Whitney Avenue Elementary School fourth grade teacher Angela F. Luna recently self-published a children's workbook aimed at fostering compassion and understanding toward the LGBTQI community. Luna, a member of the Equality Action Now leadership, said the activist group encouraged her to work on LGBTQI curriculum for school-age children after the first Harvey Milk Day on May 22, 2009. What resulted is her new 32-page book called “In Celebration of Harvey Milk: Educational Materials for Grades 4 through 12” that honors the memory of the gay rights activist who was assassinated in 1978. To Luna, it was Milk's courage to be himself at a time when it wasn't popular to do so that she admires

Sunday, the giant Midtown block party known as the Rainbow Festival, came to its celebratory end. The three-day event held to raise money and awareness for local lesbian, bisexual, gay, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI) charities in Sacramento as well as celebrate community pride has raised over 500,000 since its inception according to the 2009 website. Vendors lined 20th and K Streets, offering everything from jewelry to T-shirts to rainbow-hued paraphernalia. Local LGBTQI institutions such as the Lavender Library and Sacramento's Gay Man's Chorus hosted booths, handing out fliers and pamphlets with information on events, clubs and volunteer opportunities. Sacramento State's Qu

It’s 9:43 a.m. Saturday, June 20, and the participants of the 2009 Sacramento Pride Parade are still stationary; onlookers begin to gather on L Street alongside Capitol Park. Winding her way through the various spectators, Sacramento native Rose Brun passes out flowers. “I’ve been doing this since 1974,” she says, doling out a cala lily, “When I was younger, friends lost their jobs by being gay, but every year it gets better. Stuff like this brings us together. We need to break down barriers. ” Breaking down barriers—a lot of balloons, music, dancing and good vibrations—seemed to be one of the parade’s objectives as it made its way from L Street through the downtown district to Sacrament