Support GLIDE

Author: communications

ending crime white house

The Executive Order titled, “Ending Crime and Disorder on America’s Streets,” really ought to be called “Ending Love and Compassion on America’s Streets.” This order acts like arresting unhoused people is the solution to homelessness. It absolutely is not. Encampment sweeps rob people of their dignity and their possessions, without finding solutions to the problems that left them unhoused in the first place. 

Our federal HUD and SAMHSA grants shouldn’t depend on whether we are punishing homeless people harshly enough. Our unhoused neighbors need love and support to better their lives. You can’t scare and punish them into finding housing– that’s not how it works. People need to be supported, not frightened, into achieving their goals. 

Cities who refuse to abuse and frighten unhoused people shouldn’t be threatened with loss of federal funds. We are in a housing crisis. The Big Ugly Bill’s cuts to Medicaid, SNAP, and other needed programs will push many new people into homelessness. Those people will already be so frightened. The last thing they need is more policing. Our message to our unhoused neighbors must be loud and clear: being poor is not a crime. Being homeless is not a crime. 

This executive order also calls for putting unhoused people into mental institutions without their consent. Many people know the beloved founder of GLIDE, Reverend Cecil Williams, experienced a severe mental breakdown as a child, driven in part by racial trauma in the segregated South. He recovered his mental health because of the loving support from his community. It is doubtful whether he could have recovered it in an institution influenced by medical racism. 

This is why medical incarceration is not the answer to the mental health crises we see daily among our traumatized street populations. Violating people’s human and civil rights will not clean up our streets. A real plan to clean up the streets means investing in organizations like GLIDE and a network of services to address root causes and effectively support and house people. 

Our Cecil Williams Community Ambassadors do trash pick-up, address concerns from local businesses, and compassionately refer our unhoused neighbors to the programs and services that will get them off the streets. To solve our country’s problems, we need to treat people like people. This executive order treats people like trash that needs to be thrown away. 

More people are experiencing homelessness now than they have for decades. The cost of living is going up. Wages are going down. People are losing their healthcare. This is the wrong time to invest in punishment. 

Unhoused people are not criminals.  They include people who lost housing because our city is too expensive, women fleeing domestic violence, elders struggling to re-skill for today’s economy, and disabled people facing discrimination. Everyone’s got a story.  

Of those that do have mental health or substance use issues, many of those are caused by the trauma of living in the street. This trauma is compounded when police pick up their tents and throw away their possessions. 

As a city, as a state, and as a country, we need to stand for love, not judgment.  Let’s not bow down or beg for those federal dollars; let’s stand tall, strong, and firm in our convictions. When we stand in our dignity, we also stand for the dignity of the people we serve. Let’s hope the leaders of the great state of California make a stand for love and compassion.

community safety

On Thursday, July 24th, GLIDE hosted a powerful community-led Public Safety Forum, bringing together over 130 youth, community members, non profit leaders, and city workers to collaborate on real solutions to improve safety and well-being in our San Francisco neighborhoods. 

Community leaders pictured below convened the forum with a simple dream: to ensure that community feedback is the first stop, not the last, when it comes to the city developing policy.

Public Safety Group 2025

Bishop Ishamel Burch opened the forum by remarking, “Everyone wants to be safe, right? We have so many problems, but by coming together, we can truly make a difference.”

Every Neighborhood in San Francisco Deserves to Feel Safe

GLIDE’s President & CEO Dr. Gina Fromer gave an opening keynote, talking about her experience growing up in Bayview. Despite the Bayview being stereotyped as an unsafe neighborhood, Dr. Gina felt safe there as a child– because everywhere she went, people were looking after her. She talked about going to the YMCA and the library as a teenager– and feeling like the librarian and youth workers really cared about her.

For Dr. Gina, it was devastating to turn on the news this spring and see a woman she grew up with crying about the death of her 27-year old son due to gun violence. This tragic death helped inspire and motivate our community leaders to convene this forum. 

