Namibia’s High Court ruled last week that it could not require that the marriages of two same-sex couples conducted outside of the country be granted legal recognition.
The couples, legally married in South Africa and Germany, had been unable to obtain a work permit and residency permit, respectively, for their non-Namibian spouses and so launched a court case against Namibia’s failure to recognize same-sex marriages.
In its decision, the court expressed sympathy with the couples’ position and emphasized that discrimination based on sexual orientation is unacceptable under domestic and international law. Nevertheless, it concluded that the court was bound by a decades-old Supreme Court judgment that said the Immigration Control Act, which provides certain benefits to spouses of Namibian citizens, does not recognize same-sex relationships.
Madam Jholerina Brina Timbo of Wings to Transcend Namibia Trust, a transgender rights organization, expressed disappointment about the decision but said it was a silver lining that the court expressed concern over the unfairness of past rulings.
Linda Baumann of Namibia Diverse Women’s Association, a feminist organization, pointed to other recent court victories in Namibia and told Human Rights Watch it was a step in the right direction that judges were “affirming the existence of LGBTI people as part of our community.”
Globally, 31 countries currently recognize the right to marry for same-sex couples. When those couples travel to other countries however, their marriages may or may not be recognized, potentially making them ineligible for spousal benefits related to taxation, inheritance, insurance, housing, pensions, residency, and even parenting and family law.
The European Union’s top court has required member states to recognize the marriages of same-sex couples performed in other member states to ensure their freedom of movement. Israel also allows same-sex couples to register marriages performed abroad.
The couples are likely to appeal, and so either Namibia’s Supreme Court could overturn its old ruling, or lawmakers could act to change the status quo. As more countries recognize marriage equality, Namibia and other states should also take steps to ensure that same-sex relationships are respected and protected.
Two men have been executed in Iran after they were imprisoned for six years on anti-gay “sodomy” charges, according to human rights groups and reports.
Mehrdad Karimpou and Farid Mohammadi are said to have been killed in the Maragheh prison in northwestern Iran, according to the Human Rights Activist News Agency (HRANA).
According to HRANA, the two men were arrested six years ago on charges of “sodomy by force” and have been in prison ever since.
LGBT+ people in often face horrific violence and discrimination just for living their truth. Sex between people of the same gender is illegal in the country and can be punishable by death or imprisonment.
Iran currently criminalises sex between men with the death penalty or 100 lashes and sex between women with 100 lashes.
Karmel Melamed, a journalist covering Iran, wrote on Twitter that the “Ayatollah regime” in the country “just executed two gay men” by “hanging” for the “crime of sodomy”.
He also called out US secretary of state Antony Blinken, LGBT+ organisation GLAAD and “other LGBT groups” in the US for not being “outraged” by “this horrific crime”.
Human rights and LGBT+ rights campaigner Peter Tatchell told the Jerusalem Post that the execution of the two men “follows a long-standing regime” of “state-sanctioned murder of gay men”.
He added these executions often involve “disputed charges after unfair trials”.
According to Iran Human Rights, the executions have not been announced by state-run media.
The non-governmental organisation added that defended in cases involving “sodomy by force” are “usually tortured during detention to obtain a confession”; and in some cases, the case is “processed hastily without the presence of a lawyer or defence counsel”.
The Iranian Lesbian and Transgender Network (6Rang) reported that Sareh was arrested by the IRGC in October while she was in the West Azerbaijan province of Iran. She was reportedly attempting to flee across the border into Turkey.
According to 6Rang, a news agency reported in November that the IRGC had arrested people in West Azerbaijan on charges of “forming a gang for trafficking girls and supporting homosexuality”. 6Rang suspected this could be related to Sareh’s arrest.
The UK has seen a sharp rise in an “extremely drug-resistant” strain of the STI shigella among gay and bisexual men, according to a government report.
Although not well-known, a shigella infection, from a bacterium that causes dysentery, can be very serious.
Shigella is transmitted through the accidental ingestion of faecal matter containing the bacteria, such as by licking skin, condoms, toys or fingers that have been contaminated during rimming, fisting, or giving oral sex after anal sex. Even a tiny amount can cause infection.
The infection affects the gut, and can cause severe and long-lasting diarrhoea, stomach cramps and a fever. Because of its symptoms, it is sometimes mistaken for food poisoning.
The symptoms of shigella usually subside within a week, but in some cases hospitalisation is required to administer intravenous antibiotics. Rarely, shigella can spread to the blood and become life-threatening.
