Easter Sunday, April 8 at 2pm the Good Shepherd Church of Pasadena hosts a magnificent Concert Worship Service "The Sounds of Easter". You are invited! FREE EASTER BASKETS FOR THE KIDS!

This is the IMRU Community Calendar featuring

all the best things to do and see under the rainbow of Southern California

 

Self Defense for LGBTQ Youth (10 week course begins April 2)

Learn Taekwondo and Judo in self defense. This will be a 10 week class on constructive and positive ways to defend yourself when confronted with a dangerous situation. Strategies on how to react safely and how to be aware of your environment will be taught. Course Fee: $35. First class Monday April 2, 2012 @ 5pm on the campus of Messiah Lutheran Church, 570 East Orange Grove Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91104. Contact Pastor Rick to enroll: rickeisenlord@me.com or click HERE. Scholarships are available for those students who cannot afford the course fee.

 

San Gabriel Valley Gay Men's Group – April 3

The San Gabriel Valley Gay Men's Group will be meeting Tuesday, April 3 at 7:30pm at the Pasadena Pride Center on the campus of Messiah Lutheran Church, 570 East Orange Grove Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91104. This group will plan special events for gay/bi men. Activities to include Speed Dating Night, pool parties, movie nights, book clubs, Reno Turn-Around, bowling nights, community volunteer opportunities and MORE. Led by Aaron Saenz.

For information on the Self Defense, SGV GMG events and other activities, go to: pasadenapridecenter.org

 

GAYS 'R US at The Hollywood Improv - April 4

Erin Foley is back with another amazing crew of LGBT comedians, all happening at the Hollywood Improv on Melrose. The fun starts at 8pm! For more info or to purchase tickets, go to: http://www.improv.com/ComedyClub/Hollywood/Event/GAYS-R-US/8d6c1dd8-ed76-43d8-b8b5-1679de2e5f5e

 

Caffe Cino: Birthplace of Gay Theatre (lecture with Q&A) – April 4

BRUCE VILANCH sponsors pioneer underground playwright ROBERT PATRICK's ("Kennedy's Children") talk on "The Caffe Cino: Birthplace of Gay Theatre," illustrated with unique large photographs, on April 4th, 8 p.m. at the Davidson/Valentini Theatre at The Village at Ed Gould Plaza, 1125 N. McCadden Place, (1 block from Highland and Santa Monica). Lecture is 1 hour with Q&A to follow. RSVP absolutely required: 323-860-5830 or seniors@lagaycenter.org. Ten dollar suggested donation at door. No latecomers will be seated. Limited free parking in lot across street, and free street parking.

Photo: JAMES D. GOSSAGE

 

“The Gay Hist-Orgy” with Ian MacKinnon extended thru April 14!

"The Gay Hist-Orgy"-- Performance artist and activist Ian MacKinnon brings the past to life by tracing the history of gay people in new ways never before seen on stage. With the aid of his magic time-traveling hot pants and sexy Genie guide, Ian cruises a plethora of gay historical figures in his one-man multimedia romp. Along the way he covers thousands of years of homo-history to create a hot and horny evening of laughs and lust, fun and fucking, humor and heroism. Featuring hot histo-graphic hookups with: Plato, Rumi, Lincoln, Melville, Fredrick the Great, Edward Carpenter, da Vinci, Michelangelo, Karl Ulrichs, Harry Hay, Allen Ginsberg, Socrates, Whitman, Hafiz, Ganymede, Alexander, Hadrian, Zeami, Bayard Rustin and more! Performed in Gay Love-O-Vision!

Dates: Saturdays April 7 and 14 at 8:00 PM

Location: Moving Arts Hyperion Station, 1822 Hyperion Avenue, LA, CA 90027

Price: $20 / $15 students

Tickets: www.brownpapertickets.com/event/214106

Information: www.gayhistorgy.com

 

NAKED BEFORE GOD at [Inside the] thru  April 28

Naked Before God - What do a porn star, a stripper and a soldier have in common with a Christian, a Muslim and a Mormon? They all want to get NAKED BEFORE GOD ... what's left to reveal, once they've bared it all? Kristen Burrows has hit upon a brilliant way to transform the sins of her youth into lots of cash: she's going to combine her adult film past with a born again future. But things get more than a little out of hand when the Christian radio talk show host Kristen has invited for dinner meets her family in this wild and darkly comic romp. (Rated “R” – mature audiences)

WHO:

Written and Directed by Leo Geter

Featuring Larry Clarke, Christopher Foley, Jen Kays, Aly Mawji, Morgan McClellan, William Salyers,Jennifer A. Skinner

Presented by Circle X Theatre Co.

WHEN:

Performances: through April 28:

Thursdays @ 8 pm: April 5, 12, 19, 26

Fridays @ 8 pm: April 6, 13, 20, 27

Saturdays @ 8 pm: April 7, 14, 21, 28

Sundays @ 2 pm: April 1, 8, 15, 22

Sundays @ 7 pm: April 1, 8, 15, 22

WHERE:

[Inside] the Ford, 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East, Hollywood, CA 90068

(just off the 101, across the freeway from the Hollywood Bowl and south of Universal Studios)

HOW:

(323) 461-3673 (GO 1-FORD) or www.fordtheatres.org

TICKETS:

General admission: $25

Seniors and full-time students with ID: $12

Previews and all Sunday matinees: Pay-What-You-Can

Discounts for groups of eight or more available online or by calling 323-769-2147

PARKING: FREE on-site (non-stacked)

 

DEATHTRAP – March 28 – May 6

The Broadway classic returns! It's the first Los Angeles production in 20 years of Ira Levin’s masterpiece, the comedy-thriller, Deathtrap. One of the longest-running plays in Broadway history, the Tony Award Best Play nominee comes to the Center’s Davidson/Valentini Theatre for a six-week run!

Directed by award-winner Ken Sawyer (Dracula), the expert cast includes: Brian Foyster (The Lost Plays of Tennessee Williams)

Cynthia Gravinese (The Sonneteer)

Burt Grinstead (Esther’s Moustache)

Elizabeth Herron (Our Town)

Carl J. Johnson (Figure 8)

Stephen Mendillo (Take Me Out).

This is not your mother's Deathtrap; it's the hottest, sexiest version ever! Filled with plays-within-plays-within plays, countless "heart-in-the-mouth" shocks, and a dose of dark humor, Deathtrap is expertly crafted to make you laugh and then jolt you out of your seat!

THE DAVIDSON/VALENTINI THEATRE

1125 N McCadden Pl

Los Angeles, CA 90038

Fri March 30 - May 6

Fridays & Saturdays at 8 p.m.

Sundays at 7 p.m.

For more information, go to laglc.convio.net or Click here to purchase tickets.

 

Drag Queen World Series – April 21

It's the West Hollywood Cheerleaders vs. The LA Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence! They both have done so much for the community (East & West sides), it's nice to see them working together!

Proceeds Benefit The Life Group LA, Fairfax High School's GSA and ACES! (Gay Straight Alliance and Acceptance, Compassion, Equality and Social Responsibility)

Location: Fairfax High School Softball Field, 7850 Melrose Blvd., West Hollywood, CA

Date/Time: Saturday, April 21 from 1-4pm

For more information or to purchase tickets, go to: thelifegroupla.org

 

2nd Annual KPFK Hero Awards and Tribute to Gil Scott-Heron - May 6

May 6, 2012 -- KPFK 2nd Annual Hero Awards - A Musical Tribute to Gil Scott-Heron

at Club Nokia at L.A. Live, 800 W. Olympic Blvd, Los Angeles, CA

 

Time: VIP Reception 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm

Doors open at 7:00 pm / Show 8:00 pm

Post Reception 10:30 pm to 12:00 am

Tickets are available now by going online to www.kpfk.org and clicking on the Hero Awards & Tribute button. More information is available by calling KPFK at 818-985-2711 ext 361.

The Hero Awards is a benefit series for the Los Angeles-based Pacifica Radio station. The event honors icons of our time who have left an impact on music and community. This year’s honoree is musician and political poet Gil Scott-Heron, with special awards to Jazz bassist and activist Charlie Haden, music educator Fernando Pullum; and a Lifetime Achievement Award to Pete Seeger, American folk singer and activist. The 2nd Annual KPFK Hero Awards and Tribute will take place Sunday, May 6th, 2012 at Club Nokia, 800 West Olympic Blvd, 3rd floor at the fabulous L.A. Live. The event starts with a VIP reception and silent auction from 5 pm to 7 pm and the show starts at 8 pm. The line-up will feature a host of prolific and poetic artists. The invited list of performers and guest speakers include Ben Harper, Stevie Wonder, Jackson Browne, Jill Scott, Tim Robbins, Ledisi, Nas, Nailah Porter, Mos Def, Saul Williams, Ravi Coltrane and Flying Lotus. Brian Jackson, long-time collaborator with Gil Scott-Heron, will be on hand as Music Director.

For updates on the 2nd Annual Hero Awards and Tribute log onto http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Annual-KPFK-Hero-Awards-and-Tribute/19859399021923

 

Alison Bechdel: Autobiography and the Graphic Art Novel - May 10

in conversation with Deborah Vankin

Bechdel follows her best-selling graphic memoir, Fun Home, with a second tale of filial sleuthing—this time about her mother: voracious reader, music lover, amateur actor, and also a woman, unhappily married to a gay man. Bechdel’s quest for answers concerning the mother-daughter gulf leads through psychoanalysis and Dr. Seuss to a truce that will move all adult children of gifted mothers.

Alison Bechdel is the author of the bestselling memoir Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic, which was named a Best Book of the Year by Time, New York Times, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, Village Voice, and the San Francisco Chronicle, among others. For twenty-five years, she wrote and drew the comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For, a visual chronicle of modern life--queer and otherwise. Bechdel is guest editor of Best American Comics, 2011, and has drawn comics for Slate, McSweeney's, Entertainment Weekly, Granta, and The New York Times Book Review.

Deborah Vankin is a journalist and graphic novelist. As a Los Angeles Times staff writer, she covers the spectrum of arts & culture, entertainment and nightlife -- including books and comics, the art gallery and street art scenes, alternative comedy, indie film and pop culture in general. Her 2011 graphic novel "Poseurs" follows three teenagers, from very different corners of L.A., into the underworld of L.A. clubs and Hollywood parties. She's now working on a second graphic novel.

