SAN ANTONIO – Jalen McKee-Rodriguez defeated incumbent Jada Andrews-Sullivan in the race for District 2 runoff on Saturday night, becoming the first openly gay man to be elected to the San Antonio City Council.
With all the votes counted, McKee-Rodriguez captured 63% of the vote compared to 37% for Andrews-Sullivan, a difference of 1,230 votes. It was one of five runoff City Council elections held Saturday.
“I vow to be that leader who is going to be working hard every single day,” McKee-Rodriguez, 25, told KSAT 12 Saturday night.
Andrews-Sullivan, who won her only term in office in 2019, said Saturday night, “We did our best for our community and we’re thankful for the opportunity.”
McKee-Rodriguez, a former teacher who previously worked for Andrews-Sullivan as a communications director, said that his historic victory on San Antonio’s East Side proved a lot of people wrong.
”A lot of people said that District 2 wouldn’t be ready for a candidate like me. Would District 2 be ready for a young, gay candidate? Is Texas ready for a young, gay Black man to be elected anywhere into any position? And, so I think what we proved and what the community proved is that everyone deserves representation. And if you have the right motives, if you have the right passions, and if you’re a good listener, the people will trust that,” he said. “I’m excited to be passing the torch and provide a voice for young people because we’re not represented in a number of ways at City Hall and in our government locally and nationally. And so I won’t take that lightly either.”
Robert Salcido Jr., executive director of Pride Center San Antonio, told KSAT 12 that McKee-Rodriguez’s victory comes at the right time for the Alamo City.
“It is historic to see a Black, out and proud gay candidate like Jalen McKee-Rodriguez be elected to the San Antonio City Council. At a time when racism, homophobia, and other issues that disproportionately affect people of color and LGBTQ+ people, Jalen will bring unique perspectives based on lived experiences never before represented in San Antonio. Being the first openly gay Black man elected in San Antonio, the first openly gay Black man elected in Texas, is representation at its finest. It’s historic,” Salcido said in a statement to KSAT.
McKee-Rodriguez said recently on social media that some pastors on the East Side told congregants that a vote for him is a sin.
The pastors denied the accusations, saying that they are endorsed Andrews-Sullivan for her work as councilwoman.
McKee-Rodriguez said he resigned his staff position in 2019 in Andrews-Sullivan’s office because of retaliation he faced after telling her about issues with another staff member’s treatment of him as an openly gay man, which Andrews-Sullivan denied.
While McKee-Rodriguez is the first openly gay man to be elected to City Council, Elena Guajardo was the first openly gay person elected to City Council in 2005.
Candidates for San Antonio City Council District 2 will appear in a live forum at 6 p.m. on Sunday, April 25, hosted by the San Antonio Observer. (Copyright 2021 by KSAT – All rights reserved.)
Probably the best thing about RTÉ’s midweek feature, Dear Gay, is that it is a reminder of life before social media.
It’s easy to be sentimental about the past, forgetting the awful things that went on and only remembering the good; but in an age when people post their thoughts and feelings every minute of the day, it can easily seem as if the sharing of experience has become cheapened, devalued.
The letters sent by listeners to The Gay Byrne Show on RTÉ Radio One, which the legendary broadcaster used to read out each morning, had huge power because they came in the context of a culture that was far more reticent than today. It cost something to share your darkest truths back then, and not just the price of an envelope and a stamp.
Producer and director Sarah Ryder kept things simple, as Gaybo did, allowing the personal stories to speak for themselves. Having the original authors on screen decades later, reading their own words, made for a moving fusion of past and present.
The documentary also gave rightful prominence to the role of Gay’s personal assistant, Maura Connolly, who read every letter that came in, making the ‘Letter of the Week’ such an important institution in Irish life at the time.
From women revealing, for the first time openly, the misery of their dysfunctional marriages, to the horrors that went on in Mother and Baby Homes, and the desperate pleas for help from the Gay Byrne Fund in the 1980s from listeners who were struggling to cope in the shadow of mass unemployment, Dear Gay managed to present a searing oral history of a painful past without overlooking the happier and more innocent letters that also featured in Gay’s radio show each morning. He was a genius at mixing light and dark in that way.
Much has been made of his “empathy” since Dear Gay was broadcast, but that may slightly misunderstand his method. He didn’t emote or twang his own heartstrings. Gay was always measured in everything he said and did, a little detached even, and that gave his voice more power, because it seemed to come from a place of wisdom and calm rather than righteous anger.
He was able to challenge the often skewed values of conservative Ireland more powerfully because he appreciated and cherished the country’s strengths in those days too. He was a conservative man himself, not some ranting radical. If he had been more strident, his show wouldn’t have been nearly so effective.
