Pride Live, a social advocacy and community engagement organization for the LGBTQ+ community, is presenting its third annual Stonewall Day today, June 26, starting at 12:45 p.m.
The global campaign is designed to elevate awareness and support for the Stonewall legacy and the continuing fight for full LGBTQ+ equality.
In advance of the event, the group released a 50-second clip of President Barack Obama’s message to the LGBTQ community. The full message will run during today’s program. Watch the clip below:
The livestream will feature performances and messages from an impressive lineup of celebrities and activists, including Taylor Swift, Ellen DeGeneres, Cynthia Erivo, Kesha, Hayley Kiyoko, Demi Lovato, Katy Perry, Christian Siriano, George Takei, Donatella Versace, Lilly Wachowski, Sir Richard Branson, Jonny Beauchamp, Valentina Sampaio, Dustin Lance Black, Blossom C. Brown, Chelsea Clinton, Luke Evans, Valerie Jarrett, Stella Maxwell, Imara Jones, Bethany C. Meyers, Maisie Richardson-Sellers, Justin Tranter, Josephine Skriver, Kellen Stancil, Ryan Jamaal Swain, Nico Tortorella, Alok Vaid-Menon, Chely Wright, Conchita WURST, and Stonewall Day National Chair, trans model and advocate Geena Rocero.
“COVID-19, and the recent events that have placed a national and global spotlight on the need for fair and equal treatment for all people, has impacted so many around the world and the LGBTQ+ community has not been immune,” said Pride Live Board President Dr. Yvette C. Burton. “This has resulted in vital and life-saving LGBTQ+ organizations having to severely amend their budgets and programs. Our hopes are Stonewall Day can assist our beneficiaries in continuing their work and service to the community.”
“At WarnerMedia, we believe in the power of telling stories that accurately reflect the world that we live in,” said Dennis Williams, Senior Vice President, Corporate Social Responsibility at WarnerMedia, the event’s lead presenting partner, along with GLAAD and NASDAQ. “Now, more than ever, we recognize the significance of standing in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community, as well as the deep connection between the rebellion that started at Stonewall in 1969 connected to LGBTQ+ justice and police brutality, and the movement we see on the streets today as people demand an end to repeated brutality and systemic oppression.”
Tune into the event today from 12:45 p.m. to 3 p.m. ET on Logo’s YouTube and Facebook pages.
Advocates for Trans Equality, the nation's largest transgender-led advocacy organization (the result of a merging of the National Center for Transgender Equality and the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund), recently released its first "Trans Equality Champions" report.
The report lists members of Congress who have co-sponsored six bills aimed at advancing the rights of transgender people and the LGBTQ community, as well as those who have cast votes against legislation or amendments to bills seeking to restrict transgender and LGBTQ rights.
Because Republicans control the House of Representatives, the number of anti-LGBTQ bills or provisions has significantly increased, especially as Republicans ramp up anti-transgender messaging and use Democrat support of trans rights as a wedge issue leading into November's election.
The School district has since boarded up the windows after the controversial renovations -- which some allege were meant to target trans students -- gained negative press and national attention.
A Pennsylvania school board has come under fire for cutting windows into gender-inclusive restrooms that would allow the public to peer into them from the hallway.
In August, a new right-wing school board for the South Western School District, in Hanover, Pennsylvania, passed the policy to "increase oversight of the wash area." School Board President Matthew Gelazela said that the district would be adding additional privacy measures, including taller stalls, for the toilets in the restroom, according to the York Dispatch.
The bathrooms targeted explicitly for these new renovations were those where students may use facilities based on their gender identity.
A Virginia school board has settled a lawsuit brought by Peter Vlaming, a former French teacher at West Point High School, who was fired for refusing to use a transgender student's pronouns.
The West Point School Board will pay $575,000 in damages and attorneys' fees to Vlaming.
School administrators had ordered Vlaming to remedy a conflict he was having with a transgender freshman over pronoun use. The student had recently transitioned and had asked to be called by male pronouns in school.
Vlaming refused, claiming that acknowledging the student's gender identity would be a "lie." The student filed a complaint in response.
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