Equality Federation won’t stop until all LGBTQ+ people are fully empowered and represented in their communities, experiencing full equality in their lives.
About a year ago, as I was starting my new job as Director of Communications at Equality Federation, I realized I had a unique opportunity to achieve a personal goal: to build up the communications expertise of the state-based movement.
Nothing is as inspiring as a gathering of grassroots activists to remind you of the power of communities organizing for change.
Every student should be able to go to school each day in a safe and supportive environment where they are able to learn and excel without fear of being bullied. In 2010, Massachusetts passed a landmark anti-bullying law to ensure safety for students.
Recently, several of our member organizations welcomed new leadership to their teams. These incredible leaders will help to expand our movement in bigger and brighter ways across the country. Let’s congratulate our member organizations and welcome these new leaders!
At Equality Federation, we know how tough it can be to work in the South. That's why, for years, we've been facilitating, supporting, and growing partnerships and collaborations across the region that strengthen our state groups and accelerate the progress we've been making.
It’s almost here. Equality Federation Institute Summer Meeting 2014: the premier gathering of LGBT movement leaders. This is your chance to connect with 150 of your friends and colleagues -- staff and board members of state-based groups, national advocates, funders, and some of the most strategic minds in the movement.
Equality Federation is concerned Indiana’s Senate Bill 100, introduced by Senate Republicans, would not cover many Hoosiers from discrimination. While the authors are framing the bill as nondiscrimination legislation, it includes broad exemptions allowing discrimination by a host of organizations and businesses.
The National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund has released The Voting Rights Toolkit for LGBTQ Advocates ahead of upcoming November and presidential primary elections. The new toolkit, which contains information as diverse as voter assistance guides to an overview of restrictive voting practices, is available online at: http://thetaskforceactionfund.org/vra/
MTV’s True Life: I’m Genderqueer premiers tonight and features Jacob Tobias, who spoke at Equality Federation’s Summer Meeting this July, and other young leaders who are bravely sharing their stories.
We applaud President Obama for his support of the Equality Act, an important piece of legislation that would help ensure all Americans, including LGBTQ people and their families, are fully and clearly protected from discrimination. The announcement builds upon seven years of this administration’s support. They have extended hospital visitation to LGBTQ families, ended discrimination among federal employees and contractors, supported marriage equality, opposed conversion therapy, and so much more.
Strong and sustained leadership is an important part of building strong and effective state groups with the capacity to fend off the opposition and secure important wins for the LGBT community. We know that in the past year, states were able to withstand and defeat more than 100 anti-LGBT legislative attacks thanks to incredible state-based movement leaders.
Salt Lake City voters elected Jackie Biskupski as Utah’s first openly gay mayor and only the second female top executive in the capital city, according to the unofficial election-night count. Those vote tallies had Biskupski with 52.19 percent to two-term Mayor Ralph Becker’s 47.81 percent — less than a 5 percentage-point spread.
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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.
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