A focus of the keynote was how safety resources are distributed inequitably between San Francisco’s neighborhoods.  “We hear sirens all night long in Tenderloin, but we don’t hear sirens in Pacific Heights,” Dr. Gina pointed out. “There are some neighborhoods where the mom peeks out the door in the morning before taking the children out, just to make sure there’s no dead body on the ground when they walk out the door. It’s not new, we’re just tired of it. And now you’re going to listen to us!”

gina sanctuary

After Dr. Gina’s opening remarks, we had an inspirational panel featuring Ziggy Brown from the youth group United Playaz, Rev. Stephanie Burch from the St Andrews Missionary Baptist Church, Richard Beal from the Tenderloin Housing Clinic, Shavonne Allen from Skywatchers, and GLIDE’s very own Freddy Martin. The panel was moderated by Tinisch Hollins, the Executive Director of Californians for Safety and Justice. 

To Increase Safety, Increase Opportunities to Build Relationships

Tinisch Hollins opened with a reminder, “If things get better in the Tenderloin, they get better in San Francisco. When we improve conditions for our people, it benefits everybody. That’s the message we bring to City Hall every day.” 

Ziggy Brown, our high-school age panelist, spoke to the experience of growing up in unsafe parts of San Francisco. “It was a struggle seeing people collapse, always seeing the ambulance. But this is a very big deal for us [marginalized community] as a community: getting invited to GLIDE so we can get our ideas out, and talk about what we need to better ourselves and our future.”  

Reverend Stephanie Burch talked movingly about her experience losing two of her sons to violence, and spoke strongly about the need to “take back,” the TL and recreate it as a place of safety. “People are scared to come to the Tenderloin looking nice,” she observed. “Well, I like to look nice for work. We need to take our joy back, take our strength back. I’m hoping that together, we can all decide we want our streets back.” 

Richard Beal observed that public safety absolutely begins with relationships and community. He urged the audience, “As you walk through the neighborhood, grab someone and find out where they work, what they do. It’s all about showing people you care about them.” 

Freddy Martin doubled down on that point, saying, “Whether someone is a victim or a perpetrator, when you understand who they truly are, you will see them differently. We’ve got to talk openly about these things, because otherwise how will we find the solution?” 

The audience applauded when they heard, “We need to go to the mayor and tell him what it’s really like in our neighborhoods. You don’t know what it’s like if you’re just sitting in your office, going from BART to your office and your office to BART.”  

The panelists agreed strongly with Dr. Gina’s keynote when it came to the importance of giving youth places where they felt safe–  places to better themselves and do supervised activities. Shavonne Allen observed, “Youth want to be a part of things. They have things to say, and a vision of the society and the world they want to live in. We really need to listen. Be the auntie, be the uncle, invite them someplace, take them to lunch. Some are just missing that support system–  so listening to their story can be a really big deal.” 

The panelists also discussed the stress of navigating unsafe and unclean streets, the negative consequences of Prop 36, and the systemic forces which push the city’s problems into the Tenderloin.  Freddy Martin received applause when he declared, “The money and funds taken out of the community historically need to be reinvested in the community.” He suggested it should be a requirement that city leaders visit different neighborhoods in the city to listen and learn on a monthly basis.

Developing Policy Recommendations on Drug-Related Crime, Public Safety, and Access to Treatment

Afternoon breakout groups were on reducing drug-related crime, enhancing public safety, and expanding access to treatment. The goal of the break-out sessions was to develop policy recommendations to bring to city leaders.

  1. Breakout group #1 Behavioral Health Crisis Response was led by the Department of Public Health, Equity Office did a deep dive into how to get people treatment resources without exposing them to stigma. 
  2. Breakout Group #2 Public Safety Resources was led by GLIDE’s community safety team pointed out the importance of giving people safety options, in order to break out of the cycle of “one size fits none,” policies. 
  3. Breakout Group #3 Youth Engagement and Awareness was led by Ziggy Brown from the United Playaz which surfaced insights like, “Sometimes our youth just need someone to bring out the best in them– someone who can relate to them,” an observation made by a youth named Damien. 

Thank you to San Francisco’s Public Defender Manohar Raju for turning out to the event, and lending a listening ear to our community! We look forward to presenting city leaders with our policy recommendations.

gina and raju
sja graduates

The graduation ceremony for GLIDE’s Social Justice Academy on June 26th was both triumphant and bittersweet. Triumphant, because of all the truly remarkable things our cohort accomplished– and bittersweet because the funding for our Social Justice Academy was cut by the city, and there will not be another cohort unless we find a way to renew funding.

The Freedom Hall was packed for the graduation ceremonies, and every person who attended could receive a copy of the group’s final project: a report for the city on what was missing from the city’s current response to substance use– and how to address the gaps, based on the lived experience of substance users. 

