Last night I attended a potluck at a place called "Magnet" in the Castro District of San Francisco. The Castro is home to many gay establishments and is a prime destination for many gay travelers as well as the place where alot of GLBT people gather in the Bay Area. This particular event was a gathering of Same Gender Loving Black Men (and their supporters). The group grew out of a few events most notably a protest of the bar/club "Badlands" which had been using discriminatory practices and not admitting men of color into their club and also the closing of a club called, "The Pendulum". This was my first such event since moving to Northern California and I have to admit it's the first time I felt like I had a sense of community.

The man pictured is Calvin a very endearing and eloquent person. He was introduced as "The Godfather" of alot of the black gay men in the Castro for his long time work in the community. He is president of the San Francisco Pride Event and has worked to make sure communities of color and women are represented in the event. He spoke of first coming to San Francisco from Denver in 1985 and the racism he experienced. There were other speakers but most of all there was wine, food, music, fun, and even the electric slide.

Across the street was a bar called "The Edge" that invited anyone from the gathering that was wearing a name tag to their bar where we recieved a discount on well drinks and beer. A really cute and friendly bartender named Jeff from Chicago actually gave me an apple martini on the house. He was so sweet even kept calling me "darlin". I got to spend time there with Anthony. A guy that I had been communicating with on tribe.net for a couple of years but this was our first time meeting in person and I hope not our last. My friend Vince and I hung out together the whole night. We got a hotel room in the Union Square (downtown) area so we could enjoy ourselves and not have to worry about getting back to Berkeley. I am returning to the Magnet this wednesday to be part of an open mic event held there the third tuesday of each month. I am looking forward to spending more time with some of the gentleman I met last night and becoming part of the allure of the Bay Area...