Dallas Native Venton Jones Launches Campaign for House District 100

Venton Jones

DALLAS, TEXAS –Non-Profit CEO and community leader Venton Jones announces bid for the open House District 100 seat in the March Democratic Primary. Jones, who has devoted almost two decades of service in public health, seeks to represent a district with some of the highest rates of uninsured families and mortality in Texas.

Jones stated, “Public health must be at the top of the agenda for any Texas public official. I grew up, live, and operate a non-profit all within the district. I see every day how the lack of adequate healthcare leads to the economic disparity of Black and Hispanic communities and if elected, I look forward to leading the effort to change that.”

Jones, 37, boasts an impressive resume of public service from Dallas, TX to Washington D.C. He is a graduate of Texas A&M University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Health and received his Master’s Degree in Healthcare Administration from the University of Texas at Arlington. After college, Jones moved to Washington, D.C. working for almost a decade on initiatives impacting public policy and building community coalitions. He then returned to the District 100 neighborhood he grew up in and founded the non-profit Southern Black Policy & Advocacy Network; an organization that aims to improve the health, social, and economic conditions facing Black communities living in the U.S. South. Jones also currently serves as a Democratic Precinct Chair, Election Judge, appointee to the City of Dallas MLK, Jr. Community Center Board, an appointee to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Health Resources and Services Administration Advisory Committee on HIV, Viral Hepatitis, and STD Prevention and Treatment by Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Alex Azar, and is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

It’s also quite fitting that Jones launches his campaign on December 1st, which marks the observance of World AIDS Day. Jones has been a tireless fighter for the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS including serving as the current Chair to the Dallas County HIV Taskforce, and former Vice-Chair to the Dallas County Ryan White Planning Council.

With the March 1st Democratic Primary quickly approaching, Jones’ campaign is gearing up very fast. Jones is proud to have already received the endorsements from Commissioner John Wiley Price, former House District 100 Representative Lorraine Birabil, and a host of Precinct Chairs and community leaders.

District 100 is currently served by Representative Jasmine Crockett who is not seeking re-election, and covers South Dallas, and parts of Oak Cliff, Pleasant Grove, East Dallas and West Dallas. “District 100 has with a wide range of racial, social and economic diversity, and I look forward to representing the needs of all communities”.

Virginia Beach Gay Bars and Restaurants

Gay Bars in Virginia Beach, Virginia

Rainbow Cactus Company
www.therainbowcactus.com
Gay nightclub for DJs & dancing, featuring drag shows, male dancers, karaoke, pool & live bands.

The Edge Virginia Beach
facebook.com/TheEdgeVB/
Pub grub & cocktails offered in a dark, straightforward watering hole with DJs & special events.

Repeal Bourbon & Burgers
www.repealvb.com
Cool, speakeasy-themed restaurant serving hearty, unique hamburgers & specialty cocktails.





New Short Film Brings Light To Transgender Parenting & Surrogacy

‘Intended Parents’ is a short film about a Black millennial couple, seeking to expand their family through surrogacy. With one partner identifying as a transgender woman, the couple (Alexander Grey as “Robyn” and Lawrence Locke as “Anthony”) find themselves continously educating or being imprisoned by outdated traditions and opinions from loved ones. While the film explores the intersections of love, gender, surrogacy, acceptance, and desperation; the powerful couple aims to deflate multiple negative stigmas as they prepare for the life-alternating roller coaster of fertility and surrogacy. The short film also features Marc Rose, Varinia Justine and Fredrick Irvin as supporting characters.

WATCH OFFICIAL TRAILER HERE

The film is set to release November 25, 2021 nationwide  and can be streamed via Amazon Prime Video.

Emmy Award Winner and co-director, Dr. Louis Deon Jones, states, “Intended Parents strives to normalize surrogacy, love, support and advocacy, for the transgender community.” In addition, the beautifully directed film has been co-directed by Jabari Redd and executive produced by; Taylor Bryan Barr, Andre Davis, Tori Kay, & Shar Jossell.

Unfortunately, 2021 has already seen 45 transgender or gender non-conforming people fatally killed. With the fatal violence disproportionately affecting transgender women of color, particularly Black transgender women, showing films like ‘Intended Parents’ is imperative to dismantle a culture violence and shame against the transgender community.

About Dr. Louis Deon Jones

Dr. Louis Deon Jones is a screenwriter, producer, director and psych doctor originally from Chicago, IL but resides in Los Angeles, CA. Dr. Louis is known for his award winning digital series, Cycles and NoHo: A North Hollywood Story. He is the writer, producer, and director of several short films such as The Good Teacher, A Hopeless Father, Can I Be Me?, Divided, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? and Produced the Daytime Emmy Award winning film, ‘The Girl in Apartment 15’ which earned him a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Daytime Fiction Program.

