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

Feb 25, 2023 | 2023, Arts, LGBTQ+, Men, News and Features, People Profiles, Southern Illinois

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

Feb 22, 2023 | 2023, Eastern Iowa, LGBTQ+, News and Features, Politics and Voting

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

Feb 19, 2023 | 2023, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, News and Features, Social Justice, Southern Illinois

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’

Feb 15, 2023 | 2023, Arts Showcase, News and Features, Social Justice

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.

Galena LitFest welcomes Angela Trudell Vasquez, Madison’s first-ever Latina poet laureate

Jan 26, 2023 | Arts, 2023, BIPOC, News and Features, Northwest Illinois, People Profiles

Angela Trudell Vasquez is the first-ever Latino poet laureate for Madison, Wis., a community with a thriving poetry scene.

She’ll speak Thursday, Jan. 26, as part of Galena LitFest in a presentation available in-person and online.

Learn about Vasquez’ childhood in Iowa City and Des Moines, her commitment to both editing and free-writing, and her many projects to bring the beauty of poetry alive for students and others.

Her talk tonight starts at 6 p.m.; pre-registration is required for both online and in-person attendance.

Category: News and Features

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

Galena LitFest welcomes Angela Trudell Vasquez, Madison’s first-ever Latina poet laureate

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