#AM_Equality Tipsheet: May 17, 2018
HRC COMMEMORATES INTERNATIONAL DAY AGAINST HOMOPHOBIA, TRANSPHOBIA AND BIPHOBIA: Today, HRC marks the observance of the 2018 International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (IDAHOTB) by spotlighting global challenges to LGBTQ equality and calling out the Trump-Pence Administration for turning a blind eye to the oppression and abuse of LGBTQ people around the globe. “While the global LGBTQ community is filled with innovative advocates advancing equality, the Trump-Pence administration has failed to stand up in support of LGBTQ people around the world — from Chechnya to Egypt and far too many other places,” said Ty Cobb, director of HRC Global. “It is imperative that world leaders commit to stepping up and doing more to protect the human rights of all people.” Read more from HRC in English and Español.
- Today, HRC also launched a new Spanish language video featuring HRC Global Innovator Alba Lucía Reyes, who lost her 16-year-old son to suicide. It highlights challenges faced by LGBTQ people in Latin America and elsewhere.
HRC RELEASES POWERFUL VIDEO FEATURING SURVIVOR OF SO-CALLED “CONVERSION THERAPY”: The video features HRC Youth Ambassador Alex Cooper, who at age 15 was subjected to eight months of cruel efforts to change her sexual orientation. “No child should be subjected to this practice that amounts to nothing less than child abuse,” said Olivia Dalton (@OliviaAlair), HRC Senior Vice President for Communications and Marketing. “We’re thankful for Alex Cooper’s willingness to boldly share her story. It is our hope that this powerful new video will help fuel the momentum we are seeing across the nation as lawmakers on both sides of the aisle work with us to pass legislation protecting LGBTQ youth from this dangerous and discredited practice.” More from HRC.
IN DETROIT, HRC JOINS RUTH ELLIS CENTER TO HIGHLIGHT NEW SURVEY SHOWING URGENT NEED TO SUPPORT LGBTQ YOUTH: HRC President Chad Griffin and advocates at the Ruth Ellis Center, which provides essential services to LGBTQ young people, held a press conference yesterday to review results of HRC Foundation’s groundbreaking 2018 LGBTQ Youth Report, released this week in partnership with the University of Connecticut. More on the report at Teen Vogue and NewNowNext.
.@HRC President @ChadHGriffin was at the Ruth Ellis Center (@REC_Detroit) to discuss the results from our 2018 #LGBTQYouthReport, which surveyed more than 12,000 LGBTQ young people nationwide about their health and well-being. t.co/6KAekNEDDm pic.twitter.com/QN3ReQqJ0l
— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) May 16, 2018
HRC MOURNS NINO FORTSON, TRANSGENDER MAN FATALLY SHOT IN ATLANTA: Fortson, 36,was fatally shot during an argument early Sunday. Community members and allies took to social media to mourn his loss, using the hashtag #JusticeForNino to call out local news for misgendering him. “His name is #Nino,” wrote Emily Nero Madhu on Twitter. “He deserves better than this crappy, misspelled blurb that refuses to acknowledge his beautiful truth. #JusticeForNino #DoBetter”. Read more from HRC.
ANTI-LGBTQ EXTREMISTS TONY PERKINS AND GARY BAUER APPOINTED TO U.S. COMMISSION ON INTERNATIONAL “RELIGIOUS FREEDOM”: Said HRC’s Charlotte Clymer (@cmclymer) about the appointees: “In their America, LGBTQ people would be forced to hide who they are or face criminal sanction, their relationships would be unrecognized, their children could be taken away and LGBTQ youth would face harmful conversion therapy. For decades, these men have led the opposition to equality, and now they couch their anti-LGBTQ policy agenda under the guise of religion.” More from HRC and the Daily Beast.