JoJo Siwa Dancing Fearlessly into the Spotlight

Teen dance sensation JoJo Siwa on coming out, making history on ‘Dancing with the Stars’ and being a role model for queer youth

By Chris Azzopardi

This year, JoJo Siwa made history as the first “Dancing with the Stars” contestant to compete with a same-sex partner. With Jenna Johnson, she performed the Argentine tango to Britney Spears, did the cha-cha to Lady Gaga and busted out her best moves for a sexy queer rumba to Janet Jackson.

And maybe, somehow, you’ve missed all the JoJo buzz, which means you probably also missed her “Grease” foxtrot, but you should know this: JoJo is everywhere right now. That’s great because she’s queer, and we love to see LGBTQ+ visibility on TV, especially on shows like “Dancing with the Stars” where you least expect it.

But JoJo, who made Time magazine’s annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2020, has actually been dancing for years — which is a strange thing to say about someone who’s only 18. JoJo, however, got her start at 9 when she competed on the “Dance Moms” spinoff “Abby’s Ultimate Dance Competition” during its second season in 2013.

JoJo is as beloved on “Dancing with the Stars” as she is on YouTube, where she has amassed over 12 million followers (that number, she tells me, “exploded” after she came out earlier this year, in January). Now she’s teamed up with her mom, Jessalynn Siwa, who’s also her manager (hence, “momager”), for their own Peacock show, “Siwas Dance Pop Revolution.” Over eight episodes, JoJo mentors and choreographs 11 tweens, some of her biggest fans, as they compete to be a part of XOMG Pop, a new pop group. The crowned group will open for JoJo on her 2022 tour.

Recently, JoJo, alongside Jessalynn, spoke about being fearlessly queer, going through a public romance and breakup with ex-girlfriend Kylie Prew, and what it feels like to inspire other LGBTQ+ youth to come out.

How are you bringing diversity and inclusion to Siwas Dance Pop Revolution?

JoJo: You know, we wanted to create a girl group that was for everybody and for everybody in the world to be like, “That one’s like me.” And I think that we have made sure that the kids who are in the girl group, and even the kids on the show, have all been able to have their say and make this exactly what they want it to be.

As a queer person yourself, who was the person that made you say, “I see me in you?

JoJo: I looked up a lot to Freddie Mercury and Lady Gaga. I like what they stand for. I mean, “Born This Way” is literally a gay anthem for everybody in the world and the most genius song ever and, for me, that song hits so home that it’s literally my life.

Did you ever hear from Gaga after lip-syncing Born This Way on TikTok?

JoJo: No. [Whimpers.] Don’t mention it, it makes me sad.

Jessalynn: One day, one day.

As somebody who’s representing the queer community on Dancing with the Stars, and now with your own dance show, why do you think LGBTQ+ representation is important in shows like these?

JoJo: I think that something that’s really great about today’s day and age is, being gay or being a part of the LGBTQ community is not only accepted, but it’s also celebrated. And I think that every single day it’s less weird and less not typical. Every day it’s becoming a little bit more normal for everybody, and, I mean, being normal is boring. Nobody wants to be normal; everybody wants to be a little different. So I think that it’s something to be celebrated, not scared of.

Growing up in Omaha, Nebraska, which in some people’s mind might be more conservative, was it ever weird for you? What was your experience growing up as a queer person there?

JoJo: Growing up I didn’t know many gay people. I knew a few people on my mom’s side of the family. Her godson is gay, and he was probably one of the first people that I ever knew to be gay. I think being in the dance community, I know of a lot of people there who were gay. It never, ever once for me was wrong. And I think that’s something that you always told me; you were never like, “Oh, that’s weird.”

Jessalynn: No, it’s not.

JoJo: Like, it doesn’t matter. I love the person [who’s like], “If my kid comes out to me as gay, the next thing I’ll do is ask him what he wants for dinner.” I started dating my first girlfriend on January 8th. So what is the difference between January 7th and January 8th for me? There’s none. One, I’m happily in love and dating and have a girlfriend and the other, I’m halfway in love and she’s just not my girlfriend yet. So it’s like, there’s no difference. Nothing changes inside the person that wasn’t already there.

I am so happy to see you live so unabashedly bold as somebody who is in the queer community, but I also wanna shout out to your mom and say it’s equally as important to see a parent be as supportive as you are.

Jessalynn: Thank you. I think kids just wanna feel love from their parents and be accepted and unconditionally able to be themselves no matter what, and that’s what I always tell JoJo: “I love you no matter what.” And I’ve been saying it for 18 years, and I’ll say it for a hundred more.

Jess, what has it been like for you to see her live so boldly, just completely unabashedly out, loud and proud in such a public way?

