Equality Federation won’t stop until all LGBTQ+ people are fully empowered and represented in their communities, experiencing full equality in their lives.
Growing up in Alabama, I loved visiting the farm where my dad was raised. We’d ride four wheelers, hunt, fish, and all pitch in during hay season. Well, mostly my cousins and I got in the way. In some ways, I felt at home in the country, as my family called it.
Dear Supporters,In 2018, our 43 state-based member organizations made a lot of headway despite the tough political struggles at the national level. Equality Federation is a strategic partner to our member organizations, making sure that the whole movement for LGBTQ equality and justice is linked, from one end of the country to the other.
Big congrats to Freedom Oklahoma!The organization has recently welcomed their new executive director Allie Shinn.
Today Equality Federation lauded the reintroduction of the Equality Act by Representatives David Cicilline (D-RI) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) in the House and Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) in the Senate. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has made passage a top priority for the new Congress.
Four anti-transgender bills were defeated in South Dakota’s legislature this month! HB1225 and SB 49 would have made it difficult for transgender youth to participate in school sports and programs; HB1108 would have banned discussion about gender identity and expression; and HB1205 would have allowed parents to deny healthcare for transgender children.
Recently, I got to spend the weekend at one of my favorite Equality Federation programs: our New Executive Director Boot Camp. Fran Hutchins, our deputy director, and Diana Gonzalez, our director of leadership programs, joined me for an intensive two days of training with three talented new state leaders: Jamie Foster of Equality Alabama, Kendra Johnson of Equality North Carolina, and Abbi Swatsworth of Out Nebraska.
Equality New Mexico's Board was mostly white, mostly male, and mostly cisgender. With thoughtful consideration, extraordinary dedication, open hearts and a willingness to learn, they switched from a "recruitment model" to an "attraction model." Today, their Board is diverse and dedicated to intersectionality and social justice.
Equality New Mexico wants you to know the truth about Stonewall. Here is the educational flier they collaborated on with Transgender Resource Center of New Mexico, NM GSA Network, SURJ New Mexico, Solace Crisis Treatment Center, Prevention at Play, and some awesome Santa Fe community members.
For many young people, the first education they receive regarding their sexuality and sexual health is in school. It is critical, especially for LGBTQ youth, that this education is comprehensive, and addresses the needs of all young people.
Research shows that students of color and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) students are more likely to be disciplined than their White, non-LGBTQ peers. Students with intersectional identities, such as Black transgender youth or gay undocumented youth, are at even greater risk.
Equality Federation is proud to join Advancement Project and Gay Straight Alliance Network to release Power in Partnerships: Building Connections at the Intersections to End the School-to-Prison Pipeline, a new report intended to serve as a resource for LGBT and racial justice organizations interested in working together to address disparities in school discipline along lines of race, gender and sexual orientation.
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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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