September 12, 2025 • 29 mins
Today we’re spotlighting The Velvet Whip Arts and Social Club, one of Philadelphia’s newest hubs for live entertainment, culture, and community. Joining us is Nasir “Mizzy” Mack, Creative Executive Officer of SERF, a full-service creative agency behind major events like Wawa Welcome America, The Atlantic Festival, and the upcoming launch of Velvet Whip. Nasir shares insights on Velvet Whip’s exciting debut in Callowhill, its place in Philadelphia’s arts scene, and what we can look forward to at this unique venue.
📌 Connect with Velvet Whip & SERF
🌐 Websites: velvetwhipphilly.com | serfcreativ.com
📸 Instagram: @VelvetWhipPhilly | @serf.creativ
📘 Facebook: Velvet Whip Arts and Social Club
💼 LinkedIn: Nasir Mack
📍 Location: Velvet Whip Arts and Social Club, 319 N. 11th Street, Philadelphia, PA
📧 Event/Marketing Inquiries: nasir@serfcreativ.com | ☎️ 267-600-7446
📧 Velvet Whip Inquiries: contact@velvetwhipphilly.com
In today’s edition of SpeakOUT, our monthly feature spotlighting voices shaping the LGBTQ+ experience locally and nationally, we’re joined by Angela Giampolo, founder of Giampolo Law Group and widely known as the Philly Gay Lawyer. A leading LGBTQ+ legal expert and advocate, Angela is also the creator of the Caravan of Hope, a national initiative providing free legal services to underserved LGBTQ+ communities. She brings a powerful perspective on the intersection of law, policy, and lived experience. We discuss current efforts to undermine marriage equality and this year’s Caravan of Hope, which will travel the country providing pro bono legal services in under-resourced communities.
📌 Connect with Angela Giampolo
🌐 Websites: giampololaw.com | caravanofhope.lgbt
📸 Instagram: @yourgaylawyer
🐦 Twitter/X: @phillygaylawyer
🎵 TikTok: @gaylawyer
💼 LinkedIn: Angela D. Giampolo
📌 Connect with Velvet Whip & SERF
🌐 Websites: velvetwhipphilly.com | serfcreativ.com
📸 Instagram: @VelvetWhipPhilly | @serf.creativ
📘 Facebook: Velvet Whip Arts and Social Club
💼 LinkedIn: Nasir Mack
📍 Location: Velvet Whip Arts and Social Club, 319 N. 11th Street, Philadelphia, PA
📧 Event/Marketing Inquiries: nasir@serfcreativ.com | ☎️ 267-600-7446
📧 Velvet Whip Inquiries: contact@velvetwhipphilly.com
In today’s edition of SpeakOUT, our monthly feature spotlighting voices shaping the LGBTQ+ experience locally and nationally, we’re joined by Angela Giampolo, founder of Giampolo Law Group and widely known as the Philly Gay Lawyer. A leading LGBTQ+ legal expert and advocate, Angela is also the creator of the Caravan of Hope, a national initiative providing free legal services to underserved LGBTQ+ communities. She brings a powerful perspective on the intersection of law, policy, and lived experience. We discuss current efforts to undermine marriage equality and this year’s Caravan of Hope, which will travel the country providing pro bono legal services in under-resourced communities.
📌 Connect with Angela Giampolo
🌐 Websites: giampololaw.com | caravanofhope.lgbt
📸 Instagram: @yourgaylawyer
🐦 Twitter/X: @phillygaylawyer
🎵 TikTok: @gaylawyer
💼 LinkedIn: Angela D. Giampolo
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good morning, Welcome to What's going on, a show about
making a difference in our lives and our communities. I'm
Lorraine Ballardmorrow, we'll be talking with Angela Giampolo for our
monthly feature speak Out. She shares updates on the Caravan
of Hope, bringing free legal services to LGBTQ plus communities nationwide,
and also the latest efforts to chip away at marriage equality.
(00:23):
But first we talk about Philadelphia's newest arts and culture
hub in kellow Hill. Today we're spotlighting the Velvet Whip
Arts and Social Club, one of Philadelphia's newest hubs for
live entertainment, culture and community. Joining us is Nasir Missy Mack,
chief creative executive Officer of Surf, a full service creative
(00:43):
agency behind major events like Wah Wah Welcome America, the
Atlantic Festival, and the upcoming launch of Velvet Whip. He's
here to tell us about Velvet Whip's exciting debut in
callow Hill, its place in the Philadelphia's arts scene, and
what we can look forward to at this unique venue. So, Na, Sarah,
you've built SURF into a creative force in Philadelphia. Tell
(01:06):
us a bit about what inspired you to start the
company and the kind of work that you do.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
Yeah, so super excited to talk all things creative and
all things velvet. But I started the company because I
recognized that there were other creatives and other people and
venues looking to do events maybe don't have the expertise.
So with my background of doing this for so long,
about ten years plus and the team that I have,
(01:32):
we wanted to help those people bring those ideas to life.
So super excited to be able to do that.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
Well. So what drew Surf to partner with the Velvet
Whip Arts and Social Club and what makes this venue
stand out from others in the Philadelphia arts and culture scene.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
So the partnership really came together after collaborating on a
festival called a Racial Hood Festival, which was an event
that we held an honor David Lynch, and continuing seeing
the beauty of the Velvet Whip and Art and Social Club.
They just had so much to offer from entertainment, from
collaborative efforts to really building out to become a cultural
(02:10):
community cornerstone. And I've resonated with the mission as part
of our company of Surf of trying to help people
build something that's impactful. So that is the kind of
the forcing behind why we decided to partner. And the
thing that makes the Velvet Whip different from other community
clubs or kind of clubs that's in Philadelphia in terms
(02:33):
of the nightlife is the fact that again they have
everything there for you. So as opposed to other clubs
where you might just get live entertainment, at the Velvet Whip,
you can get theater performance, opera performance, jazz, comedy, you
can pull up and have a nice drink, so so
much and then the beautiful scenery that is there makes
(02:55):
it makes it all worth the while.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
Wow. So it sounds like there's a variety of opportunity
it needs to experience different types of genres of art
and music. For those who may not know, walk us
through the weekly lineup of live performances, give us an
idea of what kinds of things in the past and
what kinds of things you have going on in the future.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
So yeah, so specifically in the past they have had
they typically like to have major events. Right, so if
you're coming to Development Whip, you can only go there
if you had tickets to a show. One of those
shows involved someone of the likes of Eric Wirthman, who
was Adele's pianist and was really vibrant and committed to
(03:39):
helping her bring her entertainment to life. He typically hosts
a lot of shows there and he did something where
called the Velvet Nights where he would come out and
just have a small audience and bring a band and
have piano and do the whole full shit bang. So
that is an event that now we are moving over
(03:59):
to something that can happen weekly week a part of
the jazz performances. Not too long ago in the summer,
we had International Hall of Famer Frankie Fictitious, which is
an International Burless Hall of Famer who was able to
come and just give a phenomenal show, which you're going
to see starting this week September ninth, at six pm,
(04:20):
and from every day from Tuesday to Sunday, you will
be able to experience jazz. So we're starting out with
jazz on Tuesday, and then you'll have a variety of
different entertainment performances over the weekend, and then you can
expect comedy on Wednesday and there's another component on Thursday.
