San Francisco

San Francisco Pride has announced the winners of the 2016 Public and Member’s Choice Vote for Community and Organizational Grand Marshals of the 2016 San Francisco LGBT Pride Celebration and Parade.

Larry Yang

Larry Yang has been chosen as the Community Grand Marshal. A teacher of meditation and mindfulness, Yang is committed to serving multicultural, queer and activist communities. Playing a key role in the development of both the East Bay Meditation Center (EBMC) and the Insight Community of the Desert, Yang helped start a variety of long-running LGBTQI meditation groups in the Bay Area and beyond. He is on the Teacher’s Council of Spirit Rock Meditation Center and is a core teacher at EBMC.

An international network of more than 30 chapters working for the validity of Black life, Black Lives Matter has been chosen as Organizational Grand Marshal. Black Lives Matter is working to (re)build the Black liberation movement and affirm the lives of all Black people, specifically Black women, queer and trans people, people who are differently abled, and those who are undocumented and formerly incarcerated. Centering on those who are marginalized within Black liberation movements, Black Lives Matter imposes a call to action and response to state-sanctioned violence against Black people, as well as the virulent anti-Black racism that permeates our society.

Janetta Johnson

The member’s choice for Community Grand Marshal is Janetta Johnson. Selected by the General Membership of San Francisco Pride at their March 9 meeting, Johnson is the executive director of the Transgender Gender Variant and Intersex Justice Project (TGIJP). Johnson’s experiences as a formerly incarcerated trans person have inspired and informed her work to affirm the value of black trans lives through media, education and community-building. She has developed grassroots re-entry programs designed to reduce recidivism, as well as building the organizing capabilities of trans and gender non-conforming communities of color.

sfpride.org/

The Bob A. Ross Foundation has pledged $1 million to support the expansion of Openhouse programs and services to meet the diverse needs of thousands of Bay Area lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) older adults. The agency’s new community facilities at 65 Laguna Street will be named the Bob Ross LGBT Senior Center in recognition of the life and work of Bob Ross, who co-founded the Bay Area Reporter and galvanized a community-wide response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

“This transformational pledge will help realize our vision to serve all LGBT seniors who will look to Openhouse in the years ahead for a range of support that meets their unique needs,” said Openhouse Executive Director Seth Kilbourn. “This gift is a wonderful affirmation of the strength and vitality of seniors in our community, many of whom survived for decades by staying invisible. We’re deeply honored to partner with the Bob Ross Foundation and recognize the legacy of a truly transformational community pioneer.”

The new Openhouse community facility at 65 Laguna Street will be named the Bob Ross LGBT Senior Center in recognition of this gift and Ross’ transformational contributions to the LGBT community. The pledge is the largest single gift in the organization’s history.

“A principal concern of Bob’s during his lifetime was the need for housing and services for LGBT seniors,” said Thomas E. Horn, president and trustee of the Bob Ross Foundation. “He supported Openhouse in in its early days and would have appreciated its well-considered and adaptive approach to meet the unique and pressing needs of LGBT seniors. He also would have appreciated its efficient business model and client centered approach. I hope this gift inspires others to invest in Openhouse and the community’s capacity to support ourselves and each other.”

The gift builds on Ross’ legacy of connecting people, building awareness and strengthening organizations to address urgent community needs.

“Bob was a pioneer in the early days of the HIV/AIDS epidemic when government agencies were not responding and was one of the leaders in bringing the LGBT community together to build allies and mobilize a largely volunteer driven community infrastructure to care for thousands of people throughout the epidemic,” Horn added. “Openhouse has been a catalyst for developing a similar, community-based model driven by volunteers and service partnership to ensure our community’s health as we all face the challenges that come with getting older.”

In an increasingly expensive city, the Bob Ross LGBT Senior Center will be a permanent home for Openhouse and a sustainable community resource for LGBT seniors, their caregivers, family and friends to stay healthy and live independently in community.

“This deeply generous gift significantly strengthens our capacity to deliver on our core vision to ensure every LGBT senior has access to safe and stable housing, care providers that understand their lives and opportunities to stay engaged in their community,” said Openhouse Board President, Bill Scherer. “We’re proud to share and continue Bob Ross’ legacy, while adding critical momentum to our work and breaking new ground for LGBT philanthropy in the Bay Area.”

Openhouse continues to raise funds for tenant improvements at both 65 Laguna, expected to open later this year, and the new program center included in the new building to be constructed at 75 Laguna St.

Over the next decade, the number of LGBT people in San Francisco who are 60 and older is predicted to increase by 25% percent to almost 30,000. While the city includes an array of services and housing options for older adults, LGBT seniors are only 20% as likely as their heterosexual peers to get the support they need. Largely without children and traditional family support that non-LGBT seniors depend on, LGBT older adults rely more heavily on community.

“As we get older, many LGBT people experience a sense of growing invisibility,” said Community member Margie Adam. “What would draw me out would be a set of services and activities that celebrate and rekindle our precious LGBT life experiences. Openhouse is already a national model in this regard and will be able to provide many more opportunities to keep us connected by expanding their programming in a space designed for older adults.”

The Bay Area Reporter story on this donation can be accessed on line at http://ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=71224

About Bob Ross and the Bob A. Ross Foundation
Bob Ross (1934 – 2003) was the founder and former publisher of the Bay Area Reporter and a leading gay rights and AIDS activist in San Francisco. As a businessman, publisher, political activist, board member and philanthropist, Ross personified community leadership. In addition to co-founding the B.A.R. with Paul Bentley in 1971. Ross also participated in the founding of the Tavern Guild, founded Gay Comix, and helped transform the city’s gay community into a vital and visible regional power. He established the foundation in 1996 to give to a broad portfolio of non-profits, which the foundation has continued ever since.
Thomas E. Horn, an attorney and president of the foundation, was a close friend of Bob Ross and is Publisher Emeritus of the Bay Area Reporter.

