SGN Nov 29, 2019 - Part 1

LGBTQ

Head Over Heels at ArtsWest is Go-Go fun

Cher rocks out at Portland's Moda Center

Seattle Gay News

voters say: Throw the bum out!

New poll finds strong opposition to Trump, enthusiasm for 2020 vote

The first major poll of LGBTQ voters in the 2020 presidential cycle has been released, and one thing is clear: While LGBTQ people are diverse in race, identity and opinion, they are unified in opposition to the Trump-Pence administration. Here are some key takeaways from OUT magazine’s survey, taken in collaboration with YouGov:

see LGBTQ VOTERS page 11

GSBA raises record $1.6 million at annual EQUALUX – TASTE OF GSBA Corporations, small businesses and individuals donate to support the oldest LGBTQ Scholarship Fund in the US

On Saturday, November 23, the Greater Seattle Business Association (GSBA), Washington state’s LGBTQ and allied chamber of commerce, hosted over 1,000 guests at its annual fundraiser gala,

EQUALUX – TASTE of GSBA, the largest LGBTQ Gala in the Pacific Northwest. A record of over $1.6 million was raised for the GSBA Scholarship Fund.

see GSBA page 5

LGBTQ voters love Warren; not so much Mayor Pete Utah sees the light on “conversion” therapy

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

A new poll from YouGov and OUT magazine found that LGBTQ voters favor Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren by a nearly 2-to-1 margin over her rivals in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination. The online survey of 816 likely Democratic voters was conducted Nov. 11-18 and released Nov. 25. The poll is said to be the first systematic analysis of LGBTQ voters to be conducted for the 2020 campaign.

see MIKE ANDREW page 11

State plans new rule protecting LGBTQ youth from mental health quacks

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH (Nov. 26)

– Utah Gov. Gary Herbert has announced that the Utah Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing will propose a new administrative rule preventing licensed mental health professionals in the state from subjecting LGBTQ youth to the life-

threatening practice of “conversion” therapy aimed at changing their sexual orientation. The new rule will be identical to the language of H.B. 399, legislation that was introduced in the state legislature by Rep. Craig Hall in February and secured wide-

see UTAH page 13

OBITUARY

R.I.P., Gay Comix pioneer Howard Cruse

Remembrance by Vaughn Frick

Special to the SGN

Cartoonist and social activist Howard Cruse has died at the age of 75 from cancer, on November 26, 2019, in North Adams, MA. Howard is considered by many of his peers to be the Godfather of GLBTQ cartooning, enjoying a long professional career which began as a cartoonist for underground newspapers and comic books in the early 1970’s. He also was the lead puppeteer for a children’s television show in Alabama in the late 1960’s. Howard officially came out in 1979 and started editing the ground-breaking Gay Comix series, which provided a forum for a generation of GLBTQ cartoonists to explore themes and stories absent then in the mainstream media. Howard shepherded in the pages of Gay Comix the full diversity of the GLBTQ community at a time when coming out was professional suicide.

Howard’s comics and illustrations also appeared in numerous periodicals and publications, including his “Wendel” series which ran in The Advocate magazine through most of the 1980’s. “Wendel” featured the life, triumphs, and struggles of it’s title Gay character, set during the tribulation and oppressions of the Ronald Reagan era, including the early HIV pandemic. Several book collections of his “Wendel” strips have been published.

As radically political as Howard’s work was then, personally he was gracious, sensitive, authentic, informative, and a mentor to many young cartoonists, including the author of this obituary, who Howard first published in Gay Comix in 1981.

Howard’s great work is the 210 page graphic novel Stuck Rubber Baby which was first published in 1995. Stuck Rubber Baby is a coming of age/coming out story set in the American South during the struggles of the civil rights era, which Howard had been actively involved with.

From Tony Kushner’s introduction for this book: “Its readers will surely find in Stuck Rubber Baby all manner of richness and depth and value, only one aspect of which is political. But as political art this book is timely. It articulates a crying need for solidarity, it performs the crucial function of remembering, for the Queer community, how essential to the birth of our politics of liberation the civil rights movement was. The point, it seems to me, is not that one movement co-opts the energy or the nobility or the history of another; not that one people, rising to an angry knowledge of how it’s been abused, competes for the status of ‘most abused’ with any other; but rather that we need to know the genealogies of our movements, and with that knowledge come to understand the interdependence of all liberation struggles. We must finally accept and practice what we’ve been say-

ing for decades, for centuries: Freedom is only possible when it’s everyone’s freedom, and slavery anywhere means slavery everywhere.”

