S1: It's time for Midday Edition on Kpbs. Today , we are talking about the celebration of pride here in San Diego despite attacks on Lgbtq+ rights. I'm Jade Hindman. Here's to conversations that keep you informed , inspired and make you think.
S2:
S1: But the celebration goes on. That's ahead on Midday Edition. San Diego's Pride parade is this Saturday. And it's happening against the backdrop of the Supreme Court ruling recently , which limits LGBTQ protections. The court sided with a Christian Web developer in a ruling earlier this month. Then here locally , a pair of protesters attempted to sabotage a pride display at the Rancho Dos Library by checking out all of the included books. Joining us now to discuss the bigger picture of Lgbtq+ rights in America , as well as how the community can be supported locally , is executive director of San Diego Pride , Fernando Lopez. And Fernando , welcome to Midday Edition again. Hi.
S2: Hi. Thanks for having me. Happy pride.
S1: Happy pride. So I want to start first with this Supreme Court ruling that I just mentioned.
S2: 303 creative ruling was in no way surprising. But the immediate impact is both a practical and a social one. And I think that anyone and everyone should be deeply concerned that our nation's highest court essentially said that it's okay to serve or not serve someone based on simply having different beliefs. You know , from a practical standpoint , this isn't just an LGBTQ issue. Christians , straight people , people of faith , any minority community , anyone should be concerned that really this is coming from the nation's highest court , saying we think differently , we believe differently. And because of that , you can be denied service , which for most people seems antithetical to the values of the First Amendment. And so really , the court didn't just fail the LGBT community , they failed the American public. And from our LGBTQ specific perspective , in a year where over over 700 anti-lgbtq pieces of legislation have been entered into 49 different states , it sends this devastating message that somehow our lives are expendable , that you can ignore us or refuse treatment just because you believe something different , and that causes real emotional harm to LGBTQ people , in particular our youth. But what's probably more disconcerting is that it also provides a license for folks to discriminate in ways that can dehumanize us and too often have dire consequences. So I think there's a lot to be concerned about with this court case.
S1: And at one point , the court had been bolstering protections for the LGBTQ plus community rather than chipping away at them.
S2: I think we're all very clear that there was a trajectory in a positive direction that was definitely supporting our rights. Right. This is the ten year anniversary , just like last week or so , of the ruling that gave us marriage equality in the state of California or 20 years ago. Just a couple of weeks ago , was the ruling that decriminalized just being LGBTQ in the United States. And so we were moving in this positive direction. But really what we're seeing is the impacts of Trump appointed officials in the gamification of the court system. And that has really had us moving in the wrong direction from , of course , from our perspective here locally.
S1: As we mentioned , a Pride exhibit at the Rancho Pinocchio's library was effectively ruined after protesters checked out all of its books.
S2: They they tried and they epically failed. And I think it's really sad indication of what's going on in your personal life when you seek to actively harm other people. The great news is , is that it backfired. And so what we saw out of that is a really concerted effort from our council member , openly LGBT Council member Marni von Wolpert , in conjunction with the Library Foundation out of San Diego , to raise some money to replace those books. And the great news is they have raised , at least to my knowledge , over $12,000 , which is more than enough books to not only replace those that were checked out , but to ensure that all 36 libraries in our region have LGBT pride displays and literature and access all across the region. And so I really appreciate that about our community that when we're under attack , that we're able to come together and find solutions that ultimately lead to a benefit for our community. And so it was really an exceptional thing to see come out of that really sort of silly , stupid act on their part.
S1:
S2: And I think that is an actual reflection of the American population as we're seeing rise in hate across the country. We are also seeing people step up to the plate. Whether that's seeing added attention from our media outlets or law enforcement officers or our elected officials , ensuring that they are stepping up to keep our community safe in these extreme moments. And so while we're countering these anti LGBTQ laws and legislation or direct acts of protest and violence against our community , really those sort of attitudes. It's well , maybe in alignment with folks like Ron DeSantis or Marjorie Taylor Greene are out of step with American values and the American public. Over 80% of Americans believe that LGBTQ people should have full protection under the law in the United States. And I think you see that reflected here in San Diego. Community is a vast majority of San Diegans support their LGBTQ neighbors , their coworkers and , of course , our families.
