Board, Membership, and Community Meetings

Community participation is essential to the success of the Cultural District.

All our meetings are free and open to all.

All Board and Committee meetings are currently being held online, via Zoom.

Please visit the Timely Reminders page for upcoming meeting dates, times, agendas, and logon links.  Our Calendar also lists our meetings and other important dates and events.

All in-person meeting locations are ADA compliant and wheelchair accessible.  See more info at the bottom of this post.

Come participate, help out, and be a part of our historic Cultural District!

Board Meetings
Membership Meetings
Community Meetings
Committees
General Information

Board Meetings

Meetings of the LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District Board of Directors are open to all, and your attendance and participation is welcome.  Time is included on each agenda for public comment.  When necessary, Executive Sessions may be held during which non-Directors will be asked to leave.

Board meetings are normally scheduled for the third Wednesday of each month.  Please refer to the Timely Reminders page or Calendar for details.

Minutes of past Board meetings can be reviewed here.  Board minutes are posted once they are approved (typically at the following Board meeting).  Unless otherwise noticed, Board meetings are not recorded or live-streamed.

Membership Meetings

Although anyone is welcome to attend and speak at our monthly Directors meetings, only Voting Members get to vote to elect Directors at the Annual Membership Meeting in August, or to vote on critical matters presented at Special Membership Meetings.

Please click here for more information about our elections, and click here to become a Full Voting Member of the LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District.

Community Meetings

Prior to the election of the Board of Directors, Community Meetings were held monthly; since the adoption in August 2019 of the Cultural District Bylaws and the election of a Board of Directors, there are now “Membership Meetings” held at least once each year, most recently on August 19, 2020, plus other community-wide events, including “Open House” and “Town Hall” events, as appropriate.

An Open House was held on Wednesday, February 12, 2020, at the SF LGBT Center in San Francisco. You can view the video of that event here!

A Town Hall for the LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District was held on August 25, 2020, and welcomed 97 participants.  Details are at https://sfleatherdistrict.org/town-hall/.

Minutes and Videos of Past Community Meetings

The minutes of the August 21, 2019 meeting can be viewed here.  A live-stream of that meeting can be viewed here.

The minutes of the July 19, 2019 meeting can be viewed here. A live-stream of that meeting can be viewed here.

The minutes of the June 19, 2019 meeting can be viewed here. A live-stream of that meeting can be viewed here.

The minutes of the meeting of May 15, 2019 can be viewed here.  A live-stream of that meeting can be viewed here.

The minutes of the meeting of April 17, 2019 can be viewed here.  A live-stream of that meeting can be viewed here.

The minutes of the meeting of March 20, 2019 can be found here. A live-stream of that meeting can be viewed here.

The minutes of the meeting of February 20, 2019 can be found here.  You can view a live stream of that meeting here.

The minutes of the meeting of January 16, 2019 can be found here.  You can view a live stream of that meeting here.

The minutes of the meeting of December 19, 2018 can be downloaded here.  You can view a live stream of that meeting in two parts, here and here.

The minutes of the meeting of November 14, 2018 can be downloaded here.  You can view a live stream of the last 90 minutes of) that meeting here.

The minutes of the meeting of October 17, 2018 can be downloaded here. You can view a live stream of (the first 45 minutes of) that meeting here.

The minutes of the meeting of September 19, 2018 can be downloaded here.  You can view a live stream of that meeting here.

The minutes of the meeting of August 15, 2018 can be found here.  You can view a live stream of that meeting here(Note:  The recording starts with about 8 minutes of dead air, and is cut off abruptly after roughly 2 hours.  Apologies for these glitches.)

The minutes of the meeting of July 18, 2018 can be found here.  You can view a live stream of that meeting here.

You can view the minutes of the meeting of June 20, 2018 here.  You can view a live stream of that meeting here.  The Board Structure that we approved at that meeting can be seen here.

The minutes of the meeting of May 16, 2018 can be found here.  You can view a live stream of that meeting here.

Minutes of the Community Meeting of April 18, 2018 can be found here.

Notes from the Community Meeting of March 14, 2018 can be seen here.  You can view the live-streamed video of that meeting here.

Notes from the Community Meeting of February 19, 2018, are available here.  You can view the live-streamed video of that meeting here

Notes from the Community Meeting of January 6, 2018, can be viewed here.  You can view the live-streamed video of that meeting here

Notes from the meeting of November 29, 2017, are available here.  Another set of notes are available here.