This epic has been republished internationally; next year the 25th anniversary edition will be out. Howard received top comic industry awards for Stuck Rubber Baby, and was nominated for both the American Library Association’s Lesbian and Gay Book Award and the Lambda Literary Award.

Several other collections of Howard’s comics have been published, including Dancing Naked with the Angels, and The Other Side of Howard Cruse Howard is survived by his husband and life partner of many years Eddie Sederbaum, his daughter Kimberly Kolze Venter, and his many friends and growing legions of fans internationally.

GSBA

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The GSBA Scholarship Fund awards scholarships to students who exhibit leadership potential, demonstrate strong academic abilities, and are actively involved in their school and community organizations. The financial support is for students pursuing any kind of postsecondary education, including public or private colleges and universities, community college, AA degrees, trade schools, and certificate programs. Applicants must be Washington state residents but can attend an educational institution anywhere in the world. GSBA does not ask the citizenship status of applicants. The average scholarship is valued at $8,000 annually per student, amounting to a substantial investment in a student’s education. and with the GSBA Guarantee, GSBA invests up to $40K in the education of each student that receives four years of support.

The amount of money raised at 2019’s Equalux ($450K more than 2018’s event), will allow GSBA to invest over $600,000 in the 2020 class of scholars, increasing both the total number of scholars, and the financial investment in each.

“GSBA was founded to open up opportunity, promote equality, and take care of our LGBTQ youth, many of whom were thrown out of their homes because of who they are,” said Louise Chernin, president and CEO of GSBA. “GSBA is one of the only values-driven business organizations that, with the help of our sponsors and donors, will continue to transform our community, and invest in the education of the next generation. I am astounded and overjoyed by the record-breaking amount of money raised at this year’s EQUALUX. It is a testament to how strongly our community believes in supporting the next generation of LGBTQ leaders. Our scholars are more likely to succeed because they are not alone; they have the encouragement and support to launch their futures as capable and confident LGBTQ members of their community, working to make the world a better place for all of us.”

The GSBA Scholarship Fund has set ambitious goals for the future of the program as outlined by Carrie Carson, GSBA Scholarship Fund Board Chair. “Because of you and your incredible love, compassion, and generosity here tonight, and many who couldn’t be here, we can continue to grow the fund by raising the most money ever tonight and meet our Moon Shot goal of funding scholarships for 75 scholars by 2022.”

During the evening, guests were treated to wine from Washington state wine sponsors including Rotie Cellars, Latta Wines, Kerloo Cellars, and Structure Cellars. Entertainment was provided by A Sensibile Theatre Co. and the featured speaker was former GSBA scholar, Katie Kolan who told her triumphant story of overcoming the rejection of her family and other hardships to graduate with a law degree from the University of Washington and her successful career as a lobbyist in Olympia, all because of the support she has received from friends and the financial support from the GSBA Scholarship Fund. “I just kept running! No one succeeds alone. What you told me through your scholarship program is that you believed in me. That you knew that I could do it. You gave me a boost to keep my head afloat.”

The businesses that helped make EQUALUX possible include Title Sponsor Comcast NBCUniversal; Presenting Sponsor UW Medicine; Evening Sponsors Alaska Airlines, Amazon, Carter Subaru,

Lyft, Sound, Seabourn, Symetra, Morgan Stanley, and The Westin.

About GSBA

Established in 1981, GSBA is Washington state’s LGBTQ and allied chamber of commerce. It represents over 1,400 small business, corporate, and nonprofit members who share GSBA’s values of promoting equality, equity, diversity, and inclusion in the workplace. GSBA is widely respected throughout the region for its effective-

ness in business development, representing the business voice, connecting community through business, advocating for civil rights and business, promoting LGBTQ tourism through Travel Out Seattle, and investing in the next generation of leaders through the GSBA Scholarship Fund. For more information on GSBA, visit www.thegsba.org.

About the GSBA Scholarship Fund

The GSBA Scholarship Fund awards scholarships to LGBTQ and allied students who exhibit leadership potential, demonstrate strong academic abilities and are actively

involved in their schools and community organizations. GSBA invests in students who have the capacity and vision to be the next generation of leaders committed to making a difference in the world.

