The Little Blue 2016 June

7/26/2019 The Little Blue 2016 June

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THE

LITTLE

BLUE

JUNE 2016


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A Note From The EditorJason Peno, Development Associate

I am very excited to present the rst edition of The Centers new Quarterly Review, TheLittle Blue. Paying homage to the Centers earlier existence as Penguin Place, the quar-terly review takes on the name of the worlds smallest penguin, the little blue, also knownas the fairy penguin.

The Little Blue presents us with an opportunity to recognize and celebrate the goodwork that the Center is creating every day of the year. The William Way LGBT CommunityCenter offers a safe and life-afrming space for Philadelphias LGBTQI+ communities andour hope is that this periodical will serve as a voice for both the Center and the peoplewho call it home. If you, or anyone you know, is interested in writing for The Little Blue,or contributing other artistic elements, please do contact me with your ideas.

We look forward to providing you with insights into life at the Center and supporting ourcommunitys many wonderful and varied voices.

Enjoy,

Jason

PS: The Artwork for the cover of our rst edition was designed by Linus Curci. You cannd his artwork here: linuscurci.com, and the new layout and design for The Little Bluewas done by Tolani Lawrence-Lightfoot.


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-

Greetings From The Executive DirectorChris Bartlett

Greetings, friends, and welcometo Pride month at the Center.We are living in transformativetimes for our LGBTQI+ communi-ties. Last year brought marriageequality nationwide, and Phila-delphia has pioneered effortsto better serve and keep safeits LGBTQI+ citizens. Still, we

face a nasty backlash in placeslike North Carolina and Missis-sippi. In spite of that, our trajec-tory is towards justice. It is whenwe strengthen and celebrateour communities that our fellowcitizens take note of the hugecontributions of LGBTQI+ people

to our nation. In doing so, wellwin over many more hearts.

In that spirit, I was pleasedto travel to Harrisburg in Aprilwith seven other executivedirectors of Pennsylvania LGBTQI+Centers. I spent the dayadvocating to state legislatorsand ofcials and along with mycolleagues from across PA, westrategized ways to bring moreresources to LGBTQI+ centersstatewide. With the support of

our friends in Harrisburg and theadvocacy of Adrian Shanker, wehave received a grant to researchtobacco use among LGBTQI+people.

Speaking of Adrian Shanker, Iwant to congratulate him and

his colleagues at the Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Cen-ter in Allentown for successfullyinaugurating their new building.Even as we gain civil rights andour communities evolve, theneed for safe space for LGBTQI+

youth, adults and elders remains.

New centers like theirs, as wellas ours with our four decadesof proud history, are vital to thesocial and cultural fabric of ourcommunities. We do so with thegenerous support and contribu-

tions of our members. I extendmy sincere thanks to all who con-tributed to our Spring campaign.If you have not made your giftyet, or if you would like to makean additional gift, you can giveonline at http://waygay40.org/membership/.


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It was also a pleasure to attendthe 40th Anniversary celebrationof the Philadelphia Gay News

earlier this Spring. The PGNwas the rst gay paper I everread and as a teen, it was therst place I learned about ourcommunities history, its arts andculture, and the diversity of pro-grams and services being createdby burgeoning LGBT organiza-

tions.

At the onset of the AIDS epi-demic, it was the place I wentto read about HIV prevention,treatments, and ways to getinvolved. When I began workingprofessionally on LGBT issues,the PGN was where I went to ndout what people were thinkingand and how they took action. Iread many inspiring writers whohelped me see all the possibili-ties for building a powerful LGBTcommunity in Philadelphia.

Im proud to say that our John J.

Wilcox Archives at the Center hasa nearly complete collection ofPGNs run. (If you have a collec-tion at home that may be ableto help us complete ours, pleaseemail [email protected] andlet us know!) More than that, ourarchives are also the home to the

photography of the PGNs rstphotographer, Harry Eberlin. Itsalways an incredible joy to seepeople make an appointment tovisit our archives.

Whether they are graduate stu-dents writing a research paper ora former Philadelphian back fora visit and looking to reconnectwith the newspapers, t-shirts,event posters, rally placards, andbar signs that dened their lifein the Gayborhood, it is deeplysatisfying to see people connect

with the rich history of LGBTPhiladelphia that lives here at theCenter.


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chris jpg

Whether it is visiting our archives, perusing our art gallery, taking a bookout of our library, or joining us for a program, I hope to see you at theCenter soon. If you are looking for a great way to kick off your Prideweekend, please join us for Homecoming, at the Center on Saturday,June 11th from 11AM to 2PM. We will be enjoying brunch and live en-tertainment, as well as showing off improvements and updates we havemade at the Center.

With appreciation,

Chris BartlettExecutive Director


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eric speaking to class

Do We Need

The Center?

OR

The Making of

a Queer Space

R. Eric Thomas

Director of Programs

Do we still need LGBT commu-nity centers? Whenever I speakto college classes on behalf of theCenter I always start off with thesame question. Im not beingrhetorical, I say. I want you toreally ask yourself. After all of thisadvancement, in a city with itsown Gayborhood, have we reallymoved beyond LGBTQI+ com-munity centers? Most studentsare on to my game and rarely offer

arguments against the Center.

Nevertheless, after asking thequestion I always spend the nexthour (or two) making the case forthis building, this organization,and my job. I argue both points,not as a rhetorical exercise or aself-conscious defense, but as away of creating. More often thannot, the students Im talking tohavent ever asked themselvesthose questions. Why would they?Ive found, however, that I learnthe most about the Centerour

past, our futureby justifying ourexistence. Do we still need LGBTcommunity centers? Of course.But why?

