High LGBT Culture for Black History Month

Marvin K. White, Jewelle Gomez, and Brian Freeman

Three masters of this era’s Black LGBT culture appeared at the San Francisco LGBT Community Center for a Black History Month event on Feb. 18. Jewelle Gomez, Marvin K. White, and Brian Freeman are accomplished writers and performers who were on stage for a full house of mostly African Americans on a rainy night. Over 100 people from local groups enjoyed “Generations: Black LGBT Experiences” to celebrate those who came before and paved the way for our present society and the ads promised “food, art, entertainment, and much more.” There was artwork that featured popular Black LGBT icons such as Sylvester and Angela Davis along the wall where a buffet at such events is usually provided. Instead of a buffet there was a sparse food offering for people who depend on such meals and for others who work hard and sometimes forget to eat lunch.

Jewelle Gomez performed a scene from her book “The Gilda Stories” that entranced the audience. The book is celebrating its 20th anniversary in print and is the only black lesbian vampire character in the world of literature. Gomez is a writer and activist and was a litigant with her wife Diane Sabin, who attended the reading, in the Proposition 8 court case that ended successfully in marriage equality. Gomez has also taken on the enormous tasks of President of the San Francisco Library Commission and dispersing much-needed grants at the Horizons Foundation.

Marvin K. White is a playwright, poet, visual artist, performer, and community arts coordinator. He is a former member of Pomo Afro Homos troupe, who performed at the Castro’s Josie’s Cabaret and Juice Joint and all over the U.S. He powerfully read from his spine tingling and affirming spoken word poem “I Want to Make Black History with You” and it drew resounding yells of approval from the audience.

Brian Freeman is a co-founder and director of Pomo Afro Homos. His work “Civil Sex” is based on the life of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s openly-gay strategist Bayard Rustin and is highly regarded. He assumed the voice of Rustin’s event piano accompanist to tell a hilarious story about Coretta Scott King’s attempt to sing at a rally.

All three of the evening’s performers are fine actors and they convincingly portrayed the characters from their work and mesmerized the crowd, drawing rounds of applause.

Free rapid HIV and STD tests were available and the event was sponsored by Black Brothers Esteem of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, African American Health Disparities Project, AfroSolo Theatre Company, Black Coalition on AIDS, HIV Prevention and HIV Research Sections of the SFDPH, Our Love of the Stop AIDS Project, the San Francisco LGBT Community Center, Shanti, Trans:Thrive of the Asian Pacific Islander Wellness Center, and Walden House.

Activist Steve Ibarra, who works at City College battling HIV/AIDS and STDs, said that he was at the party to represent Blatinos. It was an extremely successful event and next year’s Generations is bound to be even bigger.

The Mr. Powerhouse Contest: Raw Male Sexuality on Parade

[name and image deleted by request]
The Powerhouse Bar is known as a center of raw male sexuality, especially during a big event. The Mr. Powerhouse Contest on Feb. 18 was one of those prime events. It coincided with the International Bear Rendezvous ensuring that there was a crush and lots of sweaty guys got to be up against their favorite studs.

Aaron Baldwin (left) and friends

Stunning Aaron Baldwin was posed behind the bar — irresistible and shirtless and being worshiped by a large friendly blond. Baldwin is a fundraiser for the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence charities. He spoke passionately at a memorial for Matthew Shepard telling the heartbreaking story about a deer that sat at Shepard’s feet as he was dying while tied to a fence.

Richie Lillard and Adam Musgrave

A title holder murmured that his leather jacket had to be lowered into a bag with his name on it, like at sex parties, by coat check guy Albert Cromedy of the SOMA Guardians, because the coatroom was as packed as the bar. Tag team lovers Sean Kline and Philip Beers checked out the cruising guests while emperor candidate Ray McKenzie campaigned at the bar choke point. Charming Richie Lillard and Adam Musgrave served José Cuervo shots with a smile to promote the popular tequila.

Mr. Powerhouse 2003 Troy Anicete with Mr. Powerhouse 2010 Lance Holman

Bar manager Scott Peterson moved through the party, being eyed by regulars who like to see him in a jockstrap at special events. Friendly bartender José Guevara worked the back bar and redheaded bar back Charles was a tantalizing moving target for his admirers.

