We were honored to host a conversation bridging queer past and present at Manny’s for our Second Annual Aging with Pride on June 25, 2025.
In a time of rising threats to our community, Aging with Pride explored what LGBTQIA+ liberation movements of the past can teach us about finding community, organizing, resilience and resistance in 2025.
Host
J. Andrew
Filmmaker & Advocate
J is the multiple-award-winning filmmaker, and the creative force behind the upcoming feature-length documentary Meet Me at the Club, an LGBTQIA+ historical documentary about the Castro Country Club. In addition to his documentary work, J’s written and directed a number of award-winning short films, including the acclaimed Unbreaking currently making its way through the international film festival circuit, and Here For Now, now streaming.
J also recently partnered with Sister Roma and The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence to create, film and launch the Safety First, Sexy Second public safety campaign.
Featured Guest
Celia Brown
Psychotherapist & Political Activist
Celia is a longtime LGBTQ+ activist, therapist, and educator. She came out in 1969 and has been sober since 1982. With advanced degrees in literature and counseling psychology, she has maintained a private practice since 1986, dedicating a third of her work to LGBTQ+ survivors of hate crimes. A former college English instructor, Celia also served as a behavioral specialist with AIDS Project Los Angeles (now APLA Health) during the height of the epidemic. She was a member of the Gay & Lesbian Sheriffs Conference Committee in West Hollywood, acting as a liaison to the LA Sheriff’s Department, and the only private practitioner in LA’s Hate Crimes Consortium. Today, she continues her commitment to social justice through training with The Ripple Effect Institute.
Watch it
Event Gallery
Photography by Alex Bierwagen
Thank you
This film is not funded by or sponsored by the Castro Country Club. Donations to the film are not tax-deductible and distributed funds do not benefit the CCC. See our FAQs for more answers to your questions.
If you would like to support the Castro Country Club, please visit www.CastroCountryClub.org.