So weekly we want to be able to draw a
(04:42):
crowd into if you enjoy those things to be able
to come in weekly.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
Tell us about some of the big shows that you've
got in store.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Yeah. So one of the most amazing things that the
Velwhip is excited to launch as it continues to build
out the brand name is we have Barbetune Day, which
is a hip opera global insation who went viral from
mixing opera and hip hop together and he's going to
be coming to perform on October third and fourth at
(05:09):
eight thirty pm. It is going to be an eclectic, vibrant,
loud performance but nonetheless enjoyable. So again, if you're into
that style of entertainment, kind of the avant garde live
jazz type of style entertainment, we implore you guys to
come out. And there's also a membership program which you
(05:31):
can find out more on a website where if you
continue to come, you can kind of be essentially be
like a ticket season ticket holder, like.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
A patron of the art. Yeah, that's very cool. Well,
let's get a little up close and personal to nasier.
Missi Mac tell us a little bit about your origin story.
So you're you're a young man and you said you've
been doing this for ten years. Yeah, how did you
get into it and what is the secret of your success?
Speaker 2 (05:57):
Yeah, so I got involved. I started around sixteen. I
was in high school. I was super young, and I
got connected to the Fourth of July Festival. That was
like my first real big event. And actually when I
first got involved with the Fourth of July Festival, that
was the first year that it actually became its own
entity because formerly was ran out of the city in
(06:17):
Philadelphia before it became its own entity. So first thing
there and continue to just be a part of it
and do it every year, and then all throughout high school,
I throw out college and then leaving and moving to
New York for two years to continue to build out
festivals and concerts. I just fell in love with the
idea of being able to bring experiences to life. So
(06:37):
the cornerstone of the Company of Surf is events. We
do do creative and marketing, and I did do those
things as well during my ten year period, but that
was the origin and my long term plan was to
all we started company because Philadelphia is such a beautiful
city with so much to offer, and we are coming
up on a turning point of lebrating two hundred and
(07:01):
fifty years as a country, so there's so much entertainment here,
so much joy, and I really started this company to
be able to again help those people in the community
bring those ideas to life and continue to celebrate the
country that we live in.
Speaker 1 (07:19):
You are a young man, and I think there are
a lot of people who have big dreams and are
not quite ready to act on it. And it sounds
like you're someone who had a dream or has a
dream and you are acting on it. And I just
wonder if you have any thoughts or advice because you
(07:40):
are young, and which is so exciting to see someone
as young as you are to have accomplished so much.
What would be your secret of success? What's your secret sauce?
Speaker 2 (07:52):
Secret sauce? I would say the primary secret sauce, and
it's going to sound a little bit cliche, but it's
to believe in yourself. We hear it all the time,
but I think as we get older, with so much
going on, like TikTok and there, you know, you have
so many people telling you how you should be and
what you should be. So I think the primary thing
is just having that belief in having, you know, believing
(08:14):
in yourself fully and I think the second thing is
staying committed to your dream, your goal. I've been doing
this for a long time and I'm only twenty six,
but there's been some times when i wanted to turn back.
So even now it's still as young as I am,
I'm still staying committed to fulfilling the purpose that I
(08:35):
was put on this earth to make happen.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
And what is that purpose?
Speaker 2 (08:39):
To help people?
Speaker 1 (08:41):
I love that. What a wonderful way to conclude our interview.
But before we do, for listeners who want to support
the Velvet Whip and attend events and even collaborate with Surf,
what is the best way to get in touch?
Speaker 2 (08:53):
Yeah, so you can follow the Velvet Whip at gubble
Whip Philly on Instagram, and you can follow Surf at
Surf sc r F dot Creative c R E A
T I V on Instagram. My full name is not
Sarah Max, so always connect with us on LinkedIn and
you can also contact the email to get involved with
(09:14):
the love Whip is contact at velvet Whip dot com
if you want to learn more, but follow us on
Instagram because that's where all the information is having. Please
do not hesitate to reach out to me. I'm excited
to work with a lot of different organizations.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
Na Sir Missymac, who is the creative executive officer of SURF,
a full service creative agency, and very much a supporter
of Philadelphia's newest hub for live entertainment, culture and community,
the Velvet Whip Arts and Social Club, which is located
at three nineteen North eleventh Street, right here in the
city of Philadelphia. Thank you so much, Thank you, it
(09:51):
was a pleasure. We all know someone who it's been
in an abusive relationship. This Domestic Violence Awareness Month, join
Women Against Abuse for I Pledge, a free community rally
and resource fair to support safe, healthy relationships and help
(10:15):
end relationship violence. It's happening Wednesday, October first at twelve
noon in the courtyard of Philadelphia City Hall. Learn more
at Women Against Abuse dot org. You're listening to what's
going on. I'm always delighted to introduce Angela Gimpolo. She
(10:38):
is a distinguished attorney, entrepreneur, and LGBTQ plus activists dedicated
to serving the LGBTQ plus community. She founded Gimpolo Law
Group in two thousand and eight, focusing on a state
planning for all including LGBTQ family law, civil rights, and
business law. She is known for her podcasts for her blog,
(11:02):
and we call this segment is speak Out because what
we've been doing for many, many years, which I'm so
proud to say, is that we're bringing to light issues
related to the LGBTQ plus community, but also talking about
how that impacts all of us because we're all in
this together. And Angela always a pleasure to speak with you.
(11:25):
And there's some very important and disturbing developments that are
occurring related to marriage equality. Tell us what's going on.
Speaker 3 (11:33):
Kim Davis is a county clerk out in Kentucky. A
lot of folks may not remember her, but within the
LGBTQ community, we definitely remember Kim Davis. Just google the
name and look her mug shot up. It's wonderful and
so Kim Davis, when marriage equality passed in twenty fifteen
after the oberger Fell holding was released, refused to issue
(11:56):
marriage licenses in her county in Kentucky, despite the fact
that Obergerfell had just said that it was constitutional and
folks were allowed to marry, and so she kept denying,
kept denying it, and ultimately was arrested and put in
jail for contempt because as a civil servant, she they
(12:17):
told her, you don't have a choice.
Speaker 4 (12:18):
This is your job and it's the law.
Speaker 3 (12:20):
They're allowed to get married, and your personal belief should
not be taken into it as a civil servant. So
and for the last ten years one of the conservative
right nonprofits have been funding her litigation against that.
Speaker 4 (12:37):
She ultimately owes two hundred and sixty thousand.
