Before I came to Trans* Lounge, I didn’t have a Queer or Trans/GNC/ENBY community of my own. Working here has allowed me not only to meet so many in my communities, but also to be a part of dialogues and conversations. Things I used to wonder about constantly in my head, I realized so many others had the same questions, and we just needed forums to connect. The opportunities to be a part of facilitating that is something I have been so grateful for. That and working with Trans/ENBY youth is just pure magic – they are superheroes, and there…
Author: Greg Hernandez
By Greg Hernandez When Gina Bigham arrived at the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Village at Ed Gould Plaza on June 19, her heart sunk a little. There was no one around for the first day of Trans Pride Los Angeles, typically one of the biggest weekends of the year for the transgender community. Initially, Trans Pride Los Angeles had been set to be a block party but health and safety concerns over the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic forced it to be transformed into a virtual event this year. Bigham was on site with a small production crew to appear live virtually…
I’ve learned that I really hate it when I don’t know how to help. The start of the coronavirus pandemic was very difficult because we were all told that the safest thing to do was stay home and do nothing. But I knew there were people who needed help and the Center has provided me with a way to reach out while also staying safe. As a volunteer, in recent months I’ve almost exclusively been working to pack and deliver groceries to our older community members. This was a Center program that didn’t exist in this same way before we…
Classic songs of The Supremes, Stevie Wonder, and other Motown legends had people dancing in their living rooms during the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s first-ever virtual Senior Prom on June 26. From his studio in Las Vegas, DJ For Play kept the music spinning for seniors who have been self-isolating for more than three months due to health and safety concerns over the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. In addition to the Motown section, other dance music during the Studio 50+ themed affair included hits from Madonna, Donna Summer, Lady Gaga, Taylor Dayne, Bonnie Pointer, and Earth, Wind & Fire. Some attendees…
By Greg Hernandez Actress-model-activist Isis King said the murders of trans women of color must be a part of the Black Lives Matter movement gaining unprecedented momentum in the U.S. “People act like it doesn’t exist,” King said during the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Big Queer Convo event which kicked off Trans Pride L.A. on June 19. “They say, ‘One thing at a time.’ Well, when the (expletive) is the time to talk about people killing Black trans women because it seems like it’s never the time,” King said during a powerful, wide-ranging conversation with actress Alexandra Billings. “This is the perfect time…
I started volunteering at the Los Angeles LGBT Center during the COVID-19 pandemic to pack and deliver grocery bags for our Senior Angels program and to work at Pride Pantry. I had always wanted to become a Center volunteer and give back to an organization that has done so much for the LGBTQ+ community. I grew up in a small, suburban town and remember always looking at the Center’s website and reading about the different programs and events. The fact that they existed was so validating for a high school student. Because of the pandemic, my in-person senior year of…
I felt called to work at the Los Angeles LGBT Center because it’s a place where people can truly be themselves and feel safe, accepted, and supported. It is where I feel I can be my authentic self and is an opportunity to work on the frontlines serving our community. I am normally responsible for the planning and execution of on-site programming for our Triangle Square residents. But my role has changed drastically since the coronavirus crisis began, and I am now managing the senior food pantry and grocery delivery program. We know that many folks are working with limited…
When I went to the Center for STI testing and primary care services as a teenager, I would have a male nurse who was African American, gay, confident, and professional. I was newly out and not fully embracing my queer identity. But because I could identify with the nurses’ race, gender, and sexual orientation, the anxiety I had about coming to Center for services would resolve in his presence. When I became a nurse years later, I felt a calling to start my career and represent my community in a setting that only the Center could provide. I hoped to…
By Greg Hernandez The first-ever AIDS/LifeCycle@HOME came to a close on June 6 with a total of $8.1 million raised for San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the HIV/AIDS-related services of the Los Angeles LGBT Center. When the actual seven-day, 545-mile bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles was canceled in March due to health and safety concerns over the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, participants had already raised more than $6 million. They collected an additional $2 million after the physical ride transformed into a virtual fundraising event. “We know this has been very different than what we normally experience this…
The killing of George Floyd took place just a block away from the home of Andrea Jenkins, vice president of the Minneapolis City Council. “I want us to think about what has happened, what has transpired,” she said Wednesday during a virtual town hall on the intersections of systemic racism and injustice against the LGBTQ community. Organized by Equality Florida, the town hall transpired as more than 400 LGBTQ organizations from across the country have signed onto a letter condemning racial violence and committing to the fight against it. “We are in a moment of opportunity, and certainly it’s an…