Podcast appearances and mentions of Cleve Jones

A weekly magazine-style radio show featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community. The show is produced by a collective of media makers, deejays, and activists. Tonight's show features Asian Refugees United and Lavender Phoenix in conversation about art, culture, and organizing, and how artists help us imagine and build liberation. Important Links: Lavender Phoenix: Website | Instagram Asian Refugees United: Website | Instagram | QTViệt Cafe Collective Transcript: Cheryl: Hey everyone. Good evening. You tuned in to APEX Express. I'm your host, Cheryl, and tonight is an AACRE Night. AACRE, which is short for Asian Americans for Civil Rights and Equality is a network made up of 11 Asian American social justice organizations who work together to build long-term movements for justice. Across the AACRE network, our groups are organizing against deportations, confronting anti-blackness, xenophobia, advancing language justice, developing trans and queer leaders, and imagine new systems of safety and care. It's all very good, very important stuff. And all of this from the campaigns to the Organizing to Movement building raises a question that I keep coming back to, which is, where does art live In all of this, Acts of resistance do not only take place in courtrooms or city halls. It takes place wherever people are still able to imagine. It is part of how movements survive and and grow. Art is not adjacent to revolution, but rather it is one of its most enduring forms, and tonight's show sits in that very spirit, and I hope that by the end of this episode, maybe you'll see what I mean. I;d like to bring in my friends from Lavender Phoenix, a trans queer API organization, building people power in the Bay Area, who are also a part of the AACRE Network. This summer, Lavender Phoenix held a workshop that got right to the heart of this very question that we're sitting with tonight, which is what is the role of the artist in social movements? As they were planning the workshop, they were really inspired by a quote from Toni Cade Bambara, who in an interview from 1982 said, as a cultural worker who belongs to an oppressed people, my job is to make the revolution irresistible. So that raises a few questions worth slowing down for, which are, who was Toni Cade Bambara? What does it mean to be a cultural organizer and why does that matter? Especially in this political moment? Lavender Phoenix has been grappling with these questions in practice, and I think they have some powerful answers to share. So without further ado, I'd like to introduce you to angel who is a member of Lavender Phoenix. Angel: My name is Angel. I use he and she pronouns, and I'm part of the communications committee at LavNix. So, let's explore what exactly is the meaning of cultural work.  Cultural workers are the creators of narratives through various forms of artistic expression, and we literally drive the production of culture. Cultural work reflects the perspectives and attitudes of artists and therefore the people and communities that they belong to. Art does not exist in a vacuum. You may have heard the phrase before. Art is always political. It serves a purpose to tell a story, to document the times to perpetuate and give longevity to ideas. It may conform to the status quo or choose to resist it. I wanted to share a little bit about one cultural worker who's made a really big impact and paved the way for how we think about cultural work and this framework. Toni Cade Bambara was a black feminist, cultural worker, writer, and organizer whose literary work celebrated black art, culture and life, and radically supported a movement for collective liberation. She believed that it's the artist's role to serve the community they belong to, and that an artist is of no higher status than a factory worker, social worker, or teacher. Is the idea of even reframing art making as cultural work. Reclaimed the arts from the elite capitalist class and made clear that it is work, it does not have more value than or take precedence over any other type of movement work. This is a quote from an interview from 1982 when Toni Cade Bambara said, as a cultural worker who belongs to an oppressed people, my job is to make revolution irresistible. But in this country, we're not encouraged and equipped at any particular time to view things that way. And so the artwork or the art practice that sells that capitalist ideology is considered art. And anything that deviates from that is considered political, propagandist, polemical, or didactic, strange, weird, subversive or ugly. Cheryl: After reading that quote, angel then invited the workshop participants to think about what that means for them. What does it mean to make the revolution irresistible? After giving people a bit of time to reflect, angel then reads some of the things that were shared in the chat. Angel: I want my art to point out the inconsistencies within our society to surprised, enraged, elicit a strong enough reaction that they feel they must do something. Cheryl: Another person said, Angel: I love that art can be a way of bridging relationships. Connecting people together, building community. Cheryl: And someone else said. Angel: I want people to feel connected to my art, find themselves in it, and have it make them think and realize that they have the ability to do something themselves. Cheryl: I think what is rather striking in these responses that Angel has read aloud to what it means to make art that makes the revolution irresistible isn't just aesthetics alone, but rather its ability to help us connect and communicate and find one another to enact feelings and responses in each other. It's about the way it makes people feel implicated and connected and also capable of acting. Tony Cade Bambara when she poses that the role of cultural workers is to make the revolution irresistible is posing to us a challenge to tap into our creativity and create art that makes people unable to return comfortably to the world as is, and it makes revolution necessary, desirable not as an abstract idea, but as something people can want and move towards  now I'm going to invite Jenica, who is the cultural organizer at Lavender Phoenix to break down for us why we need cultural work in this political moment. . Speaker: Jenica: So many of us as artists have really internalized the power of art and are really eager to connect it to the movement.  This section is about answering this question of why is cultural work important.  Cultural work plays a really vital role in organizing and achieving our political goals, right? So if our goal is to advance radical solutions to everyday people, we also have to ask ourselves how are we going to reach those peoples? Ideas of revolution and liberation are majorly inaccessible to the masses, to everyday people. Families are being separated. Attacks on the working class are getting worse and worse. How are we really propping up these ideas of revolution, especially right in America, where propaganda for the state, for policing, for a corrupt government runs really high. Therefore our messaging in political organizing works to combat that propaganda. So in a sense we have to make our own propaganda. So let's look at this term together. Propaganda is art that we make that accurately reflects and makes people aware of the true nature of the conditions of their oppression and inspires them to take control of transforming this condition. We really want to make art that seeks to make the broader society aware of its implications in the daily violences, facilitated in the name of capitalism, imperialism, and shows that error of maintaining or ignoring the status quo. So it's really our goal to arm people with the tools to better struggle against their own points of views, their ways of thinking, because not everyone is already aligned with like revolution already, right? No one's born an organizer. No one's born 100% willing to be in this cause. So, we really focus on the creative and cultural processes, as artists build that revolutionary culture. Propaganda is really a means of liberation. It's an instrument to help clarify information education and a way to mobilize our people. And not only that, our cultural work can really model to others what it's like to envision a better world for ourselves, right? Our imagination can be so expansive when it comes to creating art. As organizers and activists when we create communication, zines, et cetera, we're also asking ourselves, how does this bring us one step closer to revolution? How are we challenging the status quo? So this is exactly what our role as artists is in this movement. It's to create propaganda that serves two different purposes. One, subvert the enemy and cultivate a culture that constantly challenges the status quo. And also awaken and mobilize the people. How can we, through our art, really uplift the genuine interests of the most exploited of people of the working class, of everyday people who are targets of the state and really empower those whose stories are often kept outside of this master narrative. Because when they are talked about, people in power will often misrepresent marginalized communities. An example of this, Lavender Phoenix, a couple years ago took up this campaign called Justice for Jaxon Sales. Trigger warning here, hate crime, violence against queer people and death. Um, so Jaxon Sales was a young, queer, Korean adoptee living in the Bay Area who went on a blind like dating app date and was found dead the next morning in a high-rise apartment in San Francisco. Lavender Phoenix worked really closely and is still connected really closely with Jaxon's parents, Jim and Angie Solas to really fight, and organize for justice for Jaxon and demand investigation into what happened to him and his death, and have answers for his family. I bring that up, this campaign because when his parents spoke to the chief medical examiner in San Francisco, they had told his family Jaxon died of an accidental overdose he was gay. Like gay people just these kinds of drugs. So that was the narrative that was being presented to us from the state. Like literally, their own words: he's dead because he's gay. And our narrative, as we continue to organize and support his family, was to really address the stigma surrounding drug use. Also reiterating the fact that justice was deserved for Jaxon, and that no one should ever have to go through this. We all deserve to be safe, that a better world is possible. So that's an example of combating the status quo and then uplifting the genuine interest of our people and his family. One of our key values at Lavender Phoenix is honoring our histories, because the propaganda against our own people is so intense. I just think about the everyday people, the working class, our immigrant communities and ancestors, other queer and trans people of color that really fought so hard to have their story told. So when we do this work and think about honoring our histories, let's also ask ourselves what will we do to keep those stories alive? Cheryl: We're going to take a quick music break and listen to some music by Namgar, an international ethno music collective that fuses traditional Buryat and Mongolian music with pop, jazz, funk, ambient soundscapes, and art- pop. We'll be back in just a moment with more after we listen to “part two” by Namgar.    Cheryl: Welcome back.  You are tuned in to APEX express on 94.1 KPFA and 89.3 KPFB B in Berkeley and online at kpfa.org.  That song you just heard was “part two” by Namgar, an incredible four- piece Buryat- Mongolian ensemble that is revitalizing and preserving the Buryat language and culture through music. For those just tuning in tonight's episode of APEX Express is all about the role of the artist in social movements. We're joined by members of Lavender Phoenix, often referred to as LavNix, which is a grassroots organization in the Bay Area building Trans and queer API Power. You can learn more about their work in our show notes. We talked about why cultural work is a core part of organizing. We grounded that conversation in the words of Toni Cade Bambara, who said in a 1982 interview, as a cultural worker who belongs to an oppressed people, my job is to make revolution irresistible. We unpacked what that looks like in practice and lifted up Lavender Phoenix's Justice for Jaxon Sales campaign as a powerful example of cultural organizing, which really demonstrates how art and narrative work and cultural work are essential to building power Now Jenica from Levner Phoenix is going to walk us through some powerful examples of cultural organizing that have occurred in social movements across time and across the world. Speaker: Jenica: Now we're going to look at some really specific examples of powerful cultural work in our movements. For our framework today, we'll start with an international example, then a national one, a local example, and then finally one from LavNix. As we go through them, we ask that you take notes on what makes these examples, impactful forms of cultural work. How does it subvert the status quo? How is it uplifting the genuine interest of the people? Our international example is actually from the Philippines. Every year, the Corrupt Philippines president delivers a state of the nation address to share the current conditions of the country. However, on a day that the people are meant to hear about the genuine concrete needs of the Filipino masses, they're met instead with lies and deceit that's broadcasted and also built upon like years of disinformation and really just feeds the selfish interests of the ruling class and the imperialist powers. In response to this, every year, BAYAN, which is an alliance in the Philippines with overseas chapters here in the US as well. Their purpose is to fight for the national sovereignty and genuine democracy in the Philippines, they hold a Peoples' State of the Nation Address , or PSONA, to protest and deliver the genuine concerns and demands of the masses. So part of PSONA are effigies. Effigies have been regular fixtures in protest rallies, including PSONA. So for those of you who don't know, an effigy is a sculptural representation, often life size of a hated person or group. These makeshift dummies are used for symbolic punishment in political protests, and the figures are often burned. In the case of PSONA, these effigies are set on fire by protestors criticizing government neglect, especially of the poor. Lisa Ito, who is a progressive artists explained that the effigy is constructed not only as a mockery of the person represented, but also of the larger system that his or her likeness embodies. Ito pointed out that effigies have evolved considerably as a form of popular protest art in the Philippines, used by progressive people's movements, not only to entertain, but also to agitate, mobilize and capture the sentiments of the people. This year, organizers created this effigy that they titled ‘ZomBBM,' ‘Sara-nanggal' . This is a play on words calling the corrupt president of the Philippines, Bongbong Marcos, or BBM, a zombie. And the vice president Sara Duterte a Manananggal, which is a, Filipino vampire to put it in short, brief words. Organizers burnt this effigy as a symbol of DK and preservation of the current ruling class. I love this effigy so much. You can see BBM who's depicted like his head is taken off and inside of his head is Trump because he's considered like a puppet president of the Philippines just serving US interests. Awesome. I'm gonna pass it to Angel for our national perspective. Angel: Our next piece is from the national perspective and it was in response to the AIDS crisis. The global pandemic of HIV AIDS began in 1981 and continues today. AIDS is the late stage of HIV infection, human immunodeficiency virus, and this crisis has been marked largely by government indifference, widespread stigma against gay people, and virtually no federal funding towards research or services for everyday people impacted. There was a really devastating lack of public attention about the seriousness of HIV. The Ronald Reagan administration treated the crisis as a joke because of its association with gay men, and Reagan didn't even publicly acknowledge AIDS until 19 85, 4 years into the pandemic. Thousands of HIV positive people across backgrounds and their supporters organize one of the most influential patient advocacy groups in history. They called themselves the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power or ACT up. They ultimately organize and force the government and the scientific community to fundamentally change the way medical research is conducted. Paving the way for the discovery of a treatment that today keeps alive, an estimated half million HIV positive Americans and millions more worldwide. Sarah Schulman, a writer and former member of ACT Up, wrote a list of ACT UPS achievements, including changing the CDC C'S definition of aids to include women legalizing needle exchange in New York City and establishing housing services for HIV positive unhoused people. To highlight some cultural work within ACT Up, the AIDS activist artist Collective Grand Fury formed out of ACT Up and CR and created works for the public sphere that drew attention to the medical, moral and public issues related to the AIDS crisis. Essentially, the government was fine with the mass deaths and had a large role in the active killing off of people who are not just queer, but people who are poor working class and of color. We still see parallels in these roadblocks. Today, Trump is cutting public healthcare ongoing, and in recent memory, the COVID crisis, the political situation of LGBTQ people then and now is not divorced from this class analysis. So in response, we have the AIDS Memorial Quilt, this collective installation memorializes people who died in the US from the AIDS crisis and from government neglect. Each panel is dedicated to a life lost and created by hand by their friends, family, loved ones, and community. This artwork was originally conceived by Cleve Jones in SF for the 1985 candlelight March, and later it was expanded upon and displayed in Washington DC in 1987. Its enormity demonstrated the sheer number at which queer folk were killed in the hiv aids crisis, as well as created a space in the public for dialogue about the health disparities that harm and silence our community. Today, it's returned home to San Francisco and can be accessed through an interactive online archive. 