^{From FORT GANSEVOORT’s Stonewall Exhibition: “Stormé DeLarverie at the Cubby Hole – 1986” by Joan E. Biren}

Hello.Hello.Hello and welcome back to another edition of Also.Also.Also! Between coronavirus and the president’s antics, it’s hard for me to believe it’s only Tuesday but, apparently, it’s true! I hope you had a great weekend and this week is off to a wonderful start.

Queer as in F*ck You

+ New Report on Layleen Xtravaganza Polanco’s Death Highlights the Cruelty of NYC Jail’s Policies Toward Trans People

+ Black Trans Women Seek More Space in the Movement They Helped Start

+ From Brittany Luse of The Nod (via NPR’s Code Switch), a look at the life of Stormé DeLarverie: They Don’t Say Our Names Enough

+ The Global Divide on Homosexuality Persists

+ Related: Religious support for same-sex marriage, gay rights has grown since 2015

+ This collective hires black trans chefs to prepare fresh meals for black trans people at home

+ A New Culinary Collective Aims to Empower LGBTQ Makers

Saw This, Thought of You

+ White supremacy is global: Canada Among Very Worst White Supremacist Countries

+ Haven’t Seen as Much BLM Content Lately? Blame Biased Algorithms

+ It hurts but Broadway’s being more thoughtful about this than 99% of other industries: Broadway Will Remain Closed Through the Rest of the Year

+ White people own 98 percent of rural land. Young Black farmers want to reclaim their share.

Saw This, Thought of You: Sportsball Edition

+ NWSL Challenge Cup: As I anticipated, watching Saturday’s matches, with the threat of COVID looming, was uncomfortable but that feeling quickly gave way to the way sports normally breaks your heart: the near misses, the fluke errors, the injuries, the last second goal. But, as it turns out, the day’s biggest heartbreak came watching the league respond to the Black Lives Matter movement.

When Casey Short dissolved into tears as some of the Red Stars knelt before their game, I felt every bit of that. I felt her exhaustion at having to fight to have her humanity recognized. I felt her relief that comes with finally not having to comport yourself to make other people feel comfortable (as Crystal Dunn has also talked about). I felt her gratitude at having her teammates kneel with her. I felt her frustration at knowing it took them this long to get here. I felt it all being too much. When Casey Short cried, I felt that.

But I also shed tears in anger — and I imagine Short did as well — because, in that moment, there are still teammates of Casey Short’s, who don’t see her, who don’t fully understand her pain. They wear the shirt and the armband, they limply drop their hand on Short’s shoulder, but it’s clear that it’s all for show. It’s performative wokeness… and the NWSL’s blatant use of Short’s tears, in images and promotional clips, and their new anthem policy feel like the height of that. It was so disheartening and sapped away most of my enthusiasm for the Challenge Cup.

+ If only the NWSL listened to Kim McCauley: Stop playing the national anthem before NWSL games

Today’s Matches:
• 12:30 PM – Houston Dash vs. Utah Royals FC
• 10:00 PM – OL Reign vs. Sky Blue FC

+ In other soccer news: Australia and New Zealand will host the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup

+ RUN. IT. BACK.: Mystics ring in their 2019 title with an intimate, socially distant ceremony at Va. spa (Video, appropriately soundtracked by Drake’s “Big Rings”)

+ The WNBA’s lone non-binary player, Layshia Clarendon, pushes for a systemic answer to a systemic problem: It’s Time to Think Bigger

WNBA Stars Angel McCoughtry and Breanna Stewart had ideas for how the league could showcase its support for Black Lives Matter. It looks like they both might come to fruition:

+ Sources: NBA, union plan to paint ‘Black Lives Matter’ on courts in Orlando

+ NBA could allow players to wear social justice messages on jerseys

Political Snacks

+ Via @makhaira, a step towards ending “Taxation Without Representation:” In Historic First, The House Of Representatives Passes D.C. Statehood Bill

+ I stan a real one: Sonia Sotomayor is the lone voice on systemic racism on the most conservative Supreme Court in decades

+ More from the Supreme Court: Supreme Court strikes down Louisiana abortion clinic law

+ Julián Castro’s presidential campaign failed to gain traction — much to my chagrin — but his ideas are starting to catch fire: ‘This Is the Time to Make Change’

+ Last month, I wrote that Kamala Harris offers “the most reward and the least amount of risk” as a potential VP pick. Here’s how she is, quietly, campaigning for the job: Kamala Harris’s Very Open Secret

+ Related: For Biden VP, Black Democrats are torn between Harris and Warren

+ According to exit polls, in the 2014 midterms, just 49% of Asian American voters supported a Democratic candidate for House. By 2018, that number had jumped to 77%. Over the weekend, Joe Biden looked to secure those voters by participating in APIA Vote’s presidential town hall.

+ Dahlia Lithwick pulls no punches: John Bolton’s Original Sin

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