San Francisco’s Castro Street Fair—which Harvey Milk started before he was elected a San Francisco supervisor—turned 50 this year, The Bay Area Reporter noted. Milk started the fair in 1974 as a way to celebrate the neighborhood and bring attention to local merchants and the neighbors. (It took place this year on Oct. 6.) He promoted the fair in his Milk Forum column in the Bay Area Reporter, which also debuted 50 years ago. Milk won his supervisor race in 1977 but was killed, along with then-Mayor George Moscone, in November 1978.
Toyota has joined several other companies (such as MolsonCoors, Harley-Davidson, John Deere and Home Depot) in refocusing its DEI programs and stopping the sponsorship of LGBTQ+ events, AdAge noted. The Japanese carmaker told employees it will also end participation in notable rankings by the Human Rights Campaign and other corporate culture surveys. The development happened after anti-DEI activist Robby Starbuck (who has gone after other businesses) started a social-media campaign against the company, calling for customer boycotts because of its support for LGBTQ+ events and other initiatives.
A transitional home dedicated to LGBTQ+ veterans experiencing homelessness has opened in King County, Washington—becoming the first of its kind in the nation, The Center Square reported. The “Q’mmunity House” will provide supportive housing to veterans who identify themselves as part of the LGBTQ+ community; in addition, it will provide on-site case management and connections to the veteran-serving community. The nonprofit organization Minority Veterans of America will operate the Q’munnity House. According to King County Communication Specialist Carley Thompson, Minority Veterans of America received $1.8 million to renovate the building.
The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) is to be the home of the LGBTQ Women’s Community Survey that the late activist Urvashi Vaid created, per a press release. The comprehensive set of 5,002 completed surveys is organized around twenty thematic areas and examined through eight demographic lenses. The study was designed to investigate the complex web of discrimination and structural violence faced by women and nonbinary people who partner with women. NCLR President Imani Rupert-Gordon said, “NCLR is proud to be the permanent home of the LGBTQ Women’s Community Survey. Having access to this wealth of data will allow us to better advocate for our entire community.”
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre—a member of the queer community—has been promoted to senior adviser to President Joe Biden, per The Advocate, citing ABC News. She will keep her current role as she adds the new title to her portfolio. Jean-Pierre—who became the first Black woman and the first out LGBTQ+ person to hold the press secretary position in 2022—now joins the president’s inner circle as one of his most trusted advisers. Jean-Pierre joins another LGBTQ+ person with the president’s ear: White House communications director Ben LaBolt, who was promoted to senior adviser earlier this year. Senior adviser to First Lady Jill Biden Anthony Bernal and White House Director of Political Strategy and Outreach Emmy Ruiz are also members of the LGBTQ+ community, The Washington Blade noted.
Colorado officials, including gay Democratic Gov. Jared Polis, are denying a claim by Gays Against Groomers, an extremist group, that Polis supports their mission, according to The Advocate. Gays Against Groomers recently posted on X (formerly Twitter), “Gays Against Groomers would like to thank Colorado Governor @jaredpolis for his public recognition for our hard work in protecting children across the state. It means so much to us. We are just getting started!” However, Polis’ press secretary, Shelby Wieman, told The Advocate in a statement: “Hate has no place in Colorado, and Governor Polis denounces hate in all its forms,” adding that Polis doesn’t endorse any of the groups who request an honorary flag and that he “was not aware of this request, just as he is not involved in the other flag requests that come through the Department of Personnel and Administration.” Apparently, the Department of Personnel and Administration, which oversees Colorado’s Ceremonial Flag program, did not vet Gays Against Groomers’ request appropriately.
Honee Daniels, a 37-year-old Black transgender woman, was killed in a hit-and-run accident in Rochester, New York, The Advocate noted, citing WHAM. (Local media deadnamed and misgendered Daniels.) The driver and vehicle have since been identified, but no arrests have been made and the accident remains under investigation. Her family gave her name to media outlets as Honee Moffett, but local activists said her actual name was Honee Daniels. “The victim identified both publicly and privately as a transgender woman,” according to a press release from Blaque/Out Magazine.
