LGBTQI History: A Sonoma County Timeline 1947-2000. Wednesdays 1:30-3pm. Online via Zoom. On Wed. 12/15 we will be doing a semester review, ending with a discussion about Lesbian Voters Action Caucus. Please contact me to get a Zoom invite: cdungan@santarosa.edu
A 12-year-old boy took his own life after being tortured by bullies and told he would go to Hell because he is gay. Eli Fritchley was a seventh-grader from Shelbyville, Tennessee, who adored Spongebob Squarepants and played the trombone. He died by suicide on 28 November, no longer able to bear the “pain and torture” from kids at his school, his parents said. Eli was never afraid to be himself, Debbey and Steve Fritchley told WKRN-TV, and they were in awe at his bravery in the face of bullies at his school, Cascades Muddle School in Bedford County. “He was told because he […]
“The Obama Portraits Tour” and “Black American Portraits” exhibits at LACMA not only celebrate portraiture, but also queer Black artists and subjects. In the West Coast presentation of “The Obama Portraits Tour,” Kehinde Wiley’s Barack Obama and Amy Sherald’s Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama are on loan from the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, and on view at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art through Jan. 2. Wiley, who identifies as gay, was the first Black artist to paint an official presidential portrait for the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery when Obama selected him in 2018. Wiley’s “Portrait of a Young Man,” his eagerly […]
The caption read “hanging with the homies.” The picture above it showed several Black men who had been lynched. Another photo asked what someone should do if their girlfriend was having an affair with a Black man. The answer, according to the caption, was to break “a tail light on his car so the police will stop him and shoot him.” Someone else sent a picture of a candy cane, a Christmas tree ornament, a star for the top of the tree and an “enslaved person.” “Which one doesn’t belong?” the caption asked. “You don’t hang the star,” someone wrote […]
Federal prosecutors arrested a man Monday who they said threatened to attack this year’s New York City Pride March with “firepower” that would “make the 2016 Orlando Pulse Nightclub shooting look like a cakewalk.” Officials from the FBI and the New York Joint Terrorism Task Force announced that Robert Fehring, 74, was charged with mailing dozens of letters threatening to assault, shoot and bomb LGBTQ-affiliated individuals, organizations and businesses, including New York City’s annual Pride festival. After executing a search warrant at his home in Bayport, New York, last month, law enforcement agents recovered photographs from a Pride event on Long Island […]
After four years of debate, New Zealand has unanimously passed a self-ID bill for trans people, voting “in favour of inclusivity and against discrimination”. The self-ID bill was introduced in 2018, and was finally passed by New Zealand’s parliament on Thursday (9 December) after its third reading. It will remove the requirement for medical intervention to change legal gender marker in favour of a “statutory declaration”. The changes will come into force in 18 months time, allowing for consultation with the LGBT+ community on how the process should work, how young people can access correct gender markers, and how to be inclusive of non-binary people […]
Canada this week banned conversion therapy, a debunked treatment that aims to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. A bill making it a crime to subject Canadians of any age to the discredited practice became law Wednesday after Canada’s Parliament passed the measure this month. “It’s official: Our government’s legislation banning the despicable and degrading practice of conversion therapy has received Royal Assent — meaning it is now law. LGBTQ2 Canadians, we’ll always stand up for you and your rights,” Canadian President Justin Trudeau wrote on Twitter. https://iframe.nbcnews.com/M7hDVJs?_showcaption=true&app=1 The Canadian law is the latest instance of a growing global […]
Join Positive Images LGBTQIA+ Center and North Bay LGBTQI Families for an end-of-year Social Saturday: Intergenerational Gathering on December 18th from 11am-3pm at Brew (555 Healdsburg Ave) in Santa Rosa! Come by to celebrate the season with us, and take home one of our specially assembled LGBTQIA+ Family and Community Care Packages! All LGBTQIA+ youth, families, adults, and elders are welcome at this gathering, which is part of a recurring series of monthly events taking place throughout Sonoma County where we are seeking to bring together members of our community across generations, particularly gender expansive youth, teens, and adults. This event will also serve […]
Whether you’re looking to reenter the workforce or start a new career, Sonoma County Library has you covered! In addition to the online learning platforms we already offer, we’ve added four more resources to improve your job and technology skills, courtesy of the California State Library. Learn more about these resources below! Coursera partners with more than 200 leading universities and companies to bring flexible job-relevant online learning to individuals and organizations worldwide. Coursera offers a range of learning opportunities—from hands-on projects and courses to job-ready certificates and degree programs. GetSetUp is a resource created for older adults (over the age of 55) to […]
With more than two dozen states poised to ban abortion if the U.S. Supreme Court gives them the OK next year, California clinics and their allies in the state Legislature on Wednesday revealed a plan to make the state a “sanctuary” for those seeking reproductive care, including possibly paying for travel, lodging and procedures for people from other states. The California Future of Abortion Council, made up of more than 40 abortion providers and advocacy groups, released a list of 45 recommendations for the state to consider if the high court overturns Roe v. Wade — the 48-year-old decision that forbids states […]