50,000 individual panels and around a hundred thousand names make up the patchwork quilt, which is insane, and it's one of the largest pieces of grassroots community art in the world. Moving on to a more local perspective. In the Bay Area, we're talking about the Black Panther Party. So in October of 1966 in Oakland, California, Huey Newton and Bobby Seale founded the Black Panther Party for self-defense. The Panthers practiced militant self-defense of black communities against the US government and fought to establish socialism through organizing and community-based programs. The Black Panthers began by organizing arm patrols of black people to monitor the Oakland Police Department and challenge rampant rampant police brutality. At its peak, the party had offices in 68 cities and thousands of members. The party's 10 point program was a set of demands, guidelines, and values, calling for self-determination, full employment of black people, and the end of exploitation of black workers housing for all black people, and so much more. The party's money programs directly addressed their platform as they instituted a free B Breakfast for Children program to address food scarcity Founded community health clinics to address the lack of adequate, adequate healthcare for black people and treat sickle cell anemia, tuberculosis, and HIV aids and more. The cultural work created by the Black Panther Party included the Black Panther Party newspaper known as the Black Panther. It was a four page newsletter in Oakland, California in 1967. It was the main publication of the party and was soon sold in several large cities across the US as well as having an international readership. The Black Panther issue number two. The newspaper, distributed information about the party's activities and expressed through articles, the ideology of the Black Panther Party, focusing on both international revolutions as inspiration and contemporary racial struggles of African Americans across the United States. Solidarity with other resistance movements was a major draw for readers. The paper's international section reported on liberation struggles across the world. Under Editor-in-Chief, David Du Bois, the stepson of WEB Du Bois, the section deepened party support for revolutionary efforts in South Africa and Cuba. Copies of the paper traveled abroad with students and activists and were tra translated into Hebrew and Japanese. It reflected that the idea of resistance to police oppression had spread like wildfire. Judy Juanita, a former editor in Chief Ads, it shows that this pattern of oppression was systemic. End quote. Paper regularly featured fiery rhetoric called out racist organizations and was unabashed in its disdain for the existing political system. Its first cover story reported on the police killing of Denzel Doel, a 22-year-old black man in Richmond, California. In all caps, the paper stated, brothers and sisters, these racist murders are happening every day. They could happen to any one of us. And it became well known for its bold cover art, woodcut style images of protestors, armed panthers, and police depicted as bloodied pigs. Speaker: Jenica: I'm gonna go into the LavNix example of cultural work that we've done. For some context, we had mentioned that we are taking up this campaign called Care Not Cops. Just to give some brief background to LavNix, as systems have continued to fail us, lavender Phoenix's work has always been about the safety of our communities. We've trained people in deescalation crisis intervention set up counseling networks, right? Then in 2022, we had joined the Sales family to fight for justice for Jaxon Sales. And with them we demanded answers for untimely death from the sheriff's department and the medical examiner. Something we noticed during that campaign is that every year we watch as people in power vote on another city budget that funds the same institutions that hurt our people and steal money from our communities. Do people know what the budget is for the San Francisco Police Department? Every year, we see that city services and programs are gutted. Meanwhile, this year, SFPD has $849 million, and the sheriff has $345 million. So, honestly, policing in general in the city is over $1 billion. And they will not experience any cuts. Their bloated budgets will remain largely intact. We've really been watching, Mayor Lurie , his first months and like, honestly like first more than half a year, with a lot of concern. We've seen him declare the unlawful fentanyl state of emergency, which he can't really do, and continue to increase police presence downtown. Ultimately we know that mayor Lurie and our supervisors need to hear from us everyday people who demand care, not cops. So that leads me into our cultural work. In March of this year, lavender Phoenix had collaborated with youth organizations across the city, youth groups from Chinese Progressive Association, PODER, CYC, to host a bilingual care, not cops, zine making workshop for youth. Our organizers engaged with the youth with agitating statistics on the egregious SFPD budget, and facilitated a space for them to warm up their brains and hearts to imagine a world without prisons and policing. And to really further envision one that centers on care healing for our people, all through art. What I really learned is that working class San Francisco youth are the ones who really know the city's fascist conditions the most intimately. It's clear through their zine contributions that they've really internalized these intense forms of policing in the schools on the streets with the unhoused, witnessing ice raids and fearing for their families. The zine was really a collective practice with working class youth where they connected their own personal experiences to the material facts of policing in the city, the budget, and put those experiences to paper.   Cheryl: Hey everyone. Cheryl here. So we've heard about Effigies in the Philippines, the AIDS Memorial Quilt, the Black Panther Party's newspaper, the Black Panther and Lavender Phoenix's Care Cop zine. Through these examples, we've learned about cultural work and art and narrative work on different scales internationally, nationally, locally and organizationally. With lavender Phoenix. What we're seeing is across movements across time. Cultural work has always been central to organizing. We're going to take another music break, but when we return, I'll introduce you to our next speaker. Hai, from Asian Refugees United, who will walk us through, their creative practice, which is food, as a form of cultural resistance, and we'll learn about how food ways can function as acts of survival, resistance, and also decolonization. So stay with us more soon when we return.   Cheryl: And we're back!!. You're listening to APEX express on 94.1 KPFA, 89.3 KPFB in Berkeley. 88.1. KFCF in Fresno and online@kpfa.org. That was “Juniper” by Minjoona, a project led by Korean American musician, Jackson Wright.  huge thanks to Jackson and the whole crew behind that track.  I am here with Hai from Asian Refugees United, who is a member QTViet Cafe Collective. A project under Asian Refugees United. QTViet Viet Cafe is a creative cultural hub that is dedicated to queer and trans viet Liberation through ancestral practices, the arts and intergenerational connection. This is a clip from what was a much longer conversation. This episode is all about the role of the artist in social movements and I think Hai brings a very interesting take to the conversation. Hai (ARU): I think that what is helping me is one, just building the muscle. So when we're so true to our vision and heart meets mind and body. So much of what QTViet Cafe is, and by extension Asian refugees and like, we're really using our cultural arts and in many ways, whether that's movement or poetry or written word or song or dance. And in many ways I've had a lot of experience in our food ways, and reclaiming those food ways. That's a very embodied experience. We're really trying to restore wholeness and health and healing in our communities, in our bodies and our minds and our families and our communities that have been displaced because of colonization, imperialism, capitalism. And so how do we restore, how do we have a different relationship and how do we restore? I think that from moving from hurt to healing is life and art. And so we need to take risk and trying to define life through art and whatever means that we can to make meaning and purpose and intention. I feel like so much of what art is, is trying to make meaning of the hurt in order to bring in more healing in our lives. For so long, I think I've been wanting a different relationship to food. For example, because I grew up section eight, food stamps, food bank. My mom and my parents doing the best they could, but also, yeah, grew up with Viet food, grew up with ingredients for my parents making food, mostly my mom that weren't necessarily all the best. And I think compared to Vietnam, where it's easier access. And there's a different kind of system around, needs around food and just easier access, more people are involved around the food system in Vietnam I think growing up in Turtle Island and seeing my parents struggle not just with food, but just with money and jobs it's just all connected. And I think that impacted my journey and. My own imbalance around health and I became a byproduct of diabetes and high cholesterol and noticed that in my family. So when I noticed, when I had type two diabetes when I was 18, made the conscious choice to, I knew I needed to have some type of, uh, I need to have a different relationship to my life and food included and just like cut soda, started kind of what I knew at the time, exercising as ways to take care of my body. And then it's honestly been now a 20 year journey of having a different relationship to not just food, but health and connection to mind, body, spirit. For me, choosing to have a different relationship in my life, like that is a risk. Choosing to eat something different like that is both a risk and an opportunity. For me that's like part of movement building like you have to. Be so in tune with my body to notice and the changes that are needed in order to live again. When I noticed, you know, , hearing other Viet folks experiencing diet related stuff and I think knowing what I know also, like politically around what's happening around our food system, both for the vie community here and also in Vietnam, how do we, how can this regular act of nourishing ourselves both be not just in art, something that should actually just honestly be an everyday need and an everyday symbol of caregiving and caretaking and care that can just be part of our everyday lives. I want a world where, it's not just one night where we're tasting the best and eating the best and being nourished, just in one Saturday night, but that it's just happening all the time because we're in right relationship with ourselves and each other and the earth that everything is beauty and we don't have to take so many risks because things are already in its natural divine. I think it takes being very conscious of our circumstances and our surroundings and our relationships with each other for that to happen. I remember reading in my early twenties, reading the role of, bring Coke basically to Vietnam during the war. I was always fascinated like, why are, why is Coke like on Viet altars all the time? And I always see them in different places. Whenever I would go back to Vietnam, I remember when I was seven and 12. Going to a family party and the classic shiny vinyl plastic, floral like sheet on a round table and the stools, and then these beautiful platters of food. But I'm always like, why are we drinking soda or coke and whatever else? My dad and the men and then my family, like drinking beer. And I was like, why? I've had periods in my life when I've gotten sick, physically and mentally sick. Those moments open up doors to take the risk and then also the opportunity to try different truth or different path. When I was 23 and I had just like crazy eczema and psoriasis and went back home to my parents for a while and I just started to learn about nourishing traditions, movement. I was Very critical of the us traditional nutrition ideas of what good nutrition is and very adamantly like opposing the food pyramid. And then in that kind of research, I was one thinking well, they're talking about the science of broths and like soups and talking about hard boiling and straining the broth and getting the gunk on the top. And I'm like, wait, my mom did that. And I was starting to connect what has my mom known culturally that now like science is catching up, you know? And then I started just reading, you know, like I think that my mom didn't know the sign mom. I was like, asked my mom like, did you know about this? And she's like, I mean, I just, this is, is like what ba ngoai said, you know? And so I'm like, okay, so culturally this, this is happening scientifically. This is what's being shared. And then I started reading about the politics of US-centric upheaval of monocultural agriculture essentially. When the US started to do the industrial Revolution and started to basically grow wheat and soy and just basically make sugar to feed lots of cows and create sugar to be put in products like Coke was one of them. And, and then, yeah, that was basically a way for the US government to make money from Vietnam to bring that over, to Vietnam. And that was introduced to our culture. It's just another wave of imperialism and colonization. And sadly, we know what, overprocessed, like refined sugars can do to our health. And sadly, I can't help but make the connections with what happened. In many ways, food and sugar are introduced through these systems of colonization and imperialism are so far removed from what we ate pre colonization. And so, so much of my journey around food has been, you know, it's not even art, it's just like trying to understand, how do we survive and we thrive even before so many. And you know, in some ways it is art. 'cause I making 40 pounds of cha ga for event, , the fish cake, like, that's something that, that our people have been doing for a long time and hand making all that. And people love the dish and I'm really glad that people enjoyed it and mm, it's like, oh yeah, it's art. But it's what people have been doing to survive and thrive for long, for so long, you know? , We have the right to be able to practice our traditional food ways and we have the right for food sovereignty and food justice. And we have the right to, by extension, like have clean waters and hospitable places to live and for our animal kin to live and for our plant kin to be able to thrive. bun cha ga, I think like it's an artful hopeful symbol of what is seasonal and relevant and culturally symbolic of our time. I think that, yes, the imminent, violent, traumatic war that are happening between people, in Vietnam and Palestine and Sudan. Honestly, like here in America. That is important. And I think we need to show, honestly, not just to a direct violence, but also very indirect violence on our bodies through the food that we're eating. Our land and waters are living through indirect violence with just like everyday pollutants and top soil being removed and industrialization. And so I think I'm just very cognizant of the kind of everyday art ways, life ways, ways of being that I think that are important to be aware of and both practice as resistance against the forces that are trying to strip away our livelihood every day. Cheryl: We just heard from Hai of Asian refugees United who shared about how food ways function as an embodied form of cultural work that is rooted in memory and also survival and healing. Hai talked about food as a practice and art that is lived in the body and is also shaped by displacement and colonization and capitalism and imperialism. I shared that through their journey with QTV at Cafe and Asian Refugees United. High was able to reflect on reclaiming traditional food ways as a way to restore health and wholeness and relationship to our bodies and to our families, to our communities, and to the earth. High. Also, traced out illness and imbalance as deeply connected to political systems that have disrupted ancestral knowledge and instead introduced extractive food systems and normalized everyday forms of soft violence through what we consume and the impact it has on our land. And I think the most important thing I got from our conversation was that high reminded us that nourishing ourselves can be both an act of care, an art form, and an act of resistance. And what we call art is often what people have always done to survive and thrive Food. For them is a practice of memory, and it's also a refusal of erasure and also a very radical vision of food sovereignty and healing and collective life outside of colonial violence and harm. As we close out tonight's episode, I want to return to the question that has guided us from the beginning, which is, what is the role of the artist in social movements? What we've heard tonight from Tony Cade Bambara call to make revolution irresistible to lavender Phoenix's cultural organizing here, internationally to Hai, reflections on food ways, and nourishing ourselves as resistance. It is Really clear to me. Art is not separate from struggle. It is how people make sense of systems of violence and carry memory and also practice healing and reimagining new worlds in the middle of ongoing violence. Cultural work helps our movements. Endure and gives us language when words fail, or ritual when grief is heavy, and practices that connect us, that reconnect us to our bodies and our histories and to each other. So whether that's through zines, or songs or murals, newspapers, or shared meals, art is a way of liberation again and again. I wanna thank all of our speakers today, Jenica, Angel. From Lavender Phoenix. Hi, from QTV Cafe, Asian Refugees United, And I also wanna thank you, our listeners for staying with us. You've been listening to Apex Express on KPFA. Take care of yourselves, take care of each other, and keep imagining the world that we're trying to build. That's important stuff. Cheryl Truong (she/they): Apex express is produced by Miko Lee, Paige Chung, Jalena Keane-Lee, Preeti Mangala Shekar. Shekar, Anuj Vaidya, Kiki Rivera, Swati Rayasam, Nate Tan, Hien Nguyen, Nikki Chan, and Cheryl Truong  Cheryl Truong: Tonight's show was produced by me, cheryl. Thanks to the team at KPFA for all of their support. And thank you for listening!  The post APEX Express – January 1, 2026 – The Role of the Artist in Social Movements appeared first on KPFA.