Speaker 3 (12:40):
Dollars, and recently she filed a petition for cert to
the Supreme Court. So she's lost every step of the way,
and now she's at the Supreme Court. It's her final attempt,
and she filed a formal petition for cert asking the
Supreme Court to look at Obergerfell. And obviously, you know,
over t it and so that's where we are. The
(13:01):
petition was filed. Folks are very worried about what's.
Speaker 4 (13:06):
Going to happen.
Speaker 3 (13:07):
My thought process is that her case does not have
much merit. You know, the Supreme Court gets over eight
thousand petitions per cirt per year in grants one to
two percent, depending and usually of those one percent, they
are looking for cases where they have to settle something.
(13:27):
Think of the circuit courts, the eleventh Circuit courts as kids, right,
and if tenth Circuit thinks one thing, but the eleventh
Circuit thinks another, and but what the sixth Circuit?
Speaker 4 (13:36):
And so all the kids.
Speaker 3 (13:38):
Are fighting, and the Supreme Court has to come down
and say, this is the law of the land. All
of you circuit courts need to do this, regardless of
what you think.
Speaker 4 (13:46):
She lost every step of the way.
Speaker 3 (13:48):
There is literally nothing for the Supreme Court to help
her with other than overturning marriage equality. So if the
Supreme Court really wants to overturn marriage equality, this is.
Speaker 4 (14:00):
A bad case to do it.
Speaker 3 (14:02):
But it signals, It signals where we are ultimately. What
also has a lot of people worried is the Supreme
Court rarely ever says anything if they don't grant cert
eight thousand you know, petitions, so they just don't say anything.
So there's this moment that we're in right now wherever,
you know, folks are emailing me and dming me.
Speaker 4 (14:25):
And you know, could we wake up tomorrow?
Speaker 3 (14:27):
And the answer is yes, they could wake up tomorrow,
and Scotis has decided to take her case. But we
won't wake up tomorrow. And get no, we're not taking it.
It just will be a silence, which is kind of
hard for folks. So that is the most recent challenge.
I have been doing a lot of research on this topic.
And there was a case decided about a year ago June,
(14:49):
over a year ago June of twenty twenty four, an
immigration case with a straight couple, you know, involving a
straight couple and immigration the State Department being z and
that case nobody is talking about, and that to me
is the case that will be cited time and time
again with taking away the rights inherent in marriage. I
(15:14):
do not envision a big overturning of Obergerfell like Dobbs
and did for Roe v. Wade, because if we look
at the fifty years prior to Dobbs, there was a
death by a thousand cuts leading two Dobbs being able
to take that final cut and overturn Roe v.
Speaker 4 (15:31):
Wade. But there was Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey.
Speaker 3 (15:35):
There were multiple cases that took away rights to abortion
before the full Roe v. Wade was taken down. So
the State Department v. Munez is a case that not
enough people are talking about. I or you know, even
if you Google it, maybe one article pops up, but
it says the Supreme Court just took their first swipe
at marriage equality. It was about a straight couple again immigration,
(15:57):
Amy Cony Barrett wrote via and it was a complete overreach.
They never should have taken this case. They took this
case to form precedent to be able to start shipping
away at marriage equality.
Speaker 4 (16:11):
So as you.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
Can't, So what does this case do? What is the
right that was taken away from this couple to cohabitate?
Speaker 3 (16:20):
So any Coney Barrett said, The opinion said, correct, everybody
in this country has a fundamental right to marriage, which
means including me us LGBTQ folks, everyone in this country
has a fundamental right to marriage. That does not mean
that you have the fundamental right to cohabitate with your spouse.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
Okay, that's confusing. So what does that mean exactly? You
don't have the right.
Speaker 4 (16:43):
A lot of people don't know that.
Speaker 3 (16:44):
Amy Coney Barrett adopted all four of her children from
around the world. Would it stand to reason, oh, you
have the fundament everybody is a fundamental right to be
a parent, but not cohabitate with their children makes no sense.
But what the obergerfel Case said there are one thousand,
one hundred and thirty eight state and federal privileges tied
to the institution of marriage right. A lot of them
(17:05):
don't matter if you're the president. Your spouse gets to
ride for free on Air Force one, not going to
impact a lot of people, right, But there's about five
to seven of them that are financially significant, fiscally advantageous
privileges out of one.
Speaker 4 (17:18):
One hundred and thirty eight.
Speaker 3 (17:20):
And so what I envision is that the Supreme Court
will start chipping away at those. You have the right
to marry, but you don't have the right to tell
this person they have to marry you.
Speaker 4 (17:34):
Kim Davis, you have the.
Speaker 3 (17:35):
Right to marry, but you don't have the right to adopt,
which was a thing prior to marriage equality. There were
bands on LGBTQ folks all over the country from adopting.
So the dissent completely tore it apart. How did you
make this about marriage equality? Neil Gorsic. Neil Gorsich wrote
a concurring opinion that said, I agree with your overall judge,
(18:00):
but we never should have taken this case.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
Let's go back a little bit because I'm sure I'm
not completely understanding. So the Supreme Court said that that
in marriage, you don't necessarily have the right to cohabitate.
So this was a couple that it was one of
the members of this couple an immigrant or did not
have explain exactly what that means. Sorry, I don't understand.
Speaker 3 (18:24):
Please bake it understand that the listeners don't understand. So yes,
Sandrum Yunez us citizen. Her husband Crummel Salvador, and they.
Speaker 4 (18:37):
Went through the immigration process.
Speaker 3 (18:38):
And when you come here illegally, one of the ways,
one of the things that you have to do, as
you're writing the ship, is then go back to that
home country and then apply for the visa and then
come back in that way. So they were at that
point of the immigration process and then he was denied
and so now he's in El Salvador and he can't
(18:59):
come back. He had been here for nineteen some odd years.
They have been married for a long time.
Speaker 4 (19:04):
They had two.
Speaker 3 (19:04):
Children born in this country, and ultimately they then separated.
Speaker 4 (19:09):
This couple.
Speaker 3 (19:10):
So Sandramnez is a well known employment discrimination attorney, has connections,
has money, So she reached out to some politicians, some
folks and said, I want an answer as to why
he had tattoos. Sure enough, you know, a year and
a half later, so she said she was denied due process.
Speaker 4 (19:29):
Because you didn't even tell me why.
Speaker 3 (19:30):
I don't even have an answer as to why the
father of my children and my husband is being taken away.
And up until that point, historically it has been settled
law that if you're an American citizen, your spouse can't
be taken away from you and deported. So this is
brand new precedent for everyone. Again, the couple circle to
you introducing this segment. Yes, right, everyone, this is a
(19:53):
straight couple whose spouse was lawfully quote unquote taken away
from them depoort despite having children born here. So she
then sued, and the main reason being is you not
only did this to me, but you didn't even tell
me why.
Speaker 4 (20:09):
I've had no due process. I couldn't even you know,
argue it.
