The Harvard Law School LGBTQ+ Advocacy Clinic ( HLAC ) and the National Center for Lesbian Rights ( NCLR ) published a first-of-its-kind legal resource guide for transgender youth in the United States, a press release noted. The newly released Trans Youth Handbook serves as a comprehensive legal resource guide that covers the rights of trans youth across a wide spectrum of situations, including identity documents, school, healthcare, non-affirming care environments and work. The Handbook was written by HLAC's Alexander Chen and NCLR's Asaf Orr, who served as the lead authors for the resource, and was produced with the support of volunteers from Salesforce, Baker McKenzie, and Equal Justice Works. The resource is at HarvardLGBTQ.org/trans-youth-handbook.
The official in-person 50th San Francisco Pride parade has been cancelled but a protest march will take place on Pride Sunday ( June 28 ), The Bay Area Reporter noted. A post on the website of the community news site Indybay stated that an autonomous multiracial trans and queer group will be hosting a "Pride is a riot" protest march.
The Stonewall 50 Consortium, Making Gay History, NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project, New York Public Library, GLSEN, National Parks Conservation Association and the ONE Archives Foundation released "Marching for Pride: The Basics," a new FAQ-style primer on the first-ever NYC Pride March, which marks its 50th anniversary this Sunday, June 28, a press release noted. "Marching for Pride: The Basics" is a guide to the people, circumstances and legacy of the first Christopher Street Liberation Day March, which took place June 28, 1970—the one-year anniversary of the history-making Stonewall uprising of June 28, 1969. See https://stonewall50consortium.org/pridemarchfactsheet.pdf.
Dallas Mayor Pro Tem Adam Medrano, flanked by other elected officials, raised the new, official city of Dallas Pride flag June 18 at City Hall, the Dallas Voice reported. The Dallas City Council approved the new flag at a special meeting held before the regular city council meeting June 17. Dallas is now the only city with a specially designed Pride flag. At its meeting, the council ordered the flag to be flown from the flagpole on City Hall Plaza for the rest of this month and throughout every June hereafter.
Key West city workers installed four permanent rainbow crosswalks June 15 at the intersection of Duval and Petronia streets, in the heart of the island's LGBTQ entertainment district, a municipal press release noted. Rainbow crosswalks were originally installed on Duval in 2015, quickly becoming a city landmark and popular photo stop. Their replacement, necessitated by the repaving project, also allowed for a redesign that makes the rainbow colors stand out more vividly against the asphalt.
On Juneteenth, which commemorates the emancipation of the last remaining enslaved Black people in the United States, the Human Rights Campaign ( HRC ) announced an art installation project with conceptual artist Hank Willis Thomas, a press release stated. The installation, unveiled during this critical election year, is a massive work by Thomas called "All Li es Matter." Installed down the block from the Black Lives Matter protests and the White House, the work ( which measures 85 feet by 30 feet ) wraps the headquarters building of HRC at 1640 Rhode Island Ave NW, Washington, D.C.
In honor of Pride month and the Black Lives Matter movement, Bumble is donating to LGBTQ+ organizations that are centered around supporting those who are Black, Indigenous and People of Color ( BIPOC ), a press release noted. Bumble users have the opportunity to either request a donation for themselves as an intersectional LGBTQ+ organization leader or nominate a group within their community. Nominations are available in the United States via an online registration form accessible in all three modes of the Bumble app ( Bumble Date, Bumble BFF, Bumble Bizz ) until Tuesday, June 30. Each selected party will receive up to $5,000.
Former Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg called the Supreme Court's historic ruling on a federal law protecting LGBTQ workers "an enormous step forward" but also said there is a long way to go for adoption rights, CNN.com reported. "Any time you see your rights coming up for debate, you wonder what is going to happen next. [T]his represents a major step and reminds us of the possibility of progress in this country at a time when there's so much anguish and so much expectation and we see just how far we have to go as a country," the former South Bend, Indiana, mayor told CNN's Jim Sciutto on the program New Day.