The graduation was a joyous occasion, full of poetry, song, and poignant storytelling.

Here is how the conclusion of the graduate’s report on substance use reads: 

***

Substance use services in San Francisco are doing critical work—helping people stay alive and supporting them on their individual paths to recovery. However, the current system does not have the capacity to meet the scale of need. Awareness of existing services is inconsistent, and many people face confusion, stigma, and logistical barriers when trying to access support.

One of the most significant systemic challenges is the lack of deeply affordable housing. Widespread housing instability undermines recovery efforts and makes it harder for people to engage with available services. To address these issues, several promising strategies have been proposed. These include:

  • Wellness hubs to centralize and simplify access to currently fragmented services;
  • Peer-led advisory councils to ensure that people with lived experience have real power in shaping
  • programs and holding systems accountable;
  • Expansion of cultural competency and anti-discrimination training to improve the quality and equity of care.
  • Increasing the visibility and availability of support groups.
  • Education about life-saving treatment options and clearer processes for accessing them.
  • Emphasizing the importance of preventative care.

With bold, coordinated action and a commitment to centering the voices of those most affected, San Francisco has the opportunity to create a more compassionate, effective, and inclusive system of care.

***

To reach these conclusions, our Social Justice Academy graduate surveyed community members who currently or formerly had engaged with city services for substance users, 53 people in all. The graduates also brought extensive lived experience of their own to the table.

GLIDE is grieved by the decision to cut Social Justice Academy funding, but we hope that city leaders take advantage of their past investment in our academy, by heeding this research and these policy recommendations. We wish our graduates luck in their future social justice endeavors!

CSJ Protest poverty tows
Rally with RV Residents – GLIDE's Advocacy Manager, Erick Arguello, on the far right

GLIDE and the End Poverty Tows Coalition (EPT) have been working with RV and vehicle residents for years to advocate for solutions like safe parking sites and housing. GLIDE believes that the most effective and compassionate approach is to support people living in vehicles to access the resources that they need to thrive, including housing and services. Restrictions that increase the likelihood that a vehicle is towed can cause deep crisis and instability for a household – ultimately resulting in street homelessness for many. 

In June, the City of San Francisco introduced legislation for a citywide, 24/7, two-hour limit on RV parking. This approach is being paired with a permit program and limited access to housing, but it will likely result in many RVs being towed. This means that many families and individuals will lose their home, their only means of transportation, and all their belongings. 

On June 17, the MTA Board voted to establish a permit program for large vehicles that will protect some vehicles for up to a year from the 2-hour parking restrictions

eleana binder poverty tows speaking to board of supervisors GLIDE’s Public Policy Director, Eleana Binder, giving public comment at the Board of Supervisors Budget & Finance Committee hearing on this legislation.

On July 22, the Board of Supervisors passed the two-hour parking restrictions. GLIDE and EPT were able to pass some amendments to improve the permit program and increase protections, although the restrictions remained intact and will be very harmful as there is not enough housing to house all RV residents.  

GLIDE’s Center for Social Justice spoke with the media (KQED, the SF Examiner, and Univision) to raise awareness and worked directly with RV residents so that their concerns could be heard. We supported public comment at Board hearings and organized meetings with SFMTA Directors, Supervisors, and the Mayor’s Office. We continue to advocate against parking restrictions and for more access to housing and greater protections in the permit program.  

GLIDE is concerned about the lack of adequate affordable housing available to meet the needs of all the people in San Francisco experiencing homelessness, including the hundreds of households in RVs. The permit program is only designed to protect people from parking restrictions for 6 – 12 months. The City counted 437 occupied large vehicles in May 2025. This means that either all these households must be able to access housing or non-congregate shelter within a year, or many of them could be towed.  

We are also concerned about households not being able to access permits or losing permits over rule violations, which means they would be towed. Even with permits, RVs can still be towed over common issues like expired registration, a practice that targets poor people who cannot afford to renew their registration. We are advocating for people with permits not to be towed for expired registration

Eleana Binder
Director of Public Policy
GLIDE Center for Social Justice

We’ve all been studying the deeper implication of the passing of the Big Ugly Bill, but here’s what everyone needs to understand: the promise of the American dream– the promise that any person can keep their family housed, fed and safe– has been broken. It has been broken so deeply, we’ll need to spend decades picking up the pieces. 

