Many are calling this “Day of Decision 2“, as Prop 8 was challenged and upheld last year (“Day of Decision 1″), causing several thousand people to march in protest across the state and nation, including a mass of over 4,000 marchers in San Diego.

A coalition of groups in San Diego, including The Center, have collaborated to organize a march and town hall the evening the decision is released. Out of habit, it is natural for people to ask, “what is the date of Day of Decision 2?” when they notice no date is listed on the flier below. Remember, we don’t know the exact date when the decision will come down, but should receive advance notice a day ahead.

Keep an eye on your Facebook accounts and San Diego Gay & Lesbian News as information will be dissemenated through these outlets once it is available. Be ready to drop everything on the evening of Day of Decision 2 and stand up for our community - win or lose!

The National Center for Lesbian Rights has posted a great summary of the case here.

Courage Campaign is also creatively presenting re-caps of the trial, which was not allowed to be televised.

Don’t forget to add Day of Decision 2 on Facebook so you are informed and ready to march on DOD2!

Several events are happening in San Diego this week in honor of the day and we have compiled many of them below.

Thank you to Matt Brown for coming up with the idea of consolidating these events into one place, and for contributing much of the information below.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 19 from 6-9 p.m.
A Reception Honoring LGBT-Supportive Bishop Christopher Senyonjo from Uganda
Location: Top of the Park (525 Spruce St)

THURSDAY, MAY 20 from 6:30-7 p.m.
HRC 101
Anyone who has ever wanted to help HRC San Diego should attend. Also, remember to join our “HRC San Diego Volunteers” group for the latest on how to help the local and national fights for equality.
Location: The San Diego LGBT Center (3909 Centre Street)

FRIDAY, MAY 21 from 7:30-9 a.m.
Harvey Milk Second Annual Diversity Breakfast
Location: San Diego Bayfront Hilton (One Park Boulevard, San Diego, CA 92101)

SATURDAY, MAY 22, from 2-4 p.m.
SAME presents “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell? Don’t Die for Freedoms You Don’t Have”
Rally and national call to action
Location: 3rd & Orange, Coronado

SATURDAY, MAY 22 from 12-5 p.m.
Milk Day of Action
EQCA Marriage Equality Canvass co-sponsored by the Human Rights Campaign
Location: EQCA Field Office (4506 30th Street)

SATURDAY, MAY at 9 p.m.
Official Harvey Milk Day Celebration
End your Harvey Milk Day activism at Rich’s Nightclub for this exciting celebration. 100% of the door proceeds will benefit the Harvey Milk Foundation.
Location: Rich’s San Diego (1051 University Avenue)

]]> http://sdpix.com/blogs/community-connections/2010/05/17/celebrate-harvey-milk-day-may-22/feed/ 0 http://sdpix.com/blogs/community-connections/2010/04/26/sdsu-said-queer/ http://sdpix.com/blogs/community-connections/2010/04/26/sdsu-said-queer/#comments Mon, 26 Apr 2010 22:19:15 +0000 Ben Cartwright http://sdpix.com/blogs/community-connections/?p=3551 I almost drove my car off the freeway the other day when I saw something shocking on San Diego State University’s bright freeway sign along interstate 8. As I was about to exit College Avenue heading towards the campus, I glanced up at the sign and saw the word “Queer”. I did a double-take and then noticed it was an ad promoting the upcoming “Queer People of Color Conference” that will take place at SDSU on May 8.

More than just being startled by this, I was actually screaming with joy inside my head. Being a part of the SDSU community for almost 12-years as a student, alumni, and staff member, I clearly recall the battles we have fought over the years to gain recognition of the LGBT community at what is known as the region’s oldest, largest, most diverse university.

I worked alongside dozens of student and faculty-staff activists since I entered SDSU as a freshmen in 1998 to make the campus a more welcoming place for the LGBT community … I recall a campus climate study that was released by the university in the late 1990’s that claimed there was “0% homophobia” on the campus … I remember being treated like I was insane when advocating for the creation of a permanent LGBT center on the campus. I recall the hurdles we went through to get SDSU’s first Rainbow Flag Raising Ceremony approved, and the university’s refusal to advertise the event to the general public … SDSU used to expect the school’s LGBT student groups to handle and pay for the school’s participation in the annual Pride Parade, while parades celebrating other groups received the full support and coordination by various university departments … We fought and fought and fought…and now, SDSU has become an incredibly safe space for LGBT students and employees.