Founded in 1991, the GSBA Scholarship Fund has awarded over 766 scholarships to 460 students, totaling in an investment of over $4 million. For more information on the GSBA Scholarship Fund, visit www. thegsba.org/scholarship-home.

of GSBA

EQUALUX: The TASTE of GSBA raises over $1.6M for GSBA Scholarship Fund

by MK Scott SGN Contributing Writer

EQUALUX: The TASTE of GSBA took place on Saturday, November 23rd at the Seattle Westin Hotel. The event was lavish and through silent and live auctions raised over $1.6 million for the GSBA Scholarship Fund.

This year’s EQUALUX, hosted by KOMO TV’s Seth Wayne and Auctioneer, Laura Michalek, is Seattle’s largest LGBTQ gala, and featured delicious food from top restaurants and celebrity chefs, the finest wines in Washington, stellar local entertainment, unbeatable silent, and live auctions, and – most of all – a community celebration of our future LGBTQ and allied leaders.

Proceeds raised at EQUALUX directly benefit the GSBA Scholarship Fund, one of the oldest and most active LGBTQ scholarship programs in the country. Since its founding in 1991, the GSBA Scholarship Fund has invested $3.4 million in LGBTQ+ students who exemplify leadership potential, strong academic ability, and community involvement and dedication.

It’s not too late to join in on the EQUALUX magic. Please consider investing in the GSBA Scholarship Fund (https://www. thegsba.org/scholarship-home/supportour-scholars/scholarship-donation-form) or volunteering your time as a scholarship interviewer in early 2020. (http://bit. ly/35JHW3E)

JESSE’S JOURNAL

Pedro Zamora: 25 years later

by Jesse Monteagudo SGN Contributing Writer

The National LGBTQ Wall of Honor is a memorial wall created as part of the Stonewall National Monument. Fifty inaugural LGBTQ “pioneers, trailblazers, and heroes” were inducted into the Wall of Honor as part of this year’s Stonewall 50 festivities. The youngest of these was Pedro Pablo Zamora (February 29, 1972 - November 11, 1994), a Cuban-American AIDS activist, educator and, most famously, reality television star. Though he was only 22 when he passed away 25 years ago, Zamora did more for AIDS education and LGBTQ rights than most people who enjoyed much longer lives.

Zamora was a cast member of the MTV reality show “The Real World: San Francisco”, which was televised between June and November of 1994. By that time Zamora already had years of experience as an AIDS educator, working with minorities and young people. His appearance in “The Real World” only expanded his outreach. The MTV, which already broke barriers during the first two seasons of “The Real World”, broke a few more when it hired a cast member who was not only gay but also a minority member and a Person Living With AIDS. The show’s mostly youthful audience became acquainted with a man their age who, though living with the consequences of HIV, enjoyed a productive life. Zamora’s onscreen relationship with Sean Sasser culminated in a commitment

ceremony between the two men, another television first. Sadly, Zamora’s health declined while he was filming “The Real World” and he died on November 11, 1994, only hours after the last episode was aired.

Pedro Zamora was born on the outskirts of Havana on Leap Year Day, 1972. In 1980 the 8-year old Zamora and his family fled Cuba during the Mariel Boat Lift.

His beloved mother Zoraida died of skin cancer when Pedro was just 13. He coped with his grief by excelling in school: He was an honor student and president of the Science Club. Though he was openly gay at an early age, the young Zamora was uneducated about safe sex and AIDS prevention. Zamora tested positive for HIV when he was just 17. Graduating from high school

(1990) Zamora joined Miami’s Body Positive center and soon became a full-time AIDS educator. His AIDS work took him around the world, appearing before the United States Congress, at international AIDS conferences and on the “Phil Donahue” and “Oprah Winfrey” television shows. “If you want to reach me as a young man, especially a young gay man of color, then you need to give me information in a language and vocabulary I can understand and relate to,” he said. Learning that the MTV was casting an HIV positive person for the 1994 season of “The Real World”, Zamora auditioned, winning the part out of 25,000 applicants.

After his death, Zamora was honored for his work educating people, on TV and elsewhere, about AIDS and LGBTQ issues. Zamora was praised by folks in all walks of life, including then-President Bill Clinton: “Over the past few years, Pedro became a member of all our families. Now, no one in America can say they’ve never known someone who’s living with AIDS,” Clinton said. “Pedro is a role model for all of us. He’s shown the courage and strength to move beyond himself, reaching out to others while struggling with his own illness. The challenge to each of us is to do something about it and to continue Pedro’s fight.” Though the lives of LGBTQ people and People Living With AIDS have improved over the past quarter of a century, the fight is not over. Pedro Zamora’s life and death only encourages us to go on.

