San Francisco Mime Troupe “Walls”

San Francisco Mime Troupe has received a NEA Grant for “Walls” their summer Musical that runs July 1st to September 10th. The troupe has been providing free Musical Political Theatre in the Bay Area Parks for 58 years. “Walls” asks the question: How can a nation of immigrants declare war on immigration? The answer is Fear. “Walls” is about L. Mary Jones (Velina Brown) who knows all about fear. As a top agent for I.C.E. (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) she knows how to stoke fear to keep her country safe. Fear of people like Bahdoon Samakab (Rotimi Agbabiaka), a Somali refugee escaping oppression, fear of Cliodhna Aghabullogue (Lizzie Calogero), an Irish woman yearning to be American & fear of Zaniyah Nahuatl (Marilet Martinez), whose family comes from here. As a foreigner in a land her people have worked for thousands of years suddenly Zaniyah is a criminal, an illegal, a "bad hombre." What part of herself will this American give up to pass as "American?" Will she? Can she? Should she? Can someone leave part of themselves behind without losing their mind & is it better or worse that she crossed the border to find Agent L. Mary Jones - the woman she loves? It seems even Breitbart News caught wind of “Walls” stating “A San Francisco musical about a criminal illegal alien lesbian with mental health issues who is in love with an immigration agent." “Walls” is written by Michael Gene Sullivan. Photo by David Allen.
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Congress Addresses Chechnya

Congress has passed a bipartisan resolution condemning the violence & persecution against gay & bisexual men in Chechnya. Congressman David Cicilline LGBT Caucus Co-Chair stated, “I’m proud that the House passed this strong resolution condemning the recent violence targeting gay men in Chechnya. Now, it’s critical that we do more to ensure those fleeing horrific violence can relocate somewhere safe. This is an important step, but there is much more work left to be done.” Florida Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen who has a transgender son & is a member of the House LGBT Equality Caucus & introduced House resolution 351 May 23rd stated, "We will continue to stand united with the LGBT community & shine a bright light on these atrocities, which are encouraged by the evil Putin regime in Russia, in order to help ensure that those who are responsible for these crimes are held to account for their despicable actions." Rep. Alan Lowenthal LGBT Equality Caucus Vice Chair concluded, "It is now up to President Trump, Secretary of State Tillerson & our United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley to follow through on the consensus of the House & bring as much domestic & international political pressure as possible on the Russian government to rein in these deplorable human rights violations.” The House resolution comes months after the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta first reported that members of Chechen law enforcement were targeting gay & bisexual men. The Russian LGBT Network described that roughly 100 LGBTQ men were initially captured by authorities & taken to a detention center where they were beaten, tortured & deaths were reported.
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Supreme Court Takes Cake Case

The United States Supreme Court should take the opportunity to unequivocally state that religious freedom cannot be used as cover for denying rights to others when they decide the case of Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission next term. The fact is the owner of the Colorado bakery violated the state’s anti-discrimination laws when he claimed the religious freedom to refuse to serve gay & lesbian couples according to the Colorado Civil Rights Commission. Supported by the deep pockets of religious right organizations such as the Alliance Defending Freedom the owner will argue before the high court that his personal religious beliefs outweigh the rights of LGBTQ individuals to be treated fairly. Nick Little, Center for Inquiry Legal Director stated, “Religious freedom is not a license to discriminate against individuals. Dressing anti-LGBTQ prejudice in religious garb does not & must not endow that prejudice with legal privileges. If this baker is permitted to exclude LGBTQ people from his store based on his religious views, the floodgates of discrimination will have been opened. Today it is the same-gender couple seeking a wedding cake; tomorrow it could just as easily be women seeking contraception, or African Americans seeking a meal at a lunch counter. This so-called ‘right’ to discriminate based on religion cannot be cabined & threatens to turn America back to the dark days of legally justifiable segregation.” Robyn Blumner, CFI’s President & CEO concluded, “This baker has the right to hold negative opinions about gays & lesbians; he has the right to believe they are damned to Hell. What he does not have is the right to refuse them service at his business.”
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LGBTQ Health Care At Risk

