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Proud Boys disrupt drag-queen reading event, prompting hate-crime probe

Proud Boys disrupt drag-queen reading event, prompting hate-crime probe
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A children’s story hour at a California library was disrupted by several members of the Proud Boys on Saturday, prompting local authorities to launch a hate-crime investigation as LGBTQ and anti-extremism advocates warn that such threats by far-right extremists are intensifying.

Roughly 25 miles from San Francisco across the East Bay, the San Lorenzo Library was hosting Drag Queen Story Hour when a group of five men interrupted the event and began hurling homophobic and transphobic insults at attendees, including the drag performer known as Panda Dulce, officials said. Drag Queen Story Hour, where performers read books to children, takes place in a part of the library where any member of the community can hold a meeting, according to Lt. Ray Kelly, a spokesman for the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office.

“The men were described as extremely aggressive with a threatening violent demeanor causing people to fear for their safety,” Kelly said in a statement. In addition to the hate-crime probe, authorities have also launched an investigation of whether the Proud Boys’ actions “annoyed or harassed children,” which is a violation of the penal code.

On Monday, detectives were still investigating. They were expected to hand over any evidence to the district attorney, who will determine whether hate-crime charges should be brought against the Proud Boys, a far-right group with a history of violence.

With the Bay Area being the epicenter of the Pride movement, LGBTQ events are often uneventful and “go off without a hitch,” Kelly told The Washington Post on Monday.

“As far as hatred and being a focal point, I’ve not seen that in years past. This is kind of new,” Kelly said. He also noted that the Proud Boys members who disrupted Saturday’s reading event were not believed to be from the San Lorenzo community.

“We don’t have right-wing extremists groups that come out into the open in the Bay Area all that much,” he said. “We believe there’s a group connected in San Mateo County, so we believe these people crossed the bay for this event.”

Meet the woman behind Libs of TikTok, secretly fueling the right’s outrage machine

Kelly said investigators believe the confrontation was spurred by the Twitter account Libs of TikTok, which traffics in anti-LGBTQ sentiment and propels incendiary stories into the right-wing media sphere.

Across the country, extremist groups with a far-right or white-supremacist ideology have increasingly coalesced around targeting LGBTQ events and individuals and sought to justify their attacks with false claims that gay and transgender people — and sometimes perceived ideological opponents — are preying on children.

Dulce, who is among the co-founders of the Drag Queen Story Hour program, said the men marched in making white-power hand gestures and had their “cameras blazing.”

“They said: ‘Who brought the tranny? It’s a groomer. It’s a pedophile. Why do you bring your kids to this event?’” Dulce said in an interview with KGO-TV in San Francisco.

That same day in Idaho, police arrested 31 men allegedly affiliated with the white-supremacist group Patriot Front on charges that they were conspiring to riot at a local Pride event. Extremism researchers say hate groups that target LGBTQ-friendly organizations or individuals are motivated by often overlapping beliefs in hyper-masculinity and archaic gender roles, fear of people who are different and the misplaced belief queer groups are amassing power and privilege at their expense.

Men tied to hate group planned for riot, ‘confrontation’ at LGBTQ event, police say

Over the past two years, conservative activists and lawmakers have increasingly fought over transgender and LGBTQ inclusivity and visibility in girl’s sports, school curriculums and public libraries.

Libraries throughout the United States have seen a big increase in the number of attacks and protests over inclusive reading lists or book displays in recent years, while the American Library Association’s Office of Intellectual Freedom has seen an overall increase in the targeting of libraries in general, said Emily Knox, who teaches at the School of Information Sciences at the University of Illinois and serves as editor of the ALA’s Journal of Intellectual Freedom and Privacy.

Libraries are also one of the few public faces of local government where individuals feel they can be heard, Knox said. Most people don’t go to city council meetings, Knox said, but lots of people go to the library.

Gender identity lessons, banned in some schools, are rising in others

Story hours have long been a staple of public library programming meant to promote literacy and engage young readers, though the Drag Queen Story Hour program is organized in local chapters and hosted by a local library.