ALOUD is one of the many free programs the Library Foundation makes possible at the Los Angeles Public Library. Most ALOUD author programs are followed by book signings. To help sustain this valuable cultural exchange, at least one copy of the author’s featured book must be purchased from the Library Store if you wish to participate in the post-program book signing. Other non-featured books by the author may be eligible for the signing without having been purchased at the Library Store. Proceeds support the Los Angeles Public Library. Library Foundation members receive a 15% discount on all Library Store purchases. Unless otherwise indicated, ALOUD programs take place at the Los Angeles Central Library's Mark Taper Auditorium, 630 W. Fifth Street, Los Angeles, CA 90071.

For more info, go to: http://www.lfla.org/event-detail/710/Alison-Bechdel-Autobiography-and-the-Graphic-Novel#

http://dykestowatchoutfor.com/

 

California Music Festival & AIDS Walk – May 20

The California Music Festival and AIDS Walk is set for Sunday, May 20 from 2-9 pm in Griffith Park and the Greek Theater. To insure a sell-out KRTH, K-EARTH 101 radio is on board to help us celebrate. 2012 is AIDS Healthcare Foundation's 25th anniversary and K-EARTH's 40th, so together we plan on pulling out all the stops on this party for a cause!

The family-fun and free carnival games and rides, great performers in the park and plenty of food trucks will kick off the party in style in Griffith Park. Then it's a memorial AIDS Walk thru America's largest urban park ending at the Greek Theater with a mega-superstar concert hosted by Magic Johnson and presented by K-EARTH 101.

Now is the time to register and lock in donations. It only takes a minute to do it and the Festival provides all the support to have your family and friends make a donation in honor of your participation. Get your name on the list now! Once the superstar talent on the stage of the Greek is announced, every seat in the house will be filled!! It's the party with a cause!

For more info, go to: takeaction.aidshealth.org

 

RECURRING EVENTS....

MONDAYS

GAY SALSA NIGHT: If you remember the Salsa Dances at Rudolpho's back in the 90's and early 2000's, or just want to give your dancing shoes a work out, check this out!! Mambo Infierno brings you Gay Salsa Night every Monday at Little Temple in Silverlake,CA. We provide a salsa dance instructor for beginners. Dance class starts at 8:30pm. Enjoy the salsa music with DJ FRANK - the best salsa dj in LA! $5 Cover. Go to http://www.myspace.com/gaysalsanight for more information!

 

WOMEN'S GROUP AT the SOUTH BAY LGBT CENTER: The South Bay LGBT Women's Group hosts a Women's Group at the Center. All interested women at any stage of life, love, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are welcome to attend this group, which provides a safe and welcoming environment to meet, socialize, build friendships, and support the South Bay LGBT Center. Guidelines will be reviewed each week to ensure fairness, confidentiality, and respect for diverse opinions. $2 donation appreciated. Info: Voice mail: 310-328-6550, email: womensgroup@southbaycenter.org

LGBT Center - 16610 Crenshaw Blvd., Torrance, 90504 (310-328-6550)

 

 

TUESDAYS

 

IN THE MEANTIME MEN'S GROUP (ITMT) hosts discussion groups as follows:

BROTHERS REACHING BROTHERS DISCUSSION GROUP from 7:30pm - 9pm at The Village Health Foundation Community Room on W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90019. The purpose of the group is to enrich, empower, and extend the lives of intergenerational black men, respectful of sexual orientation, through social, educational, health and wellness programs and services.” For more info: visit www.mylifemystyle.net

THE KICK BACK DISCUSSION GROUP FOR YOUNG MEN 29 and UNDER: Every 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the Month from 7-9 p.m. at the New Drop-In Community Youth Center, 4067 W. Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90019 — 323-733-4868

Free and Open — Refreshments served

www.inthemeantimemen.org — www.mylifemystyle.net

The mission of IN THE MEANTIME MEN'S GROUP is to enrich, empower, and extend the lives of intergenerational black men, respectful of sexual orientation, through social, educational, health and wellness programs and services.” Over the past 10 years In The Meantime has been on the forefront of creating an environment that supports, empowers and educates black, gay, same gender-loving and bi-sexual men in Los Angeles County. Through an integrated holistic approach to wellness, In The Meantime (ITMT) focuses on the mental/emotional, physical, spiritual, and economic well being of a community that is oftentimes isolated and excluded from mainstream society. ITMT facilitates three home-grown HIV/AIDS empowerment prevention programs, two (weekly) social discussion support groups, peer and group counseling, a black men’s wellness conference, a three day men’s empowerment retreat, the SOLA Meth Crystal Meth Taskforce, and the South Los Angeles Black Gay Men’s Taskforce, computer training, a quarterly community publication (Message In The Meantime), an online weekly newsletter, and a host of community and cultural events that focus on community building that include a King Day Celebration and a Kwanzaa Celebration. ITMT’S most recent program addition is a community drop-in center that provides a relaxed social environment for youth programming, and HIV/AIDS testing and counseling activities.

 

WEDNESDAYS

GRIFFITH PARK CONDITIONING HIKE: Gay and Lesbian Sierra Club has a weekly Griffith Park Conditioning Hike every Wednesday night at 7pm. Join the Sierrans for a moderate hike of 5 miles to Mt. Hollywood with an eleven hundred foot gain. Lug-soled boots are best for traction, but some hikers wear sneakers. Bring a flashlight if you’re not used to hiking in the dark. Rain cancels. That’s every Wednesday, 7 p.m. sharp by the flagpole near the vending machines at the Griffith Park Visitors Center. Check out other gay and lesbian Sierran outings at angeles.sierraclub.org/gls/

 

FRIDAYS

FRIDAY NIGHT DROP-IN: Friday evening at the South Bay LGBT Center, 7:00 - 9:45 pm. The Center will be open for your use and enjoyment. Come by and pick up publications, join in conversations about a variety of topics or hang out in a safe place; play games - there are several games at the Center, or people can bring their own table or board games. For a small donation, participants can enjoy coffee, tea, sodas, water and sometimes desserts. For questions, leave a message at (310) 328-6550. For more information, leave a message at (310) 328-6550. Check the Calendar for updates and details. southbaycenter.org

 

SUNDAYS

GOOD SHEPHERD CHURCH Sundays at 2pm: Good Shepherd Church at 570 East Orange Grove Blvd in Pasadena is a congregation of full inclusion. All are welcome regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation or sexual identity. An LGBT Church and so much more... “We warmly welcome the LGBT Community and its allies. We are a Christian independent congregation and not connected with any denomination. We affirm that God loves and cherishes all His children, and has shown His love through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. We invite you to join us, regardless of your religious or denominational background.” For more info, go to: goodshepherdpasadena.com

 

You can find information on these and other events listed at the public Google IMRU Community Calendar which can be viewed/printed in monthly/weekly/daily or agenda forms. We also blog about important happenings at imru.posterous.com where you can leave comments or suggestions and crosspost links to the Calendar on Twitter as well as our Facebook page—so it pays to be a Friend and to Follow Us.

 

IMRU

 

 

 

 

Celinda Lake (Photo via lakeresearch.com)

Politico has a story out Friday, March 30, about how Republicans have “come nearly full circle on same-sex politics” and have backed off from their once vociferous and loud antigay rhetoric.  It helps that former Bush Solicitor General Ted Olson considers the American Foundation for Equal Rights’ constitutional fight to overturn Prop 8 the most important case of his prestigious conservative career. It’s far, far cry from the election-year wedge tactics of Karl Rove in 2004 (after burying his gay father) and the recently revealed national strategy proposed by the National Organization for Marriage.

The Coalition to Protect all North Carolina Families, which has been battling the horrific antigay Amendment One on the May 8 ballot, has also picked up support from North Carolina Republicans such as former Republican mayor of Charlotte, Richard Vinroot, a onetime conservative nominee for governor, and other notable Republicans in opposing Amendment One.

But something else spectacular is happening in North Carolina:  the campaign has reframed the perennial antigay “kids” message and, according to prominent pollster Celinda Lake who is working with the campaign - if they can raise the money to air TV ads produced by Chad Griffin and his business partner Mark Armour – the antigay Amendment One could be stopped in North Carolina and change the LGBT movement forever. (Please go to this ACT BLUE page to contribute.)

Celinda Lake allowed her conference call comments to bloggers to be on the record. I transcribed most of them for a story for Frontiers because I think this is could well be a turning point in our political maturation and I wanted people to see the thinking that went behind it. My Frontiers story is coming out on Monday but I decided to post it early (below) to hopefully contribute to the momentum that is happening in North Carolina. Here’s an excerpt from Lake’s comments:

I mean we have been in our movement on the run on ‘kids’ for decades. And it’s time to take it back. And we can. We can in tough terrain, in a tough state, and I think we can change forever the terrain in which we’re operating – and that alone, I hope, will motivate people to give money to make sure that this campaign gets that message out.

A few months ago, when LGBT politicos considered the lay of this year’s initiative and referendum landscape, as well as the re-election of Barack Obama, the Democratic effort to retain control of the Senate and re-take the House, plus all the post-redistricting statewide and local elections – many looked at the horrendous Amendment One in North Carolina on May 8 and shrugged. It’s the South, for heaven’s sake! What chance do gays have of winning there?

A good one, longtime respected pollster Celinda Lake, who is advising the Coalition to Protect All North Carolina Families (www.protectncfamilies.org), told national LGBT bloggers and reporters recently. Why? Because the poorly written constitutional amendment that recognizes only heterosexual marriage as legal would have unintended consequences that would harm children and eliminate scores of existing, hard-fought for laws that protect unmarried people, especially woman in domestic violence situations, Lake says.

The National Organization for Marriage has already pour $50,000 into passing Amendment One and, according to documents ordered released by a Maine court reviewing a complaint about NOM’s campaign to strip marriage rights there, NOM considers North Carolina to be integral to their overall national strategy. NOM is one of the few non-church-based groups on the antigay Vote for Marriage NC website. (See Peter DelVecchio’s story on the NOM documents in this issue).

Of particular interest is NOM’s explicit strategy to divide blacks and gays and to manipulate Latinos. A section in the “Not a Civil Right Project” reads:  “The strategic goal of the project is to drive a wedge between gays and blacks — two key Democratic constituencies.” The idea is to recruit African American spokespeople and then “provoke the gay marriage base into responding by denouncing these spokesmen and women as bigots.”

