Toni Newman has resigned as the executive director of St. James Infirmary, effective February 25, to move back to Los Angeles. “I have been commuting from SF to LA for five years and I decided I wanted to go home to Los Angeles,” Newman wrote in an emailed statement to the Bay Area Reporter February 25. “I want to thank those who supported St. James Infirmary during my tenure and for all the support I…
Continue readingToni Newman, featured in the August 13, 2020, issue of the San Francisco Bay Times, is the author of the best-selling memoir I Rise-The Transformation of Toni Newman, which was nominated for multiple Lambda Literary Awards. The book became the basis for the beautiful and influential short film Heart of a Woman.
Continue readingI graduated from Wake Forest University in the 1980s and there I met the university’s first Reynolds Professor of American Studies, Dr. Maya Angelou. I read all of her works, and especially her poem “I Rise.” The poem moved me very much. It would be a decade later that I would understand my destiny. I was living in Raleigh, North Carolina, in the 1990s and working in the North Carolina Community College System as an…
Continue readingJanet Mock, trans activist and author of the New York Times bestselling book Redefining Realness has gathered up a great group of trans women writers to celebrate Women’s History Month, talk about our craft, and interact with all of you this Wednesday, March 26! In on this conversation will be Toni Newman, Ryka Aoki, Janet Mock and me! It’s such a great honor for me to be included along with these great trans women authors.…
Continue readingTransgender Author Toni Newman of memoir I Rise will be speaking at the Wake Forest University LGBTQIA conference on Friday, October 23, 4 pm at Farrell Hall. I Rise: African American Transgender LivesToni Newman (’85), Dr. Angela Mazaris (Director of the LGBTQ Center)(Farrell A48)Author Toni Newman ( I Rise —The Transformation) will lead this session on the transgender community, focusing particularly on African-American transgender women within the LGBTQ family. Most African-American/Latina transgender females live below…
Continue readingJohn O’Connor, Executive Director of Equality California (EQCA), the largest statewide LGBT advocacy organization fighting for full equality for LGBT persons in California, appeared on my radio show to discuss LGBT equality after the victory for same-sex marriage in California, as well as important issues for LGBT equality in 2013 and the future. John has been Executive Director of Equality California since January 2013. Before coming to EQCA, his experience included serving as Executive Director…
Continue readingAFRICAN AMERICAN TRANSGENDER AUTHOR Chapter 7 (The Erotic Professionals) within book I Rise has been turned into Feature film: Heart of a Woman www.heartofawomanfilm.com Directed by British Film Director Keith Holland and Executive Producer Alton Demore Starring: Angelica Ross, Rachel Sterling, Justin Berti, Isis King and Jason Stuart.
Continue readingSAN FRANCISCO PEER BASED HEALTHCARE PROVIDER APPOINTS NEW MEMBER TO ITS EXECUTIVE TEAM VALENCIA, Calif. – April 2, 2018 – PRLog — Effective May 9th, 2018, Toni Newman will be taking over as the Executive Director for St. James Infirmary, www.stjamesinfirmary.org. St. James Infirmary is a peer-based occupational health and safety clinic located in San Francisco, CA, offering free, compassionate, and non-judgmental healthcare and social services for former and current sex industry workers. With the many challenges facing the aforementioned, including…
Continue readingMayor London N. Breed celebrated the opening of the first transitional housing program for transgender and gender nonconforming adults in San Francisco and in the country—Trans Home on Washington Street. Mayor Breed hosted a press conference and conducted a ribbon cutting of the new Trans Home along with St. James Infirmary, the Office of Transgender Initiatives, the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development (MOHCD), Larkin Street Youth Services, TAJA Coalition, community leaders, and City…
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