Other then the “Dear Harvey” play that was performed at SDSU last Fall, never before has the University advertised an LGBT event on its’ most prominent advertising mechanism. Beyond that, they just jumped right over the “safe” LGBT terminology, and threw the word “Queer” right up there.

As a major public university, SDSU is concerned about its’ image. The university’s constituents include all sorts of students, faculty-staff, alumni, and community members who all hold varied backgrounds, political ideologies, and beliefs. For the university to so proudly promote this important conference, without being concerned about the potential for complaints or backlash, they are showing a true commitment to the LGBTQ community.

It is important for students to feel like they are accepted and welcomed at their school. They are more likely to get involved, succeed, and not drop out. Employees who work in an environment where they feel accepted are likely to have higher morale and be more productive. SDSU is doing the right thing.

To everyone who has been involved in the fight for equality at SDSU, all the way back to the days of the 1970 Gay Liberation Front, give yourself a pat on the back. You are a part of the progress and supportive environment that now exists on campus.

I am now truly PROUD to be an Aztec!

SDSU Alumni: Check out the Aztec LGBT Alumni group!
SDSU Students and Staff: Check out the University’s LGBT Diversity page.

It’s even better when I can do these things while raising money for a good cause.

Here are some easy ways you can support those in need in the upcoming days, while doing things you would probably already be doing:

Dining Out For Life: More than 100 restaurants, bars, nightclubs, coffeeshops, and retail outlets have pledged to donate at least 25% of their sales to The Center’s HIV/AIDS services on Thursday, April 29. All you have to do is visit Dining Out For Life’s website and pick where you are going to dine, drink, and shop that day! Eat out and know that part of your purchase will be going back to the community!

 Some notable “Dine Out for Lifers” include:
*City Councilmember Todd Gloria who will be having lunch at Basic Urban Kitchen + Bar; and dinner at The Red Door Restaurant and Wine Bar.
*Ken St. Pierre of SDGLN will be dining at Masala Restaurant.
*The Stonewall Sirens Flag Football Team will be having dinner after practice at West Coast Tavern.
*Jason Wimberly of Rufskin and SDPIX will be dining at Cafe Chloe.
Where will you dine out?
———————

The next evening, on Friday, April 30 from 8-10 pm, HRC San Diego and a number of other community organizations will host the “The Best Repeal ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Fundraiser Ever!”  The event will help fund a contingent of local veterans travel to Washington DC for D.C. Lobby Day. The veterans will lobby for the repeal of this harmful policy.

The event will take place inside Rich’s Nightclub and include drink specials, music, and fun. Everyone 21 years and older is welcome, and a suggested donation of $5-$20 will be accepted at the door.

Our servicemembers fight for us everyday. Let’s fight for them so they no longer have to serve in silence!

Live in North County? Want to take a trek up to Oceanside to do something different? The North County LGBT Coalition will host their second “Dance 4 Equality” this Saturday, May 1 from 5:30-9 p.m. The event will take place at the Oceanside Community Center, and include a DJ, dancing, and fun. Cover is only $2.

The North County LGBT Coalition works hard every day to ensure that the LGBT community in the north part of San Diego County is unified and safe.

Have fun and pull a few bucks out of your wallet to support these great causes!

My favorite boy in the whole world Ricky and I love to eat out. We do it just about every weekend - all weekend long - and we love it. We could probably have a bit more money saved if we did not eat out so much, but we enjoy indulging ourselves… Dining Out For Life is one of our favorite events of the year because we get to do two of our favorite things at the same time: eating out and supporting a good cause.

Dining Out For Life is an annual fundraiser, held in several cities nationwide, in which bars, restaurants, and even some retail outlets agree to donate at least 25% of their sales that day to support HIV/AIDS services and prevention programs. Locally, Dining Out For Life supports the outstanding HIV/AIDS program of the San Diego LGBT Community Center.

