Pride month may be over, but that doesn't mean support for the community isn't still needed.
Here’s a list of a few resources you can use to help the LGBTQ+ community this month and for as long as it takes to rid the world of bigotry.
The Pride Foundation
The Equality Federation
Trans Veterans
The LGBT Aging Center
If you know of other trusted groups, please feel free to leave recommendations in the comments section. :)
Lots of love and well wishes to you all.
❤️ 🧡 💛 💚 💙 💜
A huge shout out to my wonderful crew Abie Eke, Calla Parmly, Dawn Vice, Josephine Chang, Lexi the First, Rae, Taze Campbell, and Xero Nazarova, for being such amazing Pride Knights! ❤️
Executive Director of Equality Federation, Rebecca Isaacs is spot on as she breaks down the #SchoolToPrisonPipeline in this article: "There are concrete steps we can take right now to support our youth." #SchoolsNotPrisons http://huff.to/2ihg3dM
I am proud to announce that Equality Federation's staff and board, several of whom identify as queer, have decided to add the letter Q to our mission and begin using the full acronym LGBTQ. To some this decision may seem like we are late to the party andto others it may be a challenge. I remember when the word queer was near ubiquitously used as an anti-gay epithet outside of "queer theory" courses in libera larts schools. Through a process of reclaiming, the word queer, like many other words,has evolved to represent something more meaningful.
For Equality Federation, adding the Q is about more than a letter. It's about ourvalues. We recognize that a growing number of people in our community identify as queer to best reflect their gender, sexuality, and/or politics. At this turning point,when we are examining and improving upon our commitments to racial, economic, and social justice, we are also doubling down on our commitment to people who identify as queer so that they will be fully embraced and empowered in our organization. Adding the Q goes hand-in-hand with our deeper understanding of intersectionality.
At least eleven of our state-based partners have already added the Q, including Equality New Mexico and Equality Alabama. This is the right decision at the right time. Not long ago the primary definition of the word queer was "deviant from the norm."Sadly, discrimination is still the norm in America. LGBTQ people are not fully protected from discrimination by statewide laws in 31 states. In 2015, we understand there is no such thing as a "normal" person: we are all unique and we should all be celebrated. Our society's rigid gender rules create a dangerous situation for people who do not conform, many of whom identify as genderqueer.
According to the National Transgender Discrimination Survey gender nonconforming/genderqueer people face shockingly high rates of violence and discrimination. This is especially concerning for our youth. Those who expressed a transgender identity or gender non-conformity while in grades K-12 reported high rates of harassment (78 percent), physical assault (35 percent) and sexual violence(12%). We know that for youth of color, anti-LGBTQ discrimination is often compounded with institutional racism. This propels school pushout and the school-to-prison pipeline. Equality Federation recently released a report with GSA Network and Advancement Project encouraging LGBTQ organizations to collaborate to address this crisis.
While discrimination and violence against transgender and gender nonconforming people is alarmingly high, hope looms on the horizon. In the coming months, Equality Federation will be lifting up the Q in LGBTQ in our words, our work, and our annual planning. We encourage individuals and organizations alike to help us create the most inclusive movement possible.
State of LGBT equality in nine Virginia cities detailed in HRC New Municipal Equality Index
State of LGBT equality in nine Virginia cities detailed in HRC New Municipal Equality Index
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization, today released its third annual report assessing lgbt equality in 353 cities across the nation, including nine in Virginia.
The 2014 Municipal Equality Index (MEI), the only nationwide rating system of lgbtinclusion in municipal law and policy, shows that cities across…
deliver programming to support state-based LGBT advocacy organizations. The Director has significant responsibility for building and shaping a unique approach to state-targeted programming within the LGBT civil rights movement across the country. This position reports to the Executive Director. The Director of Member and State Services will be expected to travel approximately 30% of the time. Position location is negotiable...