Please enjoy this episode from a podcast we love: When We All Get To Heaven. To share a song pick for the Rock That Doesn't Roll Christmas Special, call ‪(629) 204-4264‬ and leave a message. To join our Patreon community who make this show possible, go to https://patreon.com/rtdr----In 1993, more than 10 years into the AIDS epidemic, the Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco (MCC-SF) tries to remember all they've lost. We think about remembering too after encountering an archive of 1,200 cassette recordings of this queer church's services during the height of the epidemic. Whether you're a regular church goer or would never step into one, we invite you to spend time with this LGBTQ+ San Francisco church as it struggles to reconcile sexuality and faith in the midst of an existential crisis. For images and links about this episode visit https://www.heavenpodcast.org/episode-1.About the montage: The worship service in this episode was on February 28, 1993. The Dyke March proclamation was written and read by Rev. Lea Brown. Rev. Karen Foster read the statement that sexual orientation does not need to be changed. Jim Mitulski recalled his hospital visit with the man who recognized him by his shape. Paul Francis told strangers at a restaurant to get ugly lovers and Eric Rofes told his mother that he was going to stay safe and keep having sex. Cleve Jones had the vision of a thousand rotting corpses, Rev. Ron Russell Coons preached that we have AIDS as a community, and Rev. Troy Perry proclaimed a revival on Eureka Street. The other people heard in the episode are either unknown or did not want to be named.   When We All Get to Heaven is produced by Eureka Street Productions. It is co-created by Lynne Gerber, Siri Colom, and Ariana Nedelman. Our story editor is Sayre Quevedo. Our sound designer is David Herman. Our managing producer is Krissy Clark. Tim Dillinger is our consulting producer and Betsy Towner Levine is our fact-checker. We had additional story editing help from Sarah Ventre, Arwen Nicks, Allison Behringer, and Krissy Clark. For a complete list of credits, please visit http://heavenpodcast.org/credits.This project received generous support from individual donors, the Henry Luce Foundation (www.hluce.org), the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation, and California Humanities, a non-profit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities (www.CalHum.org).Eureka Street Productions has 501c3 status through our fiscal sponsor FJC: A Foundation of Philanthropic Funds.The music for this episode is from the Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco's archive. It was performed by MCC-SF's musicians and members with Bob Crocker and Jack Hoggatt-St.John as music directors. Additional music is by Tasty Morsels. Thanks to Paul Katz and Henry Machen for permission to use “June in San Francisco” from their fabulous 1991 musical Dirty Dreams of a Clean Cut Kid. The estate of Leonard Bernstein for the use of “Somewhere” from West Side Story. 