Speaker 3 (20:12):
And so eventually the State Department did before it went
to the Supreme Court, which was Neil Coursa's point. Before
it went up to the Supreme Court, the State Department
did divulge that it was about a tattoo that they
thought was tie TM s. Thirteen and that was their
reason for their decision. So that was before the Supreme
(20:32):
Court took it. So the Supreme Court historically cannot take
something that does not have a question to answer. Sandra
Minez got her answer, it rendered the case moot at
that point. Yet they took it anyways, and not only
did they take it, but they made it all about
the fundamental rights that either are or not inherent in marriage,
(20:54):
tying it to marriage equality LGBTQ issues, and then the
dissent called them out for having done so, you know,
and especially for LGBTQ folks, if this is how we
are going to proceed, married LGBTQ folks who have their
spouse taken away and deported typically have come here fleeing
(21:15):
for their safety, and you're basically sending them back to
a country where they'll be killed and untenable. Sandra Munez
took the kids and they live in al Shabad or now.
As an LGBTQ person, that would not be an option.
Speaker 1 (21:29):
Right. So previously, if this couple that had one husband,
the husband previously he was protected and the ability to
even though he was in the process of getting his
whatever legal visas whatever he was allowed to live with
his wife in the interim, but the Supreme Court took
(21:53):
that away. Is that is that accurate?
Speaker 4 (21:55):
Correct?
Speaker 1 (21:55):
Okay? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (21:56):
I mean if you know the old movie in the
seventies or eighties, you a green car and the whole
idea of like, let's get married because then poof, that's protected.
Speaker 1 (22:04):
Right.
Speaker 3 (22:05):
Maybe in the interview, maybe they'll detect some fraud or
you know whatever.
Speaker 4 (22:09):
But at the end of the.
Speaker 3 (22:10):
Day, you you'd create that legal bond of matrimony and
you're safe. You're un a safe have and can't take
away the spouse of an American citizen. Wow, this is huge, tusional, huge, Wow.
Anybody's spouse could be taken away.
Speaker 1 (22:24):
Oh my gosh. So that's now settled law. Is that
what you're saying?
Speaker 3 (22:29):
Yeah, that you have the fundamental right to marry but
not necessarily cohabitate with your spouse.
Speaker 1 (22:34):
That is crazy.
Speaker 3 (22:35):
So if they are deserving of deportation and they shouldn't
be here, your marriage to them will not keep them
immune of that.
Speaker 1 (22:43):
So this is a ruling that you feel has real
significance to the future of marriage equality.
Speaker 4 (22:52):
Correct.
Speaker 3 (22:52):
I see it as the beginning of the unbundling of
the rights inherent in marriage, right. Lot of folks keep
asking me, just had this question this dialogue yesterday. How
do they overturn Oburgerfell without overturning Loving v Virginia.
Speaker 1 (23:09):
And Loving the Virginia was the case that allowed people
of mixed races to marry because previously it was against
the law.
Speaker 3 (23:19):
I love how you have to jump in and explain
it because I get right.
Speaker 1 (23:23):
I have to think about that. Well, yeah, no, we're
not as learned as you are.
Speaker 3 (23:27):
But continue the way because they that that's correct. The
lineage of cases from Loving v. Virginia, they're all tied
together and inextricably linked. So you can't overturn Oburgerfell without
overturning Loving v.
Speaker 4 (23:45):
Virginia.
Speaker 3 (23:46):
But if you don't do a full sweep overturn over
Burgerfell and instead take away the rights inherent and marriage
the one and thirty eight state and federal rights right
you have that that's why you get married. So if
I always say the imagine that your marriage is like
the cutco of all steak knives one hundred and thirty
(24:09):
eight serrated edges to your steak knife.
Speaker 4 (24:12):
That is the marriage of all marriages. The cut cove
all knives.
Speaker 3 (24:15):
And then if you lose the federal privileges with marriage,
you'll lose about five hundred and some odd privileges or
serrated edges. Then if a burgerfugg gets overturned and you
live in Georgia, you lose all the state privileges or
serrated edges. So if you lose the federal and the state,
you went from the cook coo of aal knives to
a butter knife.
Speaker 4 (24:37):
But you always keep your knife.
Speaker 3 (24:39):
So I envision a slow taking away of our rights
and a nullification dulling of our knife. But they can't
take away our knife. Yeah, because if they take away
our knife, then how do they explain not taking away
the knife of Clarence Thomas with.
Speaker 4 (24:56):
His white wife.
Speaker 3 (24:58):
So it's ultimately the unbundling of the rights inherent in marriage.
And the first one for everyone everyone in this country
is you may have the right to marry, but you
do not have the fundamental right to cohabitate with your spouse.
If we think they don't belong in this country, we
can take them away.
Speaker 1 (25:14):
Wow, that is crazy. Well, unfortunately we're running out a time.
But I know that there's something very special that's coming back,
and that is your Caravan of hope. Tell us more.
Speaker 4 (25:26):
Yes, So after that depressing second, hey let's.
Speaker 2 (25:29):
Have something positive.
Speaker 1 (25:30):
Yay, let's do it.
Speaker 3 (25:32):
And that's exactly why I'm doing it, Lorraine. From the
election to inauguration now the Kim Davis, it has just
I can't believe almost a year has gone by.
Speaker 4 (25:41):
Yeah, I cannot believe. In two months it will have
been a year.
Speaker 3 (25:44):
So I decided the whole month of November, I'm doing
the Caravan of Hope Voyage. It's a month where I'm
out of my firm and I go five thousand miles
cross country and visit fourteen cities providing pro bono legal
services to LGBTQ five folks.
Speaker 4 (26:00):
And rural and underserved areas.
Speaker 3 (26:03):
Leave from Philadelphia and then the service day is the
final day on November thirtieth, back in Philadelphia across from
the William Way Center. So much needed hope and smiles
and all of the things.
Speaker 1 (26:16):
That's such a beautiful thing, and I love that you're
doing it, and you are going to a lot of
these smaller towns where there isn't a real huge amount
of support for those LGBTQ plus individuals. So that is
a wonderful thing if people would like to know more
about the Caravan of Hope, but also about all the
(26:37):
work that you do, because one of the best I
guess defenses against all the things that are happening with
marriage equality is making sure that all of your legal
situations are in place, and that's exactly what you do.
And just briefly tell us about that, and also about
how we can get in touch with you and also
the Caravan of Hope.
Speaker 3 (26:56):
The legal documents are your LGBTQ qu state planning documents.
They're nine that I recommend for LGBTQ folks and some
things that I'm doing. If you want to follow me
and stay informed, you can find me on Instagram as
your Gay Lawyer.
Speaker 4 (27:12):
You can find me on TikTok as just gay Lawyer.