In January, I received an emailfrom Aidan, a doctoral student,who wanted to spend a pro-longed amount of time observingand taking notes on the Centerand the ways that people interactwith it. Originally, he was goingto limit his observation to the Li-brary, but after a conversation wedecided that the lobby might bea more fruitful space. As his noteswould be condential, anony-

mous and not part of a largerstudy, I also felt that this wouldntbe a violation of the implicitprivacy Center constituents canenjoy. Over the last four months,Ive really enjoyed checking inwith Aidan, hearing about howhe perceives our space and whatgoes on in it and nding newanswers to the question Do we


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Opening for Linus

still need centers?In March, he e-mailed to ask ifwe could have a formal interview,so that he could also record mythoughts and theories about thespace. I have been in total aweduring my observations, he wrote.The sheer amount of programs,services, support offered by theWWCC is amazing. He wanted to

get a sense of the organizationalpriorities and the vision for thefuture. I am always interested ingiving my opinion on anything, sonaturally I said yes. We ended upspending over an hour in the Liv-ing Room on the rst oor, talking

about where Id like to see the Cen-

ter go, where weve come from andall the different ways that peopleexperience the organization. Morethan anything, however, we talkedabout the environment. We bothshared a fascination with the build-ing itself, the position in the cityecosystem and the transformativenature of this space.

I suggested that the Center is a

queer space. Even though we havea marked lack of disco balls andconfetti cannons, this is a spacewhere being LGBTQ or an activeally is the default, the norm. Its aspace where I can kiss my ancand not think twice, where when I

hear someone talking about a date


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they went on the night before, Iautomatically assume that saiddate was not heteronormative.

Theres very few spaces like that.Most spaces are actually straightspaces. Your average bar is de-nably straightnot just in whatgoes on there but in the waythe space functions in the world.Straight is the norm. Do youthink that a space like a super-market is a neutral space or astraight space, I asked Aidan,rhetorically. (Perhaps all myquestions are rhetorical? Whatdo you think?)

We both agreed that wed

categorize most markets asstraight spaces. Not, necessar-ily, because one assumes thatUncle Ben is married to an auntbut because our world defaultsto straight. So unless the super-market makes a concerted effortto queer the norm, it will alwaysbe straight, overtly or subtly, inlarge ways or small.Perhaps one day we will achievea world where there are neutralspaces. Maybe you have accessto some in your life. If you do,

Id love to hear about them.Send me an e-mail; I nd thistopic endlessly fascinating. But,until we escape the binary, wewill have to continue to con-struct our own spaces that areobjectively queer. And

thats the answer that I give tomy own question when I speakto colleges. I ask them to lookaround their classroom, to be

passive observers. If you didntknow anything about this roomor the people in it, would youthink it was straight or queer?By that time theyve wised upto my game. Straight, theyanswer. Very good, I reply.We spend a few minutes talkingabout why this classroom, withits whiteboard and nondescriptdesks could be consideredstraight. Sometimes they argue;I like that. In the end, I alwaysinvite them to do two thingsand I invite you to do the same:

I invite them to ask themselvesto dene the nature of thespaces they nd themselves in,as an observational exercise,and then I invite them to comeinto the Center to nd out whata queer space feels like.

I warn you, I say. It is not likethe set of that Liberace movie.Its an old building with a lotof old furniture. But its alsoa place where LGBTQ self-expression is not only accepted,but encouraged. Its the norm.

And thats important. You maynot feel it explicitly; it may nothit you over the head. But itsin every wall, every oorboard,every minute of every program.We will always need that.


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What

DoYouWant?

Jasmine Morell,Owner of Spirited Tattooing Coalition

One of the rst questions I askpeople is: What do you want?Obviously this isnt literally the rstthing because that would be weird,but usually following the Hey, howare yous? and all of the introduc-tory business its,How can I help

you? What are you wanting to getdone?Essentially, What do you want?And whether that person knows it ornot, theyre not just describing theirtattoo goals, theyre telling me howthey want to be represented in theworld.

A cool thing about tattoos is thatthey can help bridge that gap be-tween ones internal dialogue andtheir external identity- you can showyour emotions or display messages

and mementos. You can get intouch with yourself in a way thatcannot compare to most or any

other experience, and the experi-ence of this process is just as largeas the keepsake. People walkaway with the experience of whatsbeing done to them above all,and for some its more importantthan the work itself; its importantto have people you trust or share

common ground with permanentlyembellish you.

I myself need this as a queer transperson of color, a person who feelsthat their body doesnt fully be-long to myself at times and is up

for public idea or trend. Who feelsthat their body is up for scrutiny.The constant notion that everyoneis entitled to your bodys story,from whats exposed to whats un-der your clothes. Ive had peopleask me about my tattoos then tryto take my name away from me.

This in fact happened just the oth-er day, as I was at the cell phonestore- I was trying to replace mybroken phone and after the per-son that worked there and I hadgotten past the rst set of niceties,


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I would hope no one can take that away fromme.

The thing is, similar to revealing parts of your

identity, you dont ever have to answer orrespond to people when they ask or seem-ingly demand to see more of your body. Moreof your tattoos. And you shouldnt feel guiltyabout it. Claiming your body is for you and youalone and its one of the most freeing acts. Youcan send a message out into the world thatyou never have to talk about if you dont wantto.

