statement.

“We will — in solidarity with so many — not reject any loving couple in the future who ask to celebrate God’s blessing, which they experience every day, also in a worship service.”

Meanwhile, more than 230 professors of Catholic theology in Germany and other countries where German is spoken have signed a statement protesting the Vatican’s ruling.

The Vatican document “is marked by a paternalistic air of superiority and discriminates against homosexual people and their life plans,” the theologians said in a March 22 statement.

“We distance ourselves firmly from this position,” it added. “We believe that the life and love of same-sex couples are not worth less before God than the life and love of any other couple.”

The Archbishop of Santa Fe also dissented publicly from the Vatican’s ruling. Archbishop John C. Wester said in an interview that Catholicism accepts and honors Gay people.

“Human sexuality is a gift from God, and it’s also something that’s very complex and mysterious,” Wester said. Morality is subjective, he added, and only God and the individual involved really know if an act is a sin.

Asked if he agreed with the Vatican’s ruling, Wester said, “It’s too complicated a point to respond to that, I’m afraid. The letter is multifaceted.”

Cops stopped a Trans woman because she didn’t make eye contact, then they beat her up

by Daniel Villarreal

LGBTQ Nation

SYDNEY, Australia (March 21, 2021)

— A 61-year-old constable named Mark Follington is on trial for allegedly falsifying records connected to his violent May 2019 arrest of 25-year-old transgender woman Anya Bradford.

Follington recently admitted in court that he suspected Bradford might have an arrest warrant because she didn’t make eye contact with him as she sat in the game lounge of the Railway Hotel in Liverpool, South Sydney, Australia.

Bradford didn’t have any warrants out for her arrest. She was, however, running late for a meeting with her parole officer. When she tried to leave the lounge, Follington stopped her and demanded to see her identification.

Follington claimed that Bradford told him to “f*ck off,” something she called “unlikely.” She told the officers that she didn’t have her ID and said she had a meeting to get to. When Follington and his fellow patrolman continued questioning her, she ran away.

As the police chased and cornered her, she began kicking to fend them off. Follington said she kicked him twice in the

groin. She then tried to board an elevator to escape, but they pulled her out. Trying to restrain her, she said the officers lifted her

and slammed her against an ATM machine. She also said they pressed a stun gun into her neck, knocking her head against the

wall before pepper-spraying and punching her later on. Then they handcuffed her.

“The larger officer picked me up by the handcuffs, like I was on a leash, like I was a dog, then he dragged me out… laughing,” Bradford said when recounting the arrest to a judge, according to the Star Observer Her wig fell off during the attack. Bradford told the court that the arresting officers disparagingly referred to her as “it.” Although authorities later dropped all charges against Bradford, Follington now stands accused of falsifying his arrest records. He claimed, for instance, that Bradford had pushed him before running out of the gaming lounge, but surveillance video from the arrest showed it never happened. He has denied deliberately falsifying the records and claimed he simply misremembered the chaotic incident.

Bradford’s experience points to a larger problem of transphobia in policing though.

An April 2015 study published in SAGE Open journal showed that most transgender Australians reported discrimination from the police. Anti-trans stereotypes may influence officers to act more aggressively towards trans people, the study concluded.

Reprinted from LGBTQ Nation

minates Weiland’s story, shining a welldeserved spotlight on a man who deserves the attention and accolades. Bear was kind enough to answer a few questions before the film’s premiere at [the AmDocs Film Festival, March 26]

Gregg Shapiro: For some people, Ric Weiland’s name isn’t as familiar as his Microsoft cohorts Bill Gates and Paul Allen. Would you say that was what attracted you to telling his story in Yes I Am?

Aaron Bear: Much of Ric’s life was unknown, and that was on purpose and of his own choosing. He wanted to be someone behind the scenes, making things happen. Being a filmmaker and someone who works behind the camera, I could relate to how Ric felt. The deeper I dug into his life, it became clear that his life paralleled a lot of my own.

The film also touches on the subject of mental health and taking care of yourself. While making it, I turned to working on my own mental health for the first time ever. I felt and continue to feel deeply connected to him on so many levels.

GS: How much of your awareness of Ric was derived from your being a gay man living in Seattle?

AB: Seattle is undoubtedly a special place, but in regards to my awareness of Ric, I had only read headlines about him upon his passing in 2006. Years later, I was approached at the Seattle International Film Festival by Ric’s friend Michael Failla about perhaps making a film about his life. It wasn’t until I was deep into research for this film that I realized what a significant impact he had on Seattle, marriage equality, AIDS/HIV research…the list goes on. Ric has inspired me to be a better human being.

GS: Ric’s long-lasting contributions to LGBTQ philanthropy are truly revolutionary and central to his story. One of the interview subjects says that Ric was “so brilliant with code, he would write more, so he could make more money, so he could give it away.” How do you think Ric would feel about the ongoing impact of his endowments?

AB: Ric’s accomplishments are unsurpassed—and that is putting it mildly. Seriously, Google his name, and it’s astonishing [what he achieved] and that nobody knows who he was. Ric would feel quietly delighted about the impact from his ongoing endowments.

GS: The documentary is full of fascinating interview subjects, many of whom

were friends of Ric’s, including Bill Gates and LGBTQ rights activist Urvashi Vaid. When you approached people about being interviewed, did you meet any resistance, or was everyone willing to sing Ric’s praises before the camera?

AB: Everyone wanted to be a part of singing Ric’s praises, from Bill Gates to Urvashi. Zachary Quinto’s involvement came later, after I contacted him and expressed what an impact Ric has had on me while making this film. The only unfortunate and sad turn of events was that I never got to interview Paul Allen. We had a filming date, but he passed two weeks before that date. Paul and Ric were incredibly close, and I wish I would have been able to show the brotherly type of love they had for each other.

Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato at World of Wonder were heroes of mine since high school, so working with those two was a dream come true. I really did have the gay dream team working on this film with me.

GS: You mentioned out actor Zachary Quinto, who provides the voiceover during the parts of the film in which we are given access to some of Ric’s journal entries. What was it about Zachary that made him right for that?

AB: After finding Ric’s diaries, I knew I wanted an out gay actor to read as Ric’s voice. Someone who had seen some life, met some resistance along the way, and knew the tone of Ric’s voice. I made a short list. Zach was someone I’ve always been drawn to. In all of my dreams, I never would have thought he would say yes. Zach had the tone nailed from the beginning and was such a gentleman to work with.

GS: You also incorporate anima -

tion in the documentary. Why did you include that visual element?

AB: The animation was something I had in my brain and storyboarded from the get-go. Since there wasn’t a ton of material of Ric (no actual video interviews of him exist), I knew I was going to have to create some visuals that were compelling but also helped guide the story along. My associate producer introduced me to this incredible talent located here in Seattle named Neely Goniodsky. She understood the heart and heartache of Ric from our very first meeting.

GS: Nearly 40 years into the HIV/ AIDS epidemic, the subject continues to be presented onscreen, not only in Yes I Am , which deals with Ric’s seroconversion, but also in Russel T. Davies’ It’s a Sin. Can you please say something about the importance of not forgetting the ongoing AIDS epidemic all these years later?

AB: The history of HIV/AIDS should never be forgotten. Period. We have pills like Truvada that protect us these days, but history still remains and should be taught. Oh, and if you can follow the @TheAidsMemorial on Instagram, it also provides a glimpse as to what it was truly like.