S1: You're listening to Midday Edition on Kpbs. I'm speaking with Fernando Lopez , executive director of San Diego Pride. And Fernando , I want to shift gears here to talk a little bit about actually celebrating pride here.
S2: No one likes June gloom , right ? Correct.
S3:
S2: But so in the 80s , the early 80s , you know , our community was a lot smaller and we didn't have the same capacity or resources that we have today. So San Diego Pride is actually one of the founders of the international pride body called Pride , where Pride's all over the world seek to support one another and building capacity for each other. And so when the time came in the 80s to sort of say , how does that happen ? What does that look like , there is a real strategic choice of major cities all over the world to start putting their pride events on different days. And that was a method to help encourage different activists and organizers from different cities to be able to go from city to city to build political power , to build the capacity of our community and ensure that all of us were supported. And so when that opportunity came up , our pride in June had been almost rained out a few times and no one liked June gloom. So we happily said , Hey , let's move to July. And so we've been there ever since. And it's obviously the weather , if you're looking at this weekend , is much better than it was June here in San Diego. And in another note , we're really excited that this October we actually get to host the 40th anniversary of the international conference here in San Diego this October.
S1:
S2: I think visibility is a really easy baseline , right ? Showing a rainbow flag or a rainbow sticker icon during pride season or all year round just to show that you are a safe space for folks or a safe ally for people. But what we really are looking for is both active allyship and equity. And so what active ship looks like is are you volunteering , are you donating , are you showing up in those moments , in your day to day life that are really difficult when you see hate discrimination or bias playing out , whether you're an educator , a faith leader or a business owner , whatever that looks like. If it's at your family dinner table or at the grocery store , how are you an active participant in showing up to put a stop to discrimination and supporting the LGBTQ community ? The other piece is equity and equity means investment and oftentimes financial investment or equitable policies. And too often what we see is LGBTQ folks cut out of diversity equity inclusion work because people aren't necessarily tracking sogi data or sexual orientation and gender identity data. So when we're doing policy reform , when we're doing equitable investment work , we need to make sure that we fully understand that LGBTQ people are disproportionately impacted by a whole host of micro and macro social factors that are deserving of investment. And so I think that's really what we're looking for is active allyship and genuine equity.
S1: Work in light of these recent blows to LGBTQ rights and protections.
S2: I've heard so much new energy from our LGBT community , our activists and our allies , saying that this hate simply will not stand. And as somebody who worked to help fight Proposition 8 in 2008 , that took away our marriage rights , too frequently , we would hear here in San Diego and all across California , oh , this will never pass. This will never happen. California so progressive. And what we need to ensure that actually happens is that we show up for each other. We're just one bad Supreme Court ruling away from losing marriage in the state of California. So I really do hope that folks use this as a wake up call to realize it's it's time and past time to engage in this work. And this work must be intersectional. I think we're all fighting the same fight , whether it is the attacks on voting rights , the attacks on critical race theory , the attacks on communities of color. Abortion protection , reproductive justice , immigrant rights or affirmative action. We're all fighting the same fight. And really what we're fighting is the rise of white supremacy , white nationalism , and this fascist sentiment that we see rising all over the world. But right now , the battles that we're facing are not new. We've been fighting these same tired old lies and misinformation battles for a long time. So I hope that people come out , they support , they volunteer or they donate to an LGBT organization that is deeply in that work , like San Diego Pride or any of the other wonderful nonprofits that are out there. I think we've all realized this year that now more and more than ever , it is really time for pride. So I hope folks come out and celebrate this weekend.
S1:
S2: And I would say city pride. Org slash volunteer or slash tickets. Every single way that you support this organization is something that helps to support the year round education and advocacy organization that are that we do all throughout the year. San Diego Pride is also the most philanthropic pride in the world. So when you come to the event , when you volunteer , when you donate , when you buy a ticket or beverage , you're supporting that incredible work of this organization. And I couldn't be more grateful to our attendees and our volunteers.
