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San Francisco Chronicle
2 days ago
- Health
- San Francisco Chronicle
AIDS/LifeCycle's final ride: Thousands hit road in Bay Area, ending 3 decades of fundraising
With a tinge of melancholy, more than 2,400 bicyclists gathered Sunday morning to kick off the last AIDS/LifeCycle, bringing to a close more than three decades of fundraising through the annual event for HIV and AIDS prevention, care and support services. Cyclists will travel 545 miles over seven days from the Cow Palace in Daly City to Santa Monica. 'We want to make HIV-AIDS a thing of the past,' said Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said Sunday before setting off for the first leg of the ride to Santa Cruz. 'I'm excited to suit up.' Each day, riders bike anywhere from 43 to 112 miles. Each cyclist raised at least $3,500 from friends, family and the community to support HIV and AIDS programs and services overseen by the San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the Los Angeles LGBT Center. 'I can't think of a better way to honor those that we have lost and also to join the fight against HIV and AIDS,' said Brian Stewart, 32, a political strategist from Los Angeles readying for his inaugural ride. 'I'm really, really excited.' At least 800 volunteers known as 'roadies' turned out to help direct riders, provide medical services to the injured, serve meals and drive cyclists' gear from stop to stop. After the COVID shutdown in 2020, participation in the ride declined and the cost of fundraising rose, prompting organizers to end the annual event, which began in 1994. Over the years, the ride raised a total of more than $300 year, the ride raised $17.2 million, the highest total after 2022. 'Now more than ever, these funds are critical so we can respond to the needs of our communities, particularly when funding for HIV, DEI and transgender communities are under attack,' said Tyler TerMeer, CEO of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, who has participated as a cyclist and organizer in the ride for 17 years. 'It's bittersweet that it's the last ride,' said Laura Chung, 39, a nurse at Kaiser Hospital embarking on her second ride. 'But they'll create something new.' Next year, a three-day cycling event will take riders from San Francisco to Sonoma and back. Then in 2027, the Big Gay 10K footrace will take place in San Francisco.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
NYX Professional Makeup Partners with Rising Queer Artists for "Pridemix" Campaign Spotlighting Underrepresented Voices in Music
Global beauty brand continues to advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community, merging self-expression in makeup artistry and music. LOS ANGELES, May 19, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- NYX Professional Makeup, the industry leader in inclusive and bold makeup artistry, is turning up the volume in this year's Pride campaign. The beauty brand announced today the launch of "Pridemix," a vibrant celebration of queer artistry at the intersection of music and makeup. Through a series of short videos, the campaign will spotlight the voices of three emerging queer musicians: featuring R&B artist, Destin Conrad, alternative pop star Zolita, and GRAMMY-nominated R&B sensation, Tiana Major9. The videos, which will be shared on NYX Professional Makeup's social and digital channels, feature the three artists sharing their individual stories of celebrating authenticity, the exploration of their queer identities, and how this translates to their music. "Authenticity is important to me—from the words that I sing, to the people I surround myself with, to the brands I work with," says Destin Conrad. "I'm excited to work with NYX Professional Makeup because they are true allies of the queer community." "As a queer pop artist, makeup is an integral part of my self-expression," says Zolita. "I'm very proud to partner with a brand that has always championed unrepresented voices, especially emerging artists or those in the LGBTQ+ community." "I'm grateful to NYX Professional Makeup for giving me another platform to tell my story of queer love and heartbreak," says Tiana Major9. "Creating music about your life can make you feel vulnerable, but it's also incredibly empowering -- I'm proud to share my journey with this community." As a brand rooted in community with a strategic focus on entertainment, "Pridemix" launches on the heels of the brand's latest music initiative, NYXTAPE, which launched in January in collaboration with emerging female artists. The beauty brand has historically supported emerging artists within their community and continues to pave new paths for beauty in music and entertainment. "At NYX Professional Makeup, we don't just celebrate our LGBTQIA+ family during Pride month; we celebrate them and their artistry