In 1993, more than 10 years into the AIDS epidemic, the Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco (MCC-SF) tries to remember all they've lost. We think about remembering too after encountering an archive of 1,200 cassette recordings of this queer church's services during the height of the epidemic. Whether you're a regular church goer or would never step into one, we invite you to spend time with this LGBTQ+ San Francisco church as it struggles to reconcile sexuality and faith in the midst of an existential crisis.  For images and links about this episode visit https://www.heavenpodcast.org/episode-1. About the montage: The worship service in this episode was on February 28, 1993. The Dyke March proclamation was written and read by Rev. Lea Brown. Rev. Karen Foster read the statement that sexual orientation does not need to be changed. Jim Mitulski recalled his hospital visit with the man who recognized him by his shape. Paul Francis told strangers at a restaurant to get ugly lovers and Eric Rofes told his mother that he was going to stay safe and keep having sex. Cleve Jones had the vision of a thousand rotting corpses, Rev. Ron Russell Coons preached that we have AIDS as a community, and Rev. Troy Perry proclaimed a revival on Eureka Street. The other people heard in the episode are either unknown or did not want to be named.    When We All Get to Heaven is produced by Eureka Street Productions. It is co-created by Lynne Gerber, Siri Colom, and Ariana Nedelman. Our story editor is Sayre Quevedo. Our sound designer is David Herman. Our managing producer is Krissy Clark. Tim Dillinger is our consulting producer and Betsy Towner Levine is our fact-checker. We had additional story editing help from Sarah Ventre, Arwen Nicks, Allison Behringer, and Krissy Clark. For a complete list of credits, please visit http://heavenpodcast.org/credits. This project received generous support from individual donors, the Henry Luce Foundation (www.hluce.org), the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation, and California Humanities, a non-profit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities (www.CalHum.org). Eureka Street Productions has 501c3 status through our fiscal sponsor FJC: A Foundation of Philanthropic Funds. The music for this episode is from the Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco's archive. It was performed by MCC-SF's musicians and members with Bob Crocker and Jack Hoggatt-St.John as music directors. Additional music is by Tasty Morsels.  Thanks to Paul Katz and Henry Machen for permission to use “June in San Francisco” from their fabulous 1991 musical Dirty Dreams of a Clean Cut Kid. The estate of Leonard Bernstein for the use of “Somewhere” from West Side Story.  Great thanks, as always, to the members and clergy of the Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco who made this project possible.   Get more Outward with Slate Plus! Join for weekly bonus episodes of Outward and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from the Outward show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or visit slate.com/outwardplus for access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1993, more than 10 years into the AIDS epidemic, the Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco (MCC-SF) tries to remember all they've lost. We think about remembering too after encountering an archive of 1,200 cassette recordings of this queer church's services during the height of the epidemic. Whether you're a regular church goer or would never step into one, we invite you to spend time with this LGBTQ+ San Francisco church as it struggles to reconcile sexuality and faith in the midst of an existential crisis.  For images and links about this episode visit https://www.heavenpodcast.org/episode-1. About the montage: The worship service in this episode was on February 28, 1993. The Dyke March proclamation was written and read by Rev. Lea Brown. Rev. Karen Foster read the statement that sexual orientation does not need to be changed. Jim Mitulski recalled his hospital visit with the man who recognized him by his shape. Paul Francis told strangers at a restaurant to get ugly lovers and Eric Rofes told his mother that he was going to stay safe and keep having sex. Cleve Jones had the vision of a thousand rotting corpses, Rev. Ron Russell Coons preached that we have AIDS as a community, and Rev. Troy Perry proclaimed a revival on Eureka Street. The other people heard in the episode are either unknown or did not want to be named.    When We All Get to Heaven is produced by Eureka Street Productions. It is co-created by Lynne Gerber, Siri Colom, and Ariana Nedelman. Our story editor is Sayre Quevedo. Our sound designer is David Herman. Our managing producer is Krissy Clark. Tim Dillinger is our consulting producer and Betsy Towner Levine is our fact-checker. We had additional story editing help from Sarah Ventre, Arwen Nicks, Allison Behringer, and Krissy Clark. For a complete list of credits, please visit http://heavenpodcast.org/credits. This project received generous support from individual donors, the Henry Luce Foundation (www.hluce.org), the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation, and California Humanities, a non-profit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities (www.CalHum.org). Eureka Street Productions has 501c3 status through our fiscal sponsor FJC: A Foundation of Philanthropic Funds. The music for this episode is from the Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco's archive. It was performed by MCC-SF's musicians and members with Bob Crocker and Jack Hoggatt-St.John as music directors. Additional music is by Tasty Morsels.  Thanks to Paul Katz and Henry Machen for permission to use “June in San Francisco” from their fabulous 1991 musical Dirty Dreams of a Clean Cut Kid. The estate of Leonard Bernstein for the use of “Somewhere” from West Side Story.  Great thanks, as always, to the members and clergy of the Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco who made this project possible.  Get more Outward with Slate Plus! Join for weekly bonus episodes of Outward and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from the Outward show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or visit slate.com/outwardplus for access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1993, more than 10 years into the AIDS epidemic, the Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco (MCC-SF) tries to remember all they've lost. We think about remembering too after encountering an archive of 1,200 cassette recordings of this queer church's services during the height of the epidemic. Whether you're a regular church goer or would never step into one, we invite you to spend time with this LGBTQ+ San Francisco church as it struggles to reconcile sexuality and faith in the midst of an existential crisis.  For images and links about this episode visit https://www.heavenpodcast.org/episode-1. About the montage: The worship service in this episode was on February 28, 1993. The Dyke March proclamation was written and read by Rev. Lea Brown. Rev. Karen Foster read the statement that sexual orientation does not need to be changed. Jim Mitulski recalled his hospital visit with the man who recognized him by his shape. Paul Francis told strangers at a restaurant to get ugly lovers and Eric Rofes told his mother that he was going to stay safe and keep having sex. Cleve Jones had the vision of a thousand rotting corpses, Rev. Ron Russell Coons preached that we have AIDS as a community, and Rev. Troy Perry proclaimed a revival on Eureka Street. The other people heard in the episode are either unknown or did not want to be named.    When We All Get to Heaven is produced by Eureka Street Productions. It is co-created by Lynne Gerber, Siri Colom, and Ariana Nedelman. Our story editor is Sayre Quevedo. Our sound designer is David Herman. Our managing producer is Krissy Clark. Tim Dillinger is our consulting producer and Betsy Towner Levine is our fact-checker. We had additional story editing help from Sarah Ventre, Arwen Nicks, Allison Behringer, and Krissy Clark. For a complete list of credits, please visit http://heavenpodcast.org/credits. This project received generous support from individual donors, the Henry Luce Foundation (www.hluce.org), the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation, and California Humanities, a non-profit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities (www.CalHum.org). Eureka Street Productions has 501c3 status through our fiscal sponsor FJC: A Foundation of Philanthropic Funds. The music for this episode is from the Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco's archive. It was performed by MCC-SF's musicians and members with Bob Crocker and Jack Hoggatt-St.John as music directors. Additional music is by Tasty Morsels.  Thanks to Paul Katz and Henry Machen for permission to use “June in San Francisco” from their fabulous 1991 musical Dirty Dreams of a Clean Cut Kid. The estate of Leonard Bernstein for the use of “Somewhere” from West Side Story.  Great thanks, as always, to the members and clergy of the Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco who made this project possible.  Get more Outward with Slate Plus! Join for weekly bonus episodes of Outward and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from the Outward show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or visit slate.com/outwardplus for access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1993, more than 10 years into the AIDS epidemic, the Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco (MCC-SF) tries to remember all they've lost. We think about remembering too after encountering an archive of 1,200 cassette recordings of this queer church's services during the height of the epidemic. Whether you're a regular church goer or would never step into one, we invite you to spend time with this LGBTQ+ San Francisco church as it struggles to reconcile sexuality and faith in the midst of an existential crisis.  For images and links about this episode visit https://www.heavenpodcast.org/episode-1. About the montage: The worship service in this episode was on February 28, 1993. The Dyke March proclamation was written and read by Rev. Lea Brown. Rev. Karen Foster read the statement that sexual orientation does not need to be changed. Jim Mitulski recalled his hospital visit with the man who recognized him by his shape. Paul Francis told strangers at a restaurant to get ugly lovers and Eric Rofes told his mother that he was going to stay safe and keep having sex. Cleve Jones had the vision of a thousand rotting corpses, Rev. Ron Russell Coons preached that we have AIDS as a community, and Rev. Troy Perry proclaimed a revival on Eureka Street. The other people heard in the episode are either unknown or did not want to be named.    When We All Get to Heaven is produced by Eureka Street Productions. It is co-created by Lynne Gerber, Siri Colom, and Ariana Nedelman. Our story editor is Sayre Quevedo. Our sound designer is David Herman. Our managing producer is Krissy Clark. Tim Dillinger is our consulting producer and Betsy Towner Levine is our fact-checker. We had additional story editing help from Sarah Ventre, Arwen Nicks, Allison Behringer, and Krissy Clark. For a complete list of credits, please visit http://heavenpodcast.org/credits. This project received generous support from individual donors, the Henry Luce Foundation (www.hluce.org), the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation, and California Humanities, a non-profit partner of the National Endowment for the Humanities (www.CalHum.org). Eureka Street Productions has 501c3 status through our fiscal sponsor FJC: A Foundation of Philanthropic Funds. The music for this episode is from the Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco's archive. It was performed by MCC-SF's musicians and members with Bob Crocker and Jack Hoggatt-St.John as music directors. Additional music is by Tasty Morsels.  Thanks to Paul Katz and Henry Machen for permission to use “June in San Francisco” from their fabulous 1991 musical Dirty Dreams of a Clean Cut Kid. The estate of Leonard Bernstein for the use of “Somewhere” from West Side Story.  Great thanks, as always, to the members and clergy of the Metropolitan Community Church of San Francisco who made this project possible.  Get more Outward with Slate Plus! Join for weekly bonus episodes of Outward and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from the Outward show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or visit slate.com/outwardplus for access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

America is under attack by the wolves in the federal government who are chewing it apart. As the nation spirals into confusion and despair, we are left wondering—why does it feel like no one is fighting back?As Harvey Milk said, “Get out of the bars and into the streets!” Now more than ever, we need to step away from our screens, show up in public spaces, and organize. In the absence of leadership, it's up to all of us to lead.As a protégé of Harvey Milk, Cleve Jones became a key figure in the gay rights movement in the ‘70s and he became the creator of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, one of history's most powerful public memorials. Cleve's activism spans decades, from fighting the Reagan administration's neglect of the AIDS crisis to today's labor rights battles.Listen as we take a look at: • AIDS denialist Robert Kennedy Jr. as Trump's Secretary of Health.• Why language matters, let's stop calling Democrats "Dems."• Why grassroots movements need to come out of the closet to organize effectively.