In the section entitled “Internationalizing the Marriage issue: A Pan-American Strategy,” NOM wants to alarm Latinos (Hispanics) that the gay effort to make marriage rights equal would force assimilation into “the dominant Anglo culture.”

After considerable bad press, NOM President Brian Brown tried to pushback in an email to supporters: “[I]n just a few weeks people of every race, creed and color will come together to decide the future of marriage in North Carolina. If you want to know why we stand up to the attacks, it’s because I know we are speaking for so many good people like you.”

But the “unintended consequences” argument used by the Coalition to Protect All North Carolina Families is having an effect. On March 28, the Charlotte Observer reported that former Republican Charlotte Mayor and gubernatorial candidate Richard Vinroot joined U.S. Rep. Renee Ellmers and John Hood, president of the conservative John Locke Foundation, among other prominent Republicans, in opposing Amendment One.

Reacting to comments from Amendment One supporter House Speaker Thom Tillis, Vinroot told the Observer: “My reaction, was, ‘My gosh, the legislature wants us to put something in the Constitution that the leader of our party – the speaker of the House – doesn’t think will stand the test of time for more than a decade…I can’t imagine amending the Constitution for something he believes is that tenuous.”

North Carolina-based blogger Pam Spaulding (Photo by Julie Atwell)

In a March 29 post on her famous blog Pam’s House Blend on Firedoglake, lesbian blogger Pam Spaulding says of a new Public Policy Poll: “This is good news in many respects. Minds are not made up in this state; they don’t know just how extreme Amendment One is — this is an education and get-out-the-vote challenge, as I’ve said all along. The latest from Public Policy Polling: ‘It may seem inconsistent that a majority supports either gay marriage or civil unions but also supports the amendment that would ban both of them. But what we find is that voters don’t actually know what it does: Only 31% of voters correctly identify that Amendment 1 bans both gay marriage and civil unions.-28% think that it only bans gay marriage; 7% think that it actually legalizes gay marriage; 34% admit that they don’t know exactly what the amendment does.”

The poll – which came out before the media explosion around the NOM divisive documents – points out that: “When voters are informed that the amendment bans both gay marriage and civil unions their tune changes quite a bit. Only 41% of voters say they’ll support it knowing that, while 42% are opposed.”

Spaulding and LGBT and ally bloggers nationwide have been helping raise money to get anti-Amendment education advertising on radio, TV and direct mail – to reach 34% of voters. (To contribute, go to this Act Blue website: https://secure.actblue.com/page/ncmoneybomb)

What Celinda Lake revealed in the conference call with bloggers is that Chad Griffin (of the American Foundation for Equal Rights and soon to be president of the Human Rights Campaign) and his business partner Mark Armour are producing the ads with Liz Chatterdon producing the mail pieces.

Perhaps even more importantly – Lake says that while the campaign against Amendment One is still an “uphill” battle – if it is defeated as the first such antigay initiative in the nation, it will have an enormous impact on the subsequent initiative and referendum battles. And, Lake said, “honestly, if we win with the children’s argument, I think it’s hard to overstate the difference this would make for this movement – as well as how everyone in this community is going to feel. It’s nice to be able to stand up for all of our kids for a change.’

Usually discussions with pollsters are off the record, lest the “opposition” learn the campaign’s messaging and strategy. But the Families coalition feels that this “first in the nation” election on May 8 is so critical, they and Lake agreed to allow her presentation to be made public. Here’s much of what Celinda Lake said (edited and truncated for space; emphasis reporter):

“This is an uphill fight but we think there are a number of things that really speak to the potential that we have here.

One – we do have a powerful frame here…protecting children.  As someone who has been very involved in movement (in a number of places) it is so nice to be in a place where we’re seizing the offense on the children’s message, rather than just dreading the day when ‘Two Princes’ comes up on the air or whatever. We think this can really – being aggressive on this message and getting this out – can change, frankly, not only the results in North Carolina, but change the context in which we operate in every single other state this year and beyond.

We have a very, very strong message that children being raised by unmarried parents deserve the same access to legal protections and the same access to healthcare benefits as children being raised by married parents. This is really an interesting state because they do see, as part of their core values system, protecting the children of the state. This is a message that has over two-thirds of the voters strongly agreeing with it – not just agreeing – but strongly agreeing. Over 70% of the women strongly agreeing. Over 80% of the African American community strongly agreeing. And of course, as children of unmarried parents – very salient in the African American community and very, very strong in our key markets. Over 60% agreeing in Charlotte, Raleigh, Durham and in Greensboro.

Secondly, we have the domestic violence argument, which is also quite strong. And we have 60% of people agreeing or being convinced by that message. Domestic violence being a very salient issue in North Carolina. We’ve actually worked for decades with several women elected officials there who’ve been very visible in the domestic violence movement. North Carolina – a funny state. Some people don’t realize – North Carolina, for example, for 20 years – has had the highest proportion of working women of any state in the country. It was always passionate, for example, about equal pay laws because it had so many women working in the textile industry. So this is a state that has had more of a women’s-issue dynamic to it than people have appreciated. And it has a long history of being supportive and active on domestic violence and does not want to undermine domestic violence laws, particularly for unmarried women. So that is a very, very strong issue.

The third thing is these business endorsements mattering, particularly in Charlotte. Interestingly, the economic messages didn’t matter as much – but this Bank of America [opposition to Amendment One] – if there’s any place that Bank of America could have any more impact than Charlotte, I’d like to know it. And so those kinds of things that are happening – very, very strong for us.

Strong coalition of People of Faith against Amendment One (Photo screencapture from video below)

And if one of our goals is to literally consolidate the African American community and move the African American community our way – and then to consolidate independents and white Democrats, we have an incredible advantage here because the campaign has been so successful in getting elected officials to come out against this thing – including some Tea Partiers and some Republicans. But overwhelming, basically every Democrat has come out – obviously culminating with the President coming out.

And literally to be able to say to these voters: This amendment is flawed. It harms people we don’t want to harm. We want to protect our kids. We want to protect women from domestic violence. And literally – everyone you’re going to vote for today, on Election Day – has come out against this initiative. Every single person you are voting for Ms. Democrat, Mr. Democrat and many of the independents – every single person you’re going to vote for says this is not a good idea, this is not a good amendment for our state.

I think in the end, that really carries some validation of our arguments. And that is something we haven’t honestly had other places. People have been much quieter, they came out much later. They didn’t want to be associated. And here it’s been a much more relentless drum beat and people raising questions from the get-go that this thing was flawed.

And the other thing – we’re taking away something here. We’re taking away healthcare benefits from our kids in North Carolina. We’re taking away domestic violence protections from our unmarried women – we don’t want to do that. We don’t want to take things away. Why would we want to do that?

What’s interesting is the history of North Carolina – or at least the mythology that North Carolinians tell themselves about themselves – is that they have fought domestic violence for a long time. They have some of the earliest laws.

And this is a state that really worked hard, actually, to insure all of its kids. It’s S-CHIP program was always very, very popular in North Carolina. And you can see as a real core identity to primary voters, is this notion that we’re going to protect all our kids – not just my kids – we’re going to protect all of our kids…. We’ve worked really to get it so all of our kids have these protections. We don’t’ want to start taking it away now because they’re parents aren’t married.

Two messages that work very well in the African American community – and frankly, the African American community is really tough for us so we’ve really got to move them:

The children of unmarried parents deserve the same access to healthcare benefits and the same legal protections as children being raised by married parents. And that is a phenomena that the African American community is acutely aware of. There’s multi-generations where you have grandparents raising kids. Very, very strong and over 80% said they strongly agreed with that.

And then the other thing that worked in the African American community is that our state constitution should guarantee that same legal protections to all citizens and should not single out one group to be treated differently.

Now, obviously, they didn’t have gay and lesbian people in mind when they were thinking about that. They were thinking about their own racial experience. But there is a norm there and God knows there’s the validators for that norm with the ACLU’s opposition and the NAACP’s opposition. And I would just emphasize the NAACP’s opposition, as well, and the ministers who are opposed to it. So those were the two things that were really strong in that community.   The children of unmarried parents a very familiar topic in the African American community and the state constitution should guarantee the same legal protections to all citizens and not single out one group to be treated differently.

The issue here is that we’ve got to completely change the issue terrain – and that takes money. We have winning messages. Our problem is that people – if they just go into the ballot box without being exposed to our campaign are going to think: “Marriage is between a man and a woman. And I believe in that.”

Sadly, North Carolinians – including these primary voters – are very, very strong on that value. It’s a very old, very religious primary electorate. They really firmly believe that marriage is between a man and a woman and it should stay that way. We might all wish it were different but over three quarters of all of our groups believe that strongly.

So we had to change the issue terrain. That’s the storyline in their head right now. We’ve got to switch it to these unintended consequences – these harms that can come and these things we don’t want to do. Starting out with: poorly written, unintended consequences, and this is what it’s going to do. So we have to completely re-frame the issue and that takes money. We can do it – I’m very, very confident in our ads and in our mail. We have a team that can deliver the emotional content that we need. But they have to have the money to do it.

[Prop 8 campaign manager Frank] Schubert’s coming in. Good job, [coalition] you scared them. The bad news is – they’re scared and they brought in their tops guns. And we know we can expect to use children against us and I personally think that, win or lose, we can beat them back on children. Winning, God willing, or even losing by a modest margin – that will change this movement forever – if we can take away from them the ability to hammer and hammer and hammer us. I’ll never forget in Hawaii that they started with showing little kids and dogs and implication being bestiality. Just horrific stuff.

I mean we have been in our movement on the run on kids for decades. And it’s time to take it back. And we can. We can in tough terrain, in a tough state, and I think we can change forever the terrain in which we’re operating – and that alone, I hope, will motivate people to give money to make sure that this campaign gets that message out. Because if start to run on kids and then we’re beaten badly – it’s the worst of all worlds. Because we didn’t get out our message on kids – people will think, ‘Oh, wow. We’ll never be able to win this thing on kids.’ And the answer is – Yes, we can!  We can take it back. We can take this terrain back now.

And that’s the message that’s going to be taken into other states. And honestly, if we win with the children’s argument, I think it’s hard to overstate the difference this would make for this movement. As well as how everyone in this community is going to feel. It’s nice to be able to stand up for all of our kids for a change.”

