The Transgender Law Center will mark its 20th anniversary with a virtual party Thursday, October 13, starting at 5 p.m.
The Oakland-based agency that works in California and other states started two decades ago as a project of San Francisco-based National Center for Lesbian Rights. Since becoming a standalone nonprofit, the organization has done impact litigation in the areas of employment, education, and immigration.
"Spark is Transgender Law Center's largest annual event where we celebrate and resource TLC's trans- and BIPOC-led work challenging violence and demanding justice, grounded in the principles of the Trans Agenda for Liberation," Executive Director Kris Hayashi, a trans man, stated in an email, referring to Black, Indigenous, and people of color. "This year we are all also celebrating 20 years of TLC doing what it takes to keep trans and gender-nonconforming communities alive, thriving, and fighting for liberation."
The emcee for the evening will be Donato Fatuesi, an actor, model, and writer of Pasifika (Pacific Islanders) heritage who is inspired to increase trans visibility and trans inclusion across the entertainment industry.
Also appearing will be Chico Chi, a queer nonbinary transmasculine DJ, producer, creative, and fashionistx based in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota.
The Spark event is free and open to all, though donations are gladly accepted. For more information, click here.
SF seeking feedback on monuments and memorials
Three San Francisco agencies have joined together to create an online survey about monuments and memorials in the city. The Monuments and Memorials Advisory Committee is a partnership between the city's arts commission, human rights commission, and the Recreation and Parks Department.
According to an announcement, the committee will also hold hearings with community members and establish the criteria and guidelines by which to determine the future of historic monuments in the city's art collection. Few of the works at present include LGBTQ people, according to a map of the various works.
The committee's task is to examine the history of monuments in the public realm in San Francisco; the individuals, events, and ideals they venerate; and how the narratives associated with these monuments align — or do not — with San Francisco's values today, the announcement stated.
In addition to the survey, there will be two virtual feedback sessions via Zoom on Saturday, October 15, from 10 a.m. to noon, and Wednesday, October 19, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. For more information, click here.
To view a map of the monuments and memorials in the civic art collection, click here.
To take the survey, which is offered in multiple languages, click here. It will accept responses until Monday, October 31, at 11:59 p.m.
Livermore Pride to celebrate throughout October Livermore Pride has changed things up this year and will now hold numerous events throughout October — rather than a single Pride festival — to recognize LGBTQ History Month.
With smaller, unique events, organizers hope to foster opportunities to meet new people and create lasting community connections, a news release stated. "Although we will always love a good festival, and may go back to that one day, right now seems like the perfect time to move toward more intimate community building," stated Jodi Mikel, Pride board member and event coordinator.
Another core of Livermore Pride is to support the local economy. "Small businesses are community leaders who are vital to creating and maintaining a sense of welcome that allows us all to thrive," stated Pride board secretary Amy Lehman-Sexton.
Some of the upcoming events include the second annual Livermore Pride Pooch Parade dog show on Sunday, October 9; drag and vino at Big White House Winery on Saturday, October 15; and Pride on the Square — live music with Swirl and Tap 25 at Blacksmith Square on Saturday, October 22. Wives Kristen and Briana Iosco reopened the taproom in February, as the Bay Area Reporter's monthly Business Briefing column noted in March.
"The LGBTQ+ community is as diverse as any other," Mikel added. "With a wide range of events, we have something for everyone to enjoy."
Many other events are planned. For a full list, click here.
SF State to have Coming Out Day program San Francisco State University will have a special program Tuesday, October 11, National Coming Out Day, featuring a presentation by Professor Marc Stein, "Queer Transformations at San Francisco State, 1969-1972." His talk will explore the early emergence of LGBTQ activism at San Francisco State, including queer support for the Third World Liberation Front and faculty strikes, the formation of the Gay Liberation Front, LGBTQ labor activism, the police shooting of a student at a gay bar, protests of an airline that refused to board a student wearing a "Homosexuals for Peace" button, the hiring of an openly lesbian professor, and the first LGBTQ studies courses, a news release stated.
The event, which is free, takes place from 12:30 to 2 p.m. in the Special Collections Reading Room, Library Room 460 (4th floor), at SF State, 1600 Holloway Avenue.
The event is co-sponsored by the SFSU History Department, the Queer & Trans Resource Center, and the Labor Archives and Research Center.
Stein is the Jamie and Phyllis Pasker Professor of History at San Francisco State University. He is the author of five books, including "The Stonewall Riots: A Documentary History" (NYU Press, 2019), "Queer Public History: Essays on Scholarly Activism" (University of California Press, 2022), and "Rethinking the Gay and Lesbian Movement," 2nd edition (Routledge, 2023).
Nonprofits can apply for security grants The California Department of Social Services Office of Equity has announced that the Governor's Office of Emergency Services is accepting proposals for the Fiscal Year 2022-23 California State Nonprofit Security Grant Program.
The grants, according to DSS' Civil Rights, Accessibility, and Racial Justice Office, provide funding support for target hardening and other physical security enhancements to nonprofit organizations that are at high risk for violent attacks and hate crimes due to ideology, beliefs, or mission.
The request for proposal is due by October 28. For more information, click here.
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