About Openhouse
Founded in San Francisco in 1998, Openhouse enables San Francisco Bay Area lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) seniors to overcome the unique challenges they face as they age by providing critically needed housing, direct services, and community programs. Openhouse works to reduce isolation and empower LGBT seniors to improve their health, well-being and economic security. To learn more about Openhouse please visit www.openhouse-sf.org and facebook.com/openhousesf.

GLAAD has announced it will honor Tyler Oakley at GLAAD Gala San Francisco at the Hilton San Francisco Union Square  Nov. 7.

The event will be hosted by Mean Girls and Looking star Daniel Franzese and will feature a special performance by Grammy Award-nominated recording artist and Selma star Ledisi. Additional special guests include Empire star Jussie Smollett and the cast of HBO’s Looking.

At the gala, Oakley will receive the Davidson/Valentini Award, which is presented to an LGBT media professional who has made a significant difference in promoting equality and acceptance for the LGBT community. The award is named after Craig Davidson, GLAAD’s first executive director, and his partner Michael Valentini.

With nearly eight million subscribers on YouTube, Tyler Oakley has become one of the most influential LGBT personalities on social media today, consistently using his platform to build understanding and acceptance of the LGBT community. His social media presence has launched a career in entertainment, with a podcast that has reached number one in the iTunes podcast chart and a national tour under his belt. Named one of Time Magazine’s 30 Most Influential People on the Internet, Oakley has spoken with hundreds of media outlets about the importance of LGBT equality and acceptance, and he’s used his fame to raise over a million dollars for The Trevor Project, the nation’s leading organization providing crisis and suicide prevention services to LGBT youth.

“Tyler Oakley has inspired countless young LGBT people to embrace who they are and live the lives they love,” said GLAAD CEO & President Sarah Kate Ellis. “As one of YouTube’s most recognizable names and a champion of LGBT youth, he’s proven time and again that digital media plays a crucial role in accelerating acceptance.”

For more information visit www.glaad.org/sfgala.

The 14th Street House in San Francisco, a fixture in the Mission since 1988, faces an uncertain future.

Known by some as the Faerie House, the pink Victorian mansion was purchased by members of the counter-culture group the Radical Faeries during the height of the AIDS epidemic.

“It was purchased as a place for gay men to gather and build individual and communal intimacy at a time when bathhouses and other spaces were closing due to the AIDS epidemic,” according to a press release from the house’s organizers. “Since then, this refuge has taken on a multifaceted meaning. Various leather, kink, sex-positive, yoga and pan-spiritual groups have hosted and participated in events that touched — even transformed — the lives of many people in San Francisco and the wider world.”

San Francisco activist Michael Petrelis writes on his blog that the house is important for the city’s gay cultural identity: “There is so little queer space not colonized by commercial interests or intrusive busybodies on the government payroll or receiving state grants, making this house extraordinarily necessary for the natural evolution and development of our communal norms and sexual healing arts.

The house is going on the market in January, but the 14th Street House Project is aligning with the San Francisco Community Land Trust to turn the mansion into a housing cooperative that would shelter 6-8 low- to moderate-income tenants. The group needs to raise $900,000 by the end of the year to make that happen;

Burger King is celebrating gay pride with a message on its Whopper wrappers.

The fast-food chain says it will post a video online Wednesday that shows scenes from a San Francisco location where it sold a “Proud Whopper.” Customers were not told what is in the burger, which comes wrapped in rainbow paper. Once opened up, a message inside the wrapper states, “We are all the same inside.”

The idea is that the Proud Whopper is no different from the regular Whopper, despite its colorful packaging.

The marketing effort is part of Burger King’s push to connect with customers in a more meaningful way, particularly with the younger individuals fast-food chains are known for courting. As part of that push, Burger King recently said it was retiring its “Have It Your Way” slogan in favor of the more personal “Be Your Way” (Ad Age pointed out the phrase was “grammatically challenged”).

Whether the new approach can help Burger King Worldwide Inc. boost sales remains to be seen. The company, based in Miami, was acquired and taken private by 3G Capital in 2010. The Brazilian private investment firm took the chain public again in 2012 in a deal that allowed it to retain a majority stake while more than recouping its investment.

3G has been trying to revitalize Burger King’s image and menu ever since with mixed results in the U.S., where traditional fast-food chains have struggled amid competition from newer players such as Chipotle. Last year, Burger King’s sales at established North American locations slipped 0.9 percent.

The chain says the “Proud Whopper” video was shot over the past weekend in San Francisco, near where the city held its 44th annual gay pride parade. Fernando Machado, who heads global brand management for Burger King, said in a phone interview the “Proud Whopper” will remain on the menu until Thursday.

A rough cut of the two-minute video shows confused customers asking about the Proud Whopper, trying to figure out what makes it different, then later grasping what is happening.

“I think this wrapper means we all have the same rights,” a young child explains.

“A burger has never made me cry before,” says a young woman.

Another young woman uses an expletive to explain that it’s same stuff inside. The video also shows some negative reactions, including a man who says the chain will no longer have his business.

Burger King said the video was developed by the ad agency DAVID, and directed by Henry Alex Rubin, who also directed the film “Girl, Interrupted.”

Other food companies have also recently shown support for gay individuals, including Oreo-cookie maker Mondelez International Inc., which featured a gay couple in an ad for Honey Maid graham crackers, and Coca-Cola Co., which featured a gay couple in its Super Bowl ad.