Jessalynn: You know, I’m so proud of her. I’m so proud of her because she’s so brave. And the world is crazy, and sometimes I’m sure it’s hard to be brave — and it’s hard to be out there and put yourself out there — but she just does it and she loves it, and she’s happy. And it’s really cool, and even as someone that’s older than her, it’s inspiring. To look at somebody so young and so brave… well, we only have one life to live, you know? “Live your best life” is something else we say a lot, and I truly love to see JoJo just living her best life.

JoJo: Thank you.

Jessalynn: You’re welcome.

That’s so sweet. JoJo, what’s your life been like since coming out? You have over 12 million YouTube followers, and I imagine that number surged as soon as you made that statement.

JoJo: Right away it did — it exploded. And I think it’s a thing that a lot of people may’ve been scared of for me, and I was never scared of it myself. I kind of just did [it] and then, if anything, went bad then it went bad and I didn’t care because I was happy, and if I lost everything because of who I love, then so be it.

How aware have you become of the influence that you’re having on LGBTQ+ youth who may not be comfortable with who they are?

JoJo: I think that every kid has a feeling when they’re little and you know how you feel, and you don’t really know how to make what you’re feeling OK. And I think that having somebody to look to, to be like, “Oh, I’m like they are,” is really special, and I love that I get to be that person for a lot of kids.

What advice might you give to a young queer person who’s really struggling with their sexuality?

JoJo: I would say, if you did it a month ago, would you regret it? And depending on the answer, I hope the answer would be no. Because I think sometimes just in the moment it’s scary, but think if you would’ve done it a month ago, would you be OK with it today? And hopefully that answer will be yes. And then I would just say, “So that’s how you’ll feel in one month.”

When it came to coming out publicly, what was the scariest part for you, JoJo, but also for you, Jess?

JoJo: Honestly, there was nothing scary about it for me. I had zero fear of coming out.

Jessalynn: For me, just the unknown. I didn’t ever want to say the wrong thing to JoJo. I don’t mean to say anything wrong or bad; just tell me if I do. And with the pronouns, I’m trying to learn, I’m trying to figure it out.

JoJo: Even somebody like Demi Lovato — there’s somebody who I looked up to since I was a baby, and Demi came out as non-binary this year. Sometimes when we’re talking about Demi, you’ll accidentally say “she.” But Demi actually said, “It’s OK as long as you’re trying.”

This can be personal for a lot of people, but in hopes that maybe this will help other queer youth come out to their parents, would you mind sharing how you came out to your mom?

JoJo: Honestly, I got in the car and my mom said, “You really like her, don’t you?” And this [was] after Ky and I had spent a few nights together. My whole family was there, and it was our last night together, and we kissed. And I said, “Yeah.” And my mom goes, “As a friend or as more than a friend?” And I just said, “As more than a friend.” And my mom then said, “I figured.” [Laughs.]

Jessalynn: [Laughs.] That was like a one-minute conversation.

JoJo: Yeah. It lasted one minute. It was easy. She made it easy on me, and truthfully, I knew my feelings for Ky, but if we didn’t kiss I would’ve just said, “Just as a friend.” Like, it was only because it was so real to me that I was comfortable with fully telling everybody.

What do you remember from that moment, Jess?

Jessalynn: I remember sitting on the Sprinter [Camper] waiting for JoJo to come back and then when she came back and she was crying ’cause she had said goodbye, I knew. And I just remember thinking, “I really need to know.” Like, I just wanted the scoop, but I was afraid. But then before I even knew what I was saying —

JoJo: You were saying it.

Jessalynn: I was saying it. And then it was just simple, and we just carried on. And then you were sad because you were separating and I was like, “Tell her to come to California for the weekend.”

JoJo, you’ve gone through both a public romance and a public breakup. What has that been like for you?

JoJo: Honestly, it’s been a rollercoaster. The good news about it is, I am still best friends with Ky, and she will forever be the first girl that I was ever in love with and the person who made me realize that I was gay and the person who made me so happy, that I was so in love with, that I was head over heels for. And I’m so lucky that even though a romantic relationship ended, our platonic relationship is still there, and our friendship is still there and she’s still one of my best friends.

We talk almost every day still, and she is awesome. So supportive of “Dancing with the Stars” and “Dance Pop.” She loves [the] little kiddos on the show, so they all love her. It’s tricky to navigate because the world always has their own view on things and their own opinion on things, so when the world started speculating [about] things between the two of us, I was checking in with Ky being like, “Hey, you good? You want me to say anything?” So it’s tricky. But one day at a time, and you just keep moving forward.

Dancing with another female partner, Jenna Johnson, on Dancing with the Stars, has meant a lot to a lot of queer youth. What has it meant to you?

JoJo: It has meant a lot to me. I think that being paired with another female for the first time ever, first-ever same-sex couple, is such an honor. And I wanna use the word brilliant — it’s so brilliant because love is so accepted and so celebrated that it’s not weird; it’s cool, it’s nice, it’s awesome. And every week Jenna and I are faced with the new challenge of figuring out how to do a new style with two females. But we always get through it, and we always make it out on the other side.