This is an interesting question, because some of the older folks I showed this film to said there was “too much” about it. I was able to show the film to a couple of late teens and early twentysomethings, and they had no idea. So, I found a balance with how much history I put in there.

That said, Ric’s contributions to fighting] this disease were and continue to be paramount. He was giving money for research when nobody else was. Oh, and if you can follow the @TheAidsMemorial on Instagram, it also provides a glimpse as to

what it was truly like.

GS: What do you hope to achieve by increasing public awareness of both Ric Weiland’s life and death?

AB: I hope Yes I Am helps inform people about Ric’s life and accomplishments, yes. But I really hope that the viewer leaves [understanding that] death is not the end, and your life achievements can make a serious impact on the entire world.

GS: Your next project, the TV series There Is a Light That Never Goes Out, is the second upcoming release to feature the title of a song by The Smiths as its name, the first being Shoplifters of the World. Can you please say something about the influence of Morrissey and The Smiths on your work and life?

AB: Being a suburban gay teenager in the Midwest, pre-internet, was an incredibly isolating and lonely experience. Music back then was my absolute outlet and savior. I’m not sure how I would have survived that experience otherwise. The Smiths, more specifically Morrissey’s voice and lyrics, truly spoke to the isolation and longing of that era in a way nobody had before. The way he sang about alienation and wanting someone to “take me anywhere, I don’t care, I don’t care...” was anthemic in wanting to escape from the oppression I found myself in and how I was willing to do anything possible to find my tribe outside that world.

Entertainment journalist, poet, and fiction writer Gregg Shapiro lives in Fort Lauderdale with his husband and dog.

This article was also published in the Unite Seattle magazine Spring 2021 issue.

Arts Seattle Opera films Flight on location among historic, vintage aircrafts

FLIGHT

Streaming April 23–25, 2021 for $35 seattleopera.org/flight

SEATTLE (March 23, 2021) — Picture yourself at the airport: the excited rush of people coming and going. The roar of planes taking off. Familiar sights of suitcases, pilots, people lining up, and — the enchanting sounds of opera?!

In Seattle Opera’s Flight, a unique collaboration with the Museum of Flight takes pandemic programming to new heights. The opera, created by composer Jonathan Dove and librettist April De Angelis, premiered to wide acclaim in 1998 at the Glyndebourne Festival. Seattle Opera filmed on location at the museum, across several exhibits of the T.A. Wilson Great Gallery. Historic aircrafts are suspended in a six-story exhibit — a jawdropping set that would only be possible in a place like the Museum of Flight. Other parts of the museum easily replicate the look and feel of a real-life airport.

“The opportunity for us to be a part of Seattle Opera’s production makes me want to break into song — but I will leave that to the professionals and sing praises for this collaboration instead,” said Matt Hayes, the Museum of Flight president and CEO. “Flight is a dynamic reflection of the personal stories we tell and cherish at the museum. It’s an honor for us to be a part of this wonderfully creative opera during the pandemic.”

Full of intense drama, humor, pathos, anguish — and profound beauty — Flight has become much-beloved by audiences all over the world. This upcoming presentation is both Flight’s Seattle premiere, and the first time it’s been reimagined for film.

In this story, an omniscient air traffic controller watches over a departure lounge bustling with relentlessly cheerful flight attendants, an excitable couple on vacation, a mysterious older woman, and a diplomat and his expectant wife, all of whom must spend the night to wait out a storm. At the heart of the show is the Refugee, a character inspired by Mehran Karimi Nasseri, who lived in Charles de Gaulle Airport near Paris for almost 18 years.

The resonance for Flight today is striking, said director Brian Staufenbiel: “During the global pandemic, it is perhaps easier now to feel, viscerally, what it was like for Nasseri to be isolated and even ostracized, what the world would be like if no one would come close to you, wrap their arms around you, and whisper in your ear, ‘I love you.’

That sense of separation — even banishment — is the crux of Flight.”

Available on Seattle Opera’s website April 23–25, Flight ushers American countertenor Randall Scotting (Refugee) back to Seattle Opera after his recent debut at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden Canadian soprano Sharleen Joynt, praised for her “silvery, sparkling, substantial, and resonant soprano” (Die Deutsche Bühne), makes her company debut as the Controller. Returning performers include Joshua Kohl (Bill), Margaret Gawrysiak (Older Woman), Sarah Larsen (Stewardess), Joseph Lattanzi (Steward), Aubrey Allicock (Minskman), Karin Mushegain (Minskwoman), and Damien Geter (Immigration Officer). Karen Vuong (Tina in Flight) will also be singing in two free events: The Big Opera Show on April 11, and a solo recital with pianist David McDade on May 7. Premiering at 7 p.m. on Seattle Opera’s Facebook, YouTube, and website, the recital will include contemporary works such as “The Red Dress” (1995) by Ricky Ian Gordon and

“Animal Passion” (1997) by Jake Heggie. Classical selections include works by Henri Duparc, Claude Debussy, Richard Strauss, and Giacomo Puccini (“Che tua madre” from Madame Butterfly).

Joining Staufenbiel on the Flight creative team are film director and editor Kyle Seago (The Elixir of Love) and maestro Viswa Subbaraman, who recently served as the artistic director/music director of the Skylight Music Theatre in Milwaukee.

Flight premieres on Seattle Opera’s website at 7 p.m. on Friday, April 23 and can be viewed until 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, April 25. Tickets are available online at seattleopera.org or by calling 206.389.7676 or 800.426.1619. For questions about streaming, view our Streaming FAQs. This opera is rated PG-13 for sexual violence.

Flight Music by Jonathan Dove Libretto by April De Angelis In English with English captions Premiere: Sept. 24, 1998 with Glynde-

bourne Touring Opera in Glyndebourne Seattle Opera premiere

Approximate running time: 2 hours and 9 minutes, including one intermission

Established in 1963, Seattle Opera is committed to serving the people of the Pacific Northwest with performances of the highest caliber and through innovative educational and engagement programs for all. Each year, more than 95,000 people attend Seattle Opera performances, and more than 400,000 people of all ages are served through school performances, radio broadcasts, and more. By drawing our communities together, and by offering opera’s unique fusion of music and drama, it creates life-enhancing experiences that speak deeply to people’s hearts and minds. Connect with Seattle Opera on Facebook, Twitter, SoundCloud, and on 98.1 Classical KING FM.

Courtesy of Seattle Opera

Arts Pacific Northwest Ballet to debut two more world premieres in fourth program of all-digital season

SEATTLE (March 22, 2021) – Pandemic protocols have not stopped the Pacific Northwest Ballet from producing new dance works, and an international internet audience has responded, with ticket-buyers tuning in from all 50 states and 36 countries.

Following the fall premieres from choreographers Jessica Lang and Penny Saunders, the company is back with brand-new creations from Spectrum Dance Theater artistic director (and Doris Duke Artist Award winner) Donald Byrd and PNB resident choreographer Alejandro Cerrudo. Joining the Rep 4 program line-up is an encore presentation of Alexei Ratmansky’s Pictures at an Exhibition

PNB’s Rep 4 launches on Thursday, April 1 (no foolin’), and the program is streamable for five days, through April 5. Digital performance tickets are $29, or $39 for Digital Performance Plus. The latter provides access to additional videos, including a new work by Margarita Armas, a rising young choreographer who has previously created works for Miami City Ballet and for Dance Lab New York in partnership with the Joyce Theater Foundation. (See “Ticket Information and Bonus Content” below.) For more information, contact the PNB Box Office at 206.441.2424 or online at PNB.org.

