A mock-up of the rainbow-colored ‘B-G’ sculpture.

Dallas’ “B-G” letters are coming to Oak Lawn repainted in rainbow colors, according to Scott Barretto.

ilume developer Luke Crossland is paying for the colorful paint job and the sculpture will be placed outside his building at Knight Street and Cedar Springs Road in front of the old Monica’s.

Barretto said painting should take about six days but the letters in rainbow colors should be ready in time for some June Pride Month photography.

The letters are part of a marketing campaign conducted by the Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau to promote tourism to the city. The idea is for people to be photographed standing between the “B” and “G” to make the “I.” The letters have been placed in various places around the city, but not in Oak Lawn.

“When they launched the new BIG branding for Dallas, it became quite clear to me that there was a missing element to the launch, which included the installation of the ‘B-G’ sculptures around the city at major consumer traffic spots,” Barretto wrote to us. “With the sculpture campaign now over (and just a few remaining sculptures left up for display), I approached my contacts within the CVB and pitched them on the idea of installing a special version of the ‘B-G’ sculpture repainted in the colors of the Pride flag and placed in Oak Lawn.”

Many people posed with the letters at Main Street Garden where they were specially installed for Razzle Dazzle Dallas.

Several weeks ago, our cover featured Jenna Skyy as the I in the “B-G” sculpture.

Originally we hoped to photograph Jenna in the letters on the roof of the NYLO Hotel in The Cedars with the skyline of Dallas in the background. But the hotel wanted to collect a fee of several hundred dollars for a professional photo shoot.

Although Jenna was quite flattered about being called a professional, we hightailed it out of there and we trekked downtown where we had passed a set of the letters facing the Omni Hotel. When that location didn’t work because of bad reflection from the building, we found another set in Pioneer Plaza. Jenna changed into her Balenciaga gown in the middle of the park and posed for about 100 shots.

Jenna lives at ilume so when her alter ego Joe Hoselton heard about placing the letters right downstairs from his apartment, he laughed and said, “Of course they are.”

Jenna trekked through downtown Dallas to help us get the perfect ‘BIG’ cover.

]]> http://www.dallasvoice.com/rainbow-bg-coming-oak-lawn-10150735.html/feed 0 http://www.dallasvoice.com/dallas-county-commissioners-pass-first-ever-lgbt-pride-month-resolution-10150716.html http://www.dallasvoice.com/dallas-county-commissioners-pass-first-ever-lgbt-pride-month-resolution-10150716.html#comments Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:00:12 +0000 Anna Waugh http://www.dallasvoice.com/?p=150716

LGBT advocates who attended Tuesday’s Dallas County Commissioners Court meeting gather on the steps of the administration building after the Pride resolution passes. (Anna Waugh/Dallas Voice)

Dallas County commissioners unanimously passed a resolution Tuesday declaring June LGBT Pride Month.

The resolution is the first of its kind for the county. The Dallas City Council has issued proclamations the past three years recognizing June as LGBT Pride Month.

Commissioner Theresa Daniel presented the resolution, reading it to the room before it passed. Commissioner Mike Cantrell, the only Republican on the five-member court, was absent from the meeting.

“On this special occasion, we must bear in mind that while we have overcome difficult obstacles, tolerance and acceptance is something we must all practice and teach future generations,” the resolution reads in part. (Read the full version here)

After its passage, activist Omar Narvaez then addressed the court with several LGBT supporters standing behind him. He spoke about the importance of the LGBT community having showing its Pride during June.

“It’s so appropriate that our symbol for the LGBT community is a rainbow because we are every single part, we are every fabric of that rainbow,” he said. “We are African-American, we’re Latino, we are white, we are Asian, we are Native American.”

Narvaez said he was proud of Dallas County for being the first in the state to have both an LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination policy and domestic partner benefits, and now it’s the first to have passed a resolution declaring it LGBT Pride Month.

Commissioner Dr. Elba Garcia then thanked the activists who attended and recognized gay former Dallas Councilman John Loza for being in attendance. Both Garcia and Loza worked on the city of Dallas’ LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination ordinance in 2002 while serving on the City Council together.

County Judge Clay Jenkins thanked those in attendance for their work and patience when the county added transgender protections to its nondiscrimination policy in 2011 after it was left out of the policy, and for working with commissioners last year when domestic partner voucher program passed. He said those things have made the county better and other counties should follow Dallas’ lead, adding that half of Fortune 500 companies already have a similar policy and benefits.

“Dallas County is the most progressive county out of 254 because they follow the lead of half of the Fortune 500 companies,” Jenkins said. “It’s time for the rest of the state to treat our GLBT brothers and sisters like fully equal partners in our society.”