S1: I've been speaking with Fernando Lopez , executive director of San Diego Pride. And Fernando , thank you so much for joining us. Happy pride.
S2: Thank you so much for having me. Happy pride.
S1: What do you think of the Supreme Court's ruling ? Give us a call at (619) 452-0228. You can leave a message or you can email us at midday at pbs.org. Coming up , San Diego's public library director weighs in after efforts to suppress a pride exhibit.
S4: What I tried to , you know , explain that she was absolutely entitled to her beliefs but not entitled to remove materials that other people might want to read.
S1: You're listening to Kpbs Midday Edition. Welcome back to Kpbs Midday Edition. I'm Jade Hindman. Last month , two anti LGBTQ plus protesters checked out everything and the pride display at the Rancho Penske Library branch. One emailed , saying she wouldn't return the books until the library got rid of what she called , quote , inappropriate content for children. Kpbs reporter Katie Hyson sat down with the San Diego Public Library director Misty Jones to speak about the incident and the recent challenges to book access.
S4: So we always celebrate pride and we do a lot of pride displays in all of our branch libraries. And we had one at Rancho Pinocchio's , and I got an email that from a patron that she and her friend had checked out the entire Pride display all of the books because they did not agree with it and really said that they were not going to return them unless we said that we would take the pride display down and actually get rid of the books permanently.
S5:
S4: It was this was a first for me. We've had people that have complained about one book or things like that. We've had Drag Queen story times and we've had people call or email saying they don't agree with it. But this is the first time I've ever had someone like completely decimate a display and and basically email and say , I'm not returning your books. So that was new for me. So I took the opportunity to really try to explain why we do pride displays and why we celebrate different cultures and different communities. And this was no different than celebrating African American History Month or Asian American , you know , Hispanic Heritage Month. It was no different. We're celebrating a culture , a community. This is the time that we celebrate that and really kind of stressing that. San Diego Public Library libraries are about inclusivity and we're about everyone being able to find themselves in the library. And so that's really , you know , it's what I tried to explain , that she was absolutely entitled to her beliefs but not entitled to remove materials that other people might want to read.
S5:
S4: It's about celebrating diversity. It's celebrating not only what we have in common , but also our differences. And I really feel like , you know , I always say the library is the great equalizer. It kind of levels the playing field for everyone. It's for anybody can come regardless of their circumstance , and they have an opportunity to learn something new. And it might be something that challenges their beliefs. And that's what it's about. It's about getting that information , expanding your horizons , a different perspective besides yours. And I feel like that's how we grow as a society. That's how we become more tolerant. We become kind of one with each other is to to learn about each other and what better place this is a safe place for people know. You can check out that book and you can take it home and you can digest it. You can learn , you know , go to a different cultural program or , you know , that's really what we we want to do. We want to we want to encourage people to have those conversations , even if they're difficult conversations.
S5:
S4: The only thing that's going to happen is if they don't return them , they will eventually have to pay for them. So we do. We have a really very generous checkout policy. We you know , you get automatic renewals , auto renewals. As long as no one has put that book on hold and is waiting for it. But once they're due , you have 30 , 60 days before you're sent to collections if you don't return them. So it really could end up , which would be a shame , you know , to end up in collections , particularly for checking out books that you don't agree with. I'm not really I guess I don't understand , you know , the logic of why you would go that far is to end up paying for books on a subject matter you don't agree with. But that's eventually what will happen.
S5: However , I heard there were fundraising efforts to replace the book.
S4: I was actually at the Pinsky Library on Monday , and you should see the stack of. Amazon.
S6: Amazon.
S4: Boxes that they have of people who are purchasing the books to replace them. Our library foundation is having an ongoing fundraising effort. They are really getting inundated. Council District five Marty von Wolpert office is getting inundated with calls and emails. We don't have the final tally yet. We still those donations are still coming in. So if anybody wants to contribute , please go to the Library Foundation's website and contribute. But we're we're just seeing this huge , you know , increase in and or people just reaching out , emailing , calling , dropping in. We've had people come into the library that have never been to the library before , but they're coming in to donate a book and getting a library card while they're there , you know.