HRC president calls on Trump Jr. to apologize for vile HIV tweet

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Nov. 26) – Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest LGBTQ civil rights organization, called on Donald Trump Jr., son of President Trump, to apologize for his vile weekend tweet stigmatizing people living with HIV.

“Trump Jr. just proved again what we already knew – that he, his father and the Trump-Pence administration don’t care about people living with HIV, are undermining competent care and have no understanding of people living with HIV,” said HRC President Alphonso David.

“Trump Jr.’s absolutely disgusting and ignorant tweet only serves to perpetuate the stigma faced by people living with HIV, which HRC and LGBTQ advocates have fought so long to end. Trump Jr. must apologize. And Trump and Pence must put their money where their mouths are and actually sufficiently fund the domestic initiatives aimed at ending the epidemic they claim to be combatting.”

President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence share a disturbing record on HIV and AIDS. In 2017, the Trump-Pence White House proposed a federal budget that would have slashed $1.1 billion in funding for international HIV prevention programs. This was slammed by experts, who claimed it would lead to political instability and entirely reverse the gains made against the disease in the past decade. The same budget proposal called for a repeal of Obamacare, which would have meant deep cuts to Medicaid,

LGBTQ VOTERS

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• LGBTQ voters are dialed in to the 2020 Democratic primary process, with 79 percent saying they are currently “a lot” or “somewhat” interested in the campaign.

• In 2018, LGBTQ voters cast ballots in higher numbers than the general population. LGBTQ voters cast more than seven million ballots in all – a turnout of roughly 70 percent, compared to 49 percent turnout among the general population. Overall, LGBTQ voters comprised six percent of the entire national electorate.

• LGBTQ voters are more enthusiastic than ever before for the 2020 election, with 82 percent rating themselves a seven or higher on a 1-10 enthusiasm scale.

• Nationwide, there are an estimated minimum of 11 million LGBTQ voters – and millions more allies – who will

MIKE ANDREW

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Thirty-one percent of the respondents said that Warren is their pick for the nomination, followed by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders (18%), former Vice President Joe Biden (16%), and South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg (14%). Buttigieg is the only openly Gay candidate in the race.

Further down the list, California Sen. Kamala Harris came in at 6%, followed by New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker (3%), entrepreneur Andrew Yang (2%), Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar (2%), and former HUD Secretary Julián Castro (2%).

The poll shows that LGBTQ voters have a distinctly different take on the Democratic candidates than the electorate as a whole. Survey averages calculated by RealClearPolitics currently show Warren in third place, behind Biden and Sanders, and more than 10 percentage points back of frontrunner Biden.

despite the sobering reality that 40 percent of Americans with HIV depend on Medicaid to pay their medical bills.

Early last year, the Trump-Pence Administration’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) proposed a regulation that would blatantly allow health care providers a license to discriminate based on their own personal beliefs, even in cases of lifesaving medical care, which would drastically impact patients living with HIV and AIDS.

During Pence’s time as governor of Indiana, he oversaw the worst outbreak of HIV and AIDS in the state’s history due to his refusal to lift a ban on needle exchange programs. He only backed down after his approach drew universal outrage from public health experts, including the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). His actions have

play a decisive role in the 2020 elections. LGBTQ voters have become a force to be reckoned with and a constituency to court.

• Donald Trump is historically unpopular with LGBTQ voters. Only four percent of respondents to the OUT poll had a “very” or “somewhat” favorable view of the president. By contrast, 89 percent said they had a “very unfavorable” view, with 93 percent voicing some degree of disapproval.

In 2016, according to exit polls, Hillary Clinton earned 78% of the LGBTQ vote while Trump earned about 14%. This would mark a 10% decline in support over his term in office that has been marred by one anti-LGBTQ initiative after another.

• LGBTQ voters overwhelmingly favor impeachment and removal, with 89 percent saying Trump should not be allowed to finish his term. Only four percent opposed impeachment. The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) came out in support of the impeachment inquiry on Sept. 27.

State-specific polling also shows her behind Buttigieg in Iowa and barely maintaining a lead in New Hampshire.

