Iranians Mark Milestone with Pride Event Co-Hosted by Center for Iranian Diaspora Studies

Thursday, June 18, 2020
Photo of group dance performance with audience watching on mezzanine from above
Hushidar Mortezai (left) orchestrated a multicultural, LGBTQ-focused vogue performance in 2019 reflecting pre-1979 Iranian Revolution imagery. Photo courtesy of the Center for Iranian Diaspora Studies.

SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER -- The reading hosted by San Francisco State University’s Center for Iranian Diaspora Studies and Diaspora Arts Connection will be followed by a dance-focused component on June 25. The center’s chair, Persis Karim, will moderate a conversation with designer Hushidar Mortezaie and choreographer Shireen Rahimi before a joint performance.

Echoing the same phrasing as the event, Iranian-born Supervisor Ahsha Safaí issued a proclamation on Monday that designated June 2020 as “Out in the Iranian Diaspora” month in San Francisco.

“[The event] signals that we don’t really have to spend all that energy pretending it doesn’t exist,” Karim said. “Maybe that’s the case in Iran, but it’s not the case here. For some people, it’s more a secondary part of their community because they’re immigrants first, Iranians first. There’s now a more critical mass of people who claim they’re LGBTQIA.”

Feed