The Americans with the heaviest burdens will be hit the hardest: immigrants, children, working parents, and especially BIPOC. As a Black American, my people’s history of determination and resilience helps me face these dark times with hope.  After all, this won’t be the first time our people have seen America break its promises. We were promised freedom– we fought to get it. We were promised the vote– we fought to get it. We were promised reparations– those still haven’t arrived yet.  As a people, we are veterans of the American nightmare. 

And that is why we refuse to give up on the American dream! People always ask me, “Dr. Gina, where do you get your energy? How do you always stay so positive?” The answer is simple: I belong to a people that will never stop fighting for safety, love, and liberation.  I believe in my people’s ability to lead community through crisis. Beloved Community is the foundation of GLIDE, where as President and CEO I lead with radical inclusion and unconditional love. 

Now that the federal budget has passed, Beloved Community is all we have to ensure our collective survival.  It’s almost impossible to exaggerate the extent to which our social safety net has been devastated. Over a trillion dollars have been cut from Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act: that’s 17 million people losing their insurance. Not only will cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) reduce food for more than 40 million people, but they are imposing work requirements to access food stamps which are impossible for many family caregivers– and about 3.2 million people will lose their food stamps entirely. 

We asked hard-working parents whose children attend GLIDE’s Family, Youth and Childcare Center what they thought of the new budget. Mindful of the possibility of retaliation for immigrant families that practice political speech, our staff insisted on the protection of anonymity for parents giving quotes. More than one parent observed, “Mothers are going to be hurt by [work requirements for SNAP] the worst because there are times when they really cannot work.” 

The cuts to Medicaid worried them deeply. One said, “This will be very hard for my family, because I will have to wait to take the children to the doctor until it is serious, due to lack of coverage. When I took my 12 month old to the doctor, I got a bill for $8000 and at first I was so worried– but I was able to pay just $2000 because of Medicaid.” How will this parent make it without Medicaid? Another said, “I have a child with special needs who needs a lot of surgeries. I can’t afford that myself.”  

A budget is a statement of values. What the latest budget says about American values is not looking good. We are divesting from peace to invest in war. We are transferring wealth from the poorest to the richest, which hurts all of us. We are divesting from inclusion so we can invest in excluding, deporting, and policing innocent people.

The new budget invests $170 billion more dollars in ICE– terrified immigrant families will live in daily fear of government kidnappings. We are divesting from helping people so we can invest more money in harming people! This is wrong: and people will die for these decisions. 

We can’t let this stand. We’ve got to show up and show out. In March, I called on city leaders to put in place an Emergency Food Plan for when SNAP is cut. But now I see the reality: when federal budgets shrink, state and city budgets strain frantically just trying to cover the gaps.  And that means nonprofits– including GLIDE– struggle with layoffs, cuts, and lost government funding even as demand for our meals and services skyrockets.

As I write this, our whole community is mourning the loss of our Social Justice Academy.  This academy was a city-funded program that trained members of marginalized groups to be leaders and advocates. A city suffering under the weight of federal cuts trimmed it out of existence. 

But I don’t think listening to voices from the margins is optional. Funded or not, we need leadership from the margins. It’s the people in the margins who understand the problems the most deeply. That gives them the vision to see the solutions. As someone who relied on nonprofits when I lived in poverty, I know: nonprofits are the safety net of last resort. So, nonprofits have to get loud. We have to demand resources for our people.  Love must be our agenda. 

All of you: remember the nonprofits. Remember you are not powerless. Direct your time, talent, and treasure towards the issues that you care about. For every attack on abortion rights, trans rights, food security, and health access, there are hundreds– thousands– of passionate people fighting for those causes. All you need to do is help them. 

Can we rely on the people and the nonprofits of this city to keep the promises our government has broken? I think so: I believe in the people of this city.  The dream of San Francisco has always been that no matter where you come from, no matter who you love, no matter what you’ve been through — you matter here. You are welcome here. Together, we will keep that dream alive.

GLIDE will never stop feeding, healing, and loving.  At GLIDE you can practically feel the spirits of all the ancestors who fought tirelessly here for civil rights.  Come volunteer at GLIDE and see where I get my energy.  I will NEVER give up on creating an America that invests in spreading peace, welcoming immigrants, and caring for its most vulnerable people.

Stand with me!