On Thursday (27 January), the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) reported that cases have been on the rise among gay and bisexual men,
In the last four months, the agency has recorded 47 cases of the STI, while in the 17-month period between April 2020 and August 2021, there were just 16 cases.
The UKHSA said that “recent cases show resistance to antibiotics is increasing”.
Dr Gauri Godbole, a consultant medical microbiologist at UKHSA, said in a statement: “Practising good hygiene after sex is really important to keep you and your partners safe. Avoid oral sex immediately after anal sex, change condoms between anal or oral sex and wash your hands with soap after sexual contact.”
She said it was vital that men who have sex with men speak to a GP or sexual health clinic if they experience symptoms so they can be tested for shigella, which is usually done via a stool sample.
“Men with shigella may have been exposed to other STIs including HIV, so a sexual health screen at a clinic or ordering tests online is recommended,” Godbole continued.
“If you have been diagnosed with shigella, give yourself time to recover. Keep hydrated and get lots of rest.
“Don’t have sex until seven days after your last symptom and avoid spas, swimming, jacuzzis, hot tubs and sharing towels as well as preparing food for other people until a week after symptoms stop.”
A group of lawmakers in Guatemala has advanced a bill that would stigmatize transgender people and curtail children’s and adolescents’ rights to education, information, and health, Human Rights Watch said today. Congress should reject the bill and instead address the violence and discrimination that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people face in the country.
Bill 5940 uses the rhetoric of protecting children and adolescents from “gender identity disorders” to justify a patently discriminatory measure that would ban the dissemination of any information about transgender identity in school sex education curricula. The bill would also require media outlets to label programs with transgender content, which the bill likens to pornography, as “not recommended” for children under 18.
“Bill 5940 is unscientific and stigmatizes transgender people as a corrupting influence, harmful to children,” said Cristian González Cabrera, LGBT rights researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Lawmakers should aim to promote tolerance, not demean a vulnerable minority, especially given the high levels of anti-trans violence in Guatemala.”
The twenty-one lawmakers in the Congress’ Commission on Education, Science, and Technologyunanimously approved the bill in December 2021. The bill is now poised to go before the full Congress, where it would need to be the subject of three congressional debates and a final vote before becoming law
The bill flies in the face of international human rights standards and science, Human Rights Watch said. The World Professional Association for Transgender Health, an international multidisciplinary professional association aimed at promoting evidence-based care, education, and research in transgender health, has stated that diversity in gender identity “is a common and culturally diverse human phenomenon [that] should not be judged as inherently pathological or negative.”
Under international law, children and adolescents have a right to comprehensive sexual education. The UN special rapporteur on the right to education has noted that sexuality education “must be free of prejudices and stereotypes that could be used to justify discrimination and violence against any group,” and “must pay special attention to diversity, since everyone has the right to deal with his or her own sexuality without being discriminated against on grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity.”
Violence against LGBT people is commonplace in Guatemala, and the bill risks adding to the existing prejudice and stereotypes that often fuel such violence, Human Rights Watch said. Guatemala’s Human Rights Ombudsperson’s Office reported that between December 30 and January 2, two trans women and one gay man were murdered in separate attacks. This follows an already bloody 2021 for LGBT people in Guatemala, in which transgender people were particularly vulnerable.
In March 2021, Human Rights Watch published a report on violence and discrimination against LGBT people in Guatemala. Human Rights Watch interviewed 53 survivors of anti-LGBT abuses – including 24 gender non-conforming people – and found that the attackers included public security agents, gangs, and members of the public. It also found that the government had failed to adequately protect LGBT people against such illegal acts.
Bill 5940 would also continue to erode comprehensive sexuality education in Guatemala, which is already regressive. A 2017 report from the Guttmacher Institute found that many teachers providing sexuality education lack adequate time, resources, and training, especially on contraceptive methods, HIV/sexually transmitted infections, and violence. The Institute also found that teachers convey mixed messages about sexuality, including the harmful and stigmatizing message that sexual relations are dangerous and should be avoided before marriage.
Withholding age-appropriate and science-based information about gender and sexuality from students, including information relevant to students’ sexual and reproductive health, and prohibiting teachers from offering guidance and learning materials on these issues, amounts to a violation of students’ right of access to information, Human Rights Watch said.
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has identified lack of “access to sexual and reproductive health services and information” as a particular issue for “[a]dolescents who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex.” It said governments should “refrain from censoring, withholding, or intentionally misrepresenting health-related information, including sexual education and information, and … ensure children have the ability to acquire the knowledge and skills to protect themselves and others as they begin to express their sexuality.”
