By Joanie Juster—
This year’s Pride Weekend seems designed to counter the drumbeat of hatred coming from around the country with a nonstop expression of solidarity and joy. From the Human Rights Summit to the San Francisco premiere of Hunky Jesus at Frameline50, to the Trans March, Pride Night at the Opera and the Valkyries, the Trans Ally Rally, the Dyke March, then, of course, the San Francisco Pride Parade, it’s a marathon. Whew! And that’s just a small sample of events; the whole city will be rocking.
A clear theme throughout these events is the fierce determination to stand up—loudly and proudly—against the bigotry and hatred directed at the LGBTQ+ community, and especially trans people. Meanwhile, local and state legislatures across the country continue to introduce increasingly hateful, often nonsensical, and frequently unconstitutional bills, while the current-temporary-resident-of-the-White-House flatly and falsely claims that trans people do not exist, and orders his minions to erase them from public life.
Pride Weekend is the culmination of a month-long fabulous, over-the-top, very public affirmation of a community’s right to exist. And once the party is over and the glitter has been swept away, it is up to all of us to keep that momentum going. Pride doesn’t end on June 30, and neither should we.
‘Dear Mayor Lurie … ‘ 2026 Version
Budget battles in San Francisco are not new. It seems that every year we are told, “It’s a difficult budget year.” But, this year, many local organizations that serve our city’s most vulnerable citizens are already reeling from seeing their federal funding disappear. Further cuts from the mayor’s budget could be devastating.
During his campaign for office in 2024, Mayor Lurie made this direct promise: “I commit to backfilling federal funding cuts to maintain San Francisco’s HIV safety net. Access to culturally competent health care is a fundamental right. This includes robust funding for HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment. As mayor, I will continue to backfill any federal funding cuts driven by Republican agendas.”
But the budget proposed by the Mayor on June 1 doesn’t appear to keep this promise. This month, advocates have been at City Hall urging the Board of Supervisors to resist budget cuts that would devastate health care services, neighborhood clinics, and vital services to the most vulnerable people in our city, including queer youth, trans people, our elders, and people living with HIV. Citizens have been lining up to give testimony to the Board of Supervisors about how these community clinics and welcoming health care services have saved their lives. They have been begging the supervisors to find other ways to balance the city’s budget without destroying the fragile safety net of services that provide the only access to health care for so many of the most vulnerable people in our city.
Activists are working hard to mitigate the damage, but they need our help to avoid catastrophic collapse of the network of services that support this community. City Hall needs to hear our voices. The Board of Supervisors must officially adopt the budget by July 28, so the time to act is now. Call your supervisor (415-554-5184) or email them (board.of.supervisors@sfgov.org).
AIDS Walk Turns 40
On Sunday, July 19, 2026, AIDS Walk will return to Golden Gate Park for its 40th anniversary—a significant milestone that honors four decades of community action in the face of HIV/AIDS.
AIDS Walk was born out of necessity, at a time when there was no funding, no government support. It was up to the community to pull together to raise money for local organizations. Unfortunately, we find ourselves in a similar situation now, as funding from the federal, state, and local governments is being cut, and private funding is drying up.
Since its inception in 1987, AIDS Walk San Francisco has become the largest and most visible HIV/AIDS fundraising event in Northern California, raising over $100 million for HIV/AIDS organizations in seven Bay Area counties. For this 40th anniversary walk, join us once again in showing the world how San Francisco supports our local organizations that help our community survive and thrive. Register to walk, or donate to a walker or team at https://tinyurl.com/AWSF261
Happy Birthday, America?
Independence Day can bring up many conflicting feelings. As a kid, the flag-waving and parades and fireworks filled me with uncomplicated patriotic feelings for my country. Coming of age in the era of Vietnam and Watergate was eye-opening, so my feelings about my country became more, shall we say, nuanced. And, over the decades, even though I have become aware of so many ways in which our country has failed to live up to its lofty founding principles, I still love this country and so much of the goodness and potential it still exhibits.
This July we are celebrating the 250th anniversary of the birth of the United States of America, in a time when the people in power in Washington, D.C., are actively working to dismantle all the best parts of our country. Each day we wake up to find our leaders hellbent on dismantling democracy, actively harming the people who live here, and destroying the physical country itself. I do not pretend to understand the naked greed and powerlust that motivate these people who claim to be patriots to destroy all the best parts of this country. All I know is that this country is still worth fighting for, and I am inspired each day by those who have not given up the fight.
Joanie Juster is a long-time community volunteer, activist, and ally.
In Case You Missed It
Published on June 25, 2025
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