Special Report: The Democratic National Convention hits and misses, Lambda Legal’s HIV win & Big Freedia is honored,  – August 26, 2024

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family. This is your favorite queer radio personality, Anna Deshaun, [00:00:30] and this is Queer News. Your favorite weekly news pod where race and sexuality meet politics, culture, and entertainment. So I’m really looking forward to working with them to make sure that all of our students across the country are protected, they feel respected, they understand that they are going to be allowed to fulfill their potential.

Because that’s our job, to make sure that these young people are, become the people that they were supposed to become, that we deserve them to become, that we create the kind of climate in this [00:01:00] country that allows them to do that, instead of this hellscape that Donald Trump has given people permission to create in the last seven years.

So, I’m looking forward to

So I had the pleasure of interviewing Wilson Cruz, the voice you just heard, the actor and activist. Cha, I love him and Noah’s Ark. I don’t care what else he plays in. Okay. Noah’s Ark is the one. And during the DNC. He’s [00:01:30] reminding us how important it is to protect queer youth. Yes. His sentiments remind me of the James Baldwin quote that says, we can disagree and still love each other unless your disagreement is rooted in my oppression and denial of my humanity and right to exist.

And so much of what Trump and Project 2025 have outlined. We’ll do just that. Also family, don’t forget the queer news tip line is open and a link is [00:02:00] in the show notes and Q crew what’s going on. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for helping to financially sustain this podcast.

The Q crew helps with podcast, hosting, editing, marketing, PR, travel, all the things. And so family, if you don’t financially give to support this pod, but You believe in the work we do. You believe LGBTQ stories need to be amplified and you love and respect how I report on the news and tell our stories.

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Now for the news in politics, I covered the DNC all week. That’s right. My media credentials were approved. E3 radio was in the building 13, 14 hour days. Y’all. And I not only want to share my experience with you, but I also want to talk about the hits and the misses from the [00:03:00] DNC. In culture and entertainment, we’ve got a big victory to celebrate in the HIV space.

The LGBTQ news outlet Pink News CEO is under fire for transphobic remarks that were recorded. Chile it is bad and big freedom gets a key to the city of New Orleans. Let’s go. Family, you know, somebody interested in getting into music, taking voice, songwriting, or piano lessons. Well, I got somebody for you.

His name is Sel. Okay. And I want you to go [00:03:30] visit keysforlifellc. com. Book a lesson today for less than 50. Family, as we kick off another week of queer news, we don’t have an update on Taylor Casey, but if you have yet to watch the interview that I conducted with her mother, affectionately known as Mama C.

I would love for you to watch it and see how you can continue to support Taylor, Taylor’s family and friends and the organizers. A link is in the show notes.[00:04:00]

Now for politics. You already know the biggest story is absolutely the democratic national convention. I had the opportunity to be there all week and I want to thank my sponsors who financially supported my time at the DNC. A big thank you to Sidetrack, the video bar where I host Outspoken every first Tuesday of the month.

I hope that you can come visit us and hear [00:04:30] some of the most powerful, impactful, and funny LGBTQ stories every first Tuesday at Sidetrack. Then I would also like to thank Equality Illinois. Our LGBTQ civil rights organization here in the city of Chicago and the state of Illinois. Thank you all for continuing to support my work and for fighting on our behalf.

They were our platinum sponsors family. And I also got to give a big shout out and [00:05:00] a big to all of you for supporting my work. To Sarah with the LGBT plus counseling collaborative. It’s a team of queer and trans identified mental health therapists focused on servicing the LGBT plus community and their families.

Yeah, you need to know them, right? Yes, you do. A link is in the show notes. I also want to say a big thank you to Tiffany, to Rachel. And to Karen, your financial support really does mean the world [00:05:30] and because of their support and family, your support for tuning in for watching, for helping to grow this platform.

I was able to be at the DNC and experience. All of this. this, that type of energy. Okay. It was electric. That is the only word that I could [00:06:00] find to describe what it was.

The energy, palpable. And I’m somebody who grew up going to the Bulls rallies with my dad. Okay. I have been in places. I didn’t see some things, but I’ve never seen or experienced anything quite like this. So let me tell you about my experience. as a black queer woman at the DNC. So it took place Monday, August 19th through Thursday, August 22nd, here in my [00:06:30] hometown of Chicago, the DNC was taking place in two places, the McCormick place and the United center.