This is for you.

Conversely, there is freedom in getting tat-tooed and the tattoo doesnt have to have adeep meaning. Adorning yourself with whatev-

er the hell you want is fully and actively takingcontrol of your body which in itself is a mes-sage. Which in itself is a political statement. Itssocial justice, its womens rights, its ghtingagainst anti-black and brown racism. Its bodypositive and negative ableism. Its trans rights.

Feeling respected and empowered is donethrough the vessel that carries you throughoutlife.

So, what do you want?


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Your Works are Wonderful

Ricky Cintron

I was born and raised as a Roman

Catholic, and I loved Jesus. Stilldo. I was really into church when Iwas younger. I memorized all theprayers during Mass and wouldrecite them under my breathwhile the priest was saying them.Im Puerto Rican, so you know I

learned all of that in English andSpanish.

I was educated in Catholic schoolsfor most of my life, so I had togo through abstinence-only sexeducation, and let me tell you,that worked out really well for me.

Abstinence-only sex ed was a trip.I remember the instructor tellingmy class that our bodies are likepieces of beautiful white fabric,and if we had sex before marriage,it would be like tearing a hole inthat fabric.

And then he told us, Now whowants something with holes in it?This left quite the impression onme. Every time I had a sexualor even romantic thought, I feltunclean. As you can imagine, real-izing that I liked dudes didnt help.

Now, I personally felt like Jesus

didnt really care that I was gay,but everyone else around me cer-tainly did. My pastor, my teachers,my classmates all went out of theirway to tell me about the properuse of sexuality and evidently mebeing gay was not proper.

Some time later I decided to lookfor another spiritual path that I feltwould afrm who I was, becauseIve always felt that God cant beencapsulated by one religion.After a lot of searching I eventuallyconverted to Hinduism, and I was

a practicing Hindu for 8 years ofmy life. During that time I becamea priest and started a communityfor queer Hindus.But I also struggled a lot withsome of the theology. There was a

lot of negativity around sex, like Ihad encountered with my Catholicupbringing. There was also thisbelief that were not these bodies.Many of the Hindu scriptures statethat our true identity is the soul,not the body or the other aspectsof ourselves that go with it, like


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our sexuality, ethnicity, gender,and so on.This teaching is supposed to be

liberating because if were allmade of the same spiritual es-sence, then it means everyoneis equal, right? But this teachingalso gets misused. Because when Iwould try to talk about queerness,or race, or gender with folks in myreligious community, a lot of timesI would get shut down. Peoplewould tell me, You shouldnt talkabout these body things so much.Its divisive.

As a queer person of color, beingtold that sharing your experiences

is divisive is hurtful and frustrat-ing. This teaching that was meantto liberate is used as a tool tosilence and oppress.So as you can see, I was still beingconfronted with this tension, thisdivision between the body andspirit. And it really sucked, be-cause with both of these religioustraditions I was in, I was being toldto afrm my spirit at the expenseof my body.Recently I had a bit of a crisis of

faith, and if you havent had onebefore, theyre a lot of fun, I assureyou. I actually ended up openingthe New Testament again for therst time in years. I found myselfbeing drawn to Jesus Christ again.Ive been going to Mass at LG-

BTQI+ afrming Churches, pray-ing the rosary, and reading a lot oftheological works by queer-identi-ed as well as afrming Christians

about the body and sexuality.

Theyve been really helpful inhelping me to reclaim my faith.One of the most healing things forme during this time has been re-membering and meditating on thefact that Jesus had a body just likeours. A favorite writer of mine, Fa-ther James Martin, wrote an articlereminding people that Jesus wasboth fully human and fully divine,even if we dont always empha-size the human part as much. Hewrote:

Jesus had a human body. Likeyou and me. That means he atelike us, drank like us and slept likeus. He went through puberty. Asa human being, he would haveexperienced sexual longings andurges. We know he was unmarriedand celibate, but he would have,as a human being, felt the normalsexual attractions. Those are notsinful, after all. Far from it.Let me tell you, reading thosewords especially that part about

sexual desires and realizingthey were coming from a Catholicpriest blew my mind. I thought tomyself, you know, if Jesus did it,maybe this whole having a bodything isnt so bad after all.So how do we begin to heal this


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-

division between body and spirit?

I dont have an easy answer forthat. But I think for those of uswho are religious or spiritual,we need to go deeper with ourtheologies. We need to reallysit with and question how ourteachings can be misused andbecome harmful. We really needto stop seeing the body and spiritas irreconcilable. The body is the

vehicle through which the spiritoperates. We need the body. Weneed to honor and love the body.

For my own part, Ive startedto realize that my body and mysexuality are not these dirty, sinfulthings. The different parts of myidentity are not inconsequential,rather they are holy. God madethem and imbued them with pur-pose and potential. Ive denitely

grown beyond seeing myself as aimsy piece of fabric.

I am so much more than that. Weare all so much more than that.And we need to seek out andlift up theologies that embraceeverything that we are.


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Ricky picture

Ill leave you with one of myfavorite quotes from scripture,from Psalm 139.

If youre ever feeling ashamedof your body, for any reason,think of these words:

For you created my inmostbeing; you knit me together in my mothers womb.I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;your works are wonderful, I know that full well

(Psalm 139:13-14)


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book image

Lust and Love in a Bleak WorldScott A. DrakeA Review of What Belongs to You, Garth Greenwell

Garth Greenwell has crafted anaward-worthy tale that embracesthose conicts of passion and rea-son that every person encountersduring lifes journeys. Sometimesreason wins, sometimes we sup-press it, believing that eventuallylove will be returned, and, some-times, life is about compromise.