Bill 5940’s requirement that media outlets label all material related to gender identity unsuitable for minors not only denigrates transgender people but may result in violations of the right to freedom of expression. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has said that the media should promote “an environment of peace, free from all forms of violence in relation to the social environment in which it is situated, generating safe and inclusive spaces for LGBTI people.”
The bill is not the only legislative attempt aimed at stigmatizing LGBT people in Guatemala. The pending Life and Family Protection Bill describes “sexual diversity” as “incompatible with the biological and genetic aspects of human beings.” It also establishes that “freedom of conscience and expression” protects people from being “obliged to accept non-heterosexual conduct or practices as normal,” a provision that could be used to justify discriminatory denial of services.
The Organization of American States General Assembly has called on member states to adopt public policies against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression, yet Guatemala currently provides LGBT people with virtually no protections.
“Instead of stoking a moral panic by demonizing LGBT people, lawmakers should pass anti-discrimination and hate crime legislation to address pervasive violence,” González said. “They should also uphold children and adolescents’ right to comprehensive sexuality education, which can protect health, promote tolerance, and help prevent gender-based violence, including against gender and sexual minorities.”
The Sonoma County Library offers virtual events throughout the month of February. We have programming for all ages, including yoga, African American folktales, book clubs, and more! All events are free and you don’t need a library card to attend, however registration is required. See a selection of our February events below!
Kids & Families
Join us for a very special virtual storytime on Saturday, February 5, at 10:30 am with Drag Queen Story Hour! This fabulous event, featuring the ultra glamorous PerSia reading favorite children’s stories, will inspire a love of reading and teach deeper lessons on diversity, self-respect, and appreciation of others.
Join children’s librarians Miss Serena and Ms. Adriel for bilingual storytime on Thursday, February 24, at 4:30 pm to celebrate Jazz & Friends National Day of School & Community Readings! Ms. Adriel will read From the Stars in the Sky to the Fish in the Sea and I am Jazz. Miss Serena will read Mi Princesito and Vivan las uñas de colores.
Tweens & Teens
Calling all young writers! Join us for our Tween Writing Club, a virtual series with children’s author Natasha Yim. Starting on Wednesday, February 9, at 4:00 pm, Natasha will lead young writers, ages 9-12, in monthly meetings to develop their own stories. Through writing exercises and mini-lessons, students will learn the basic elements of story structure and more!
Looking for a way to relax and unwind? Join other teens on Monday, February 14, at 4:30 pm for Mindful Monday with yoga teacher Ozlem Ozdener! Ozlem will offer a beginner’s yoga practice featuring mindful movement and breathwork. This online class is for teens only.
It’s time to celebrate! Join us on Saturday, February 26, at 1:00 pm for the second annual Sonoma County Library Teen Film Festival premiere! Together we will award the top three short films, chat with the filmmakers and judges, and virtually hand out prizes. Every teen who submitted a film will receive some library swag!
Adults
Join us online for our new monthly Climate Circles Book Club! On the second Wednesday of each month we will discuss climate change along with the book All We Can Save, edited by Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Dr. Katherine K. Wilkerson. We will learn from each other and regional leaders about how to address the climate crisis together and as individuals. Our first meeting is on Wednesday, February 16, at 6:00 pm. Check out the book, eBook, or eAudiobook through the library catalog. Find out more here.
Boost your resilience and creativity with Dr. Eki’Shola Edwards on Friday, February 25, at 6:00 pm! Join us for an inspiring presentation by Dr. Edwards, an award-winning musician and internist/lifestyle medicine physician, who will share her personal story of resilience and hope. Dr. Edwards will present simple techniques to foster creativity and wellness, followed by a Q&A session.
All Ages
Learn American Sign Language with our Intro to ASL for All Ages! This class series is held on the first Thursday of each month and will introduce the significance of deaf culture, how to finger spell your name, and provide an overview of basic grammar, vocabulary, numbers, and colors. Join us on Thursday, February 10, at 4:00 pm.
Celebrate Black History Month with Sonoma County Library and renowned storyteller Kirk Waller! Join us on Wednesday, February 16, at 10:30 am for African and African American folktales, legends, and history, brought to life with music, movement, singing, and the spoken word.
Book Clubs
From Queer Book Club to La Tortilla Literaria, we’ve got a book club for everyone. Check out the calendar for upcoming meetings, or click here for a list of all Sonoma County Library book clubs.