The American people deserve so much more than what the American Health Care Act proposes. If the Senate passes this insult to humanity millions of Americans will lose coverage, Plan Parenthood is in jeopardy & millions of LGBTQ people & people living with HIV will lose their health insurance. Rick Zbur Equality California Executive Director stated, “The bill unveiled by the Senate isn’t just mean, as Donald Trump himself admits about the House version, it’s immoral. If passed, it will have a devastating impact on the health & lives of millions of LGBTQ people & people living with HIV, who will lose health insurance & transgender people who received coverage for the first time under the ACA. Because LGBTQ people are twice as likely to be living in poverty as the general public, the Medicaid expansion & federal subsidies are important components of the ACA which significantly increased healthcare coverage for people in the LGBTQ community. The weakening of protections for people with preexisting conditions means that insurers can once again deny coverage to millions of people or charge them exorbitant premiums, which effectively denies them coverage. The bill also guts Medicaid & hundreds of billions of dollars in federal insurance subsidies, making healthcare unaffordable for millions more. It also imposes a one-year freeze on Medicaid reimbursements to Planned Parenthood, a vital healthcare provider on which millions of women & LGBTQ people depend for a wide range of healthcare services. In addition to the cruel & harmful impact on the LGBTQ community, the Republican proposal would devastate the health & wellbeing of millions of vulnerable Americans, including those who are low-income, disabled, living with HIV, older than 50, in poor health or have mental health needs. Equality California is committed to fighting this bill in the days ahead in Washington, D.C., in California & across the country to preserve healthcare access for the LGBTQ community & all Americans.”
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LGBT Seniors Erasure Partial Win

In March we reported that the Trump Administration was going after the most vulnerable members of our LGBTQ community by attempting to erase our LGBTQ seniors from the National Survey of Older Americans Act Participants (NSOAAP). Today SAGE (Services & Advocacy for LGBT Elders) has declared a victory on getting a question pertaining to sexual orientation back into the NSOAAP survey. While we celebrate this achievement, we must continue to condemn the Trump administration’s continued removal of gender identity from the 2017 survey. All of our elders including our trans elders must be counted. SAGE refuses to let trans older adults or any of the elders who are part of our community be invisible. Michael Adams SAGE CEO stated, "Thousands of LGBT elders & their allies forced the Trump administration to reverse course on their discriminatory plans. But if the administration thinks that with this partial victory SAGE will now abandon trans elders, it's in for a big surprise." In the next 30-day comment period, SAGE will continue to fight to have all LGBT elders included in this survey. The Trump Administration wants to pretend that transgender elders do not exist but we all must not allow them to get away with this. SAGE worked with their sister LGBT advocacy organizations, including the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) & the Center for American Progress (CAP), as well as ally aging organizations, including the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a) & the National Association of States United for Aging and Disabilities (NASUAD) to get this question back on the NSOAAP survey. They also recognize the steadfast support of the 72-member Leadership Council of Aging Organizations (LCOA).
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NYC Pride March Rise & Resist

Inspired by the defiant spirit from which NYC Pride was born, 18 diverse LGBT community organizations will march together at the front of this year’s NYC Pride March on Sunday June 25th. The allied “Resistance” was formed in response to the attacks on the LGBTQ community by the Trump Administration & other enemies of civil rights & social justice. The group is expected to attract a large number of protesters & celebrants. Ken Kidd, a longtime New York City activist who conceived the plan for resistance groups to lead the march & who led the negotiations with Heritage of Pride, the organization that plans NYC Pride stated, “Since the Stonewall Riots & the first pride march, LGBTQ rights & indeed our very lives--have never been under siege like they are now under the Trump regime. Every year, the March celebrates our victories in our fight for equality. This year, it must celebrate our ongoing commitment to keep the rights our community has worked so hard to achieve & bond us together to expand on them.” Building on the momentum from the pride parade in Los Angeles, which activists turned into a resistance march; the Columbus, Ohio, Pride Festival, where refugees fleeing persecution will serve as grand marshals & Washington, DC, where activists mounted their own alternative March for Unity & Pride, thousands of marchers will convert their frustration & anger at the president into a celebration of strength, perseverance & community. The diverse, multi-generational groups plan to employ chanting, singing, dancing, die-ins & a wide array of props & visuals to express their resistance to a historic assault on LGBTQ rights.
For More Info: riseandresist.org
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Glamour Spain Cover Andreja Pejic

Andreja Pejic is one of the most prominent out, working transgender models of our time. As an LGBTQ advocate she has made another stride in the right direction. Pejic has landed the July cover of Glamour Spain & this is the first cover that doesn’t label her as 'transgender' & acknowledging her more so as a model of the moment. Pejic has helped drive the fashion industry forward when it comes to issues of non-binary & transgender acceptance. In 2014 Pejic publicly announced her sexual reassignment surgery. In May 2015 she became the first transgender model to feature in American Vogue & has gone on to be the first to land the covers of Marie Claire Spain & GQ Portugal. Andreja Pejic, Stated on Instagram,"Here I am rolling around Coney Island in the latest Balenciaga captured by one of my favorite up & coming photographers Rebekah Campbell. Also, really want to give Glamour Spain a big thumbs up for not feeling the need to slap my gender or medical history across the cover in order to sell more copies. Can I get an amen?" Definitely a step in the correct direction, Bravo Glamour Spain! Pejic has also graced the covers of international editions of Elle, L'Officiel, Fashion, GQ & Harper’s Bazaar Serbia this month. Andreja has also appeared in editorials for fashion publications including, Vogue, Elle, I-D, Dazed & Confused, Love, Allure, Purple & Numero.
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