The compromise being that weunderstand things will never be theway we wish, but we remain contentto surrender to the struggle be-tween mind and heart.

In one of the most enthrallingpieces of writing Ive encounteredin recent years, Greenwall managesto write the second chapter of thismodern day Greek tragedy as asingle paragraph, moving betweenour protagonists travels through

Bulgaria, toward a dying and es-tranged father, and ashbacks torural America, and conicts of thepast.


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In the end, the process comes toan understandable result: He termi-nates his travels without seeing hisfather and returns to his day-to-day

living.

Mitko, his singular obsession, is theyoung hustler who disappears forlong periods of time only to returnto covertly seek money for vari-ous needs, some practical, otherscontrived. Mitko declares at onepoint that they are friendsa pointnot missed by one who desiresmore than a friend with benetsand perhaps that is one of the morepoignant moments in the story. Theotherwise unlikely social pairing ofthe two men is punctuated by the

long-established pattern of sup-port and comfort that binds themtogether.

As a debut novel, Greenwell hasstruck literary gold. He has takenfamiliar talesPart Romeo and Ju-liet, part Beauty and the Beastandpassionately and compassionatelybrought two destitute souls into arelationship of longing and resolvethat will never ourish in the sun,and they both know it.

What Belongs to You will belong toyou for a long time after you haveread the last paragraph and closedthe book. And that is what goodreading and great writing are sup-posed to do.


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3rd Annual

SAGEWorks Career FairEd Miller,Senior Services Coordinator

Our SAGEWorks CommunityPartners came together makingthis our most successful career-

focused event to date. TheCenters Mark Segal Ballroomwas transformed into a hub ofactivity throughout the day withterric allies and LGBT recruitersand company representativesgreeting job seekers.

This years SAGEWorks CareerFair partners included: AARP,Campbell Soup, City of Phila-delphia, Comcast, Indepen-dence Blue Cross, JeffersonUniversity Hospital, PECO, Phil-

adelphia Police Department, TDBank, University of Pennsylvania,Vanguard, Walgreens and Wells

Fargo. Also of note, SAGEWorksis generously funded by theWalmart Foundation.

We know that one-in-four LGBTolder adults are looking for ajob and many individuals losejobs that they have held foryears. People are unemployed,and nding themselves without

the skills they need to competein todays job market. Duringthe career fair we provided skillsbuilding workshops where jobseekers joined Wells Fargo fora LinkedIn presentation wherethey learned; how to create

standout proles, how to ex-pand their network connections,and why many recruiters use


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LinkedIn to nd candidates.

Further, Job seekers lled theComcast Career Chat workshopwhere the Director of Diversityand Human Resources represen-tatives discussed the companyculture and made tangible sug-gestions to move towards thatface-to-face interview. A medi-tation and relaxation workshopoffered participants calmingtechniques to use before a jobinterview and tips to focus theirthoughts during the interview.

The program and the Centerprovides a welcoming space

and encouragement through

the difcult process of ndingemployment while our partici-pants and volunteers make theprogram vibrant and unique.We are always looking to en-gage volunteers to help withcritiquing resumes, providepractice interviews, information-al interviews or to participate inan employer panel discussion.

If you are interested in becoming a community partner

please email [email protected]. If you are a jobseeker 40 + and would like to register for this free pro-gram, use the following link and click on the BasicRegistration Form. http://sage.business-access.com/sage


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IT Came from the Archives!History would never be the same!

A Bicentennial Without Gay Oppression

John Anderies, John J. Wilcox, Jr. Archives, Archivist

In each issue of the newsletter, archivist John Anderies will highlight a dif-

ferent document or object from the Centers John J. Wilcox, Jr. Archives.

The promotional yer included inthis article, comes from the GayActivists Alliance (GAA) les inthe papers of Philadelphia activistTommi Avicolli Mecca. Living andorganizing in San Francisco now,

Tommis vast collection helped formthe basis of todays John J. Wilcox,Jr. Archives.

The yer takes the form of anAmerican ag of 13 red (or is thatmagenta?) and white stripes, with

a clenched st inside conjoiningdouble male and female signs inthe eld traditionally reserved forthe fty stars.

It proclaims that a demonstrationon July 4th, 1976the nationsBicentennialwill take place for

jobs, equality, and indepen-

dence, and against 200 yearsof gay oppression. The meetingplace for a march is listed as 8thand Columbia Street, todays CecilB. Moore Avenue.

Organizers of this event, which wasalso called the Bicentennial With-out Gay Oppression, were partof a much larger demonstration ofover 130 radical, left-wing, pacist,and civil rights groups assembled inPhiladelphia during Independence

Day weekend under the auspices ofthe July 4th Coalition.

The Coalitions aim was to re-invigorate 200 years of struggle byAmericans against the very formsof racism, sexism, and exploitationof working people that are trying to

use the Bicentennial to celebrate


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deomonstrate image

and perpetuate the status quo.Among the groups representedwere the American Indian Move-ment, Philadelphia Friends Peace

Committee, Southern ChristianLeadership Conference, VietnamVeterans Against the War, thePuerto Rican Socialists Party, andthe Black Panthers.For its part, the Philadelphia GAAdistributed another righteouslyindignant leaet that stated:

On July 4th, [President] Ford and[Mayor] Rizzo and their friends aregoing to tell us about 200 years

of people like Ford and Rizzobeing in power. They are goingto celebrate their brand of free-dom. Meanwhile... back in the realworld, the Post [Bar] and [Club]Baths and other gay bars wereraided and people arrested thisyear in Philadelphia, Lesbians werebeaten up and arrested in CityHall, transvestites and transsexualsare openly discriminated againstin employment and housing androutinely harassed in the streets bypolice, Lesbian mothers still losechild custody and sodomy is still

illegal in this and most states.


