This week on Queer News: Anna honors Jewel Thais-Williams, Wisconsin moves to ban conversion therapy, and BET+ brings ballroom to television.
Family, this week on Queer News, Anna DeShawn honors the life of Jewel Thais-Williams, a Black lesbian pioneer who built spaces that saved our lives. In politics, Wisconsin’s Supreme Court clears the way to finally ban conversion therapy, while a sobering new report reveals foundation funding for LGBTQ+ causes has plummeted nearly 20%. In culture & entertainment, Artis restaurant keeps fighting to stay open, American Airlines refuses to back down under conservative pressure, and BET+ debuts House on Fire, a docuseries spotlighting the legendary House of Miyake Mugler.
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00:26 Welcome to Queer News
01:55 Join the QCrew, https://bit.ly/JoinQCrew
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02:42 Queer News Headlines
03:24 Honoring Jewel Thais-Williams
07:47 Funding for LGBTQ+ Organizations Plummets
11:40 Wisconsin Supreme Court Clears Path to Ban Conversion Therapy
14:18 Your Mental Health Coverage Is Just As Important As Your Physical Health Coverage., https://getcovered.illinois.gov/resources/mental-health-parity.html
15:05 Artis Restaurant Still Fighting to Stay Open
16:47 American Airlines Refuses to Fold Under Pressure
19:00 BET+ Debuts House on Fire
21:30 Anna’s Got A Word
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Politics
✨ Honoring Jewel Thais-Williams We remember the matriarch Jewel Thais-Williams, who opened Jewel’s Catch One in 1973, the first Black-owned LGBTQ+ nightclub in Los Angeles and one of the first in the country. Her club became a refuge for Black, Brown, trans, and queer people during a time of police raids and exclusion. Beyond nightlife, she founded the Minority AIDS Project, opened Rue’s House for women and children living with HIV/AIDS, and brought holistic health care to underrepresented communities. Jewel passed away at 86, but her legacy of love, resistance, and safe spaces lives on.
📉 Funding for LGBTQ+ Organizations Plummets A new report from Funders for LGBTQ Issues shows foundation support dropped nearly 20% in 2023 — about $49 million. Factoring in inflation, it’s closer to 22%. Funding for Black LGBTQ+ communities fell by 41%, for trans communities by 24%, and for youth by 42%. Major funders even chose to stay anonymous for fear of federal backlash. It’s a reminder: our liberation needs resources, and sometimes, as history shows, we have to save ourselves.
⚖️ Wisconsin Supreme Court Clears Path to Ban Conversion Therapy In a 4–3 ruling, Wisconsin’s Supreme Court stopped lawmakers from blocking a ban on conversion therapy, calling out the Legislature’s overreach. This decision not only protects LGBTQ+ youth but also strengthens the executive branch’s power to enact protections in areas like public health and the environment. A reminder that our fight isn’t only cultural, it’s structural.
Culture & Entertainment
🍽️ Artis Restaurant Still Fighting to Stay Open After the tragic shooting outside Artis, a Black lesbian-owned restaurant, the owners are fighting aldermanic efforts to close them down. They’re asking us to call the alderman’s office and support them, and there’s also a GoFundMe to help cover mounting business costs while they can’t operate. Our safe spaces matter — and they deserve to stay.
✈️ American Airlines Refuses to Fold Under Pressure Conservatives tried to pressure American Airlines into leaving the Human Rights Campaign’s Equality Index, claiming inclusion hurts business. But the airline’s shareholders overwhelmingly rejected that idea, and the board doubled down on their commitment to LGBTQ+ employees and customers, including sponsoring Dallas Pride again this year.
🏠 BET+ Debuts House on Fire The new docuseries follows the legendary House of Miyake Mugler, capturing the beauty, struggle, and truth of ballroom culture. For many networks, these stories felt “too risky,” but BET+ invested in telling them. As house members say, this visibility is a sign that change is happening — and it matters deeply to Black and Brown queer communities.
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About Queer News
An intersectional approach to a weekly news podcast where race & sexuality meet politics, entertainment and culture. Tune-in to reporting which centers & celebrates all of our lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer & comrade communities. Hosted by Anna DeShawn. New pod every Monday by 7am CT.
Edited by Ryan Woodhall.
Brought to you by E3 Radio, and distributed on The Qube.