This month’s Read BIPOC Book Club is on Tuesday, February 22, at 6:00 pm and the book isThere, There by Tommy Orange. Borrow the eBook or eAudiobook. Print copies are available while supplies last. Call or text 707-978-1631 to have a copy sent to your local library for pickup.
Looking for more? Explore the full calendar! Explore the CalendarThank you for being a member of the Sonoma County Library community. Visit us online or in person at one of our branches. Be sure to check out open jobs at Sonoma County Library here. Questions? Please call your local library branch or click here to send us a message. Eventos virtuales de febrero La Biblioteca del Condado de Sonoma ofrece eventos virtuales por todo el mes de febrero. ¡Tenemos programación para todas las edades, que incluye yoga, cuentacuentos folklóricos, clubes de lectura y más! Todos eventos son gratis y no necesita una tarjeta de la biblioteca para poder asistirlos, pero sí es necesario registrarse. ¡Pueda ver una selección de los eventos en febrero a continuación!
In a vote hailed by French President Emmanuel Macron, lawmakers in the National Assembly unanimously voted 142-0 on Tuesday to ban the discredited practice of so-called gay conversion therapy.
In a reaction to the vote, Macron tweeted: “The law prohibiting conversion therapy is adopted unanimously! Let’s be proud, these unworthy practices have no place in the Republic. Because being yourself is not a crime, because there is nothing to be cured.”
The law had already been passed by senators in December.
Those found guilty of so-called gay conversion therapy could face two years imprisonment and a €30,000 ($33,714.45) fine. The punishment could rise to three years in prison and a fine of €45,000 ($50,571.68) for attempts involving children or other particularly vulnerable people, Euronews reported.
“The practice of trying to “convert” LGBT+ people to heterosexuality or traditional gender expectations is scientifically discredited,” MP’s in support of the measure had argued previous to the final vote.
“We are sending out a strong signal because we are formally condemning all those who consider a change of sex or identity as an illness,” said Laurence Vanceunebrock, an MP with Macron’s ruling En Marche party.
Nearly every French MP who spoke on Tuesday echoed the same words; “there is nothing to cure.”
A business coalition that is urging the passage of landmark LGBTQ rights legislation grew to more than 500 companies Tuesday.
Launched in 2016 by LGBTQ advocacy group the Human Rights Campaign, the Business Coalition for the Equality Act is a group of U.S. corporations that have pledged their support for a bill that would federally ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, known as the Equality Act.
As of Tuesday, the group was composed of 503 corporations — including 160 Fortune 500 companies — making it the largest business coalition to pledge support for LGBTQ equality, the HRC said. Corporations new to the coalition include McDonald’s, Harley-Davidson, Sony, REI, Honeywell, Edward Jones and Stop & Shop.
“Today’s announcement reinforces the breadth and depth of support for the Equality Act among America’s business leaders, who are joining a majority of Americans, hundreds of members of Congress, hundreds of advocacy organizations, and more than 60 business associations — including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers — in endorsing the federal legislation,” the HRC said in a statement.https://iframe.nbcnews.com/JijNweL?_showcaption=true&app=1
As it stands, LGBTQ people in 29 states lack explicit nondiscrimination protections in employment, housing, loan applications, education, public accommodations and other areas.
To ensure protections nationwide, the House passed the Equality Act in February, largely along party lines, with only three Republicans throwing their support behind the bill.
The legislation faced Republican opposition again, stalling in the Senate in May. Republican senators argued that the bill would undermine women’s rights by allowing transgender girls and women to play on girls sports teams and would limit religious freedoms, among other things. Their argument echoed the nationwide push by conservative state lawmakers to restrict trans students’ athletic participation.
If the Equality Act were to pass in the Senate, President Joe Biden has repeatedly vowed to sign it into law. However, if he gets the opportunity to do so, he would still fall short of his campaign pledgeto sign the bill into law within his first 100 days in office.
While Congress is split on the matter, a large majority of Americans, 82 percent, favor laws that protect LGBTQ people from discrimination, according to a poll published in October by the nonprofit Public Religion Research Institute.
The HRC cited the protections’ bipartisan backing among the American people as it lauded Tuesday’s milestone of corporate support for the Equality Act.
But as the HRC celebrated, some critics called its business coalition a form of “pinkwashing,” a term used to describe corporate exploitation of LGBTQ people.