Judges Lance Holman, Brandon Clark, Ron Balos, Matt Johnson, and Troy Anicete

The attentive and good-natured contest judges included Brandon Clark, Ron Balos, Matt Johnson, Troy Anicete, and Lance Holman. Balos described himself as “eye candy” and he did resemble a sexy, handsome porn star in his harness and low-cut jeans. Anicete was a big hit at a SF Pride benefit where his custom made jeans raised big money from Deputy Vince Calvarese. Holman is the impressive 2010 Mr. Powerhouse who then won the Mr. San Francisco Leather Contest and beat out dozens of men to be Mr. International Leather runner-up in Chicago.

Contestants Hanz Bustamante and [name and likeness deleted by request] with MC Travis Creston

Travis Creston MC’ed. He is not only a primal bartop go-go dancer, but he also starred in the gay Egyptian film "All My Life" by filmmaker Maher Sabry.

[name and image deleted by request]
The 2011 winner was [name deleted by request] who spoke with emotion that his favorite kinky sex involved a vacuum cleaner. A high point of the evening was when a judge asked [name deleted by request] if his inhumanly bulging leather jockstrap was padded and photographer Rich Stadtmiller rose to the occasion to reach up to jock-squeeze for everyone’s clarification. Runner-up Hanz Bustamante spoke through cute sign language interpreter Kevin to make it clear that he is versatile and enjoys butt sex with cherries.

Runner-up Hanz Bustamante with his ASL interpreter Kevin

The event ended with resounding applause and with good wishes for [name deleted by request] for when he runs for Mr. San Francisco Leather.

[name and image deleted by request]

The Female Condom Re-Introduction on Valentine’s Day: Women and Gay Men Try a Better Condom

Christopher Carz Adams and Vincent Fuqua of the SFDPH

While a sit-in at City Hall by Marriage Equality protesting
the continued second-class citizenship of lesbians and gays was happening, the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) held a press conference on Valentine’s Day Feb.14 at the Civic Center. The department’s gunmetal gray education school bus was parked directly across from the seat of government and the health workers were dispensing the newly designed female condom for women and gay men. Some media members mistook the bus for a sheriff’s department vehicle and gazed into the windows expecting to see recently arrested Molly McKay, Davina Kotulski, Frank Capley, and Joe Alfano with their faces pressed up against the windows, holding up their bound wrists, and with pitiful expressions on their faces.

The earlier female condom was not as popular as expected because there were complaints about its comfort level. Like the redesigned Avanti plastic condom, the new FC2 female plastic condom has a reformulated consistency that is thinner and it does not bunch up. There is an expectation that it will find its way into the bedrooms of women and gay men who would like to use oil lubricants like Vasoline — and the sexual penetrators will be quietly celebrating that they do not have to wear a condom. It is a turnaround that the person being penetrated wears the new condom.

Alert Christopher Carz Adams, who is an SFDPH HIV Research Section outreach worker, joined SFDPH health educator Vincent Fuqua and others to ride to four locations besides Civic Center to engage people and hand out the new condoms in a gift bag. Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence Sharin’ Dippity Revealed, Pat N Leather, and a novice were in on the educational campaign, and two smiling women in Islamic dress greeted them at Civic Center. Stores in the Castro have the new condoms on their counters, and now is the time for the curious and the sexual avant-garde to try them out.

The SFDPH's "the fc2 for When He's Into You" female condom campaign can be reached at 415.355.2040 and www.fc2sf.org.

The Castro Fire Benefit at the Lookout Bar: The Community Pulls Together During a Tragedy

Organizer Kate Ryken, host Rebecca Prozan, and friend of the victims Elissa Berger

There was a community fundraiser to benefit the victims of the fires in San Francisco's Castro neighborhood at the Lookout bar on Feb. 15. The event drew a cross section of local LGBT neighbors and friends to the trendy hot spot. Guests got a cold chill that was not from the cool drizzle when they spotted the horrific fire damage on a building’s façade just one home over from the Lookout on 16th Street. Activists Eileen Hanson and Denise Wells live in the building next to the damaged building, and Wells attended the benefit.

Thirteen people were displaced by the fire and they were thankful to the San Francisco Fire Department for their fast attention to a tragedy that could have been much worse. The arsonist set a fire that engulfed the front of the building and it could have caused injuries and deaths.

Victorian building in the Castro damaged by an arson fire

Friends of the victims Kate Ryken and Elissa Berger sold raffle tickets for prime goods and services from Café Flore, Nancy Boy, restaurants Home and Chow, and Beach Blanket Babylon. The donors and the raffle ticket buyers were thanked for their generosity. Hostess Rebecca Prozan joined San Francisco City Supervisor Scott Wiener, Rafael Mandelman, Andrea Shorter, and Charles Sheehan and dozens of others to try to alleviate the pain of a forced evacuation.