Notes from the meeting of November 20, 2017 can be viewed here.

Notes from the meeting of November 14, 2017 can be viewed here.

You may view video of the community meetings — live streaming or recorded — at our Facebook Group here.

Committees

At the Open House event on February 12, 2020, the Board presented its new list of Active Committees, and invited interested folks to sign up.  Full information on those new Committees can be found here.

To join any Committee, just attend any meeting and ask to join.  To receive emails announcing meetings, and other important information, please click here to join the mailing list. If you are already on our mailing list, you can click here to adjust which Committees you wish to be kept informed about.

General Information

All our meetings are free and open to all.  Unless otherwise noted, all meeting locations are ADA compliant and wheelchair accessible.

For all General Community meetings, and most Committee meetings, ASL interpreters will be provided if requested at least ten days in advance.  Please send requests to the Committee Chair, or President@sflcd.org.

All Board, Membership and Committee Meetings, and other events of importance to the Cultural District, are posted on our Calendar. (Information on importing and using this calendar can be found here.)

We also invite you to like and follow the Cultural District’s Facebook Page, drop by our Web site from time to time, join our Group on Fetlife, follow @sfleatherdist on Twitter or Instagram, and contact us any time with questions, suggestions, or just to keep in touch.

Come participate, help out, and be a part of our historic Cultural District!

Gayle Rubin to be Honored

As reported in the Leather Journal, Gayle Rubin is one of four individuals due to be honored at the 33rd annual Creating Change Conference, to be held virtually in late January of 2021.

Gayle Rubin is an anthropologist, theorist, writer, historian, and a proud member of the LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District Board of Directors.

She will be honored with the Leather Leadership Award for her work and studies within the Leather community, as part of the four-day Conference, run by the National LGBTQ Task Force as a space for learning, connecting, and growing among LGBTQ activists, leaders, allies, and changemakers from across the nation.

The presentation to Gayle is scheduled to occur between 1:45 and 3:00 p.m. (Pacific Time) on Sunday, January 31, 2021.

You can read more about Gayle in the Leather Journal article.  For more information about the Conference, or to register to attend virtually, visit https://www.thetaskforce.org/creatingchange.html.

Nightlife Fund Proposed

As reported on SFGATE and NBC Bay Area, Supervisor Matt Haney has proposed creating a recovery fund to save ‘the heart and soul of S.F.’ —  its nightlife.

According to Haney, the San Francisco Music and Entertainment Venue Recovery Fund is desperately needed as many of the businesses are facing permanent closure as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.

“What this pandemic has done to our economy and our way of life has been nothing short of a nightmare, and for our city’s venues, there has been no reprieve. They were the first to close and will likely be the among the last to reopen,” Haney said in statement.

Matt Haney, SF District 6 Supervisor

“When we talk about the heart and soul of San Francisco, many of us think of our city’s venues,” Haney said. “The many shows we’ve seen and the bands and artists and music that have all come out of San Francisco, they inspire us and bring us together. These spaces are a reflection of who we are and what we love, and they are in danger of disappearing.”

A recent report from the city controller’s office revealed nightlife businesses generate $7.2 billion for the local economy and create more than 63,000 jobs, which in turn generates some $80 million annually in payroll and sales taxes for the city.

Haney’s legislation is set to be heard at a Board of Supervisors committee in January, 2021.

 

Historical Society Celebrates Queer Culture

The GLBT Historical Society has announced a new program series for 2021:  the “Queer Culture Club,” a monthly series on the second Thursday of each month that focuses on LGBTQ people who are defining the queer culture of yesterday, today and tomorrow.
Terry Bestwick

These programs feature GLBT Historical Society executive director Terry Beswick as he interviews queer culture-makers, including authors, playwrights, historians, activists, artists and archivists, to learn about their work, process, inspirations, hopes and dreams.
Mark Chester
In this first installment, legendary San Francisco gay “radical sex” photographer Mark I. Chester will discuss his forthcoming new book of contemporary photography, “Street Sex Photos”(2021).

The event will take place online, on Thursday, January 14, 2021 from 7:00 to 7:30 pm. It is free, with a suggested donation of $5.00. After you register, you will receive a confirmation email with a link and instructions on how to join the Zoom webinar as an attendee. The event will also be livestreamed on Facebook and then archived on YouTube.

For full information on the event, visit the event page on  Facebook or on the GLBT Historical Society website.

Registration and tickets are here.