Overall, two years after his death, it was just good to see him back on screen again, and to hear his voice one more time.
RTÉ’s archive remains a criminally underused resource. There are so many great clips and documentaries and arts features which have vanished into a black hole of time from which they deserve to be rescued.
Jodie Turner-Smith as Anne Boleyn and Mark Stanley as Henry VIII. Picture by Parisa Taghizadeh
Jodie Turner-Smith as Anne Boleyn and Mark Stanley as Henry VIII. Picture by Parisa Taghizadeh
The first thing worth noting about Channel 5’s new, much-hyped, big budget, three-part historical drama was the title. Billed as a no-holds-barred “psychological thriller” about the last months in the life of Henry VIII’s doomed second wife, producers decided to go with the title… Anne Boleyn. Let’s just say it couldn’t have taken them long to come up with that one.
The main interest when the series was announced was that the actor playing Boleyn, Jodie Turner-Smith of Queen & Slim fame, is black, which started a whole debate about whether representation matters more than historical accuracy.
It’s a tricky one. Anne Boleyn was obviously not black, but TV drama has an obligation to reflect the multicultural society that it serves, more than it needs to be true to the 16th century. Having said that, there were a few jarring moments in the opening episode. Anne had some suspiciously modern and progressive ideas about how to distribute wealth more fairly.
Ultimately, though, you just have to trust the audience to know that they’re watching a story rather than a documentary.
As such, Jodie Turner-Smith’s skin colour quickly ceased to matter very much. She was not playing Anne Boleyn as if she was a black woman. She simply happens to be black, and to be playing Anne Boleyn. If anything, the fact that she was black, and most of the court was white, worked effectively in emphasising her isolation and otherness as she fell quickly out of favour because of her failure to produce a male heir for her unstable husband.
Turner-Smith was actually the best thing in the drama, which otherwise contented itself with dutifully ticking off events familiar from countless previous adaptations, not least Wolf Hall and The Tudors, without adding anything particularly fresh to them.
This is scriptwriter Eve Hedderwick Turner’s first major project, so some leeway must be allowed, but her take on the story was just too respectful, too timid. It was hard not to long for a much more iconoclastic version of that schoolbook history, in the riotous manner of the recent Netflix/Channel 4 series The Great, about Catherine II of Russia.
A few saucy bedroom scenes, and a gratuitous same-sex kiss between Boleyn and Henry’s soon-to-be third wife Jane Seymour, hardly made up for those clunkily symbolic dream sequences.
Chicken, from ‘The Masked Dancer’. Picture by: Kieron McCarron
Chicken, from ‘The Masked Dancer’. Picture by: Kieron McCarron
Some purport to see The Masked Dancer as the ultimate expression of a dumbed down, celeb-obsessed culture; but I must confess, I find it utterly delightful.
There’s no malice or toxicity in it, and no hint of the desperation that often hangs over celebrities past the peak of their careers when they sign up for such shows. Here they just dress up in ridiculous costumes – chickens, Knickerblocker glories – and dance, as fellow celebrities try to guess who they are. Take it or leave it, it won’t hurt anyone either way.
LOWELL, Mich. — With colorful flags and signs of acceptance, it was hard to miss the pride beaming in Lowell on Saturday.
Lowell PRIDE hosted the city’s first-ever event aimed at supporting members of the LGBTQ+ community. It happened along the city’s downtown Riverwalk.
In addition to speakers throughout the afternoon, including a drag queen story hour and LGBTQ+ 101 panel, the event featured over 50 vendors, crafters and nonprofits.
“I think it’s going to help people,” said Cathleen Sage, an attendee.
“It gives everyone the option to learn and to have people feel like they can be themselves,” said Megan Shaver, another attendee.
It’s estimated hundreds of people attended.
“I didn’t have a supportive family, and I didn’t have a supportive community. I didn’t feel like I ever quite fit in,” said Marissa Linderman. “I think that having events like this makes it very inclusive. I think that we need to support that more because everybody deserves to feel like they belong somewhere.”
Linderman says it was her first PRIDE event since coming out as a queer woman.
“I am so much happier and healthier, and I feel like I’m coming into my own self,” said Linderman.
Lowell PRIDE organizer, Nicole Lintemuth, lists experiences like Linderman’s as the reason why the group wanted to plan the event.
Lintemuth says it’s important to show it’s okay to be gay, especially in more rural areas.
“I think especially in small communities it’s important to just have that visibility, in bringing that normalcy to our community,” said Lintemuth. “We all live here; we’re a part of this community. We shouldn’t have to hide or travel somewhere else to get to express who we are fully.”