This year’s event will be held on Thursday, April 29. Please check out the list of participating restaurants and eat/drink—lots! Get breakfast; get lunch; get an afternoon cocktail; get a happy hour cocktail; eat dinner; have a night cap – just make sure you do it at Dining Out For Life venues and know that you will be dining out to fight AIDS!

Our schedule includes breakfast at Babbo Grande; lunch at Blue Boheme; and dinner at Cafe Chloe.

BUT: VOLUNTEERS ARE STILL NEEDED TO SUPPORT THIS EVENT!

Many of you ask me all the time: How can I get more involved in the community? This is one of the best ways- it’s fun and you only commit for a few hours on this one day!  See The Center’s press release below to find out how you can become an “Ambassador” for DOFL. I did this last year and had a great time encouraging my friends to come out and dine, and greeting guests at the bar I was assigned to…

The Center is seeking volunteers for its fourth annual Dining Out For Life (DOFL) event on Thursday, April 29.

DOFL ambassadors will be assigned to each of the participating locations, and invite everyone they know to dine at their location during their shift on April 29. Ambassadors will also encourage diners to make an additional contribution through opportunity drawings to The Center’s HIV/AIDS services and prevention programs.

“Over the last three years, our ambassadors have truly made a difference and been a key element in the success of this event. And, they’ve had a great time doing it,” said Donnie Luehring, The Center’s DOFL event manager.

“We need friendly and outgoing people who want to be part of this incredible day to volunteer. Becoming an ambassador is a great way for friends, family members and co-workers to volunteer together.”

About 100 San Diego restaurants, bars, coffee houses and nightclubs will donate a minimum of 25 percent of sales on April 29 to The Center’s HIV/AIDS programs.

We still have two remaining training sessions:

Sat., Apr 17, 12-1:30pm, The Center

Tues., Apr 20, 7-830pm, The Center
——

Do it! Get involved! I want to see all of you out eating and drinking on the 29th – you’re going to do it anyway!

Former Pride Board members and other community leaders have organized a Town Hall meeting for TONIGHT (Sunday, January 10) at 6 p.m. at The Center. It is important that as many people in the community as possible come together and let their voices be heard. The meeting, which is expected to be a packed house and covered by multiple media outlets (both LGBT and mainstream), will include information on the events have unfolded up to this point; a presentation by a group of former Pride Board members who met Friday night; a presentation by a group of current Pride volunteers, Ambassadors, and (hopefully temporarily) former staff who also met Friday night; time for community members to voice their concerns and suggestions; and a consensus of next steps from those assembled. The current Pride Board members are not expected to be present at the event, but the ideas and thoughts that come out of tonight’s meeting will be forwarded to them and trust me, it will be hard for them to miss it on the news.

Some people have asked: “Why can’t we just ‘overthrow’ the current sitting board?” What has to be understood is that Pride is a nonprofit organization having its own governing documents and body. The Board of Directors of San Diego Pride is elected by itself, as is standard with most nonprofit organizations that are non-membership organizations. We, as a community, place our trust in this body to take care of the organization that we cherish so much, but when that trust is violated, there is little we can do. The best we can do is be vocal, make our voices be heard, and demand accountability. There are expensive, lengthy, and complicated legal processes that can be taken to remove a nonprofit Board of Directors, but again, as I said, that process is expensive, lengthy, and complicated.

Hopefully, tonight’s meeting will put enough pressure on the sitting board members to allow a new, interim board to take control of the organization and get it back on track. Pride is San Diego’s largest civic event, and the fifth largest event of its’ type in the nation. It takes a great amount of skill, time, and year-round effort to put together the events. There is no time to waste – our voices need to be heard now, and a new board put in place to ensure the continuity of our community’s showcase events.