This month we are celebrating Cleve Jones and his 70th birthday! Cleve is an amazing champion and activist for the LGBTQ+ community. He arrived in San Francisco in the early 1970's and worked for Harvey Milk. Cleve's achievements are to long to list on this page, so on our next … Continue reading → The post Show Notes – Sept. 22, 2024 appeared first on Outbeat Radio News.

Send us a textWhat does a visionary leader have to say about the future of LGBTQ+ support? Avery Belyeu, CEO of the Montrose Center, joins us to discuss the upcoming Out for Good event and the center's vital role in Houston's LGBTQ+ community. Avery reflects on their seven months at the helm, the collaborative spirit they've encountered, and the remarkable contributions of this year's honorees, Greg Ju and Ian Haddock. This episode unveils the rich history and extensive services provided by the Montrose Center, showcasing its unwavering commitment to the community.Turn elegance into empowerment at the Out for Good Gala, Houston's most anticipated LGBTQ+ event. We'll guide you through what to expect, from captivating entertainment to meaningful networking opportunities. And don't forget to whip out your best black and white cocktail attire! Meet Kelly Nichols, the new director of development, and discover her ambitious vision for the Montrose Center. With a fundraising goal of over $400,000, this event is more than just a celebration; it's a cornerstone for future community support. Stay tuned for insights into upcoming listening sessions and the launch of a permanent community advisory board, emphasizing a future built on engagement and inclusivity.Travel back in time with Cleve Jones as he recounts his life-changing relationship with Harvey Milk, revealing how moments of mentorship and tragedy fueled a lifelong crusade for justice. Explore Ruth Brown's lasting impact on the LGBTQIA+ community through a unique musical tribute headed up by Broadway Actress Sheryl McCallum. Sheryl is at STAGES HOUSTON starring in MISS RHYTHM:  THE LEGEND OF RUTH BROWN running until October 13th. Tickets are available at:  https://stageshouston.com/event/miss-rhythm-the-legend-of-ruth-brown/#open_drawerWe wrap up with a critical look at global LGBTQ+ news, from historic pride marches in Serbia to Australia's inclusive census updates. Queer Voices airs in Houston Texas on 90.1FM KPFT and is heard as a podcast here. Queer Voices hopes to entertain as well as illuminate LGBTQ issues in Houston and beyond. Check out our socials at:https://www.facebook.com/QueerVoicesKPFT/ andhttps://www.instagram.com/queervoices90.1kpft/

In the realm of LGBTQ and civil rights politics, there are few people more experienced than the rightfully esteemed Cleve Jones. We've interviewed Cleve before, but in light of the upcoming election and the onslaught of anti-LGBTQ legislation and sentiment coming from the conservative side of the political spectrum, we wanted to have Cleve back on our show to give us his thoughts on how we as queer, kinky, and otherwise marginalized people can rally the vote in November and maintain our freedoms and move our causes forward.

Forty six years ago, California held its first statewide vote on gay rights. Prop 6, also known as the Briggs Initiative, sought to ban gay teachers from the classroom. The battle to stop that proposition is the subject of Slate's current “Slow Burn” podcast season, chronicling an explosive moment in both Bay Area and gay liberation history. It follows the political trajectory of Harvey Milk, as well as a wave of anti-gay backlash from conservative politicians across the country. We speak with Slow Burn host Christina Cauterucci and early gay rights advocates Cleve Jones, Gwenn Craig and Ruth Mahaney, about lasting lessons from the Briggs Initiative and those who opposed it. Guests: Christina Cauterucci, host of Slate's "Slow Burn: Gays Against Briggs" podcast Cleve Jones, author, "When We Rise," organizer with UNITE HERE, a hospitality workers' union. Also co-founder of the AIDS Foundation and founder of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt Ruth Mahaney, former professor of gender and LGBTQ studies Gwenn Craig, queer elder who has worked on several electoral candidate and issues campaigns in San Francisco, including the supervisorial campaign of Harvey Milk and San Franciscans Against Proposition 6

Today, I have two special guests joining me in studio, Kevin McHale is back for his second time on the show and I'm so excited to welcome Austin P. McKenzie for the first time. Separately they are amazing performers on stage screen and in music, but together they are a powerhouse couple, encouraging each other in their art and creating beautiful memories together outside of work as well. Of course unless you've been living under a rock you know that Kevin played Artie Abrams on one of my favorite shows, Glee along with his own music dancing, acting and much more. Austin wowed audiences on both coasts with his performance as Melchior in Deaf West Theatre's “Spring Awakening” as well as being front and center again as the younger Cleve Jones in “When We Rise” and has made some impressive music of his own, so let's get into it. SummaryKevin McHale and Austin P. McKenzie discuss their relationship, their experiences in the entertainment industry, and their music collaborations. They talk about their journey in the music industry, including their individual projects and their work together. They also discuss their experiences on shows like Glee, When We Rise, and Drag Race. The conversation highlights the importance of communication, personal space, and the value of their creative collaborations. Overall, the conversation showcases their passion for music, their growth as artists, and their strong bond as a couple. Kevin and Austin discuss their journey in the music industry, the progress they have made, and the importance of being critical and supportive. They also talk about their experiences with album listening parties and the discomfort of receiving attention. The conversation touches on the changes in the music industry and the challenges faced by performers. They share advice for upcoming performers and discuss their upcoming projects. The episode concludes with a discussion about their Christmas traditions and their involvement in the Snixmas fundraiser. Takeaways • Starting a music journey requires incremental progress and the ability to adapt to change. • Being critical and supportive is important in helping artists grow and improve. • Receiving attention can be uncomfortable for some performers. • The music industry has undergone significant changes, including the rise of streaming platforms. • Giving back and supporting charitable causes is important for artists. Chapters 00:00Introduction 01:36Kevin and Austin's Relationship 03:10Connection through Spring Awakening and Glee 04:43Meeting on When We Rise 07:42Moving in Together 10:14Valuing Personal Space 11:28Importance of Communication 12:11Music Collaboration: Alpha Beats 13:44Austin's First Time Directing 15:52Chick-Lif-A and Drag Race 17:48Showmance Podcast 21:48Austin's Journey in Music 25:18Speech and Debate 29:42Spring Awakening Experience 34:50When We Rise 37:30Austin's Music Journey 40:30Kevin's Perspective on Austin's Music 40:58Starting the Music Journey 41:25The Progress Made 42:21Being Critical and Supportive 42:52Album Listening Party 43:22Uncomfortable with Attention 43:39Cringy Moments 44:01Learning from Feedback 45:00Balancing Positive and Negative Feedback 45:37Importance of Dropping Ego 46:49Changes in the Music Industry 50:09Upcoming Album Release 51:31Challenges in the Music and Acting Industries 56:19Emoting in Singing 58:15Advice for Upcoming Performers 59:42Upcoming Projects 01:01:21Snixmas and Giving Back

In this week's episode, Patrick and Tommie discuss the Israel-Hamas war, learn about canine vaccine hesitancy, meet the Magyar Agar, celebrate the greatest First Lady and the meanest man in Broadway history, review the history of Cleve Jones and the AIDS Memorial Quilt, relate their own stories on National Coming Out Day, discover something new about American Revolution war hero General Casimir Pulaski, review a case that challenges a state's conversion therapy ban, get frustrated over congressional dysfunction, and name their favorite depictions of queer people coming out.

This month Charley Beal and Cleve Jones return to our show to talk about the Flag in the Map exhibit coming to Napa Valley College on October 6, 2023. This is going to be a free event open to the general public and will feature a speaking program at 7:30PM … Continue reading →

This week we're traveling back to the 1970s with our 100th Episode Spectacular!!! Join us as we learn about activists Cleve Jones and Anne Kronenberg, Prop 6, and the Coors Boycott, before we look back on our favorite segments from past episodes.  Sources: Footage of 1978 Board of Supervisors Meeting, Anne Kronenberg: https://archive.org/details/glbths_1999-52_012_sc Photo of Anne Kronenberg Delivering Eulogy, SJSU Archives: https://digitalcollections.sjsu.edu/islandora/object/islandora%3A80_364 Anne Kronenberg, Faculty Biography, available at https://npli.sph.harvard.edu/about/people/anne-kronenberg/ Japhy Grant, "Immortalized in Milk, Anne Kronenberg Still Sees the Big Picture," Queerty, available at https://www.queerty.com/immortalized-in-milk-anne-kronenberg-still-sees-the-big-picture-20090122 Allyson Brantley, "Taking on the Coors Brewing Company (And the Conservative Family Behind It," Public Seminar, available at https://publicseminar.org/essays/taking-on-the-coors-brewing-company-and-the-conservative-family-behind-it/ Taplines Episode on How Coors Busted Its Union and Boosted Its Boycott, available at https://vinepair.com/taplines-podcast/coors-labor-union-boycott/ Allyson Brantly, "The 1970s Beer Boycott Inspiring Amazon Organizers Today," Zocalo, available at https://www.zocalopublicsquare.org/2022/04/21/the-1970s-coors-beer-boycott/ideas/essay/ Cleve Jones, When We Rise: My Life in the Movement (New York: Hachette Books, 2017).  https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Milk-actors-and-the-people-they-play-3184353.php  "Vote No On Proposition 6" https://www.jstor.org/stable/community.13910627  Jason Edward Black and Charles E. Morris (eds.), An Archive of Hope: Harvey Milk's Speeches and Writings (University of California Press, 2013). https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/j.ctt24hsnt  Jackie M. Blount, "How Sweet It Is!" Counterpoints 367 Sexualities in Education: A Reader (2012): 46-60. https://www.jstor.org/stable/42981383  Katherine Turk, ""Our Militancy is in Our Openness": Gay Employment Rights Activism in California and the Question of Sexual Orientation in Sex Equality Law," Law and History Review 31, no.2 (2013): 423-69. https://www.jstor.org/stable/23489486  Karen Graves, "Presidential Address: Political Pawns in an Educational Endgame: Reflections on Bryant, Briggs, and Some Twentieth-Century School Questions," History of Education Quarterly, 53, no.1 (2013): 1-20.  https://www.jstor.org/stable/24481661  Kirk Honeycutt, "'Milk': Film Review" The Hollywood Reporter (2 November 2008). https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/milk-review-2008-movie-125079/#!   RT: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/milk  https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/emile-hirsch-interview-jail-rehab-1201758602/  Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milk_(2008_American_film)  David Edelstein, "'Milk' Is Much More Than A Martyr Movie," Fresh Air NPR (26 November 2008). https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=97518380  

Cleve Jones is an LGBT+ activist who initiated the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, an endeavor that brought attention to the AIDS epidemic in the 80s through 90s. This history is not taught in our schools so we are very honored to talk about it with the man who was a true pioneer in bringing us all together. We remember the Aids Memorial Quilt and the impact it still has on our community as we weather the AIDS crises.