For LGBTQ+ people seeking resources locally, Lintemuth recommends Lowell High School’s Gay Straight Alliance club for teenagers or Kent District Library’s Lowell branch.
For organizations in the broader West Michigan area, click here.
ROCKFORD — The Office Nightclub, 513 E. State St., celebrated the start of Pride Month on Saturday with its Pride Alley Party.
The event featured five food trucks, 32 vendors, guest speakers and live entertainment.
Pride Month marks 52 years since the Stonewall Riots in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. The June 28,1969, police raid of the Stonewall Inn sparked the gay rights movement.
Pride Month also promotes the increased visibility and equality of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.
WASHINGTON – In a sharply worded response to a tweet sent out on Wednesday by Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel celebrating Pride Month 2021, Chasten Buttigieg, whose husband is U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, upbraided the RNC Chair in a tweet Thursday.
Starting off wishing those reading a ‘Happy #Pride Month,” the McDaniel wrote; “@GOP is proud to have doubled our LGBTQ support over the last 4 years, and we will continue to grow our big tent by supporting measures that promote fairness and balance protections for LGBTQ Americans and those with deeply held religious beliefs.”
Buttigieg wasn’t having it responding with; “Those with “deeply held religious beliefs” are often the parents who force their LGBTQ children out of the home and onto the street. I’ve met with those kids. 40% of homeless youth in this country are LGBTQ. Re-visit your party’s platform before you open your mouth about #pride.”
After four years of non-responsiveness to the LGBTQ community in the nation by the White House under Trump, President Joe Biden, a strong LGBTQ ally issued a Pride proclamation on Tuesday. The Trump administration had actively pursued actions that created a hostile political and cultural environment for the LGBTQ community, particularly for Trans Americans by banning active military service, and taking away access to critical key healthcare issues.
In nearly all policy areas, the RNC had mirrored or advocated Trump policies or endorsed legislative actions that were harmful to LGBTQ Americans, including at all levels of government, local, state, and federal. As over 30 states have currently enacted or proposed anti-Trans legislation in the 2021 state legislative sessions, McDaniel has been uniformly silent on those bills.
Buttigieg’s husband is the first openly gay member of a presidential cabinet confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
Those with “deeply held religious beliefs” are often the parents who force their LGBTQ children out of the home and onto the street. I’ve met with those kids. 40% of homeless youth in this country are LGBTQ. Re-visit your party’s platform before you open your mouth about #pride. https://t.co/z36BuFrQsO
— Chasten Glezman Buttigieg (@Chasten) June 3, 2021
As the Bay Area anticipates the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, elected officials and people who led the fight against another global health crisis gathered in the National AIDS Memorial Grove on Saturday morning to mark the 40th anniversary of the first reported cases of AIDS.
The coincidence, and the contrast, was not lost on many of the speakers and guests at a private ceremony at the grove in Golden Gate Park.
“It’s odd to be coming out of a pandemic and reflecting on another,” said Joshua Gamson, a member of the National AIDS Memorial Grove board. “This is my first time in the grove since the pandemic, and I feel like I’m coming out of a cocoon and into the memories of the AIDS pandemic.”
“There are lots of flashbacks because of this pandemic, and the difference in response,” said Lou Hexter, an urban planning consultant from Oakland, who spent the 1980s working with the AIDS Project East Bay.
The federal response to both pandemics was criticized as slow, with Ronald Reagan in the White House in 1981 and Donald Trump in 2020, but the national death totals are not far apart — despite acquired immune deficiency syndrome being around for decades longer. The number of people who’ve died of AIDS in the U.S. as of 2018 is about 700,000, while the death total for COVID-19 is almost 600,000.
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On June 5, 1981, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the first cases of a mysterious illness among gay men that would later become known as AIDS. It hit the Bay Area — and particularly San Francisco — hard, and the city mostly had to figure out on its own how to combat a disease that spread rapidly and disproportionately through the gay, transgender, Black and brown communities, as well as through drug users and sex workers.
“All of us considered disposable throwaway people by our federal government and by this society,” said state Sen. Scott Wiener, who said he “came of age as a gay man as a 17-year-old in 1987” and described it as “a terrifying time.”
Mayor London Breed said the federal government abandoned San Francisco at the start of the AIDS crisis.
“San Francisco was left on our own,” Breed said, “but we did what San Franciscans do best — we came together. … The system of care developed to help those struggling with HIV/AIDS was developed right here in San Francisco. The renowned research that continues to this very day was established right here in our great city.”