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Should we celebrate 200 years ofthat?Months before the demonstration itcame out that the July 4th Coalitionwas being investigated by the FBIat the request of the Departmentof Justice. Philadelphia Mayor Rizzowent so far as to request 15,000Federal troops, claiming the citywould be a target for attemptsat disruption and violence by a

substantial coalition of leftists andradicals. His request was denied.Organizers from the July 4th Coali-tion had hoped to host their marchand rally close to the ofcial Bicen-tennial celebrations, which includeda parade down Market Street anda speech by President Gerald Ford

at Independence Mall. But theirrequest for permits so close to theofcial action was denied and theywere forced to hold their events inNorth Philadelphia.

Still, the counter action proved tobe a success, perhaps more so thanthe ofcial Bicentennial events.While the city had hoped for 20to 45 million visitors in 1976, thedire predictions of overwhelm-

ing crowds and an expectation ofviolence and even terrorism causedmany Americans to stay away. TheNew York Times reported thatonly two million tourists turnedout for the ofcial festivities whileover 30,000 attended the counter-protest and the event was peacefuland orderly.


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Your Body, Your Mind

Brian Swope is a Philadelphia-based sex and relationship therapist in private

practice as well a certied yoga instructor.

We live in a world of mixed mes-sages for those of us in the LG-BTQI+ community and anythingreally that is outside of what isconsidered dominant cultural per-spective.

Be who you are, but only if itdoesnt affect my view of you.What do we take from that? Thatwe arent good enough; that be-ing ourselves is wrong? If our true

self is not lovable, is it any wonderthat self esteem takes a hit or thatdepression and anxiety lead somany people into drug use anddenying themselves a deeper un-derstanding just to be accepted byanother? It becomes a vicious cyclebecause we cannot be all things toall people all the time.

Your bodys a temple, and yet weare not taught the details of ourbody, so that we can take care ofit. The mystery of it is retained forfear that knowing ourselves betterwill lead us to promiscuity, a vagueterm that denies us our sexualityand our own ability to choose.

If the message is that sex (and our

body, in general) is not to be en-joyed too much, then we settle forless than we are capable of, and forsome people, abuse and misuse.Is it any wonder that sexual dys-function so often relates to a basicmisunderstanding of our bodies?

Rather than shaming our temple,we should be honoring and cel-ebrating it and free to explore it.From tattoos and piercings to


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gender bending to gender af-rmation surgery, a message ofacceptance over conforming freesus from shame and provides spacefor the histories that have led eachperson to the place they are today.

And what better way to honor thetemple than to have it reect ourtrue selves?

Even though we are told we aresexual, sex in health class is at thewhim of politics, where healthy

sex is rarely explained or por-trayed, and is lacking almost com-pletely when it pertains to thoseof us outside the heteronormativeperspective.

A basic misunderstanding wheth-

er lack of knowledge or outrightfalsehoods makes sex an anxiousand unpleasant experience for peo-ple. And words such as healthy,normal, and love that are partof the discussion become conceptsthat create outsiders, a more insidi-ous concept that pushes too many

people down the path to suicide orfacing hate crimes.

Each of these points is riddled withshame for so many people, a par-ticularly nasty and difcult feelingbecause it prefers isolation, it needs

isolation to exist. Community is justone strong antidote to shame; it isabout nding acceptance and sup-port.

We have gayborhoods around theworld and the web brings them toplaces where such havens are notsafe. Shaming from within our owncommunity can be even more dan-


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yoga

gerous and being vigilant against ita role we all need to play.

Body image can change one of twoways you can nd acceptance oryou can make changes but bothof these options require us to be inthe right state of mind to be suc-cessful. And they require a goodsupport group of friends. Another

method of nding acceptance withourselves while also making chang-es includes yoga and mindfulness.Study after study has shown thebenets of these practices on themind as well as building self es-teem and a positive body image.It is a personal practice, but onethat is done in a community of like-minded people.


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Gay

Pride

Philadelphia

in

1972 - 2016Bob Skiba, Curator, John J. Wilcox Jr. LGBT Archives


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In 1970 and 1971, Philadelphiaactivists were much too involved

with the rst New York Chris-topher Street Liberation DayParades that commemorated theStonewall Riots to produce theirown local parade.

In 1972, however, several Phila-delphia political activist organiza-

tions including the Gay ActivistsAlliance, the Homophile ActionLeague, Radicalesbians andgroups from Penn State andTemple University came togetherto produce their own event.

Philadelphias rst Gay Pride Pa-rade assembled at RittenhouseSquare on June 11, 1972, withrousing speeches by communityleaders Barbara Gittings and

Jerry Curtis. Participants marchedeast up Chestnut Street and ended

at Independence Mall with anopen air dance and celebration. In1973, the parade began with therally in Rittenhouse Square, thenheaded down Chestnut Street,wound around City Hall, headedup the Parkway and ended with a

fair at Eakins Oval in front of theArt Museum.For the next few years, the citysgay pride parades assembled eachJune at Rittenhouse Square andmarched to Independence Mall,until the last one in 1976, which

only circled down Locust Street asfar as 13th Street and then back toRittenhouse Square via Spruce. OnJune 17, 1978, the last large Prideevent of the decade would onlyinclude a Gay Pride picnic at theBelmont Plateau.