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Tagged as: Celinda Lake, Chad Griffin and Mark Armour, Coalition to Protect All North Carolina Families, NOM, North Carolina Amendment One, Pam Spaulding

By Matt Schudel,

Adrienne Rich, one of the country’s most honored and influential poets, whose finely tuned verse explored her identity as a feminist, a lesbian and an agent for political change, died March 27 at her home in Santa Cruz, Calif. She was 82.

She had complications from rheumatoid arthritis, her son Pablo Conrad said.

In more than 60 years as a published poet, Ms. Rich examined the evolving lives of women in modern society and embodied many of those changes herself. She was a precocious child of a privileged Baltimore family, then a young wife and mother, and later dedicated herself to the ideals of feminism.

In the 1970s she became one of the first mainstream poets to write from an avowedly lesbian point of view. Her subtle poems and uncompromising essays brought Ms. Rich a loyal following that extended far beyond the measured world of poetry.

“No other living poet . . . has made such a profound impression on American intellectual life,” Dana Gioia, a poet and former director of the National Endowment for the Arts, wrote in 1999.

Ms. Rich’s first volume of poetry, published in 1951, was praised by W.H. Auden. In the 1950s, she was a friend of writer Sylvia Plath, who described her as “all vibrant short black hair, great sparking black eyes . . . honest, frank, forthright and . . . opinionated.”

But as she began to chafe at the traditional role of mother and housewife, her writing took on a sharper edge. Her 1963 collection, “Snapshots of a Daughter-in-Law,” represented one of the country’s first literary nods to feminism.

By 1968, in her poem “Planetarium,” ostensibly about a 19th-century female astronomer, Ms. Rich was writing from the perspective of a woman seeking an independent identity:

I am an instrument in the shape

of a woman trying to translate pulsations

into images … for the relief of the body

and the reconstruction of my mind.

One of Ms. Rich’s most celebrated books of poetry, “Diving Into the Wreck” (1973), won the National Book Award and put her in the front rank of American poets. The title poem, with its layers of meaning about treasure hunting, failed relationships and male-female hierarchies, is “one of the most beautiful poems to come out of the women’s movement,” literary scholar Cheryl Walker wrote in the Nation.

The poem begins with these lines:

I put on

the body armor of black rubber

the absurd flippers

the grave and awkward mask.

I am having to do this

not like Cousteau with his

assiduous team

aboard the sun-flooded schooner

but here alone.

Ms. Rich wrote almost as many essays as poems, often taking a bolder tone than the carefully sifted language of her verse.

In her 1976 essay collection, “Of Woman Born,” Ms. Rich declared her feminist credo and wrote for the first time from an openly lesbian viewpoint: “The suppressed lesbian I had been carrying in me since adolescence began to stretch her limbs.”

In another memorable passage, she wrote, “All human life on the planet is born of woman. The one unifying, incontrovertible experience shared by all women and men is that months-long period we spent unfolding inside a woman’s body.”

Mass Wedding in Cleveland
By Michelle Garcia

More than 200 gay and lesbian couples participated in a mass wedding in Cleveland, Ohio on Saturday, making it possibly the "largest illegal mass wedding ever held," according to organizers.

While some of the couples participating in the ceremony at the Galleria have already wed in states that recognize same-sex marriage, many said they were at the event to prove a point.

"There are over a thousand benefits available to married couples by the federal government that are denied to same-sex couples," participant Rick Starn said to the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

If marriage equality is ever legalized in Ohio, organizers said some of the paperwork from the ceremony on Saturday could be used by gay couples in obtaining marriage licenses.

This is the IMRU Community Calendar featuring

all the best things to do and see under the rainbow of Southern California

I SEE YOU, I AM HERE: Contemporary African-American LGBT Artists (final week)

Co-Sponsored by Common Bond and The Black LGBT Project thru March 29

Firemen 1 by Ronald Jackson

 

I See You, I Am Here is a traditional greeting of South Africa's Natal tribe. One person starts by saying, "I see you." The other person answers, "I am here." The words mean, "Until you see me, I do not exist." The goal is to truly "see" each other and thereby affirm each other's existence.

A group of accomplished artists presents visions of the LGBT African American experience in today's world, allowing us to truly see them, their lives, and ourselves.

Featured artists:

Ronald Jackson

Dale Guy Madison

Duane Paul

Lucky Virgo Photography

Cheryl Williams

 

THE ADVOCATE & GOCHIS GALLERIES - through March 29

The Village at Ed Gould Plaza

Reception: Thursday, Feb 16, 9-10 p.m. FREE

Gallery hours: Mon-Fri 6-9:30 p.m.

Saturdays 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

 

California State University, Northridge Presents

Fourway: Intersection of Race, Gender, Class, and Sex[uality]: March 30 -April 1

QPOCC 2012

The Queer People of Color Conference gives people the opportunity to understand the diversity of being a person of color within the queer community. It focuses on the issues of injustice and oppression faced by those within such communities, while simultaneously seeking methods of social reformation to alleviate such issues. It sheds light on various issues from the current political climate, safe sex and HIV, the coming out process for ethnic communities, to the movement of art; visual and performing. By illuminating these perspectives, through engaging workshops, discussion groups, caucuses and a captivating keynote speaker, QPOCC strives to fully expand knowledge and empower the identities of queer people of color.

The theme for this year is Fourway: Intersection of Race, Gender, Class and Sex[uality]. Under this theme, QPOCC will raise awareness on issues such as, being a queer person of color, the rise of homelessness in the queer community, what is Trans, what is a women's world, and so forth.

Keynote Speaker: ADELINE ANTHONY

Adeline Anthony is a critically acclaimed and award winning Xicana lesbian multi-disciplinary artist, hailing originally from San Antonio, Tejas. The themes in her works address colonization, feminism, trauma, memory, gender, race/ ethnicity, sexuality, in/migration, health, land/environment, and issues generally affecting the lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender/two-spirited communities.

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!!! For more info, go to: QPOCC 2012

 

 

 

FREE Health Fair: March 31

The Pasadena Pride Center is hosting a Health Fair SATURDAY MARCH 31, 10am-3pm, on the campus of Messiah Lutheran Church, 570 East Orange Grove Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91104. FREE testing, immunizations, vision exams and MORE! FREE! The public is welcome.

 

Self Defense for LGBTQ Youth (10 week course begins April 2)

Learn Taekwondo and Judo in self defense. This will be a 10 week class on constructive and positive ways to defend yourself when confronted with a dangerous situation. Strategies on how to react safely and how to be aware of your environment will be taught. Course Fee: $35. First class Monday April 2, 2012 @ 5pm on the campus of Messiah Lutheran Church, 570 East Orange Grove Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91104. Contact Pastor Rick to enroll: rickeisenlord@me.com or click HERE. Scholarships are available for those students who cannot afford the course fee.

 

San Gabriel Valley Gay Men's Group – April 3

The San Gabriel Valley Gay Men's Group will be meeting Tuesday, April 3 at 7:30pm at the Pasadena Pride Center on the campus of Messiah Lutheran Church, 570 East Orange Grove Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91104. This group will plan special events for gay/bi men. Activities to include Speed Dating Night, pool parties, movie nights, book clubs, Reno Turn-Around, bowling nights, community volunteer opportunities and MORE. Led by Aaron Saenz.

 

For information on the Health Fair, Self Defense, SGV GMG events and other activities, go to: pasadenapridecenter.org

 

Caffe Cino: Birthplace of Gay Theatre (lecture with Q&A) – April 4

 

BRUCE VILANCH sponsors pioneer underground playwright ROBERT PATRICK's ("Kennedy's Children") talk on "The Caffe Cino: Birthplace of Gay Theatre," illustrated with unique large photographs, on April 4th, 8 p.m. at the Davidson/Valentini Theatre at The Village at Ed Gould Plaza, 1125 N. McCadden Place, (1 block from Highland and Santa Monica). Lecture is 1 hour with Q&A to follow. RSVP absolutely required: 323-860-5830 or seniors@lagaycenter.org. Ten dollar suggested donation at door. No latecomers will be seated. Limited free parking in lot across street, and free street parking.

Photo: JAMES D. GOSSAGE

 

“The Gay Hist-Orgy” with Ian MacKinnon extended thru April 14!

"The Gay Hist-Orgy"-- Performance artist and activist Ian MacKinnon brings the past to life by tracing the history of gay people in new ways never before seen on stage. With the aid of his magic time-traveling hot pants and sexy Genie guide, Ian cruises a plethora of gay historical figures in his one-man multimedia romp. Along the way he covers thousands of years of homo-history to create a hot and horny evening of laughs and lust, fun and fucking, humor and heroism. Featuring hot histo-graphic hookups with: Plato, Rumi, Lincoln, Melville, Fredrick the Great, Edward Carpenter, da Vinci, Michelangelo, Karl Ulrichs, Harry Hay, Allen Ginsberg, Socrates, Whitman, Hafiz, Ganymede, Alexander, Hadrian, Zeami, Bayard Rustin and more! Performed in Gay Love-O-Vision!

 

Dates: Saturdays  April 7 and 14 at 8:00 PM

Location: Moving Arts Hyperion Station, 1822 Hyperion Avenue, LA, CA 90027

Price: $20 / $15 students

Tickets: www.brownpapertickets.com/event/214106

Information: www.gayhistorgy.com

 

 

 

NAKED BEFORE GOD at [Inside the] Ford: March 15 - April 28

Naked Before God - What do a porn star, a stripper and a soldier have in common with a Christian, a Muslim and a Mormon? They all want to get NAKED BEFORE GOD ... what's left to reveal, once they've bared it all? Kristen Burrows has hit upon a brilliant way to transform the sins of her youth into lots of cash: she's going to combine her adult film past with a born again future. But things get more than a little out of hand when the Christian radio talk show host Kristen has invited for dinner meets her family in this wild and darkly comic romp. (Rated “R” – mature audiences)

WHO:

Written and Directed by Leo Geter

Featuring Larry Clarke, Christopher Foley, Jen Kays, Aly Mawji, Morgan McClellan, William Salyers,Jennifer A. Skinner

Presented by Circle X Theatre Co.

