#AM_Equality Tipsheet: June 21, 2017
HRC CALLS ON TRUMP ADMIN TO WELCOME LGBTQ REFUGEES: HRC joined refugees, faith leaders, legal and security experts and community advocates outside the White House yesterday to honor refugees’ strength and perseverance, speak out against discriminatory policies and call on elected officials to do more in the face of the largest refugee crisis in recorded history. LGBTQ people have long faced serious persecution by governments, paramilitary organizations and their own families in the Middle East, North Africa and, most recently, in the Russian republic of Chechnya. Gay and bisexual men, as well as transgender men and women, have been publicly identified as targets for violence. In these uncertain times, we must do more to protect refugees in the U.S. and around the world. We must speak up and stand up. #RefugeesWelcome #WorldRefugeeDay
On #WorldRefugeeDay, @HRC rallied at the @WhiteHouse – speaking up & standing up against discriminatory policies that harm refugees pic.twitter.com/rxtutVtZmz
— HumanRightsCampaign (@HRC) June 20, 2017
● HRC Global Director Ty Cobb spoke with Martina, a member of the LGBTQ community in Pakistan who fled to the U.S. after she received death threats at home for changing her gender marker on her official documents. Watch here.
● Chutzpah (n): Shameless audacity; impudence. (Orig. Hebrew) As in, “The Trump Administration showed real chutzpah by purporting to support refugees while simultaneously tearing down the very programs that are meant to help them.” Now, read Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s comments on World Refugee Day here.
THE NYTIMES TAKES A DEEPER DIVE INTO EUROPEAN COURT RULING RUSSIA “GAY PROPAGANDA” ANTI-LGBTQ LAW ILLEGAL: Sewell Chan (@sewellchan) reports that “Russia’s prohibition of what it considers the promotion of homosexuality is discriminatory and violates freedom of expression,” adding that the decision by Europe’s top human rights court is a “strong rejection of laws that rights groups say have been routinely used as cover for abuse and violence.” Read the full piece at the New York Times.
● The Daily Beast’s Betsy Woodruff reports today that Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow’s organization supported Vladimir Putin’s dangerous “gay propaganda” ban. Sekulow’s anti-LGBTQ group provided money and support to the suppression effort, which, coupled with legislation that significantly limits foreign funding of non-profit groups, has crippled LGBTQ activists’ efforts, HRC Global Director Ty Cobb tells Woodruff. Read Woodruff’s (@woodruffbets) piece at The Daily Beast.
● A look inside the prison where gay men were tortured in Chechnya, from HBO’s Vice News.
WHAT WE’RE WATCHING WEDNESDAY: Jeffrey Marsh (@TheJeffreyMarsh), a genderfluid social media powerhouse and LGBTQ advocate, gave an inspiring TEDx Talk at Connecticut College recently, sharing the importance of living authentically, practicing self care and working for the world you want to see. Watch here.
THIRTEEN (OF THE MANY) REASONS TRUMP IS BAD FOR THE LGBTQ COMMUNITY: Since the moment he walked into the White House, Donald Trump has attacked the progress made toward full equality for the LGBTQ community, and undermined the rights of countless Americans and members of the global LGBTQ community. Check out “13 Ways Trump’s Been Terrible for LGBTQ People During His First Five Months” at Upworthy.
HRC FOUNDATION HOSTS EDUCATORS FOR LGBTQ-INCLUSIVE CLASSROOM TRAINING: The Welcoming Schools National Facilitator Certification Training this week helps educators create respectful and LGBTQ-supportive elementary schools, prevent bias-based bullying and support transgender and non-binary students. More from HRC.
POWERFUL — WATCH THIS 12-YEAR-OLD COME OUT TO HER MORMON CHURCH: Savannah powerfully spoke her truth to her Mormon congregation in Utah, testifying, “[God] did not mess up when they gave me freckles or when they made me to be gay… I hope some day to go on dates, to go to school dances, to hold hands and to go off to college… I know I can have all of these things as a lesbian and be happy.” More from CNN.
FORMER PRO FOOTBALL PLAYER COMES OUT, REVEALS HE PLANNED TO COMMIT SUICIDE AFTER HIS CAREER: In an interview with Outsports’ Cyd Zeigler (@CydZeigler), Ryan O’Callaghan talks about growing up and hearing the word “fag” in his conservative hometown, using football to hide his identity – including as a tackle for the New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs – and pulling back from the brink of suicide with the help of the Chiefs’ general manager at the time, Scott Pioli. Read the riveting piece at Outsports.
● Gay teen finds acceptance on the football field: Austin Hodges found a family he didn’t expect when he came out to his football team. More from OutSports.
CONFIRMATION OF SERBIA’S FIRST GAY PREMIER THROWN INTO DOUBT: Some Members of Parliament say they will vote against Prime Minister-designate Ana Brnabic due to her sexual orientation. She would be the first gay and female Prime Minister in the country’s history. More from NBC.
USE THIS ON YOUR NEXT TRIP TO NYC: The NYC LGBT Historical Project highlights LGBTQ historical sites throughout the city — from Stonewall to Riis Beach, and throughout the boroughs. More from The New York Times.
READING RAINBOW
The Huffington Post explores the challenges of being an LGBTQ person in the tech industry; BuzzFeed talks to a couple who recreated a photo they took at the 1993 March on Washington while at the 2017 Equality March
We’re not crying. You’re crying. #LoveWins❤️ #LoveIsLove t.co/0gZMR7kCl1
— HumanRightsCampaign (@HRC) June 20, 2017
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Although former the Gossip member Beth Ditto’s Fake Sugar notches up influences that seem to take in everything rock and pop released in the 1970s and 1980s, her first solo album is a true breath of fresh air.
New Zealand’s Lorde aka Ella Yelich-O’Connor took on the persona as the thinking person’s Taylor Swift when her 2013 album Pure Heroine emerged as if from nowhere.
Electro pop duo Cathedrals are back with their latest track “With You.” 
And in a good week for female-fronted electro pop, we finish up with “Leave In Silence” by Greek act Keep Shelly In Athens.