This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity

Chris Azzopardi is the Editorial Director of Pride Source Media Group and Q Syndicate, the national LGBTQ+ wire service. He has interviewed a multitude of superstars, including Cher, Meryl Streep, Mariah Carey and Beyoncé. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, Vanity Fair, GQ and Billboard. Reach him via Twitter @chrisazzopardi.

‘The Eyes of Tammy Faye’ recreates a historic interview with a man living with AIDS

In the Eyes of Tammy Faye

By Mark King

At the height of their 1980s popularity, Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker were television evangelist royalty, hosting multiple shows and raking in cash from their on-air collection plates. Tammy Faye, however, also had an expansive view of love and acceptance, despite her conservative Christian roots.

She proved it in 1985 when she had a gay man living with AIDS, Steve Pieters, as a guest on her show, Tammy’s House Party. The interview is recreated in the new film The Eyes of Tammy Faye, about the rise and fall of the Bakkers. It premieres September 17 and stars Jessica Chastain as Tammy Faye and Andrew Garfield as Jim.

Pieters spoke with POZ magazine about the original interview, which is available on YouTube, and the new film.

It’s amazing that of all the events in Tammy Faye’s life, the filmmakers chose to include her interview with you.

I’m thrilled that they did. I’m touched and honored.

The film The Eyes of Tammy Faye recreates the original Steve Pieters interview

Tammy Faye Bakker interviews Steve Pieters on her show Tammy’s House Party in 1985.YouTube

It’s ironic that the gay man they found was also a theologian and pastor.

Yes. I was a pastor at the time with [the LGBTQ-affirming] Metropolitan Community Church [MCC], and I had been speaking about living with AIDS for two years or more. I made sure the interview went out live so they couldn’t edit it. It was a kick.

But it was a conservative environment. When did you realize it was friendly ground?

Tammy’s producer had been very friendly. She reassured me that Tammy was proud and excited to be the first to give an affirming interview to a gay man with AIDS.

You also kept bringing the topic back to your faith. When she asked you if you had given women “a chance,” you said God loves you the way you are.

I did that quite deliberately. She had said [before we went on air] that “we don’t talk about Jesus” on this show. And then, of course, we ended up talking about Jesus a lot.

It’s also surprising, frankly, that the person living with AIDS who did that interview in 1985 is still alive to talk about it.

I know! I got sick in 1982 and was diagnosed with GRID [gay-related immunodeficiency, a diagnosis used prior to the discovery of HIV]. They told me I had eight months left to live.

There’s no rhyme or reason to it, is there? Who was empowered, who fought hard, who lived, who died, in those early years.

Yes, absolutely. When I think about all those amazing people who were killed…

What was the initial response from folks to your interview?

Not much. It wasn’t until 1987, when the Reverend Troy Perry played the interview at a general conference for MCC and 1,000 people stood up and cheered, that I got much of a response.

I was so shocked. After that, I traveled for 12 years all over the world, and they always wanted me to show that interview at church events. Everyone wanted to see it.

The trailer for The Eyes of Tammy Faye gives viewers the impression that she was really going rogue with her interview with you. It didn’t please the conservatives in power. She wasn’t sticking to the political script of homosexuals being a threat to Christianity and democracy.

Absolutely. I don’t know if it was because she had a good heart or because she wanted to be known as someone who did something radical. I don’t know. But I’m told this was not the first time she had talked to a gay man.

The new film explores the mystery of Tammy Faye, meaning whether she was just playing a role or whether she was, in fact, an innocent who loved the Lord. If her constant cheerfulness and loving attitude was a persona, she never, ever dropped it.

I know she treated me like a real human being. She was very compassionate. It seemed very sincere.

Her son, Jay Bakker, and I have talked the last couple of years, and he tells me that my interview changed her, and it changed the whole family.

After that interview, she decided that she had a calling to minister to the LGBT community.

She started taking her kids to MCC services and to Pride parades and to hospices to meet people with AIDS who were sick and dying. Jay said it completely changed their attitudes and her direction in ministry.

Was Jim Bakker involved in any of this?

Jay Bakker tells me that his father was all for having the interview done.

They did decide, though, that it should be broadcast on Tammy’s House Party, rather than on their flagship show, The PTL Club [PTL stood for “praise the Lord”]. They thought it would go better if it were on her show.

Now, all of these decades later, the notoriety of doing this interview is all going to come up again. There’s an actor, Randy Havens, playing you in a major Hollywood film. How does that make you feel?

I’m thrilled about it. I got a note from the producer saying that her interview with me figures very prominently in the plot.

Did the producers of the film approach you beforehand to ask your thoughts, then and now, about the interview? Did you even know that the film was happening?

No. I was on Jay Bakker’s podcast, Loosen The Bible Belt, and he told me about the movie.

