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LETTER TO THE EDITOR Thanksgiving is a time to reflect
Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful for a God that created us and loves us. The sins of racism, sexism, ageism and classicism are neoclassic examples of how we have fallen short. We have come ...
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VIEWS Young people need to listen to LGBTQ elders' intergenerational experiences
For one of my first Windy City Times assignments, I was lucky enough to spend nearly three hours interviewing longtime LGBTQ+-rights activist Michael O'Connor. As queer individuals living in Chicago in 2021, we had plenty in ...
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VIEWS Reporting on queers of color needs to investigate absence as much as presence
Earlier this month, I pitched a Windy City Times article that sought to explore how role playing games (RPGs), such as Dungeons & Dragons, enable queer people of color (QPOC) to explore their gender and sexuality ...
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VIEWS In defense of the word 'lesbian'
When I decided to come out to my mom, I wanted to wait until I could say the word "lesbian" out loud. But as I sat her down, I tripped over the long string of letters. "Mom, I'm gay," I blurted ...
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VIEWS Google and Chicago's segregated LGBTQ+ community
I was a little baby queer when I moved to Chicago last year. I come from a traditional, cookie-cutter Connecticut town where Vineyard Vines and Sunday school were the standards. So, for a LatinX queer person—who ...
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OP-ED The Black church was one of R. Kelly's enablers
The long-awaited justice for R. Kelly's survivors finally came last month when a New York federal jury found him guilty of racketeering and sex trafficking. For nearly 30 years, underage Black girls and their families have ...
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VIEWS Finding the Crossroads
By Martha Miller
The first time I saw a psychic, I was 19 and my friend Sandy and I drove to Jacksonville to see an old woman who read cards. We were young and it was fun going to her old house where a ...
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LETTER TO THE EDITOR Opinion: The parade must go on
I am responding to the letter from Tim Frye, the current 2021 coordinator of Chicago's Pride Parade, about the cancellation of the event that was scheduled for Oct. 3. I agree that this decision takes in ...
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VIEWS U.S. Senators: It's time to act against anti-LGBTQ discrimination
Georgia has had the eyes of the nation on it for some time now. It's just over five years since people across Georgia braced themselves as lawmakers sent sweeping anti-LGBTQ legislation to the desk of then-Governor ...
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OP-ED Foreign drug pricing puts America's most vulnerable patients last
By Guy Anthony
It's no coincidence that American companies led the charge to develop COVID-19 vaccines. Numerous policies—from strong patent protections to a welcoming immigration system—help ensure that the world's smartest scientists can ...
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Op-Ed: Elevating 'T' in LGBTQ: State government, transgender equity in 21st century
By Illinois state Sen. Sara Feigenholtz
In recent decades, our laws, pop culture and morality have shifted dramatically for same-sex couples. Our LGBTQ+ neighbors are interwoven into the fabric of our communities now more than ever. We celebrate this recognition and indeed ...
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VIEWPOINT Pride at work
Pride Month is a chance for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) people to be proud and visible in a world that tells us not to be. Pride Month is a chance to celebrate and ...
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LETTER: Pride, a time for hope
Pride is so much more than a parade, a march or even a demonstration for the LGBTQAI community. In other words, this is an opportunity for us to celebrate our diversity among our various communities, and ...
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VIEWPOINT Tulsa Race Massacre reparations would begin the healing
When HBO's 2019 Watchmen series opened with the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, and HBO's 2020 Lovecraft Country series closed with scenes from the riots, most Americans had never heard of the event—even Tulsans. On May 19, ...
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Illinois Holocaust Museum makes statement on anti-Semitic attacks
--From a press release
Dear Museum Community, At Illinois Holocaust Museum, we are appalled at the recent rise in worldwide anti-Semitic incidences. We cannot stand by while Jews and synagogues are violently attacked, including in Skokie, New York, Los Angeles, ...
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LETTER A matter of race
I applaud Mayor Lori Lightfoot's courageous statement on only giving one-on-one interviews to journalists of color. She obviously wants to see a public dialogue on this matter. White privilege is a topic we must look at ...
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The Amazon Trail Notes from a Homebody
's finally here. The end of total lockdown. Am I ready? Absolutely not. I like my burrow. I don't wanna play with others. We've fashioned a comfortable little routine. Week days, work. Evenings, spend time alone ...
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Illinois Latino Agenda issues statement on shooting of Adam Toledo
--From a press release
On March 29, 2021, 13-year-old Adam Toledo was shot and killed by a Chicago police officer. Since the shooting, there have been different narratives formed of who Adam Toledo was. Various media have made allegations saying ...