Cleve Jones is an LGBT+ activist who initiated the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, an endeavor that brought attention to the AIDS epidemic in the 80s through 90s. This history is not taught in our schools so we are very honored to talk about it with the man who was a true pioneer in bringing us all together. We remember the Aids Memorial Quilt and the impact it still has on our community as we weather the AIDS crises.

The AIDS Memorial Quilt will return to Golden Gate Park on June 11-12, with the biggest display in San Francisco history. Cleve Jones joins Total SF hosts Peter Hartlaub and Heather Knight to talk about his first time visiting San Francisco, how the quilt started and why activism in LGBTQ communities is as important as ever. Produced by Peter Hartlaub. Music is "The Tide Will Rise" by the Sunset Shipwrecks off their album "Community" and cable car bell-ringing by 8-time champion Byron Cobb. Follow Total SF adventures at www.sfchronicle.com/totalsf Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Activist Cleve Jones talks about his four decades in the center of movements for AIDS, LGBTQ, and labor rights. His memoir is, When We Rise.

IMRU RADIO 220523 (From 211129): Harvey... Harvey... Harvey... = Cleve Jones talking about his friend + Our 1977 interview with Harvey Milk + White Night Riot + Gus Van Sant with a "Milk" Ghost Story + A 2010 Harvey Milk Day Rally. [Hosted by: David Hunt. Produced by: Steve Pride. Recorded in part at KPFK 90.7 FM Los Angeles.] --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/imruradio/message

This minisode is a continuation of last week's episode, the assassination of Harvey Milk. STEPHANIE talks about the White Night Riots in the aftermath of the Dan White ruling.  ALSO MENTIONED: Blue wall of silence, the gay agenda, Cleve Jones, Herstory on the Rocks podcast, cringe emoji, Dead Kennedys, He Man, young heroes, protecting + serving, the blurts of times, Maintenance Phase podcast, pride month, Disney boycott, and frozen Marges. For source information on each scandal and to peruse our online shop: SITE

Activist Cleve Jones has lived in the Castro for five decades but now he faces eviction after a wealthy new landlord bought his building and more than doubled his rent. Chronicle reporter Tony Bravo joins host Cecilia Lei to discuss the tense dispute and Jones explains what's at stake when people of his generation are displaced from 'gayborhoods' like the Castro. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our new LGBTQ+ elders project is here! Barbara Satin talks about her "ministry of presence", making sure that trans people are a loud and visible part of the LGBTQ+ community. After coming out in the late '90s, Barbara quickly learned that it was "important for them to have an understanding of who we are and to actually see somebody and interact with somebody and to know and respect a trans person as a positive role model." Barbara Satin is 87 years old. Click here to listen to the full interview with Cleve Jones that is excerpted in this episode. A condensed transcript of each week's interview is posted on The Advocate's website in the afternoon (or earlier if the coffee hits right). LGBTQ&A is hosted by Jeffrey Masters and produced by The Advocate magazine, in partnership with GLAAD. Follow us on Twitter: @lgbtqpod

This is a time machine!!!!!!! We're launching a new series on the podcast dedicated exclusively to the stories of LGBTQ+ elders. Over the last five years, it's the interviews with the oldest members of our community that have connected the most with our listeners. And that goes for me too. Speaking to people like Miss Major Griffin Gracy, Magora Kennedy, Cleve Jones, Charles Silverstein, and Tracey "Africa" Norman is where I've found the most inspiration. This Tuesday (3/1), we're kicking things off with Barbara Satin, a faith leader and 87-year-old trans woman from Minneapolis. If you have any suggestions for LGBTQ+ elders who have amazing stories that you think we should know about, shoot me a message. I'd love to hear about them. Here are links to the different voices heard in this episode: Mark Segal, Charles Silverstein, Ben Daniels (from The National Theatre in London's production of A Normal Heart), Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, and Kate Bornstein. LGBTQ&A is hosted by Jeffrey Masters and produced by The Advocate magazine, in partnership with GLAAD. Follow us on Twitter: @lgbtqpod

IMRU SHOW 211129: Harvey... Harvey... Harvey... Cleve Jones talking about his friend + Our 1977 interview with Harvey Milk + White Night Riot + Gus Van Sant with a "Milk" Ghost Story + A 2010 Harvey Milk Day Rally. [Hosted by: David Hunt. Produced by: Steve Pride. Recorded in part at KPFK 90.7 FM Los Angeles.] --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/imruradio/message

Une histoire de la lutte LGBT des années soixante à nos jours, après que l'étincelle des émeutes de Stonewall a embrasé l'action militante qui, de New York, devait se répandre partout dans le monde.De San Francisco à Paris en passant par Amsterdam, entre les premières Gay Pride, l'élection d'Harvey Milk, la « dépénalisation » française, l'épidémie du Sida et les premiers mariages homosexuels, ces quelques décennies de lutte s'incarnent au travers de nombreux témoignages d'acteurs et actrices de cette révolution arc-en-ciel.Avec la participation de : Bertrand Delanoë, Robert Badinter, Gérard Lefort, Dustin Lance Black, John Cameron Mitchell, Cleve Jones, Hervé Latapie, Lillian Faderman, Marie Kirschen, Didier Lestrade, Gérard Koskovich, Marie-Jo Bonnet, Edmund White, Jenny Bel'airBonus DVD :Autour de L'étincelle, avec Benoît Masocco (20')Entretiens : Robert Badinter (22') - Marie-Jo Bonnet (22') - Bertrand Delanoë (12') - Didier Lestrade (15')Biofilmographie de Benoît MasoccoAudio : VOST DD 2.0 - Sous-titrage : Français, AnglaisFormat TV : 16/9 Anamorphique - Format Cinéma: 1.78DVD Pal Zone 2

Part One- from the archives (2012) AIDS activist Cleve Jones, who came up with the idea for the AIDS Quilt. Part Two- John Cunningham, chief executive of the National AIDS Memorial. This month marks the 40th anniversary of the first reported AIDS cases in the United States.

In 1985, Gert McMullin was one of the first San Franciscans to put a stitch on the AIDS Quilt, the quilt that began with one memorial square in honor of a man who had died of AIDS, and that now holds some 95,000 names. Gert never planned it this way, but over the decades she has become the Keeper of the Quilt and has stewarded it, repaired it, tended it, traveled with it and conserved it for some 33 years. Gert knows the power of sewing. In 2020, when COVID-19 hit, Gert was one of the first Bay Area citizens to begin sewing masks—PPE for nurses and health care workers who were lacking proper protection—masks she made from fabric left over from the making of the AIDS Quilt. The comfort, outrage and honoring of an earlier pandemic being used to protect people from a new one. In January of 2020 The AIDS Memorial Quilt, now part of The National AIDS Memorial, returned home to the Bay Area after 16 years in Atlanta. It took six 52-foot semis to get it there. The over sixty tons of quilt, is made up of about 48,000 panels, each 3 x 6 feet, the size of a grave. The extensive AIDS Archive, which Gert gathered, collected and protected since its earliest days, is now part of The American Folklife Center at The Library of Congress in Washington, DC. This piece features stories of Gert McMullin and the AIDS Memorial Quilt, the Gay Rights Movement in San Francisco, Harvey Milk and The White Night Riots and more. With interviews with LGBT Rights activist Cleve Jones who worked with Harvey Milk and conceived of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, and John Cunningham, Executive Director of the National AIDS Memorial.

We discuss the AIDS epidemic and the creation of the largest piece of folk art in the world, the AIDS memorial quilt.

Radio GAG celebrates the life and advocacy of Harvey Milk with a two hour broadcast, featuring special guests including Harvey’s nephew, Stuart Milk of the Harvey Milk Foundation and human rights activist, Cleve Jones. Featured content includes Harvey Milk’s “political will” courtesy of Milk colleagues Walter Caplan and Dan Nicoletta, originally remastered from the cassette recording by Jenni Olson and friends. Additional archival news clips courtesy of Pacifica Radio Archives. Hosts: Sarah Germain Lilly and Josh Tjaden

Legendary LGBT Activist, Author, and lecturer Cleve Jones talks with us about the gay liberation movement, the AIDS Crisis, and surviving and thriving through a pandemic. Nick and Brian were introduced to Cleve through one of our Leadership Academy graduates, Joshua Sanchez. To learn more about Cleve, his work, his books, and more visit clevejones.comIf you like what you hear and want to support The Source LGBT+ Center in Tulare County, visit thesourcelgbt.orgSupport the show (http://paypal.me/thesourcelgbt)