Speaker 3 (27:15):
And every two weeks I'm doing a segment called legal
Queer in a where I'll just meet for as long
as people want to be at four hundred people attend
a three and a half hour marathon Q and A
and so if you go to Prideplans dot com and
subscribe to the newsletter there, then you'll hear about all
the different events that I'm doing where you can stay informed,
(27:36):
but to protect yourself. The nine lgbtqs State Planning documents
are key and again you can find videos of me on.
Speaker 4 (27:44):
Instagram TikTok talking more about that.
Speaker 3 (27:46):
As far as the Caravan of Hope, you can go
to the website Caravanofope dot lgbt. The itinerary is not
updated for twenty twenty five, but it's the exact same
fourteen cities, exact same itinerary, just different dates for November,
so I'll be updating those.
Speaker 1 (28:00):
And once again, the work that you do is not
just for the lgbtqia plus community, but it's for everybody,
because everybody needs a will love us exactly exactly, and
that's what you do so beautifully. Angela Gimpolo who comes
to us once a month for the special feature called
speak Out, where we talk about issues that directly affect
(28:21):
the LGBTQ IA plus community but also have really relevance
to all of us because we are all in it together,
we are all human beings. I thank you for doing
everything that you do to raise our awareness about all
these very important issues. Angela Gimpolo, what's your website?
Speaker 4 (28:38):
Yer dot lgbt Very simple, dot LGBT.
Speaker 3 (28:42):
All right, and thank you Lorain for using your platform
to share it.
Speaker 1 (28:47):
You can listen to all of today's interviews by going
to our station website and typing in keyword Community. You
can also listen on the iHeartRadio app Y Words Philadelphia
Community Podcast. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram at Loraine Ballard.
I'm Lorraine Ballard Morrel and I stand for service to
our community and media that empowers. What will you stand for?
(29:07):
You've been listening to what's going on?
Speaker 2 (29:10):
ED.
Speaker 1 (29:10):
Thank you
Good morning, Welcome to What's going on, a show about
making a difference in our lives and our communities. I'm
Lorraine Ballardmorrow, we'll be talking with Angela Giampolo for our
monthly feature speak Out. She shares updates on the Caravan
of Hope, bringing free legal services to LGBTQ plus communities nationwide,
and also the latest efforts to chip away at marriage equality.
(00:23):
But first we talk about Philadelphia's newest arts and culture
hub in kellow Hill. Today we're spotlighting the Velvet Whip
Arts and Social Club, one of Philadelphia's newest hubs for
live entertainment, culture and community. Joining us is Nasir Missy Mack,
chief creative executive Officer of Surf, a full service creative
(00:43):
agency behind major events like Wah Wah Welcome America, the
Atlantic Festival, and the upcoming launch of Velvet Whip. He's
here to tell us about Velvet Whip's exciting debut in
callow Hill, its place in the Philadelphia's arts scene, and
what we can look forward to at this unique venue. So, Na, Sarah,
you've built SURF into a creative force in Philadelphia. Tell
(01:06):
us a bit about what inspired you to start the
company and the kind of work that you do.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
Yeah, so super excited to talk all things creative and
all things velvet. But I started the company because I
recognized that there were other creatives and other people and
venues looking to do events maybe don't have the expertise.
So with my background of doing this for so long,
about ten years plus and the team that I have,
(01:32):
we wanted to help those people bring those ideas to life.
So super excited to be able to do that.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
Well. So what drew Surf to partner with the Velvet
Whip Arts and Social Club and what makes this venue
stand out from others in the Philadelphia arts and culture scene.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
So the partnership really came together after collaborating on a
festival called a Racial Hood Festival, which was an event
that we held an honor David Lynch, and continuing seeing
the beauty of the Velvet Whip and Art and Social Club.
They just had so much to offer from entertainment, from
collaborative efforts to really building out to become a cultural
(02:10):
community cornerstone. And I've resonated with the mission as part
of our company of Surf of trying to help people
build something that's impactful. So that is the kind of
the forcing behind why we decided to partner. And the
thing that makes the Velvet Whip different from other community
clubs or kind of clubs that's in Philadelphia in terms
(02:33):
of the nightlife is the fact that again they have
everything there for you. So as opposed to other clubs
where you might just get live entertainment, at the Velvet Whip,
you can get theater performance, opera performance, jazz, comedy, you
can pull up and have a nice drink, so so
much and then the beautiful scenery that is there makes
(02:55):
it makes it all worth the while.
Speaker 1 (02:57):
Wow. So it sounds like there's a variety of opportunity
it needs to experience different types of genres of art
and music. For those who may not know, walk us
through the weekly lineup of live performances, give us an
idea of what kinds of things in the past and
what kinds of things you have going on in the future.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
So yeah, so specifically in the past they have had
they typically like to have major events. Right, so if
you're coming to Development Whip, you can only go there
if you had tickets to a show. One of those
shows involved someone of the likes of Eric Wirthman, who
was Adele's pianist and was really vibrant and committed to
(03:39):
helping her bring her entertainment to life. He typically hosts
a lot of shows there and he did something where
called the Velvet Nights where he would come out and
just have a small audience and bring a band and
have piano and do the whole full shit bang. So
that is an event that now we are moving over
(03:59):
to something that can happen weekly week a part of
the jazz performances. Not too long ago in the summer,
we had International Hall of Famer Frankie Fictitious, which is
an International Burless Hall of Famer who was able to
come and just give a phenomenal show, which you're going
to see starting this week September ninth, at six pm,
(04:20):
and from every day from Tuesday to Sunday, you will
be able to experience jazz. So we're starting out with
jazz on Tuesday, and then you'll have a variety of
different entertainment performances over the weekend, and then you can
expect comedy on Wednesday and there's another component on Thursday.
So weekly we want to be able to draw a
(04:42):
crowd into if you enjoy those things to be able
to come in weekly.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
Tell us about some of the big shows that you've
got in store.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
Yeah. So one of the most amazing things that the
Velwhip is excited to launch as it continues to build
out the brand name is we have Barbetune Day, which
is a hip opera global insation who went viral from
mixing opera and hip hop together and he's going to
be coming to perform on October third and fourth at
(05:09):
eight thirty pm. It is going to be an eclectic, vibrant,
loud performance but nonetheless enjoyable. So again, if you're into
that style of entertainment, kind of the avant garde live
jazz type of style entertainment, we implore you guys to
come out. And there's also a membership program which you
(05:31):
can find out more on a website where if you
continue to come, you can kind of be essentially be
like a ticket season ticket holder, like.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
A patron of the art. Yeah, that's very cool. Well,
let's get a little up close and personal to nasier.
Missi Mac tell us a little bit about your origin story.
So you're you're a young man and you said you've
been doing this for ten years. Yeah, how did you
get into it and what is the secret of your success?