Michigan teen Ahmed Al-Alikhan will be charged as an adult in the stabbing death of a gay Detroit man, in part because of the “heinous nature of the crime,” authorities said, NBC News reported. Detroit police charged Al-Alikhan, 17, with first-degree murder, felony murder and unlawful driving away in an automobile, alleging he fatally stabbed Howard Brisendine, 64, and then stole his car after they met on a dating app. Most of the largest dating apps, including Grindr, Tinder, Hinge and OK Cupid, require users to be at least 18, although the age of consent in Michigan is 16.
In Virginia, the West Point School Board agreed to pay former high school teacher Peter Vlaming $575,000 in damages and attorneys’ fees as part of a legal settlement after the instructor’s dismissal in 2018 for refusing to use a transgender student’s pronouns, The Hill reported. The board also cleared Vlaming’s dismissal from his record and, separate from the settlement agreement, changed its policies to conform to trans-related policies finalized by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration last year. The model policies—criticized by pro-LGBTQ+ individuals and groups when they were unveiled in 2022—allow teachers at Virginia K-12 schools to refer to transgender students by the name and pronouns associated with their sex assigned at birth, rather than their gender identity.
Also, Christian graphic artist Lorie Smith—who won a national freedom of speech case tied to her refusal to create websites for same-sex weddings through her company, 303 Creative—will get a $1.5 million payout from the state of Colorado to cover her legal fees, Colorado Public Radio noted. The ruling eventually defeated Colorado’s public accommodations laws aiming to ban discrimination against customers based on sexual orientation. The total payout is less than Smith originally asked for after the legal victory; Smith’s attorneys cited the long, complex and ground-breaking nature of the case as the reason for requesting more than $1.9 million from the state.
Michael G. Lee, Ph.D., has written When The Band Played On: The Life of Randy Shilts, America’s Trailblazing Gay Journalist, now out via Chicago Review Press, Lavender Magazine noted. Shilts was a pioneer in journalism, being the first LGBTQ+ person to come out at a daily news publication, the San Francisco Chronicle; in addition, he wrote three books, including And The Band Played On and Conduct Unbecoming. Lee’s book is “more intimate, more personal, and sort of probes in depth a little bit more for those developmental milestones that shaped Randy’s life,” according to Lee.
An LGBTQ Nation article listed 20 queer celebrities who have publicly endorsed Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris for president. Some of them include singer Pink; rapper Megan Thee Stallion; gay Afro-Puerto Rican actor Wilson Cruz; bisexual Scottish actor Alan Cumming; musician Billie Eilish; actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson; pansexual, nonbinary, polyamorous actor/musician Janelle Monae; actresses Cynthia Nixon and Sarah Paulson; and Oscar-nominated actor Colman Domingo.
The U.S. Supreme Court is taking up the case of an Ohio woman who claims she suffered sex discrimination in her employment because she is straight, the AP noted. The justices decided to review an appellate ruling that upheld the dismissal of the discrimination lawsuit filed by the woman, Marlean Ames, against the Ohio Department of Youth Services. Ames, who has worked for the department for 20 years, claims she was passed over for a promotion and then demoted because she is heterosexual; both the job she sought and the one she had held were given to LGBTQ+ people.
Members of the San Francisco Dyke March interim steering committee are planning two town hall meetings to recruit leadership and fill board seats, per The Bay Area Reporter. The meetings will take place Saturday, Oct. 26, at the Chan National Queer Arts Center; and Tuesday, Nov. 12, at the San Francisco LGBT Community Center. The goal is to bring back the long-standing traditions of dyke activism scheduled for Pride 2025. Next year’s San Francisco Pride festivities take place June 28-29. Those interested in serving on the advisory board can apply here.
Black gay congressional candidate Mondaire Jones replied to resurfaced photos of his GOP opponent, Mike Lawler, in blackface, saying Lawler “knew exactly what he was doing,” according to The Advocate. Lawler donned blackface as part of a Michael Jackson Halloween costume in 2006, when he was in college; he told NBC’s New York City affiliate, “Obviously, in hindsight, I certainly recognize how people would portray that and be offended by it, so certainly I apologize.” Jones—whose campaign announced that he had raised $2.9 million in the third quarter of fundraising this year—was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from the 17th District in 2020, becoming one of the two first Black gay men in Congress; the other was New York City’s Ritchie Torres.