For most of the 1980s, Philadel-phias LGBT community celebratedeach year with programs, talksand community events, but noparades.


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1973 Pride Float

1973 Pride

The Philadelphia Lesbian and GayPride parade was revived on June18th, 1989, to honor the twentiethanniversary of Stonewall. Organizedwith the Lesbian and Gay TaskForce, the crowd of about 1,000 be-gan at 10th and Spruce Streets andproceeded west to end in a rally atJFK Plaza.

City Councilmen Francis W. Raf-ferty and W. Thatcher Longstrethexpressed disapproval, wonder-ing what those fairies had tobe proud of. PLGTF Director RitaAdessa took the podium to exclaimOnly we can afrm our beings.

We are here to show them what wehave to be proud of. And its us.Later that year, encouraged by thesuccess of the event, communitymembers formed Lesbian and GayPride of the Delaware Valley. In

1990, theyd produce the rst Out-fest in the Gayborhood to celebrateNational Coming Out Day.Through most of the 90s, the pa-rade marched all the way from Rit-tenhouse Square to Penns Landing.


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1994 Pride Day at Penns Landing

1972 Pride

By 1999, the parade route was short-ened, beginning at 13th and Locustin the heart of the Gayborhood andending at Penns Landing, the routeit takes today.

Lesbian and Gay Pride of the Dela-ware Valley continues today as PhillyPride Presents, led by amazingExecutive Director Franny Price andorganizes both Pride Day in Juneand Outfest in October.


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Peer Counseling:

Were HereNicholas Chuva Plagge, WWCC VolunteerPeer Counseling honors the confidentiality of those who come to the Center

to receive a kind and open ear. For that reason, we have removed the names

from the two referenced stories.

There are a lot of reasons someone inneed decides to take the importantstep of reaching out for help. At theCenters Peer Counseling program,

our dedicated and caring counselorshelp people almost every day of theweek. We like to say Were Here and we are, assisting clients withissues ranging all the way from howto get more involved in the commu-nity to more delicate concerns aboutsuicide and domestic abuse.

For many Peer Counseling clients,our hotline or ofce at The Centeris the rst call or visit they make ontheir journey toward seeking help.Were proud as counselors to be

the touchstone for clients who,

for either themselves or often forpeople they care about, come to apeer counselor to take that some-times difcult rst step. No issueor concern is too big or too small.

Some clients just need a sympa-thetic ear, like Client S, who calledto speak to a counselor aboutwhat they thought to be frayingrelationships with their friends.Client S talked through, with theircounselor, some ways to helpmend those relationships, and wasgiven by their counselor help-

ful resources in Philadelphia thatmight help Client S develop somenew friendships with like-mindedpeople sharing activities and inter-ests.


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Other clients have a friend or lovedone who prompts a call. Client A isthe mother of a 16-year old son whoshe recently found out was strug-gling with their gender identity. As

a loving parent, Client A wanted tobe sure that she was able, to thebest of her ability, to understandwhat her son was feeling and expe-riencing.

Because Client A called, she

learned about resources for bothher son and herself, like PFLAG, andshe was given names of special-ized therapists that are known tothe Center to be LGBTQI+ friendly.Incidentally, many of our peer

counselor volunteers have studiedtransgender issues extensively,and counselors have seen a sharpincrease in calls relating to gen-der identity thanks to increasingly

more visible trans* activists and rolemodels.

Sometimes, a client wants to sharegood news, or an upswing in theirinitial situations. For calls or visitslike these, Peer Counselings volun-

teers are here to provide support,encouragement, and a real, caringvoice on the other end of the line.

Though different, each call orvisit to Peer Counseling, like those

above, have at least one thing in common. Each client nally decided totrust another person to move closer to solving a problem in their lives.And each time, our peer counselors have been there to make sure that theinitial spark of motivation for a client to get the help they need isnt easilyextinguished.


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If you or someone you know mighthave an issue that theyre strugglingwith, dont let them or yourself strugglealone. At the Peer Counseling program,

were here. Help us spread the wordand continue to help as many people aspossible.

Peer Counseling Services:

MONDAY-FRIDAY EVENINGS6:00 PM to 9:00 PM

BY PHONE, WALK-IN OR APPOINTMENT215/732.8255

[email protected]

http://waygay40.org/peer-counseling/


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A SOLID

FUTURE

FOUNDATION

FOR A SOLID

CandiceThompson

COO

I visited Copenhagen this past Aprilwith my partner who was presenting ata seminar about the care and conser-vation of manuscripts. She is innitelysmarter than I am and fortunatelybends my ear about her work - she

coordinates digitization projects ofrare books and manuscripts. She is inthe business of duplicating materialsand in many cases, making them openand available online to researchers,students, scholars, artists, and the like.

She works at an institution that has abudget much larger than the WWCC,but still, when I hear her speak aboutthe work that she does and the ques-tions that come up about the care andvision for their collections, I cant helpbut reect upon how far the Centersown archival collection of rare and pre-

cious materials has come this past yearand a half. Weve laid a strong col-lections management foundation, arecreating a new and improved physicalrepository, and will begin work on avision and strategy that will help guidethe collection for years to come.