PROGRAM LINE-UP

And the sky is not cloudy all day (World Premiere)

Music: John Adams (“Rag the Bone”, “Judah to Ocean”, “Toot Nipple”, “Dog jam”, and “Pavane: She’s so Fine” from John’s Book of Alleged Dances, 1994)

Choreography: Donald Byrd

Costume Design: Doris Black

Lighting Design: Reed Nakayama

[Donald Byrd, March 2021]: Little boys of my generation played “cowboys and Indians.” Because of what I saw on TV and in movies, I wanted to be like the men depicted in those visual narratives. For many boys, I think, the West and the Western frontier, as myth, pulled at and subsumed all notions of boyhood and masculinity. I wanted to live in and be the hero of a John Ford or Audie Murphy movie. As a boy, the racial implications of that want had not dawned on me.

In 1893 Frederick Jackson Turner, in his essay “The Significance of the Frontier in American History,” used the term “frontier” as a model for understanding American culture. Turner thought of the frontier as “the meeting point between savagery and civilization” and argued that this point was the foundation for American identity and politics. Americans’ notions of nationalism, democracy, and individualism, as well as a rejection of European ideals, Turner believed, were a result of the fron-

tier. Thus he concluded that America was only unique because of its interaction with the frontier (and the West as it expanded) and therefore “to the frontier the American intellect owes its striking characteristics.”

But I think it was the manifestations in popular culture of these notions of the West and the frontier that promulgated the myth of the West. Beginning with Western novels of Zane Grey and the works of painter, illustrator, sculptor, and writer Frederic Sackrider Remington, American men and boys became increasingly captivated and enthralled by these images of the West. But perhaps the most potent influence was Hollywood and its machinery of dream and myth-making. Through movies, in particular the early films of John Ford and his Stagecoach (1939), and later in television shows (Zane Grey Theater, Rawhide, Wagon Train), the myth of the West was solidified and indelibly inscribed the images of a strong and rugged Western (white) man in the imagination of the boys and men of the late-nineteenth and earlyand mid-twentieth centuries.

My new work for Pacific Northwest Ballet, And the sky is not cloudy all day, with its John Adams score so reminiscent of Aaron Copland’s dance scores for Martha Graham, Eugene Loring, and Agnes de Mille, is a kind of “nostalgia” for something that never was. But it is also a boyhood dream, a boy’s playtime. Ultimately, however, it does ask us to consider the myth of the West and its unreality… Yet if only

for one brief moment, it also allows us to accept its contradictions.

Pictures at an Exhibition

Music: Modest Mussorgsky (1874)

Choreography: Alexei Ratmansky

Staging: Wendy Whelan

Costume Design: Adeline André

Lighting Design: Mark Stanley

Projection Design:

Wendall K. Harrington, using Wassily Kandinsky’s Color Study: Squares with Concentric Circles (1913)

Piano Soloist: Allan Dameron

Premiere: October 2, 2014, New York City Ballet

PNB Premiere: June 2, 2017

Running Time: 35 minutes

PNB’s digital performance of Pictures at an Exhibition is an archival recording from 2017.

Writing in the New York Times after the ballet’s premiere, critic Alastair Macaulay stated, “Pictures at an Exhibition is surely the most casually diverse work Mr. Ratmansky has created, but it gathers unstoppable momentum. The 10 dancers started out in informal home-theater mood, almost as if they were playing charades. Some dances, including the first solo, had a wild, improvisatory, part-stumbling, partinspired quality. (The tailor-made nature of the ballet’s solos reflects one of Mr. Ratmansky’s greatest gifts: Dancers are vividly, individually, intimately revealed.) In

certain numbers, the dancers — here on all fours, there gesturing — seemed to enact or refer to private stories. Other sections shifted toward a classicism of long lines and academic steps. Some ensembles were largely about camaraderie; others about geometry, harmony, meter.”

Dance writer Michael Popkin, in danceviewtimes, wrote: “Not just a rendition in dance of Mussorgsky’s famous work of the same name, the ballet was also functionally a tribute and apotheosis for NYCB’s retiring star, Wendy Whelan.” (Pictures at PNB marked Whelan’s first project as a répétiteur, or stager, the individual who teaches an existing ballet to a new cast. In addition to Whelan, Ratmansky’s team of collaborators includes renowned projection designer Wendall K. Harrington, whose visual musings on Wassily Kandinsky’s watercolor, Color Study. Squares with Concentric Circles, provide animated counterpoint to the dancers’ moves. Fashion designer Adeline André’s costumes echo Kandinsky’s colors and shapes, while Mark Stanley’s lighting joins all of these components to create a unified whole.)

Popkin continued: “The ballet tracks the score’s scenario, its action unfolding as a suite of dances before vibrantly colored backdrops. In this 1874 composition, Mussorgsky commemorates the premature death of a friend, the painter Viktor Hartmann, in a tone poem depicting a stroll through a gallery of his pictures. The music, in 16 short sections, alternates tone pictures of some canvasses with a repeating march — labeled ‘Promenade’ — that recurs in different musical meters and lets you imagine that you’re strolling from picture to picture. As the promenades segue from conventional to elevated over the course of the entire piece, the composer’s emotion

becomes evident: The work is increasingly shot through with his love for his friend and the artistic resolution of his grief.”

[Excerpted notes by Doug Fullington.]

World Premiere (title TBA)

Choreography: Alejandro Cerrudo

Additional credits to come

Alejandro Cerrudo is a Chicago-based choreographer born in Madrid, Spain. His professional career includes work with the Czech National Ballet, the Victor Ullate Ballet, the Stuttgart Ballet, Nederlands Dans Theater 2, and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago (HSDC). Cerrudo became HSDCʼs firstever resident choreographer in 2008 and held that position until 2018. His body of work has been performed by more than 20 professional dance companies around the world. In March 2012, upon receiving the Joyce Theater Foundationʼs second Rudolf Nureyev Prize for New Dance, Cerrudo was invited by Pacific Northwest Ballet to choreograph his first work for the company, Memory Glow

Additional honors include an award from the Boomerang Fund for Artists (2011) and the Prince Prize for Commissioning Original Work from the Prince Charitable Trusts (2012) for his acclaimed major work, One Thousand Pieces. In 2014, he was awarded the USA Donnelley Fellowship by United States Artists.

Mr. Cerrudo was one of four choreographers invited by Wendy Whelan to create and perform original duets for her program Restless Creature. In 2017, Cerrudo was invited by Daniil Simkin to choreograph a site-specific performance for the Guggenheim Rotunda, a Works & Process Rotunda Project commission featuring Simkin, with original costumes by Dior. Cerrudoʼs

Sleeping Beauty, created for Ballet Theater Basel in 2016, was nominated as Production of the Year in Switzerland by Neue Zürcher Zeitung

This new work is the fifth Cerrudo ballet to enter PNB’s repertory, following Memory Glow (world premiere 2014), Little mortal jump (PNB premiere 2016), Silent Ghost (PNB premiere 2018), and One Thousand Pieces, which was only performed once for a small but supportive audience at its March 2020 dress rehearsal, before PNB was temporarily shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At that time, Artistic Director Peter Boal announced that Mr. Cerrudo had been appointed as PNB’s first resident choreographer.

TICKET INFORMATION / BONUS CONTENT

Pacific Northwest Ballet’s digital presentation of Rep 4 runs April 1–5. Tickets to Rep 4 and the rest of PNB’s digital season may be purchased through the PNB Box Office, 206.441.2424, or online at PNB.org.