every day," said Denee Pearson, Global Brand President at NYX Professional Makeup. "With the launch of Pridemix, we're shining a light on the underrepresented voices of queer emerging artists, while celebrating their artistry through makeup. Music and makeup are the ultimate connectors. Looking good and feeling good go hand-in-hand, so why not bring the two together to create the ultimate remix for Pride?" NYX Professional Makeup celebrates the LGBTQIA+ community year-round through its Proud Allies for All campaign in partnership with the Los Angeles LGBT Center. Through donations, community events, volunteering, and a Global Allyship training featured on the brand is committed to allyship in action. NYX Professional Makeup has also donated over $500K to global charities in an effort to continue to scale their support for the community worldwide. This year's Pride campaign builds on NYX Professional Makeup's history of celebrating the LGBTQIA+ community, including past campaigns like "Family Can't Be Framed" featuring House of Avalon and "Game Out Loud" featuring queer gamers. To learn more about "Pridemix," visit and @nyxcosmetics on Instagram and TikTok. MORE ABOUT THE ARTISTS: Destin Conrad – Known for his smooth vocals and genre-defying blend of R&B and pop, Destin brings vulnerability and soul to every track. His debut album, which launched April 25, explores the intricacies of navigating Black queer love in the digital age. Zolita – A hyperpop innovator whose cinematic storytelling and unapologetic lyrics celebrate queer love and rebellion. Zolita's music is both defiant and deeply personal, creating space for fans to feel seen, empowered, and free. Tiana Major9 – A powerhouse vocalist blending reggae, soul, and R&B with messages of love, resilience, and liberation. Her upcoming releases delve into self-love and healing, underscoring her journey as a queer woman of color and inspiring listeners to embrace their own narratives. ABOUT NYX PROFESSIONAL MAKEUPNYX Professional Makeup is a modern, digitally native makeup brand on the forefront of today's emerging beauty trends. A leader in the global color cosmetics industry, NYX Professional Makeup is an affordable professional makeup line with every shade, color and tool needed to create makeup artistry at every level. Rooted in a professional artistry heritage, NYX Professional Makeup boasts a successful multi-channel approach at the forefront of digital and retail. A social media pioneer, NYX Professional Makeup is one of the most influential and top-ranked brands, and is followed by top beauty vloggers, Instagram stars, and their millions of fans. While headquartered in the heart of Los Angeles, NYX Professional Makeup is a global brand available in more than 70 countries at thousands of retailers consisting of specialty beauty and fashion stores, freestanding shops and beauty supply stores, as well as on View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE NYX Professional Makeup Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
San Francisco Chronicle
06-05-2025
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
For LGBT nonprofits, Trump's orders target their very existence
The Los Angeles LGBT Center describes itself as the world's largest provider of services to the LGBTQ community, with more than 500,000 client visits a year. But under President Donald Trump, the organization is being forced to confront an existential crisis: either stop serving transgender people or lose its federal funding. Los Angeles LGBT 'has been told it must remove terms like 'LGBT' (which is in the organization's name), 'queer,' 'trans' and 'transgender' from its materials' or forfeit its $2.25 million grant from the U.S. Office of Family Violence and Prevention Services, lawyers for the group and others targeted by the administration have told a federal judge as part of an ongoing lawsuit in Oakland. The lawsuit, filed by a number of LGBT-serving organizations in San Francisco and across the country, is just one of dozens — if not hundreds — over the last three months that challenge sweeping moves by the Trump administration to reshape the role and mission of the U.S. government. But the groups in this suit are not just arguing that cutting their funding would crush their budget or squeeze their staffing. Worse yet, they contend, by targeting diversity, equity and inclusion efforts — as well as denying the existence of transgender people — the administration is challenging their very right to operate. While the administration is cutting resources to the U.S. Forest Service, for example, it is not asking the agency to deny the existence of trees. 'These executive orders are a direct threat to our mission,' Dr. Tyler TerMeer, chief executive officer of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, one of the groups suing, told the Chronicle. 