S6: So it's really.
S4: Been an amazing response.
S5: You mentioned to the Union-Tribune that it's gotten progressively worse in the last five years. Can you tell me about that ? Yeah.
S4: So I really think that it's become as the countries become more divided and we all know we're starting really to these are things the Ranch Up Initiatives library has had a pride display every year for probably ten years. Some of them have been really , you know , they've been really involved big , you know , with balloons and things. This was this one was literally a flag with the word pride across. So it was not a huge display. But we've never gotten a complaint before until this year. And that's what we're seeing is that we've had Drag Queen Storytimes , we've had Pride Storytimes for years. We've always had inclusive books. We've always had something that is probably offensive. I always say the library , a good library has something that offends everyone , right ? So.
S6:
S4: Oh , there's always something. But the last five years is when we're really starting to get the emails , the calls , the people not agreeing. And it's not it hasn't just been. I don't agree with that. Why are you doing that ? It's been really hateful language. And I think that's what's changed. We've always had challenges , but we've never had the personal attacks against our librarians , you know , really people just calling really outraged and just using very hateful and divisive language. And we're seeing that. I mean , it's it's happening across the country. And it's it's really sad.
S5: There have been movements to ban books and school libraries. Many of those have been successful.
S4: You know , and what we're seeing is it's really , you know , public libraries are responding to that because in a school library , it's a more you know , it's a narrower they don't have , you know , and when they have a school board , they really have to follow what the school board. And so we have found that we're having a lot of people reaching out to us to get those materials that they can't get in schools any longer. And that's across the nation probably seen , which is just like the it's a horror movie to me to see the videos of just piles and piles of books being taken out to recycle bins and dumpsters. And it's like it breaks my heart. It's devastating. But we are looking at what can we do ? We know we're in a privileged , you know , space here in San Diego. We don't have the challenges that other places are seeing. And so we're looking at how can we also be a support nationally. And , you know , there are places right here in you know , in California. California is not immune to this , as you know , evidenced. I never really you know , it was like , you don't think this is going to happen in San Diego , but it does.
S5: You're talking about ways that you can support places elsewhere in the country. Are there any concrete ideas you're excited about ? Yeah.
S4: So we're looking Brooklyn Public Library started really a movement called Unbanned Books. And so they boosted their e-book collection to be able to offer it to other states , to kids , particularly the young adult , you know , children and young adult collection to be able to offer it to to kids in other states and Seattle Public Library just join that movement. So we've been looking at that. We've been looking at just really it's about just reaching out. You know , my where I started my career in Greenville County Library is facing this now. And so it's it's really very personal to me. They've actually in Greenville banned the word banned which so you can't do and then you know because and then they said you can't do displays at all. So it's so you're hurting everyone because of an ideology. You don't agree with something. And so you're going to you're going to punish everyone , making sure that people are paying a. Attention to this and talking like this , getting the word out , making sure that people understand what is happening. Because I really think that when you don't pay attention , then that's , you know , something can happen and and you're caught off guard.
S5:
S4: The problem is that you can't push your beliefs onto other people that may not believe the same way that you do. And that's where the issue comes. And so by checking out all of the books , because she didn't agree with them , she denied an entire community from access to those books. And it may be some a book that somebody needs that day. Somebody needs to see that the book , Trans Like Me , there is a teenager that is struggling that that book could make a difference for. And by removing that book , you have taken potentially that lifeline away from that person. And that's what I'm trying really trying to impart is absolutely you are you have every right to believe the way that you want to , but please don't deny someone else access to something that could change their life. You know , could set them on the right path. And that's why I've struggled so much with this , is you just , you know , take what you believe and you know , and but don't don't push that on somebody else because you could really be doing harm that you don't realize more harm than what you intended.