According to YouGov, Warren’s popularity among LGBTQ voters is “probably reflective of the fact that the LGBTQ voters in this survey identify as much more liberal than the Democratic primary electorate writ large.”

“Seventy-seven percent of LGBTQ Democratic primary voters identified in our survey as very or somewhat liberal, approximately 20 percentage points higher than the percentage of Democratic primary voters overall who identify as very or somewhat liberal in our surveys,” said Alissa Stollwerk, vice president of YouGov Blue, in a statement to OUT magazine.

In fact, a question on the survey asked LGBTQ voters whether they favor incremental change in policymaking or bold structural reform. Respondents chose bold change by an overwhelming 36-point margin.

since been described as “the case study for how misguided health policies can endanger lives.”

Pence has spent his career aggressively demanding Planned Parenthood be defunded, even to the detriment of HIV and AIDS prevention. He has called condoms “very, very poor protection against sexually transmitted diseases” and stated that if Planned Parenthood wanted to provide HIV testing services, they should stop providing abortions.

President Trump has demonstrated his own ignorance on HIV on numerous occasions. Microsoft founder Bill Gates says he has had to explain to Trump twice that there is a difference between HIV and HPV, or human papillomavirus. In 1997, Trump bizarrely characterized his early sex life as his “own personal Vietnam” – a war he

• Vice President Mike Pence is universally known, and almost universally disliked.

Only one percent of poll respondents did not know who Mike Pence was, and only seven percent had a “very” or “somewhat” favorable view of him. He was viewed as “very unfavorable” by 78 percent of the poll respondents, with 85 percent overall disapproval.

LGBTQ people know who Mike Pence is, and know he’s the most anti-LGBTQ Vice President in history. Learn more about Pence’s record at HRC.org/RealMikePence.

HRC President Alphonso David says the poll shows his group’s priorities are in line with the needs and concerns of LGBTQ people.

“When I became president of the Human Rights Campaign, I embarked on a national tour to listen to LGBTQ people across the country,” said David. “We talked about the issues that keep them awake at night and the resources they need. This new poll from OUT Magazine not only provides data to match the stories I hear every day, but it reaf-

Who LGBTQ voters like and who we don’t

Warren also enjoys the highest favorable ratings with LGBTQ voters by a 10-point margin. Fifty-four percent of respondents say their views of her are “highly favorable.”

In contrast, 33 percent of LGBTQ voters have a “highly” or “somewhat” unfavorable view of frontrunner Joe Biden. Only Tulsi Gabbard and Marianne Williamson scored lower, with 38 percent unfavorable ratings.

Biden also ranked close to the bottom with LGBTQ voters when they were asked to name the candidate they’d refuse to vote for in the Democratic primary. Thirty-four percent said they definitely would not vote for Biden. Only Gabbard (38%), Williamson (also 38%), and Tom Steyer (41%) were less attractive to LGBTQ voters.

Survey respondents also believe Warren has the best chance to beat Trump in the general election. Fifty-three percent said she could do so, followed by Biden (52%), Sanders (46%), and Buttigieg (29%).

evaded through five draft deferments – and said avoiding STDs made him feel like “a great and very brave soldier.” In the same interview, he joked that he could have forced the late Princess Diana to take an HIV test.

William Barr, currently the Trump-Pence administration’s attorney general, created an “HIV prison camp” in Guantanamo Bay in 1991, which reportedly held 310 asylumseekers in dire conditions without adequate health care. Barr has also made personal statements promoting a draconian approach to the federal government’s role in responding to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, including the adoption of proven methods of prevention and access to treatment. Barr blamed AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections on “sexual licentiousness,” calling them “the costs associated with personal misconduct.” He disputed public health efforts to inform the American people about the transmission and prevention of HIV and AIDS, opposing public health interventions such as the distribution of condoms, because “by removing the costs of [sexual] misconduct, the government serves to perpetuate it.”

The Human Rights Campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer people. HRC envisions a world where LGBTQ people are embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community.

Courtesy Human Rights Campaign

firms the importance of our work – here at the Human Rights Campaign and across the movement – and it aligns with the issues we know we must tackle together.”

Here are what the poll found to be the most pressing issues specific to the LGBTQ community, with the percentage of respondents labeling each one important:

• Stopping violence against Trans people – 73%

• Nondiscrimination protections – 60%

• Ending LGBTQ youth homelessness – 59%

• Same-sex adoption protections – 58%

• Banning “conversion therapy” – 56%

The OUT/YouGov poll of 816 identified “likely voters” was conducted Nov. 11-18. It can be found online at www.out.com/election.