Daniel summed up the discussion before other resolutions were considered by the court.

“Very simply put: discrimination any place is wrong,” Daniel said. “Thank you very much for all of us doing our part to make this a better place for everybody.”

Watch video below.

Vonciel Hill

Along with Mayor Mike Rawlings, Dallas City Councilwoman Vonciel Hill was absent last week when the council debated a resolution in support of marriage equality and LGBT job protections. Hill must feel like she missed an opportunity to join certain other council members in showing off their anti-gay bigotry, because this week she made up for it by emailing Fox 4 to complain about a billboard in South Dallas, above, encouraging people to get tested for HIV. From Fox 4:

Councilwoman Vonciel Hill wrote that the billboard has several messages: presenting African American men who are homosexuals as acceptable, engaging in such conduct presents health risks, feel free to continue what you are doing but protect your health.

It’s a little disturbing that Fox 4 would even consider this a story in 2013 — not 1983 — but reporter Shaun Rabb does a good job of getting Dallas County HHS Director Zachary Thompson and AIDS Arms Executive Director John Carlo to  thoroughly refute Hill’s arguments.

We’d only like to add that Hill’s email seems to have several messages: she hates gay people, she wants gay people to die from AIDS, and she wants African-American women to continue contracting HIV at alarmingly high rates.

Now, why on earth would anyone castigate her for that?

Watch Fox 4′s report below.

Dallas News | myFOXdfw.com

State Rep. Jason Villalba

State Rep. Jason Villalba, R-Dallas, is the guest at the Dallas Log Cabin Republicans’ June meeting on Tuesday.

Villalba, who just finished his first session in office, received a D-minus on Equality Texas’ Legislative scorecard. He received a total of 40 points for votes in the House.

Villalba received point for opposing Fort Worth Republican Matt Krause’s discriminatory amendment to SB 215 that would have allowed university clubs to ignore “all-comers” policies regarding membership. But he lost points for voting against HB 2240, which was endorsed by Equality Texas and would have studied the reasons surrounding homeless youth in the state.

Villalba made headlines during the session with HB 1009, a bill he authored, that passed, allowing schools to employ an armed school marshal to protect campuses.

The meeting is 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Texas Land & Cattle Steakhouse, 3130 Lemmon Ave.

Rep. Marc Veasey, left

While one North Texas congressman participated in a photo shoot supporting marriage equality last week, another recently attended a reception for an LGBT group — by mistake.

“This morning, I participated in a NOH8 Campaign photo shoot with over 60 members of Congress,” Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth, wrote on his Facebook page on June 13. “As a member of the House LGBT Equality Caucus, I am proud to stand in support of marriage equality and equal rights for all Americans.”

He posted the photo above from tho shoot.

“Stay tuned for the official portrait,” he said.

The NoH8 Campaign began in California after Proposition 8 passed rescinding same-sex marriage in the state. Created by Adam Bouska, photos feature subjects with duct tape over their mouths, symbolizing being silenced by Prop 8, and “NOH8″ painted on one cheek.

Rep. Ralph Hall, center, at Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund reception.

Meanwhile, one of the most anti-gay members of Congress showed up at an LGBT reception, surprising everyone there.

Rep. Ralph Hall, R-Rockwall, walked into a Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund reception June 6, according to the Houston Chronicle, and had a drink and chatted with guests — before he realized he was in the wrong place. He intended to attend a reception for a fellow Republican.

Hall, who is staunchly anti-gay, continues to support the Defense of Marriage Act.

“He seems to be lost,” tweeted Victory Fund Vice President of Communications Denis Dison.

When Hall inquired about the congressman he was there to support, he realized he was in the wrong place, thanked the sponsor, put down his glass and left.

“Many of those in attendance probably were surprised to see me walk in, but were not surprised to see me leave quickly,” Hall said.

At 90, Hall is the oldest current member of Congress.

The photo of Hall at the reception is courtesy of Dison.

Why should I dwell on injustices occurring in a place I’ve never been, to a person I never met? Because if I don’t, no one will.

Noxolo Nogwaza was a 24-year-old black South African lesbian LGBT rights activist who was brutally beaten, raped and stabbed to death in 2011. Three years later, no progress has been made in investigating her murder and Noxolo’s killer(s) have not been arrested or brought to justice.

She was a mother, soccer fan and an activist with the Ekurhuleni Pride Organizing Committee that aims to empower and inform LGBT people and combat hate crimes against them.

Despite the risks of being “out” as a lesbian, Noxolo lived a full and assertive life. She chose activism despite knowing homophobia and hate crimes against LGBT individuals are common in many parts of South Africa, where taunts, insults and threats are often part of an inescapable reality. Furthermore, in the last five years, there have been at least 10 cases reported of rape followed by murder of LGBTI individuals in South African townships.