In the Fall of 2014 with funding sup-port from the William Penn Founda-tion, the Center welcomed two newstaff members, John Anderies, archi-vist, and Bob Skiba, curator, to be the


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archives shelves

rst paid staff members overseeingthe John J. Wilcox, Jr. Archives.The impact they have had since thattime is tremendous. From re-hous-ing the materials in the collection to

better preserving them, to creatinga new Center program called Ar-chives in the Classroom which visitslocal schools to talk about LGBTQI+rights from the 1960s on, welcom-ing in new collections such as thegraphics collection from the AIDSLibrary in Philadelphia, and so muchmore.

I cannot say it enough, we are so

very fortunate to have such dedi-cated, creative, and knowledgeablestaff overseeing the collections andtaking them to the next level of careand accessibility.

This past year also welcomed an-other much needed addition to theCenters roster of thought partners:the formation of a professional ad-visory committee, which makes rec-ommendations to the Archives staffon policy, management, visioning,grants prospecting, and so muchmore. Members of that committeebring expertise in the areas of


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-

collections management and care,digitization, policy creation and ar-

chival standards, art collection, etc.Since they have been meeting, theCenter has adopted a CollectionsManagement Policy, an AccessPolicy, a Collections DevelopmentPolicy, and an Exhibition Policy allof which create a truly strong foun-dation to continue to protect andgrow the collection and provideopen access.

None of this work could have hap-pened without the Centers pri-mary partner for the William PennFoundation grant, The Conserva-

tion Center for Art and HistoricArtifacts. They are one of the larg-est and most prominent non-protconservation centers in the countryand they have been working hand-in-hand with the Center providingmuch needed advisement andconservation treatment for the col-lections.

The foundation of the collectionsarent strictly about the manage-ment of the collection but alsoabout the physical condition of theCenters repository. Big changesare coming to the Centers thirdoor! We are doubling the size of

the archives space and demolitionhas already begun. In April wewelcomed volunteers from PECOwho tirelessly hauled so much ofthe demolition material, that welled a 30 yard dumpster. Cur-rently I am forming a team whichincludes architects, designers, andarchives professionals to beginphase two.

The collections will live in a moreenvironmentally stable room, wewill expand research and process-ing space, and we will create a

space specically designed tohouse the Centers large perma-nent art collection. It will be a trulyexciting and long overdue renova-tion highlighting how much of a


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archives demo

priority the collections are to theCenter and its mission.

With these accomplishments andgoals in place, we are beginning

the exciting work of imaging bothshort-term and long-term strate-gies to guide the collection intothe future and ensure we have theresources to continue to grow.

We will install an archival manage-ment system that will help keep

better intellectual control of the col-lections, continue to create policiesand procedures for the collection,build upon the dynamic program-ming opportunities to interpret thecollections in creative ways, andthis Spring, the archives staff will

work with The Conservation Centerto survey the collections and de-velop a digitization plan.

We end the William Penn grant

work in the Fall of 2017, about ayear and a half from now. With allthat has been accomplished so far,you can imagine the year to comewill be a busy one and exponen-tially exciting.

Questions or feedback about this

project can be made to CandiceThompson, Chief Operating Ofcerat [email protected].


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Our Community Partners

Thank you to all of the Philadelphia organizations that offer generousdiscounts to members of the William Way LGBT Community Center.You make the work of the Center possible 365 days a year.

Members of the Center receive discounts at the following venueswhen they present a valid WWCC membership card. If you would like

to partner with the Center as a member, visit http://waygay40.org/membership/ or call the Center at 215/732.2220.

If you would like to become a community partner of the Center, pleaseemail [email protected] or call the Center.

12th Street Gymwww.12streetgym.com204 S. 12th StPhiladelphia, PA 19107215/985.4092

1 Year Gym Membership for$349 with No Initiation Fee(normally $99) and 1 week FreeTrial

Almeidas Floral Designswww.almeidasdesigns.com/1200 Spruce StreetPhiladelphia, PA 19107215/545.5555

15% off total purcahse.


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Baums Dancewearwww.baumsdancewear.com/

1805 E. Passyunk AvePhiladelphia, PA 19148215/923.2244

10% total purchase. Excludespreviously discounted items.

Big Gay Ice Creamwww.biggayicecream.com1351 South StreetPhiladelphia, PA 19147267/721.2245

10%off purchase. Only Valid forone purchase a day.

CultureWorks GreaterPhiladelphia Co-working Spacewww.cultureworksphila.org/

The Philadelphia Buidling1315 Walnut Street Suite 320Philadelphia, PA 19107267/597.380810% off Flex, Light and Full Co-working membership for up to

three months. Months do notneed to be consecutive. WWCCmembers receive another 3months when they renew theirWWCC membership each year.

Dannys Midnight Confessions133 S. 13th StreetPhiladelphia, PA 19107215/925.5041

10% off total purcahse. Excludes

previously discounted itemsEye Candy Visionwww.eyecandyvision.com218 S. 20th StreetPhiladelphia, PA 19103215/568.3937

30% off eye exam and purchase.Not combinable with insuranceor other discounts

Fat Jacks Comicrypt

www.comicrypt.com2006 Sansom StPhiladelphia, PA 19103215/963.0788

15% off total purchase. Exludespreviously discounted items.


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Fuelwww.fuelrechargeyourself.com1225 Walnut St

Philadelphia, PA 19107215/922.3835

10% off total purchase. Cannot notbe combined with other discounts,including Groupon and gtcards.Cannot be used for catering or-ders.

