Bloomington PRIDE Film Festival

The 17th annual Bloomington PRIDE Film Festival takes place in Bloomington, Indiana Friday February 1st & Saturday February 2nd at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater. The LGBTQ focused film festival will present 21 films across two days including “Mapplethorpe” the highly anticipated biopic of the celebrated & controversial photographer Robert Mapplethorpe (Matt Smith) whose relationship with Patti Smith & other icons of 1970s New York influenced his ambitious photos while he explored his emerging sexuality. The festival kicks off on February 1st at 7P with “Rafiki” a drama banned in its home country of Kenya mere days before premiering at the Cannes Film Festival for its positive depiction of a lesbian relationship. Janae Cummings, Chair of the Bloomington PRIDE Board of Directors stated, “We live in a time where the legal erasure of transgender people & the marginalization of queer black, indigenous & people of color, disabled persons, sex workers & immigrants worsens by the day. The film festival offers a brief respite from this harsh reality. It’s well known that media influences not only how others view us but how we view ourselves. Our shorts jury & features committee did an outstanding job selecting award-winning films from around the world. They are rich in truth, diversity & authenticity & we couldn’t be prouder to bring them to Bloomington.” The festival coincides with the Indiana University LGBTQ+ Alumni Association Celebration Weekend. The 11th annual fete honors & celebrates individuals working to improve the lives of queer people within the IU community with events taking place from 4P to 6P on both February 1st at the Indiana Memorial Union Tudor Room & February 2nd at the FAR Center for Contemporary Arts.
For Events & Tix: bloomingtonpride.org
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Global Feminism Now & Then

Boston OLOC (Old Lesbians Organizing For Change) will present a very special program addressing “Feminism is a Plural: The Many Faces of Women’s Movements in America & Abroad” which is a look at the impact of these movements on our lives over the decades on Sunday, February 3rd from 2P to 4P at the Brookline Senior Center at 93 Winchester Street in Brookline, Massachusetts. From liberal to radical to revolutionary feminism & beyond this fascinating program will include speakers Marsha Gerstein who will talks about Liberal Politics vs Radical Politics, Catherine Joseph on A Black Woman's View of American Feminism, Johanna Bischof addressing German Feminisms: East vs West, Kalyani Devajgoti on Feminism in the West Indies, Sarah Pearlman will talks about Sex & Spirituality & Sue Katz on Revolutionary Feminist Collectives & Communes who stated, “OLOC has assembled an incredible range of speakers about varied approaches to feminism in their upcoming event on Sunday, Feb 3rd, "Feminism is a Plural." We’ll talk about feminism in the West Indies, revolutionary collectives, a feminist notion of spirituality, a Black perspective on American feminism, a contrast between the feminisms of East & West Germany, starting with some basic definitions. We hope to see old friends & new. Women of all ages are welcome.” OLOC Boston programs & events are open to lesbians of all ages, including transgender lesbians. OLOC’s mission includes their commitment to creating communities of older lesbians & solidarity with allies for racial, economic & social justice. Following the event there will be an early dinner at Lemon Grass at 239 Harvard Street in Brookline, MA.
For More Info: spearlman@hartford.edu
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Gay Choruses Super Bowl Wager

With the New England Patriots & Los Angeles Rams squaring off in the Big Game on Sunday February 3rd the Boston Gay Men’s Chorus (BGMC) & the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles have agreed on a challenge. If the Patriots defeat the Los Angeles Rams, the LA Chorus will perform “Please Come to Boston” by Dave Loggins. If the Rams are victorious BGMC will perform Randy Newman’s “I Love LA” & make it available online. The winner will also make a donation to GALA Choruses, the North American association serving the LGBTQ choral moving, for its work supporting emerging LGBTQ choruses. Craig Coogan BGMC Executive Director stated, “This is a friendly wager, but we take this Boston-L.A. rivalry very seriously. In their many championship games against the Los Angeles Lakers throughout the 1980s, the Boston Celtics showed us that it's always better to ‘Beat L.A.’.” Jonathan Weedman, Executive Director of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles added, “This will be a great series between two amazing teams. But we’re shipping the musical arrangement for “I Love LA” to Boston today because the Rams are going to win!” Both the Los Angeles Rams & the New England Patriots are among the National Football League’s most LGBTQ-friendly clubs. In 2014 the Rams drafted openly gay rookie prospect Michael Sam. Last year the Patriots publicly backed Question 3 on the Massachusetts ballot which protected the state’s 2016 transgender civil rights law from being overturned & contributed financially to the campaign. Go Pats!! 
For More Info: bgmc.org
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GLAAD Media Awards Nominees

Mj Rodriguez & Nico Santos announced the nominees for the 30th Annual GLAAD Media Awards at the Sundance Film Festival. Sarah Kate Ellis, GLAAD President & CEO stated, "The images & stories recognized by the GLAAD Media Awards over the past 30 years raised the bar for LGBTQ inclusion in the media industry & changed the hearts & minds of countless audience members around the world. This year's nominees are changing the game by showcasing diverse races, genders, religions, ages, geographies & genres in ways that challenge misconceptions & inspire LGBTQ acceptance. The 30th anniversary of the GLAAD Media Awards will honor these groundbreaking new LGBTQ stories while remembering the astounding positive cultural change that LGBTQ media representations have achieved." GLAAD announced 151 nominees in 27 categories including an inaugural category for Outstanding Video Game along with Kids & Family Programming, Comedy & Drama Series, Documentary, Reality Series, Music Artist, Comic Book, print, broadcast & online news & five Spanish-language categories. For the first time ever, the GLAAD Media Awards' Outstanding Film – Limited Release category expanded from five to ten nominees as a result of a welcome increase in fair, accurate & inclusive LGBTQ images in film. Special Honorees for the 30th Annual GLAAD Media Awards will be announced in coming weeks. The GLAAD Media Awards ceremonies which fund GLAAD's work to accelerate LGBTQ acceptance will be held in Los Angeles on Thursday, March 28th at The Beverly Hilton & in New York on Saturday, May 4th at the Hilton Midtown.
For More Info: glaad.org
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Cornelius Wilson Jr. Honored