Out CNN anchor Anderson Cooper was doing a live standup for CNN in Bradenton, Florida—when a piece of flying debris from Hurricane Milton hit him straight in the face, Deadline noted. Cooper shouted, “Whoa! That wasn’t good. We’ll probably go inside shortly” before continuing with his report. CNN colleague Bill Weir made it to St. Petersburg—but was blown straight out of the frame while reporting.
Four universities forfeited their women’s volleyball matches against San José State University (SJSU) following controversy over the gender identity of one of the team’s players, per NBC News. Utah State University said in a brief statement that it would not play its Oct. 23 match against SJSU, joining the University of Wyoming, Boise State University and Southern Utah University. SJSU Senior Director of Media Relations Michelle Smith McDonald said the university will not address the gender identity of any student due to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, a federal student privacy law. None of the forfeiting universities explained their decisions.
Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are amplifying issues from the upcoming presidential election to HIV prevention, Essence noted. On the campus of Alabama State University, ViiV Healthcare transformed the annual celebration into a platform for HIV awareness. Black people have been disproportionately affected by the disease historically, according to the CDC; by the numbers, Black/African American people lead in HIV cases by ethnicity. In addition, the southern U.S. accounts for 53% of new HIV diagnoses, and 50% of all new HIV diagnoses among people aged 13-24 are also Black.
This year marked the 36th annual AIDS Walk Northwest, which celebrates HIV advocacy, aims to reduce stigma and raises funds for HIV/AIDS research and care, POZ noted. Held in Portland, Oregon, AIDS Walk Northwest (formerly AIDS Walk Portland)—emceed by drag performer and longtime community activist Poison Waters—this year’s walk raised almost $259,000, according to a press release from Cascade AIDS Project (CAP), which has organized the event since 1988. This year’s walk took place at Tom McCall Waterfront Park; participants had access to free on-site HIV testing offered by the CAP Prevention team as well as flu shots and mpox vaccines provided by the Multnomah County Health Department.
The East Texas Women’s March walked through downtown Tyler recently in support of women’s reproductive rights and gender equality, Yahoo! News noted. The march was held by NETNOW—the northeast Texas chapter of NOW (the National Organization of Women)—in order to help bring attention to women’s issues ahead of election day on Nov. 5. The organization is accepting donations at this link.
In New Jersey, a ceremony in Sandy Hook Bay welcomed the new USS New Jersey into the U.S. fleet, NorthJersey.com noted. The ship—the first submarine designed to fully integrate male and female sailors—was commissioned into the U.S. Navy’s Submarine Force during a late-morning ceremony on Naval Weapons Station Earle’s trident-shaped pier off the coast of Middletown. The walls of this nuclear-powered, fast-attack submarine feature posters from Rutgers University, New Jersey Devils memorabilia, a guitar donated by Jon Bon Jovi and more. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy was among the dignitaries present, along with Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro.
Hung Cao, the Republican candidate for Virginia’s U.S. Senate seat, blamed a drag queen for low military recruitment numbers and said the military needs “alpha males and females” instead, according to LGBTQ Nation. During a recent debate against incumbent Sen. Tim Kaine (D), Cao—a Navy veteran endorsed by former President Donald Trump—was asked about his former comments claiming that DEI initiatives under the administration of President Joe Biden were causing the lowest military recruitment numbers in 80 years. “When you’re using a drag queen to recruit for the Navy, that’s not the people we want,” Cao responded. “What we need is alpha males and alpha females who are going to rip out their own guts, eat them, and ask for seconds. Those are young men and women that are going to win wars.” Cao may have been referring to Yeoman Second Class Joshua Kelley, a nonbinary U.S. Navy service member who goes by the name Harpy Daniels when in drag—and who the Navy chose as a “Digital Ambassador” in a pilot program that utilizes social media for recruitment.
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