House speaker Nancy Pelosi, who hosted the first fundraiser for the now-famous AIDS Quilt, and pushed to get it displayed on the National Mall, said San Francisco’s compassionate, persistent and science-based approach to the crisis has helped the city, and the nation, in the battle against the coronavirus.
“Our mayor, she has just been a model for the rest of the country in how she has dealt with COVID, and I think theat her strength stems from the tradition and standards that we have here about caring for people, people caring for people. It’s not about someone talking down to us but people springing up.”
The impact of COVID has been felt unevenly across the country, with case and death rates, as well as regulations on masking, social distancing and gathering, varying by state.
Pelosi said AIDS activism has also served as a model for other campaigns, including the fights against breast cancer, for marriage equality and against the military’s former “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that prevented gay people from openly serving.
“It all sprang from the AIDS activism and community coming from San Francisco,” she said.
While much progress has been made in the fight against HIV and AIDS, and drugs have been developed to slow its spread, people are still dying, speakers said. Pelosi credited President Joe Biden with committing $670 million in the coming year’s budget to combating AIDS.
Then the speeches and ceremony ended and a line of people formed to start the hours-long ritual of reading the names of the people who have died from AIDS. The names echoed through the memorial’s redwood grove and meadow, lined with panels of the AIDS Quilt.
A veteran with a fever and hacking cough that suggest a possible coronavirus infection tries to make a doctor’s appointment, only to be turned away by a receptionist who personally decides the would-be patient can’t see a physician. A former service member and sexual assault survivor at risk of suicide is denied access to mental health services by a bureaucratic gatekeeper stationed at the therapist’s office.
These are two of thousands of examples of veterans seeking the Veterans Affairs health care they’re legally entitled to — and wrongly being refused it. This is because of a pervasive misunderstanding and misapplication of the rules regarding other-than- honorable discharges.
This refusal is based on what is known as a “bad paper” designation, which can be based on minor misconduct such as being late to morning formation, showing disrespect to a superior or one-time drug use.
Being turned away is an institutional shortcoming that can be remedied easily — not by an act of Congress, or time-consuming changes to federal rules, but instead through administrative corrective steps that can be taken at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
An estimated 400,000 former service members are at risk of wrongly being denied VA health care and other benefits, according to a 2020 study by OutVets, a group of LGBTQ+ military veterans. It showed that gay and lesbian veterans and victims of military sexual assault are disproportionately at risk. So are veterans who served in the Navy or Marines, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and those with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Here’s how the denial of care happens. Veterans who receive other-than-honorable discharges — a designation applied to roughly 7% of them since 1980 — still can qualify for VA health care and legally are entitled to individualized eligibility reviews and written notification of the determination.
Though that group includes some with bad conduct and dishonorable discharges, which can involve the commission of serious crimes while in uniform, more than 80% of them bear the burden of an administrative determination made without full due process.
The majority of “bad paper” veterans includes many of the estimated 100,000 LGBTQ service members discharged for purported misconduct between the end of World War II and the 2011 official repeal of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that banned gay people from openly serving in the military.
Though there should be consequences for military misconduct, they shouldn’t include an across-the-board denial of health care — especially if a person has a service-related disability or is dealing with the effects of military sexual trauma or PTSD.
Yet, the OutVets study found VA gatekeepers in more than a dozen states — including California, Florida, Missouri, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas — incorrectly told “bad paper” veterans they were ineligible for benefits.
A new report by Legal Services Corp.’s Veterans Task Force further documents the lingering stain of “bad paper” on veterans. In response to the OutVets report, VA officials described an “updated enrollment system” that would better identify and track those with other-than-honorable discharges.
Such promises aren’t enough. The VA must also work to overhaul the training, guidance and oversight of its staff and improve how it communicates with veterans. Its outreach to those who have been unlawfully refused care should include social media campaigns and easy-to-understand letters that outline who is eligible to receive care.
Military service members dedicate their lives to defending our country. After they return home, they shouldn’t have to fight for access to justice and basic benefits earned from their selfless service.
Dana Montalto is a clinical instructor at Harvard Law School’s Veterans Legal Clinic, which published the OutVets report “Turned Away” with Veterans Legal Services.
If Disney princesses enchant you as much as they do us, why not make your home feel like royalty? While decorating it in tiaras and ball gowns may not be an option, you can add subtle touches, like throw pillows, to lend a nod to your favorite Disney characters — and psst . . . the Disney Princess x POPSUGAR collection has plenty! From Ariel to Moana to Tiana to Belle, and even a decorative crown pillow if you so wish, there are so many majestic options to choose from. Throw one on your bed, couch, loveseat, or wherever you want to feel comfy and inspired (did we mention they have cute quotes, too?), these throw pillows will do any piece of furniture justice. Find one that’s best suited for you ahead, and don’t be afraid to pick up a few if you so wish!