A group of concerned Pride volunteers and Ambassadors have put together a petition calling for the resignation of the current Board and reinstatement of terminated staff. Please sign the petition if you have not already done so, and forward the link! Electronic signatures will be accepted through TODAY. The efforts of the volunteers of San Diego Pride are noble – these are the people who give of their time to this organization year-round, expecting nothing in return (except maybe a free T-shirt and meal on Pride weekend). Without the volunteer force, there is no Pride. A large number of volunteers have pledged to NOT return to Pride if the current Board does not step down. Again, without volunteers, there is NO Pride. Pride will not continue as we know it if change is not made, and fast. Please do your part and speak out!

As a Pride volunteer and Ambassador, I am excited to get back to the work of organizing this year’s Pride events…but there has to be a change in leadership first! Please stand with us, and take back Pride!

But then in San Diego, as the annual parade was making its’ flamboyant trip through Hillcrest, it was briefly stopped as a tear gas cannister was set-off in the crowd. I was a Pride security volunteer and was placed directly across the street from the site of the tear gas explosion. Being involved in an incident like this was the certainly the last thing I thought I would ever experience. It was 1999 after all, I was young, gay, and out…in Hillcrest… at Pride.

We did not let it get us down, however.  I remember the parade resumed about 20-minutes later, but it was a frightening experience. Once the tear gas reached my nose and eyes, I started tearing up, choking, and coughing – with my only instinct telling me to run. We were astonished… I remember saying to friends, family, and co-workers afterwards, “I can’t believe people still hold so much hate in 1999!”

So now it is 2009 – 10 years later. And hate still exists. Just the other night a good friend and I were having dinner at Denny’s in North Park (it was one of those late night cravings). Towards the end of our meal, a group of three marines entered and had a seat at their “regular table”. By the look of their interactions with the hostess, they were regular customers at this location. When the waitress asked one of the servicemembers if he wanted nuts on his ice cream sundae, he immaturely (and loudly) responded “You know I don’t like nuts”. Him and his buddies exploded with laughter.

Then, he says “Gosh, I’m so homophobic, it’s not funny” followed by laughter again. He caught himself after saying that and again, loudly, said “Maybe I shouldn’t say that so loud… actually, you know what, who the f*$! cares… I am homophobic and proud of it.” They all laughed again.

My friend and I got up and left, scratching our heads, saying “Gosh, it’s 2009! How can people still be so stupid!?”

I then thought about all of our LGBT military servicemembers who have to put up with this on a daily basis. These young men were clearly marines, and while I am thankful for their service to our country, the homophobic attitudes that are perpetuated, and encouraged within the military institution are shocking. We absolutely must repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and ensure that LGBT servicemembers are respected and protected. Check out the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network if you are interested in getting involved with the effort to repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.

Hate happens every day in San Diego and across the world. While this incident may seem mild to some, it is a clear reminder that our community has a lot of work left to do. It is important that we all come together and take a stand against hate. Get involved. Come out. Educate friends and co-workers. Be safe.

Let’s hope that in the new decade that is approaching, we can move closer towards a hate-free world.

I believe that  the Transgender community is the most harrased, discriminated against, and victimized group of people in our society. A great deal of this discrimination comes from the community that claims to be most accepting of our “T” friends – the lesbian, gay, bisexual community. I have had dozens of gay friends who have gawked at transgender people they have seen dining in restaurants, saying things like “they should pick a gender”. I have seen a transgender woman shoved and violenty hit in a gay bar for coming onto a gay man. And most frequently, I hear my gay friends throw around the term “HTM: Hot Tranny Mess” on Facebook and in conversation, commenting on each other’s photos or how “torn up” they were last night. We get mad when people say “That’s So Gay!”, so why is it ok to use “Tranny” as a way to describe something we don’t like? Let’s go back to just saying “FML”.

Beyond this, transgender individuals continue to be murdered by hate violence. Hundreds of people have been killed over the years, and the violence continues. The Transgender Day of Remembrance was created to  commemorate the 1998 murder of Rita Hester. The 8th Annual San Diego Transgender Day of Remembrance will be held this Friday, November 20 with a candlelit vigil starting at The Center. A program will follow.

I encourage you to stand in solidarity with our transgender friends this Friday and say NO to all forms of hate and violence, and most importantly, remember those whose lives were lost far too soon.