 Dr. Gina Fromer, President and CEO of Glide Foundation

glide pride gmc 2025

The Pride Parade this year was GLIDE’s time to shine!

GLIDE proudly took center stage at the 2025 San Francisco Pride Parade, showcasing its enduring commitment to LGBTQ justice, radical inclusivity, and joyful resistance.

The day began with plenty of GLIDE Pride (and coffee!) at the 50th Anniversary Pride Breakfast, hosted by the Alice B. Toklas LGBTQ Democratic Club—the nation’s oldest queer Democratic club. Dedicated to building queer political power, the Club works to resist divisiveness and defend LGBTQ+ rights and representation across California and the country.

The event featured stirring remarks from San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie, State Senator Scott Wiener, and keynote speaker Representative Sarah McBride—Delaware’s U.S. House member and the first openly transgender person elected to Congress. The message rang out loud and clear: the fight for LGBTQ equality is far from over, and the work continues until everyone shares equal rights—to safety, health, happiness, and the freedom to love.

A Celebration Like No Other

GLIDE was honored with the 12th position in the Pride Parade line-up, right across from the Mayor’s float. As we gathered, Mayor Lurie addressed the crowd with a hopeful message. Then it was time for CHURCH ON THE STREET—GLIDE’s unique spiritual celebration, bursting with music, movement, and love.

The GLIDE Ensemble, dressed in dazzling rainbow attire and led by Zoë Ellis, lifted spirits with rousing gospel melodies. Minister Marvin K. White delivered a passionate street sermon that rose above the music and noise, while our AV team livestreamed the experience to our wider community watching from home. You can catch a recording of the full Celebration on the Street here.

Dancers from Glide Memorial Church whirled through the parade route alongside our dignitary cars, sound truck, and massive double-decker bus draped in rainbow balloons shaped like fireworks. In one dignitary car, GLIDE board member Andrea Henson sat regally beside Minister Marvin, wearing an elaborate wig and a T-shirt that read: “America doesn’t need a king, only queens.”

GLIDE President & CEO Dr. Gina Fromer added rainbow gauze, glitter, and a parasol to her signature elegant style, while Minister Marvin’s black ensemble was emblazoned with shimmering letters: “I ❤️ Jesus.” As GLIDE passed the MC booth, the announcer declared Minister Marvin, “the sexiest pastor around!”

Watch our full parade video below, featuring Minister Marvin’s powerful voiceover message about joy, dignity, and radical love.

Joy as Resistance

Pride 2025 unfolded during a time of unprecedented attacks on LGBTQ+ freedoms, yet the celebration was as defiant, dazzling, and deeply joyful as ever. Nothing can quench our spirit. Nothing can silence our celebration. At GLIDE, joy is resistance—and we will never stop showing up.

capital hill

The Big Ugly Bill Has Passed.

Statement by Dr. Gina Fromer, President & CEO

Millions of Americans are going to be left fearing for their families, worrying about food, healthcare, and safety,  as a result of the Big Ugly Bill. 

As President & CEO of GLIDE, this makes me want to scream! This bill is an assault on poor people and shamelessly un-American. It reinforces my long-held belief that our strength is measured by how we care for those who are most in need.

We won’t stop advocating for those who are most in need– we’ll just need to advocate harder. And to do that, we’ll need your help. Will you sign up to be one of our Social Justice Warriors? You’ll get emails about participating in protests, phone banks, letters, public meetings, and all the other ways GLIDE’s Center for Social Justice works to influence our lawmakers– we’d love to have your help.

Join Our Social Justice Warriors Today 

In case you’re wondering how serious this situation is right now, here are some numbers– which speak for themselves. According to the Budget Lab at Yale, the poor get poorer and the rich get richer because of this ugly bill: 

  • Robbing the poor to give to the rich: The bottom 40% of income earners in this country will see their after-tax income fall– while the top 0.1% gain an extra $118,000/year. At GLIDE, clients who have a job make an average of about $17,000/year and the median income across all clients at GLIDE (employed or not) is less than $7,000/year. This means GLIDE clients will disproportionately suffer because of this bill.
  • 17 million people are likely to  lose access to their health insurance.
  • 3.2 million people face losing their SNAP/food stamp benefits, and all 40 million who use food assistance will likely face some kind of reduction.