McCormick place is a huge convention center run by the unions. Okay. We’re all the big conferences, events, auto shows. They happen at McCormick Place. Okay. The United Center is where the Bulls and the Blackhawks play is where big concerts are held. All the things the city was expecting over 50, 000 [00:07:00] visitors, 5, 000 to 7, 000 delegates, and all those things came true.

It was amazing. The city. was alive in some ways, more than it’s been since before COVID, it was pretty remarkable to experience. There were over 300 events happening across the city. Once my credentials officially got approved, I had to let people know. And people began sending me things. I [00:07:30] couldn’t even keep up.

I could not even keep up. I just started keeping a note and taking screenshots so I could go back and reference and see what I could attend, what I couldn’t attend, what I wanted to prioritize. Chow, it was a lot. But once I got home and got settled from Atlanta, I had to remember Who I was reporting for, which is you.

I’m reporting for the queer folks and the allies and the comrades that listen to this [00:08:00] podcast. So Chile, that made it real easy to negotiate where I was going to be when and why. And so the first day I spent at McCormick place, I wanted to attend the LGBTQ caucus and I needed to attend The black queer event that was happening that evening.

So the first night I didn’t even go to the United Center. I was like, I don’t want to censor our community and find out what we’re talking about. And it was more than I could have ever imagined. Let me tell you, going through security, though, was a mood. I ain’t never seen nothing like it. I had to pop my [00:08:30] hood, turn off my car, open the trunk, which doesn’t open.

So they had to open up my side car, side of my car. Had the dog sniffing. Never experienced anything like it before in my life. And once I got through all of that and got to go into the McCormick place, the dimpalooza is what they called it. All the vendors, all the people, all the celebrities walking by as if they’re normal.

It was pretty remarkable. At one point, Omarosa walked past me and I said, was [00:09:00] that Omarosa? What’s she doing here? Is she a Democrat? I just, I couldn’t even keep up family. But let me tell you this. This was the queerest convention. Ever in the history of the DNC, out of the 5, 000 delegates that were there on hand, over 800 identified as LGBTQ.

So one in five delegates were family and 40 plus identified as trans and non binary, which is the most. That has [00:09:30] ever happened in the history of the DNC. And they were representing 23 States. So the largest trans and non binary delegation ever. I also got to witness Earl folks getting his flowers as he’s retiring as chair of the DNC’s LGBTQ caucus.

I was in a number of different events with the queers and Earl was getting his flowers, which were so well deserved because so often. We want people in these positions and representation, but we ain’t the ones to do it. [00:10:00] Earl’s been doing it for decades and it was really wonderful to see him get his flowers.

So let’s talk about McCormick Place. So McCormick Place happens during the day from around 930 to about 345. Monday through Thursday, there were caucuses. Every identity you can imagine had a caucus where they gather, talk about the issues that matter most to them. Leaders in those communities go up and speak.

Get people riled up and ready for the evening, which happened at the United Center, which is what [00:10:30] you all saw on television. I couldn’t make it to all the caucuses. I mean, these were 12, 13 hour days for days at a time. So I really had to focus in. So I attended the LGBTQ caucus. It happened. Two times during the week.

And I got to see people like Chastain Buttigieg and Ms. Major and Kiara Johnson and state Senator Sarah McBride. And all of these leaders speak to the queers, okay, about why this election is so important. [00:11:00] And what their hopes for the LGBTQ community are. I also got to attend the HRC caucus. They had an event at McCormick place with various speakers, including Chicago’s own precious Brady Davis, who was the first out trans woman to hold elected office here in Cook County, as well as Kelly Robinson, president of HRC.

It was really wonderful to be in a community of folks who are just working on behalf of the queers. It was pretty dope. So let’s get [00:11:30] into things that I feel like were hits and misses of the DNC from my perspective. How about we start with the hits? Let’s go. I think it was hit that they invited content creators and that they provided live streaming to social media.

That is a hit. It was the first time in history that either conventions invited content creators. The DNC invited 200 of them. Yes. And they created the first ever convention on the floor [00:12:00] platform for those content creators. I got to go over there and visit one day. It was very cool, very nice. And they were all there capturing the content, doing what they do every single day.