He said that the actress Jessica Chastain, who plays Tammy Faye, told him that the interview was central to the plot. Jessica decided to do the film because of that interview in the plot.

The producers apparently thought that I was no longer living. Because the interview is on YouTube, I’m considered to be a historic figure, so they don’t have to ask my permission to do it. I wasn’t even aware of it until after the film was in the can.

The film The Eyes of Tammy Faye recreates the original Steve Pieters interview

Steve Pieters Courtesy of Steve Pieters

What are your apprehensions?

There is a little bit of fear in me that this is what’s going to be the lead in my obituary.

This interview and now this film is what I’m going to be remembered for, not that I survived AIDS or was a director of AIDS ministries but that I was that gay pastor with AIDS who did that interview. Which is OK, I could be remembered for a lot worse.

To have represented a community so well on a national television show that became kind of infamous? That’s a great lead for anyone’s obituary. And the interview eventually became your calling card. Look at all the great work you were able to do as a result of that moment. It accelerated your career in advocacy as well as your ministry.

It definitely raised my profile. And I’ve had people over the years come up to me and say that that interview saved their life or that they never realized they could be gay and Christian. I had one person tell me that he was seriously contemplating suicide, and the interview changed his mind.

It is a fascinating slice of HIV/AIDS history. It deserves to be remembered. And for what it meant for representation of people living with HIV and the marvelous work it helped you do and for the lives it changed, it deserves to be the lead in your obituary—if that turns out to be the case.

That’s true. It was a big deal. And I didn’t even know it at the time.

Why Tracey Scott Wilson Deserves Your Respect

Tracey Scott Wilson

How the ‘Respect’ screenwriter’s sexual identity influenced her telling of Aretha’s story
By Chris Azzopardi

Aretha Franklin’s journey to self-discovery is seen through the lens of openly lesbian screenwriter Tracey Scott Wilson in “Respect,” the biopic starring Jennifer Hudson as Detroit’s own Queen of Soul. In director Liesl Tommy’s film, Wilson focuses on Franklin’s tumultuous path to the top, one that involved many years of fighting for personal and professional agency. 

During her formative years, Aretha was bound to the controlling men in her life, namely her first husband, Ted White, and father, C.L. Franklin. That is, until she realized she didn’t have to be. The movie’s message — find your own voice — is one Wilson is very familiar with. After all, she’s lesbian. And, like Aretha, a preacher’s daughter. 

From Brooklyn, the screenwriter spoke about how being part of the LGBTQ+ community influenced her script, why Aretha isn’t considered a gay icon, and how she wants the Queen’s song “Ain’t No Way” to be reclaimed as the gay anthem she says it is. 

There are so many ways to tell Aretha’s story. How do you think your identity helped shape the narrative direction of the story as you chose to tell it?

That’s such a great question and something that no one has ever asked me. I didn’t know that Carolyn [Aretha’s younger sister] was a lesbian and so, when I found that out, that was just huge. I was like, “Wow. I wonder what would’ve happened had I known that when I was a kid.” 

So, reading about Aretha’s family and the uniqueness of circumstances. And, also, my father was a minister. Obviously not as big as C.L., but I was very sort of tuned into the preacher’s kid part of me because, whenever you’re a preacher’s kid, you have to find your own identity outside of your parents. It can be so overwhelming. So I was just thinking about Carolyn and being a preacher’s kid, with a world-famous father at that. And then also, as a gay person, to decide you’re going to live your truth is just remarkable. Aretha, you know, never questioned [it]. They completely accepted that.

So was Carolyn your inroad to this story?

I think that Aretha was still the inroad, but because of her and Erma [Aretha’s elder sister], they were really important because I realized how much they influenced her, and vice versa. Their relationship was very formative to her. And whenever I was thinking about Aretha, I was thinking about where her sisters were at that moment.

Of course there’s gay gospel musician and Aretha collaborator James Cleveland, played by Tituss Burgess in the movie. Do you think Aretha coming out of her shell and harnessing her inner power had anything to do with the LGBTQ+ people around her, like Carolyn and James? 

I actually do believe that. James Cleveland would have these parties and there were just gay people there, where it was sort of unspoken. Singers in the Black churches, ministers of music…

I think that her father, from all of my research, was just never sort of judgmental about that. I mean, I think it was different when it came to his own daughter. But I do think that seeing so many people — women, gay men — just live their truest under her father’s roof really did help her later on, in terms of just declaring her own identity. 

Why do you think Arethas contemporaries, like Diana Ross and Patti LaBelle, are considered gay icons but Aretha is rarely referred to as one? 