Fine sounds from the Lookout’s DJ APC (Andrew Gibbons) made it clear that he does not have Bieber Fever. His striking, wholesome, good looks rival those of DJ Christopher B who plays at the bar’s Pledge party.

A sleek, classy, seven-foot-tall drag queen in a clinging royal-blue dress sashayed through the benefit and revealed herself to be Patty McGroin, owner of the new drag clothing store Cocomo’s on Castro Street. It is the kind of business that will be of considerable help to cross-dressing neophytes and McGroin’s blue ensemble could be a fine choice for Supervisor Wiener on Halloween.

The protection group Castro Community on Patrol was represented by Greg Carey and Rick Holte. They handed out arson warning flyers with phone numbers to call and what to watch or listen for on one side and fire safety tips on the other side.

Victorian building in the Castro damaged by an arson fire

There is increased tension in the neighborhood, but there is also a new bonding and alertness that has caused an awareness that future fires can be deterred or at least spotted before they become serious. Increased police patrols possibly saved lives when a non-arson related fire broke out days after the Castro fires on Clayton Street and officers were passing by at 3:00AM. The police department suspects that the evil-doer being hunted has prior arson arrests, Neighbors who are agitated by the chronic vandalism in the Castro think that those destructive perpetrators may be linked to the fires.

The Equality California Dinner at San Francisco City Hall: A Proud Thank You, Honors, and a Farewell

Civil rights pioneer Phyllis Lyon, NCLR executive director Kate Kendell, and Kate's partner Sandy Holmes

Equality California (EQCA)'s 2011 San Francisco Equality Awards at City Hall on Feb. 12 was a resounding success, where more than 600 community leaders, activists, elected officials, labor and corporate leaders packed into multiple spaces where they could see the evocative festivities or view them on wide-screen televisions. It was also the triumphant farewell for executive director Geoff Kors, who is stepping down after nine years to spend more time with his handsome lover James Williamson. It was a marvelous love story that the audience appreciated just two days before Valentine’s Day.

Geoff Kors

Chris Carnes and Jim Hammer

Kors was praised throughout the evening, during the cocktail reception, dinner, and dessert after-party, and especially by National Center for Lesbian Right (NCLR) executive director Kate Kendell on stage, who said that he was like a brother to her and that he was a master tactician for LGBT rights. California State Senator Mark Leno complimented Kors for initiating most of the breakthrough legal advances for California’s LGBT citizens and there were 71 of them for elected officials like Leno to develop and get passed through the legislature to the governor’s desk, thanks to Kors. Author Helen Zia and her lover Lia Shigemura cornered Kors at the dessert after-party to thank him for his passion for civil rights work. EQCA’s Deb Kinney joined filmmaker Jenni Olson and her lover Julie Dorf to also praise Kors.

Deb Kinney, Julie Dorf, and Jenni Olson

Shannon Minter and Victoria Kolakowski

Alameda County Judge Victoria Kolakowski was presented with the Equality and Justice Award by NCLR attorney Shannon Minter for being elected the first openly-transgender U.S. Judge and for advocating for full LGBT rights through her board positions at EQCA and the Transgender Law Center. The other honoree, newly-elected California Attorney General Kamala Harris was to receive the Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon Marriage Equality Award, named for the lesbian and women’s rights pioneers. Harris could not attend the gala and Lyon was there to receive the award for Harris from presenter Senator Leno, and she received a sustained applause. Harris was honored for refusing to defend Proposition 8 in the ongoing federal case in her new state office and for setting up hate crime and same-sex sexual assault and domestic programs when she was San Francisco District Attorney.

Guests enjoyed the excellent wine and beef or vegetarian dinners and viewing the passing cavalcade of gowns, tuxedos, and suits on women and men.

Malia Cohen and Jimmer Cassiol

Matthew Denckla and David Ortmann

There was a quick frenzy at some tables as charming District 10 City Supervisor Malia Cohen worked the room with Jimmer Cassiol, a former Mayor Gavin Newsom co-worker. Cohen met with San Francisco City Treasurer Jose Cisneros and his lover Mark Kelleher, former City Supervisor Bevan Dufty, and the male fashion statements for the evening — psychotherapist David Ortmann in a bright coral sport jacket and Magnet board member Matthew Denckla in a showy pink sport jacket.

Alex Randolph and Trevor Nguyen

Civil rights attorney and EQCA board member Linda Scaparotti’s white-ruffled Tadashi blouse blew away all possible fashion competition from the design conscious women at the event. Pride board members Lisa Williams and Alex Randolph met and mingled as did party planner Jason Chan and GAPA’s Trevor Nguyen.

