May 20 Marks Long Beach 4th Annual Dyke March

On Friday evening, May 20, Long Beach women will take to the streets in�Long Beach's 4th Annual Rally and Dyke March. The Dyke March and Rally are free events at Bixby Park. An After Party will be held at Doll Parts at Paradise Bar.
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The goal of a Dyke March is to increase lesbian visibility and support the rights of all women regardless of labels, including bisexual and transgender women.�Disparities in health care, equal pay, LGBT rights, domestic violence and hiring opportunities are some of the issues that are still real for us.
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In 2013, some community members put their heads together and decided it was time for Long Beach to have a Dyke March, as well. The brainchild of Artful Thinking Organization (ATO) a local non-profit, the first Long Beach Dyke March took place in 2013 with Marriage Equality activist Robin Tyler leading the March and over 400 attendees.
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The Rally speakers include Denise Penn, Mayor Robert Garcia, Dr. Vivian Price, Jenny Pizer, Lynn Ballen, Kitty Tsui and begins at 7: p.m.
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This year marks the inauguration of the Jeanne C�rdova awards.

"Jeanne was an American pioneer�lesbian and gay rights�activist, a founder of the West Coast LGBTQ movement, and a journalist and Lammy-award winning�author for her memoir�When We Were Outlaws: a Memoir of Love and Revolution," said organizers. C�rdova died of metastatic colon cancer on January 10, 2016, at the age of 67.
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The inaugural honorees are Jennifer Abod, Angela Bowen, Patty Moore and Jean Shapen.�These four Long Beach women have done much to shape the world around them for women and lesbians everywhere.

The Rally is opened by BEARCOON�at 6:30 p.m.� Don't miss this great band that "captives indie folk in Southern soul."

After the Rally and March is�The After Party starting at 8 p.m.��It's a breast cancer benefit with all the proceeds going to the�Los Angeles Pink Dragons. The Pink Dragons out of Naples are breast cancer survivors and a�diverse group of women who have come together to support one another in the pursuit of health through dragon boat racing.
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The After Party will rock with the�Doll Parts at Paradise Bar, 1800 E. Broadway.�The Doll Parts "bring the '90s back from the dead with an un-tethered stage show and the pumping fierceness of Dolls Gone Wild."� There is no cover.