Jonathan Hamilt, executive director of Drag Queen Story Hour, said the program drew a strong positive response when it began in 2015 for bringing fun and glamour to children’s story time, though it has always experienced pushback from some conservative groups.

Over the years, however, Hamilt said, pushback has morphed to hate and is now more directed at drag culture instead of gay people overall.

“With right-wing conservatives and Republican groups, outright saying they don’t like gay people sounds homophobic. It doesn’t play well,” he said. Going after drag culture provides cover under the argument that drag queens reading to children is inappropriate or untoward.

Contrary to what Drag Queen Story Hour opponents claim, Hamilt said, the group isn’t trying to persuade or “indoctrinate” anyone. It exists for the people who want and need it, he said.

“Our program is for queer families and their allies,” he said. “It’s not our job to teach people [about] the difference between sex and gender, or to make people like us. People who are against us, no matter how much we explain what we’re doing, they’re not going to understand or listen.”

Dulce, the drag performer who was allegedly harassed by Proud Boys at the San Lorenzo Library, told KGO there’s no reason to fear or hate them.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” Dulce said. “I just want to tell you a story. That’s it.”

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Boston Reveals ‘A Very Proud City’ Events for Pride Month

Boston Reveals ‘A Very Proud City' Events for Pride Month

A Very Proud City, a new LGBTQ+ Pride series of events in Boston, will launch next Wednesday, June 8, Mayor Michelle Wu announced Thursday.

In honor of Pride Month, the series will host events supporting LGBTQ+ residents as well as local organizations that work to give back to the pride community.

“I’m grateful to all of our partners for working to ensure that we are celebrating our queer communities, and I encourage everyone to stop by these events,” the mayor said in a press release.

One partner Wu is teaming up with is Men of Melanin Magic, an organization that raises awareness for queer people of color.

“I have attended a few of Men of Melanin Magic events in the past and I am incredibly excited to partner with them this PRIDE to amplify queer joy and resilience in Downtown,” said Mariangely Solis Cervera, chief of equity and inclusion.

On Wednesday, Boston kicked off Pride Month with an event at City Hall featuring performances by many LGBTQ+ artists. The event marked just the beginning of Boston’s Pride celebration.

“As we emerge out of the pandemic, this is a tremendous opportunity to join our queer residents in spreading joy, love, and acceptance to all within our city,” said Segun Idowu, chief of economic opportunity and inclusion.

Beginning next week, A Very Proud City events are scheduled for every Wednesday in June. Events are free and open to the public. See the full list:

BOP-ley Square – Wednesday, June 8

Location: Copley Square Park @ In Front of the Trinity Church Boston – 560 Boylston St Boston, MA  02116 United States
Description: The Ultimate Tea Dance Block Party
Time: 5pm-8pm

District Q – Wednesday, June 15 

Location: Sam Adams Park at Faneuil Hall @ North st and Congress St.
1 Faneuil Hall Sq Boston MA 02109
Description: An eclectic Queer Marketplace
Time: 4pm-7pm

NetWerq  – Wednesday, June 15 

Location: Rooftop of Sam Adams Taproom
Description: A casual gathering for folks to meet and collaborate with other queer entrepreneurs, organizers, creators, and community members
Time:  6:30pm-8:30pm

DanceTown Crossing – Wednesday, June 22

Location: Downtown Crossing @ Summer Street and Washington Street – 8 Summer St Boston, MA 02110 United States
Description: Dance Variety Show featuring local queer dance groups and drag performers
Time: 5pm-8pm

Pride Calling – Wednesday, June 29

Location: Boston Common @ the Parade Grounds
Description: Benefit Concert to establish a Mutual Aid Fund specific to helping queer people in need.
Time: 5pm-8pm 

The NBC and Telemundo Boston stations are the media partners of Pride in Boston, in partnership with the City of Boston.

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‘That is the Saskatchewan spirit’: Despite unsuccessful world juniors bid, tourism head proud of efforts

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The joint bid by Halifax and Moncton has been awarded the 2023 event, ahead of joint bids from Ottawa/Quebec City and Saskatoon/Regina.

