The Human Rights Campaign will honor Dan Levy with the HRC Visibility Award at the organization’s annual Los Angeles Dinner in March.
Levy is best known for his portrayal of David Rose, one of the first openly pansexual characters on TV, on Schitt’s Creek, which he co-created with his father, Eugene Levy.
In addition to acting, Levy serves as a showrunner, executive producer, and writer of the Emmy-nominated comedy series.
Levy was featured on OUT Magazine‘s “Out 100” list, which honors the year’s most impactful and influential LGBTQ people.
In June 2019, he was also honored on Queerty‘s Pride50 list of “trailblazing individuals who actively ensure society remains moving towards equality, acceptance and dignity for all queer people.”
Levy was among several celebrities who offered messages of support for LGBTQ youth as part of a series of GLAAD videos for Spirit Day, which serves to support LGBTQ youth and call for an end to homophobic and transphobic bullying.
“Through his advocacy, his creative leadership, and his hilarious, authentic portrayal as David Rose on Schitt’s Creek, Dan Levy is moving LGBTQ visibility forward by inspiring us to embrace all of who we are,” HRC President Alphonso David said in a statement. “By creating and inhabiting the world of Schitt’s Creek as a community where people are welcomed no matter who they are or whom they love, Levy is helping take all of us closer to that reality.”
“I have been a longtime admirer and supporter of the HRC,” Levy said in a statement. “To be recognized by this organization means the world to me and I am incredibly touched by the honor.”
HRC previously announced that it would honor award-winning singer, songwriter, actor, and activist Janelle Monáe with the HRC Equality Award at the 2020 Los Angeles Dinner, which takes place at the InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown on Saturday, Mar. 28.
Monáe, who identifies as both pansexual and nonbinary, is being honored for using her platform as an artist to promote the importance of LGBTQ visibility and representation.
Delaware State Sen. Sarah McBride (D-Wilmington) has made history by becoming the first out transgender person elected to Congress.
McBride, best known for her former role as spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign, was declared the projected winner by NBC News with 70% of the vote reporting. The Associated Press has not yet called the race, but McBride was leading James Whalen III, a former police officer, by a margin of 58% to 42% for Delaware's sole congressional seat.
A former White House intern during the Obama administration, employee of the Center of American Progress, and board member of Equality Delaware, McBride has been credited as one of several influential activists who successfully lobbied for the passage of Delaware's comprehensive nondiscrimination law protecting the rights of LGBTQ individuals.
Following President-elect Donald Trump's rout of Kamala Harris, many LGBTQ organizations were left reeling. Still, they vowed to continue advocating for their ultimate goal of equality for all LGBTQ people.
They emerged battered but unbowed following Tuesday's election, which was characterized as a populist revolt against inflation and higher prices for consumer goods, foreign interference in global conflicts, unchecked immigration, and liberal viewpoints. The latter issue was motivated, in part, by angst about increased LGBTQ visibility and allegations that schools were "indoctrinating" youth into identifying as LGBTQ.
At the corner of 17th Street and Rhode Island Avenue in downtown Washington, the headquarters of the Human Rights Campaign is a beacon. As the largest LGBTQ-advocacy organization in the country, with its shining equality logo near the roof, its similarly styled flag flying above, there's hardly another building in D.C. that so clearly announces its presence as a safe space.
If this mid-century office tower might be considered a factory, its assembly-line workers are churning out legislative action, policy pushes, community advocacy and all the other products one would associate with an iconic human-rights organization. These products, however, aren't merely domestic. HRC also does a thriving export business.
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