I think that the reason she hasn’t traditionally fallen into that category is because of her relationship with the church. For so many gay people, the church has been a source of pain. And for Aretha, it was a source of pain, but also her greatest source of inspiration. I think that’s why she wasn’t a gay icon. You know, “Amazing Grace” is her best-selling album [Note: It’s also the best selling gospel album of all time, period]. Whereas Patti LaBelle grew up in the church as well, but musically she wasn’t as connected to it. Same thing as Diana Ross. Diana Ross, growing up in the Motown scene, she didn’t have anything to do with that. So, I think that’s the unintended barrier, because she definitely had all of the other qualities these women had. The larger-than-life persona, the feminism…

And the shade. The shade was just so good.

The shade. Oh my god.

To me, a lot of things that Aretha had done in her career fall into the gay icon category: the over-the-top exuberance, the voice, the sass, the shade.  

Carolyn, she wrote “Ain’t No Way” to be… it’s a gay anthem. When you look at those lyrics, it was so clear. You know what she’s talking about.

Do you think Aretha knew?

Oh, absolutely. I think the lyrics spoke to her as well, but her singing there was also an acknowledgement of her sister. [Aretha] was very private, so she didn’t talk about her life and she certainly wasn’t going to talk about her sister’s private life. I think if it would have been known, she would’ve been right up there with Cher. 

I can’t find a lot of examples of Aretha actually openly talking about her LGBTQ+ fanbase.

I don’t think that was because of any type of shame. I just think that she was so intensely private that any opening up of that conversation would’ve meant talking about Carolyn. It would’ve meant talking about James Cleveland. It would’ve meant talking about her childhood. And she just didn’t want to. 

It sounds like Aretha’s relationship with Carolyn gave you some insight into how Aretha felt about the community. 

James Cleveland as well. You can see from “Amazing Grace” how close they were, growing up at the house with him. He was obviously very open about it. 

Because of the movie, now I hear Ain’t No Wayin a brand new queer light. It really does sound like a gay anthem. 

Yeah, it really is. I hope it gets reclaimed. Because of just time, I wasn’t able to talk about Carolyn being a lesbian in the movie. There were a couple of scenes where I sort of laid it out. They had conversations, but it had to be cut. But I just hope it gets reclaimed for the anthem that it is.

Can you talk about the scenes that didnt make the cut? 

There’s a scene where Erma and Aretha were talking with Carolyn, and Carolyn is feeling sorry about somebody she dated that was crazy [laughs]. It was a scene where Aretha and Erma were talking to Carolyn, and they were asking her about someone she had previously dated and Carolyn was basically saying, “Don’t. Please. Don’t ever mention that girl’s name again.” And there was another scene where she started wrestling with who she was interested in. 

Maybe the follow-up you write is Carolyn’s story.

Wouldn’t that be something? Wouldn’t it? Carolyn and James’s story.
Chris Azzopardi is the Editorial Director of Pride Source Media Group and Q Syndicate, the national LGBTQ+ wire service. He has interviewed a multitude of superstars, including Cher, Meryl Streep, Mariah Carey and Beyoncé. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, Vanity Fair, GQ and Billboard. Reach him via Twitter @chrisazzopardi.

OUTProfiles: Will Roscoe and the Many Ways to be Queer

Author Will Roscoe

Will Roscoe is a prolific writer who has influenced many LGBTQ people by exploring the ways other cultures express, and often celebrate different genders and sexualities.

Roscoe has been active in the the Gay movement since 1975, when he helped found Lambda, the first Gay/Lesbian organization in Montana. The following year, he served an intern at the National Gay Task Force, and in 1977, as coordinator of the Gay People’s Alliance at the University of Oregon, he spearheaded the formation of the Oregon Gay Alliance, a statewide coalition of Gay/Lesbian groups. In 1978, he completed an internship at the Pacific Center for Human Growth in Berkeley, where he coordinated a successful campaign to win United Way funding, the first Lesbian/Gay social service agency in the country to do so. He also served as voter registration coordinator for the No on 6 campaign in San Francisco (the Briggs initiative), registering over 10,000 new voters.

In 1979, he attended the first radical faerie gathering in Arizona, where he met Harry Hay, and became involved in efforts that led to the founding of Nomenus, which today operates a retreat in Southern Oregon. In 1980, with Tede Mathews and other local artists he organized “Mainstream Exiles: a Lesbian and Gay Men’s Cultural Festival” and between 1980 and 1982, he published and edited with Bradley Rose Vortex: A Journal of New Vision. In 1984, he became Project Coordinator for the Gay American Indians History Project and edited Living the Spirit, A Gay American Indian Anthology (Stonewall Inn Editions).