Ticket-buyers will receive an email prior to the program with a link and password, as well as helpful information to assist in viewing the digital content. Rep 4 and bonus content will be available for a five-day viewing window beginning at 10 a.m. (Pacific) on Thursday, April 1. Digital content can only be viewed during the allotted time period; no extensions or exceptions will be granted. For additional information, please contact the PNB Box Office.

All patrons of PNB’s basic Digital Performance ($29) will also receive, in addition to the Rep 4 program line-up:

• Five Minute Call – A peek backstage at

the artists, musicians, and crew preparing for the performances

• Ballet Talk – Doug Fullington’s informative introduction to the performance, discussing choreography, music, history, and design

• Meet the Artist – Peter Boal with company dancers in a lively conversation about the work

Additionally, season subscribers and patrons of the Digital Performance Plus ($39) will receive access to the debut of a new work by Margarita Armas featuring PNB company dancers and PNB Company Pianist Christina Siemens, and a conversation with Mr. Cerrudo and PNB School New Voices students.

Pacific Northwest Ballet’s 2020-2021 digital season is proudly sponsored by Browne Family Vineyards, ArtsFund, Microsoft, and Peter & Peggy Horvitz. Special thanks also to 4Culture, National Endowment for the Arts, the Shubert Foundation, City of Seattle Office of Arts & Culture, and the Wallace Foundation. The 2017 Pacific Northwest Ballet premiere of Alexei Ratmansky’s Pictures at an Exhibition was generously underwritten by Patty Edwards. All performances were filmed at Marion Oliver McCaw Hall, the two world premieres using the added capabilities of the Seattle Center Studios. In early 2020, Seattle Center launched a recording studio for virtual events on the stage of McCaw Hall. The studio utilizes theatrical equipment paired with video technology to capture and livestream performances, lectures, and events. For more information about Seattle Center Studios, visit seattlecenter.com/connect/sc-studios.

Courtesy of the Pacific Northwest Ballet

Arts

Seattle Symphony announces 2021–22 season masterworks

SEATTLE – Seattle Symphony Music

Director Thomas Dausgaard and President and CEO Krishna Thiagarajan [have] announced a return to live concerts for the 2021–22 season. The new season brings spectacular Opening Night, Masterworks, and Untuxed series concerts to Benaroya Hall; season programming for additional series will be announced this spring and summer.

When COVID-19 hit in early 2020, the entire world felt the impact and the arts sector was no exception. For the Seattle Symphony, the health and safety of its community, musicians, and staff was the top priority, prompting the immediate closure of Benaroya Hall. Holding steadfast to its commitment to serve the community through music, the Symphony quickly turned to offering free live broadcasts, building out a variety of regular free programming for the remainder of the season, featuring recordings of past concerts as well as new performances, often filmed from the musicians’ own homes.

Despite new setbacks, the Seattle Symphony launched the current season digitally in September 2020 with the creation of a new streaming service, Seattle Symphony Live, which has since grown to nearly 4,000 subscribers. With viewers from Washington to New York, and Norway to New Zealand, Seattle Symphony Live has broadened the Symphony’s reach to audiences around the world. Through the implementation of meticulous safety measures and health protocols, the Symphony resumed live concert production this season with physically distanced musicians joined by exceptional guest artists on the Benaroya Hall stage. As the world continues to navigate the ongoing pandemic, the Seattle Symphony carries the experience, diligence, and momentum of the last year to launch a new season with optimism.

“This is our long-awaited chance to be together after such long isolation and again experience live symphonic music with the magnificent Seattle Symphony,” [said]

Music Director Thomas Dausgaard. “This special season, we are so excited to throw open our doors and share the authentic and engaging sound of the full symphony orchestra. Diversity has been a driving principle in how we’ve conceived this season’s programs, and we’re both proud and excited about the result. What does the time we live in sound like? You will hear brand new music, written especially for us and for you from a rich and diverse range of composers, put in context of some of the greatest symphonic works of all time — music we have been longing to play and hear live again. Music has the power to lift us up, to touch us and uniquely make us experience the power of the moment. I look forward to sharing with you the thrill of live music in performances of great symphonic works from the last 400 years to today!”

“We look to the new season with extreme gratitude for our community who stood by us and supported us throughout the past year,” said President and CEO Krishna Thiagarajan. “It’s shown us that music is an essential part of our lives. To gather with audiences again after being apart so long, this season is so much about our connection to the people and world around us. With that in mind, the Seattle Symphony launches the 2021–22 season for our community, and we hope to see everyone back at Benaroya Hall in due course.”

Season highlights Thomas Dausgaard’s Sibelius Cycle to feature pairings with world premieres of new commissions

In his third year as music director, Thomas Dausgaard and the Seattle Symphony embark on an exciting two-year Sibelius Cycle, with Dausgaard bringing his Nordic roots and unique insight to exploring the iconic Finnish composer’s music. Over the course of two seasons, the Cycle will bring to audiences all Sibelius’ symphonies including the rarely

performed, original versions of Sibelius’ Fifth Symphony and Violin Concerto. The symphonies will be presented in the context of a series of new Seattle Symphony commissions, where the leading composers of today are asked to relate to Sibelius’s works. Each new work will receive its world premiere alongside the Sibelius symphony it responds to.

The Sibelius Cycle begins February 3–5, 2022, when Dausgaard leads the orchestra in Sibelius’s Symphony No. 1 paired with composer Ellen Reid’s response to Sibelius in a new work to be premiered.

On April 7–9, the Cycle’s second program pairs Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2 with a new work by Angélica Negrón, along with guest violinist Isabelle Faust bringing to life the original version of Sibelius’ Violin Concerto with Dausgaard at the podium.

On February 4 and April 8, audiences will also have the chance to experience these programs in a more casual setting, with Dausgaard as part of the Symphony’s Untuxed Series, which presents mainstage programming in a pared-down, relaxed format. The Sibelius Cycle will be completed in its second year with Symphonies Nos. 3–7.

World premieres and new commissions

Regarded as an orchestra “avid for new music” (The New Yorker), the Seattle Symphony continues its steady support for new works and current composers in the 2021–22 season’s Opening Night and Masterworks Season with six commissions, four world premieres and two US premieres.

In addition to the new works by Reid and Negrón commissioned as part of the Sibelius Cycle, the Seattle Symphony is proud to present in the upcoming season: the US premiere of Francisco Coll’s Violin Concerto, performed by violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja; the world premiere of Reena Esmail’s RE|Member, which will open the Symphony’s season on September 18; the world premiere of Hannah Lash’s

The Peril of Dreams, a commissioned work for two harps with the composer herself debuting the work alongside Seattle Symphony principal harp Valerie Muzzolini; the US premiere of Simon SteenAndersen’s Piano Concerto, a provocative work that interweaves the sound and video recording of a grand piano falling eight meters to a concrete floor and its intricate dialogue with the live orchestra; and a new co-commissioned work by Joel Thompson.

Contemporary voices and 20th century works

The Seattle Symphony’s strong artistic commitment to expanding the canon continues in the upcoming season, which prominently features 18 recent and contemporary composers in mainstage programming.

In fall 2021, the Symphony performs Nathalie Dietterich’s aeolian dust, conducted by David Robertson; and Music Director Thomas Dausgaard conducts Brett Dean’s Carlo and Amy Beach’s “Gaelic” Symphony. Later in the year, Peter Oundjian conducts the orchestra in his own arrangement of Florence Price’s Andante cantabile from String Quartet No. 2.