'Without acknowledging the existence of trans and gender identity, we can't do our work' on programs that serve more than 27,000 people a year. Or, as TerMeer put it in a court declaration, 'HIV advocates are once again being told to stay silent, forced into an impossible choice: speak the truth about systemic inequities and risk losing federal funding or comply with harmful restrictions that undermine life-saving services. But as the movement learned decades ago, silence equals death.' On Jan. 20, Trump's first day in office, he issued an executive order declaring a government policy to recognize only 'two sexes, male and female,' as determined at birth. Denying the biological existence of transgender people, he has sought to exclude those who identify as transgender from military service, cut off their federal health care funding and ban transgender females from girls' and women's sports teams. In February, the Trump administration's National Park Service, on its website commemorating the 1969 Stonewall uprising in New York, changed the government's former 'LGBTQ+' label to 'LGB,' deleting the 'transgender' and 'queer' references. The administration hasn't ordered the Los Angeles LGBT Center to change its name in order to keep its funding. But the government has asked the center's clients to remove all LGBT references from their websites, said Jose Abrigo, an attorney with the advocacy group Lambda Legal representing the center and other organizations in the multistate lawsuit. 'It is impossible for the LA LGBT Center to fulfill its mission and provide any of its services to transgender patients and clients without acknowledging and recognizing transgender people for who they are,' the center's CEO, Joe Hollendoner, said in a court declaration. 'After a person has been told enough times by an emergency room: 'We don't serve your kind here,' they are not likely to go back even if it means they might die,' the LGBT Center's chief medical officer, Dr. Katherine Duffy, said in another declaration. Hollendoner said one of the Trump administration's orders 'prohibits the promotion of 'gender ideology,' seeming to condition federal funding on the denial of the very existence of transgender people.' Similarly, Lance Toma, CEO of the San Francisco Community Health Center, cited a Jan. 31 order from its federal contractor to immediately halt 'all activities promoting gender ideology.' The order 'threatens the very existence of all of our health center's programs,' Toma told the court. Jessyca Leach, CEO of Prisma Community Care, a nonprofit in Phoenix that is also a plaintiff in the lawsuit, said her organization is 'unsure if there is any way to maintain access given that so many aspects of our operation depend on an equitable approach to the provision of health care, and respectful acknowledgement of the dignity of transgender people.' Another plaintiff is FORGE, a nonprofit serving transgender and nonbinary people in Wisconsin. Its executive director, Michael Munson, told the court that 'we are uncertain about how to conduct our work since every aspect of our programming and services revolve around transgender and nonbinary survivors and the providers who serve them. … It is an impossible position with no way forward.' U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar of Oakland has scheduled a hearing May 22 on the organizations' request for an injunction against the funding restrictions. A federal judge in Maryland previously blocked the restrictions, but an appeals court has put his order on hold. According to Trump's Justice Department, the transgender advocacy groups — and not the administration — are the ones violating civil rights by allowing people who were born male to compete with female athletes, use women's restrooms and identify themselves as female. The organizations challenging the administration's actions 'have no First Amendment right to engage in illegal conduct,' Justice Department attorney Pardis Gheibi said in a filing asking Tigar to dismiss the lawsuit. Trump is entitled to 'align government funding and enforcement strategies with (his) policy priorities,' Gheibi wrote, and 'the Supreme Court has repeatedly held that the government does not penalize, prohibit, restrict, or otherwise infringe on speech simply because it chooses not to pay for it.' But Lambda Legal attorney Jennifer Pizer said the funding cutoffs are 'sweeping attempts by the government to control and chill private speech.' The Trump administration is trying to require LBGT groups to 'repudiate the identities and very existence of their transgender patients and patrons, and deny services to them,' in order to keep their federal grants, Pizer wrote in a court filing. 'Gender identity is real,' she said, quoting past court rulings, 'and no matter how much the Administration proclaims otherwise, so are transgender people.'