Publicist Chris Carnes came down from the Sacramento River delta with her entourage Heather Findlay, Alice Hill, and Gretchen Fleischmann, and she hosted wine donor Wine Tasting Network.

San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera and his wife Anne

Alfredo Casuso and David Perry of the DP&A public relations firm

Whole tables of men and some women had to remove their jackets because of the heat, especially on the gala’s upper floors, and many asked why Mayor Willie Brown had chosen not to air condition the building when it was renovated for $250 million after the 1989 earthquake.

EQCA’s deputy development director Michelle Ortiz and dozens of volunteers presented a well-coordinated gala and a fine send-off for executive director Kors.

The rotunda in San Francisco City Hall

Mike Shriver’s Photography Show Opening: An Artistic Event for a Good Cause

Activist and photographer Mike Shriver

HIV/AIDS activist Mike Shriver has expanded his creativity into nature and sports photography, and his fans and passersby were able to see his hummingbird images show opening at the Castro Country Club on Feb. 11.

Shriver is a beloved former San Francisco AIDS Czar who has battled the police at peaceful rallies, hospital bureaucrats, and politicians to stay alive and to assure a future for people impacted by AIDS and HIV. He has overcome multiple obstacles, and observing his heavily shielded camera reveals that because of his health problems it has been dropped and smacked against walls.

Shriver chose one of nature’s most difficult subjects when he decided to photograph the magical, high-speed birds in the Golden Gate and Dolores Parks. He took on the elusive photographic prey as he has taken on some of the most insurmountable tasks in our society — and he was successful. The beautifully framed photographs are for sale, and the Country Club has received 100% of the $1,500.00 in purchase prices.

Shriver was a major part of the coordination of this year’s National AIDS Memorial Grove anniversary, and Grove board member Gina Gatto was joined by supporters Marge Boric and Marsha Raulston to congratulate Shriver at the show. He also photographs the new sport of bike polo, and some of the young people who dare to charge into each other on bicycles were there to encourage their photographer.

The Castro Country Club is a living-sober refuge that saves lives, and it is involved in a fund raising campaign to buy their building. Sources have made it clear that a new obstacle may make that goal more difficult. They say that more than $250,000 will be needed to re-build the structure and its foundation.

For more information, visit castrocountryclub.org.

The Harvey Milk Academy Benefit Drag Show: Over-the-Top Drag Queens for a Good Cause

Grand Duchess Cookie Dough with Harvey Milk Academy Principal Christine Velasco

Some of San Francisco’s most over-the-top drag queens performed at the Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy in San Francisco's Castro neighborhood to benefit the academy’s Parent Faculty Club on Feb. 11. The “adults only” designation on the show's promotional postcards and underground Muni signs were an accurate warning that the show was more of a fun, trashy, Trannyshack type of entertainment than a classy show like Donna Sachet’s Sunday's a Drag brunch at the Starlight Room.

More than 260 people crammed into the academy’s auditorium. There was a grand aisle down the middle of the room with two huge spotlights in a crossfire that MC and co-producer Ivy Drip craved and exulted in as she wildly vamped back and forth. Exuberant Drip explained Drag Queen Appreciation 101, with a primer on how to tip with thrown rolled-up dollar bills and how to react when a performer suddenly leaps onto a surprised lap. Then Drip laughed and repeatedly leaped onto laps and spoke about the beneficiary, which drew the first of many waves of applause.

Ivy Drip and Ana Mae Coxx

MC Drip has two children in the school and the much-needed funds will help with the Healthy Food Program, before- and after-school programs, and arts education. Drip and restrained co-producer Ana Mae Coxx described the raffle prizes and then they warmed up the runway for the dozen-plus performers including always fantastic Grand Duchess Cookie Dough.

Attentive school principal Christine Velasco greeted guests, and event coordinators Susan Tramontana and Shawn Maceiro joined Liz Torres and Whitney Berry to serve the food and drinks and arrange the seating. There were Harvey Milk T-shirts for sale — and they were not the brightly colored tops with a gun aimed at Milk’s head which have disgusted the gay supervisor’s friends.

Liz Torres and Whitney Berry

Children and teenagers checked in with their parents at the door and then went to the lively alternative party upstairs at the Milk Academy, away from the loud music and suggestive repartee.

It was a well-organized event that even had superior security from Ken Craig and the Castro Community on Patrol on duty.