H.H. Tapper Associates, Inc.www.hhtapper.com/118 S. 21st StreetPhiladelphia, PA 19103

215/990.2851

10% off of an interior design con-sultation.

Happily Ever Afterwww.happily.com

1010 Pine StreetPhiladelphia, PA 19107215/627.5790

15% off total purcahse. Can not beused on consignment works or gift

certicates. Cannot be combinedwith other sales or specials.

Jack Barry Group Keller Williamswww.kw.com/kw/agent/jackbarry1619 Walnut St, 5th Floor


Up to $1,000 commission rebatefor each closed transaction. Re-bate can be donated to the Wil-liam Way Center, fully or in part, inan amount of the members choos-

ing. Contact Jack Barry for details;Certain exclusions apply.Jakes Sandwich Boardwww.jakessandwichboard.com122 South 12th Street


20% Total purchase and, $5 Build-Your-Own Pork MondaysKeller Williams, Center City,Bryan Byers Group

www.kwphilly.com1619 Walnut StreetPhiladelphia, PA 19103215/627.3500

WWCC Members will see their

broker service fee donated to theCenter, courtesy of Brian K. Byers.Contact Brian for details.off pur-chase. Only Valid for one purchasea day.


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Lions Mane Salonhttp://bit.ly/1SqfUjm1113 Pine StreetPhiladelphia, PA 19107215/925.0366

10% for all cosmetology services.Not good for products, cannot

be combined with gift certi-cates.

M Restaurant andthe Morris House Hotelwww.mrestaurantphilly.com231 S 8th StreetPhiladelphia, PA 19106215/625.6666

10% off total purchase whenpresenting a valid WWCC mem-bership card

Metro Mens Clothingwww.metromensclothing.com/1600 E. Passyunk AvePhiladelphia, PA 19148267/324.5172

15% off total purchase

Millsim & Ligne RosetOld City Philadelphiawww.millesime.us33 North 2nd Street Phila PA19106Philadelphia, PA 19106267/455.0374

15% discount on purchases over$500.00 Purchase

Optimal Gymwww.optimalgym.com/325 Bainbridge StPhiladelphia, PA 19147215/627.4900

No enrollment fee. Receive acomplete tness assessmentand 4 weeks of unlimited grouppersonal training

Optimal Sport Health Clubwww.optimalsporthealthclubs.

com/1315 Walnut StreetPhiladelphia, PA 19107215/735.1114

No enrollment fee. Receive acomplete tness assessmentand 4 weeks of unlimited grouppersonal training


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Pure Farewww.purefare.com/119 S. 21st StreetPhiladelphia, PA 19103267/318.7441

10% off total purchase.

Smokin Bettyswww.smokinbettys.com/116 S. 11th StreetPhiladelphia, PA 19107

215/922.6500

10% off purcahse. Cannont becombined with other specials.Snapdragon Flowerswww.snapdragonphilly.com

5015 Baltimore Ave.Philadelphia, PA 19143267/209.6066

5% of total purchase, and 10%off Wedding and Event arrange-ments, excluding major holidays

and the November - Februaryslow season.

Square One Coffeewww.squareonecoffee.com249 S. 13th StreetPhiladelphia, PA 19107267/758.6352

10% of total purchase. Valid forone discount per visit, 7 days aweek.off purchase. Only Valid forone purchase a day.

Tabu Lounge and Sports Barwww.tabuphilly.com/200 S. 12th StPhiladelphia, PA 19107215/564.9675

10% off food purchase. Not good

for any alcohol.

The Velvet Lilywww.thevelvetlily.com/1040 N. 2nd Street


1.7 oz hypo-allergenic lube with a$50 purchase.


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Toastwww.toastphilly.com1201 Spruce StreetPhiladelphia, PA 19107215/821.1080

10% of total purchase. ValidMonday through Friday forLunch and Dinner, Saturdayand Sunday for Dinner. Limitone per visit. Can not be com-bined with other coupons or

discounts.West Philly CommunityAcupuncturewww.westphillycommunitya-cupuncture.com4636 Woodland Ave


$10 treatments for WWCCMembers with a valid WWCCmembership card

Woodyswww.woodysbar.com202 s. 13th StreetPhiladelphia, PA 19107215/735.5772

$5.00 off door cover, exclud-

ing special events. Must showa valid WWCC membershipcard to receive discount.

Yards Brewing Companywww.yardsbrewing.com/

901 N. Delaware Ave.Philadelphia, PA 19123215/634.2600

20% off total purchase.


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Staff

Chris BartlettExecutive Director

Candice ThompsonChief Operating Ofcer

Avis AbaladejoDirector of Facilities

R. Eric Thomas

Director of Programs

Will JordanBookkeeper

John AnderiesArchivist

Eric BuntingFacilities Assistant

Jim CrouchMaintenance Technician

Ed MillerSenior Programs Coordinator

Jason PenoDevelopment Associate

Steve SeranPeer Counseling Coordinator

Marshall SiegelFront Desk Coordinator

Bob Skiba,Curator

Board of Directors Ofcers

Laurien Ward, Co-Chair

Paul Steinke, Co-Chair

Steve Brando, Secretary Anh Dang, Treasurer

Board Members

Chad Bundrock

Marc Coleman

Chris Durr

Anna Garrett

John Loesch

Robert Lenahan

Meg Rider

Jose Sabalbaro

Leona Thomas


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Documents

The Little Blue 2016 June