local name global coverage june 11, 2020 vol. 11 // issue 22 FROM HERE FOUR YEARS AFTER PULSE, NEW MUSICAL MEMORIALIZES COMMUNITY’S PAIN PAGE 14 Visit SFGN.com/donate to support a gay free press. SOUTHFLORIDAGAYNEWS @SFGN SFGN.COM NEWS HIGHLIGHT SouthFloridaGayNews.com @SFGN June 11, 2020 • Volume 11 • Issue 23 2520 N. Dixie Highway • Wilton Manors, FL 33305 STUART MILK PRAISES PROTESTS Phone: 954-530-4970 Fax: 954-530-7943 Publisher • Norm Kent [email protected] Associate Publisher / Executive Editor • Jason Parsley AGAINST POLICE BRUTALITY [email protected] Editorial Michael K. Lavers Art Director • Brendon Lies Washington Blade Stuart Milk. Photo via [email protected] the Milk Foundation. Arts/Entertainment Editor • J.W. Arnold [email protected] he nephew of Harvey Milk on Thursday Food/Travel Editor • Rick Karlin expressed his support for those who Gazette News Editor • Sallie James are protesting against police brutality HIV Editor • Sean McShee T Senior Photographer • J.R. Davis in the wake of George Floyd’s death. [email protected] “I’m inspired by the protests,” Stuart Milk Copyeditor • Kimberly Swan told the Washington Blade during a brief Senior Feature Columnists interview at a Fort Lauderdale restaurant. “I Brian McNaught • Jesse Monteagudo am really hopeful that maybe we can create Correspondents some systemic change.” Dori Zinn • Donald Cavanaugh Milk spoke with the Blade less than Christiana Lilly • John McDonald two weeks after Floyd died after then- Denise Royal • David-Elijah Nahmod Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin Contributing Columnists kneeled on his neck. Brian McNaught • Terri Schlichenmeyer Dana Rudolph • Ric Reily Minnesota prosecutors have charged Chauvin with second-degree murder Associate Photographers Carina Mask • Steven Shires in connection with Floyd’s death. The Associated Press notes the three other Sales & Marketing now-former police officers who were with For ad placement in SFGN, Chauvin face charges of aiding and abetting contact 954-530-4970 second-degree murder and second-degree Sales Manager • Justin Wyse manslaughter. [email protected] Senior Advertising Associate • Edwin Neimann Christopher Street West, the group [email protected] that organizes Los Angeles’ annual Pride Distribution Services • Noah Lebel parade, has announced it will hold a march “in response to racial injustice, systematic The White House last year tapped Sales Consultant • Charles A. Reid racism and all forms of oppression.” Milk outgoing U.S. Ambassador to Germany National Advertising told the Blade he “would like to see more of Richard Grenell to spearhead the initiative. Rivendell Media 212-242-6863 “UNLESS THERE that and hopefully one day we can do that on The U.S. Embassy in Germany last [email protected] our global scale.” summer hosted a group of LGBTQ rights Accounting Services by CG Bookkeeping “It’s been nine days … sometimes we see activists from around the world. Grenell and Printing by Stuart Web Inc. IS JUSTICE FOR these things really light up and then fizzle U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Kelly Knight out and then we move on to something Craft late last year organized an event on the EVERYONE IN THE else,” he said. “It’s my hope and desire that sidelines of a U.N. Security Council meeting we don’t move on and that we as an LGBTQ that focused on efforts to decriminalize community keep that fire burning.” homosexuality around the world. of UNITED STATES “Unless there is justice for everyone in “The campaign has had some deep back SFGN WINNER the United States there is justice for no one,” door discussions that I think are important,” & 5 FLORIDA PRESS CLUB Awards And runner-up for THERE IS JUSTICE added Milk. Milk told the Blade. “It’s important that we Milk on Thursday also talked about keep global LGBT rights moving forward.” NLGJA Journalist of the Year the Trump administration’s campaign Milk added “its just totally unacceptable FOR NO ONE.” to encourage countries to decriminalize that we have over 70 countries where it’s still SOUTH FLORIDA GAY NEWS.COM, INC. - Stuart Milk consensual same-sex relations. illegal and criminalized to be LGBT.” — — FOUNDED, DECEMBER, 2009 NEPHEW OF HARVEY MILK BY PIER GUIDUGLI AND NORM KENT Washington Blade courtesy of the National LGBTQ Media Association. South Florida Gay News is published weekly. The opinions expressed in columns, stories, and letters to the editor do not represent the opinions of SFGN, or the Publisher. 