Jeffrey Masters is an on-air host, writer & producer.  Director of podcasts at Pride Media, he is the host and creator of the popular interview podcast, LGBTQ&A (produced by The Advocate magazine and GLAAD). The podcast has been recommended by The New York Times and has featured interviews with Pete Buttigieg, Laverne Cox, and Roxane Gay.  As a host, Jeffrey specializes in long-form interviews and is currently documenting the stories of the LGBTQ+ community on his podcast, LGBTQ&A. (You can watch his sit-down with Pete Buttigieg here.) LGBTQ&A has been featured in The New York Times, The Advocate (this profile is particularly flattering), USA Today, NBC, GLAAD, NewNowNext, People Magazine, Page Six, and was ranked #2 on a list of the top podcasts to listen to by Buzzfeed   He's appeared on NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour and have written for The Advocate (including the August 2018 cover story), Out, HuffPost, PopSugar, Into (RIP), Pride, HIV Plus magazine, and Hello Mr.                        Here's what Logo TV had to say when they included him on their inaugural Logo30 list (as well as the video feature you can watch here):​ "Whether he’s chatting with seminal AIDS advocate Cleve Jones or rising powerhouses like Our Lady J and Keiynan Lonsdale, Masters digs deep, surpassing expected coming out stories in favor of examining specific life moments that have defined the queer luminaries we love." And click here to watch his hosting reel. @jeffmasters1 @lgbtqpod Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  Town Square with Ernie Manouse airs at 3 p.m. CT. Tune in on 88.7FM or listen online. Join the discussion at 888-486-9677, questions@townsquaretalk.org or @townsquaretalk. Cleve Jones, AIDS and LGBTQ+ rights activist, discusses the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, the world's largest piece of community folk art, and the parallels he sees between the American government's response to the AIDS virus during the 1980s and the current response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Jones is... Read More

How will COVD-19 transform our community's physical spaces? The legendary activist, Cleve Jones joins us to talk about what will happen to the gayborhoods, why we need to start thinking about the queer community in economic terms, and talks about the current state of the LGBTQ+ movement. LGBTQ&A is hosted by Jeffrey Masters and produced by The Advocate magazine, in partnership with GLAAD. @lgbtqpod

In this month's episode of Graying Rainbows listener Lou Poulain shares his story of coming out in his sixties. Books and Episodes Mentioned: GR 31 with Kristin Kalbli of the Straight Spouses Network The Gay Revolution: The Story of the Struggle  by Lillian Faderman (2016). Faderman was interviewed in GR 1. Right Side of History: 100 Years of LGBTQI Activism by Adrian Brooks  (2015). The Stonewall Reader by the New York Public Library (2019). When We Rise: My Life in the Movement  by Cleve Jones (2016). Harvey Milk: His Lives and Death by Lillian Faderman (2019). Discussed with Faderman in GR 14. Additional Links: Dan Savage's Podcast OK 2 Be LGBT-- check your podcasting app Milk  starring Sean Penn (2009). The Life and Times of Harvey Milk (documentary) 1984. Announcements: On October 17, 2020 Dr. Campbell will be speaking at the online event Centering the Margins 2020: A Summit for LGBTQ Nontheists sponsored by the LGBTQ Humanist Alliance. Click here to register. Send email to grayingrainbows@gmail.com or post voice feedback at http://speakpipe.com/docartemis. You can now support Graying Rainbows via Patreon at http://patreon.com/grayingrainbows Connect on Social Media: Twitter: @GrayingR Facebook page: https://fb.me/grayingrainbows Public MeWe page: https://mewe.com/p/grayingrainbowscomingoutlgbtlaterinlife Email Dr. Campbell for an invitation to our new group on MeWe.

In 1985, Gert McMullin was one of the first San Franciscans to put a stitch on the AIDS Quilt, the quilt that began with one memorial square in honor of a man who had died of AIDS, and that now holds some 95,000 names. Gert never planned it this way, but over the decades she has become the Keeper of the Quilt and has stewarded it, repaired it, tended it, traveled with it and conserved it for some 33 years now. Gert knows the power of sewing. In 2020, when COVID-19 hit, Gert was one of the first Bay Area citizens to begin sewing masks—PPE for nurses and health care workers who were lacking proper protection—masks she makes from fabric left over from the making of the AIDS Quilt. The comfort, outrage and honoring of an earlier pandemic being used to protect people from a new one. In January of 2020 The AIDS Memorial Quilt, now part of The National AIDS Memorial, returned home to the Bay Area after 16 years in Atlanta. It took six 52-foot semis to get it there. The over sixty tons of quilt, is made up of about 48,000 panels, each 3 x 6 feet, the size of a grave. The extensive AIDS Archive, which Gert gathered, collected and protected since its earliest days, is now part of The American Folklife Center at The Library of Congress in Washington, DC. The story of Gert McMullin and the AIDS Memorial Quilt, the Gay Rights Movement in San Francisco, Harvey Milk, The White Night Riots. With interviews with LGBT Rights activist Cleve Jones who worked with Harvey Milk and conceived of the AIDS Memorial Quilt, and John Cunningham, Executive Director of the National AIDS Memorial.

This month we continued our coverage of how the corona virus is impacting the LGBTQ community.  Cathy Renna, from InterPride, shared information about the Global Pride celebration being planned for June 27 online.  We shared 2 weekly messages from local activist Cleve Jones and heard from the assistant editor of … Continue reading →

In this special episode of Queerantine + Chill with activist and author Cleve Jones (he/him/his), we compare the beginning of the AIDS epidemic to the coronavirus pandemic, discuss how the quarantine is impacting working people, and so much more. This conversation was recorded on April 5, 2020.

In 1985 activists hand-stitched a giant quilt to commemorate friends and relatives killed by AIDS, and to campaign for more funding and research into the disease. It was the brain child of Cleve Jones, who explains to Rebecca Kesby what it was like to live through the HIV/AIDS epidemic in San Francisco. How the LGBT community had to pull together, as victims of AIDS were ostracised by the wider community during their worst moment of suffering. (Photo: A section of the AIDS Memorial Quilt. Getty Images)

Season 1 Episode 3: What in gay hell???Everything is canceled, but we are back! This week with featured guest, the most Photographed Nun in the World, Sister Roma! Tune in, because we really do end up having some fun this week, even through this extremely difficult time.Marc gives us a a quick update on social distancing and the facts on the serious crisis we are all facing.We find out about Sister Roma’s RuPaul’s Drag Race Viewing Party’s audience reaction to the announcement about about Sherry Pie being accused of sexual harassment, catfishing, and getting kicked off Drag Race. Sister Roma informs us about the Queer Nightlife Fund established by Race Bannon, Juanita MORE!, and Cleve Jones. Find out about donating to the fund or see if you qualify to apply for assistance for the fund. https://sfqueernightlifefund.orgDid you see what @Floridamaniac tweeted about @Sister_Roma and @Heklina?Heklina pitches Creative Director Sister Roma on a porn idea that is, frankly, in very bad TASTE - and Roma thinks she should do it.New Segment! Aunt Jukie joins us for a new segment about sex, sexuality, and sexual health and we find out what we know (and don’t know) about sexual health concerns that we know people have about the transmission of "IT!" Spoiler alert - any close contact can transmit this virus!Email your sex, sexuality, and sexual health questions to Aunt Jukie for fugure segments to producer@dragtimewithheklina.comHeklina asks for your quarantine recipes for her future cooking in the kitchen with Heklina video segments. Email your recipes to producer@dragtimewithheklina.comSUBSCRIBE, rate, or review ‘Drag Time with Heklina’ wherever you get your podcasts. If you want to support us by donating or tipping us, we are $DragTime on CashApp or you can visit our website for other ways to donate. Special thanks to our special guests @Sister_Roma and @JukieSunshine Artwork is by @MisterBNationResources • Centers for Disease Control (CDC) • World Health Organization • Johns Hopkins Medical Corona Virus Resource Center • Johns Hopkins Medical COVID-19 Global Cases Map Support Drag Time with Heklina by donating to their Tip Jar: https://tips.pinecast.com/jar/drag-time-with-heklina

Sen. Elizabeth Warren is running for president with a plan to fight the opioid epidemic. Her legislation would dramatically expand access to addiction treatment and overdose prevention, and it would cost $100 billion over 10 years. Addiction experts agree that this is the kind of money the United States needs to fight the opioid crisis. But it’s a really expensive idea, to help a deeply stigmatized population. How would a President Warren get this through Congress?  It’s been done before, with the legislation Warren is using as a blueprint for her proposal. In 1990, Congress passed the Ryan White Care Act, the first national coordinated response to the AIDS crisis. In the decades since, the federal government has dedicated billions of dollars to the fight against AIDS, and it’s revolutionized care for people with this once-deadly disease.  But by the time President George H.W. Bush signed the bill into law, hundreds of thousands of people in the US already had HIV/AIDS, and tens of thousands had died.  In this episode: how an epidemic begins, and how it ends. We look at what it took to get the federal government to finally act on AIDS, and what that means for Warren’s plan to fight the opioid crisis, today.  We always want to hear from you! Please send comments and questions to impact@vox.com. Further listening and reading:  When We Rise: My Life in the Movement, Cleve Jones’s book about his work for LGBTQ rights and against AIDS And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic, by Randy Shilts Vox’s German Lopez on Elizabeth Warren’s plan to fight the opioid epidemic Vox’s guide to where 2020 candidates stand on policy  Subscribe to The Impact on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app to automatically get new episodes of the latest season each week. Host: Jillian Weinberger, @jbweinz About Vox: Vox is a news network that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines. Follow Us: Vox.com  Newsletter: Vox Sentences Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the event of our premiere, I have a special bonus episode for you all! August 26, 2017 - San Francisco's morals were put to the test when neo-nazi and white supremacist groups organized a "Patriot Prayer" rally at Crissy Field. Community icon and drag queen, Juanita More. She tells us about joining forces with longtime friend Cleve Jones to organize a peaceful protest in the Castro District. Together they lead hundreds down Market Street to City Hall, reminding the community what this city stands for; LOVE! In the event of our premiere, I have a special bonus episode for you all! Check out photos from the event: https://salserpe23.wixsite.com/sals/cometogether

Gallup has polled on LGBT issues since 1977 -- and some of its findings have marked the largest shifts in U.S. public opinion Gallup has recorded. LGBT activist Cleve Jones joins the podcast to provide context to Gallup's earliest findings, and discusses how Americans' views have changed in the decades since.

Gallup has polled on LGBT issues since 1977 -- and some of its findings have marked the largest shifts in U.S. public opinion Gallup has recorded. LGBT activist Cleve Jones joins the podcast to provide context to Gallup’s earliest findings, and discusses how Americans’ views have changed in the decades since.

