Author: Kelly Freter

In this country there are three primary fronts on which to advance the causes of freedom, justice, and equality for LGBT people: the courts, the legislatures, and the people. In some periods of our movement’s history, we’ve done better in the courts. Sometimes we’ve done better in legislatures. And we’ve always focused on our society at large, telling the truth about our lives and building public understanding and support. We’ve made enormous progress since 1969, when the Center’s founders began providing services and the Stonewall Riots gave birth to our contemporary LGBT movement. In the years since, we’ve faced enormous…

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Being queer is my favorite thing about myself. It informs my art, my heart, and my activism. Of the songs I’ve written, I think Centuries by Fall Out Boy is the one that speaks most strongly about the LGBTQ community. I came up with the main lyric “you’ll remember me for centuries” while I was watching online interviews about Marsha P. Johnson, the late trans activist who was instrumental in the Stonewall riots. The song went on to be certified platinum five times over, became a theme song for ESPN college football, and was even heard during the Super Bowl.…

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Fighting for justice—and winning—is what the LGBT community knows how to do. With critical midterm elections looming, it’s more vital than ever that you Remember in November. ONE NIGHT IN NOVEMBER On a cool November night, a few hundred people gathered at the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Village at Ed Gould Plaza, coming together as a community still reeling in the fear and uncertainty of what a Trump presidency would mean for the LGBT community, our country, and our world. “I remember it vividly,” recalled U.S. Congressman Adam Schiff, who represents California’s 28th district which includes the Center and who…

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By Greg Hernandez Lauren Peterson had already spent an hour taking part in a juggling class before heading downstairs to the Center’s Advocate & Gochis Galleries at The Village at Ed Gould Plaza to teach more than a dozen of her fellow seniors how to tap dance. “I turned 60 two days ago,” Peterson, pictured left, tells the beginners tap class as they do warm-up stretches to Cher’s power ballad You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me. She then teaches the group some basic tap steps. By the end of the hour, most have caught on and are able to…

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Just over 25 years ago, a rag-tag band of about 500 cyclists and 100 volunteers rolled into West Hollywood after spending a week on the road from San Francisco. We could hardly believe it—we had raised a million dollars from our friends and families to provide critical medical services at the Center to people with HIV and AIDS! This is what I reflected on, just a few weeks ago, as some 2,340 cyclists and 700 “roadie” volunteers crossed the finish line of this year’s AIDS/LifeCycle. It surely would have seemed like a pipe dream in 1994 that in 2018 we…

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I don’t know when—or  how— it  began,  but I’ve never had any semblance of tolerance for inequality. The  idea that someone’s skin color, sexual orientation,  gender identity,  or religion made them different, less than, or wrong is not how I was raised. My  inner circle  of friends and colleagues have  always been made up of a literal rainbow of flavors, but I realize not everyone in the world was raised like I was. I realize not everyone shares my views and my feelings. I realize we are still dealing with a lot of hatred, fear, judgment,  and intolerance—forces that are destructive. The only way I know to respond to…

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“In communities of color, there is so much stigma around sex, being gay, and HIV that people are scared to even talk about PrEP—and many more don’t even know about it,” says Milan Christopher, the openly gay music artist, actor, model, and face of the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s new PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) awareness and education campaign. With Christopher’s help, the PrEP’d AF campaign will reach those most at-risk for HIV. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), minority communities, especially African-American/ Black men who have sex with men, are particularly at-risk for new HIV infections.…

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Actress Michelle C. Bonilla grew up in Hollywood and was raised by a working mother. She often found herself in the position of being a latchkey kid and would go to Shakey’s Pizza on Santa Monica Boulevard to play video games after school. She fondly remembers a group of “beautiful, tall, gorgeous, friendly gals” with boas, incredible clothes, and fabulous make-up standing on the corner who would always look out for her. “They told me to get home when it was getting dark and always watched out for me while I skateboarded my way home up the street,” Bonilla remembers.…

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Los Angeles native Alfred Fraijo, Jr., knew little about the Los Angeles LGBT Center while growing up on the Eastside. That changed when he became a student at Loyola Law School. “Being a poor student in law school, I couldn’t afford healthcare,” he explained. “When I learned that the Center operated a health clinic, it quickly became an amazing resource for me whenever I needed to see a doctor.” Fast forward a couple of decades. Fraijo, now a successful partner with global firm Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton specializing in state and federal land use and environment law, would connect…

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The Center was always a beacon of hope. Growing up in Los Angeles in a conservative Christian family, the Center was always a beacon of hope for me. Once I was out on my own, I was able to pursue transitioning and nine years ago sought services at the Center as a client. In the fall of 2015, I attended the Center’s Trans Job Fair. I was hired a few months later as a health education specialist then later became a benefits navigator, which meant I was helping people figure out their health insurance options. Becoming an employee felt like…

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