 

WHEN:

Previews: March 15-23

Performances: March 24 through April 28:

Thursdays @ 8 pm: March 15, 22 (previews), 29; April 5, 12, 19, 26

Fridays @ 8 pm: March 16, 23 (previews), 30; April 6, 13, 20, 27

Saturdays @ 8 pm: March 17 (preview), 24 (Open), 31; April 7, 14, 21, 28

Sundays @ 2 pm: March 18 (preview), March 25; April 1, 8, 15, 22

Sundays @ 7 pm: March 18 (preview), 25; April 1, 8, 15, 22

 

WHERE:

[Inside] the Ford, 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East, Hollywood, CA 90068

(just off the 101, across the freeway from the Hollywood Bowl and south of Universal Studios)

 

HOW:

(323) 461-3673 (GO 1-FORD) or www.fordtheatres.org

Join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/FordTheatres

Follow us on Twitter @FordTheatres

 

TICKETS:

Opening Night (March 24): $34

General admission: $25 (except March 24)

Seniors and full-time students with ID: $12

Previews and all Sunday matinees: Pay-What-You-Can

Discounts for groups of eight or more available online or by calling 323-769-2147

 

PARKING: FREE on-site (non-stacked)

 

 

DEATHTRAP – March 28 – May 6

The Broadway classic returns! It's the first Los Angeles production in 20 years of Ira Levin’s masterpiece, the comedy-thriller, Deathtrap. One of the longest-running plays in Broadway history, the Tony Award Best Play nominee comes to the Center’s Davidson/Valentini Theatre for a six-week run!

Directed by award-winner Ken Sawyer (Dracula), the expert cast includes: Brian Foyster (The Lost Plays of Tennessee Williams)

Cynthia Gravinese (The Sonneteer)

Burt Grinstead (Esther’s Moustache)

Elizabeth Herron (Our Town)

Carl J. Johnson (Figure 8)

Stephen Mendillo (Take Me Out).

This is not your mother's Deathtrap; it's the hottest, sexiest version ever! Filled with plays-within-plays-within plays, countless "heart-in-the-mouth" shocks, and a dose of dark humor, Deathtrap is expertly crafted to make you laugh and then jolt you out of your seat!

THE DAVIDSON/VALENTINI THEATRE

1125 N McCadden Pl

Los Angeles, CA 90038

 

Preview performances:

Wed Mar 28 and Thur Mar 29 at 8 p.m.

 

Fri March 30 - May 6

Fridays & Saturdays at 8 p.m.

Sundays at 7 p.m.

 

For more information, go to laglc.convio.net or Click here to purchase tickets.

 

Drag Queen World Series – April 21

It's the West Hollywood Cheerleaders vs. The LA Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence! They both have done so much for the community (East & West sides), it's nice to see them working together!

Proceeds Benefit The Life Group LA, Fairfax High School's GSA and ACES! (Gay Straight Alliance and Acceptance, Compassion, Equality and Social Responsibility)

Location: Fairfax High School Softball Field, 7850 Melrose Blvd., West Hollywood, CA

Date/Time: Saturday, April 21 from 1-4pm

For more information or to purchase tickets, go to: thelifegroupla.org

 

2nd Annual KPFK Hero Awards and Tribute to Gil Scott-Heron - May 6

 

May 6, 2012 -- KPFK 2nd Annual Hero Awards - A Musical Tribute to Gil Scott-Heron

at Club Nokia at L.A. Live, 800 W. Olympic Blvd, Los Angeles, CA

 

Time: VIP Reception 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm

Doors open at 7:00 pm / Show 8:00 pm

Post Reception 10:30 pm to 12:00 am

Tickets are available now by going online to www.kpfk.org and clicking on the Hero Awards & Tribute button. More information is available by calling KPFK at 818-985-2711 ext 361.

The Hero Awards is a benefit series for the Los Angeles-based Pacifica Radio station. The event honors icons of our time who have left an impact on music and community. This year’s honoree is musician and political poet Gil Scott-Heron, with special awards to Jazz bassist and activist Charlie Haden, music educator Fernando Pullum; and a Lifetime Achievement Award to Pete Seeger, American folk singer and activist. The 2nd Annual KPFK Hero Awards and Tribute will take place Sunday, May 6th, 2012 at Club Nokia, 800 West Olympic Blvd, 3rd floor at the fabulous L.A. Live. The event starts with a VIP reception and silent auction from 5 pm to 7 pm and the show starts at 8 pm. The line-up will feature a host of prolific and poetic artists. The invited list of performers and guest speakers include Ben Harper, Stevie Wonder, Jackson Browne, Jill Scott, Tim Robbins, Ledisi, Nas, Nailah Porter, Mos Def, Saul Williams, Ravi Coltrane and Flying Lotus. Brian Jackson, long-time collaborator with Gil Scott-Heron, will be on hand as Music Director.

For updates on the 2nd Annual Hero Awards and Tribute log onto http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Annual-KPFK-Hero-Awards-and-Tribute/19859399021923

 

Alison Bechdel: Autobiography and the Graphic Art Novel - May 10

in conversation with Deborah Vankin

Bechdel follows her best-selling graphic memoir, Fun Home, with a second tale of filial sleuthing—this time about her mother: voracious reader, music lover, amateur actor, and also a woman, unhappily married to a gay man. Bechdel’s quest for answers concerning the mother-daughter gulf leads through psychoanalysis and Dr. Seuss to a truce that will move all adult children of gifted mothers.

Alison Bechdel is the author of the bestselling memoir Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic, which was named a Best Book of the Year by Time, New York Times, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, Village Voice, and the San Francisco Chronicle, among others. For twenty-five years, she wrote and drew the comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For, a visual chronicle of modern life--queer and otherwise. Bechdel is guest editor of Best American Comics, 2011, and has drawn comics for Slate, McSweeney's, Entertainment Weekly, Granta, and The New York Times Book Review.

Deborah Vankin is a journalist and graphic novelist. As a Los Angeles Times staff writer, she covers the spectrum of arts & culture, entertainment and nightlife -- including books and comics, the art gallery and street art scenes, alternative comedy, indie film and pop culture in general. Her 2011 graphic novel "Poseurs" follows three teenagers, from very different corners of L.A., into the underworld of L.A. clubs and Hollywood parties. She's now working on a second graphic novel.

ALOUD is one of the many free programs the Library Foundation makes possible at the Los Angeles Public Library. Most ALOUD author programs are followed by book signings. To help sustain this valuable cultural exchange, at least one copy of the author’s featured book must be purchased from the Library Store if you wish to participate in the post-program book signing. Other non-featured books by the author may be eligible for the signing without having been purchased at the Library Store. Proceeds support the Los Angeles Public Library. Library Foundation members receive a 15% discount on all Library Store purchases. Unless otherwise indicated, ALOUD programs take place at the Los Angeles Central Library's Mark Taper Auditorium, 630 W. Fifth Street, Los Angeles, CA 90071.

For more info, go to: http://www.lfla.org/event-detail/710/Alison-Bechdel-Autobiography-and-the-Graphic-Novel#

 

http://dykestowatchoutfor.com/

 

California Music Festival & AIDS Walk – May 20

The California Music Festival and AIDS Walk is set for Sunday, May 20 from 2-9 pm in Griffith Park and the Greek Theater. To insure a sell-out KRTH, K-EARTH 101 radio is on board to help us celebrate. 2012 is AIDS Healthcare Foundation's 25th anniversary and K-EARTH's 40th, so together we plan on pulling out all the stops on this party for a cause!

The family-fun and free carnival games and rides, great performers in the park and plenty of food trucks will kick off the party in style in Griffith Park. Then it's a memorial AIDS Walk thru America's largest urban park ending at the Greek Theater with a mega-superstar concert hosted by Magic Johnson and presented by K-EARTH 101.

Now is the time to register and lock in donations. It only takes a minute to do it and the Festival provides all the support to have your family and friends make a donation in honor of your participation. Get your name on the list now! Once the superstar talent on the stage of the Greek is announced, every seat in the house will be filled!! It's the party with a cause!

For more info, go to: takeaction.aidshealth.org

 

RECURRING EVENTS....

MONDAYS

GAY SALSA NIGHT: If you remember the Salsa Dances at Rudolpho's back in the 90's and early 2000's, or just want to give your dancing shoes a work out, check this out!! Mambo Infierno brings you Gay Salsa Night every Monday at Little Temple in Silverlake,CA. We provide a salsa dance instructor for beginners. Dance class starts at 8:30pm. Enjoy the salsa music with DJ FRANK - the best salsa dj in LA! $5 Cover. Go to http://www.myspace.com/gaysalsanight for more information!

 

 

WOMEN'S GROUP AT the SOUTH BAY LGBT CENTER: The South Bay LGBT Women's Group hosts a Women's Group at the Center. All interested women at any stage of life, love, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are welcome to attend this group, which provides a safe and welcoming environment to meet, socialize, build friendships, and support the South Bay LGBT Center. Guidelines will be reviewed each week to ensure fairness, confidentiality, and respect for diverse opinions. $2 donation appreciated. Info: Voice mail: 310-328-6550, email: womensgroup@southbaycenter.org

LGBT Center - 16610 Crenshaw Blvd., Torrance, 90504 (310-328-6550)

 

 

TUESDAYS

IN THE MEANTIME MEN'S GROUP (ITMT) hosts discussion groups as follows:

BROTHERS REACHING BROTHERS DISCUSSION GROUP from 7:30pm - 9pm at The Village Health Foundation Community Room on W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90019. The purpose of the group is to enrich, empower, and extend the lives of intergenerational black men, respectful of sexual orientation, through social, educational, health and wellness programs and services.” For more info: visit www.mylifemystyle.net

THE KICK BACK DISCUSSION GROUP FOR YOUNG MEN 29 and UNDER: Every 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the Month from 7-9 p.m. at the New Drop-In Community Youth Center, 4067 W. Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90019 — 323-733-4868

Free and Open — Refreshments served

www.inthemeantimemen.org — www.mylifemystyle.net

The mission of IN THE MEANTIME MEN'S GROUP is to enrich, empower, and extend the lives of intergenerational black men, respectful of sexual orientation, through social, educational, health and wellness programs and services.” Over the past 10 years In The Meantime has been on the forefront of creating an environment that supports, empowers and educates black, gay, same gender-loving and bi-sexual men in Los Angeles County. Through an integrated holistic approach to wellness, In The Meantime (ITMT) focuses on the mental/emotional, physical, spiritual, and economic well being of a community that is oftentimes isolated and excluded from mainstream society. ITMT facilitates three home-grown HIV/AIDS empowerment prevention programs, two (weekly) social discussion support groups, peer and group counseling, a black men’s wellness conference, a three day men’s empowerment retreat, the SOLA Meth Crystal Meth Taskforce, and the South Los Angeles Black Gay Men’s Taskforce, computer training, a quarterly community publication (Message In The Meantime), an online weekly newsletter, and a host of community and cultural events that focus on community building that include a King Day Celebration and a Kwanzaa Celebration. ITMT’S most recent program addition is a community drop-in center that provides a relaxed social environment for youth programming, and HIV/AIDS testing and counseling activities.