I first learned about what happened to Noxolo from Amnesty International. Through their annual global letter-writing campaign Write for Rights, Amnesty inspired hundreds of thousands of people throughout the world to demand justice for Noxolo. LGBT people face such violence everywhere: Whether they live in a small town in Texas, New York City or South Africa. Here in the U.S. I witnessed and experienced the violence and pain faced by many LGBT individuals around the world.

While generally society is becoming more accepting of LGBT individuals, there still remains much stigma, including in my own black community. Some contend that homosexuality contradicts traditional Christian beliefs, family values and gender roles and that it “goes against what it means to be black.” Perhaps I feel compelled to tell people about Noxolo because I feel connected to her through that shared feeling of alienation by people in a close-knit community. As black people, as gay people, we all experience the same struggle for inequality.

It is important that together as a global community we counter the prejudices that are deeply ingrained in our culture. It is important to understand the universal nature of discrimination and adhere to an obligation to speak out against these injustices regardless of geographic barriers. We are all responsible for each other.

Noxolo was a black woman and a lesbian. She was a mother and a soccer fan. Her assault and murder are unspeakable, and her family should not have to wait a minute more for justice. It’s up to you and me to stand together and fight as a collective force against injustices, refusing to accept the status quo set forth before us by bigotry and intolerance. If we don’t, no one will. If we do, powerful things will happen.

Kendrick Perkins is a college student at Stephen F. Austin State University and an activist with Amnesty International USA.

I was disappointed, though, that John Boyne’s The Absolutist — surely one of the finest novels of 2012, and one with a staggeringly smart introduction of gay issues — didn’t win its category. Ah well. But Dale Carpenter, who has contributed to Dallas Voice, did win, for his history of Lawrence v. Texas.

A complete list of winners after the jump.

Bisexual Fiction: In One Person by John Irving

Transgender Fiction: The Collection: Short Fiction from the Transgender Vanguard edited by Tom Leger and Riley Macleod

Bisexual Nonfiction: My Awesome Place: The Autobiography of Cheryl B by Cheryl Burke

Transgender Nonfiction: Transfeminist Perspectives In and Beyond Transgender and Gender Studies edited by Finn Enk

Gay General Fiction: Everything Begins and Ends at the Kentucky Club by Benjamin Alire Saenz

Lesbian General Fiction: The World We Found by Thrity Umrigar

Gay Memoir/Biography: Fire in the Belly by Cynthia Carr

Lesbian Memoir/Biography: Why Be Happy When You Could be Normal? by Jeanette Winterson

Gay Mystery: Lake on the Mountain: A Dan Sharp Mystery by Jeffrey Round

Lesbian Mystery: Ill Will by J.R. Redmann

Gay Poetry: He Do the Gay Man in Different Vioces by Stephen S. Mills

Lesbian Poetry: Sea and Fog by Etal Adnan

Gay Romance: Kamizake Boys by Jay Bell

Lesbian Romance: Month of Sundays by Yolanda Wallace

Gay Erotica: The Facialist by Mykola Dementiuk

Lesbian Erotica: The Harder She Comes: Butch/Femme Erotica by D.L. King

LGBT Anthology: No Straight Lines: Four Decades of Queer Comics edited by JustinHall

LGBT Children’s/Young Adult: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz

LGBT Fiction Debut: The Summer We Got Free by Mia McKenzie

LGBT Drama: The Myopia and Other Plays by David

LGBT Nonfiction: Flagrant Conduct: The Story of Lawrence v. Texas by Dale Carpenter

LGBT Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror: Green Thumb by Tom Cardamone

LGBT Studies: Performing Queer Latinidad: Dance, Sexuality, Politics by Ramon H. Rivera-Servera

Dr. James Duggins Mid-Career Novelist Prize: Nicola Griffith and Trebor Healey

Dr. Betty Berzon Emerging Writer Award: Sassafras Lowery and Cater Sickels

The Dallas LGBT community gathered on the eve of oral arguments in the marriage equality cases at the Legacy of Love Monument in March.

And the wait continues.

The U.S. Supreme Court did not issue opinions this morning in two historic marriage equality cases, leaving just three possible dates for the high court to hand down its rulings — June 20, June 24 and either June 26 or 27.

On the same day the high court finally does rule in the cases challenging Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act, the Dallas LGBT community will gather at 7 p.m. for a Decision Day rally at the Legacy of Love Monument, at Cedar Springs Road and Oak Lawn Avenue.