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The CEO of Tourism Saskatoon didn’t try to hide her disappointment, but Stephanie Clovechok was quick to share another emotion after learning the bid by Saskatoon and Regina to host the upcoming world junior hockey championship was unsuccessful.

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“I think the big headline here is how powerful it is to bring an entire province together on something like this,” Clovechok said on Thursday, shortly after receiving word that Halifax and Moncton has been awarded the 2023 event ahead of joint bids from Ottawa/Quebec City and Saskatoon/Regina.

Canada is hosting the 2023 championship after the event was pulled out of Russia because of its invasion of Ukraine. Saskatoon previously attempted, and failed, to land the 1999, 2003, 2006 and 2009 championships before succeeding in 2010 with a joint bid alongside Regina. Saskatoon also hosted the world juniors in 1991.

Tourism groups in Saskatoon and Regina spent a frantic week last month getting a bid together, with the International Ice Hockey Federation announcing they were looking to Canada to host on short notice

Chelsea Galloway, chief tourism and visitor growth officer for Economic Development Regina and Tourism Regina, was marvelling on Thursday at how the teams in both cities managed to put together a bid in just 10 days when it can sometimes take months — or even years — to coordinate bids for large events. She said the process was also unique because it played out more publicly than most.

“It was fun for people to be part of the process. Everyone’s disappointed, but I think it’s also an opportunity for us to be really excited about hosting major events again,” Galloway said.

The two cities are often competing against each other to host major events, Clovechok pointed out. The teamwork Saskatoon and Regina showed as they worked together — from city council to the tourism groups, the business community to citizens offering to volunteer — is something that gives Clovechok “enormous pride and shows we’ve got something very magical on our hands.

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“That is the Saskatchewan spirit that connects us all … We need to definitely lean into that when we want to bring hockey back to Saskatchewan.”

Tourism Saskatoon CEO Stephanie Clovechok
Tourism Saskatoon CEO Stephanie Clovechok Photo by Michelle Berg /Saskatoon StarPhoenix

The last world juniors to be held in the Maritimes was in 2003. The event has been held several times since then in the west, and the 2022 championship — which was called off in December due to the COVID-19 pandemic — is being held in August in Edmonton and Red Deer. Clovechok said she was never told directly from Hockey Canada about that being a factor, only hearing the narrative in the media. Part of Saskatchewan’s appeal, Clovechok said, was because of its openness for business and willingness to host events over the past two years.

She said there were “a lot of things likely in play” and that she hopes to learn more about the process and decision making during a follow-up call in the near future.

With the hospitality sector still feeling the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism representatives from Saskatoon and Regina said they hoped to land an event the magnitude of the world juniors. Both Saskatoon and Regina’s city council approved $350,000 in funding to support the joint bid.

After two years of cancelled and postponed events, Saskatoon Mayor Charlie Clark said last month that welcoming the hockey tournament would put people in hotel beds and boost the local economy.

“Our hotels need hope. Our restaurants need hope. Our venues need that hope and optimism,” he said.

Clovechok last month before Saskatoon city council estimated the economic impact of hosting the event at $50 million. She predicted it would attract 300,000 fans, 15,000 room nights for hotels and 20,000 out of town travellers.

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Canadian fans in Saskatoon celebrate Team Canada’s second goal during the gold medal game between Canada and the U.S.A. at the IIHF World Juniors Hockey Tournament at Credit Union Centre in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan January 5, 2010. (Gord Waldner/ Saskatoon StarPhoenix)
Canadian fans in Saskatoon celebrate Team Canada’s second goal during the gold medal game between Canada and the U.S.A. at the IIHF World Juniors Hockey Tournament at Credit Union Centre in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan January 5, 2010. (Gord Waldner/ Saskatoon StarPhoenix) Photo by Gord Waldner /The Star Phoenix

As disappointing as the outcome of the bid is, Clovechok feels energized by the process.

“It’s one thing we were saying: this put us back to work in the way we love to work,” she said.