 

WEDNESDAYS

GRIFFITH PARK CONDITIONING HIKE: Gay and Lesbian Sierra Club has a weekly Griffith Park Conditioning Hike every Wednesday night at 7pm. Join the Sierrans for a moderate hike of 5 miles to Mt. Hollywood with an eleven hundred foot gain. Lug-soled boots are best for traction, but some hikers wear sneakers. Bring a flashlight if you’re not used to hiking in the dark. Rain cancels. That’s every Wednesday, 7 p.m. sharp by the flagpole near the vending machines at the Griffith Park Visitors Center. Check out other gay and lesbian Sierran outings at angeles.sierraclub.org/gls/

 

FRIDAYS

FRIDAY NIGHT DROP-IN: Friday evening at the South Bay LGBT Center, 7:00 - 9:45 pm. The Center will be open for your use and enjoyment. Come by and pick up publications, join in conversations about a variety of topics or hang out in a safe place; play games - there are several games at the Center, or people can bring their own table or board games. For a small donation, participants can enjoy coffee, tea, sodas, water and sometimes desserts. For questions, leave a message at (310) 328-6550. For more information, leave a message at (310) 328-6550. Check the Calendar for updates and details. southbaycenter.org

 

SUNDAYS

 

GOOD SHEPHERD CHURCH Sundays at 2pm: Good Shepherd Church at 570 East Orange Grove Blvd in Pasadena is a congregation of full inclusion. All are welcome regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation or sexual identity. An LGBT Church and so much more... “We warmly welcome the LGBT Community and its allies. We are a Christian independent congregation and not connected with any denomination. We affirm that God loves and cherishes all His children, and has shown His love through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. We invite you to join us, regardless of your religious or denominational background.” For more info, go to: goodshepherdpasadena.com

 

You can find information on these and other events listed at the public Google IMRU Community Calendar which can be viewed/printed in monthly/weekly/daily or agenda forms. We also blog about important happenings at imru.posterous.com where you can leave comments or suggestions and crosspost links to the Calendar on Twitter as well as our Facebook page—so it pays to be a Friend and to Follow Us.

 

IMRU

 

 

SLDN National Dinner March 3, 2012. The National Building Museum Washington, DC. (Photo by Art Andrade)

DADT Repeal – The Nonevent

By attorney, former Marine Captain and SLDN boardmember Tom Carpenter

Tuesday, March 20, 2012, marks the 6-month anniversary of the implementation of the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT). It seems fitting that two weekends ago, I attended the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network annual dinner in Washington DC, surrounded by active duty men and women in uniform. What a difference 6 months makes.

Last Saturday evening another group of active duty troops and veterans were honored as guests of the David Bohnett Foundation at the HRC Gala in Los Angeles.

HRC Gala, March 17, 2012, Los Angeles California (Photo by Karen Ocamb)

What about the dire predictions of a “San Francisco military” predicted by Elaine Donnelly, the body and soul of the misnamed Center for Military Readiness? She and her likeminded travelers opined that the repeal of DADT would lead to:

1. Increased HIV/AIDS and other health problems in the military.
2. Increased sexual assaults in the military.
3. Decrease in morale, readiness and unit cohesion.
4. Harm in recruiting and retention, requiring a return of the draft.
5. Increased combat casualties.
6. Damage to national security and the American way of life.

Nathaniel Frank outside US District Court in Riverside after testifying in the Log Cabin Republican challenge to the constitutionality of DADT (Photo by Karen Ocamb)

In December 2011, my good friend and author, Nathaniel Frank, published a comprehensive report “Accountability and DADT” , listing these predictions and quotes attributed to those who opposed repeal.

Some of the most outrageous statements include:

“The readiness of the military to deploy and perform its combat mission is directly linked to the medical well-being of the force. The homosexual lifestyle has been clearly documented as being unhealthy. Due to their sexual practices, active male homosexuals in the military could be expected to bring an increased incidence of sexually transmitted diseases and other diseases spread by close personal contact, Additionally, the association of the homosexual lifestyle as a high risk behavior in contracting AIDS could create the perception of an ‘enemy within.’” — Military Working Group, Summary Report, 1993

Lifting the ban would lead to “inappropriate passive/aggressive actions common in the homosexual community,” “forcible sodomy” and “exotic forms of sexual expression.” — Elaine Donnelly, Center for Military Readiness, 2008

“Homosexuality carries with it profound behavioral implications. Sexual attraction among members of the same sex—living, exercising, fighting and training alongside one another in the closest of quarters—could devastate morale, foster heightened interpersonal tension and lead to division among those who, more than virtually any other group in society, need to act as one.” — General John Sheehan (RET, USMC) and Tony Perkins, Family Research Council, 2010

“We believe that imposing this burden on our men and women in uniform would undermine recruiting and retention, impact leadership at all levels, have adverse effects on the willingness of parents who lend their sons and daughters to military service, and eventually break the All-Volunteer Force.” –“Flag & General Officers for the Military” (statement of over 1000 flag and general officers), 2009

“I hope that when we pass this legislation [lifting the ban] that we will understand that we are doing great damage, and we could possibly and probably—as the commandant of the Marine Corps said and I’ve been told by literally thousands of members of the military— harm the battle effectiveness, which is so vital to the support, to the survival of our young men and women in the military.” — Sen. John McCain, 2010

“If this kind of agenda is forced on the Marine Corps, if it’s okay for the Marines, why is it not okay for the local school, the local marriage bureau, ultimately all of civilian life will be affected.”– Elaine Donnelly, Center for Military Readiness, 2010

You will note that my service, the Marine Corps, is mentioned prominently in these quotes and the opposition to repeal was reported to be strongest among the rank and file of the Corps, particularly the Infantry.  During the run-up to Congressional repeal, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, General James Conway, was outspoken in his opposition. His replacement, a President Obama appointee, General James Amos, also seemed opposed though in more subtle ways.

But here is the important point. Once the law was passed, the Marines did as I predicted, “Saluted, said Aye, aye, sir” and carried out their orders to the best of their ability. General Amos and the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, Sgt. Maj. Michael Barrett, were out in front of all the services when on January 31, 2011, they sent out a strong message in a video to all Marines that the Corps was ready for repeal.

All the services have professionally carried out the orders of their civilian leaders. This is what was predicted- because of the dedication and preparation of the force, much like the experience of our closest allies; repeal of DADT would be, and has been, a “nonevent.”

The dire predictions of those who opposed repeal have not come to pass. There has been no report of an increase in sexually transmitted diseases. Not one GLB service member has been accused of sexual assault, While we hear reports of stress, increases in suicide, divorce rates and other tragedies, no one has alleged that the repeal of DADT had anything to do with these situations. All the services are meeting their recruiting goals.   Those who were discharged under DADT and are attempting to return to active duty are having difficulty finding positions available for them to fill. There has been no indication that the presence of LGB troops has increased combat casualties.

While national security remains as strong as ever, perhaps opponents to repeal were correct on one point. Yes, they may be right that repeal has damaged their American way of life. We are seeing an America moving closer to achieving the promises contained in the Declaration of Independence of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all citizens, regardless of their sexual orientation.

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Tagged as: DADT, David Bohnett Foundation, General James Amos, HRC, Nathaniel frank, SLDN, Tom Carpenter

This is the IMRU Community Calendar featuring

all the best things to do and see under the rainbow of Southern California

Rainbow Family Camp: A Weekend Camp for LGBT Families (March 23-25)

Experience a wonderful weekend away with other LGBT families in the beautiful mountains of San Bernardino. Nestled within a forest of towering trees, enjoy heated cabins featuring rustic comfort with modern, indoor bath facilities, bunk-beds and a limited number of cabins with double beds, living rooms and/or kitchens.

Friday - Sunday
March 23 - 25
Camp de Benneville Pines- Angelus Oaks, CA

Click here for more information and to register.

 

Lesbo Bingo + Singles Mingle/Dance Party: March 24

Join Women On a Roll for a wild and wacky evening of fun, games, exciting prizes and lots of women!

Saturday, March 24

4-6pm - Lesbo Bingo!

Price: $25 (Includes 10 games of Bingo -- nine regular games and one grand prize game. Does not include food and beverage.) Grand Prize: Coming soon! Space is limited!

Join us for the dance party and receive $5 off admission with your Bingo purchase!

WOAR Dance Party

You asked for it and we listened! Get ready to dance the night away!

Saturday, March 24: 7 - 8pm - Singles Mingle! 8pm - midnight - Dance party

Get ready to celebrate!

Party includes:

-Special discount admission for Lesbo Bingo ticket holders

-Claudette Sexy DJ spinning your favorite tunes and keeping you dancing

-Food and drinks available for purchase all night

-Free billiards

-Lots of women in our own private party room

-Singles and couples easily identified

 

Location: Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery (in the banquet room), 1 Pine Ave. (at Pine & Ocean), Long Beach, CA 90802

Price: $10 with Lesbo Bingo ticket purchase, $15 without ticket purchase

Space is limited! Reserve your spot now!

For more info, go to: Women On A Roll

 

Escondido Canyon Park Hike – March 25

Fitness trainer and WOAR Board Member Terri West will lead this hike. Meet Sunday, March 25 at 9am. Accessed from Pacific Coast Highway about a mile south of Kanan Road in Malibu, the trail through Escondido Canyon Natural Area leads hikers, mountain bikers, and equestrians through oak woodland, riparian woodland, and Coastal sage scrub to the spectacular, multi-tiered 150-foot Escondido Falls-the highest in the Santa Monica Mountains. Allow about an hour and 15 minutes to enjoy this trail and spectacular waterfall. This is a nice, pleasant, moderate hike. Dogs are allowed on a leash.

