World AIDS Day is December 1 and is marked with observances around the world including San Antonio. Globally there are an estimated 34 million people who have the virus. Since 1984, more than 35 million people have died of HIV or AIDS. According to Texas Department of State Health Services there were 5,477 people living…
SA sees slight drop in HIV infections
With World AIDS Day approaching on December 1, recent statistics from the Texas Department of State Health Services show a slight drop in HIV infections in Bexar County. In 2014, the latest year for which statistics are available, there were 329 new cases of HIV infections reported in Bexar County. That is down from 375…
Sec. Castro supports HUD’s proposed Gender Identity Rule
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and former San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro is taking to social media with a video in support of HUD’s Gender Identity Rule which was proposed on November 20, the Transgender Day of Remembrance. In the short video, Castro says, “Everyone deserves to live with dignity regardless of their gender…
No perfect scores for SA companies on HRC Corporate Equality Index
Updated November 18, 2015, 9:51 p.m. This week, the Human Rights Campaign released their 2016 Corporate Equality Index. The good news is that of 48 companies ranked in Texas, 10 got perfect scores. The bad news is that none of those companies are in San Antonio. Of the corporations ranked in San Antonio, USAA got…
Peace Market marks 26th year
The Esperanza Peace and Justice Center will once again kick off the holiday shopping season in San Antonio with the 26th annual Peace Market (Mercado de Paz) on November 27 and 28. Organizers of the Peace Market say it is one of the oldest holiday markets in the US, adding that it offers a community-centered…
Texas artist McKay Otto will address HRC gala
Texas artist McKay Otto will be a guest speaker at the HRC Gala and Silent Auction on November 21 at the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa. Otto is a native of Wharton, Texas who now lives in Wimberly. His work has been exhibited extensively in gallery and museum exhibitions in Houston,…
LGBT Chamber, City of SA among diversity awardees
The San Antonio LGBT Chamber of Commerce was the recipient of a DiversityFirst award from the local chapter of the Texas Diversity Council at their awards luncheon on November 10 at the University of the Incarnate Word’s Rosenberg Sky Room. The Diversity Council’s award program “recognizes individuals, community groups, nonprofit organizations and business establishments across…
MCC to host Transgender Day of Remembrance
The Metropolitan Community Church will once again host the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance observance in San Antonio on November 19. The day honors the memory of those murdered because of anti-transgender prejudice. The Transgender Day of Remembrance was originally started to commemorate the murder of Rita Hester in 1998. Hester was stabbed to death…
HRC to honor Judge Genie Wright
The San Antonio chapter of the Human Rights Campaign announced that Judge Eugenia “Genie” Wright of Bexar County Court 7 will be presented with the Equality Award at the group’s Gala and Silent Auction on November 21. The Equality Award is given annually to “an individual who works toward equality for all citizens of San…
RGV group launches survey of LGBT immigrants
An LGBT organization in the Rio Grande Valley is conducting what may be the first survey aimed at LGBT immigrants. Aquí Estamos RGV, in cooperation with the Queer Undocumented Immigrant Project (QUIP) of United We Dream, is initiating the No More Closets survey to “humanize and uplift the real lived experiences of LGBTQ immigrants living…