Speaker 2 (05:57):
Yeah, so I got involved. I started around sixteen. I
was in high school. I was super young, and I
got connected to the Fourth of July Festival. That was
like my first real big event. And actually when I
first got involved with the Fourth of July Festival, that
was the first year that it actually became its own
entity because formerly was ran out of the city in
(06:17):
Philadelphia before it became its own entity. So first thing
there and continue to just be a part of it
and do it every year, and then all throughout high school,
I throw out college and then leaving and moving to
New York for two years to continue to build out
festivals and concerts. I just fell in love with the
idea of being able to bring experiences to life. So
(06:37):
the cornerstone of the Company of Surf is events. We
do do creative and marketing, and I did do those
things as well during my ten year period, but that
was the origin and my long term plan was to
all we started company because Philadelphia is such a beautiful
city with so much to offer, and we are coming
up on a turning point of lebrating two hundred and
(07:01):
fifty years as a country, so there's so much entertainment here,
so much joy, and I really started this company to
be able to again help those people in the community
bring those ideas to life and continue to celebrate the
country that we live in.
Speaker 1 (07:19):
You are a young man, and I think there are
a lot of people who have big dreams and are
not quite ready to act on it. And it sounds
like you're someone who had a dream or has a
dream and you are acting on it. And I just
wonder if you have any thoughts or advice because you
(07:40):
are young, and which is so exciting to see someone
as young as you are to have accomplished so much.
What would be your secret of success? What's your secret sauce?
Speaker 2 (07:52):
Secret sauce? I would say the primary secret sauce, and
it's going to sound a little bit cliche, but it's
to believe in yourself. We hear it all the time,
but I think as we get older, with so much
going on, like TikTok and there, you know, you have
so many people telling you how you should be and
what you should be. So I think the primary thing
is just having that belief in having, you know, believing
(08:14):
in yourself fully and I think the second thing is
staying committed to your dream, your goal. I've been doing
this for a long time and I'm only twenty six,
but there's been some times when i wanted to turn back.
So even now it's still as young as I am,
I'm still staying committed to fulfilling the purpose that I
(08:35):
was put on this earth to make happen.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
And what is that purpose?
Speaker 2 (08:39):
To help people?
Speaker 1 (08:41):
I love that. What a wonderful way to conclude our interview.
But before we do, for listeners who want to support
the Velvet Whip and attend events and even collaborate with Surf,
what is the best way to get in touch?
Speaker 2 (08:53):
Yeah, so you can follow the Velvet Whip at gubble
Whip Philly on Instagram, and you can follow Surf at
Surf sc r F dot Creative c R E A
T I V on Instagram. My full name is not
Sarah Max, so always connect with us on LinkedIn and
you can also contact the email to get involved with
(09:14):
the love Whip is contact at velvet Whip dot com
if you want to learn more, but follow us on
Instagram because that's where all the information is having. Please
do not hesitate to reach out to me. I'm excited
to work with a lot of different organizations.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
Na Sir Missymac, who is the creative executive officer of SURF,
a full service creative agency, and very much a supporter
of Philadelphia's newest hub for live entertainment, culture and community,
the Velvet Whip Arts and Social Club, which is located
at three nineteen North eleventh Street, right here in the
city of Philadelphia. Thank you so much, Thank you, it
(09:51):
was a pleasure. We all know someone who it's been
in an abusive relationship. This Domestic Violence Awareness Month, join
Women Against Abuse for I Pledge, a free community rally
and resource fair to support safe, healthy relationships and help
(10:15):
end relationship violence. It's happening Wednesday, October first at twelve
noon in the courtyard of Philadelphia City Hall. Learn more
at Women Against Abuse dot org. You're listening to what's
going on. I'm always delighted to introduce Angela Gimpolo. She
(10:38):
is a distinguished attorney, entrepreneur, and LGBTQ plus activists dedicated
to serving the LGBTQ plus community. She founded Gimpolo Law
Group in two thousand and eight, focusing on a state
planning for all including LGBTQ family law, civil rights, and
business law. She is known for her podcasts for her blog,
(11:02):
and we call this segment is speak Out because what
we've been doing for many, many years, which I'm so
proud to say, is that we're bringing to light issues
related to the LGBTQ plus community, but also talking about
how that impacts all of us because we're all in
this together. And Angela always a pleasure to speak with you.
(11:25):
And there's some very important and disturbing developments that are
occurring related to marriage equality. Tell us what's going on.
Speaker 3 (11:33):
Kim Davis is a county clerk out in Kentucky. A
lot of folks may not remember her, but within the
LGBTQ community, we definitely remember Kim Davis. Just google the
name and look her mug shot up. It's wonderful and
so Kim Davis, when marriage equality passed in twenty fifteen
after the oberger Fell holding was released, refused to issue
(11:56):
marriage licenses in her county in Kentucky, despite the fact
that Obergerfell had just said that it was constitutional and
folks were allowed to marry, and so she kept denying,
kept denying it, and ultimately was arrested and put in
jail for contempt because as a civil servant, she they
(12:17):
told her, you don't have a choice.
Speaker 4 (12:18):
This is your job and it's the law.
Speaker 3 (12:20):
They're allowed to get married, and your personal belief should
not be taken into it as a civil servant. So
and for the last ten years one of the conservative
right nonprofits have been funding her litigation against that.
Speaker 4 (12:37):
She ultimately owes two hundred and sixty thousand.
Speaker 3 (12:40):
Dollars, and recently she filed a petition for cert to
the Supreme Court. So she's lost every step of the way,
and now she's at the Supreme Court. It's her final attempt,
and she filed a formal petition for cert asking the
Supreme Court to look at Obergerfell. And obviously, you know,
over t it and so that's where we are. The
(13:01):
petition was filed. Folks are very worried about what's.
Speaker 4 (13:06):
Going to happen.
Speaker 3 (13:07):
My thought process is that her case does not have
much merit. You know, the Supreme Court gets over eight
thousand petitions per cirt per year in grants one to
two percent, depending and usually of those one percent, they
are looking for cases where they have to settle something.
(13:27):
Think of the circuit courts, the eleventh Circuit courts as kids, right,
and if tenth Circuit thinks one thing, but the eleventh
Circuit thinks another, and but what the sixth Circuit?
Speaker 4 (13:36):
And so all the kids.
Speaker 3 (13:38):
Are fighting, and the Supreme Court has to come down
and say, this is the law of the land. All
of you circuit courts need to do this, regardless of
what you think.
Speaker 4 (13:46):
She lost every step of the way.
Speaker 3 (13:48):
There is literally nothing for the Supreme Court to help
her with other than overturning marriage equality. So if the
Supreme Court really wants to overturn marriage equality, this is.
Speaker 4 (14:00):
A bad case to do it.
Speaker 3 (14:02):
But it signals, It signals where we are ultimately. What
also has a lot of people worried is the Supreme
Court rarely ever says anything if they don't grant cert
eight thousand you know, petitions, so they just don't say anything.
So there's this moment that we're in right now wherever,
you know, folks are emailing me and dming me.
Speaker 4 (14:25):
And you know, could we wake up tomorrow?