Courtesy Human Rights Campaign, OUT Magazine and SGN staff

The issues we care about

In addition to surveying LGBTQ voters about candidate preferences, YouGov and Out also asked about what issues matter most to the LGBTQ community.

According to respondents, the top issues for them in the upcoming election are health care (66%), climate change (59%), income inequality (37%), and gun policy (36%). Perhaps surprisingly, only 34 percent of respondents listed LGBTQ rights as the top issue for them in 2020.

Among issues specific to LGBTQ people, respondents believe the most critical problem facing the community today is the epidemic of violence targeting Transgender women of color. Seventy-three percent of respondents said it is a critical concern for them, followed by fighting for fully inclusive nondiscrimination protections (60%), tackling LGBTQ+ youth homelessness (59%), ensuring samesex couples have access to adoption and foster care (58%), and banning so-called conversion therapy (56%).

BOOKS

2020 Seattle Reads pick is There There by Tommy Orange, the program’s first by an indigenous author

Seattle Reads, the “one book, one city” program started by The Seattle Public Library in 1998, has announced its book selection for 2020: There There by Tommy Orange. The award-winning novel is the first Seattle Reads pick by an indigenous author.

“This book does such a beautiful job telling the story of urban Native communities and making them visible,” said Stesha Brandon, Literature & Humanities Program Manager for The Seattle Public Library.

The level of community involvement in the selection process is another first for the program. The selection committee for 2020 included not only Library staff, but also four members of Seattle’s literary community: Kathy Hsieh, writer, director and producer; Kalani Kapahua, Third Place Books events manager; Donna Miscolta, short-story writer and novelist; and Zola Mumford, North Seattle College librarian and curator of the Langston Hughes African American Film Festival.

“It was a unanimous decision,” Brandon said. “The committee felt that Orange’s novel was one of the most powerful books we’ve read in years, and the writing is heartbreakingly beautiful.”

Orange will visit Seattle from May 16-17, 2020, and will speak at four public

UTAH

continued from cover spread public support before narrowly failing to pass.

“It is vital that our leaders support LGBTQ youth. We are grateful to Gov. Herbert for his leadership and for making sure all youth know they are born perfect. It is lifesaving,” said Mathew Shurka, conversion therapy survivor and strategist for the Born Perfect campaign, spearheaded by the National Center for Lesbian Rights.

“Utah is once again leading the way in

Seattle Reads events. Look for more details on the programs early in 2020 at spl.org/ seattlereads.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Tommy Orange’s novel, which Colm Tóibín described in The New York Times as “an ambitious meditation on identity and its broken alternatives,” follows 12 characters from Native communities, all traveling to the Big Oakland Powwow, who are all connected to each other in ways they don’t yet realize. Together, this chorus of voices tells of the plight of the urban Native American – grappling with a complex and painful history, with an inheritance of beauty and spirituality, with communion and sacrifice and heroism.

There There was one of The New York Times Book Review’s 10 Best Books of the Year, winner of both the Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize and the Pen/Hemingway Award. There There was also longlisted for the National Book Award and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Orange graduated from the MFA program at the Institute of American Indian Arts, and was a 2014 MacDowell Fellow and a 2016 Writing by Writers Fellow. He is an enrolled member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma. He was born and raised in Oakland, California.

FIND A COPY

A limited number of copies of There There will be available at Library locations for informal borrowing by individual patrons or book groups in February or March 2020.

Library locations with a book group will also discuss the book. In 2020, check our calendar for a discussion near you.

PROGRAM INFORMATION

In 1998, The Seattle Public Library launched Seattle Reads, a program to encourage Seattleites to read and discuss the same book. The “one book, one city” program is now an annual event held in cities, states and countries around the world.

Seattle Reads is made possible by The Seattle Public Library Foundation and The Wallace Foundation, with support from media sponsor The Seattle Times and partner the Seattle City of Literature. Other sponsors and partners will be announced later.

For more information, visit www.spl. org/seattlereads, call the Library at 206386-4636 or visit www.spl.org and Ask Us.

Courtesy of Seattle Public Library

protecting LGBTQ youth and their families. We salute Gov. Herbert for taking action on this important issue and for this historic accomplishment,” said Shannon Minter, NCLR legal director.