S1: That was Kpbs reporter Katie Hyson speaking with San Diego's public library director Misty Jones. Coming up , the conversation continues with an award winning artist who's raising trans voices.
S7: What I'm doing is really working on fiercely empowering trans voices and non-binary voices to love their voice and to use them sing out.
S1: You're listening to Kpbs Midday Edition. Welcome back. You're listening to Kpbs Midday Edition. I'm Jade Hindman. San Diego Pride will recognize several community leaders at this week's festival. One of those annual awards is the Larry te Baza Arts and Culture Award , named after the local long time arts and LGBTQ advocate who passed away in 2021. This year's recipient is Lindsay Deaton , a local musician , playwright and conductor who is a leading expert on the transgender singing voice. She's founder and artistic director of the San Diego Queer Youth Course , and before that she founded the Trans Course of Los Angeles. Lindsay , welcome to Midday Edition.
S7: Thank you , Jade. I'm so delighted to be with you today.
S1: So glad to have you. So let's start with your background. You're a musician and you'd been a conductor for decades before your transition.
S7: I am a child of the border. I grew up here in San Diego and later graduated from San Diego State with a degree in classical guitar studying with Celine Romero. And while I was at San Diego State , I , you know , just fell in love with with choral music , orchestra music , and one day picked up a baton and started studying hard while I was at Sdsu and was fortunate enough to get a scholarship to go to Carnegie Mellon and then on to New York , where I did some studies at Juilliard. And after my MFA , I was fortunate to go to the Aspen Music School and then moved to New York , where I was a conductor with the Hudson Valley Philharmonic. It was in that capacity that I and my family moved to Cincinnati , Ohio , and ended up sticking there for 30 years. We raised a family there and while there I began a new vocation , if you will , working for the Catholic Church. And I was a cathedral music director for a decade when in my mid 50s I transitioned. And it was a brutal experience in terms of my jobs. I lost them all and we lost our house. But I was fortunate to be able to maintain my marriage and my wife had a good job with Kroger and my children kept me. And so that's the the long version of the transition in San Diego. Growing up in the 60s and 70s , I never saw a person who looked like me , you know , or who resembled me or that I could in any way relate to. And , you know , at that point in my life , I was always asked , you know , are you gay ? And that was my cognitive dissonance , you know , is that I definitely did not like guys , you know , and I loved girls that I just wanted to dress like them and be them. And so , you know , growing up culturally here in San Diego , post , you know , Korean War and through the Vietnam War , that was a different time.
S1:
S7: I am going to be 68 years old in September. You know , I would have thought that our country and our world would be in a much different place ten years after my transition. And we're just not I'm very fortunate. I'm very privileged. You know , I'm a white trans woman who isn't often accosted or , you know , traumatized with violence. That is not the same for my siblings , you know , especially for those who are in the POC community. And it's getting worse every year and it's getting worse for trans kids in particular. And so I just have an incredible sense of urgency , number one , on their safety , the uptick in suicides , the uptick in murders. You know , it was it was last year that we read 50 names at the Transgender Day of Remembrance on November 20th. And that had been more than double the names that we were reading before. And , you know , if you think about it , 50 people being murdered in this country for who they are is incredibly , incredibly debilitating for everybody in our community , including trans kids. They see what's going on. You know , they know what's going on here. They see it. Yeah.
S3: Yeah.
