A second Sunday protest event, fundraising for pet welfare, DBQ Pride Family Picnic, MCC fun, and more

Posted by Staff Reports | Mar 4, 2023

There are now two big protest events happening in Des Moines Sunday, starting at 12:30. Read more about the March on Iowa for LGBTQ Rights and the Rally to Resist.

You can also check out this weekend’s annual Beadology Iowa tradition, Voices of the Stones, happening today and Sunday.

Coming up soon, explore a couple of events at Davenport’s MCC of the Quad Cities, and a supper-time “carry-out” fundraiser for companion animals in Cedar Rapids.

And finally, Dubuque announces its June 3 Pride Family Picnic and Block Party. It’s all in TRM’s Eastern Iowa Weekly Update.

Events planned across Iowa to fight anti-LGBTQ bills

Posted by Christine Hawes | Mar 2, 2023

You can join five events coming up to protest or learn about the anti-LGBTQ bills proposed in the Iowa Legislature.

Find out about events happening this Sunday in Des Moines, Davenport, Cedar Rapids, and Iowa City.

Also coming up: the online “Urgent Meeting for Iowa Trans* Families,” a chance to focus in on proposals affecting transgender youth and their families. Those bills are the ones likely to make it through this Friday’s “funnel” for committee approval.

One Iowa Action posts tracking page for Republicans’ anti-LGBTQ+ proposals

Posted by Christine Hawes | Mar 1, 2023

One Iowa Action has a page tracking 29 bills that include measures considered anti-LGBTQ+ .

The page, an annual service by the lobbying arm of One Iowa, is gaining even more focus this year. Iowa is among 14 states noted by the ACLU as having a record number of anti-LGBTQ+ bills proposed among state legislators.

Here’s a look at the One Iowa Action tracking page, some of the bills it’s tracking, and Iowa’s overall legislative process, including its “funnel weeks” — one of which ends this Friday.

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

Posted by Staff Reports | Feb 27, 2023

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.

Western Iowa to have LGBTQ Pride events in Sioux City, Fort Dodge, Orange City and Omaha/Council Bluffs

Posted by Staff Reports | Feb 27, 2023

If you live in western Iowa, you have at least four LGBTQ+ Pride events to choose from this year.

Read about plans underway for SUX Pride June 2 and 3, Fort Dodge Pride Fest coming June 24, Heartland Pride for Omaha and Council Bluffs on July 15, and Pride Orange City in October.

LGBTQ Pride plans announced for Galena, Quad Cities, Kewanee; two new dispensaries may open in Moline

Posted by Staff Reports | Feb 26, 2023

The Galena Pride Picnic, the Pride Party at Bass Street Landing in Moline, and the first-ever Kewanee LGBT Pride Fest are among the Northwest Illinois LGBTQ Pride events coming together.

Read about them here, along with the new name for the group that runs the Quad Cities Pride Fest, happening this year June 2 and 3.

Plus, learn about the cannabis dispensaries aiming to open in Moline.

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

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

Posted by Christine Hawes | Feb 25, 2023

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.

Poet Rainey performs with colleagues, Clock Inc. speaks out, marriage equality pioneer Jim Obergefell visits Iowa City, and more

Posted by Staff Reports | Feb 22, 2023

You can take in an evening of music with singer/songwriter Namoli Brennet, or a night of poetry with Caleb Rainey and friends. Or, you can hear marriage equality “accidental activist” Jim Obergefell give a speech.

Learn, too, about Clock Inc.’s strong stance against the anti-LGBTQ moves in the Iowa State Legislature, plus a new name for the former Quad Cities Pride Festivals. It’s now called Quad Cities Pride Alliance.

It’s all part of the new TRM Eastern Iowa Weekly Update.

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

Posted by Staff Reports | Feb 19, 2023

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.

Black History Month Art from ‘Embracing Our Differences’

Posted by Staff Reports | Feb 15, 2023

Embracing Our Differences has grown from a Florida effort to an international cause involving tens of thousands across 119 countries.

Its leaders gathered submissions that resonated with Black History Month and gave The Real Mainstream a chance to share that work here.

Check out this specially curated collection, featuring nine pieces from eight different artists exploring different themes of Black history, and excerpts from their Artists’ Statements.

Category: 2023

A second Sunday protest event, fundraising for pet welfare, DBQ Pride Family Picnic, MCC fun, and more

Events planned across Iowa to fight anti-LGBTQ bills

One Iowa Action posts tracking page for Republicans’ anti-LGBTQ+ proposals

Western Iowa to have LGBTQ Pride events in Sioux City, Fort Dodge, Orange City and Omaha/Council Bluffs

LGBTQ Pride plans announced for Galena, Quad Cities, Kewanee; two new dispensaries may open in Moline

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

Poet Rainey performs with colleagues, Clock Inc. speaks out, marriage equality pioneer Jim Obergefell visits Iowa City, and more

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