Speaker 3 (14:27):
And the answer is yes, they could wake up tomorrow,
and Scotis has decided to take her case. But we
won't wake up tomorrow. And get no, we're not taking it.
It just will be a silence, which is kind of
hard for folks. So that is the most recent challenge.
I have been doing a lot of research on this topic.
And there was a case decided about a year ago June,
(14:49):
over a year ago June of twenty twenty four, an
immigration case with a straight couple, you know, involving a
straight couple and immigration the State Department being z and
that case nobody is talking about, and that to me
is the case that will be cited time and time
again with taking away the rights inherent in marriage. I
(15:14):
do not envision a big overturning of Obergerfell like Dobbs
and did for Roe v. Wade, because if we look
at the fifty years prior to Dobbs, there was a
death by a thousand cuts leading two Dobbs being able
to take that final cut and overturn Roe v.
Speaker 4 (15:31):
Wade. But there was Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey.
Speaker 3 (15:35):
There were multiple cases that took away rights to abortion
before the full Roe v. Wade was taken down. So
the State Department v. Munez is a case that not
enough people are talking about. I or you know, even
if you Google it, maybe one article pops up, but
it says the Supreme Court just took their first swipe
at marriage equality. It was about a straight couple again immigration,
(15:57):
Amy Cony Barrett wrote via and it was a complete overreach.
They never should have taken this case. They took this
case to form precedent to be able to start shipping
away at marriage equality.
Speaker 4 (16:11):
So as you.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
Can't, So what does this case do? What is the
right that was taken away from this couple to cohabitate?
Speaker 3 (16:20):
So any Coney Barrett said, The opinion said, correct, everybody
in this country has a fundamental right to marriage, which
means including me us LGBTQ folks, everyone in this country
has a fundamental right to marriage. That does not mean
that you have the fundamental right to cohabitate with your spouse.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
Okay, that's confusing. So what does that mean exactly? You
don't have the right.
Speaker 4 (16:43):
A lot of people don't know that.
Speaker 3 (16:44):
Amy Coney Barrett adopted all four of her children from
around the world. Would it stand to reason, oh, you
have the fundament everybody is a fundamental right to be
a parent, but not cohabitate with their children makes no sense.
But what the obergerfel Case said there are one thousand,
one hundred and thirty eight state and federal privileges tied
to the institution of marriage right. A lot of them
(17:05):
don't matter if you're the president. Your spouse gets to
ride for free on Air Force one, not going to
impact a lot of people, right, But there's about five
to seven of them that are financially significant, fiscally advantageous
privileges out of one.
Speaker 4 (17:18):
One hundred and thirty eight.
Speaker 3 (17:20):
And so what I envision is that the Supreme Court
will start chipping away at those. You have the right
to marry, but you don't have the right to tell
this person they have to marry you.
Speaker 4 (17:34):
Kim Davis, you have the.
Speaker 3 (17:35):
Right to marry, but you don't have the right to adopt,
which was a thing prior to marriage equality. There were
bands on LGBTQ folks all over the country from adopting.
So the dissent completely tore it apart. How did you
make this about marriage equality? Neil Gorsic. Neil Gorsich wrote
a concurring opinion that said, I agree with your overall judge,
(18:00):
but we never should have taken this case.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
Let's go back a little bit because I'm sure I'm
not completely understanding. So the Supreme Court said that that
in marriage, you don't necessarily have the right to cohabitate.
So this was a couple that it was one of
the members of this couple an immigrant or did not
have explain exactly what that means. Sorry, I don't understand.
Speaker 3 (18:24):
Please bake it understand that the listeners don't understand. So yes,
Sandrum Yunez us citizen. Her husband Crummel Salvador, and they.
Speaker 4 (18:37):
Went through the immigration process.
Speaker 3 (18:38):
And when you come here illegally, one of the ways,
one of the things that you have to do, as
you're writing the ship, is then go back to that
home country and then apply for the visa and then
come back in that way. So they were at that
point of the immigration process and then he was denied
and so now he's in El Salvador and he can't
(18:59):
come back. He had been here for nineteen some odd years.
They have been married for a long time.
Speaker 4 (19:04):
They had two.
Speaker 3 (19:04):
Children born in this country, and ultimately they then separated.
Speaker 4 (19:09):
This couple.
Speaker 3 (19:10):
So Sandramnez is a well known employment discrimination attorney, has connections,
has money, So she reached out to some politicians, some
folks and said, I want an answer as to why
he had tattoos. Sure enough, you know, a year and
a half later, so she said she was denied due process.
Speaker 4 (19:29):
Because you didn't even tell me why.
Speaker 3 (19:30):
I don't even have an answer as to why the
father of my children and my husband is being taken away.
And up until that point, historically it has been settled
law that if you're an American citizen, your spouse can't
be taken away from you and deported. So this is
brand new precedent for everyone. Again, the couple circle to
you introducing this segment. Yes, right, everyone, this is a
(19:53):
straight couple whose spouse was lawfully quote unquote taken away
from them depoort despite having children born here. So she
then sued, and the main reason being is you not
only did this to me, but you didn't even tell
me why.
Speaker 4 (20:09):
I've had no due process. I couldn't even you know,
argue it.
Speaker 3 (20:12):
And so eventually the State Department did before it went
to the Supreme Court, which was Neil Coursa's point. Before
it went up to the Supreme Court, the State Department
did divulge that it was about a tattoo that they
thought was tie TM s. Thirteen and that was their
reason for their decision. So that was before the Supreme
(20:32):
Court took it. So the Supreme Court historically cannot take
something that does not have a question to answer. Sandra
Minez got her answer, it rendered the case moot at
that point. Yet they took it anyways, and not only
did they take it, but they made it all about
the fundamental rights that either are or not inherent in marriage,
(20:54):
tying it to marriage equality LGBTQ issues, and then the
dissent called them out for having done so, you know,
and especially for LGBTQ folks, if this is how we
are going to proceed, married LGBTQ folks who have their
spouse taken away and deported typically have come here fleeing
(21:15):
for their safety, and you're basically sending them back to
a country where they'll be killed and untenable. Sandra Munez
took the kids and they live in al Shabad or now.
As an LGBTQ person, that would not be an option.
Speaker 1 (21:29):
Right. So previously, if this couple that had one husband,
the husband previously he was protected and the ability to
even though he was in the process of getting his
whatever legal visas whatever he was allowed to live with
his wife in the interim, but the Supreme Court took
(21:53):
that away. Is that is that accurate?
Speaker 4 (21:55):
Correct?
Speaker 1 (21:55):
Okay? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (21:56):
I mean if you know the old movie in the
seventies or eighties, you a green car and the whole
idea of like, let's get married because then poof, that's protected.
Speaker 1 (22:04):
Right.
Speaker 3 (22:05):
Maybe in the interview, maybe they'll detect some fraud or
you know whatever.
Speaker 4 (22:09):
But at the end of the.