This bill highlights the troubling consequences of historical income inequality and an increasingly fragile safety net. As the City and State brace for dramatic cuts to healthcare and food security, at  GLIDE we will feel it right away. These statistics translate into life-threatening consequences for real people, resulting in longer lines for free meals and increased pressure on our already strained rental assistance budget.

A budget is a statement of values. This bill reveals a disturbing set of values that treats poor people as collateral damage for the political gain of the powerful. We will not stand for this at GLIDE. We will get louder in the face of this oppression and we will keep fighting back.

We need you in  this struggle. The time for strength, solidarity, and unconditional love is now!  Will you join us?

Dr. Gina Fromer
President & CEO, GLIDE

taylor daniel outside hub dependency fentanyl

Meet GLIDE client and Long Beach native 
Taylor Daniel Klahn, age 42
In his own words 

“It was March 2023, and I came to GLIDE to get tested for Hepatitis C and when I came up here, I ended up meeting a dude named Mel. We hit it off right away. You know I came in, and I immediately reacted to all of his body tattoos, like what I have. We started talking about music and such things. And he tested me for Hep C.  

We ended up talking at length about so many things, and I ended up staying at the Health Hub for like four hours. From then on, I would come here daily to talk with Mel, but while I was talking to him, I got really close with everybody else who came to the Health Hub. It felt like people actually cared and it was cool to go to a place where people ask you how your day is and they genuinely cared about you and it was like one of the only places that I can think of in my life at that time where people actually cared how my life was going.  

From then on, I really looked forward to coming here. I hated the weekends because the Hub was closed. I kept asking myself, “What am I going to do?”  l would literally countdown the minutes on Sunday before Monday saying to myself, “Yes, I can’t wait to go back to GLIDE.”  

Anyway, after I got my Hep C cured, I volunteered with Syringe Access and Supplies (SAS) as part of the Community Navigator Program through End Hep C SF/DPH. I would go and pass out overdose prevention supplies and be a source for health and resource education to the people in the TL.  

At that point in my life, I felt like I really needed a purpose. I needed something to do, and GLIDE was able to facilitate something for myself to feel like I was not only part of the community, but I could also be myself again.  

You know, after I met Mel, I have a job now and I’m clean. I’ve been off fentanyl and feel like I’m leading such a better life than I was before. The Hub has helped me out enormously.  

I’m originally from Long Beach. I came to San Francisco originally during the Occupy San Francisco protests. I’ve stayed ever since. I love it here.  

GLIDE’s Health Hub comes to Taylor’s rescue 

Fentanyl has ravaged San Francisco. No two ways about it. I’ve seen so many people die from it. I watched 4 people die from Fentanyl addiction while I gave them CPR, waiting for the ambulance to arrive. This is so far from normal.  

Fentanyl was one of the hardest things for me to overcome in my life. But I had so much support here at GLIDE to get off it. I was offered rides for medical appointments, and you need that kind of level of support when you are going through addiction. But for me, it was almost akin to having an epiphany. I was watching 50- and 60-year-old fentanyl addicts on the streets shooting up, and I finally said to myself, “I can’t end up like this. I’ve got to get off this shit.”  

I came to the Health Hub and the staff got me on methadone. And now, I can honestly say I’m leading such a better life than I was before. I’m working at the Pit Stop now and I’m happy.  

And really, I owe so much to GLIDE for helping me get my life back. I recommend GLIDE to anyone who is seeking help, whether it’s for housing or for your health, in general. And even if GLIDE can’t help you directly, they can refer you to the right folks who can help you.” 

Minister Marvin group honor supervisors 2025 june bilal mahmood

This week saw the city of San Francisco honor Glide Memorial Church’s Minister of Celebration Marvin K. White. As a Black gay man and minister, he brings a rare and powerful voice to the Tenderloin—one rooted in compassion, justice, and unwavering faith. We have reprinted Supervisor Bilal Mahmood’s words for you to read and appreciate. 

Colleagues, today I have the profound honor of recognizing a visionary artist, spiritual leader, and truth-teller whose work has reshaped how we understand faith, justice, and joy in San Francisco.

We are here to celebrate Minister Marvin K. White, the Minister of Celebration at GLIDE Memorial Church, whose ministry is as rooted in poetry as it is in prophetic power, and whose leadership speaks not just to the soul of a congregation, but to the soul of a city.

He is a public theologian, a preacher, and a poet who brings people together across perceived boundaries of race, sexuality, gender, faith, and identity and invites us into a more loving, liberated, and unified future.