S1:
S7: I'm glad you asked that question. So when I started back in 2014 , there was no nobody was doing dissertations for few. There were few like two. Now , you know , academia is rife with , you know , new dissertations and theses on on trans voices , non-binary voices. ET cetera. And , you know , where I , I work is in the practical application , you know , how do we sing , you know , and , and how do we sing like we feel best and what needs to happen. So that happens , right ? And you can hear my voice right now and my vocal cords have been subjected to testosterone. Right. And so as soon as a vocal cord is , you know , hit with testosterone , it lengthens and thickens and the register lowers. It's science how this happens. And with science , we know that with estrogen , the opposite does not happen. You know , once a vocal cord lengthens and thickens , that's what it is , except now we have new methods of surgery that that some trans folks are opting for. And in my experience , the people that I know who are really care for that have gone through that are very , very discouraged , have been through a lot of vocal reconstructions , aren't able to sing anymore. And so , you know , what I'm I'm doing is really working on fiercely empowering trans voices , you know , and non-binary voices to love their voice and to use them sing out and , you know , back into the academia part of our art. You know , I'm white , I'm a child of colonists. Right ? And the music that I grew up in was primarily European English. Right ? And so as we grow up here in the United States , the textbooks that are used , by and large , come out of Texas and they are absolutely white centric , patriarchal. And so the music that we grow up with , that we teach our children , has a great deal of influence on how they are socialized generally. And fortunately , there's new methodologies of teaching music like Carl or result in Cody or Jack Doll crows that incorporate the whole body , you know , in teaching and you know , aren't necessarily dependent on that Western ideal because the world is filled with glorious music. So that's my role then , is to how do I help my community , love their voice , find music that speaks to where they're at and what they need to say , Right ? And then working with composers who understand that our voices might not necessarily fall into the old Western categories of soprano alto for high voices , tenor and bass , for low voices , you know it. It will be a time moving in the future where it will be high voice , middle , high voice , you know , middle , low voice or something like that. But right now , you know , musicians are faced with a library of published music that has copyrights or is in the public domain. And for money reasons , it's nobody's going to go back and and rework those catalogs. So when you put music in front of a trans person and they automatically are confronted with the binary , where do I fit ? Right ? And so that's the story of of our musicians lives.
S3:
S1: A very interesting. You're listening to Kpbs Midday Edition. I'm Jade Hindman speaking with Lindsay Deaton , artistic director , conductor and a leader in the global trans choral movement. Lindsay , you also premiered a new play last fall , The Trans Vagina Diaries. Tell us about that project.
S7: Well , it's a project that we we had our first version back in 2020. We were in workshop for eight weeks up in West Hollywood , and we had our dress rehearsal and we got to our tech address on Thursday , March 12th. And then we were closed down by the city of West Hollywood because of the pandemic. And , you know , we we were told initially , you know , the city will be closed for a couple of weeks , but it wasn't. And so on April the 4th of that year , we had a Zoom production and we got the cast , you know , who are also the writers to get on Zoom , just like we are here and do our show. And so with that version , the Trans Vagina Diaries featured 12 trans , non-binary bipoc folks who shared stories. And , you know , for years these stories have been shunned or taboo their private. And any , you know , attempt to share them has always been met with violence. And , you know , it's my role as an artistic director and a creator for , you know , to help trans folks take their voices back and to be able to speak freely and clearly about our bodies. And fortunately , this last November , we were with the co-sponsorship of the city of West Hollywood and the production of Hollywood National Organization for Women. We were able to do the first live production in the city of West Hollywood City Council chambers , and it was pared down to to seven writer performers this time. And we are in our third , you know , evolution. This coming November , we're going to be back in city council chambers in West Hollywood , and we've adjusted our title to just Trans diaries , and it provides us a little bit more spaciousness for joyful and funny stories. And so it's not all about what's going on between our legs , however. Jade , it is what's going on between our legs that's getting our community murdered , especially black trans women. Okay. Yeah.
S3: Yeah.
S1:
S7: But right along those core values are providing the opportunity , the space and the resources for voices who have been at risk and are marginalized and are not seen or heard , and to provide them that space. Right. That's first and foremost. The second is , you know , to welcome the assistance and support of organizations like the National Organization for Women and the City of West Hollywood and San Diego , Pride and Diversionary theater. Right. These are all , you know , very strong partners of mine. And we're going to be able to do a reading of the Trans Diaries down here at Diversionary Theater , I hope sometime this fall , Jade. And so hopefully it will be coming to San Diego. And we're also working on a special so that folks who aren't necessarily in Southern California can have an opportunity to hear these stories and they provoke them to write their own.
S3: Mm And you know.
S1: You also work with the youth and founded the San Diego Queer Youth Course.