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
LGBT+ community outraged after gay makeup artist with no criminal history is deported to mega-prison in El Salvador
The Trump administration's deportation of a gay asylum seeker to a brutal Salvadoran prison has outraged LGBT+ communities rallying for his return. Makeup artist Andry Jose Hernandez Romero, 31, fled Venezuela for California in 2024, fearing persecution under Nicolas Maduro's regime and has no criminal history or gang ties, according to his family and attorneys. He lawfully entered California with an appointment through the CBP One app but was swiftly transferred to the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which labeled him a security risk because of his tattoos. He was among dozens of Venezuelan immigrants accused of being Tren de Aragua members and deported to El Salvador's notorious Terrorism Confinement Center on March 15. A coalition of California-based LGBT+ advocacy groups is pressing Donald Trump's administration for his safe return. Officials and activists joined protests in Los Angeles on Wednesday, demanding urgent government action. 'Andry came to this country believing in the promise of safety and dignity,' Los Angeles LGBT Center CEO Joe Hollendoner said. 'Instead, he was met with detention, dehumanization, and ultimately, deportation.' His removal to El Salvador's brutal prison 'has cut him off from contact with others and has resulted in him being deprived of all human rights,' Hollendoner added. 'Without intervention, Andry's deportation is effectively a death sentence.' Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest LGBT+ civil rights group, said in a statement that Hernandez Romero 'deserves safety and freedom from violence — all LGBTQ+ asylum seekers do.' 'Instead, he has been thrown into a dangerous prison — without due process — at the hands of a cruel administration committed to pushing our communities out of public life,' she added. 'We firmly join our partners in demanding justice for Andry.' Hernandez Romero is now the lead plaintiff in an amended lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union seeking to revive a legal challenge in a Washington, D.C. courtroom against the president's use of the Alien Enemies Act to summarily deport alleged Tren de Aragua gang members. The lawsuit demands the court's intervention 'to restrain these summary removals, and to determine that this use of the [Alien Enemies Act] is unlawful and must be halted,' and to declare the imprisonment of immigrants in El Salvador unconstitutional. A CBS photojournalist who recently captured images inside CECOT witnessed a man with a shaved head crying out for help. The man, identified as Hernandez Romero, cried out 'I'm innocent' and 'I'm gay,' according to photojournalist Philip Holsinger. Hernandez Romero faced 'constant discrimination' for his identity while working as a makeup artist for a government-sponsored news network in Venezuela, according to a sworn statement in court documents from Immigrant Defenders Law Center managing attorney Paulina Reyes, who represented him in his removal proceedings. Employers were forced to produce content supporting the Maduro regime. Hernandez Romero refused, 'and the producers at his government-sponsored station attacked him and threatened to further harm him if he did not comply,' according to Reyes. Armed groups supporting Maduro started to follow and threaten him, she said, and he quit the network and went into hiding. On August 29, 2024, he presented himself at the San Ysidro Port of Entry after making an appointment with the CBP One app. He passed the credible fear interview and entered full immigration court proceedings, but he was questioned about his tattoo and transferred to ICE custody. He has a crown tattoo on each arm with the words 'mom' and 'dad' below them. A sworn statement from his mother in court documents says he also has tattoos honoring a hometown festival celebrating the Three Wise Men, which he has participated in since he was a seven-year-old child. 'Most of the members of that theatre troupe also have crown tattoos and like to promote this event,' she wrote. 'He also worked with beauty pageants and often posted photos with pageant crowns as props. This is who he is — an artist, not a criminal.' ICE relies on an 'Alien Enemies Act Validation Guide' to decide whether Venezuelans are members of a gang the Trump administration has labelled a terrorist organization. The guide uses a scorecard with points assigned to certain characteristics. It takes eight points to declare whether someone is a member of Tren de Aragua, though officers have wide discretion to make those referrals. Tattoos alone are four points. 'On initial interview detainee Hernandez stated that he was not a member of any gang. Upon conducting a review of detainee Hernandez's tattoos it was found that detainee Hernandez has a crown on each one of his wrist. The crown has been found to be an identifier for a Tren de Aragua gang member,' according to ICE's intake form submitted in court documents. 'There is no evidence to believe that he is affiliated in any way with Tren de Aragua and Andry has consistently refuted those claims,' Reyes wrote. 'He fled Venezuela due to persecution for his political opinion and his sexual orientation and his tattoos have an obvious explanation that has nothing to do with a gang.' Hernandez Romero's attorney filed an asylum application on his behalf in December. He was abruptly moved to a detention facility in Texas in March despite his ongoing immigration proceedings in California, where he was scheduled to have a hearing on March 17. He was deported to El Salvador two days earlier on March 15. Hernandez Romero's mother says she is 'deeply worried' about her son's safety. 'Andry is a kind, humble, hard-working person,' she wrote. 'I am terrified for my son's safety. I have read about the prison in El Salvador, where the government is sending people without a hearing. I do not know how he is being treated, what conditions he is in, or even if he is alive. As a gay man and someone falsely accused of gang activity, I fear that he is in danger every day.'