In Spring 2022, the Symphony is set to perform George Walker’s Lyric for Strings and Folksongs for Orchestra, also conducted by Dausgaard; Adolphus Hailstork’s Epitaph for a Man Who Dreamed, conducted by Dalia Stasevska; and William L. Dawson’s Negro Folk Symphony, conducted by Roderick Cox.

Other highlights of the season include works by William Grant Still, Kaoru Ishibashi (Kishi Bashi) and John Adams.

Kishi Bashi: EO9066

2022 marks the 80th anniversary of Executive Order 9066, which saw the internment of thousands of innocent Japanese Americans during the Second World War, indelibly changing their lives and the Pacific Northwest region — the effects of

which are still felt today. On January 27–29, 2022, in honor of those affected by this historical injustice, the Seattle Symphony presents Kaoru Ishibashi’s Improvisations on EO9066, with Music Director Thomas Dausgaard conducting. Dausgaard will be joined onstage by the Seattle-born composer, who performs as Kishi Bashi. Improvisations on EO9066, which premiered in 2018, features Kishi Bashi on violin and vocals and explores the tragedy of Japanese American internment in a genrebending, multimedia concert experience. The Symphony’s presentation will be incorporated with other forthcoming community collaborations to contextualize and examine the impact of this moment in history.

Morlot conducts Messiaen: Des canyons aux étoiles…

Seattle Symphony Judith Fong Conductor Emeritus Ludovic Morlot returns to conduct Messiaen’s Des canyons aux étoiles… (“From the Canyons to the Stars…”). Commissioned to celebrate the bicentenary of the United States’ Declaration of Independence, the monumental work is a twelve-part orchestral suite. Witness to the grandeur of Utah’s Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks while preparing for the commission, Messiaen was particularly inspired by the natural beauty of the American West, from its canyons to its moonscapes. So struck was the composer at the time, that he regarded the geographical and astronomical scenes as religious work, divine in their wonder.

The Seattle Symphony performs the entire work on June 2 and 4 with Steven Osborne as guest pianist. The presentation integrates an impressive visual experience created by Deborah O’Grady, a video artist who followed Messiaen’s footsteps through

the canyons he traveled, bringing to audiences photography and videography that documents the stunning scenes Messiaen’s music paints.

Special performances:

Avi Avital, Wayne Marshall, and John Adams

Grammy Award–nominated mandolinist Avi Avital returns to Benaroya Hall as soloist and conductor on January 13–16. The electrifying artist leads the orchestra in Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons and is joined by soprano Núria Rial for traditional songs inspired by the canals of Venice.

On June 16–19, Wayne Marshall conducts the Symphony from the piano in an all-Gershwin program that affectionately celebrates the glamor of the 1920s. Marshall is set to perform Gershwin’s Concerto in F, Second Rhapsody for Piano & Orchestra and An American in Paris with the orchestra.

John Adams is set to conduct the Seattle Symphony on January 6 and 8 in a program of his own works. The prolific American composer will be joined by pianist Jeremy Denk and saxophonist Timothy McAllister in a concert that features Short Ride in a Fast Machine, Must the Devil Have All the Good Tunes? and City Noir

Additional featured artists

The Seattle Symphony’s 2021–22 season brings a star-studded roster of guest artists and conductors to the Benaroya Hall stage.

Music Director Thomas Dausgaard will be joined by: violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja, who reunites with Dausgaard on October 7 and 9 for the US premiere of Francisco Coll’s Violin Concerto; pianist Nicolas Hodges for the US premiere of

Books

Simon Steen-Andersen’s Piano Concerto on November 11–13; composer Hannah Lash at the harp for the world premiere of her own work, The Peril of Dreams, on November 18 and 20; Kishi Bashi for Improvisations on EO9066 in January; pianist Garrick Ohlsson performing Stenhammar’s Piano Concerto No. 2 on February 3 and 5; tenor Russell Thomas on February 10–13 in a program featuring works by Walker and Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde; violinist Isabelle Faust performing the original version of Sibelius’ Violin Concerto for the second concert of the Sibelius Cycle in April. Dausgaard will also present Verdi’s Requiem with the Seattle Symphony Chorale on June 16–19, 2022.

Other exciting guests to look forward to this season include: conductor David Robertson on September 23–26 in a program featuring works by Nathalie Dietterich, Ives and R. Schumann; legendary pianist Hélène Grimaud in Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G, conducted by Peter Oundjian on December 2 and 4; violinist Ray Chen, who performs Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto on November 4–7; pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard, making his Seattle Symphony debut with conductor Dalia Stasevska on March 3–5; violinist James Ehnes performing Korngold Violin Concerto on March 17 and 19; and soprano Julia Bullock with conductor Nathalie Stutzmann for Brahms’ German Requiem on April 28 and 30.

For a complete list of artist and repertoire listings, please visit the Seattle Symphony Press Room.

Health and safety

The Seattle Symphony’s top priority remains the well-being of its audience, staff, and musicians. The organization is carefully planning for the safe return

of audiences to Benaroya Hall. Comprehensive health and safety measures have been implemented in the current season to enable continued concert operations, including controlled air filtration, rigorous cleaning procedures, health screening protocols, and more. The Symphony recognizes that some patrons may not feel comfortable attending concerts in person for some time. Select concerts will be available through Seattle Symphony Live, the Symphony’s streaming service.

Additional guidelines for in-person concert attendance will be announced as the upcoming season approaches. The Seattle Symphony looks forward to welcoming audiences back to Benaroya Hall soon.

Led by Music Director Thomas Dausgaard, the Seattle Symphony unleashes the power of music, brings people together, and lifts the human spirit. Recognized as one of the “most vital American orchestras” (NPR), the Seattle Symphony is internationally acclaimed for its inventive programming, community-minded initiatives, and superb recordings on the Seattle Symphony Media label. With a strong commitment to new music and a legacy of over 150 recordings, the orchestra has garnered five Grammy Awards, 26 Grammy nominations, and two Emmy Awards and was named Gramophone’s 2018 Orchestra of the Year. The Symphony performs in Benaroya Hall in the heart of downtown Seattle from September through July, reaching over 500,000 people annually through live performances and radio broadcasts.

Courtesy of the Seattle Symphony

Banned from California: Jim Foshee: Persecution, Redemption, Liberation… and the Gay Civil Rights Movement

by Lynn Childs Special to the SGN

ROBERT C. STEELE

BANNED FROM CALIFORNIA: JIM FOSHEE: PERSECUTION, REDEMPTION, LIBERATION…' AND THE GAY CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT

Wentworth-Schwartz

$25.95 hardcover/$15.95 paperback

(also on Kindle)

376 pages

Banned from California is the enlightening biographical tale of Jim Foshee, a 15-year-old runaway whose stories of “persecution, redemption, and the gay civil rights movement” use the culture and history of homosexuality in America as a backdrop for his many travels. Written by Robert C. Steele, a long-term friend of Foshee’s, many of the stories are taken from narratives by Foshee about his life.

The opening chapter captures the reader while explaining why this young man’s journey is important not only then but now.

In 1954, Foshee hitchhiked 800 miles from his abusive family in Idaho to the land his church folk called a place populated by “queers and fruits”: Los Angeles. He had not been in California for very long before he was apprehended by the police for a trumped-up theft charge and essentially

deported back to Idaho.

