News

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Raise The Roof Festival to Benefit The Peace & Justice Center August 13

The Raise The Roof Festival benefiting the Peace & Justice Center of Sonoma County takes place on Saturday, August 13 at the beautiful Monte Rio Amphitheater. Bandleader, Leo Rosales, says, “MOMOTOMBO SF is honored to be participating in the Raise The Roof Festival benefiting the Peace & Justice Center. It is important for us musicians to give back to the community of fans that have supported us throughout the years. We look forward to bringing the spirit of Latin Rock music and helping to make a difference in the Sonoma County community.” Notably, the Latin Rock band Malo celebrates 50 […]

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Same-sex couples updating legal status after abortion ruling

Emails and phone calls from same-sex couples, worried about the legal status of their marriages and keeping their children, flooded attorney Sydney Duncan’s office within hours of the Supreme Court’s decision eliminating the constitutional right to abortion. The ruling last week didn’t directly affect the 2015 decision that paved the way for same-sex marriage. But, Duncan said, it was still a warning shot for families headed by same-sex parents who fear their rights could evaporate like those of people seeking to end a pregnancy. “That has a lot of people scared and, I think, rightfully so,” said Duncan, who specializes […]

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This Month at Sonoma Public Library

Join the Sonoma County Library for in-person and virtual events throughout the month of July. We have programming for all ages, including author talks, comic workshops, and more. All events are free and you don’t need a library card to attend; registration is required for select events. Check out some of our July events below! Kids & FamiliesEnjoy traditional music and dance with Cascada de Flores’ bilingual events for children and families! Join the fun at these library locations: Cloverdale, Healdsburg, Rohnert Park-Cotati, and Roseland.Tweens & TeensCreate your own mini comic book in illustrator Gio Benedetti’s Comic Workshops for tweens! For grades 4-6 at five library locations: Healdsburg, Rincon Valley, […]

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Hawaii museum revisits history of gender-fluid healers

More than 500 years ago, Hawaiians placed four boulders on a Waikiki beach to honor visitors from the court of Tahiti’s king who had healed the sick. They were “mahu,” which in Hawaiian language and culture refers to someone with dual male and female spirit and a mixture of gender traits. The stones were neglected for many years, as Christian missionaries and other colonizing Westerners suppressed the role of mahu in Hawaiian society. At one point a bowling alley was built over the boulders. Officials restored the stones multiple times since the 1960s but informational plaques installed next to them […]

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Turkey Pride crackdowns only strengthen LGBTQ resistance

The waving colors of the thousand shades inside of a rainbow, The sparkling joy from the pride and honor of self-declaration,  The echoing sounds of the steps for solidarity in the cobblestone streets of İstanbul,  To unite for equality, for justice, for solely our right to be.  This was our goal, our expectation and our hope for Pride Turkey 2022. It has, however, been overshadowed by the government’s vicious attempts to repress the colors of the LGBTQI+ community.  First, it started with the ban of Pride speeches and panels that many district governors and other local authorities across Turkey announced. […]

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As Israel readies for new elections, the LGBTQ community is at risk

Israel’s government has collapsed — and the county is headed to new elections for the fifth time in three years. In this renewed period of uncertainty, Israel’s LGBTQ community has cause for particular concern. Any new coalition would likely welcome parties that oppose LGBTQ inclusion back into government, posing a clear and imminent threat to their human rights. But amidst this trepidation, there is still much to celebrate: 30 LGBTQ leaders from the U.S. met with their counterparts in Israel this month. The backdrop was Tel Aviv Pride, one of the largest in the world. The leaders were there for […]

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Three Nigerian men sentenced to death by stoning for homosexuality

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Three Nigerian men convicted of engaging in homosexuality have been sentenced to death by stoning by an Islamic sharia court in the country’s northern state of Bauchi. The three men, including a 70-year-old, were arrested on June 14 and have allegedly confessed to the crime, according to the head of the religious police in Bauchi. They were sentenced late last week but can appeal within 30 days. Related: Anti-gay GOP Congressman indicted for lying to FBI about campaign donation from wealthy Nigerian Nigeria’s Same-Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act, which was signed into law by former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2014, makes same-sex relationships punishable […]

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Proud Boys flashmob library’s family Pride event as terrorized staff frantically cancels event

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Members of the Proud Boys disrupted yet another Pride-themed children’s program at a public library earlier this week. On Monday, seven men wearing the violent far-right group’s signature black and yellow polo shirts and other Proud Boys paraphernalia entered the St. Joseph County Public Library’s Virginia M. Tutt Branch in South Bend, IN where the Rainbow Family Storytime and arts and crafts event was scheduled to take place. Photos posted on social media also show the men flashing white supremacist hand signs while smiling for the camera. Members of the extremist group, whose leaders were indicted earlier this month on charges of […]

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The Americas Should Unify in a Marriage Equality Bloc

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From the North American tundra to the South American Patagonia, an estimated 852 million people live in countries with marriage equality. Despite these high numbers, the Americas have a way to go before becoming a true beacon for same-sex couples. Countries with marriage equality should harness their remarkable advances thus far and urge the rest of the region to join the America’s growing marriage equality bloc. Canada became the first country in the Western Hemisphere to enact legislation recognizing same-sex marriages nationwide in 2005, after the Netherlands, which was the first to do so in the world in 2001. South American countries followed suit, with Argentina in […]

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Progress and Setbacks on LGBT Rights in Africa — An Overview of the Last Year

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June marks the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall riots over the treatment of LGBT people by New York City police, which was commemorated a year later with a protest march. In countries where it is possible, pride marches and parades are now ubiquitous, including in South Africa, which held its first in 1990.  Pride month is a time to reflect on progress but also ongoing challenges in advancing the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people.  Many countries in Africa have poor reputations when it comes to LGBT rights. The anthropologist Zethu Matebeni has parodied this uniformly gloomy view in a piece entitled How Not to Write About Queer South Africa. But the same volume also highlights the ways in which sexual and gender minorities are marginalised by “African political, religious and traditional leaders”.  When it comes to the rights of sexual and gender minorities in Africa, the past year has been a mixed bag.  In the […]

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