A Book About Pride ... For Children

After posting about Caitlyn Jenner and her need for publicity at all costs this morning, I needed a real LGBT hero to pots about and luckily, as always, there’s Harvey and Gilbert.

A new picture book is set to be released that will introduce young readers to LGBT activists, icons, and heroes, Harvey Milk and Gilbert Baker, and their creation of the Pride flag.

“Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag” is written by Rob Sanders and illustrated by Steven Salerno:

“In this deeply moving and empowering true story, young readers will trace the life of the Gay Pride Flag, from its beginnings in 1978 with social activist Harvey Milk and designer Gilbert Baker to its spanning of the globe and its role in today’s world. Award-winning author Rob Sanders’s stirring text, and acclaimed illustrator Steven Salerno's evocative images, combine to tell this remarkable—and undertold—story. A story of love, hope, equality, and pride.”

Stuart Milk, Harvey’s nephew, Founder and President of the Milk Foundation, praised the upcoming book as “beautifully [telling] the history of both Uncle Harvey’s dream and his collaboration with Gilbert Baker to create a global symbol of equality and inclusion. The book tells a history that all children will cherish, and will inspire the next generation of hope givers, our world’s youth.”

Amit Paley, CEO and Executive Director of the Trevor Project, offered praise for the book:

“Harvey Milk and Gilbert Baker showed LGBTQ people that they should be proud of who they are and who they love. That is exactly what we do at the Trevor Project for LGBTQ youth in crisis. We’re thrilled that more young people will learn the story behind the original rainbow flag.”

Sure, there might be some who think this isn’t a good idea for children, but to those folks, I ask, why is a story of love and acceptance, of yourself and others, and pride in yourself for accepting yourself, a bad idea?

This is the kind of story that might have helped thousands upon thousands of us growing up; and might just save the life of a child.

And saving one child’s life is reason enough.

It’s a great thing.

NCRM

Random Musings

Gilbert Baker died last week.

Don’t know who he is? You should; Baker was the man who created the LGBTQ Pride Rainbow flag way back in 1978 for the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade.

Gilbert Baker was born in Kansas in 1951, and served in the US Army from 1970 to 1972, stationed in San Francisco at the start of what was then called the Gay Liberation Movement.   After being honorably discharged Baker stayed in San Francisco and taught himself to sew; and he used that talent to make banners for gay and anti-war street protest marches, often at a moment’s notice, at the behest of his friend Harvey Milk.

In fact, Harvey Milk rode triumphantly under the first Rainbow Flags Baker made for that June 25th 1978, for the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade.

In 2008 Baker returned to San Francisco to recreate the banners and flags he made in the 70’s for the film Milk.

I smile a little, and feel a sense of Pride, every time I see that flag ... especially the huge one at Key West Pride.

RIP Gilbert.

In the wake of reports that he is a sexual harasser, Bill O’Reilly is facing the loss of advertisers for his Fox news show. As of yesterday some forty advertisers, from BMW to Allstate, have pulled their ads from his show. In fact, just about the only people supporting O’Reilly now, are his fellow male employees at Fox and a certain “pussy grabbing” president.

And that speaks volumes in and of itself.

At age 73 Barry Manilow has finally come out publicly in an interview with People magazine in which he talks about being gay and married to his manager Garry Kief.

Manilow and Kief have been together for 39 years, though keeping their relationship secret to many people.

Manilow admits he’s always been hesitant to discuss the relationship — and to come out publicly, even after he finally married Kief in April 2014.

In 2015, news of their marriage and Manilow’s sexuality made headlines, something the legend calls “a blessing and a curse” but he still refused to address it publicly:

“I thought I would be disappointing [the fans] if they knew I was gay. So I never did anything, [but] when they found out that Garry and I were together, they were so happy. The reaction was so beautiful — strangers commenting, ‘Great for you!’ I’m just so grateful for it.”

Naturally, Manilow is being blasted for not coming out earlier but, as I said on social media, you come out when YOU’RE ready, not when WE’RE ready.

Welcome out Barry.

Last Friday our local weathermen predicted a rainy wet day ... and it poured, flooding streets and making it impossible to drive through town.

On Monday, they predicted a huge storm coming through town with the threat of tornadoes and hail as big as golf balls and we got a Spring shower.

On Wednesday, the same tools, talked about the wave of storms coming through; the first would be around 4PM—though it started at 2PM—and would be bad, but the second would be worse, damaging winds, trees down, power outages, and the third, coming overnight, would see tornadoes touching down in South Carolina.

We got the first band through, ending at about 5PM and then ... yes, a lovely Spring shower.

Now, I get the weathermen cannot “predict” the weather, but their accuracy is just God awful. I tend to think the worst of the minor storms and think nothing about the forecasted big ones.

That said, this morning was a gorgeous sunny, cool, calm day in Smallville.

Also coming out as gay is Daniel Newman, the actor who plays Daniel on The Walking Dead. Newman came out in a video posted to Twitter and said:

“I'm #OUTandPROUD #LGBT Love you guys. Be proud to be yourself. We need everyone just the way you are!”

Newman says he decided to come out when he was working at a shelter for homeless LGBTQ youth and a girl thanked him for volunteering as a straight ally.

He told her he was gay, and she said, “Why have you never said that publicly before? You could help change our lives.”

“It hit me like a gut punch. It felt like someone had knocked the wind out of me. I realized how important it is in this day and age to be visible; have people know who you are…When you are accomplishing incredible things and you are hiding who you are, you are hurting hundreds of millions of people….By us staying quiet, we’re partially to blame for kids getting beat up and ridiculed, for stereotypes and stigmas….Now is not the time any longer to keep it private.”

Exactly; when one of us comes out, it makes it easier for others to come out, but, again, you come out when YOU’RE ready ...

It’s an individual choice.

Welcome out, Dan.

I didn’t see a single Hot Man on television this week ... at least none that hadn’t been seen here before. So I decided to post a photo of the Hottest Man at Casa Bob y Carlos ...

Sadly, Carlos wouldn’t pose, so I’ll go with the second Hottest Man in the house.

I kid ... this is the hottest man in our house: Tuxedo.

Oy! Look at the punum on that cat!

And in other Big Gay News ... a federal appeals court in Chicago ruled this week that the 1964 Civil Rights Act also protects LGBT employees from workplace discrimination.

This marks the first time that a federal appellate court has come to that conclusion. The decision by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals comes after it threw out an earlier finding by three of its own judges that the law doesn’t cover sexual-orientation bias; it also comes as President _____’s administration has begun setting its own policies on LGBT rights, even though he cannot seem to make up his mind.

In January, _____ said he would enforce an Obama administration order barring companies that do federal work from workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual identity, but a month later _____ also revoked the Obama administration’s guidance on transgender students’ use of public school bathrooms, deferring to states.

But, as anyone with a brain knows, LGBT rights are civil rights, and so it’s nice to hear that a court has ruled it to be true.

Still, as we know, the march goes on.

In a continuing freefall, _____’s approval ratings have tumbled down to 35% ... meaning 65%—and that must include some of his supporters who’ve finally realized what they’ve done—of Americans thinks he’s unqualified to be President.

As I like to Tweet to _____ every so often, he’s fast becoming “The Best WORST President EVER” and perhaps he should have that turned into a gold sign he can hang from his jail cell door.