From the Facebook page:

“On March 25th, 2013 LGBT Dallasites and our many allies stood with hundreds of thousands across the nation on the eve of the Supreme Court hearings for Prop. 8 and DOMA. WE SHOOK THIS NATION! As one we called out for equality! As one we stood on the side of LOVE! As one we entrusted our nation’s highest court with the civil rights of millions of Americans! Now we await their decision. Join us on the day the high court issues their rulings on marriage equality! We will gather again at the Legacy of Love Monument (Frank H. Caven Memorial Garden) at 7pm in jubilant celebration of a historic victory for the LGBT rights movement or fierce protest if the justices refuse to extend equality! Wear RED as a symbol of your support for marriage equality! Bring signs, candles, flags, drums, noise makers! Whether victory or defeat- we will be there to light the way to justice once again!”

The Dallas rally is one of many across the nation planned for the same day. For an interactive map, go here.

Dallas City Councilman-elect Philip Kingston, right, hugs outgoing Councilwoman Angela Hunt at his watch party Saturday at the Pour House. Kingston will replace Hunt, who endorsed him. (David Taffet/Dallas Voice)

Philip Kingston narrowly defeated fellow attorney Bobby Abtahi on Saturday in a runoff between two LGBT allies for the District 14 Dallas City Council seat.

With 39 of 41 precincts reporting, Kingston has 2,339 votes, or 55 percent, to Abtahi’s 1,946 votes, or 45 percent.

Kingston will replace Councilwoman Angela Hunt, a staunch LGBT supporter who was term limited and endorsed Kingston in the race. District 14 is among the most heavily LGBT in the city and covers parts of Oak Lawn, East Dallas and downtown.

Kingston and his supporters gathered at the Pour House on Skillman. In his victory speech, Kingston thanked his all-volunteer staff and supporters for running a clean and positive race.

“Our message was issues-driven and relentlessly positive,” Kingston told Dallas Voice. “That resonated with voters in District 14.”

Abtahi and several dozen supporters waited for results at The Mason Bar in Uptown. He called Kingston after it was clear he’d lost before thanking his supporters for their hard work and faith in him throughout a long campaign.

“We started this campaign at 1 percent. That was our name ID. That’s how much of the vote we were going to get, 1 percent,” Abtahi said. “And we came back and we showed people that you could have someone from the outside, you could have someone who wasn’t endorsed by the incumbent make a run for it and we did a great job. And I appreciate all your support and now it’s time to relax.”

Kingston and Abtahi expressed strong support for the LGBT community during the campaign, with both saying they’d back a council resolution endorsing marriage equality and statewide LGBT job protections.

Kingston was criticized for his mostly Republican primary voting history and for financial contributions to conservative causes, including a PAC now affiliated with Sen. Ted Cruz and the campaign of Texas Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples. However, Kingston also gave money to the campaign to defeat Texas’ marriage amendment in 2005.

Abtahi, who has a lesbian sister, was endorsed by Stonewall Democrats, while Kingston had the backing of the nonpartisan Dallas Gay and Lesbian Alliance.

In the other City Council runoff, Rick Callahan defeated Jesse Diaz in the newly created District 5, which covers Pleasant Grove in southeast Dallas. Diaz was endorsed by Stonewall Democrats. In response to a Dallas Voice questionnaire, Callahan said he supports civil unions but not marriage equality, but his campaign manager later said he would support the council marriage equality resolution.

Bobby Abtahi shakes hands with gay former Councilman Craig Holcomb at his watch party at the Mason Bar on Guillot Street in State-Thomas. (Anna Waugh/Dallas Voice)

Carlos Vasquez

Openly gay Fort Worth school board member Carlos Vasquez has conceded his race to challenger Jacinto Ramos. Vasquez posted his concession on Facebook tonight after early voting results showed him with fewer than 20 percent of ballots cast.

“I am proud of my five years of service on the board and the incredible things we accomplished during my tenure,” Vasquez wrote. “The board structure has been opened to allow for Board Presidents from all over our city and we have opened the doors of inclusion at the FWISD. I am also pleased at the selection of Walter Dansby as superintendent. He has made valuable progress and I know this new board will be eager to work with him to improve educational opportunities for all our children.

“I want to congratulate Jacinto Ramos on his election to the board and will make myself available to assist him in any manner as he transitions to this important leadership role within our community,” Vasquez wrote. “I was unable to conduct a campaign during this runoff election due primarily to my mother’s recent diagnosis of cancer. I wish to thank my supporters and all those who have worked so hard to improve the FWISD these last years. Our brightest days are ahead!”

Vasquez, first elected in 2009, is one of only two openly gay school board members in Texas, but many in the Fort Worth LGBT community backed Ramos in the race.

Vasquez, 45, has been criticized for his temperament and infighting on the board. His lack of attention to LGBT issues has also caused strife.