The Pentagon said there would be no Pride flags flown over US military bases, keeping in place a Trump-era regulation strictly limiting the types of flags which can be flown at US military facilities.
“After some careful consideration, the department will maintain the existing policy from July of 2020 regarding the display or depiction of unofficial flags,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told reporters Friday. “There won’t be an exception made this month for the Pride flag.”
Kirby stressed the issue in “no way reflects any lack of respect or admiration for people [from] the LGBTQ+ community, the personnel in and out of uniform who serve in this department.”
The flag gag was initially put in place as a way to restrict Confederate flags from being flown but have also had the effect of limiting things like the Pride flag or those of various sports teams.
President Biden has frequently touted his support of the LGBTQ+ community and recently boasted in an official proclamation that nearly 1,500 of his federal agency appointees identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.
Culture wars don’t move many votes in Florida, but Gov. Ron DeSantis amply demonstrated last week how far he’ll go to please social conservatives in his re-election campaign over the coming year.
He’s been having news conferences all across the state for weeks, getting what campaign advisers call “earned media” by signing legislation sent to him by the House and Senate in the 2021 session. The ordinary stuff gets signed quietly in the Capitol, but the big issues that sparked the most debate — the new laws sure to draw challenges in court — get signed with maximum attention.
DeSantis goes somewhere and assembles a backdrop of smiling Republican legislators, some city and county officers and local activists, then records live campaign video as they all commend him for doing what everybody expected him to do anyway.
Last week, it was an education package that contains a provision forbidding trans-sexual women — that is, girls who were born boys — to compete in women’s sports. Then, a day later, DeSantis signed the $101-billion state budget with a relatively small number of vetoes, including one that axed $150,000 intended for mental-health counseling of survivors of the Pulse nightclub murders in Orlando.
He also red-pencilled $750,000 legislators had appropriated for the Zebra Coalition, an Orlando-based organization working to find housing for gay and trans-gender young people.
Considering the state’s multibillion-dollar surplus, those actions were a deliberate insult to gay voters and those who support LGBTQ Floridians. There’s nothing to be done about the vetoes but the trans-athlete provision will be challenged in court. Equality Florida, the state’s best known activist organization, started raising money for the lawyers and lawsuits as soon as the governor signed the law.
It’s hard to imagine any pressing need for these decisions. Vetoing the money for Pulse survivor counseling was as mean as it is petty; the trivial amount of money was intended for a good public purpose. And the state isn’t exactly overrun by guys becoming girls to play sports.
There was a time when conservatives thought it OK to just leave people alone. We even have language in Florida’s Constitution to that effect. But it’s not the prevailing philosophy among the heavy thinkers of the Trump-era Republican Party. Rather, there’s a belief that vulnerable people can be kicked around if it pleases the MAGA-hatted base, a segment of the electorate DeSantis shares with Trump.
Democrats, shut out of power in the Capitol for going on 25 years, howled that the sports bill was not just a solution for a non-problem, but a needless affront. To which DeSantis and the Republicans collectively replied, “Yeah, so…?”
Reaction to the bill-signing provided an interesting look at priorities of the Democratic Party and the news media, which largely coincide. Almost every headline, or the lead paragraph of every news story, echoed the Democrats’ outrage that DeSantis signed the legislation on the first day of Pride Month.
There are two possible explanations for this:
(a) DeSantis didn’t know it was Pride Month.
(b) He knew and meant to send a message.
Personally, I think it’s (a) but some politically smart friends around Tallahassee insist it’s (b) — that no symbolism escapes political planners, ever.
Tallahassee Mayor John Dailey proclaimed Pride Month last week. Across the street, you won’t see any rainbow flags above the Capitol cupola — certainly not while DeSantis is governor.
Gay concerns have made slight progress in Florida. There are a few gay lawmakers and several cities and counties have passed anti-discrimination ordinances.
But year after year, the Competitive Workforce Act, forbidding job discrimination on the basis of sexuality, is introduced without so much as a committee hearing. In 2008, Florida voters approved a petition campaign for a “marriage protection amendment,” which got nullified by the 2015 Supreme Court ruling on marriage equality.
From President Biden to the local level, Democrats side with the gay activists. Republican attitudes generally range from opposition to indifference.
The trans legislation passed the House but looked dead in the Senate, until it was revived in the final three days of the session and hastened to DeSantis. He could have surprised everybody and vetoed it, but that would have meant spiking several education features of the bill supported by the GOP leadership.
And, obviously, approving the competition ban offended only those who would never vote for him anyway.