Speaker 3 (22:10):
Day, you you'd create that legal bond of matrimony and
you're safe. You're un a safe have and can't take
away the spouse of an American citizen. Wow, this is huge, tusional, huge, Wow.
Anybody's spouse could be taken away.
Speaker 1 (22:24):
Oh my gosh. So that's now settled law. Is that
what you're saying?
Speaker 3 (22:29):
Yeah, that you have the fundamental right to marry but
not necessarily cohabitate with your spouse.
Speaker 1 (22:34):
That is crazy.
Speaker 3 (22:35):
So if they are deserving of deportation and they shouldn't
be here, your marriage to them will not keep them
immune of that.
Speaker 1 (22:43):
So this is a ruling that you feel has real
significance to the future of marriage equality.
Speaker 4 (22:52):
Correct.
Speaker 3 (22:52):
I see it as the beginning of the unbundling of
the rights inherent in marriage, right. Lot of folks keep
asking me, just had this question this dialogue yesterday. How
do they overturn Oburgerfell without overturning Loving v Virginia.
Speaker 1 (23:09):
And Loving the Virginia was the case that allowed people
of mixed races to marry because previously it was against
the law.
Speaker 3 (23:19):
I love how you have to jump in and explain
it because I get right.
Speaker 1 (23:23):
I have to think about that. Well, yeah, no, we're
not as learned as you are.
Speaker 3 (23:27):
But continue the way because they that that's correct. The
lineage of cases from Loving v. Virginia, they're all tied
together and inextricably linked. So you can't overturn Oburgerfell without
overturning Loving v.
Speaker 4 (23:45):
Virginia.
Speaker 3 (23:46):
But if you don't do a full sweep overturn over
Burgerfell and instead take away the rights inherent and marriage
the one and thirty eight state and federal rights right
you have that that's why you get married. So if
I always say the imagine that your marriage is like
the cutco of all steak knives one hundred and thirty
(24:09):
eight serrated edges to your steak knife.
Speaker 4 (24:12):
That is the marriage of all marriages. The cut cove
all knives.
Speaker 3 (24:15):
And then if you lose the federal privileges with marriage,
you'll lose about five hundred and some odd privileges or
serrated edges. Then if a burgerfugg gets overturned and you
live in Georgia, you lose all the state privileges or
serrated edges. So if you lose the federal and the state,
you went from the cook coo of aal knives to
a butter knife.
Speaker 4 (24:37):
But you always keep your knife.
Speaker 3 (24:39):
So I envision a slow taking away of our rights
and a nullification dulling of our knife. But they can't
take away our knife. Yeah, because if they take away
our knife, then how do they explain not taking away
the knife of Clarence Thomas with.
Speaker 4 (24:56):
His white wife.
Speaker 3 (24:58):
So it's ultimately the unbundling of the rights inherent in marriage.
And the first one for everyone everyone in this country
is you may have the right to marry, but you
do not have the fundamental right to cohabitate with your spouse.
If we think they don't belong in this country, we
can take them away.
Speaker 1 (25:14):
Wow, that is crazy. Well, unfortunately we're running out a time.
But I know that there's something very special that's coming back,
and that is your Caravan of hope. Tell us more.
Speaker 4 (25:26):
Yes, So after that depressing second, hey let's.
Speaker 2 (25:29):
Have something positive.
Speaker 1 (25:30):
Yay, let's do it.
Speaker 3 (25:32):
And that's exactly why I'm doing it, Lorraine. From the
election to inauguration now the Kim Davis, it has just
I can't believe almost a year has gone by.
Speaker 4 (25:41):
Yeah, I cannot believe. In two months it will have
been a year.
Speaker 3 (25:44):
So I decided the whole month of November, I'm doing
the Caravan of Hope Voyage. It's a month where I'm
out of my firm and I go five thousand miles
cross country and visit fourteen cities providing pro bono legal
services to LGBTQ five folks.
Speaker 4 (26:00):
And rural and underserved areas.
Speaker 3 (26:03):
Leave from Philadelphia and then the service day is the
final day on November thirtieth, back in Philadelphia across from
the William Way Center. So much needed hope and smiles
and all of the things.
Speaker 1 (26:16):
That's such a beautiful thing, and I love that you're
doing it, and you are going to a lot of
these smaller towns where there isn't a real huge amount
of support for those LGBTQ plus individuals. So that is
a wonderful thing if people would like to know more
about the Caravan of Hope, but also about all the
(26:37):
work that you do, because one of the best I
guess defenses against all the things that are happening with
marriage equality is making sure that all of your legal
situations are in place, and that's exactly what you do.
And just briefly tell us about that, and also about
how we can get in touch with you and also
the Caravan of Hope.
Speaker 3 (26:56):
The legal documents are your LGBTQ qu state planning documents.
They're nine that I recommend for LGBTQ folks and some
things that I'm doing. If you want to follow me
and stay informed, you can find me on Instagram as
your Gay Lawyer.
Speaker 4 (27:12):
You can find me on TikTok as just gay Lawyer.
Speaker 3 (27:15):
And every two weeks I'm doing a segment called legal
Queer in a where I'll just meet for as long
as people want to be at four hundred people attend
a three and a half hour marathon Q and A
and so if you go to Prideplans dot com and
subscribe to the newsletter there, then you'll hear about all
the different events that I'm doing where you can stay informed,
(27:36):
but to protect yourself. The nine lgbtqs State Planning documents
are key and again you can find videos of me on.
Speaker 4 (27:44):
Instagram TikTok talking more about that.
Speaker 3 (27:46):
As far as the Caravan of Hope, you can go
to the website Caravanofope dot lgbt. The itinerary is not
updated for twenty twenty five, but it's the exact same
fourteen cities, exact same itinerary, just different dates for November,
so I'll be updating those.
Speaker 1 (28:00):
And once again, the work that you do is not
just for the lgbtqia plus community, but it's for everybody,
because everybody needs a will love us exactly exactly, and
that's what you do so beautifully. Angela Gimpolo who comes
to us once a month for the special feature called
speak Out, where we talk about issues that directly affect
(28:21):
the LGBTQ IA plus community but also have really relevance
to all of us because we are all in it together,
we are all human beings. I thank you for doing
everything that you do to raise our awareness about all
these very important issues. Angela Gimpolo, what's your website?
Speaker 4 (28:38):
Yer dot lgbt Very simple, dot LGBT.
Speaker 3 (28:42):
All right, and thank you Lorain for using your platform
to share it.
Speaker 1 (28:47):
You can listen to all of today's interviews by going
to our station website and typing in keyword Community. You
can also listen on the iHeartRadio app Y Words Philadelphia
Community Podcast. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram at Loraine Ballard.
I'm Lorraine Ballard Morrel and I stand for service to
our community and media that empowers. What will you stand for?
(29:07):
You've been listening to what's going on?
Speaker 2 (29:10):
ED.
Speaker 1 (29:10):
Thank you
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