“Now that this momentum is felt by the community … we’ve got a fire in us to keep hunting for these events hosting in Saskatchewan.”

Whether it’s soccer or curling, baseball or the North American Indigenous Games, “we’ll be making sure we’re present in the world … This, again, speaks to the strength of the community and connectivity of the community.”

The next opportunities to bid to host the world junior hockey championship are for the 2026 or 2028 event.

Said Clovechok: “We will be sure that Hockey Canada hears from us.”

— With Leader-Post files from Jennifer Ackerman

The news seems to be flying at us faster all the time. From COVID-19 updates to politics and crime and everything in between, it can be hard to keep up. With that in mind, the Saskatoon StarPhoenix has created an Afternoon Headlines newsletter that can be delivered daily to your inbox to help make sure you are up to date with the most vital news of the day. Click here to subscribe.

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Canadians proud of results in Beijing 2022 two-woman bobsleigh event

Team Canada’s Cynthia Appiah and Dawn Richardson Wilson compete in the 2-woman bobsleigh heat 3

COC/Dave Holland

Led by the duo Christine de Bruin and Kristen Bujnowski, two Canadian sleds finished within the top eight of the two-woman bobsleigh event at Beijing 2022.

de Bruin and Bujnowski entered the final day just 0.42 back of a spot on the podium but couldn’t make up enough time in their third and fourth runs, placing them fifth overall with a total time of 4:06.37.

Team Canada’s Christine de Bruin and Kristen Bujnowski compete in the 2-woman bobsleigh heat 3
Team Canada’s Christine de Bruin and Kristen Bujnowski compete in the 2-woman bobsleigh heat 3 during the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games on Saturday, February 19, 2022. Photo by COC/Handout Dave Holland

“I think we really put down four solid runs, four solid pushes” said de Bruin, who won bronze in the women’s monobob earlier in the Games. “It all just came down to we couldn’t gain.”

“I’m really, really proud of us and what we’ve done.”

The Germans continued their domination of sliding sports in Beijing with Laura Nolte winning gold with a time of 4:03.96 and Mariama Jamanka taking the silver with a time of 4:04.73. American Elana Meyers Taylor took the bronze with a time of 4:05.48 and another German, Kim Kalicki, finished fourth with a time of 4:06.28.

The fifth-place finish is an improvement for de Bruin in the two-woman event from PyeongChang 2018 where she finished seventh. Bujnowski, taking part in her first Olympic Games, was happy to team up with de Bruin for Beijing.

“I think it was really exciting,” Bujnowski said of her Olympic experience. “I think we worked really well as a team and really supported each other. We each made mistakes at certain times and we were really great at certain times and we both stood by each other. I think that’s a really important part of a strong team.”

Canada’s Cynthia Appiah and brakewoman Dawn Richardson Wilson, meanwhile, entered the day in eighth and would finish there with a total time of 4:07.52. It certainly could have been a much worse result given that the two had a crash near the end of their third run. Although clearly frustrated, both would be okay.

Appiah said the crash looked much worse than it actually was.

“I think I was more upset that the crash happened than anything,” she said. “I got a little bit of a shoulder bruise but, all things considered, it could have been worse and I’m glad that’s the worst of it.”

In their fourth and final run, Appiah had difficulty with one corner but this time recovered nicely to keep the sled on its tracks. Being able to quickly rebound from a rough result is part of the sport, she said.

“In this sport you really have to live in the moment, process the mistakes as quickly as possible and move on because you’ve got another run. I knew that, for Dawn, I couldn’t let her Olympic experience end on such a bad note and for myself as well. I knew that the fourth run was go big or go home.”

Both Appiah and Richardson Wilson were taking part in their first Olympic Games. Appiah was an alternate brakewoman four years ago in PyeongChang but made the move to pilot soon after.

The third Canadian sled in the two-woman event, featuring pilot Melissa Lotholz with brakewoman Sara Villani, finished 12th with a time of 4:08.37. The duo entered the final two heats in 16th position but had a good, clean day of sliding to move up the standings.