Thus began a series of travels, since Foshee refused to stay home. Despite various institutionalizations — a reform school, an orphanage, and a mental health facility — he appeared able to counteract all of those attempts to stifle his freedom.

Later, he was convicted of theft, and the Texas prison system became his home for six years. Difficult stories capture the essence of an effeminate male living in the harsh reality of one of the most notoriously gay-unfriendly places in the US.

There are also many anecdotes of people Foshee met and places he traveled to — drag queens, hustlers, good cops, and bad cops pass through his life. The book also chronicles his contributions to the gay community. Through his involvement in radio and the press, he was a researcher of gay history and an activist for freedom of speech and freedom of the press for the LGBTQ family.

In following this one man’s path through life, readers are witness to 70 years of American culture: the Beatniks, hippie culture, the beginnings of gay Pride, the liberal ’70s, and the AIDS outbreak and lack of federal response.

The amount of research that was required by this book is quite evident. The bibliography, footnotes, and index are expansive, and the 71 photos further illuminate this man and his eventful life.

More information is available at BannedCA.com.

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

American Veterans for Equal Rights - www.aver.us

Another Gay Social Club! - www.meetup.com/AnotherGay-Social-Club/ Bellingham/Whatcom County - www.theslowlane. com/guide.html

BiNet Seattle is a mixed gender, social group for Bisexuals, their partners & other Bi-friendly folks - www. binetseattle.org.

Bremerton/Kitsap County - www.outwestsound.org Capitol Hill Alano Club - www.chacseattle.org

Cascade Rainbow Community Center (Mount Vernon) - (360) 840-8499 and on Facebook. Central Washington University GALA Hotline: (509) 963-1994.

Channel Q 103.3 FM - LGBTQ+ Talk Radio NetworkNews and information, pop culture and music. radio.com COLAGE unites people with LGBTQ parents and caregivers into a network of peers and supports them as they nurture and empower each other to be skilled, self-confident, and just leaders in our collective communities - www.colage.org

DIFFA/Northwest (Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS). (206) 763-8885; www.diffanorthwest. org

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE & SEXUAL ASSAULT: Crisis Clinic, (206) 461-3222 (24 hour line); King County Sexual Assault Resource Center (KCSARC) - 24-hour crisis line for information, support, & medical & legal assistance: 1-888-99-VOICE; Northwest Networksupport & advocacy for Bisexual, Trans, Lesbian & Gay Survivors of Abuse & Dating Violence, (206) 568-7777 (voice), 517-9670 (tty), www.nwnetwork.org; Pierce County Domestic Violence Helpline: Teresa, (253) 798-4166; Seattle Counseling Service for Sexual Minorities - offers on-going support groups for men: 323-1768; Seattle Police Dept Domestic Violence Unit, (206) 684-0330; State Wide Domestic Violence Hot Line, 1-800-562-6025. In an emergency call 911 Report domestic violence and sexual assault. Equal Rights Washington - (206) 324-2570; www. equalrightswashington.org

Everett/Snohomish Cty - www.gaysnohomish.org

Freely Speaking Toastmasters - www.freelyspeaking.org

Gay City promotes wellness in LGBTQ communities by providing health services, connecting people to resources, fostering arts, and building community. Gay City Health Project’s Wellness Center provides anonymous & confidential HIV/STD testing. 517 E Pike St. More info or to schedule an appointment, (206) 860-6969. www.gaycity.org

Gay & Lesbian National Hotline (GLNH): 1-888-THEGLNH (1-888-843-4564). Non-profit, peer-counseling, information & local resources telephone hotline for GLBT people across the country.

Generations Aging With Pride empowers elder LGBTQ adults to live with pride and dignity by promoting, connecting, and developing innovative programs and services that enhance belonging and support, eliminate discrimination, and honor the lives of older members of our community - (206) 393-3400; info@gapseattle.org; gapseattle.org

GLSEN/WA - Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network - (206) 330-2099; www.glsenwa.org

Greater Seattle Business Association (GSBA) - (206) 363-9188; www.thegsba.org

HIV/AIDS Program, Seattle/King County Dept of Public Health, provides confidential/anonymous information about & testing for HIV/AIDS. (206) 205-7837. For a comprehensive list of HIV/AIDS service organizations see the GSBA Guide or visit www.thegsba.org or call Lifelong AIDS Alliance, (206) 328-8979.

Imperial Sovereign Court of Seattle & the Olympic & Rainier Empire - www.facebook.com/ISCSORE; www. imperialcourtofseattle.com

Lambert House - (206) 322-2515; www.lamberthouse. org

LGBT Library - 517 E Pike St. Open Mon-Fri 2-8pm; Sat 2-5pm. A wide range of fiction and non-fiction for the LGBT community and allies can be borrowed free of charge.

LGBT MS Connection - (425) 785-8593; lgbtmsconnections@comcast.net. Support group for LGBT persons with MS and their partners and their caregivers. Sponsored by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Lifelong AIDS Alliance - (206) 328-8979, www.lifelongaids alliance.org Lion’s Main Art Collective - www.lionsmain.org

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

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

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

community resources

Northwest Rainbow Alliance for the Deaf - www. nwrad.org

Olympia/Thurston County - www.RainbowCenterOly. org

Out & Equal Workplace Advocates/Seattle Regional Affiliate supports the work of LGBT employees and the growing number of ERGs (Employee Resource Groups) making a difference within local companies, including Alaska Airlines, Amazon.com, Amgen, AT&T, Bank of America, Deloitte, Macy’s, Microsoft, Russell Investments, Safeco Insurance, Starbucks Coffee, Xerox. www.outandequal.org/affiliates/seattle

Out & Proud Grays Harbor Coalition - http://outandproudgh.org

PARENTHOOD: Families Like Ours provides a gateway for LGBT families interested in adoption & provides a network of safe placement agencies, training, support & resources: (206) 441-7602, www.familieslikeours. org; Family Works offers support, information & activities for LGBT families: (206) 694-6727, www.familyworksseattle. org; Gay Fathers’ Association of Seattle offers support groups & social activities: www.gfas. org; Proud & Loud Families - Northwest, www.meetup.com/proudand-loud-families-northwest, plfnorthwest@aol.com; Queer Parent Networking Dinners: (206) 568-7777, qpnd@nwnetwork.org, www.nwnetwork.org; Rainbow Families of Puget Sound: www.rainbowfamiliesps.org PFLAG is the national organization for parents, families, allies, and LGBTQ people united for equality with chapters in Seattle, Bellevue/Eastside, the Puget Sound region and across Washington state. PFLAG Seattle: (206) 325-7724, info@pflagseattle.org, and www.pflagseattle.org; PFLAG Bellevue/Eastside: (425) 483-6642, info@bellevue-pflag.org, http://community. pflag.org/PFLAGBellevue; PFLAG Pacific Northwest: www.pnwpflag.org; PFLAG Washington State Council: www.pflagwsc.org.