In collaboration with the National LGBTQ Task Force, SAGE CEO Michael Adams presented Cornelius Wilson Jr. with the Creating Change SAGE Advocacy Award for Excellence in Leadership on Aging Issues. Wilson is a remarkable Detroit LGBT community organizer & leader who spent decades working to advance LGBT rights & supporting LGBT communities. Cornelius stated, “SAGE is a big part of who I am & where I’m going in my life & I am honored & humbled to be acknowledged with this award. I love my community & I hope that through all I do & through those I assist, I show that. I think it’s important that my peers see that there is someone out there with a voice, who has lived a similar life & can help advocate for them. I’m a strong believer that actions speak louder than words. We can’t just talk about what we’d like to see changed. We have to act to make it happen.” Michael Adams SAGE CEO concluded, “It is an honor to recognize Cornelius with this SAGE Advocacy Award & we applaud his extraordinary efforts as a tireless LGBT activist, dating back to the AIDS crisis, when so many in our LGBT community were dying & in desperate need of resources and support. This year, on the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising, we are lifting up people like Cornelius, who have been the backbone of our modern LGBT movement since it began five decades ago.” The award was given during the annual Creating Change Conference that brings together thousands of visionary LGBTQ leaders from across the country. The event takes place now through January 27th in Detroit, Michigan.
For More Info: sageusa.org
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Foster Care Allowed To Discriminate

The Trump administration has announced that foster agencies in South Carolina do not have to comply with federal rules barring discrimination even if they receive federal funding. This decision was made after the state requested a waiver for Miracle Hill Ministries one of South Carolina’s largest foster care agencies which turned away a Jewish couple seeking to provide foster care & refuses to place children with families who are not Protestant, heterosexual married couples. Maggie Siddiqi, Director of the Faith & Progressive Policy Initiative at the Center for American Progress stated, “This decision weaponizes our nation’s right to religious freedom in order to justify discrimination in the foster care system, depriving children of welcoming homes. It is wrong for the government to hand out taxpayer dollars to a foster agency & then sanction that agency’s discrimination against certain qualified prospective parents, whether they be Jewish, LGBTQ or a member of some other minority group. Such approval raises serious constitutional concerns & imposes one narrow religious viewpoint on others.” Christina Wilson Remlin Children’s Rights lead counsel concluded, “Let’s call this decision what it is: state-sanctioned & government-funded discrimination. By granting a waiver that allows agencies to accept federal & state dollars while turning away otherwise qualified families & individuals solely on the basis of religious belief, the Trump administration is sending the message that Jewish, LGBTQ, Muslim & other non-Christian individuals are less deserving of equal protection under the law. We disagree. Moreover, South Carolina is already facing a severe shortage of foster homes & inappropriately over uses group homes. Limiting the pool of prospective foster & adoptive parents based on their failure to pass a religious litmus test will deprive children of suitable, loving & stable homes.”
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SCOTUS Rules Against Diversity

Well we knew as the Trump administration loaded the US Supreme Court with homophobic, anti LGBTQ, anti choice judges it was just a matter of time that their hateful agenda would effect our LGBTQ community. Now it has happened with a vote of 5 to 4 SCOTUS has declined to hear any cases challenging the Trump-Pence Administration’s ban on transgender troops allowing the Trump administration to move forward with its discriminatory policy to begin kicking transgender troops out of the military & denying trans people the opportunity to enlist even though there are lawsuits pending. Jennifer Levi, Director of GLAD's Transgender Rights Project stated, "The Trump administration’s cruel obsession with ridding our military of dedicated & capable service members because they happen to be transgender defies reason & cannot survive legal review." When we spoke with trans author & activist Brynn Tannehill who also is a graduate from the Naval Academy stated, “If they can kick all the transgender people out of the military because they feel like it they can bring back ‘Don’t ask Don’t Tell’. If they can rule that my marriage isn’t valid they can rule that your marriage isn’t valid. If they can ban people from bathrooms because the idea of sharing a bathroom with a transgender person scares straight people guess what, during ‘Don’t ask Don’t Tell’ the primary argument was that sharing a bathroom or a shower or a locker room with a gay person scares straight people & we can go straight back that is verification to discriminate against lesbians & gays. This is a unified fight whether we like it or not. The only difference is that we will go down first because we are the primary target now & once we lose, if we lose, the same methods, tactics & impact litigation that took us down will be used to do the same thing to lesbians & gays in America. Make no mistake about it the anti LGBT hate groups haven’t forgotten about lesbians & gays. They’re just having to recognize that there is greater acceptance for lesbians & gays in our society & more protections of them and are going for the low hanging fruit first which is us.”
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