Bill Cotterell is a retired Tallahassee Democrat capitol reporter who writes a twice-weekly column. He can be reached at bcotterell@tallahassee.com
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VISALIA – Team USA’s BMX Cycling champion Brooke Crain was all set to speak to students at her alma mater, Mt. Whitney High School in this San Joaquin Valley city 190 miles north of Los Angeles, but hit a snag. Cain, a two time Olympian was going to give a talk on on two subjects close to her heart, suicide prevention and healthy lifestyles when a school administrator objected to part of her planned lecture.
In September 2018, Crain came out on Instagram, announcing her engagement to Australian BMX racer Rachel Jones. As a professional athlete, she lived in fear about her sexuality. Then, on July 2 last year in the midst of the pandemic, Crain lost her biggest fan, supporter and her Dad Todd Crain, a police officer, to suicide.
Since her father’s death Crain has been proactive about raising suicide awareness and prevention. In her personal story she acknowledged to her hometown newspaper, the Visalia Times-Delta last month in an interview; “I’ve struggled with coming out for many years and with that struggle came dark thoughts,” Crain said. “Just being a professional athlete in the limelight and an Olympian, I never thought I would be accepted. I remember struggling, having few dark memories of being suicidal.”
So when she was asked to speak to students about her experiences and life Crain wanted to include her story and struggle with being lesbian and in a text message to Frank Escobar, VUSD director of student services this past week, Crain asked if she could share her coming out story because of the impact it had on her mental health.
The response from Escobar was less than enthusiastic the Times-Delta reported Thursday. Escobar told her that the subject was “kind of a sensitive area” for the VUSD school board.
“I think you can definitely reference it [coming out] in regards to aspects of MH (Mental Health). What we want to steer away from is encouraging or advocating for students to that choice,” Escobar said in the text message to Crain. “That’s where the board draws the line.”
That text exchange was publicly shared by the Olympian bike racer who said she can’t talk openly without telling her full story. “I didn’t think that I would ever be able to be who I was in the sport as well as come out as being openly gay,” she told the paper. “That was the start of my mental health journey.”
The president of the Board of the Visalia Unified School District, Juan Guerrero, apologized telling the Times-Delta; “VUSD would like to go on the record and state incorrect statements about the district were made by Mr. Escobar in a text message exchange between him and Ms. Crain,” said Kim Batty, the district’s spokeswoman. “Mr. Escobar was not authorized to speak on behalf of board nor the district on this manner.” Guerrero added, “VUSD embraces diversity among all students, staff and families. VUSD apologizes for any pain this text message exchange has caused Ms. Crain.”
Nineteen years ago this August, the Visalia Unified School District agreed to adopt sweeping reforms to address anti-gay harassment, including groundbreaking measures to train staff and students with the goal of preventing harassment before it happens, in a settlement reached with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Northern California and the Gay-Straight Alliance Network in a Federal lawsuit that was filed the previous year.
“This case isn’t just about Visalia, California – it’s about a nationwide epidemic in non-urban schools, where young people face unspeakable harassment and violence because of who they are,”” said James Esseks, litigation director at the ACLU’s Lesbian and Gay Rights Project at the time of the settlement. “”This could – and often does – happen at almost any school outside urban America.”
Young LGBTQ people are at a higher risk for suicide attempts because of the public rejection they see and hear in the news, from their governments, and from their friends and families,” Amit Paley, CEO and Executive Director of The Trevor Project told the Blade in a previously emailed statement on a related storyline. “It’s important to remind LGBTQ youth that they are loved, never alone, and that their life has value.”
If you or someone you know is feeling hopeless or suicidal, contact The Trevor Project’s TrevorLifeline 24/7/365 at 1-866-488-7386. TheTrevorProject.org.
LGBTQ adults, as well as young people, can also contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or online at suicidepreventionlifeline.org.
The LGBT community is celebrating Pride Month, and to highlight those who have brought visibility to it, Variety prepared a list of the 50 most powerful and influential personalities who have fought for their rights and that of others. Among those who appeared on the list in the middle we find actors, singers, producers and more, but Elliot Page, an actor who revealed that he is transgender in December 2020, occupies a very prominent place.
You may also like: Elliot Page says he knew since he was a child he was trans
The Case of Page, known for his roles in Juno: Growing Up, Running and Stumbling – 94%, X-Men: The Final Battle – 58% and The Origin – 86%, has represented an important step for the trans community, since their openness to speak about themselves and show themselves to the world as they are, encourages others to do the same without fear of exclusion. Fortunately, on social networks, he received a lot of support and that is why he has continued to share photos and give statements.
