By Sister Dana Van Iquity–
Sister Dana sez, “Now that Pride Month is over, should we be less proud?Absolutely not! Pride is not just a month—it’s a movement. Our work doesn’t end on June 29. Pride is 365, 24/7!”
Honoring gay rights activist Harvey Milk on June 27, two days before the Pride Parade, was the CELEBRATION OF HARVEY MILK PLAZA MEMORIAL at the Mayor’s Press Conference held at Castro and Market Streets. Construction on the redesign of Milk Plaza will begin in 2026, and is expected to be completed in 2028. Praising Harvey and giving inspirational speeches at the celebration were Mayor Daniel Lurie, Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, and other city community leaders. This happened after the Navy ship USNS Harvey Milk had been unnecessarily and viciously renamed by the anti-DEI Secretary of Defense—because, well, you know, Milk was, you know, gay. So, this is how the White House honors Pride Month? On June 5, Hegseth had announced he was ordering the Navy to rename the ship, which needed to be changed as part of “the re-establishing of warrior culture.” Sister Dana sez, “Need we point out that warrior Milk was a combat veteran and was a decorated officer on a Navy rescue ship during the Korean War?!”
Community activists in San Francisco are rallying to support Hilary Rivers, an immigrant drag queen who was arrested by ICE agents after an asylum hearing a few weeks ago—one of the latest LGBTQ victims of the Trump administration’s campaign for mass deportations. Rivers (legal name not revealed, for his protection) had fled his home in Guatemala due to “traumatic and severe” persecution for being gay. The night before her arrest, Rivers had performed at Miss & Mr. Safe Latino, a beloved queer community pageant that began during the height of the HIV/AIDS crisis and celebrated its 30th anniversary this year. Sister Dana sez, “Apparently now it’s back to the Bad Old Days—when being gay was a crime and illegal!”
We SF Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence have recently sainted Andry José Hernández Romero, who left Venezuela a year ago to seek a better future in the United States. On May 23, 2024—just two days after his 31st birthday—this gay, persecuted artist migrated with the hope of one day opening a beauty salon in the U.S., or making a living from one of his other passions: design and tailoring. But he, like hundreds of Venezuelans, was kidnapped by ICE and thrown into a dangerous El Salvador prison—never to be heard from by anyone. His newly sanctified name is Nuestro Sagrado Corazón de las Dos Coronas. In English, it translates to “Our Sacred Heart of the Two Crowns.” To elaborate, “Sacred Heart” relates to the intersectionality of our community, and “Two Crowns” refers to the two crown tattoos that the Trump Deportation thugs used as “proof” Andry was a “gang member.”
Shortly after the horrible floods in Texas, and now New Mexico, we find out that the federal detention facility in Florida, officially named “Alligator Alcatraz,” is only the beginning when it comes to FEMA money being used to fund ICE operations, according to a source within the federal agency. Trump wants to completely eliminate FEMA. The new program, suitably dubbed “the ICE grant” by FEMA employees, means that millions in grant funds intended for shelters and facilities for noncitizen migrants may now be redirected toward detention centers and whatever else ICE decides. Sister Dana sez, “Thanks (not), DHS Secretary nobody Noem, for using our San Francisco name for your disgusting Florida jail! And thanks (also not) to the Bogus Billionaires’ Bonus (BBB) bill for allotting billions of dollars towards MORE illegal ICE attacks!”
A July 7 document to a United Nations inquiry regarding mass deportations to El Salvador prisons has revealed that the government of El Salvador does NOT have legal responsibility for the men trapped there, and that it was merely doing the United States’ bidding when it accepted men into its prison system. This casts huge doubt and dispute on the White House’s false claims about deported immigrants and who controls their destiny.
And meanwhile, Noem’s masked, armed, unidentified ICE agents separate and deport children, detain American citizens, ambush workers at their workplaces, camp outside of schools and churches, and hunt folks going through the LEGAL immigration process. Sister Dana sez, “Go home, Noem! You need to be ICEd!”
Let it be noted that Trump’s border czar, inhuman Homan, admitted on Fox-TV that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (icky ice) is racially profiling the immigrants being rounded up in raids across the country. “People need to understand ICE officers and Border Patrol, they don’t need probable cause to walk up to somebody, briefly detain them, and question them,” Homan said on July 11 on Fox, adding that he says ICE agents can detain people “based on … their physical appearance.” Sister Dana sez, “Stop taking away from deserving white people those oh so cushy, comfy jobs that immigrants get to have—picking fruit and veggies in the hot, backbreaking, sweaty, sweltering sun. Red-blooded American white nationalist supremacists like Stephen Miller really deserve those jobs!”