Following publication of the proposed new rule on Dec. 15, the rule will be subject to a 30-day public comment period and is expected to become official state law in January, making Utah the 19th state to protect youth from the dangerous practice.

For more than 25 years, NCLR has been leading the fight against conversion therapy. Since 2014, NCLR’s Born Perfect campaign has brought survivors and legal experts

together to support legislation protecting LGBTQ youth from the practice in 18 states, the District of Columbia, and more than 60 municipalities across the nation.

Momentum on this work continues to build, with a record-breaking number of states and localities taking action to protect youth in recent weeks, including the state of North Carolina and cities such as Minneapolis, Minn., and Kansas City, Mo.

The announcement of the new rule in Utah comes less than a week after the American Medical Association stated that it would support federal and state laws that

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Hong Kong elects Gay council member

Jimmy Sham is a pro-democracy insurgent and human rights activist

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

Hong Kong elected a pro-democracy Gay man to one of its District Councils, as activists swept to a landslide victory in local elections. Several notable homophobes, meanwhile, lost their seats.

Jimmy Sham, a first-time candidate, is the out Gay leader of the Civil Human Rights Front, an umbrella group of prodemocracy organizations. He appeared at his victory rally on crutches after being attacked by hammer-wielding thugs reportedly hired by political rivals.

Hong Kong’s Nov. 24 election featured a confrontation between candidates supporting mass protests against entrenched District officials and supporters of the incumbent government.

Sham said that his electoral victory reflected a broad consensus on defending Hong Kong’s civil rights.

“We are trying to listen to the demands of the people and to fight for their rights,” he told reporters.

When Britain handed over control of Hong Kong to China in 1997, China agreed

to what is called the “one county, two systems” approach, under which Hong Kong is officially part of China but maintains its own legal and administrative framework.

Mass protests broke out in June after Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam introduced a bill that would allow extradition of accused criminals to China. Many citizens feared that the measure would lead to erosion of Hong Kong’s civil rights guarantees, which are more robust than those in the rest of China.

After months of protests with millions of people taking to the streets, Lam withdrew the controversial bill, but by then protesters were demanding her resignation. The election was widely seen as a total repudiation of her administration.

According to the BBC, 17 of Hong Kong’s 18 district councils are now controlled by prodemocracy majorities. Lam told reporters she would “reflect” on her political future after viewing the election returns.

Sham became active in the Civil Human

protect youth from conversion therapy. Born Perfect is a survivor-led campaign created by NCLR in 2014 to end conversion therapy by passing laws across the country to protect LGBTQ children and young people, fighting in courtrooms to ensure their safety, and raising awareness about the serious harms caused by these dangerous practices. More information on the campaign can be found at bornperfect.org.

Courtesy National Center for Lesbian Rights

Rights Front through one of its member organizations, Rainbow Action, Hong Kong’s leading LGBT rights group. He is also a member of the League of Social Democrats, one of the more radical prodemocracy groups.

The 32-year-old Sham married his husband in New York in 2014. China does not recognize same-sex relationships, but Hong Kong law allows the partners of Hong Kong residents to apply for spousal visas and benefits.

Sham is not the only out Gay council member in Hong Kong. Ray Chan, also Gay and also linked to the pro-democracy movement, was elected to a district council office in 2012. He lost no time in congratulating Sham on social media.

“Openly gay Jimmy Sham is elected #HongKong district councilman. He campaigned, seen here with me, using a cane after two attacks. Brazenly homophobic incumbents such as Holden Chow, Dominic Lee, Junius Ho & Vincent Cheng all lost their seats. What a day! #HongKongProtests,” Chan tweeted.

World AIDS Day Event

Sunday, December 1, 4pm Hugo House 1634 11th Ave, Seattle

The AMP: AIDS Memorial Pathway invites you to commemorate World AIDS Day with us.

Attendees are welcome to arrive at 3:30pm to meet the artists commissioned for The AMP and see artwork concepts that will be shown to the public for the first time.

The short program starts at 4pm, and will include videos and community members sharing more about the AIDS Memorial Pathway.

It will conclude at 5pm after a musical performance and procession to the future site of The AMP for a communal moment of silent reflection and remembrance.

Please RSVP with a response to our Facebook event:

https://www.facebook.com/ events/1011221389221825/

Or you can email your RSVP to: info@theamp.org

This event will be ASL Interpreted.