Peer Seattle (formerly Seattle Area Support Groups) is a non-profit organization that builds community and cultivates powerful, healthy lives by providing emotional support and personal development services to those affected by HIV/AIDS, the Queer communities, and those who love them. Our work is done in a spirit of safety, trust, inclusiveness, and celebration of individual differences. (206) 322-2437; www.peerseattle.org

PEOPLE OF COLOR: AARTH (African American Reach & Teach Health Ministry), (206) 850-2070, www.aarth.org; Asian/Pacific Islander Queer Network Program at API Chaya, (206) 467-9976; Center for MultiCultural Health, (206) 461-6910, www.multiculturalhealth.org; Entre Hermanos, GLBT Latinos/as, (206) 322-7700, www.entrehermanos.org; Ile LaiLai, (206) 781-3565, iya@ilelailai.org; Men of All Colors & Cultures Together (MACCT), (206) 923-8313, macctseattle@yahoo.com, www.macctsea.org; Northwest Two Spirit Society, https://www.facebook.com/ groups/nw2spiritsociety/, Nubian Pride Productions, nubianpride@gmail.com; People of Color Against AIDS Network (POCAAN) offers rapid HIV testing, M-F, 10am-5pm, (206) 322-7061, www.pocaan.org and on Facebook; QBASS - Queer Black Alliance of the South Sound, (253) 256-1846, weareqbass@gmail. com; Sistah 2 Sistah, LBT women of African descent, (206) 322-7061, (206) 255-8951; Somos Seattle, somosseattle.org; Trikone-Northwest, GLBT South Asians, (425) 985-4376, www.trikonenw.org; Two-Spirit Honor Project, 1-866-685-0164; U.T.O.P.I.A. Seattle, www.utopiaseattlewa.org; VietQ Greater Seattle, vietqorganization@gmail.com

Pierce County AIDS Foundation - (253) 383-2565; www.piercecountyaids.org

Pride Foundation - (206) 323-3318; www.pridefoundation. org

Pride Lives - www.facebook.com/PrideLives/ Pride Radio 93.3 HD2

Project NEON is a program of Seattle Counseling Service providing FREE information & services to Gay & Bi men to reduce health risks associated with methamphetamine use. (206) 323-1768. www.crystalneon.org

Public Health-Seattle & King County Online Comprehensive Health Information for Sexual Minorities: www.kingcounty.gov/healthservices/health/personal/ glbt.aspx

Q Law: The GLBT Bar Association of WA - (206) 682-6711; www.q-law.org

Q Law GLBT Legal Clinic - (206) 235-7235. Queer Geek! - queergeekseattle.org

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

Sponsors Tacoma Pride Festival. (253) 383-2318, www. rainbowcntr.org

SEAMEC interviews, researches & rates candidates for public office on issues of concern to the LGBT community. www.voteseamec.org

Seattle Area Support Groups & Community Center (SASG) i- SEE LISTING for Peer Seattle. Seattle Bisexual Women’s Network - BiSeattle.wixsite. com/SBWN and on Facebook.

Seattle Counseling Service for Sexual Minorities is a community mental health service for GLBT persons & their families providing comprehensive mental health services on a sliding scale. (206) 323-1768. Seattle LGBTQ Commission - (206) 684-4503. www/ seattle.gov/lgbtq

Seattle Out & Proud - (206) 322-9561; www.seattlepride.org

Seattle Police Department Sexual Minorities Community Advisory Council: kim.bogucki@seattle.gov

Seattle PrideFest - www.seattlepridefest.org

Servicemembers Legal Defense Network - (202) 328-3244; www.sldn.org

Sex Workers Outreach Project - https://seattle. swopusa.org

Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, The Abbey of St. Joan - (206) 860-3666; www.theabbey.org Snohomish Health District HIV/AIDS Program provides free confidential/anonymous HIV counseling & testing 9am-5pm Monday-Friday, until 7pm Tuesdays. (425) 339-5298.

South Sound Q Calendar - LGBTQ events in Tacoma, Olympia & Sound Puget Sound area; www.SouthSoundQCal.com Spokane/Inland Northwest - www.outspokane.com; www.stonewallnews.net

SPORTS & RECREATION: Bent Car Guys: www. bentcarguys.org; Border Riders Motorcycle Club: www.borderriders.com; Bottom Dwellers Scuba Club: www.bottomdwellers.org; Capitol Hill Cyclers: join their Facebook group or email capitolhillcycling@ groups.facebook.com or jordan.l.simonson@gmail.com; Cascade Flag Football: www.cascadeflagfootball.org; Cascade Flyers: www.cascadeflyers.org; Emerald City Mudhen Rugby: www.mudhenrugby.com; Emerald City Softball Association: www.emeraldcitysoftball. org, www.eteamz.com/womensecsa; Ethyl Forever Car Club: ethylforever@hotmail.com; Festival of the Babes: www.festivalofthebabes.com; Olympic Yacht Club: www.oycnw.org; OutVentures: outdoor education & recreation activities, www.outventures.org; Pacific Northwest Gay Rodeo Association: www.pacificnwgra.org; Puddletown Squares: www.puddletownsquares.org; Rain City Soccer: www.raincitysoccer.org; Rain Country Dance Association: a country-western dance organization catering to the LGBTQ community but open to all, www.raincountrydance.org; Sea Dawgs: LGBT ice hockey - SkateSeaDawgs@gmail.com and on Facebook; Seattle Frontrunners: www.seattlefrontrunners.org; Seattle Gay Basketball Association: www. seattlegaybasketballassociation.com; Seattle Orca Swim Team: www.orcaswimteam.org; Seattle Otters Water Polo: www.otterpolo.com; Seattle Quake Rugby: www.quakerugby.com; Seattle Tennis Alliance: www. seattletennisalliance.org; Seattle Unified Bowling Association (SUBA): magee98106@aol.com, www. teamseattle.org/bowling.htm, www.theprideleague. com, Century 21 League; Seattle Volleyball Club: www.seattlevolleyballclub.com; Ski Buddies: www. skibuddies.org; Team Seattle Gay Sports Network is an umbrella organization for a wide range of local GLBT sports activities, (206) 367-4064, www.teamseattle.org (see website for comprehensive list of sports clubs); Triangle Recreation Camp at Bender Creek: recreational camping for GLBT folks. Must be 21; ID required. trc@ camptrc.org, www.camptrc.org, 1122 E Pike St #1069, Seattle 98122-3934. Strength Over Speed - www.strengthoverspeed.org Tacoma/Pierce County - Rainbow Center, 2215 Pacific Ave, Tacoma, a resource center for the LGBTIQA community of Pierce County, (253) 383-2318, www. rainbowcntr.org

Three Dollar Bill Cinema - TWIST: Seattle Queer Film Festival; Translations: Seattle Transgender Film Festival; Outdoor Cinema at Cal Anderson Park. www. threedollarbillcinema.org

TRANSGENDER: Emerald City Social Club: (425) 827-9494; Gender Alliance of the South Sound: www. SouthSoundGender.com; Gender Diversity: www. genderdiversity.org; Gender Justice League: www.genderjusticeleague.org; Gender Odyssey: www.genderodyssey.com; Hermanos Trans Latino & Foreign-Born

Support Group: (206) 322-7700; Ingersoll Gender Center: (206) 329-6651, www.ingersollcenter.org; Lion’s Main Art Collective: www.lionsmain.org; The New BoyZ Club: www.olympiaftmgroup.webs.com; Olympia Trans Discussion Group: www.facebook.com/pages/ Olympia-Trans-Discussion-Group/262449878114; [trans] ACTION: Trans* & Gender Non-Conforming Sex Workers’ Support Group - a safe, peer-led space. mail@utopiaseattle.org; TRANSform Washington: transformwashington.com; Trans Resource & Referral Guide: kctransguide.org; Trans Women of Color Solidarity Network: Funding the collective liberation of Trans women of color – https://m.facebook.com/ TWOCSolidarityNW/; Washington Gender Alliance: (360) 445-2411, www.washington genderalliance.com