Roscoe’s research on the Native American berdache or two-spirit tradition has appeared in numerous journals and publications. His book, The Zuni Man-Woman (University of New Mexico Press), received the Margaret Mead Award of the American Anthropological Association and a Lambda Literary Award. He has since published Queer Spiritss: A Gay Men’s Myth Book (Beacon) and edited Radically Gay : Gay Liberation in the Words of Its Founder (Beacon) by Harry Hay. He is also co-editor of Islamic Homosexualities: Culture, History, and Literature (New York University Press) and Boy-Wives and Female Husbands: Studies in African Homosexualities (St. Martin’s, 1998). In 1998 he publishedChanging Ones: Third and Fourth Genders in Native North America (St. Martin’s, 1998) a comprehensive series of studies of two-spirit people and traditions. His most recent book, Jesus and the Shamanic Tradition of Same-Sex Love (Suspect Thoughts, 2004) received a Lambda Literary Award for best work in religion/spirituality.

Roscoe holds a Ph.D. in History of Consciousness from the University of California, Santa Cruz. He has taught in Anthropology, Native American Studies, and American Studies at UC/Santa Cruz, San Francisco State University, UC/Berkeley, the California Institute of Integral Studies, and Dominican College, and he is adjunct faculty for the Institute for Transpersonal Psychology. From 1991-1995 he was an affiliated scholar with the Institute for Research on Women and Gender at Stanford University.

In 2003, he received a Monette-Horowitz Achievement Award for research and scholarship combatting homophobia.

adapted from www.willsworld.org

Daniel Hernández could be the be the second Latinx out LGBTQ member of Congress!

Daniel Hernández, Arizona

Daniel Hernández is running for Congress to represent Arizona’s second district. If elected, Daniel will be the second Latinx out LGBTQ member of congress. The date of the primary election is August 2nd, 2022 and the general election takes place on November 8th, 2022

The Victory Fund writes…

Daniel is a state representative, former school board president, and lifelong Arizonan running for Congress to help Southern Arizona families.

Daniel was born and raised in Tucson, his mother an immigrant from Mexico who came to the U.S. where she met Daniel’s father. A first-generation college student, Daniel attended the University of Arizona when he interned for then-Congresswoman Gabby Giffords and was there on the day of the tragic attack on her life which resulted in 6 deaths and 13 people injured. Daniel was the first to administer first aid to the Congresswoman before the EMTs arrived and was named a national hero by President Obama.

Inspired by Congresswoman Giffords’s commitment to public service, Daniel went on to advocate for access to reproductive health care and education as program manager for Raíz, Planned Parenthood’s Latino outreach program. He was also elected to his local school board, where he became the youngest school board president in the district’s history.

Since 2017, Daniel has served in the Arizona State House, was one of the youngest elected and is a co-founder of the House LGBTQ caucus. In the House, he has worked with both Republicans and Democrats to pass bills protecting survivors of sexual assault and secure $20 million for school resource officers, counselors, and social workers. He also led the fight against legislation that would discriminate against LGBTQ Arizonans.

He fought to expand access to affordable health care, having struggled firsthand with a severe illness and to afford the right care and medication. During the pandemic, he protected critical health care services and saved a rural hospital that treats underserved communities in Southern Arizona. He also received recognition as the 2019 Women’s Healthcare Champion from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

Find out more about Daniel at: danielhernandezforcongress.com

The Illinois Keeping Youth Safe and Healthy Act Becomes Law

Keep Kids Safe and Healthy Act Becomes Law

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed the Keeping Youth Safe and Healthy Act, which creates age-appropriate learning standards for public schools that decide to teach comprehensive personal health and safety education (grades K-5) and comprehensive sexual health education (grades 6-12).

Brian C. Johnson, CEO of Equality Illinois, said:

“Equality Illinois is excited the Keeping Youth Safe and Healthy Act is now law. In Carbondale, Springfield, Naperville, and more communities across the state, LGBTQ youth consistently told us their healthcare needs, their relationships, and their identities must be included and affirmed in public school instruction about personal health and safety education and sexual health education. This law advances Illinois’ values of inclusion and the freedom to build our best lives without burden or discrimination.

“While we are proud of this Act, there is much work to be done and more allies to get on board to ensure all Illinois public schools provide students with age-appropriate, comprehensive, and affirming personal health and safety education and sexual health education. We will forge ahead.”

Also known as Senate Bill 818, the Keeping Youth Safe and Healthy Act applies to public school districts that choose to teach comprehensive personal health and safety education in grades K-5 and comprehensive sexual health education in grades 6-12. The new law will establish age-appropriate learning standards in alignment with national standards developed by leading public health groups, education organizations, and experts to ensure that youth in Illinois are equipped with the necessary tools and information to lead healthy and safe lives at all ages. The Illinois State Board of Education must develop and adopt the standards by August 1, 2022. Before that date, public schools that provide instruction in comprehensive personal health and safety education and comprehensive sexual health education must do so in an age-appropriate, inclusive, and comprehensive way.

The Keeping Youth Safe and Healthy Act also ensures that such instruction is inclusive and affirming of communities who historically have been stigmatized or excluded from such instruction, including youth living with a disability, LGBTQIA youth, pregnant or parenting youth, and survivors of interpersonal and sexual violence. Additionally, this education must not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity, national origin, disability, religion, gender expression, gender identity, or sexual orientation.

