Equality Federation won’t stop until all LGBTQ+ people are fully empowered and represented in their communities, experiencing full equality in their lives.
Our third FEDtalk given at the Summer Meeting 2013 is from Vinita Chaudhry, Intern at Empire State Pride Agenda.
Our second FEDtalk given at the Summer Meeting 2013 is from Ryan Wilson, Executive Director of South Carolina Equality.
Each year our Annual Summer Meeting brings LGBT leaders from across the nation together to share ideas and forge connections. But at this year’s Meeting, we introduced a new session that quickly became a breakout star of the conference: FEDtalks.
In much of the United States, it’s hot, humid, and sticky. Back-to-school ads are starting to show up on TV. And every time you send an email, you're greeted with an out-of-office reply about someone's last-ditch-effort summer vacation.
State-based organizations across the country are making change in the communities we call home -- where the work is hard, but the impact is great. Nearly every week, we hear about another victory that provides LGBT people with the protection, respect, and dignity they need and deserve, but far too often, these wins go unsung by the broader LGBT movement.
It is an exciting week for the team at the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition (MTPC) as they welcome their new Executive Director, Mason Dunn. We were able to catch up with Mason to learn more about his experience and his hopes for his new position at MTPC.
One in five Americans is financially “insecure,” meaning they recently experienced a significant loss in income without an adequate financial cushion. Because of outdated and discriminatory laws, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people face even greater economic insecurity than their non-LGBT counterparts simply because of who they are and whom they love.
In the wake of the Supreme Court’s historic decision in Windsor v. United States last June, we have seen over 10 states win the freedom to marry for same-sex couples. We have witnessed 40 wins, and two losses, for the freedom to marry, and with 81 cases pending in 32 states, the time is right for the Supreme Court to consider one or more of the federal marriage equality cases.
At the end of 2013, New Jersey became the 14th state to extend the freedom to marry to same-sex couples. This historic victory was the result of the hard work of many LGBT activists and organizations, including Federation member Garden State Equality.
We’re in the midst of a unique moment in the movement for equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. As marriage wins continue in the courts, and national attention shifts to work in places where LGBT people aren’t protected from discrimination — strong leadership in the states is more important than ever.
At this year’s Summer Meeting, we invited state leaders to take five minutes to share a big idea, talk through an innovative strategy, or offer up an exciting concept in a FEDtalk. These energetic and captivating presentations about the most innovative parts of our members’ work stood out, once again, as a major highlight of Summer Meeting. So we wanted to share them with everyone, not just the folks who joined us at this year’s meeting.
Over the past few months, many of our members have expressed interest in learning more about the Voter Activation Network (VAN).The VAN is a voter database containing information on voters for the purpose of assisting your get out the vote (GOTV) efforts and other areas of your campaigns.
With your support, we'll be able to continue our work to build the leaders of today and tomorrow, strengthen state-based LGBTQ+ organizations, and make critical progress on the issues that matter most—like protecting transgender people, ending HIV criminalization and ensuring access to care, and banning conversion therapy across the country.