Gay Carnival at the Historic New Orleans Collection On Wednesday, January 31, the Historic New Orleans Collection hosted a public lecture on the history of gay Carnival that also served as a book launch for author Howard Philips Smith’s new book Unveiling the Muse: The Lost History of Gay Carnival in New Orleans (University Press of Mississippi, 2017). The event was held … [Read more...] about Gay Carnival at the Historic New Orleans Collection
Fight Over LGBT Rights May Go to the Supreme Court
Fight Over LGBT Rights May Go to the Supreme Court In the latest episode in a long legal battle, Louisiana Governor John Bell Edwards (D) led an appeal to the State Supreme Court seeking to reinstate his Executive Order prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in state employment and by state contractors. Edwards issued the order in April … [Read more...] about Fight Over LGBT Rights May Go to the Supreme Court
Budget Crisis Could Affect State Hospitals, Public Education
Budget Crisis Could Affect State Hospitals, Public Education Louisiana State Senator Troy Carter, Chairperson of the Senate Democratic Caucus, recently sent a letter to Governor John Bell Edwards urging him to call a special session of the legislature to address the state’s budget crisis. Carter also pledged the Democratic Caucus’ support for the passage of a standstill … [Read more...] about Budget Crisis Could Affect State Hospitals, Public Education
Mike Pence Goes to the Olympics
Mike Pence Goes to the Olympics In 2014, the International Olympic Committee adopted a proposal to include sexual orientation in the Olympic Charter’s non-discrimination principle. The impetus for the resolution was Russia’s homophobic crackdown on LGBT+ citizens. Just before the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, over 50 former and then-current Olympic athletes urged the Russian … [Read more...] about Mike Pence Goes to the Olympics
Writers Who Love Too Much: New Narrative 1977— 1997
Writers Who Love Too Much: New Narrative 1977— 1997. Eds. Dodie Bellamy and Kevin Killian. 2017. ISBN: 978-1-937658-65-6. 544 pages. $24.95. This book is the first major anthology of New Narrative writing—the San Francisco based literary movement fueled by punk, pop, porn, French theory, and social resistance. In the twenty years that followed America’s bicentennial, … [Read more...] about Writers Who Love Too Much: New Narrative 1977— 1997
Obituary: Johnny Jackson, Jr.
Former City Council member and State Representative Johnny Jackson died January 24 after a long battle with cancer. Johnny Jackson, Jr. grew up in several New Orleans neighborhoods and became a community activist in the 1960s. After Hurricane Betsy in 1965, he worked on a clean-up crew at the Desire Community Center and within a few years he was the directing head of the … [Read more...] about Obituary: Johnny Jackson, Jr.