Fenway Health's National LGBT Health Education Center published the PrEP Action Kit, which provides a roadmap for healthcare organizations to implement and/or advance an existing PrEP prescription program, a press release noted. "Advancements in PrEP have been life-changing for the sexual and gender minority communities, especially within communities of color who are [disproportionately] impacted by HIV," said Dr. Alex Keuroghlian, director of education and training programs at The Fenway Institute. "One in two Black MSM and one in four Latinx MSM will contract HIV in their lifetime. Black transgender women have an especially high risk. The PrEP Action Kit will add real value to health care centers serving Black and Latinx communities at increased risk for HIV."
The case of a Black trans woman who was experiencing homelessness found dead in a Portland, Oregon, park last year is gaining renewed interest, Out.com reported. Police have ruled the death of Tete Gully, 31, a suicide, but the family said authorities never fully investigated claims reporting Gulley was murdered by a fellow homeless man with whom she was having a "clandestine sexual relationship." A Change.org petition ( "Justice for Tete" ) has collected more than 670,000 signatures and a GoFundMe page is still accepting donations, reignited in the wake of the ongoing Black Lives Matter movement.
The City and County of Los Angeles have begun collecting data on sexual orientation and gender identity ( SOGI ) for all patients who receive a COVID-19 test through the county, a press release noted. LGBTQ+ and allied-serving organizations, on April 16, called on the State of California to collect SOGI data on the 75,000+ Californians who receive COVID-19 tests each day. In May, state Sen. Scott Wiener ( D-San Francisco ) introduced SB 932, which mandated the collection of SOGI data statewide; on June 18, the measure passed, with an urgency clause, by a unanimous vote in the California Senate Appropriations Committee.
Indiana petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to review the appellate court ruling that allowed non-birth mothers in a same-sex marriage to be listed as parents on their children's birth certificates, The Indiana Lawyer reported. The petition for writ of certiorari was filed by the Indiana Attorney General just as the 150-day deadline was expiring to challenge the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling in Kristina Box, in her official capacity as commissioner, Indiana State Department of Health v. Ashlee and Ruby Henderson, et al. Indiana is asking the Supreme Court to overturn the decision that now requires the state to allocate parental rights to the wives of birth mothers.
To celebrate its milestone 50th anniversary, San Francisco Pride is partnering with KPIX 5 News to produce "Pride 50: Generations of Hope," a press release noted. The three-hour special will air Sunday, June 28, on KPIX sister television station KBCW/Cable 12, as well as live streamed on KPIX.com and SFPride.org . Along with colorful highlights from past Market Street parades, "Pride 50" will feature virtual performances from acts ranging from the San Francisco Symphony and the San Francisco Ballet to the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus and the San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band. San Francisco drag icon Donna Sachet and TV and radio personality Michelle Meow will host.
In Montana, what started as a Missoula-based community project for three state LGBTQ groups quickly turned international, as orders for hand-sewn rainbow masks started being placed around the world, the Missoulian reported. The project—part of an initiative among Western Montana's LGBT Community Center, the Montana Two Spirit Society ( a Native American LGBTQ organization ) and the Gay Health Task Force—donates hand-sewn masks displaying the colorful emblem of the rainbow for LGBT pride. All the masks are made by local Montanans. The Facebook page "Montana Two Spirit Society" is at least one spot to obtain masks.
Rainbow Families—a non-profit organization that provides LGBTQ+ families and prospective parents with education programs, support groups, empowerment and opportunities to connect—announced that its Annual Family Conference will continue this year as a virtual program Aug. 8-9, a press release noted. The conference will offer more than 25 valuable workshops, including pathways to parenthood, race and diversity in families, guidance for parents and much more. See RainbowFamilies.org .