Variety says that Page “made Hollywood history as one of the most visible artists to reveal that he was transgender,” and he himself has stated that revealing his true self sparked an explosion of creativity in his life, thanks to which he is working on several Projects. In the future we will see him in the third season of The Umbrella Academy – 93%.
Another trans person on the list is Lana Wachowski, who is known for being one of the creators of the Matrix franchise – 87%, and responsible for films such as Cloud Atlas – 66%, Meteor, The Movie – 39% and The Fate of Jupiter – 26%, and the Sense8 series – 88%. Variety calls her “one of the most successful directors of all time,” and in December we will see her new installment of The Matrix, which brings back Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss in their roles as Neo and Trinity respectively.
Also read: Las tracks de Blue celebrates Pride Month with a song about diverse families
Demi Lovato is another important case, the singer announced on his social networks that he identifies as a non-binary person and that thanks to a work of healing and self-reflection he came to the conclusion that the pronouns they / them represent him better. The news was, similarly to the case of Elliot page, received with expressions of support from her fans and the community in general.
Also among the most popular celebrities on the list is Jodie Foster, known for her roles in films like Taxi Driver – 98%, The Silence of the Innocents – 94% and more recently the drama The Mauritanian – 55%. Foster is openly lesbian and married the actress and photographer Alexandra Hedison in 2014. At the most recent Golden Globe Awards (via Zoom), where he won the Best Supporting Actress award, he celebrated by kissing his wife.
Variety also includes Casey bloys, producer and current Head of Content for HBO and HBO Max, known for being behind hits like Big Little Lies – 90%, Euphoria – 76% and Watchmen – 80%, among others. Last year he was interviewed by The Hollywood Reporter and said that he will only be satisfied with inclusion in Hollywood when “all members of the LGBTQ community feel represented.”
We are in a good moment for the LGBTQ community, although still a long way from achieving ideal representation. In Hollywood, several studios like Netflix have fully embraced progressivism and prioritized inclusion, while others like Disney take more timid steps and in some cases are accused of only queerbaiting.
Celebrities like Elliot page, Lana Wachowski, Demi lovato Y Jodie foster are just some of those who are helping to give visibility and representation in the media to the LGBTQ community, to know the rest you can see the complete list that Variety has published to celebrate this Pride Month in this link.
Don’t leave without reading: Rugrats reboot confirms one of the characters is LGBTQ
How Harvey Milk Terminal at San Francisco International pays tribute to an LGBTQ+ pioneer
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Today is World Environment Day, and it’s time to take action.
Climate change is worsening, and it’s reasonable to feel overwhelmed, anxious, and angry about the constant barrage of bad environmental news. But we can all do something about it, and people around the world are taking decisive steps to ensure a future for everybody.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) recently reported significant progress over the last few decades, with 22 million km2 of land and 28 million km2 of ocean now protected or conserved (42 percent of which has occurred since 2010).
In the Netherlands, national efforts to support pollinators have resulted in the stabilization of its bee population after more than 80 years of uncertainty. The British government recently announced extremely ambitious (but yet to be tested) environmental pledges, while President Joe Biden has committed to halving U.S. carbon emissions by 2030.
Even large companies are pledging increased sustainability, with Unilever, Nestlé, and Mattel all working to clean up operations. Electric cars are making significant headway in the global automotive industry, and new technology has even helped to curb illegal deforestation in some parts of the world.
There’s still an extremely long way to go; but World Environment Day is the perfect time to celebrate progress while looking towards the work that still needs to be done. “We have the power and the knowledge to reverse the harm and restore the Earth – if we act now,” Tim Christophersen, Head of UNEP’s Nature for Climate Branch told LIVEKINDLY.
What Is World Environment Day?
Every year, World Environment Day represents an opportunity to engage people, companies, and governments on key environmental issues. The UN celebrated the first ever World Environment Day in 1974, and over 143 countries participate annually.
This year will kick off the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration campaign, and focus on the prevention and reversal of existing environmental damage. This, the UN hopes, will help end poverty, prevent mass extinction, and potentially provide one-third of the climate change mitigation required before 2030.
Pakistan is the “global host” for 2021’s World Environment Day event, partly in recognition of its ambitious 10 Billion Tree Tsunami project. The Pakistani government financed this by launching the Eco-System Restoration Fund, which will support nature-based climate change solutions — and encourage conservation — in the coming years.
Fifteen distinct protected areas have also been developed nationwide, with plans to conserve more than 7,300 km2 of land. Furthermore, Pakistan has revealed a green stimulus package designed to create over 285,000 jobs with a sustainability or conservation focus.