Los Angeles Times
14-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
For these seniors, celebrating Valentine's isn't about Cupid. It's about good company
'I'm looking for a hookup,' deadpanned Danny Rios. Rios was sitting at a round folding table decorated with a neon heart centerpiece for Valentine's Day. In the background, seniors were getting down to Whitney Houston's 'I Want to Dance With Somebody.' 'Just kidding!' Rios, 71, burst out laughing. It was the Valentine's Day Dance for seniors at the central Hollywood location of the Los Angeles LGBT Center. In the far corner of the room, arts and crafts to make valentines were laid out. Dancing hearts decorated the windows of the hall. But for many in attendance, the party was less about the loaded expectations surrounding the holiday and more about the opportunity for community and connection. 'I love to be around people,' said Rios, who is in a relationship and believes others should also find their valentine. 'Life is too short. You gotta go get somebody!' Carmelita Gabriel, 77, a staple on the dance floor who regularly commutes from Alhambra to attend the center's events, agreed. 'I met a lot of people here instead of staying home alone,' she said. 'Since I joined this center, I am so happy.' Mike Lopez, activities manager for senior services at the LGBT center, said that 'the No. 1 thing seniors say they face is isolation.' 'So, any space and community we can provide is the essence of our work,' he said. Ten minutes away, in the Fairfax District, the Pan Pacific Senior Activity Center also hosted a Valentine's Day celebration. The center just celebrated its reopening anniversary after being closed for four years during the pandemic. The Valentine's Day event — centered on card making — provided a way to draw people back in, said Monica Benyamin, the recreation facility director. 'It's just a good time to reflect and to make somebody else happy by receiving a card,' said Joan Leider, 82, a regular at PPSAC. Leider was sporting a bright pink heart necklace that she had crocheted; her dog, Bugzee Siegel, wore a sweatsuit with the word 'Sweetheart.' Leider usually makes and sends Valentine's-themed collages to dear friends and loved ones each year, but this year she decided to do something different after the recent death of her sister. 'When they said they were going to write letters, I knew that my mom and my sister were the special ones,' she said. Leider planned to write her sister a card with all 'the latest' and then frame it for herself. Leider said the community she found at the center was vital to her well-being. It's a sentiment that was echoed by many seniors. 'I have some friends who chuckle when I say I go to the senior center,' said Lloyd Wilkey, 69. And he doesn't mind the ribbing, but he values the connections he's made: 'There's some real people here and a lot of people who deserve attention.' Wilkey teared up as he explained that he proposed to his wife on Valentine's Day. The senior center, he said, has provided him with companionship in the wake of her death. 'I figured I'd sneak in, do my thing and get out, but along the way I've met these folks,' he said, gesturing to a group playing table tennis. 'I can pop through here and get a smile from somebody. I get to play with somebody. You can't imagine what that feels like.' Back at the LGBT Center, Lauren Peterson, 66, a volunteer tap dancing teacher, wowed the crowd with her sky-high battements. For Peterson, Valentine's Day had always felt 'kind of manufactured,' but she said the community she experienced at the center more than made up for it. 'When you're in a relationship, there's a little bit more pressure to step up and do something' for the holiday, she said, and 'when you have a little kid, you do something fun for them and that's less pressure.' 'Now, it's just an excuse for a party without any pressure.'