I also think that how they curated those content creators were very intentional. These are people who talk politics. On their platforms every day. And so they have a very engaged audience who wants to know who is probably not going to watch CNN or MSNBC or Fox news. They’re looking to get their news from their favorite [00:12:30] content creators.

That was a huge win for the DNC because it came through when we talk about the number of people they reached. The numbers say they reached 108 plus million combined views on broadcast and streaming, and then 350. 50 plus million views on social media. That’s right, because it was the first time that they streamed to TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube.

They also streamed to [00:13:00] Amazon prime video, Apple TV, and Roku. Child, the DNC was absolutely everywhere, and those numbers are outrageous. 108 plus million? 350 plus million? What? Yeah, that was a hit. I also think it was a hit that they spoke to moderates. They focused the messaging. They weren’t speaking to me.

There was so many sheriffs. There were so many Republicans that spoke at the DNC. [00:13:30] They were clear that that’s who they wanted to talk to. They wanted to talk to the undecided. They wanted to talk to. To the moderate Republicans who are sick of their party. They did that. And I think they did it very well.

I also think another hit was talking about project 2025, the skits around project 2025, that big old book. And they kept coming out with, I think Kenan skit was probably the best out of the bunch. But I think it was just so important for them to continue to reinforce what [00:14:00] was actually on the other side.

The other side of this is this child. We don’t want, I think they did that very well. Now let’s talk about the misses. Where were our trans siblings? I mean, there have been over 500 anti LGBTQ policies introduced in legislatures across the country. There hasn’t been this type of political onslaught against a community of folks ever.[00:14:30]

And so if there was ever a place to center the humanity. Of those folks, LGBTQ folks, and especially our trans siblings, wouldn’t it be at the DNC? Wouldn’t it be there? Yeah, that didn’t happen. We didn’t see that. And that was definitely a miss. And I think this speaks to their focus on moderates. Yes. And the Republicans who are disenchanted with their party to not center those voices.

There were [00:15:00] points at the DNC where. They set aside time for specific things. There was a moment about gun violence. Yes, that was set aside where people told their stories, right? There were moments about veterans that the veterans came out. Such a touching moment. There was these times that were very intentionally set.

And I think they missed the mark by not including LGBTQ folks and our trans siblings in that type of a highlight, [00:15:30] given the political warfare that has been going on around our communities. That was definitely a miss for me. The other miss was that there wasn’t a Palestinian voice from the uncommitted movement, the DNC and the democratic party being in that space.

Some of the largest cheers came when people mentioned having a ceasefire, when people Getting a hostage agreement done when people brought those topics to the people inside the DNC, there [00:16:00] were cheers, standing ovations. This was a place open and willing to hear those conversations. And they intentionally steered away from it, right?

One of the most touching moments was when the Israeli mother and father came out to talk about their son, who is currently a hostage, right? Who’s currently being held by Hamas. It was definitely one of the most emotional moments of the DNC. The mother almost broke down. She had to gather herself before actually giving her [00:16:30] speech.

And I think that could have also been a perfect opportunity to have an uncommitted voice. To speak at the DNC because the uncommitted aren’t interested. Right. And Donald Trump, that’s not what they trying to say. What they’re saying is we are typically Democrats and we really want to be a Democrat with y’all.

And we really need to see y’all be committed to this ceasefire situation and to stop arming, right. [00:17:00] And stop giving tax dollars right to this war that’s happening in this genocide. And they didn’t do that. And I think that that was a big miss. And overall family, I think the DNC was a big win. I think there was a lot of people who tuned in who wanted to hear about policy and they got it.

I think the protests happened outside and they were peaceful. There were moments of uprising, which we should expect, but there wasn’t anything detrimental that occurred. And that’s what we [00:17:30] really wanted, right? This is what democracy looked like. And I feel like We saw that during the DNC, I think we did.

And I’m so grateful. I got to attend. I’m so grateful. I got to be in that space and I got, I got more coming. So definitely check out the YouTube. I’m going to talk about my top 10 moments of the DNC. I’m also going to share my hits and misses there. And I just want y’all to know it was different. The energy was different.

We are in a different [00:18:00] place than we were four weeks ago. There is hope. There is joy, family. And I hope y’all are ready. So I feel like these swing states, they swing it. They are swinging. Now let’s take a quick break. When we get back, we’re going to talk about culture and entertainment. Okay? All right.[00:18:30]

Welcome to Joy in the Breakthrough, a podcast where we’ll be talking to a wide range of leaders from different generations and backgrounds, leaders who have found power in being broken open. I’m Connie Lindsey. And I’m Anna Valencia. We are your host, and we believe that our challenges can lead to breakthroughs, and we want to share these insights with you.

