Equality Shifts Takes Toll on LGBTQ Community
As competitive as this forum would like to be in bringing Arkansas' LGBTQ community all the
breaking news, every now and then this forum sits on a story until they can get some sense of facts. Or at least try to get some corroborating information since often times "rumor" is not quite fact based and must be thought through before putting it on blast.
Yet, COP 24/7 can always count on that other digital town square where folks are always ready to "spill the tea." Seems that Miss Kittys will pack her bags and get out of dodge come March 1, 2014. Why is this important you ask, well thanks for asking as here's our take on the matter that this forum posted about in both 2010 and 2011 respectively.
From a historical note, gay bars at one point was where the gay community not only met but became a bastion of building the "community," for those seeking like minded individuals. After all Gay Pride is based on the Stonewall uprising that took place in a bar June 28, 1969 which is cited as the step off the gay liberation movement that we know today as the equality movement. For the record, without the gay bar, gay culture and gay rights might not exist.
I followed that track from my early years, learning the "in's and out's" of a who's who that became acquaintances and extended family. Although it took some time to get to know my new "family," it was these folks whom I identified and reveled in both the triumphs and tragedies. I remember most if not all of those bars that have come and gone. Here are just a few that served the LGBTQ community including. The French Quarter,Variations, Code Bleu, Garbo's, 5th Gear, Sargent Preston's, Silver Dollar, Aquarium, Grand Alley, Our House Lounge, Little Rock Inn and The Factory. All gone but not forgotten in my memory of both the good times and sad times spent during their hey days.
Not to mention so much of the music which became the soundtrack of my life which comforted me during times when love went wrong and certainly during the days when lives seemed fleeting as the HIV/AIDS epidemic raged on.
Although this forum had heard rumblings about this demise which was entangled in the "kitty cat" fight commenced by former employees and numerous others who wanted to have their say. COP 24/7 took a "wait and see" position as we awaited to see when the next pump was going to fall! In case you didn't know the property on which the venue sits is own by a local church and as it would have it, they decided not to renew the lease.
For those of you who have forgot or don't remember, this spot has had a checkered spot from its days as Easy Street, to the Kristie Mash Up featuring gone to soon Whitney Paige and onto it current incarnation that ebbed and flowed into a flamed out under former manager Luke Henley. COP 24/7 has been there for all of it and will add it to the pantheon of our memories of local bars gone belly up.
Working Toward Health Equity
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Office of Health Equity in CDC’s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP).
To commemorate this milestone event, CDC hosted international, national, and local leaders in health equity to provide their perspectives on achievements, strategies, and goals in this critical area of work to protect health.
- See more at: http://blog.aids.gov/2014/01/working-toward-health-equity.html#sthash.rrhaSgi2.dpuf
As competitive as this forum would like to be in bringing Arkansas' LGBTQ community all the
breaking news, every now and then this forum sits on a story until they can get some sense of facts. Or at least try to get some corroborating information since often times "rumor" is not quite fact based and must be thought through before putting it on blast.
Yet, COP 24/7 can always count on that other digital town square where folks are always ready to "spill the tea." Seems that Miss Kittys will pack her bags and get out of dodge come March 1, 2014. Why is this important you ask, well thanks for asking as here's our take on the matter that this forum posted about in both 2010 and 2011 respectively.
From a historical note, gay bars at one point was where the gay community not only met but became a bastion of building the "community," for those seeking like minded individuals. After all Gay Pride is based on the Stonewall uprising that took place in a bar June 28, 1969 which is cited as the step off the gay liberation movement that we know today as the equality movement. For the record, without the gay bar, gay culture and gay rights might not exist.
I followed that track from my early years, learning the "in's and out's" of a who's who that became acquaintances and extended family. Although it took some time to get to know my new "family," it was these folks whom I identified and reveled in both the triumphs and tragedies. I remember most if not all of those bars that have come and gone. Here are just a few that served the LGBTQ community including. The French Quarter,Variations, Code Bleu, Garbo's, 5th Gear, Sargent Preston's, Silver Dollar, Aquarium, Grand Alley, Our House Lounge, Little Rock Inn and The Factory. All gone but not forgotten in my memory of both the good times and sad times spent during their hey days.
Not to mention so much of the music which became the soundtrack of my life which comforted me during times when love went wrong and certainly during the days when lives seemed fleeting as the HIV/AIDS epidemic raged on.
Although this forum had heard rumblings about this demise which was entangled in the "kitty cat" fight commenced by former employees and numerous others who wanted to have their say. COP 24/7 took a "wait and see" position as we awaited to see when the next pump was going to fall! In case you didn't know the property on which the venue sits is own by a local church and as it would have it, they decided not to renew the lease.
For those of you who have forgot or don't remember, this spot has had a checkered spot from its days as Easy Street, to the Kristie Mash Up featuring gone to soon Whitney Paige and onto it current incarnation that ebbed and flowed into a flamed out under former manager Luke Henley. COP 24/7 has been there for all of it and will add it to the pantheon of our memories of local bars gone belly up.
Working Toward Health EquityThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Office of Health Equity in CDC’s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP).
To commemorate this milestone event, CDC hosted international, national, and local leaders in health equity to provide their perspectives on achievements, strategies, and goals in this critical area of work to protect health.
“Health inequities are unnecessary, avoidable, and unjust,” said Professor Sir Michael Marmot 
in his keynote address. Sir Marmot is a world-renowned expert in health equity and is the Director of the Institute of Health Equity at University College London. He was knighted by Her Majesty The Queen in 2000 for his services in epidemiology and understanding health inequities.
in his keynote address. Sir Marmot is a world-renowned expert in health equity and is the Director of the Institute of Health Equity at University College London. He was knighted by Her Majesty The Queen in 2000 for his services in epidemiology and understanding health inequities.
He was also the Chair of the World Health Organization’s Commission on Social Determinants of Health. Sir Marmot challenged CDC leaders to make health equity an even bigger priority. He stated that “’today, right now, we have the knowledge and the financial means to reduce health disparities,’ but he asked, ‘Do we have the will?’” It is a poignant question that asks each of us to look at what we are doing now and what we can do better.
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