If you are looking for a great way to serve some of the most vulnerable in our population, consider helping out ElderHelp, and becoming one of their ‘angels’.

See the message below from ElderHelp San Diego:

You are invited to become a 2009 ElderHelp Holiday Angel. The Holiday Angels Program provides gifts to the elderly at the holidays. Last year over 350 baskets and gifts were created and delivered to brighten the lives of frail, isolated and homebound seniors throughout San Diego!

The Holiday Angels Program began in 1985 with a group of school children who prepared gift baskets to assure that seniors living alone or without families would receive a gift during the holidays. Over the past 20+ years, the program has evolved into a collaborative effort with numerous individuals and organizations considered “Holiday Angels.”

Many San Diego seniors struggle all year long with the basic necessities we often take for granted. They battle with the decision to refill their medications or purchase groceries – to pay the utility bill or purchase a bus pass to get to medical appointments. The Holiday Angels program strives to make the holidays a little easier for our seniors who have few resources.

There are many ways to help spread the holiday cheer:

-Create a personalized gift basket for a senior, based on their own holiday wish list.
Make a donation of gift cards to help seniors purchase the items they are most in need of.
-Donate small gifts for 100 gift bags distributed at an annual Rotary Club Holiday luncheon for seniors.
-Make a cash donation to help our seniors throughout the year.

We are excited to see this program into its 24th year! We hope you will consider becoming a Holiday Angel this season and experience the joy of giving to those in need.

To become a Holiday Angel, please contact Cynthia Beisiegel at 619-284-9281 ext. 14 or via e-mail at cbeisiegel@elderhelpofsandiego.org before November 23, 2009.

I hold the highest resect, admiration, and gratitude for all who have given of themselves to fight for this country. While I have never made this ultimate sacrifice, and do not believe I ever will, I can’t help but appreciate the people who have sweat blood and tears to ensure my freedom.

I did not realize the sacrifices made by members of our armed forces until I was in a long-term relationship with a Navy Corpsman. Sure, I had celebrated the military in a sexually fetishized way by attending the many “military-themed” parties at nightclubs around town. I was first in line sporting my combat boots, “booty shorts”, camouflage painted shirtless chest, and camouflage headband (certainly a military regulation uniform!), but that was really the extent of my concern for the work the military does.

But then I got into this relationship 4-1/2 years ago (which has since ended) and witnessed how hard my partner worked to fight for people, some who treated him very poorly because of his membership in the military. When we would pass anti-military protesters he would just shrug it off, saying “I will continue to fight for that person’s right to express their opinion”. That is unconditional love and respect for the United States!

But what is different about my ex-partner, and a large number of others, is that fact that he is a GAY service member. He continues to serve a country that supports an organization that does not allow him to be himself. He has to endure endless “fag” jokes, hide huge parts of his life when he talks to his co-workers/”friends”, and live in constant fear that if he is found out, his entire career will be ruined. Some ask, “well then why would he WANT to be in the military?” To that question, I do not have an answer, but I do recognize his great love of this country, and commitment to fight for our freedom.

Veterans Day certainly honors all of our veterans, but we sometimes forget about the fact that so many of our Veterans served and continue to serve in silence. It is time for Don’t Ask Don’t Tell to be gone, and for the United States Military to heal from this dark period in its’ history.

The San Diego Chapter of American Veterans for Equal Rights (AVER) will proudly participate in this year’s San Diego County Veterans Day Parade. I am so proud of our LGBT Veterans, led by Ben Gomez, who are going to brave this crowd and proclaim their pride in the service and themselves.

This Saturday, a special event called Patriots’ Pride, will take place in Oceanside and several other cities across the country. Patriots’ Pride is a Veterans Day celebration in honor of all LGBT and other sexual minorities that have served their country honorably and have never throughout the history of the United States of America been treated equally.

I encourage you to attend Patriots’ Pride and show your support for our LGBT Veterans and protest discrimination in the military!

To all of our veterans: Happy Veterans Day, and THANK YOU for your service! More people appreciate your work than you may realize.