“It’s a way for HRC to, like, ‘play with the big boys’ as it were, as well as to bring in money,” said Jay W. Walker, an organizer with the Reclaim Pride Coalition, the group behind New York City’s alternative LGBTQ Pride march. “For the corporations, it’s a way for them to pinkwash their images and to make LGBTQ people who don’t pay attention to the details think: ‘Oh great, they’re wonderful. They’re great corporate citizens.’”
Walker also noted that some of the same companies that publicly backed the passage of the Equality Act are funding the politicians who are standing in its way.
For example, AT&T, American Airlines and Southwest Airlines — which are member companies of the coalition — have each donated at least $48,000 to Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, since 2017, according to campaign finance nonprofit organization OpenSecrets. Cruz was one of the Senate’s lead proponents against the Equality Act, calling it “dangerous.”
“We live in a society where you have to ferret out information in order to get the whole picture,” Walker said.
The business community’s support of the Equality Act is not the first time corporate America has tried to leverage its power to enact change for LGBTQ Americans. But the results have been mixed.
In support of same-sex marriage in 2015, 379 companies filed anamicus brief in the landmark Obergefell v. Hodges Supreme Court case, which resulted in the nationwide legalization of same-sex unions.
Conversely, as of Jan. 21, 2021, more than 150 companies had signed on to a pledge criticizing the slew of anti-trans bills proposed around the country. Hundreds of similar bills have been filed since then, with roughly 10 enacted into law last year.
LGBTQ Afghans have increasingly been threatened, beaten and raped since the Taliban took control of the country in August, a new report found.
The advocacy groups Human Rights Watch and OutRight Action International compiled a snapshot of how the freshly reawakened Taliban regime has targeted Afghans based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. And while LGBTQ Afghans have long lived in peril, the groups concluded that the situation has “dramatically worsened” following the Taliban’s takeover.
“The thing that I think we heard most commonly from people who we interviewed, who are still in Afghanistan, is that they don’t leave their rooms. The level of fear of being targeted is so great that they feel like they’re risking their lives to go buy food,” said J. Lester Feder, one of the study’s co-authors and a senior fellow for emergency research at OutRight Action International. “And beforehand, these were people who had jobs or had ways to eat, who could go about their cities — and that’s a real change.”
For the report, released Tuesday night, the researchers interviewed 60 lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer Afghans, most in their 20s, from October to December of last year. Through telling the stories of their interviewees’ allegations of abuse, the report illustrates how threats, violence and harassment against LGBTQ people have become more common under the Taliban’s rule.
A few weeks after Taliban forces overtook Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, in August, a 20-year-old gay man reported that Taliban members had detained him at a checkpoint. He was then beaten and gang-raped, he said.
“From now on anytime we want to be able to find you, we will,” Taliban members told him following the attack, according to the report. “And we will do whatever we want with you.”
After the incident, the young man went into hiding, the report said, but the Taliban then moved on to harass and attack members of his family. In one instance, Taliban fighters spent three days in his family’s home, interrogating and beating them, researchers reported.
The report also detailed an uptick in abuse faced by LGBTQ Afghans from their own family members.
One interviewee, a lesbian from a small Afghan village, said that her uncle and male cousins became emboldened to kill her after they joined the Taliban.
“If you’re not going to do this, we will do it,” she recalled a relative saying to her parents, according to the report. “We have the authority.”
Heather Barr, a co-author of the report and an associate director of the women’s rights division at Human Rights Watch, attributed the attacks by family members to fear of the Taliban’s wrath themselves.
“There’s a kind of feeling that you get credit from the Taliban for turning people in, that a way to keep yourself safe is to rat out other people,” Barr said. “Some people are clearly feeling like the way to keep themselves above suspicion is to hand in other people in this environment where there’s no kind of protection from rule of law.”
The report also outlined how gender-nonconforming individuals, in particular, have been subjected to danger under the Taliban’s rule. Several of the report’s interviewees told researchers that they were beaten on the street for wearing clothes that did not conform to gender norms, or looked “too Western.”
“Every moment we receive threats and calls,” said an Afghan trans woman, according to the report. “Even children on the street say, ‘You’re still here? Why hasn’t the Taliban taken you yet?’”
Nemat Sadat, a former political science professor at the American University of Afghanistan, echoed the sentiment that, among LGBTQ Afghans, trans and gender-nonconforming Afghans are more vulnerable to attacks.
“A cisgender gay or bisexual male, who could grow a beard, who can look like the Taliban, who could wear their clothing, who could dress like them … they won’t even be questioned,” said Sadat, who told NBC News that he has spoken with over 200 Afghans who have been targeted or tortured by the Taliban since August.
