WHAT: Juneteenth Celebration WHERE: Davenport, IA WHO: Black-owned businesses and community groups celebrating the formal abolition of slavery in 1865. Coordinated by the Friends of MLK Davenport. WHEN: June 19, 2021 PHOTOS BY: The Real Mainstream Team
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WHAT: MICHELLE NIXON MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP FUNDRAISING BRUNCH WHERE: Mary’s on 2nd, Davenport, IA WHEN: June 5, 2021 WHO: Community members, plus friends and family members of Michelle Nixon, honoring her for her community service as a member of the Metropolitan Community Church of the Quad Cities and Quad Cities Pride Festivals. The event raised more than $5,000. PHOTOS BY: The Real Mainstream Team WHAT: OUTDOOR SERVICE AT METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY CHURCH OF THE QUAD CITIES WHERE: Davenport, IA WHEN: Late April, 2021 WHO: Members of MCC of the QC, which is…
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WHAT: ECLIPSE NIGHTCLUB PRIDE PARTY WHERE: Sioux City, IA WHO: Queens, performers and community members celebrating Pride at Eclipse Nightclub & Cabaret. WHEN: June 5, 2021 PHOTOS BY: Vanessa Nevarez (Divine) WHAT: A night out at Studio 13 WHERE: Iowa City, IA WHO: Rio S. Suave and Corey Alan, founders of Key City Pride, and Studio 13 personalities WHEN: June 12, 2021 PHOTOS BY: Rio S. Suave, founder of Key City Pride
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IOWA — With communities like Monticello and Humboldt joining the Pride momentum, and events of all kinds proliferating to more than 70 now, Pride Month in Iowa continues to expand. Big events coming up in the next three days include a Comedy Night and Scavenger Hunt by Capital City Pride in Des Moines; Pride at Bass Street Landing in the Quad Cities, with drag performances, live music and education workshops Friday and Saturday; and a burst of events in Sioux City. Go to the Pride in Iowa link to see…
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IOWA — Des Moines and Dubuque are leading the way this year for Pride celebrations in Iowa, helping to fill out a Pride Season calendar of at least 70 online or in-person events hosted by an Iowa entity. Capital City Pride in Des Moines is hosting “30 Days of Pride” covering everything from the arts, to exercise and health, to dance and disco, to thoughtful discussions. Key City Pride in Dubuque has a week of events starting June 19 and is also collaborating with nearby communities in Illinois and Wisconsin.…
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IOWA CITY — With the 2020 murder of George Floyd, and the trial of the officer who killed him, a program I started as a high school writing program has become an escape, an outlet, and a way to deal for the young writers who are participating. Page Poetry Contest Winners from IC Speaks Over the past year, IC Speaks and our members have dealt with a pandemic, and an explosion of political conversation happening worldwide. In some cases, I had BIPOC students writing pieces about the anger and pain…
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To the Editor: Our country and our community has a White Male Fear Problem. Not all, but too many, white males think this country belongs to them: it doesn’t. They think men are superior to women: they aren’t. They think the problems in our communities are due to minorities: the problems in our communities are due to systemic racism and oppression of the poor (which includes, ironically, poor white males). They think – no, the problem really is that they don’t think: they merely judge from a position in our…
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That collective groan you heard recently? It was the transgender community nationwide learning Caitlyn Jenner launched her bid for Governor of California. That whistling kettle-like sound you also heard? It was our collective anger boiling over when she said this weekend, “It’s a question of fairness, that why I propose that biological boys that are trans competing in girls’ sports in school…it just isn’t fair, and we have to protect girls’ sports in our schools.” When a reporter asked Jenner if her views de-legitimized trans girls’ identities, she ran away.…
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“I’m Empty Reality” by Jay Wallerich My mind leaks empty reality; Onto these pages it spills Freely, Chaotically, Endlessly. Something profound festers inside but I have no words to work off of. The madness stays within. I feel need to explain the process in which my thoughts are growing from But my tongue is tangled in the weeds My teeth chipped from rocks, My lips dry from the dirt. Words become utterly useless. What is it called when one’s self is overfilling? Being held above oxygen level, looking down upon…
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“Out of Sight” by Aidan Spurgetis He lost the staring contest because the stucco ceiling had too many eyes. He sat up stretched and yawned. It had been two days since his apocalypse and he brushed his teeth. The arm moved in the old pattern like an explosive jackhammer stinging the edge of his gums. It wasn’t self-punishment only habit. He didn’t know how long he brushed but he stopped when it felt right. He lost the staring contest with the mirror because he had water in his eye. and…
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