S7: And so one of the things that I learned working with young people coming out of the pandemic is that it's still hard to gather and kids here still don't feel safe. And it's not necessarily about the pandemic. And it's much it's about everything else that's going on in the country and being fearful of being out in groups. Right ? So we have a every second Saturday of the month , Queer Youth karaoke at the Gordon Cabaret at the Diversionary Theater. And we have anywhere between 17 and 25 kids show up depending on the month. We've had one young person show up for all 17 months that we've been doing. The karaoke and the songs that they choose really inform me what's going on. And it's amazing. They're amazing. And I think one of the biggest changes that I'm seeing , Jade , is the impact on parents and the nuclear family. You know , when I came out ten years ago back in Cincinnati , Ohio Children's Hospital in Cincinnati , only had 105 families that were in their trans kids program. And , you know , just about when I left , the city had gone through an incredible tragedy. We had 600 kids. There had been a trans kid who committed a very difficult suicide for the region , and it gave everybody pause. It stopped everything in Cincinnati , Ohio , and it caused the city , all of the media to really decide to understand how to get it right. And it started with name and pronouns. And so with. My choruses. It's everybody has a name tag with their name , you know , whether it's your chosen name or it's your name and your pronouns for today. And we also always have food and we take a good break in the middle , whether it be pizza or lentil soup that my wife will make. I try to choose music and perform music with the kids that speaks to them where they are right now. We had the great fortune of being supported by the Jason Mraz Foundation initially and were able to perform with Jason and his band for Shine at the Spreckels Theater with two sold out audiences. And , you know , that has been really one of the highlights , I believe , of of the chorus experience so far in the last four years. And here we are. Yeah.
S3: Yeah. I mean , and you'll.
S1: Receive San Diego Pride's Larry T Basa Arts and Culture Award this Friday at the Spirit of Stonewall event.
S7: And you know , Larry , T Basa is an icon not only here in San Diego , southern California , and in Sacramento , but also in Washington , D.C. He , along with his spouse , had a fabulous art gallery downtown. And Little Italy , Larry was a commissioner , you know , of art for the county and then for the state. I happen to also be a commissioner. I am the first transgender appointed arts commissioner for the city of West Hollywood , and I serve on their Arts and Cultural Affairs Commission. And so I'm very grateful for that opportunity. And , you know , that opportunity informs me of of what we can do in my hometown here in San Diego vis a vis like theater and art and music. And so I'm very grateful to sort of have this two city connection. But Larry T , you know , really set a place for for people of color , for queer people in particular , that allowed a person like me to be able to receive an award like this. Right. I think I think that's really something to share with our listeners is. You know , now is a lot different than it was back in the 60s , 70s and 80s. Jade And coming out was not a thing that people did. You know , we were trampled , beat up , murdered and arrested , for God's sakes , if we were other people's clothing. Right. And so , you know , I'm just so incredibly humbled and grateful to all of the folks at San Diego Pride and in the community for recognizing Larry , first and foremost , the past recipients , including Matt Morrow and the San Diego Women's Chorus. And I'm just , you know , thrilled. Yeah.
S3: Yeah.
S1: And congratulations to you. I've been speaking with this year's recipient of the Larry T Baza Arts and Culture Award , Lindsey Deaton. Lindsey , congratulations again to you and thank you for talking with us this afternoon.
S7: Thank you for everything that you are and do Jade and Kpbs. Thank you.
S1: What thoughts do you have about today's show ? Give us a call at (619) 452-0228. Leave a message or you can email us at midday at pbs.org. We'd love to share your ideas here on Midday Edition. Don't forget to watch Evening Edition tonight at five for in-depth reporting on San Diego issues and catch the roundtable tomorrow right here at noon. I want to thank our Midday Edition team. Harrison Patino , Andrew Bracken and Juliana Domingo are the producers with the help of Ariana Clay , Adrian Villalobos and Rebecca Chacon are the technical directors Beth Accomando and Julia Dixon. Evans produced the art segments. I'm Jade Hindman. Thanks for listening and have a great weekend , everyone.