From the parking lot, the trailhead is a one mile walk up the paved road. At the Escondido Canyon Trailhead sign, head to the left, walking upstream. The trail criss-crosses the creek several times and then opens onto grassy flats. A mile into the trail we will reach the base of the waterfall where we will rest and turn around. This is the lower tier of the huge limestone fall.

Directions: 27200 Winding Way, Malibu. From the East, take the 10 Freeway west until it becomes Pacific Coast Highway (PCH). Continue north on PCH, about 15 miles, to Winding Way. Turn right on Winding Way and enter the parking lot. From the San Fernando Valley, take the 101 Freeway west, exit at Las Virgenes/Malibu Canyon Road. Head south on Las Virgenes which turns into Malibu Canyon Road. Drive until you reach PCH and turn right. Continue on PCH to Winding Way. Turn right on Winding Way and enter the parking lot. The parking lot is very small but there is ample parking on PCH. Park cars and walk along Winding Way East (private road) to dirt trail that starts at the end of the paved road. We will meet about 100 ft. east of the parking lot.

http://www.lamountains.com/parks.asp?parkid=12

 

I SEE YOU, I AM HERE: Contemporary African-American LGBT Artists

Co-Sponsored by Common Bond and The Black LGBT Project thru March 29

Firemen 1 by Ronald Jackson

I See You, I Am Here is a traditional greeting of South Africa's Natal tribe. One person starts by saying, "I see you." The other person answers, "I am here." The words mean, "Until you see me, I do not exist." The goal is to truly "see" each other and thereby affirm each other's existence.

A group of accomplished artists presents visions of the LGBT African American experience in today's world, allowing us to truly see them, their lives, and ourselves.

Featured artists:

Ronald Jackson

Dale Guy Madison

Duane Paul

Lucky Virgo Photography

Cheryl Williams

 

THE ADVOCATE & GOCHIS GALLERIES - through March 29

The Village at Ed Gould Plaza

Reception: Thursday, Feb 16, 9-10 p.m. FREE

Gallery hours: Mon-Fri 6-9:30 p.m.

Saturdays 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

 

California State University, Northridge Presents

Fourway: Intersection of Race, Gender, Class, and Sex[uality]: March 30 -April 1

QPOCC 2012

The Queer People of Color Conference gives people the opportunity to understand the diversity of being a person of color within the queer community. It focuses on the issues of injustice and oppression faced by those within such communities, while simultaneously seeking methods of social reformation to alleviate such issues. It sheds light on various issues from the current political climate, safe sex and HIV, the coming out process for ethnic communities, to the movement of art; visual and performing. By illuminating these perspectives, through engaging workshops, discussion groups, caucuses and a captivating keynote speaker, QPOCC strives to fully expand knowledge and empower the identities of queer people of color.

The theme for this year is Fourway: Intersection of Race, Gender, Class and Sex[uality]. Under this theme, QPOCC will raise awareness on issues such as, being a queer person of color, the rise of homelessness in the queer community, what is Trans, what is a women's world, and so forth.

Keynote Speaker: ADELINE ANTHONY

Adeline Anthony is a critically acclaimed and award winning Xicana lesbian multi-disciplinary artist, hailing originally from San Antonio, Tejas. The themes in her works address colonization, feminism, trauma, memory, gender, race/ ethnicity, sexuality, in/migration, health, land/environment, and issues generally affecting the lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender/two-spirited communities.

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!!! For more info, go to: QPOCC 2012

 

 

FREE Health Fair: March 31

The Pasadena Pride Center is hosting a Health Fair SATURDAY MARCH 31, 10am-3pm, on the campus of Messiah Lutheran Church, 570 East Orange Grove Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91104. FREE testing, immunizations, vision exams and MORE! FREE! The public is welcome.

 

Self Defense for LGBTQ Youth (10 week course begins April 2)

Learn Taekwondo and Judo in self defense. This will be a 10 week class on constructive and positive ways to defend yourself when confronted with a dangerous situation. Strategies on how to react safely and how to be aware of your environment will be taught. Course Fee: $35. First class Monday April 2, 2012 @ 5pm on the campus of Messiah Lutheran Church, 570 East Orange Grove Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91104. Contact Pastor Rick to enroll: rickeisenlord@me.com or click HERE. Scholarships are available for those students who cannot afford the course fee.

 

San Gabriel Valley Gay Men's Group – April 3

The San Gabriel Valley Gay Men's Group will be meeting Tuesday, April 3 at 7:30pm at the Pasadena Pride Center on the campus of Messiah Lutheran Church, 570 East Orange Grove Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91104. This group will plan special events for gay/bi men. Activities to include Speed Dating Night, pool parties, movie nights, book clubs, Reno Turn-Around, bowling nights, community volunteer opportunities and MORE. Led by Aaron Saenz.

 

For information on the Health Fair, Self Defense, SGV GMG events and other activities, go to: pasadenapridecenter.org

 

Caffe Cino: Birthplace of Gay Theatre (lecture with Q&A) – April 4

BRUCE VILANCH sponsors pioneer underground playwright ROBERT PATRICK's ("Kennedy's Children") talk on "The Caffe Cino: Birthplace of Gay Theatre," illustrated with unique large photographs, on April 4th, 8 p.m. at the Davidson/Valentini Theatre at The Village at Ed Gould Plaza, 1125 N. McCadden Place, (1 block from Highland and Santa Monica). Lecture is 1 hour with Q&A to follow. RSVP absolutely required: 323-860-5830 or seniors@lagaycenter.org. Ten dollar suggested donation at door. No latecomers will be seated. Limited free parking in lot across street, and free street parking.

Photo: JAMES D. GOSSAGE

 

 

“The Gay Hist-Orgy” with Ian MacKinnon extended thru April 14!

"The Gay Hist-Orgy"-- Performance artist and activist Ian MacKinnon brings the past to life by tracing the history of gay people in new ways never before seen on stage. With the aid of his magic time-traveling hot pants and sexy Genie guide, Ian cruises a plethora of gay historical figures in his one-man multimedia romp. Along the way he covers thousands of years of homo-history to create a hot and horny evening of laughs and lust, fun and fucking, humor and heroism. Featuring hot histo-graphic hookups with: Plato, Rumi, Lincoln, Melville, Fredrick the Great, Edward Carpenter, da Vinci, Michelangelo, Karl Ulrichs, Harry Hay, Allen Ginsberg, Socrates, Whitman, Hafiz, Ganymede, Alexander, Hadrian, Zeami, Bayard Rustin and more! Performed in Gay Love-O-Vision!

Dates: Saturdays March 24 and April 7 and 14 at 8:00 PM

Location: Moving Arts Hyperion Station, 1822 Hyperion Avenue, LA, CA 90027

Price: $20 / $15 students

Tickets: www.brownpapertickets.com/event/214106

Information: www.gayhistorgy.com

 

NAKED BEFORE GOD at [Inside the] Ford: March 15 - April 28

Naked Before God - What do a porn star, a stripper and a soldier have in common with a Christian, a Muslim and a Mormon? They all want to get NAKED BEFORE GOD ... what's left to reveal, once they've bared it all? Kristen Burrows has hit upon a brilliant way to transform the sins of her youth into lots of cash: she's going to combine her adult film past with a born again future. But things get more than a little out of hand when the Christian radio talk show host Kristen has invited for dinner meets her family in this wild and darkly comic romp. (Rated “R” – mature audiences)

WHO:

Written and Directed by Leo Geter

Featuring Larry Clarke, Christopher Foley, Jen Kays, Aly Mawji, Morgan McClellan, William Salyers,Jennifer A. Skinner

Presented by Circle X Theatre Co.

 

WHEN:

Previews: March 15-23

Performances: March 24 through April 28:

Thursdays @ 8 pm: March 15, 22 (previews), 29; April 5, 12, 19, 26

Fridays @ 8 pm: March 16, 23 (previews), 30; April 6, 13, 20, 27

Saturdays @ 8 pm: March 17 (preview), 24 (Open), 31; April 7, 14, 21, 28

Sundays @ 2 pm: March 18 (preview), March 25; April 1, 8, 15, 22

Sundays @ 7 pm: March 18 (preview), 25; April 1, 8, 15, 22

 

WHERE:

[Inside] the Ford, 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East, Hollywood, CA 90068

(just off the 101, across the freeway from the Hollywood Bowl and south of Universal Studios)

 

HOW:

(323) 461-3673 (GO 1-FORD) or www.fordtheatres.org

Join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/FordTheatres

Follow us on Twitter @FordTheatres

 

TICKETS:

Opening Night (March 24): $34

General admission: $25 (except March 24)

Seniors and full-time students with ID: $12

Previews and all Sunday matinees: Pay-What-You-Can

Discounts for groups of eight or more available online or by calling 323-769-2147

 

PARKING: FREE on-site (non-stacked)

 

 

DEATHTRAP – March 28 – May 6

 

The Broadway classic returns! It's the first Los Angeles production in 20 years of Ira Levin’s masterpiece, the comedy-thriller, Deathtrap. One of the longest-running plays in Broadway history, the Tony Award Best Play nominee comes to the Center’s Davidson/Valentini Theatre for a six-week run!

Directed by award-winner Ken Sawyer (Dracula), the expert cast includes: Brian Foyster (The Lost Plays of Tennessee Williams)

Cynthia Gravinese (The Sonneteer)

Burt Grinstead (Esther’s Moustache)

Elizabeth Herron (Our Town)

Carl J. Johnson (Figure 8)

Stephen Mendillo (Take Me Out).

This is not your mother's Deathtrap; it's the hottest, sexiest version ever! Filled with plays-within-plays-within plays, countless "heart-in-the-mouth" shocks, and a dose of dark humor, Deathtrap is expertly crafted to make you laugh and then jolt you out of your seat!

THE DAVIDSON/VALENTINI THEATRE

1125 N McCadden Pl

Los Angeles, CA 90038

 

Preview performances:

Wed Mar 28 and Thur Mar 29 at 8 p.m.

 

Fri March 30 - May 6

Fridays & Saturdays at 8 p.m.

Sundays at 7 p.m.

For more information, go to laglc.convio.net or Click here to purchase tickets.

 

Drag Queen World Series – April 21

It's the West Hollywood Cheerleaders vs. The LA Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence! They both have done so much for the community (East & West sides), it's nice to see them working together!