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Pastor Donnie McClurkin's struggle with sexuality mirrors the Black church's
The most significant factor that keeps the Black church on the down low are closeted, homophobic ministers. Pastor Donnie McClurkin—a three-time Gospel Grammy winner and the former poster boy for ...
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The Amazon Trail, How to Write a Book
I'm not giving away any secrets here. Not saying it's simple or that anyone can do it if they send $25.00 to Post Office Box 1,2,3. Nope, it's a personal journey and every story has a story. Here's mine, about the ...
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OP-ED The closet doors are opening
(NOTE: The International Transgender Day of Visibility is March 31.) I recently learned that according to a new report, the number of people in this country who identify as LGBTQ has increased by 60% since 2012. ...
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OP-ED: An AAPI hate crime we dare not say
On March 16, Robert Aaron Long killed eight people, six of whom were women of Asian descent. Long's action has not yet been classified as a hate crime because the motive, he stated, was his sex ...
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LETTER The Vatican's words and actions do not echo love
The LGBTQA community is responding with shock, anger and frustration at the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith statement concerning same-sex unions. Many in our community can't understand why Pope Francis would allow such a ...
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The Amazon Trail Covid 19 Pioneer
Now that President Biden and Vice President Harris are in office, I've been able to have my first Covid 19 vaccine shot. It was no big deal. I went to our county fairgrounds expecting to be injected through my car window, ...
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LETTER Federal anti-discrimination protection? Inevitable
=The astute can predict the future—with more than a modicum of confidence—by examining history. Nate Silver did this last year at fivethirtyeight.com, as did Vegas oddsmakers, in predicting the victory of President Joe Biden over der ...
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OP-ED Gorman's inauguration poem has Black women talking
Amanda Gorman mesmerized a nation with her inauguration poem "The Hill We Climb." The beauty of her presence and the power of her words captured a country battle-scarred and looking for a lifeline. "After four years ...
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Letter: Greed overrides common sense
Jeffrey Sanker, founder of the White Party concept decades ago, is now at the center of brewing online civil war in the gay community. It was reported by some online LGBTQ media news outlets such as ...
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LETTER: Unnecessary legislation
To the Editor: At a time when Illinois lawmakers should be supporting healthcare heroes who are working tirelessly during the COVID-19 pandemic, we instead receive unwelcome new legislation that will drive up the costs of practicing ...
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OP-ED: New Year's Eve circuit parties go on despite COVID-19 travel concerns
This past New Year's Eve, thousands of gay men flocked to Mexico to attend a New Year's eve "White Party" hosted by long time party promoter Jeffrey Sanker—the host of the annual white party in Palm ...
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OPINION Where do we go from here (redux)?
The year 2020 has been a stressful one. With George Floyd's death as an inflection point about race and racism in America, an unprecedented presidential election and social unrest during an ongoing pandemic with a rising ...
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VIEWS Taking care of your mental health during a COVID holiday season
By Adam Ouanes
This holiday season is unlike any before, and it leaves many people feeling unsure about how to get into the holiday spirit. It's not unusual for many people to find this time of year overwhelming, but ...
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The Amazon Trail: Rats fleeing a sinking ship
I've heard the idiom "like rats fleeing a sinking ship" often lately, and while the metaphor is apt for what's going on in the United States, at our house it's even more befitting. Merriam Webster notes, ...
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VIEWPOINT Harris stands on shoulders of giants
The struggle to get President-elect Joe Biden to the finish line first with 270 electoral college votes was unquestionably an epic battle. However, Biden's battle wasn't a century-long one like women finally winning the right to ...
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Lilly Wachowski: Refuse Fascism, at the Ballot Box and in the Street
Video below
In a rare, public and political statement, filmmaker Lilly Wachowski (co-creator of The Matrix trilogy, V for Vendetta, Sense8) published this personal essay on the literary website, LitHub.com, calling on people to "Refuse Fascism, at the ...
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VIEWPOINT Is Pope Francis' support of civil unions just lip service?
Pope Francis has expressed support for civil unions in the Catholic Church. Once again, the pontiff has sent shockwaves across the globe to 1.3 billion of his followers with another LGBTQ- affirming statement. However, this one ...
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LETTER Pope Francis appoints America's first African American cardinal
Pope Francis has appointed 13 new cardinals world wide. Archbishop Gregory is listed as elevated to cardinal by his Holiness. The archbishop served in Chicago for 10 years under Cardinal Joseph Bernadine, being transferred to Atlanta ...
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LETTER Thank you, Pope Francis
I never thought I would live to see the day when a pope would endorse civil rights for LGBTQ couples. Praise God for His Grace. Also, the many Roman Catholic individuals and organizations who worked so ...