HRC FOUNDATION KICKS OFF FIVE-COUNTRY TOUR TO ADVANCE LGBTQ WORKPLACE INCLUSION IN LATIN AMERICA: In Colombia yesterday, the HRC Foundation, in partnership with IBM, launched a two-week series of business workshops that will also take them to Chile, Peru, Argentina and Mexico. The forums will bring together hundreds of corporate leaders and civil society stakeholders to bolster greater LGBT inclusion, building off the success of HRC’s in-country programs in Mexico, Equidad MX: Programa Global de Equidad Laboral and Chile, Equidad CL: Programa Global de Equidad Laboral. “As HRC expands its partnerships across the Americas … we will be sharing strategies for best practices and, most importantly, developing actionable steps to create more welcoming and inclusive workplaces for LGBT employees,” said Deena Fidas, HRC Director of HRC Equidad MX and HRC Foundation’s Workplace Equality Program. Read more at HRC in English and Español.
.@HRC is proud to partner with @IBM to launch a two-week, five-country series of business workshops across Latin America to promote #LGBT workplace inclusion. #HRCinLatAm #InclusiveIBM pic.twitter.com/vxSpzPZxqZ
— Human Rights Campaign (@HRC) May 16, 2018
THROWBACK THURSDAY: Today marks the 64th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education decision by the Supreme Court of the United States, which declared racial segregation of schools unconstitutional. HRC is committed to ensuring that all schools provide an inclusive environment where all students feel safe and respected.
Today, we celebrate the 64th anniversary of the #BrownvBoard ruling. A watershed moment in the fight for racial justice, it began the process of ending legalized apartheid in the United States by establishing that the “separate but equal” doctrine was unconstitutional. #Brownat64 pic.twitter.com/E1oOspqWCZ
— Legal Defense Fund (@NAACP_LDF) May 17, 2018
KEO CHAAD O’NEAL BECOMES FIRST OPENLY TRANSGENDER MAN TO GRADUATE FROM SPELMAN COLLEGE: The all-women HBCU in Atlanta announced last fall that it would begin admitting transgender women for the upcoming school year, and O’Neal is the first trans man to graduate from the institution. “Lots of people believed that because I was trans, I didn’t belong at Spelman but there was nowhere else I would rather be,” O’Neal said. “People still have their own opinions of me attending Spelman, but it’s because of Spelman why I am who I am.” Read the full story from The Root, and more from Upworthy.
The first *openly* trans man to graduate from Spelman College����♂️ #7days #TransIsBeautiful pic.twitter.com/ooXxReZ3Ej
— black bandit (@Saint_Keo) May 14, 2018
HRC ENDORSES MINNESOTA’S DAN FEEHAN FOR CONGRESS: “Dan Feehan has spent his career in service to our country. He is a tenacious fighter, who will be a champion for Minnesota’s working families and a strong voice in the effort to move equality forward when elected,” said HRC Senior Vice President for Policy and Political Affairs JoDee Winterhof. Read more from HRC.
AMERICAN MILITARY PARTNER ASSOCIATION HOLDS FIFTH ANNUAL GALA: Check out photos from the event at Advocate.
GLOBAL EQUALITY NEWS
VIOLENT FAR-RIGHT NATIONALISTS ATTACK LGBTQ ACTIVISTS IN UKRAINE, POLICE FAIL TO INTERVENE: The event in Kyiv was cancelled after police refused to intervene when a mob threatened violence against event participants. More from PinkNews.
ACTIVISTS PUSHING AHEAD TO RAISE AWARENESS OF GAY CULTURE IN BOLIVIA: Read more here.
CAMEROON POLICE BRUTALIZE 25 MEN ARRESTED FOR BEING GAY: Undercover police raided a gay bar and charged the men under the country’s anti-gay laws. More from Gay Star News.
MAJOR HIV TESTING DAY IN THE PHILIPPINES TO ADDRESS “NATIONAL EMERGENCY”: The first multi-site, free and confidential HIV testing day in the Philippines will be held on May 26. Read more here.
READING RAINBOW – Bookmark now to read on your lunch break!
92Y announces that Asia Kate Dillon (@AsiaKateDillon) will join in conversation with SiriuxXM’s Zerlina Maxwell on June 6; Caroline Framke (@carolineframke) writes for Vox about the importance of bisexuality as a vital TV storyline — and not as a punchline; NewNowNext reports that Disney is launching a Pride collection ahead of Pride month in June;
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