Proceeds Benefit The Life Group LA, Fairfax High School's GSA and ACES! (Gay Straight Alliance and Acceptance, Compassion, Equality and Social Responsibility)

Location: Fairfax High School Softball Field, 7850 Melrose Blvd., West Hollywood, CA

Date/Time: Saturday, April 21 from 1-4pm

For more information or to purchase tickets, go to: thelifegroupla.org

 

2nd Annual KPFK Hero Awards and Tribute to Gil Scott-Heron - May 6

May 6, 2012 -- KPFK 2nd Annual Hero Awards - A Musical Tribute to Gil Scott-Heron

at Club Nokia at L.A. Live, 800 W. Olympic Blvd, Los Angeles, CA

Time: VIP Reception 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm

Doors open at 7:00 pm / Show 8:00 pm

Post Reception 10:30 pm to 12:00 am

Tickets are available now by going online to www.kpfk.org and clicking on the Hero Awards & Tribute button. More information is available by calling KPFK at 818-985-2711 ext 361.

The Hero Awards is a benefit series for the Los Angeles-based Pacifica Radio station. The event honors icons of our time who have left an impact on music and community. This year’s honoree is musician and political poet Gil Scott-Heron, with special awards to Jazz bassist and activist Charlie Haden, music educator Fernando Pullum; and a Lifetime Achievement Award to Pete Seeger, American folk singer and activist. The 2nd Annual KPFK Hero Awards and Tribute will take place Sunday, May 6th, 2012 at Club Nokia, 800 West Olympic Blvd, 3rd floor at the fabulous L.A. Live. The event starts with a VIP reception and silent auction from 5 pm to 7 pm and the show starts at 8 pm. The line-up will feature a host of prolific and poetic artists. The invited list of performers and guest speakers include Ben Harper, Stevie Wonder, Jackson Browne, Jill Scott, Tim Robbins, Ledisi, Nas, Nailah Porter, Mos Def, Saul Williams, Ravi Coltrane and Flying Lotus. Brian Jackson, long-time collaborator with Gil Scott-Heron, will be on hand as Music Director.

For updates on the 2nd Annual Hero Awards and Tribute log onto http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Annual-KPFK-Hero-Awards-and-Tribute/19859399021923

Alison Bechdel: Autobiography and the Graphic Art Novel - May 10

in conversation with Deborah Vankin

Bechdel follows her best-selling graphic memoir, Fun Home, with a second tale of filial sleuthing—this time about her mother: voracious reader, music lover, amateur actor, and also a woman, unhappily married to a gay man. Bechdel’s quest for answers concerning the mother-daughter gulf leads through psychoanalysis and Dr. Seuss to a truce that will move all adult children of gifted mothers.

Alison Bechdel is the author of the bestselling memoir Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic, which was named a Best Book of the Year by Time, New York Times, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, Village Voice, and the San Francisco Chronicle, among others. For twenty-five years, she wrote and drew the comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For, a visual chronicle of modern life--queer and otherwise. Bechdel is guest editor of Best American Comics, 2011, and has drawn comics for Slate, McSweeney's, Entertainment Weekly, Granta, and The New York Times Book Review.

Deborah Vankin is a journalist and graphic novelist. As a Los Angeles Times staff writer, she covers the spectrum of arts & culture, entertainment and nightlife -- including books and comics, the art gallery and street art scenes, alternative comedy, indie film and pop culture in general. Her 2011 graphic novel "Poseurs" follows three teenagers, from very different corners of L.A., into the underworld of L.A. clubs and Hollywood parties. She's now working on a second graphic novel.

ALOUD is one of the many free programs the Library Foundation makes possible at the Los Angeles Public Library. Most ALOUD author programs are followed by book signings. To help sustain this valuable cultural exchange, at least one copy of the author’s featured book must be purchased from the Library Store if you wish to participate in the post-program book signing. Other non-featured books by the author may be eligible for the signing without having been purchased at the Library Store. Proceeds support the Los Angeles Public Library. Library Foundation members receive a 15% discount on all Library Store purchases. Unless otherwise indicated, ALOUD programs take place at the Los Angeles Central Library's Mark Taper Auditorium, 630 W. Fifth Street, Los Angeles, CA 90071.

For more info, go to: http://www.lfla.org/event-detail/710/Alison-Bechdel-Autobiography-and-the-Graphic-Novel#

http://dykestowatchoutfor.com/

California Music Festival & AIDS Walk – May 20

The California Music Festival and AIDS Walk is set for Sunday, May 20 from 2-9 pm in Griffith Park and the Greek Theater. To insure a sell-out KRTH, K-EARTH 101 radio is on board to help us celebrate. 2012 is AIDS Healthcare Foundation's 25th anniversary and K-EARTH's 40th, so together we plan on pulling out all the stops on this party for a cause!

The family-fun and free carnival games and rides, great performers in the park and plenty of food trucks will kick off the party in style in Griffith Park. Then it's a memorial AIDS Walk thru America's largest urban park ending at the Greek Theater with a mega-superstar concert hosted by Magic Johnson and presented by K-EARTH 101.

Now is the time to register and lock in donations. It only takes a minute to do it and the Festival provides all the support to have your family and friends make a donation in honor of your participation. Get your name on the list now! Once the superstar talent on the stage of the Greek is announced, every seat in the house will be filled!! It's the party with a cause!

For more info, go to: takeaction.aidshealth.org

 

 

RECURRING EVENTS....

MONDAYS

GAY SALSA NIGHT: If you remember the Salsa Dances at Rudolpho's back in the 90's and early 2000's, or just want to give your dancing shoes a work out, check this out!! Mambo Infierno brings you Gay Salsa Night every Monday at Little Temple in Silverlake,CA. We provide a salsa dance instructor for beginners. Dance class starts at 8:30pm. Enjoy the salsa music with DJ FRANK - the best salsa dj in LA! $5 Cover. Go to http://www.myspace.com/gaysalsanight for more information!

WOMEN'S GROUP AT the SOUTH BAY LGBT CENTER: The South Bay LGBT Women's Group hosts a Women's Group at the Center. All interested women at any stage of life, love, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are welcome to attend this group, which provides a safe and welcoming environment to meet, socialize, build friendships, and support the South Bay LGBT Center. Guidelines will be reviewed each week to ensure fairness, confidentiality, and respect for diverse opinions. $2 donation appreciated. Info: Voice mail: 310-328-6550, email: womensgroup@southbaycenter.org

LGBT Center - 16610 Crenshaw Blvd., Torrance, 90504 (310-328-6550)

 

TUESDAYS

IN THE MEANTIME MEN'S GROUP (ITMT) hosts discussion groups as follows:

BROTHERS REACHING BROTHERS DISCUSSION GROUP from 7:30pm - 9pm at The Village Health Foundation Community Room on W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90019. The purpose of the group is to enrich, empower, and extend the lives of intergenerational black men, respectful of sexual orientation, through social, educational, health and wellness programs and services.” For more info: visit www.mylifemystyle.net

THE KICK BACK DISCUSSION GROUP FOR YOUNG MEN 29 and UNDER: Every 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the Month from 7-9 p.m. at the New Drop-In Community Youth Center, 4067 W. Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90019 — 323-733-4868

Free and Open — Refreshments served

www.inthemeantimemen.org — www.mylifemystyle.net

The mission of IN THE MEANTIME MEN'S GROUP is to enrich, empower, and extend the lives of intergenerational black men, respectful of sexual orientation, through social, educational, health and wellness programs and services.” Over the past 10 years In The Meantime has been on the forefront of creating an environment that supports, empowers and educates black, gay, same gender-loving and bi-sexual men in Los Angeles County. Through an integrated holistic approach to wellness, In The Meantime (ITMT) focuses on the mental/emotional, physical, spiritual, and economic well being of a community that is oftentimes isolated and excluded from mainstream society. ITMT facilitates three home-grown HIV/AIDS empowerment prevention programs, two (weekly) social discussion support groups, peer and group counseling, a black men’s wellness conference, a three day men’s empowerment retreat, the SOLA Meth Crystal Meth Taskforce, and the South Los Angeles Black Gay Men’s Taskforce, computer training, a quarterly community publication (Message In The Meantime), an online weekly newsletter, and a host of community and cultural events that focus on community building that include a King Day Celebration and a Kwanzaa Celebration. ITMT’S most recent program addition is a community drop-in center that provides a relaxed social environment for youth programming, and HIV/AIDS testing and counseling activities.

 

WEDNESDAYS

GRIFFITH PARK CONDITIONING HIKE: Gay and Lesbian Sierra Club has a weekly Griffith Park Conditioning Hike every Wednesday night at 7pm. Join the Sierrans for a moderate hike of 5 miles to Mt. Hollywood with an eleven hundred foot gain. Lug-soled boots are best for traction, but some hikers wear sneakers. Bring a flashlight if you’re not used to hiking in the dark. Rain cancels. That’s every Wednesday, 7 p.m. sharp by the flagpole near the vending machines at the Griffith Park Visitors Center. Check out other gay and lesbian Sierran outings at angeles.sierraclub.org/gls/

 

FRIDAYS

FRIDAY NIGHT DROP-IN: Friday evening at the South Bay LGBT Center, 7:00 - 9:45 pm. The Center will be open for your use and enjoyment. Come by and pick up publications, join in conversations about a variety of topics or hang out in a safe place; play games - there are several games at the Center, or people can bring their own table or board games. For a small donation, participants can enjoy coffee, tea, sodas, water and sometimes desserts. For questions, leave a message at (310) 328-6550. For more information, leave a message at (310) 328-6550. Check the Calendar for updates and details. southbaycenter.org

 

SUNDAYS

GOOD SHEPHERD CHURCH Sundays at 2pm: Good Shepherd Church at 570 East Orange Grove Blvd in Pasadena is a congregation of full inclusion. All are welcome regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation or sexual identity. An LGBT Church and so much more... “We warmly welcome the LGBT Community and its allies. We are a Christian independent congregation and not connected with any denomination. We affirm that God loves and cherishes all His children, and has shown His love through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. We invite you to join us, regardless of your religious or denominational background.” For more info, go to: goodshepherdpasadena.com

 

You can find information on these and other events listed at the public Google IMRU Community Calendar which can be viewed/printed in monthly/weekly/daily or agenda forms. We also blog about important happenings at imru.posterous.com where you can leave comments or suggestions and crosspost links to the Calendar on Twitter as well as our Facebook page—so it pays to be a Friend and to Follow Us.

IMRU