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Category: Southern Illinois

Harrisburg restaurant, drag community, LGBTQ youth group weather religious furor spreading to library board elections

Harrisburg restaurant, drag community, LGBTQ youth group weather religious furor spreading to library board elections

by | Mar 15, 2023 | , , , , , , , , , | 0

HARRISBURG, IL — First, a coalition of conservative Christian churches began attacking an LGBTQ youth group, calling it a recruitment tool to the “transsexual and homosexual lifestyle.”

Then, the coalition attacked the public library, and a moderate local church. Next up: drag performers and the gay-owned restaurant that started hosting them.

Now, two anti-LGBTQ candidates are running for the Harrisburg Public Library Board.

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Carbondale town hall, forum focus on LGBTQ; Royalty Pageant coming; Mt. Vernon Pride event, and more

Carbondale town hall, forum focus on LGBTQ; Royalty Pageant coming; Mt. Vernon Pride event, and more

by | Mar 11, 2023 | , , , , , , , , , , , | 0

SOUTHERN ILLINOIS — Starting with Monday’s Town Hall, Rainbow Cafe has four big events coming up along with its daily work of providing support and resources to LGBTQ youth and adults.

Plus, Southern Il PrideFest sponsors a Carbondale City Council Candidate Forum.

Check out Mt. Vernon’s early start to the Pride season. And find links to learn about the Choate Mental Health crisis and how family members and activists are reacting.

It’s all part of the latest TRM Southern Illinois Weekly Update.

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Killman holds candidate event, Rainbow Cafe calls out Tennessee anti-LGBTQ bills, and more

Killman holds candidate event, Rainbow Cafe calls out Tennessee anti-LGBTQ bills, and more

by | Feb 27, 2023 | , , , , , , , , , , , | 0

A bathroom bill that doesn’t even require multi-gender bathrooms triggers an Illinois state representative to cancel a planned appearance in Edwardsville.

Meanwhile, a Carbondale nonprofit is putting out a call of support for LGBTQ activist groups in Tennessee, where two anti-LGBTQ bills have advanced and are on the verge of becoming law.

You can also learn about some pivotal Carbondale City Council happenings: a “Meet the Candidate” event by Clare Killman, and a gun violence study before the City Council Tuesday.

it’s all part of the TRM Southern Illinois Weekly Update.

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Kamrah brings boundary-breaking belly-dancing to Carbondale’s Rainbow Variety Show

Kamrah brings boundary-breaking belly-dancing to Carbondale’s Rainbow Variety Show

by | Feb 25, 2023 | , , , , , , , , , , , | 0

Kamrah is a trans-masculine belly-dancer from Chicago who defies stereotypes and will headline the Rainbow Variety Show in Carbondale tonight.

As someone who also studies microbiology and anatomy, and identifies as autistic and a “geek,” Kamrah also brings a new level to the term “intersectional.”

Read about Kamrah and other local performers who will take the Rainbow Variety Show stage tonight in Carbondale. The featured performers include author Rafael Frumkin, dancers Kimea Rhines and Darryl clark, vocalist and sound healer Pat York, and acoustic performers Shane Bruce, Jacqui, Elana Floyd-Kennett, Shane Bruce, and Curt Wilson.

The show raises money for the Rainbow Cafe LGBTQ Center and its work of LGBTQ support and social opportunities, HIV and AIDS testing, harm reduction, and more.

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Learn about 19th-century transgender war hero in Russia, “second-wave Klan” roots in southern Illinois

Learn about 19th-century transgender war hero in Russia, “second-wave Klan” roots in southern Illinois

by | Feb 19, 2023 | , , , , , , , , | 0

Acclaimed sci-fi author Cheryl Morgan, the first-ever openly transgender winner of the Hugo Award for literary achievement, will lead an online talk Feb. 21 about Aleksandr Aleksandrov, a Ukrainian-born Russian war hero in the 19th century who lived as a man after being born a woman.

Historian Darrel Dexter will share his research Saturday into the “second-wave Klan” history of southern Illinois. Dexter’s talk at the Carbondale Public Library, also available online, will outline the rise and fall of the Klan during its second life in the early 1900s.

These two online events are part of TRM’s new weekly Online Event of the Week, highlighting virtual events that help present a more complete picture of society that includes marginalized identities.

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Rainbow Cafe renovation aims for March opening of new Carbondale headquarters

Rainbow Cafe renovation aims for March opening of new Carbondale headquarters

by | Jan 16, 2023 | , , , , , , , , | 0

Rainbow Cafe aims to have its new headquarters in downtown Carbondale open for business by the end of March.

The new 3,000-square-foot space across the street from Carbondale’s Town Square will host Rainbow Cafe’s programming, AIDS and HIV testing, case management, office space, and a stage and open area for special events. Read about the renovation effort by and for Rainbow Cafe, which serves 20 southern Illinois counties with not only LGBTQ+ support services, but also harm reduction and other quality of life initiatives.

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Iowa City Pride, Chicago Pride Fest, Metro East Pride kick off new Pride wave under COVID’s shadow

Iowa City Pride, Chicago Pride Fest, Metro East Pride kick off new Pride wave under COVID’s shadow

by | Sep 30, 2021 | , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 0

Iowa City Pride, Chicago Pride Fest and Metro East Pride are happening this weekend. Decorah Pride is coming Oct. 8-9, then Pride Orange City Oct. 15-17. The Fox Valley area holds a Pride Halloween party Oct. 23. And southeastern Illinois joins its neighbors for the 19th Annual Pride Prom Oct. 30.

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