“A lot of Afghans want to get out, and we should try to help all of them, but we have to prioritize,” Sadat added, suggesting trans and gender-nonconforming Afghans should receive help first.
To aid LGBTQ Afghans, the authors of the report urged other countries — and the United States specifically — to expedite their applications for evacuation and resettlement, support humanitarian assistance programs that specifically target LGBTQ Afghans and apply diplomatic leverage.
Throughout the U.S. military’s withdrawal from Afghanistan in August, advocates and lawmakers urged the State Department to specifically include LGBTQ Afghans in its pledge to evacuate vulnerable people from the country. That request, however, went unanswered.
But, describing the efforts as of “utmost importance,” a spokesperson for the State Department told NBC News in an email that the Biden administration will continue to help LGBTQ Afghans through “diplomacy, international influence, and humanitarian aid.” The spokesperson also acknowledged that evacuating LGBTQ Afghans is “extremely difficult” and “potentially dangerous.”
“The best we can say is that we know by numbers that we will help some, but we are unlikely ever to be sure how many since many people cannot disclose their sexual orientation, gender identity, or sex characteristics due to shame, stigma and fear of backlash,” the spokesperson said.
Only Canada, the United Kingdom and Ireland have publicly announced that they would commit to resettling LGBTQ Afghans.
“I’m disappointed overall in the international community’s sort of growing disengagement from all human rights issues in Afghanistan, but I think that this one has been particularly neglected from the beginning,” Barr said, referring to the plight of LGBTQ Afghans.
“I mean, it’s been neglected as long as I’ve worked on Afghanistan, honestly, but this moment is more important than ever for people to actually engage and raise this issue,” added Barr, who has worked on Afghanistan-related human rights projects for 15 years.
Aja Gianola-Norris is a Sonoma County-based director, whose passion is “empowering and connecting our community through music and theater.” She’s directed or music directed over 85 musicals, including The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Les Misérables, Grease, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat, and The Wiz, to name a few.
In this interview she answers a few questions about her process, her work on this production and how HAIR, the musical, is still relevant and powerful more than 50 years after its original production.
Q. It’s been more than 50 years since HAIR was first produced, and the US and the world have seen major cultural changes. How did you adjust your direction (if any) to address those changes?
A. It is so interesting how the bulk of the HAIR’s script is still relevant and holds meaning in 2022. There are some lines that we chose to drop, as they had outdated humor or used words that have shifted in our culture, so that the majority of our audience will receive the original message or intent.
Q. How has the Omicron surge affected your rehearsal process? What challenges have been presented and how did you manage them?
A. Oh my! I thought it was hard to learn a big musical before – add pandemic-related twice-weekly testing, masking in rehearsals, and actors Zooming in when they are under the weather – and man, it seems extra chaotic and challenging.
But on the flip side, absence makes the heart grow fonder! We performers have been asked to forgo our hearts and theater these past two years, and it has made us all extremely thankful and humbled at this chance to be allowed to sing and dance together. Also, when we do take off our masks it is amazing to simply see each others’ faces!!
Oh and there are plenty of good jokes we make about working a show with nudity–being naked while wearing a mask!! Ha!
Q. What are the strong suits of your actors?
A. Kindness! Thoughtfulness and respect in how they learn/come together with the racially difficult/triggering material. They have an insatiable appetite to thoughtfully grow their characters and present a beautiful story of a tribe of hippies living, loving and playing–a snapshot of life in the summer of 1969.
Q. What has been the most enjoyable part of your experience rehearsing the play so far?
A. This is my first production with 6th Street and I adore the collaborative spirit and professionalism of the production team uniting to present a powerful piece of art to SoCo. I love how the theater strongly embraces diversity and equality. The playhouse has supported me as a director and as a woman of color, and in new practices that have been asked for through my work. The staff and crew at 6th Street are brave and work very hard to keep theater alive and progressive, despite the many hardships of a pandemic and the new AB5 law.
I encourage and ask audiences who come and are affected by this show to make their voices heard and share with 6th Street what you gained from the experience.
But my heart MOST enjoys the process of working with those passionate actors!
They are life-affirmingly rooted in this unique and perfect art of musical theater.
Q. What projects do you have coming up that you’d like our audience to know about?
A. I am super excited to be in the cast of 9 to 5, The Musical at 6th Street in late spring!
I have an extensive list of shows I still want to direct or perform in and I eagerly await local theaters announcing their upcoming seasons.