Shane Cullinan—a bartender who works in the city of Wilton Manors, Florida—said that local business owner Gary Bouvier ( who owns and operates local restaurant Wilton Wings ) spit in his face when Cullinan asked him to wear a facemask in The Pub, the local gay bar where Cullinan works, LGBTQ Nation reported. Cullinan, who claims to have a friend who recently died of COVID-19, called the incident "the most disrespectful/disgusting thing" he has experienced in 25 years of bartending. Local police say they're reviewing surveillance footage of the incident and will submit all the evidence to the state attorney's office, according to the local news affiliate WSVN.
Hope for Wholeness—a prominent ex-gay ministry that boasts one of the most expansive networks of conversion therapy offerings in the United States—is disbanding, NBC News noted. The Spartanburg, South Carolina-based organization was founded in 1999 as Truth Ministries. Conversion therapy—made up of various universally discredited and harmful methods of counseling and ministry meant to eradicate or suppress LGBTQ identities—has been banned for minors in 20 states and Washington, D.C.
The governors of New York state and Virginia ( Andrew Cuomo and Ralph Northam, respectively ) plan on recognizing Juneteenth—a day that commemorates the emancipation of slaves in the United States—as a paid holiday for state employees, AlJazeera reported. ( Northam was joined on Tuesday at his news conference by musician Pharrell Williams, who is from Virginia. ) Juneteenth, which is also called Emancipation Day and Freedom Day, is celebrated annually June 19. Texas first made it a state holiday in 1980.
Amy Klobuchar withdrew from consideration to be Joe Biden's running mate, urging the presumptive Democratic nominee to choose a woman of color instead, The Guardian noted. The Minnesota senator's prospects of running as vice president alongside Biden faded after the police killing of George Floyd in the state she represents sparked a nationwide reckoning over police brutality and systematic racism in the United States. Klobuchar recently had to contend with her past as a prosecutor in the county that includes Minneapolis, where Floyd was killed; during her tenure, Klobuchar declined to prosecute police accused of using excessive force against Black suspects.
Oregon State University sophomore Rocco Carley was kicked off the football team following an unearthed audio recording of the player using racist and homophobic language, Queerty noted. Coach Jonathan Smith and Athletic Director Scott Barnes decided that Carley should be removed from the team, The Salem Statesman Journal reported. Carley apologized, via Twitter: "To my family, my community, and everyone I have associated with, I am sorry. This does not condone anything of what I have said, but I promise to you all that this video does not represent me."
The University of Virginia will change recently updated logos used in athletic competition to remove design aspects that refer to objects on campus associated with the school's history of using slave labor, USA Today noted. The university's longtime logo—a large "V" over crossed sabers—was updated April 24, with the added details to the grip of the sword handles meant to "mimic the design of the serpentine walls" found on campus. The original walls, built in the 1820s, were designed by university founder Thomas Jefferson to muffle the sounds of and hide from view the slaves who toiled on campus.
In a similar vein, Quaker Oats announced that the Aunt Jemima brand of syrup and pancake mix will get a new name and image, saying the company recognizes that "Aunt Jemima's origins are based on a racial stereotype," NBC News noted. The 130-year-old brand features a Black woman named Aunt Jemima, who was originally dressed as a minstrel character. People on social media called out the brand for continuing to use the image and discussed its racist history, with the topic trending on Twitter.
St. John's University fired assistant fencing coach Boris Vaksman after learning of racist comments he made during a virtual chat, NJ.com noted. The New York the Post detailed how the comments went public after being posted anonymously on Instagram and reposted by Ibtihaj Muhammad, who won a bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, as part of Team USA's fencing team.
Mary Trump, the niece of President Donald Trump, has penned a book that's on the president and is being released July 28, USA Today reported. The book is described by the publisher on Amazon as a "revelatory, authoritative portrait of Donald J. Trump and the toxic family that made him," saying Mary Trump, a trained clinical psychologist and the president's only niece, "shines a bright light on the dark history of their family in order to explain how her uncle became the man who now threatens the world's health, economic security, and social fabric."