AIDS WALK SAN FRANCISCO is on Sunday morning, July 20. Last year, folx walked alongside thousands of our friends, family, and neighbors through Golden Gate Park and showed the entire Bay Area how powerful we are when we are united! Because of the dedication and compassion of Walkers, we are able to continue impacting and transforming lives through this 5K walk in the park (and that’s not an idiom—it’s a fact). Since its inception in 1987, AIDS Walk San Francisco has inspired countless thousands of Bay Area residents to walk, donate, and volunteer in the fight against HIV/AIDS, raising more than $96 million for organizations across seven Bay Area counties. Make sure to arrive at Robin Williams Meadow by 10 am, which is when they will have the pre-walk festivities. The 5K Walk will officially start at 10:30 am. After having received your Certificate of Completion, you might want to grab some refreshments and stay for a Post-Walk Picnic at noon with special entertainment. https://sf.aidswalk.net/
On Sunday night, July 20, join PROJECT OPEN HAND at Marines’ Memorial Theater, 609 Sutter Street, 2nd floor for HELP IS ON THE WAY XXXI: Broadway and Beyond! THE RICHMOND/ERMET AID FOUNDATION (REAF) is hosting their annual show, “Help Is on the Way,” and is partnering with Project Open Hand to help them provide medically tailored meals to the community. This star-studded evening will feature performances by the cast members from the Broadway Touring Cast of & Juliet, plus Sam Harris, Julia Garnye, Bruce Vilanch, Leanne Borghesi, Jason Brock, Garrett Clayton, Paula West, and Sharon McNight! A silent auction will take place in the theater lobby starting at 6:30 pm. The concert starts at 7:30 pm. A VIP after-party will take place at the Beacon Grand Hotel (450 Powell Street) immediately following the concert. https://www.reaf-sf.org/
Neighborhood community markets are thriving! Friday, July 18, 5–10 pm is THE CASTRO NIGHT MARKET, where you can enjoy local food vendors, merchants, art, and live entertainment on the 3rd Friday of every month! And on Saturday, July 19, 4–8:30 pm is THE GLEN PARK NIGHT MARKET, where you will find neighborhood food vendors, merchants, and live performances in Kern Street (Diamond to Brompton). Additionally on Tuesday, July 29, 4:30–8:30 pm there will be THE NOE VALLEY NIGHT MARKET, which is growing with the expanded footprint onto 24th Street. Enjoy live entertainment, local artists, and delicious food! Also on every Wednesday, 3–7 pm, THE CASTRO FARMERS’ MARKET is open on Noe & Market Streets. Check out all of the markets!
I highly recommend the Netflix drag-oriented LGBTQ film, I’M YOUR VENUS, when two very different families of Paris Is Burning star Venus Xtravaganza unite. Her straight family brothers and drag family sisters honor her and reopen her unsolved murder case in this amazing investigative, emotional, social, and cultural documentary.
The 45th SAN FRANCISCO JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL (SFJFF), presented by the Jewish Film Institute, returns July 17–August 3 to the San Francisco Bay Area with its signature showcase of the world’s leading Jewish-content cinema. SFJFF embraces the full spectrum of Jewish identity through its expansive lineup of dramatic and documentary features, episodic programs, shorts, and more. https://sfjff.org/25
UP YOUR ALLEY is coming up on Sunday, July 27! This annual event has been around for over 30 years, and it has grown from a small party, “Dore Alley Fair,” on cruisy Ringold Street in the mid-1980s to a 2024 gathering of more than 12,000 people on Folsom between 9th and 11th streets including Dore Street. There will be live music, go-go dancers, performances and demos, food trucks, beverages for sale, vendors to shop, and more! Near 9th and Folsom streets, the naughty fun starts at 11 am and ends at 6 pm. Not for the faint of heart. FREE, but donations are encouraged. https://www.folsomstreet.org/
Sister Dana sez, “DORE ‘UP YOUR ALLEY’ STREET FAIR is right around the corner. You don’t HAVE to be into leather or latex or kink—but it helps! Come dressed to express!”
Sister Dana Sez, Words of Wisdumb from a Fun Nun
Published on July 17, 2025
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