Top Stories
Preservation is an act of resistance
WorldPride has ended, but we keep returning to a question that followed us throughout it: What are we, as a community of people, responsible for preserving? Not simply buildings. Not simply photographs, artifacts, or plaques. Not even history in the traditional sense. Said plainly, we are responsible for preserving memory: the full, complicated, sometimes uncomfortable truth of how we got here, who brought us here, and what it cost them. Stay up to date with the latest in LGBTQ+ news with The Advocate’s email newsletter, in your inbox five days a week. At WorldPride in Amsterdam this year, we had […]
James Talarico says he still opposes blanket trans sports ban despite controversial take on fairness
Texas state Rep. James Talarico (D), the Democratic candidate for US Senate in his state, clarified his position on trans participation in sports during an interview at The Texas Tribune Festival on September 24. The moderator asked Talarico why he voted against a statewide trans sports ban after telling a Fox News interviewer earlier this month, “I oppose trans athletes playing in girls’ sports if it endangers safety or fairness.” “Have you changed positions on this topic?” the moderator asked. “No, my position is exactly the same,” Talarico replied. “The reason I opposed that bill is because it was a blanket statewide […]
In Georgia, 2 Trans Candidates Believe Voters Are Ready for Them
Bentley Hudgins is a 33-year-old democratic socialist who spent the past three years advocating for LGBTQ rights in the Georgia statehouse. Bella Bautista is 10 years younger, the first transgender woman to win a legislative primary in Georgia and head of a nonprofit distributing supplies to at-risk young adults. Both are running for a spot in the Georgia House of Representatives, part of a cohort of Democrats who hope to shrink or end Republicans’ hold on the chamber. Both would make history as the first trans members of the body. Neither wants to discuss identity politics or pronouns—they want to […]
Local News
Wake Up Sonoma’s “No Kings Rally” Happens October 17
For over a year, millions of people have come together to send a clear message: in America, we have no kings. Power does not belong to billionaires, strongmen, or politicians who believe they are above accountability. Power belongs to the people, but only if we use it. On October 17th Wake Up Sonoma is JOINING with Indivisible to organize a No Kings Vote Early action in Sonoma and we need you! THIS IS NOT A PROTEST GATHERING, BUT RATHER A WAY TO GET THE MESSAGE OUT, ABOUT HOW CRITICAL VOITING IS THIS YEAR. TIME: 10am -12pmDATE: October 17th,WHAT: JOIN US – to help us with get out […]
Arts & Entertainment
Black Gay American Author Urges Black LGBTQ+ Americans to Consider South Africa as Trump Welcomes White South Africans
While President Donald Trump’s administration is opening America’s doors to thousands of predominantly white South African Afrikaners, Black Gay American author Elias Whitfield is encouraging Black LGBTQ+ Americans to consider moving in the opposite direction: out of the United States, toward South Africa and other Black- and LGBTQ+-affirming destinations—to pursue greater cultural peace, financial security and LGBTQ+ acceptance. The contrast comes as the Trump administration plans to set a 17,500-person refugee admissions ceiling for the coming fiscal year, consisting primarily of South Africans from the country’s white Afrikaner minority. Although the administration says Afrikaners face racial persecution, the South African […]
“Slave Play” Opens September 25 at The Left Edge Theatre
What happens when the past refuses to stay in the past?At the MacGregor Plantation, the old South lives on, in the cotton fields, in the master’s house, and in the complicated relationship between fear, desire, race, gender, and power. In SLAVE PLAY, acclaimed playwright Jeremy O. Harris rips open the history we think we know and brings it into conversation with 21st-century America. Provocative, explosive, and unflinching, this daring play challenges audiences to confront the ways race, gender, sexuality, and power continue to shape our lives. SLAVE PLAY has been recognized with the Rosa Parks Playwriting Award, Lorraine Hansberry Playwriting Award, Lotos […]
State News
GLBT Historical Society Honors Poet, Artist, Preacher, and Storyteller Marvin K. White October 17
Saturday, October 17, 2026The Westin St. Francis, San FranciscoCocktails: 6:00 p.m. | Dinner: 7:00 p.m. We’re thrilled to announce the second of our 2026 History Maker Honorees, Marvin K. White, Minister of Celebration at Glide Memorial Church and founder of tendesf: art gallery and artpothecary. Born and raised in Oakland, Marvin has performed nationally and internationally as a member of the acclaimed theater troupe PomoAfroHomos and has presented his original work at numerous theaters, bringing his poetic voice into live performance and collective storytelling. His four poetry collections include the Lambda Literary Award–nominated last rights and nothin’ ugly fly, and he helped found and […]
Gavin Newsom moves to shield California transgender patient records from federal scrutiny
California is adding new medical privacy protections for LGBTQ+ adults facing federal subpoenas and expanding access to injectable medicines for HIVprevention. That is thanks to a spate of six new bills passed by the Democratic-led state legislature and signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Saturday. Newsom said he signed the bills to strengthen LGBTQ+ rights in the state amid a federal crackdown on such protections. Stay up to date with the latest in LGBTQ+ news with The Advocate’s email newsletter, in your inbox five days a week. “The Trump administration has launched an all-out assault on the LGBTQ community, using medical records […]