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LETTER TO THE EDITOR Nomination of Amy Coney Barrett
Women-Church Convergence, a coalition of Catholic-rooted organizations including DignityUSA, deplores the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. We have serious concerns about the judgment of any nominee ...
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LETTER TO THE EDITOR Lambda Legal responds to nomination of Judge Barrett
--From a press release
Lambda Legal sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee urging its members to oppose Judge Amy Coney Barrett. The rushed confirmation hearings began today for President Trump's nominee to fill the seat of the late ...
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LETTER Vote
President Trump, you have had almost four years to lead the United States and have failed us by your own choosing. Whether it be in foreign policy and domestic policy you have not protected the United States ...
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VIEWPOINT As a gay bipolar man, I've learned to live with suicidal thoughts
Suicide is the second leading cause of death among young people ages 10 to 20. LGBTQ+ youth seriously contemplate suicide at almost three times the rate of heterosexual youth. In addition, LGBTQ+ youth are almost five ...
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LGBTQ HISTORY MONTH My Notorious RBG moment
In the 1990s, the U.S. Senate was attempting in every possible way to censor this new thing called the internet. The senators soon came up with an idea to stop information that might be objectionable to ...
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OP-ED: Ruth Bader Ginsburg bent the moral arc toward justice
Like so many Americans across the country, I, too, am mourning the news that U.S. Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has died due to complications from metastatic pancreatic cancer. She was 87. As a soft-spoken firebrand ...
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LETTER Culture and diversity
Dear editor: I want to respond to the Windy City Times article of Aug. 19 titled "Organization leaders discuss board diversity strategies," which was itself a reaction to the survey in the July 22 issue concerning ...
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MOMBIAN True stories, trans tales and more in new picture books
New books can be a delightful relief in these days of quarantine. Here are some of the many new LGBTQ-inclusive picture books that just came out last month. (See Mombian.com for even more.) The Fighting Infantryman, ...
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VIEWPOINTS Get involved in Michigan now
You probably feel anxious and frustrated by the political climate and the risk that the Republicans will cheat their way to victory or the Democrats will bumble their way to defeat. The best thing you can ...
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VIEWPOINT The common thread of LGBTQ+ stigma and mental health
The relationship between the LGBTQ+ community and mental health has always varied from country to country. But when religion enters the conversation, a whole new aspect escalates the stigma. Countries all over the world have high ...
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LETTER TO THE EDITOR Wear a mask
Dear editor: Wear a mask. Illinois made great strides fighting COVID-19, but it will take sustained effort and discipline to keep the virus under control. Illinois doctors are asking everyone to take two simple actions when ...
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My case for being in Congress
By Dani Brzozowski
"I already told my family that if I catch this virus — God forbid — I'm not going to the hospital. I'll pop myself or cut myself rather than die in the hospital, miserable and alone." ...
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LETTER TO THE EDITOR A word, please...
Dear editor: We just finished reading your WCT's interview with Jay Manuel (in the Aug. 5 issue), and we have an important question. Did you ask or even challenge him about the book's title, and the ...
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LETTER What's in a name? And striving for racial equality
What's in a name? Dear community: The growing debate over the name change of Boystown is reflective of a broader cultural tectonic shift on race, gender, sexual orientation and trans issues that take place in many ...
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VIEWPOINT Coming-out letter
Mom, Starting this letter is by far one of the toughest things I have done in a long time, and trust me, I've done plenty of difficult things. First of all I want to note that this letter is not intended ...
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VIEWPOINTS In support of the fair tax
Passage of the fair tax will improve the lives of the state's LGBTQ community. As CEO of Equality Illinois, the state's civil rights organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer Illinoisans, I can attest that ...
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VIEWPOINTS 'All Boys Aren't Blue' is the audacious memoir of a Black queer man
George M. Johnson could not have known about this moment in history when he wrote his memoir, All Boys Aren't Blue, but for this white male reader, the sounds of courageous protestors in our streets were ...
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LETTER Taking a stand
Dear community: We must stand opposed to racism, whatever the cost. The death of George Floyd in Minneapolis was not just a case of excessive force or brutality. It was a murder—plain and simple. Police officer ...
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VIEWPOINT Uncle Charley
I was 17 when I finally figured out that my Uncle Charley was queer. We didn't have the word "gay" in 1953—it just was not in our vocabulary. So, we said "queer" or "fairy" or sometimes the Yiddish word "faygele," which ...