Q. What do you think are the aspects of the play that will most appeal to our audience?
A. I don’t know….the love? … the dancing? The singing is so good! The story is powerful.
Q. How has your background in theater prepared you for directing this play?
A. Having been a performer I have a deep understanding of the pragmatic details, which allows me to help cultivate healthy singing, dancing and exploring. We’ve all had experiences that were wonderful, so I adopt those experiences into my tool kit as a director.
There are also non-theater experiences that contribute to my skill set as a director. My work as a business owner has taught me the incredible value of communication, scheduling and preparation. Parenting gives me empathy and the ability to work with the whole person. Also being bi-racial has allowed me an unique authentic tie to two American cultures and perspectives.
———-
6th Street Playhouse’s production of HAIR is directed by Aja Gianola-Norris, with music direction by Lucas Sherman, and choreography by Rachel Wynne.
HAIR features book and lyrics by Gerome Ragni and James Rado with music by Galt MacDermot.
6th Street’s production of HAIR features a diverse cast of actor/singers, many of whom will be familiar to local audiences, including Gillian Eichenberger, Serena Elize Flores, David Lee Hall, Ezra Hernandez, Keene Hudson, Jamin Jollo, Lindsay John, Tyehimba Kokayi, Nicole MacDonald, Theo Olson, Jourdan Olivier-Verde, Noah Sternhill, and Peri-Zoe Yaldrim-Stanley. There will also be a featured performer – Lynnea Mackey – who won a walk-on role in the production in the 6th Street Applause Gala auction.
HAIR has a special sneak peek performance Friday, Feb 11 at 7:30 pm, and formally opens on Sat, Feb 12 at 2 pm, with a run that extends through March 6. Performances are Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 pm, and Saturday and Sunday 2 pm matinees.
DISCLAIMER: Audience discretion is strongly advised. HAIR contains adult language and situations that may be deemed offensive, objectionable, profane, upsetting, even vulgar by some members of our audience. The musical HAIR, from its inception in the late 1960’s, has always intended to shatter boundaries in the theatrical art form and those aspects of this work of art have not abated over time. There is one brief scene involving nudity wherein all performers onstage are adults aged 18 or older.
NO PHOTOGRAPHY OR RECORDING ALLOWED WHATSOEVER: There is no recording, photography or image-capturing allowed whatsoever during the performance of HAIR. This is strictly prohibited, and anyone found to be doing so will have their device confiscated. Confiscated devices will be returned to their owners and the end of the performance after any photos or video related to the performance have been deleted.
We’re offering you a SNEAK PEEK at HAIR
Get half-price tickets to the Feb 11 special preview!
50% OFF WITH THE DISCOUNT CODE SNEAKPEEK The cast of HAIR (book and lyrics by Gerome Ragni and James Rado with music by Galt MacDermot) is already thrilling themselves and the rest of the crew with their passionate and beautiful portrayal of a movement that changed the world. Don’t miss this glorious rock musical, a joyous celebration of youth and a poignant journey through a tumultuous 1960s America. This exuberant story about a group of teenagers searching for truth, peace and love in a Vietnam War era retains its power and relevance, 50 years after its original production. HAIR features an eclectic score filled with classics, including “Aquarius,” “Let the Sun Shine In,” “Hair,” and “Easy To Be Hard.” 6th Street’s production of HAIR features a diverse cast of actor/singers, many of whom will be familiar to local audiences, including Anne Clark, Gillian Eichenberger, Serena Elize Flores, David Lee Hall, Ezra Hernandez, Keene Hudson, Jamin Jollo, Lindsay John, Tyehimba Kokayi, Nicole MacDonald, Lynnea Mackey, Theo Olson, Jourdan Olivier-Verde, Noah Sternhill, and Peri-Zoe Yaldrim-Stanley. HAIR’s formal preview is Feb 12 at 2 pm, but you get a chance to see it before everybody else doesAT HALF PRICE ON FEB 11 ONLY! Tickets are regularly $22 – $38 which means your special prices WITH DISCOUNT CODE SNEAKPEEKare $11 to $19 (plus ticketing charge)
DISCLAIMER: Audience discretion is strongly advised. HAIR contains adult language and situations that may be deemed offensive, objectionable, profane, upsetting, or even vulgar by some members of our audience. The musical HAIR, from its inception in the late 1960’s, has always intended to shatter boundaries in the theatrical art form and those aspects of this work of art have not abated over time. There is one brief scene involving nudity wherein all performers onstage are adults aged 18 or older. NO PHOTOGRAPHY OR RECORDING ALLOWED WHATSOEVER: There is no recording, photography or image-capturing allowed whatsoever during the performance of HAIR. This is strictly prohibited, and anyone found to be doing so will have their device confiscated. Confiscated devices will be returned to their owners and the end of the performance after any photos or video related to the performance have been deleted.