Gallup has polled on LGBT issues since 1977 -- and some of its findings have marked the largest shifts in U.S. public opinion Gallup has recorded. LGBT activist Cleve Jones joins the podcast to provide context to Gallup's earliest findings, and discusses how Americans' views have changed in the decades since.

We have a great lineup this week! In our first segment, we are joined by Miss Shalae and Carlisha Brown in studio to discuss the crucial topic of violence against trans women locally and nation wide. In our second segment, we have Vanessa Romain who is one of the founders of Long Beach Pride and Steve Ganzel. They will be joining us to discuss the history of pride festivals over the decades! Our third segment is a phone interview with Cleve Jones! Cleve was Harvey Milk’s aide in San Francisco. He’s also the founder of the AIDS quilt and is a cultural/historical icon in the LGBT world.

Show #205 | Guest: Cleve Jones | Show Summary: A rebroadcast of our December 17, 2016 show | From longtime activist Cleve Jones comes a sweeping, beautifully written memoir about a full and remarkable American life. Jones brings to life the magnetic spell cast by 1970’s San Francisco, the drama and heartbreak of the AIDS crisis and the vibrant generation of gay men lost to it, and his activist work on labor, immigration, and gay rights, which continues today. Born in 1954, Cleve Jones was among the last generation of gay Americans who grew up wondering if there were others out there like himself. There were. As did thousands of young gay people, Jones moved to San Francisco in the early ’70s, nearly penniless, finding a city electrified by progressive politics and sexual liberation. Jones met lovers, developed intense friendships, and found his calling in “the movement.” Jones dove into politics and activism, taking an internship in the office of San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk, who became Jones’ mentor before his murder in 1978. With the advent of the AIDS crisis in the early ’80s, Jones emerged as one of the gay community’s most outspoken leaders. He co-founded the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and, later, the AIDS Memorial Quilt, one of the largest public art projects in history.

Rory is currently reigning as King George III in the touring production of the smash hit "Hamilton." It's a role he first played on Broadway for a year where he was the first actor to replace an original cast member in the production. He is best known for starring in the original company of "The Book Of Mormon" on Broadway. He received both Tony and Drama Desk nominations for playing openly closeted Mormon Elder McKinley and performing the show stopper "Turn It Off". Most recently he was seen on stage in back to back Off-Broadway productions at Second Stage's "Nobody Loves You" (Drama Desk nomination) and "Little Miss Sunshine." His broadway debut was in "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" and regionally, he created the role of Richie Cunningham in Garry Marshall’s "Happy Days The Musical" for Goodspeed Opera House and Paper Mill Playhouse. Rory expanded his repertoire of pasty white dudes by butchering the song “Cadillac Car” as lead singer of ‘Dave and the Sweethearts’ in the Paramount Pictures film "Dreamgirls." Most recently, Rory was seen on the CW's "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend." He can also be seen on the small screen in episodes of "Partners" with Kelsey Grammer and Martin Lawrence, "Nurse Jackie," "The Good Wife," "Law and Order: SVU," and "1600 Penn." This year Rory premiered his autobiographical show "Pub Crawl" to a sold out crowd at Joe's Pub in New York City. Pub Crawl is his tale of being raised in an Irish pub in Cleveland by his single mom and all the bar's eclectic patrons. Rory tells his hilarious coming of age story using classic Irish pub songs from The Wolftones, U2, Van Morrison and more with music direction from Tony and Grammy Award winner, Stephen Oremus. Rory is a Co-Founder of Broadway Impact, an organization that mobilizes the theater community to take action on fighting for marriage equality. Along with Jenny Kanelos and Gavin Creel, Rory was there from it's inception and has organized large rallies, phone banks, and theater events; all for the sake of marriage equality. Currently Broadway Impact is producing the play 8, conceived by Rory and edited by Oscar winner Dustin Lance Black. 8 uses the original transcript of the trial that overturned Prop 8 in California and puts it on a stage for theaters all across the country to perform and hold talkbacks. Rory has had the pleasure of performing around the country in the piece with many great actors and activists including George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Larry Kramer, Cleve Jones and many more. Currently 8 has been produced in over 400 theaters, including in all 50 states and in 7 countries. Rory lives in Los Angeles with his husband Gerold Schroeder. He is very happy:)

Mentored by LGBT rights pioneer Harvey Milk, Cleve Jones is an activist and author whose new memoir, ‘When We Rise,' inspired an ABC TV mini-series of the same title. Rebecca Solnit said, “You could read Cleve Jones's book because you should know about the struggle for gay, lesbian, and transgender rights from one of its key participants—but really, you should read it for pleasure and joy.” Armistead Maupin wrote of Jones, “Some people witness history; other actually make it happen.” Hear Jones' personal telling of nearly four decades at the heart of the gay rights movement, and learn about his latest work in activism.

Steve Sanders speaks with West Lafayette, Indiana native Cleve Jones

Weekly JourneywithJesus.net postings, read by Dan Clendenin. Essay by Dan Clendenin: *Positively Maladjusted* for Sunday, 28 May 2017; book review by Dan Clendenin: *When We Rise; My Life in the Movement* by Cleve Jones (2016); film review by Dan Clendenin: *Take Shelter* (2011); poem selected by Dan Clendenin: *The Journey Prayer* by St. Brendan the Voyager.

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Cleve Jones talks about his life in the LGBTQ movement: working with Harvey Milk, starting the AIDS Memorial Quilt, and marching on Washington. He says marriage equality was never part of their mission, only stemming out the AIDS pandemic when they saw how important and life-saving it could be. Cleve also discusses the importance of building community amongst LGBTQ people, and says he is in now in love again and happier than he’s been in years. LGBTQ&A is hosted by Jeffrey Masters. @jeffmasters1 You can recommend a guest or let us know what you think about the show on Twitter or by emailing lgbtqashow@gmail.com More information: www.LGBTQpodcast.com

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Discussion with Commonwealth Club John Zipperer and interview with Cleve Jones.

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Show #150 | Guest: Born in 1954, Cleve Jones was among the last generation of gay Americans who grew up wondering if there were others out there like himself. There were. As did thousands of young gay people, Jones moved to San Francisco in the early ’70s, nearly penniless, finding a city electrified by progressive politics and sexual liberation. Jones met lovers, developed intense friendships, and found his calling in “the movement.” Jones dove into politics and activism, taking an internship in the office of San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk, who became Jones’ mentor before his murder in 1978. With the advent of the AIDS crisis in the early ’80s, Jones emerged as one of the gay community’s most outspoken leaders. He co-founded the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and, later, the AIDS Memorial Quilt, one of the largest public art projects in history. | Show Summary: From longtime activist Cleve Jones comes a sweeping, beautifully written memoir about a full and remarkable American life. Jones brings to life the magnetic spell cast by 1970’s San Francisco, the drama and heartbreak of the AIDS crisis and the vibrant generation of gay men lost to it, and his activist work on labor, immigration, and gay rights, which continues today.

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Happy Thanksgiving weekend!  This month we were thrilled to spend time with Cleve Jones at his home in the Castro to talk about his life and his new book, “When We Rise.”  Cleve is a remarkable man who's been at the heart of the LGBT civil rights movement here in … Continue reading →

Happy Thanksgiving weekend!  This month we were thrilled to spend time with Cleve Jones at his home in the Castro to talk about his life and his new book, “When We Rise.”  Cleve is a remarkable man who's been at the heart of the LGBT civil rights movement here in … Continue reading →

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Best of Shows replaying interviews with Cleary Wolters, author of "Out of Orange: A Memoir", on being the "real-life Alex Vause" from the critically acclaimed Netflix show Orange Is the New Black. AIDS & LGBT activist Cleve Jones, on the history of the San Francisco Pride Parade.

Cleary Wolters, author of "Out of Orange: A Memoir", on being the "real-life Alex Vause" from the critically acclaimed Netflix show Orange Is the New Black. AIDS & LGBT activist Cleve Jones, on the history of the San Francisco Pride Parade.

The Altdot Comedy Lounge broadcast on SiriusXM's Canada Laughs - Friday January 23, 2015.Featured in this episode: Mike Rita, Cleve Jones, Sara Hennessey, Todd Graham, Mark DeBonisFollow us on Twitter @AltdotComedy and like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/AltdotComedyLoungeClick Here to Sign up for our weekly emailer to be updated on the latest show listings and special events.Hear the Altdot Comedy Lounge on SiriusXM's Canada Laughs (channel 168) Fridays at 8pm EST, Saturdays at 12am & 3pm EST, Sundays at 8am EST

This is our 2013 Pride edition of Outbeat News In Depth.  We begin by celebrating the 35th anniversary of the rainbow flag with an interview of the flag's creator, Gilbert Baker, by long-time LGBT activist Cleve Jones.  This interview took place at the GLBT Museum last year.  They talked about … Continue reading →

This is our 2013 Pride edition of Outbeat News In Depth.  We begin by celebrating the 35th anniversary of the rainbow flag with an interview of the flag's creator, Gilbert Baker, by long-time LGBT activist Cleve Jones.  This interview took place at the GLBT Museum last year.  They talked about … Continue reading →

On Father's Day Sunday June 17th POZ I AM radio will be speaking with Michael Kearns a HIV+ Father. Michael Kearns is an American actor, Author, director, teacher, producer, and activist. Long before coming out of the closet was considered a career move in the entertainment industry, Kearns was the first Hollywood actor on record to come out in the mid-seventies, amidst a shocking amount of homophobia. He subsequently made television history 1991 announcing on Entertainment Tonight that he was HIV positive. In 1992, as an openly HIV+ actor, Kearns starred in a segment of ABC's  Life Goes On in which he played a character who had the HIV virus. He also played Cleve Jones in the HBO adaptation of Randy Shilts' And the Band Played On, appeared in A Mother's Prayer, It's My Party and had a recurring role on Beverly Hills, 90210. Other television and film credits include Cheers, Murder, She Wrote, The Waltons, L.A. Tool & Die, Knots Landing, General Hospital, Days of our Lives, and Brian De Palma's Body Double. In 1995, Kearns began proceedings that resulted in his adoption in 1997 of a child. He presently lives in Los Angeles with his daughter who turned seventeen in August 2011. Kearns will be sharing about his new book  “The Truth is Bad Enough: What Became of the Happy Hustler” (now available on Amazon) and what it is like to be an HIV+ Father.