We hope these stories will inspire you to find the I’m possible in you. Listen to joy in the breakthrough on Thursdays and [00:19:00] follow them on social media at joy. I T B pod. Listen inside the queue or wherever you get your podcast. If you’re hearing this, it means we didn’t sell this ad space. If you’re hearing this, it means running ads on our podcast actually can work.

You see what I did there? You see this real life example, you got an event, do you have an organization? Do you got something you need to get the word out about? We got rates starting as low as a hundred dollars. [00:19:30] Check the link in our show notes for more information, family. Welcome back to the show. Now let’s jump into culture and entertainment.

First up, quick question. Did y’all know that people living with HIV couldn’t serve in the armed forces? Did y’all know that I did not know that until I received an email from Lambda Legal with a press release that read victory court [00:20:00] strikes down military ban for people living with HIV. And I looked at that email and I said, what?

Yeah, family. So let me give y’all the tea since 1998. People serving in the military who were living with HIV could no longer serve in the military. Like, what kind of discriminatory practices were these? Chile, so two years ago, [00:20:30] Lambda Legal, alongside Peter Prakowski, Esquire, Scott Skowitz, Esquire, and Winston and Strong, LLP, took on the case representing three plaintiffs.

Okay. Isaiah Wilkins, who was actually named in the suit, Carol Cole and Natalie, no, which of course sound like aliases. Yes. Yes. So they went to court to fight on their behalf. Now the department of defense [00:21:00] was arguing that this policy needed to stay in place because of the. Cost of HIV related health care for new members.

Like they were really justifying this discriminatory policy because of the cost of HIV related health care. This isn’t even a legal reason. Employers across the country can not discriminate against anyone. [00:21:30] Because of healthcare costs, like it is literally illegal. And so the military, and specifically, right, the Department of Defense being the largest employer in the world, can’t do this.

Like literally they cannot do this. And thankfully the court agreed. One of the attorneys, Peter, said this. We are thrilled the court has ruled in our favor and agreed that the military’s outdated policies blocking people living with HIV from [00:22:00] enlisting are unconstitutional. Thanks to modern science, there is no legitimate reason HIV the ability to enlist.

Isaiah Wilkins, the plaintiff actually named in the case. This is a victory, not only for me, but for other people living with HIV who want to serve. As I’ve said before, giving up on my dream to serve my country was never an option. I am eager [00:22:30] to apply to enlist in the army without the threat of a crippling discriminatory policy.

And Isaiah’s story is so compelling. He comes from a military family. He’s always wanted to serve. He got accepted into West Point, went through all the tests and found out that because he was living with HIV, he could no longer serve. As I report on this story, I’m grateful for everyone who donates to Lambda Legal.

I’m grateful for the [00:23:00] lawyers. I’m grateful for the plaintiffs who had the courage. To tell their stories, discriminatory policies like this still exist across the country as it pertains to people living with HIV, I could say so much more about this and I will in my work, right? We’ve produced black HIV in the South.

How did we get here? I’m working on our next project because there is still. So much stigma and so much policy work that needs to be done and taken off the books because in 2024, we are living in a time [00:23:30] where undetectable equals untransmittable. And if we can continue to increase the education around PrEP and PEP, There truly is an opportunity to get to zero by 2030.

This right here is a huge win in the HIV movement. Congratulations everybody.

Things that relate to trans non binary remain incredibly contentious. I think that the marriage, [00:24:00] the idea of celebrating 10 years of same sex marriage this year, I think that the society has moved on, and it has been generally accepted, and while yes, when we were doing it, it was contentious, um, I think that the, the other things are even more contentious than that was then, and are significantly contentious now, and there is significant Brands and partner nervousness around that [00:24:30] topic and so in my view they are different things I think that we just have to be careful and it’s like that’s for others to do And also the business can’t afford to do that.

It’s the role of others to seek to change narratives. If we start doing too many things, I think it will harm the conversations with advertisers for other things, because it gives the perception that Pink News is something different to it. What we are is an entertainment content [00:25:00] powerhouse. We don’t want to be positioning ourselves as some sort of like charity.