First Time Learning About His Work

When I first asked around about Minister Marvin, I expected to hear about his work at GLIDE, his sermons, or his art. And I did. But what I heard most clearly, over and over again, was how he makes people feel.

People said:

“He gives me permission to feel joy again.”

“He helps us grieve honestly and celebrate fiercely.”

“He reminds us that God is not done with us yet.”

Whether on stage, behind a pulpit, or holding space for healing, Minister Marvin brings people into a deeper relationship — with themselves, with one another, and with a higher calling toward justice.

Background and Artistic Legacy

Minister Marvin earned his Master of Divinity from the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, and he has never stopped creating. He is the author of four books of poetry, including Our Name Be Witness, Status, and two Lambda Literary Award-nominated collections: Last Rights and Nothin’ Ugly Fly.

His words have been performed on stages across the country and adapted for screen and he himself toured nationally and internationally as a member of the groundbreaking performance collective PomoAfroHomos, one of the earliest groups centering queer Black narratives on stage.

He has led writing workshops in classrooms, prisons, and churches. He is a Cave Canem fellow, and he helped found two vital spaces for queer and BIPOC writers: Fire & Ink and B/GLAM. In 2019, he was named one of the “YBCA 100” for his cultural and community impact.

But his artistry is not separate from his ministry. At GLIDE, and throughout his life, he has used storytelling as salvation, and imagination as resistance.

Spiritual Leadership and Community Healing

When Reverend Cecil Williams selected Minister Marvin to serve GLIDE, he didn’t just choose a successor, he chose a path forward.

Minister Marvin leads with celebration, but he is not afraid of grief. He leads with laughter, but he does not ignore pain. And above all, he leads with love- radical, inclusive, embodied love.

In a world where so many queer and trans people have been told that faith does not belong to them, Minister Marvin has rewritten the script. He has reminded us that the divine can be found in a poem, in a protest, and in each other.

His leadership during Pride Month and Juneteenth is not incidental. it is essential. He shows us what liberation can look like when rooted in history, acceptance, and a look forward.

Legacy and Living Ministry

Minister Marvin is what we in District 5 call a light. Not a spotlight, but a lantern, something you can carry with you, something that helps you see more clearly, something that calls you home.

He is part of a lineage of Black queer faith leaders who have redefined what the church can be, not just a sanctuary, but a stage, a school, a site of resistance.

He is not only building a spiritual legacy. He is building space for healing, for art, for presence, and for endless possibility.

Commendation

So colleagues, please join me in recognizing Minister Marvin K. White, for his visionary leadership, his unapologetic joy, his enduring ministry, and his ability to see holiness in places the world too often overlooks.

Minister Marvin, thank you for showing us that celebration can be sacred, that poetry can be prophetic, and that community can be church.

On behalf of the people of District 5 and the City and County of San Francisco, we are proud to honor you today.

Juneteenth parade 2025

We kicked off this year’s San Francisco Juneteenth Parade right at Spear and Market streets. The beat of music filled the air, a parade of sounds that celebrated Black joy in every note. Classic muscle cars rolled by, polished and gleaming under the morning sun, as families lined the sidewalks smiling and dancing.

As we made our way down Market Street toward Civic Center, the energy grew. Block parties sprang up along the route, full of children laughing, people lined up dancing, games being played, and live performances echoing the spirit of freedom. Every part of the celebration carried the weight of history and the lightness of joy.

juneteenth 2025 parade

We are proud to be in the heart of it all. Our President and CEO Dr. Gina Fromer rode with Supervisor Bilal Mahmood, standing side by side with us as we celebrated the legacy of Juneteenth.

At one point during the parade, Dr. Fromer was praised over the loudspeaker for her leadership in San Francisco and for guiding GLIDE into its future. Hearing the crowd cheer as her name was called reminded us how deeply this city values the work happening at GLIDE and the people who lead it.

This day marks the moment in 1865 when enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, learned they were free, years after the Emancipation Proclamation had been signed. Being part of this parade means something real for us at GLIDE. It is not just a moment to celebrate, but a reminder of the work we do every day. We stand with our community as we push for justice, dignity, and true liberation for all. This is not just history. It is now.

As we celebrate, we also continue to charge ahead. Liberation is not a day, it’s a movement, and we invite everyone to stand with us as we keep pushing forward.