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Stand up and be counted
As the LGBTQ+ navigator of Chinese Mutual Aid Association, I want to encourage everyone, both LGBTQ+ individuals and cisgender/straight allies, to get counted in Census 2020. Many of you might wonder whether completing the Census really ...
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LETTERS On justice, racism, solidarity
Demanding justice Dear familia: In June, another transgender woman of color was murdered—this time, in our own home, in the Southwest Side of Chicago. Today, we honor Selena Reyes-Hernandez. Selena was murdered because of transphobia. This ...
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LETTER Standing up against racism
Dear community: June is Pride Month. Over 50 years ago, on June 28, 1969, police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in Greenwich Village. It was one of a long history of raids that the queer community had been regularly ...
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Holocaust Museum: Pride without the parade, a quiet time to learn and reflect
Due to the pandemic, millions across the globe have been living under "shelter in place" ordinances for months. For those of us in the United States, including here in Chicago, state-wide ordinances have forced social hubs ...
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MOMBIAN
Supporting LGBTQ families requires that Black Lives Matter
Black lives matter. Black LGBTQ lives matter. And we will never have a just world for LGBTQ families until we have racial justice. Black same-sex couples are roughly twice as likely as white same-sex couples to ...
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LETTER Black lives matter
Dear community: Today and every day, Black Lives Matter. Like so many of you, I am reeling after the last week and this weekend. WE ARE NOT OK. Our country, our city and many of us are not OK. In fact, ...
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LETTER Say their names
Dear community: SAY THEIR NAMES Ahmaud Arbery. Breonna Taylor. Nina Pop. George Floyd. Tony McDade. Regis Korchinski-Paquet. We know you are tired. We know you are hurting and filled with anger. We are tired of adding ...
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Remembering a leader: Larry Kramer
We lost a great leader this week with the death of Larry Kramer. Larry was an accomplished man and activist who earned a degree from Yale, an Academy Award nomination as a screenwriter, two Obie Awards ...
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Planning your legacy: VA benefits for LGBTQ veterans and servicemembers
Dear community: The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) stands strong in supporting our LGBTQ servicemembers and veterans. As members of the LGBTQ community, we understand you may face many challenges. The last thing you need to ...
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THE AMAZON TRAIL Is there a doctor...
It's that time again. I need to find a healthcare provider. I live in a rural community where there is a large turnover of medical professionals and a constant shortage of qualified staff. The health organization ...
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VIEWS LGBTQ discrimination is a disgrace
Named plaintiff in landmark Supreme Court gay marriage case talks cases now before court
Re the New York Times article, "Aimee Stephens, 59, Plaintiff in Transgender Rights Case" (obituary, May 14): Our world has long been gripped by questions of mortality and legacy, perhaps more than ever in recent months ...
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LETTER Handling the pandemic
Dear community: How is our community responding to the coronavirus pandemic? The key seems to be a social-distance approach that many of our medical and political leaders are counseling. Our religious communities are putting the people ...
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OP-ED: Census 2020 is complicated for LGBTQ people, but it counts
By now, everyone should have received a mailing from the U.S. Census Bureau to get counted. I have complicated feelings about the census. While the census is critically important to ensure a fair allocation of funding ...
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MOMBIAN: COVID-19 pauses family-building for many LGBTQ people
Nina Willbach and her wife, a Philadelphia couple, have been trying to get pregnant since last June via assisted insemination. In March, they were told that their most recent attempt didn't work—and they couldn't try again ...
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LETTER In praise of Pritzker
To the Editor: Illinois physicians and hospitals commend Gov. J.B. Pritzker for his steadfast leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic. Every day he faces tough choices and he is clearly making decisions with the interests of Illinoisans ...
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OP-ED The media needs to stop reporting about Queen Latifah's sexuality
Does the media's cat and mouse game of chase with Queen Latifah lead many of us—especially in the LGBTQ+ community—to another "Gotcha!" moment of her coming out- that ain't!? A recent Zoom version of Red Table ...
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LETTER Administrative errors
Dear Editor: For war against an unforeseen enemy, we need a war administration. If the framers of the Constitution had foreseen the current lack of steady and effective leadership, they surely would have included a mechanism ...
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OP-ED: COVID-19 LGBTQs, minorities disproportionately affected
These are some truly historic times. And in what may come as no surprise to many, the coronavirus pandemic is adversely affecting many more people in marginalized communities, such as the LGBTQ demographic and racial minorities. ...
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THE AMAZON TRAIL A giant
"We lost a giant today," tweeted California state Sen. Scott Weiner, who is chairman of the LGBTQ caucus. A giant is exactly what the ninety-five-year-old Phyllis Lyon was, along with her partner Del Martin, who died ...
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