So the voice you just heard in that wild statement is from the CEO of Pink News. Pink News is an LGBTQ news outlet based out of the U. K. and one of my trusted news sources. Like, I gotta take them off the list now, like, what? I’m not driving any extra traffic here, so I’m not Asking you all to go visit them at [00:25:30] all, because what, what did he just say?

Did he really call trans issues incredibly contentious? Aren’t you supposed to be an outlet for the LGBTQ community? Aren’t you just supposed to report on the news and what is newsworthy? And then he associates actually reporting about our trans siblings as some sort of charity. Whoa. Wow. Family. [00:26:00] So this is the story.

And as I was doing my research, I found out there’s a whole Twitter page called pink news whistleblowers that started months ago, May of 2024 to document all of the ways in which this publication It’s actually kind of awful. This isn’t what we want to see in our LGBTQ news [00:26:30] outlets, right? This isn’t what we want.

And after doing a little bit more digging, I uncovered that there was a point where they were losing a lot of money. And so they. Decided to pivot and they pivoted into a model that wasn’t sustainable for the staff. It seems as though they have a high turnover rate. And when I went to Glassdoor, which I haven’t been on for years, but it’s something I used to use when I was looking for jobs and employment.

They have a 2. 6 rating. That might [00:27:00] be one of the lowest ratings I have ever seen on Glassdoor. The CEO, Benjamin Cohen has a 27 percent approval. I’m just going to say he is not very well liked.

So we’ll see. We’ll see if Pink News can survive this moment. We’ll see if it picks up any more traction. We’ll see. If they choose to change course or even apologize, who [00:27:30] knows, but Chile, I won’t be using them anymore. What family for our last story of the day, you know, we love some big Frida around here.

Okay. Loves. Yes, we do. And this past week she received the key to new Orleans. Now I must tell you, I figured she had a key. I figured she probably had two, three keys by now, giving her career and just considering. How everybody knows there is no doubt in anybody’s [00:28:00] mind where Big Freedia is from because her whole brand is New Orleans.

Her whole brand is bounce music and that is New Orleans. But indeed, she had not received a key yet. But now that has all changed as the mayor Latoya Cantrell presented Big Freedia with the key and said, Big freedom has significantly contributed to the cultural and music landscape of our city locally, nationally, and [00:28:30] internationally.

On Instagram, she went on to say a Grammy winner, fierce LGBTQ plus advocate, and relentless community supporter whose influences goes far beyond music. And I mean, anybody that knows Big Freedia knows that this is absolutely true. She’s been doing her thing since the early 2000s. You understand out here just as queer as she want to be.

Congratulations, Big Freedia on another win and continuing to make the community proud. You the [00:29:00] business and you know it. All right. It’s that time of the show for Anna’s got a word because Anna’s always got a word. And when I was at the DNC, I got to interview so many people, right. As we talked about, and one of those people was Kiera Johnson.

She is the president of the National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund. And she is always dropping the mic on me. And when we interviewed, she reminded me of this quote by Audre Lorde and Audre Lorde. [00:29:30] Audrey. Okay. She said there is no thing as a single issue struggle because we do not live single issue lives.

And I want to leave you not only with that word, but the word from Kiara, as we think about how we center LGBTQ folks in all of the work in all of the policies, because all of them affect us. Yes. So I’m going to leave y’all with Kiara. If you don’t know, About the national LGBTQ task force action fund.

I’ve included a link in the show [00:30:00] notes if you want to go check them out. Okay. And until next week, family peace.

So instead of making us one of the issues, they can keep whatever issues are important to them and understand that LGBTQ people are disproportionately impacted no matter what they care about. If it’s prison reform, if it’s immigration, if it’s housing, If it’s land back, if it’s abortion, it doesn’t matter what you care about.

If you [00:30:30] center LGBTQ people, you’re going to find inspiration. You’re going to find new strategies. You’re going to find messages that resonate with our communities. We’ve got to remember that LGBTQ people are a part of any and every issue that matters for us to get free. If[00:31:00]

you’ve enjoyed what you heard, rate and review us inside your favorite podcasting app. This podcast is written and produced by me, Anna Deshawn. Podcast editing by Ryan Woodhull and brought to you by E3 radio and distributed on the Qube. We are [00:31:30] Queer News Done Right.