The Keeping Youth Safe and Healthy Act passed the Illinois General Assembly in May, where it was championed by State Senator Ram Villivalam (D-Chicago), State Representative Camille Lilly (D-Chicago), State Senator Celina Villanueva (D-Chicago), and State Representative Kathleen Willis (D-Addison).

The Keeping Youth Safe and Healthy Act is supported by a broad statewide coalition of organizations, including Equality Illinois, ACLU of Illinois, AIDS Foundation Chicago, Planned Parenthood Illinois Action, American Association of University Women (AAUW) Illinois, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Chicago Abortion Fund, Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation, Chicago Children’s Advocacy Center, Chicago Women’s Health Center, Citizen Action/Illinois, Comprehensive Sex Ed Now, Cook County Health, EverThrive Illinois, Healing to Action, Hult Center for Healthy Living, Illinois Caucus for Adolescent Health, Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault, Illinois National Organization for Women, Illinois Public Health Association, Illinois School Counselor Association, Kenneth Young Center, Lambda Legal, Life Span, McHenry County Citizens for Choice, Mujeres Latinas en Acción, National Association of Social Workers-Illinois Chapter, National Council of Jewish Women Illinois, Peoria Proud, PFLAG Council of Northern Illinois, Prairie Pride Coalition, Public Health Institute of Metropolitan Chicago, Rainbow Cafe LGBTQ Center, Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, Resilience, She Votes Illinois, SIECUS, The Network: Advocating Against Domestic Violence, Uniting Pride of Champaign County, and YWCA Evanston/North Shore.

“Thank you, Gov. Pritzker, for signing the bill,” Johnson said. “Thank you to our champions: State Sen. Ram Villivalam, State Rep. Camille Lilly, State Sen. Celina Villanueva, and State Rep. Kathleen Willis. Thank you to the 37 state senators and 60 state representatives who voted YES to supporting Illinois’ youth, including LGBTQ youth. Thank you to our many dedicated partners, including Planned Parenthood Illinois Action, Rainbow Café LGBTQ Center, AIDS Foundation Chicago, and the ACLU of Illinois.”

Support LGBTQI Haitians directly with Earthquake Relief

LGBTQ Haiti

Since 1999 SEROvie an LGBTI-identified organization has an established network of eleven (11) centers that serve various communities across Haiti’s ten departments.  Because of the challenge of being an openly LGBTQI-identified organization in a rights constrained country, SEROvie has focused on health and entre to our human rights and community building work. In addition to LGBTQI people, we also serve at-risk adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) and sex workers.  

Make a donation now through the Bayard Rustin Fund

Today, SEROvie works on numerous program interventions: health care and basic nutrition, quality education for the LGBTQI and their children, household economic security benefiting 22,000 clients and their families in 36 communities.

In the aftermath of the 7.2-magnitude earthquake that rocked southwestern Haiti, 1,400 people are dead and more than 6,900 others injured, 10,000 people left homeless while hundreds more are still missing.  The southern and western parts of the country, particularly the Sud, Grand’Anse and Nippes departments, have withstood the worst of the quake, while some communities closer to the epicenter, yet to be reached and out of contact, and are thought to have been completely devastated.

Despite Tropical Storm Grace weakening into a depression, the system still threatens to dump more than 10 inches of rain over the areas hardest hit by the earthquake this week potentially triggering deadly flash floods that could complicate humanitarian response efforts.

Recognizing the unique challenges faced by LGBTI people, SEROvie developed a specialized disaster response and recovery effort. As an established LGBTQI organization, SEROvie has a unique role in providing support directly to our Haitian LGBTI community. In the past, more generalized disaster response efforts have been quite discriminatory against LGBTQI community members, and our communities have suffered.  Hence, we need to provide support directly to our community!

Based on initial assessments with LGBTQI community members in the Southwest, our priorities and recommendations reflect in that an urgent response is needed – specifically for safety, food and potable water.  Substantial funding is urgently for SEROvie to offer relief in Les Cayes and Miragoane:

  1. Food distribution at our two southern facilities—we estimate we have 320 beneficiaries Cayes in 127 in Miragoane who will need help for at least a two-week period. 
  2. Hygiene kits (water bucket, soap, paste and toothbrush, toilet paper and hygiene pads) distribution for at least 500 beneficiaries.
  3. Tents, pillows, and sheets for at least 500 beneficiaries.
  4. Potable water for at least 500 beneficiaries; and
  5. Organizing emotional first aid and psychosocial support to help LGBTQI cope with grief and trauma within our LGBTQI Friendly Spaces (Biomed articles will be needed and cook food will be offered daily to 450 for a week period).

Make a donation now through the Bayard Rustin Fund