WOMEN: Aging Ballard Lesbian Exchange (A.B.L.E.): We are Lesbians 60 years (generally) and up, living (mostly) in the north half of Seattle. The purpose of the group is to connect, socialize and support each other. ruthemilyvogel@gmail.com; Aging Lesbians in South Seattle (ALISS) - Lesbian Group at the Southeast Seattle Senior Center. This is a gathering primarily for Lesbians but all are welcome to attend. Kate, (206) 722-0317; www.sessc.org; BABES: support groups for HIV+ women. (206) 720-5566, 1-888-292-1912; Coming Out Women Support Group of Tacoma: www. comingoutwomen.org; Festival of the Babes: www. festivalofthebabes.com; Mature Friends: Gay men & women 40 & over, www.maturefriends.org; Puget Sound Old Lesbian Organizing for Change: http:// psoloc.org, (253) 777-3357; Older Lesbians Organizing for Change/WA State Chapter: gloria@oloc.org, mary@oloc.org, www.oloc.org; Pacific Northwest Lesbian Archives: www.pnwlesbianarchives.org; RainshadowWomen: RainshadowWomen@aol. com; Seattle Bisexual Women’s Network: BiSeattle. wixsite.com/SBWN; Seattle Girls of Leather: www. sgol.org; Tacoma Lesbian Concern (TLC): www.tacomalesbianconcern.org; Tacoma Older LGBT: www. tacomaolderlgbt.org; Women of West Seattle (WOWS): a fun, member-driven social group for Lesbians, http:// groups.yahoo.com/group/womenofwestseattle; YWCA Women’s Health Outreach: providing low or no-cost mammograms for income eligible 40+ LBTQ individuals. Follow us at http://lbtqhealth-ywca.blogspot.com, twitter.com/ingridWHO or email lbthealth@ywcaworks. org, (206) 461-4493. (See also listings under Bisexual, Parenthood, People of Color, Transgender.)

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

Women in White Coats: How the First Women Doctors Changed the World of Medicine

by Terri Schlichenmeyer Special to the SGN

OLIVIA CAMPBELL

WOMEN IN WHITE COATS: HOW THE FIRST WOMEN DOCTORS CHANGED THE WORLD OF MEDICINE Park Row Books

$27.99/$34.99 Canada

368 pages

Nobody’d better ever tell you that you can’t.

It’s like instructing you to at least try. It’s like waving a ten-foot-tall neon flag that says “DO IT” right in your face. When you’re told you can’t, you just double down and make it happen. And in the new book Women in White Coats by Olivia Campbell, that kind of thing opens doors.

Elizabeth Blackwell comforted her friend as best she could, but the fact of the matter was that Mary Donaldson probably had uterine cancer and was dying.

It was 1845, in Cincinnati, Ohio, but it could have happened anywhere. Medical care for women then was lacking because of Victorian attitudes, myths, and medical ignorance; nudity was taboo, so most physicians avoided looking at unclothed female bodies. Mary, wishing aloud for a “lady doctor,” urged Elizabeth to study medicine.

Says Campbell, Elizabeth “was initially repulsed by the prospect,” because being a doctor was “a gruesome business” and defi-

nitely not for a lady’s delicate sensibilities. But the more Elizabeth thought about it, the more the idea appealed to her. And so she applied to many medical schools and was turned away almost everywhere.

More than a decade later, 21-year-old Lizzie Garrett was wrestling with a similar issue in England. There were lady doctors by then, but only a handful. Medical school

officials were starting to accept the idea of women doctors — they could see the advantages — but naysayers still existed. Undaunted, and encouraged by her friend Sophia Jex-Blake, Lizzie continued to try to get her MD.

Sophia had always dreamed of opening a boarding school for young women like her, outspoken women who didn’t fit the

Last Call: A True Story of Love, Lust, and Murder in Queer New York

by Terri Schlichenmeyer Special to the SGN

ELON GREEN LAST CALL: A TRUE STORY OF LOVE, LUST, AND MURDER IN QUEER NEW YORK

Celadon Books

$27.00/$36.50 Canada

257 pages

There’s time for one last round.

One for the road, as they say. A tip for the barkeep, a final toast before you go, one more clink before you drink, and, as is made clear in the new book Last Call by Elon Green, be careful on your way out the door. It was May 1991, in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and the roadside maintenance worker had been around long enough to know when something was unusual. The last of eight trash bags he had just hefted seemed too heavy. When he poked it open, he saw freckles — and called the state police. He hadn’t touched anything in the bags, but he was ordered to have an AIDS test: the naked man inside them was identified as Peter Stickney Anderson of Philadelphia, a banker and father who was also gay.

Slightly more than a year later, on an otherwise-lonely stretch of road in New Jersey, two Transportation Department workers discovered another pile of trash bags that seemed “not quite right.” Inside

was the meticulously dismembered body of Thomas Mulcahy — a detail they knew instantly because the killer had left Tom’s ID behind.

In May of 1993, a street worker, Anthony Marrero, was found dismembered in a series of plastic bags identical to the ones Mulcahy had been left in.

By this time, officials had homed in on a few facts: the bags came from a certain store in Staten Island, they were tied in a specific way, and the bodies were cut with almostmedical precision. Still, despite the heinousness of the crimes, little to no attention was paid to them outside the gay community.

On July 29, 1993, Michael Sakara, an

Victorian norm, but by watching her friend Lizzie, and by working alongside her as a nurse, Sophia came to realize how much she, too, genuinely loved medicine. Alas, women in Great Britain were still often denied the necessary formal schooling.

In America, Elizabeth Blackwell recognized this issue too. To have more women in medicine, she knew, women should have a medical college just for them. And so she began to plan one...

Women in White Coats is a very good, quite astounding story, but for one thing: the collective triple-tale can feel like much of the same. But hold on....

Readers are individually introduced to each of Campbell’s main subjects in solid, tight chapters that offer good background, making it easy to find admiration for them. Were any of these women alive today and facing similar barriers, they’d be lauded on cable news as the groundbreakers they were.

Indeed, given the accompanying and relevant history, society, and medicine — some of which is shocking — readers will clearly see the uphill climb that Blackwell, Garrett, and Jax-Blake faced, fights you might be tempted to disbelieve without Campbell’s deft storytelling.

So yes, there’s repetition here. No doubt about it, but it’s necessary to show these women’s perseverance, conviction, and strength. For that, if you think you can resist Women in White Coats once you start it, well, you can’t.

affable, thoughtful man, told panhandlers as he left a Manhattan bar that he was “going upstate” with a companion he’d met that night. Less than 48 hours later, Michael’s head and arms were discovered in a plastic bag. Police from two states found nothing but loose ends, and the case went cold. Years later, they’d muse about how close they’d actually come to a solution...

In his afterword, author Elon Green explains why this story captured his fancy. Who were these four men? Were there others? Most importantly, why didn’t this murder spree get the regional attention it deserved?

Green answers his own questions in this book — but there’s more. There are biographical sketches of four good men here, each rounded out so well that you may wish you’d known these guys. None of them fit a mold — Green captures that clearly — and he subtly, kindly reminds readers that they were someone’s son, friend, or father. And then, just as it seems like there’s no conclusion to this tale, Green brings in the killer, whom he tantalizingly doesn’t immediately name. In those pages lie some one of the edgiest, most shoulder-clenching, most psychologically taut chapters you’ll read this year.

So lock the doors. Pour yourself a strong one down the hatch for fortification. You’re looking for hair-raising true-crime? Last Call is the one to have around.

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