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Associated Press Copyright © 2020 South Florida Gay News.com, Inc. 2 • 6.11.2020 Dunham Insurance Stands by the Black Community www.Dunhamins.com 6.11.2020 • 3 NEWS NATIONAL BLACK LGBT LEADERS DISCUSS PATH TO JUSTICE & EQUALITY John McDonald letter circulating among LGBT organizations A demands justice. Entitled “LGBTQ organizations Unite many cities with people taking to the streets. to Combat Racial Violence,” the letter is a “We are going through an existential crisis declaration of unity against racism and white in this country, where people are hopefully supremacy. being put in a position where they are seeing “We understand what it means to rise up beyond themselves,” David said. The new and push back against a culture that tells us, head of HRC, a 50-year-old LGBT advocacy we are less than, that our lives don’t matter,” group, said now is the time to reach out. the letter reads. “If we are going to achieve liberation ... If The authors go on to say, “we join together we are going to achieve equality and have again to say #BlackLivesMatter and commit that equality be sustainable we have to see ourselves to the actions those words require.” beyond ourselves,” David said. “We have to More than 400 LGBT organizations have care about issues that don’t directly affect us. signed-on to the letter. That is how we achieve equality.” On Wednesday, Black leaders from across Rupert-Gordon said intersectionality is a America joined a video program moderated subject that needs better education. by Equality Florida Founder “Intersectionality has Nadine Smith, who opened become a buzzword and the discussion by stating: “WE ARE GOING catch-all for everything, “America is at a crossroads.” THROUGH AN we don’t always do the best “In this context we think job of explaining what that it is critical that the LGBTQ EXISTENTIAL CRISIS is,” said Rupert-Gordon, community be vocal and IN THIS COUNTRY, director of NCLR, the first visible, unafraid to say the WHERE PEOPLE ARE nationwide LGBT legal Nadine Smith, Founder of Equality Florida. SFGN file photo. words ‘white supremacy,’ organization founded by unafraid to speak out, to end HOPEFULLY BEING women. “To be intersectional general was “more concerned about property apartment complex. the violence state-sanctioned PUT IN A POSITION isn’t the understanding that than actually being concerned about a black “Did they responsibly attempt to arrest and hate sanctioned against WHERE THEY ARE it’s hard when someone man being killed.” a subject or did they simply open fire on the Black community and has multiple, marginalized, Rayner added the letter was great and a transmasculine black person because it to remember that this is our SEEING BEYOND under-represented identities. needed, but wants to see the action items. simply doesn’t matter?” fight, we do not show up as THEMSELVES.” “Intersectionality is looking She warned her colleagues to not discount Jenkins, a black trans woman, lives one allies but we understand that - Alphonso David at the systems in place that her experience as a black lesbian. block from the site in Minneapolis where our liberation, our freedom is PRESIDENT OF THE HRC weren’t created for everyone Smith brought up the recent death of Tony Floyd was killed by police. She said a tied to ending this system.” to thrive and get to liberation. McDade, killed last week by a Tallahassee “beautiful scene” is developing out of Floyd’s Joining Smith on the It’s an intersectional failure police officer. tragic death and the on-going COVID-19 broadcast was Alphonso David, President of when someone falls through the cracks and “It boils down to one question and one health crisis. the Human Rights Campaign, Imani Rupert- doesn’t receive benefits or cannot properly question only,” Smith said. “Did police “We have been working hard to maintain a Gordon, Executive Director of the National access support because the systems weren’t act properly in an attempt to apprehend a sacred space — a safe place where people can Center of Lesbian Rights, Michele Rayner, created for them. We’re at this moment right suspect or did police open fire because they come and share their grief, mourn and just civil rights attorney and Andrea Jenkins, now where collectively our communities are didn’t think Tony’s life mattered?” be with other people,” said Jenkins. “We’ve Minneapolis City Councilmember. The recognizing this and demanding justice at Smith added police have lost the benefit of all been sort of locked into our homes for virtual town hall covered stories from the the same time.” the doubt in the McDade case.