The morning after the 2016 presidential election, GLAAD’s leadership team gathered in my office to assess the results of the night before and begin to process the reality that Donald J. Trump would be America’s next president. Though emotions were running high, we quickly agreed that the LGBTQ community would be in grave danger for the next four years, and that GLAAD must pivot its priorities and its resources to react and respond to the new administration.
Trump had spent the better part of his campaign having it both ways. He professed to be a friend of our community to the point of literally wrapping himself in the Pride flag at an event, while surrounding himself with some of the most virulent anti-LGBTQ activists and politicians of our era — led by the incoming Vice President Mike Pence. The message was clear — LGBTQ people and our hard won progress would be in the Trump administration crosshairs at every level and in every way possible.
Our charge was not an easy one. The cable news cycle was well into its around-the-clock, obsessive, and incessant 24-hour coverage of Trump and his followers, so we couldn’t depend on them to research, dig up and bring to light the nefarious actions that were inevitable. On top of that, we would need to ensure that the LGBTQ community was on high alert and that we were ready to fight back with every weapon in our movement’s arsenal.
So on that morning of Nov. 9, 2016, GLAAD’s Trump Accountability Project was conceived and launched. For the next four years, we tracked more than 200 attacks in policy and rhetoric coming from the Trump administration. Some of the most egregious include the complete removal of all LGBTQ references from the White House web site on the day of his inauguration; the shameful ban of qualified transgender Americans from military service; the support for businesses to legally discriminate sanctioned by the Justice Department and argued before the U.S. Supreme Court; removal of LGBTQ identifiers from the 2020 U.S. Census; the stripping of protections for transgender people in schools and in healthcare; and a slew of extreme judicial nominees to the federal bench whose anti-LGBTQ views will have a decades-long impact. The list is extensive, and it is sobering now, even in retrospect.
I invite you to fast forward five years and juxtapose that record against that of President Joe Biden as he crosses the one-year mark of his presidency. Just as we did with Donald Trump, it was important for GLAAD to track the actions of President Biden in order to hold him and his administration accountable for delivering on the campaign promises he made to the LGBTQ community.
The results are undeniable and unparalleled by any president in the history of this country. In his first 365 days in office, GLAAD’s Biden Accountability Tracker has just documented its 100th item in a quickly growing list of appointments, policies, and statements that advance equality.
These include:
Nominating the first out lesbians to the federal bench — Alison Nathan, Beth Robinson and Charlotte Sweeney — among a record 40 first-year judicial confirmations.
Nominating the first out Cabinet member confirmed by the Senate, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg; first out transgender person confirmed as Assistant Secretary for Health and first female four-star admiral of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, Dr. Rachel Levine.
Issuing the first U.S. passport with a gender-neutral ‘X’ marker, an option offered to all routine passport applicants in early 2022.
Reinstating of transgender military personnel, as well as expanding coverage for transgender vets’ healthcare.
Reversing rollbacks and expanding protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in healthcare, adoption services, and employment.
In a single year, with so many competing priorities, President Biden and his administration have opened doors for LGBTQ Americans and demonstrated unprecedented commitment to ending discrimination and pushing toward full equality in every area of society. Indeed, it’s a 180 degree turnaround from the previous administration’s attacks on LGBTQ Americans.
There’s a good deal of speculation that Donald Trump may once again run for president, and one thing could not be clearer — a second Trump Administration would be disastrous for LGBTQ people. We cannot afford to go backward. Democracy is on the line. Our equality is on the line. And it’s not hyperbole to say — our lives are on the line.
This is not a partisan political fight. It’s an American imperative. LGBTQ and our allies must not be complacent in 2022. Our work to ensure pro-equality leaders are elected to office — and remain in office — begins now. We cannot skip the midterm elections. We cannot stop paying attention and holding our elected leaders and candidates accountable.
We learned in 2016 and for four years afterward that the train of progress can be reversed, and there are anti-LGBTQ extremists working day and night to do it again. The power is in our hands to not let that happen again.
Sarah Kate Ellis is the president and CEO of GLAAD.
Gillian Eichenberger (Sheila) & Nicole MacDonald (Linda)
Jamin Jollo – Claude
