It Didn't All Start at Stonewall! Meet Two Pioneers of Queer Liberation Jan. 15 (tags)
Three months before the Stonewall Inn riots in New York city in June 1969 which are commonly — but wrongly — thought to be the start of the Gay liberation movement, a group of Gay activists in San Francisco started the nation’s first Gay Liberation Front. Two of those activists, Leo E. Laurence and Pat Brown, now live in San Diego and will be speaking Monday, January 15, 7 p.m. at the Joyce Beers Community Center in Hillcrest in an event sponsored by Activist San Diego.
Michael Sol: Queer Leatherman Explores Intimacy and Sadism (tags)
Michael Sol, Leatherman extraordinaire and candidate for Mr. Los Angeles Leather this weekend (March 26-27), is giving a demonstration of the Japanese rope bondage art, shibari, at the Joyce Beers Community Center, Vermont Street between Terra and Aladdin Restaurants in Hillcrest, Friday, April 1 at 7 p.m. at an event sponsored by the San Diego League of Gentlemen. In this interview, published in the April 2011 issue of Zenger's Newsmagazine, Sol talks extensively about his interests in Leather and so-called "edge play," and the distinction he draws between romantic intimacy and power exchanges. He also discusses the thin line between exercise and martial art, and between consensual S/M and the kinds of torture practiced on unwilling victims in places like Abu Ghraib.
San Diego Hosts Meeting on Same-Sex Marriage Equality (tags)
The San Diego Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Community Center hosted a town-hall meeting April 2 to discuss the future of marriage equality in the wake of the upcoming California Supreme Court ruling on Proposition 8, the voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage in the state. Speakers included Kate Kendell, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, other professionals and grass-roots activists like Fernando Lopez, whose group is organizing people to go talk to individuals one-on-one to make them aware of how Queer people suffer from not having access to civil marriage.
Over 50 Attend Progressive Community Summit (tags)
Over 50 people attended a progressive community "Mega Summit" in San Diego February 17. Organized by the San Diego County Community Coalition and San Diegans for 9/11 Truth, the event brought together representatives from various local groups ranging from anti-war and anti-drug war groups to insurgent candidates for elective office and urban landscape activists.
San Diego's Controversial City Attorney 'Speaks (tags)
To his supporters, San Diego city attorney Mike Aguirre is an activist and truth-teller who'sone of the few local elected officials dealing seriously with the city's budget crises. To his opponents, ranging from the Right-wing San Diego Union-Tribune to the city employee unions, he's a loud-mouthed obstructionist who's dividing the city and costing it money. The controversy was on display January 24, when Aguirre and two of his election oppoennts debated at the predominantly Queer San Diego Democratic Club.
Read Governor Schwarzenegger's Statement (tags)
The dedication of Williams’ book “Life in Prison” casts significant doubt on his personal redemption. This book was published in 1998, several years after Williams’ claimed redemptive experience. Specifically, the book is dedicated to “Nelson Mandela, Angela Davis, Malcolm X, Assata Shakur, Geronimo Ji Jaga Pratt, Ramona Africa, John Africa, Leonard Peltier, Dhoruba Al-Mujahid, George Jackson, Mumia Abu-Jamal, and the countless other men, women, and youths who have to endure the hellish oppression of living behind bars.” The mix of individuals on this list is curious. Most have violent pasts and some have been convicted of committing heinous murders, including the killing of law enforcement.