“Above all, World Environment Day offers a global platform for inspiring positive change,” reads the description of the celebration. “It pushes for individuals to think about the way they consume; for businesses to develop greener models; for farmers and manufacturers to produce more sustainably; for governments to invest in repairing the environment; for educators to inspire students to take action; and for youth to build a greener future.”
World Environment Day: 4 Ways to Help Save the Environment
Try eating more vegan food in place of animal products. | Alexander Spatari/Getty
Eat Less Meat
The link between animal agriculture and climate change is well established, and eating more vegan food instead of animal products (where possible) can help reduce your environmental impact.
All food production affects the environment, but eating more plants is almost always more sustainable than meat and dairy. A UN Climate Report from February urged a global shift away from these high-impact products in favor of sustainable crops, including beans and legumes.
“Changing the dietary habits of consumers, particularly in developed countries, where consumption of energy and water-intensive meat and dairy products is high, would reduce pressure on biodiversity and the climate system,” reads the report.
Meat directly contributes to habitat loss, and the beef industry is the primary driver of tropical deforestation — with double the impact of soy, palm oil, and wood combined.
“Eating a plant-rich diet is generally good for nutrition, and for limiting climate emissions,” said Christophersen. “However, there is no general rule that all meat production leads to environmental degradation: in some ecosystems, such as savannahs, cattle and other livestock are important to actively restore and maintain a landscape.”
Try cutting back on food waste. | istetiana / Getty
Cut Back On Waste
Food waste contributes to climate change, environmental destruction, and global inequality. While the UN has highlighted a reduction target of 50 percent by 2030, worldwide food waste is predicted to increase by another third before then.
The U.S. alone wastes 30 to 40 percent of its national food supply every single year, according to data from the USDA. In 2010, that amounted to around 133 billion pounds ($161 billion worth) of food. Reducing household food waste helps to cut greenhouse gas emissions, and could potentially help preserve land and feed hungry people around the world in the coming years.
Minimizing other forms of household waste, such as electronics, plastic, and difficult-to-recycle items, also helps to lower your environmental footprint. Consuming less, reusing more, and recycling where possible keeps your impact small.
Try reducing less energy by cutting back on driving. | vgajic/Getty
Use Less Energy
Energy use makes up the vast majority of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions, and cutting back on flying and driving in favor of public transport, walking, and cycling is one of the simplest ways to reduce your expenditure.
But being careful about water usage (turning off taps, keeping showers less than 15 minutes) and electricity usage (keeping unused switches and appliances off and using low-impact bulbs) also makes a huge difference.
Supporting key organizations that are working towards environmental protection. | Counter / Getty
Support Charities, Organizations, and Causes
Supporting key organizations that are working towards environmental protection is another great way to make a difference. This could be by donating and supporting them financially, by volunteering your time and energy, or even by spreading word of their work online and day-to-day.
If you want to support environmental causes while you’re carrying out your everyday tasks, you might consider switching your internet search engine to Ecosia, which uses 80 percent of its profits to plant trees. The company has planted well over 126 million trees. If you like getting outside and keeping fit, the app atlasGO also plants trees for every completed workout or activity (including yoga and meditation).
“Restoration can be done actively by all who are interested in a liveable future; within your community, city or company,” said Christophersen. “The UN Decade’s Digital Hub will showcase where and how you can engage with others to collectively restore your city parks, or forests, beaches, lakes or rivers near you.”
“We suggest a lot of practical steps in our Ecosystem Restoration Playbook, available for download here,” he added. “Most important, please be vocal about this topic in your community and country and encourage your Governments to protect and restore ecosystems at significant scale.”
The second annual Pride Ride, a protest by cyclists in support of LGBT rights, was held in Zagreb on Saturday.
The cycle rally began in a park in the Tresnjevka district in the western part of the city and moved through the streets of Zagreb before returning to the park.
The organisers said they were celebrating a Zagreb court ruling supporting the right of same-sex couples to apply to adopt children, but also wanted to “express concern over the attitude of the Croatian government, which has decided to appeal against this historic decision”.
They also wanted to raise concern about ongoing “questioning of the right to self-determination” of transgender, gender nonconforming and intersex people.
“This year, therefore, we will place special emphasis on the need for systematic recognition and exercise of their rights,” they said.
Across the world, LGBT communities celebrate Pride Month in June, organising marches and other events to highlight discrimination, stereotyping and violations of their rights.
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86%, has represented an important step for the trans community, since their openness to speak about themselves and show themselves to the world as they are, encourages others to do the same without fear of exclusion. Fortunately, on social networks, he received a lot of support and that is why he has continued to share photos and give statements.
