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Up Front, Spring 2021
Race & Sexuality in Theater
This spring, HRC and the creators of “Slave Play” hosted a conversation exploring the power of Black queer artists, the importance of representation and accessibility for the arts and the intersectionality of art and advocacy. The panel was moderated by HRC Foundation Board Chair Jodie Patterson and featured “Slave Play” playwright Jeremy O. Harris, Tony-nominated actors Ato Blankson-Wood and Chalia La Tour, playwright C.A. Johnson and HRC President Alphonso David.
They also promoted The Golden Collection, an initiative from the creators of “Slave Play” to donate 15 plays by prominent Black playwrights to libraries and community centers across the country, as well as support HRC’s work fighting for full equality. You can purchase your own edition of The Golden Collection, fulfilled by Books and Crannies, a Black woman-owned independent bookstore, located in Harris’s hometown, Martinsville, Virginia.
For every purchase of the full collection, Books and Crannies will make a $10 donation to the Human Rights Campaign.
Equality Act NOW
IT'S TIME TO PASS THE EQUALITY ACT
The Biden-Harris administration has made it a top priority. The U.S. House of Representatives passed the legislation with bipartisan support. All eyes are now on the Senate to finally cement these crucial protections for LGBTQ people.
The Equality Act would provide consistent and explicit non-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people across key areas of life, including employment, housing, credit, education, public spaces and services, federally funded programs, and jury service.
HRC is fighting tirelessly to urge senators to pass the legislation. Most recently, we partnered with more than 400 major companies across the country to fight for passage of the Equality Act.
Take action today: join a phone bank, call your senators, become a community co-sponsor and more at hrc.org/equalityact.
My Body, My Health
Number of people living with HIV in the United States, and communities of color have been hit the hardest. That’s why the Human Rights Campaign Foundation has joined Gilead Sciences to launch “My Body, My Health,” a coast-to-coast initiative to break through the barriers and systemic injustice affecting the sexual health of our Black and Latinx LGBTQ communities. We will work with Historically Black Colleges and Universities, advocates and minority-led and serving community-based organizations across the country to increase access to HIV services for Black and Brown LGBTQ people living with and at risk of being diagnosed with HIV. Find resources and learn more at mybodymyhealth.org.
Remembering Pulse
This June marks five years since the deadly attack at Pulse nightclub in Orlando claimed the lives of 49 people — most of them young, LGBTQ and Latinx — and rocked our community and our nation to its core.
We remember by sharing the stories of the lives taken and holding their memories in our hearts. To mark five years since the tragedy, HRC participated in a national moment of silence to honor the lives of the victims and vowed to recommit to honoring them with action to confront our country’s gun violence epidemic. Ahead of the moment of silence, which took place at 6 p.m. EST on June 12 for 49 seconds, HRC and coalition members including QLatinx, The LGBT+ Center Orlando, the onePULSE Foundation, Equality Florida, Equality Federation and Everytown for Gun Safety participated in a panel discussion to remember the victims at Pulse.
Visit hrc.org/stopthehate to learn more and find ways to #HonorThemWithAction.
“It shall be the policy of the United States … to lead by the power of our example in the cause of advancing the human rights of LGBTQI+ persons around the world.”
The Biden-Harris administration has already made great progress in defending and expanding LGBTQ rights in the United States and across the world — and we can’t wait to see what’s next. We’ll learn more about the administration’s work beyond the U.S. borders in an upcoming HRC Foundation series, “Global Conversations.” The series will include at least four discussions with highranking Biden-Harris administration officials discussing how they are creating an inclusive U.S. foreign policy and both engaging and reengaging the U.S. in the movement for global equality. Special guests will be announced shortly.
Pride Lives Here
Although Pride celebrations will look a little different again this year, we must continue to be proud, resilient and visible. Pride is so much more than just a festival or a parade. Pride lives always in our history, in our hearts, in our homes and communities, and everywhere there are champions for Equality. HRC is excited to celebrate pride month with a full lineup of activities!
Get your wig on for Drag Queen Story Time, turn up the volume with exclusive HRC pride playlists from some of our celebrity friends, whip up a Pride Flag Pizza for dinner, and so much more at hrc.org/pride. No Pride parade in your town this year? Check out HRC's exclusive Pride home decor kit at hrc.im/prideliveshere and show your neighbors that pride is alive and well in your neighborhood this summer.
Pride in our community also means pride in our resilience — and our resistance. Each opportunity to celebrate pride is also an opportunity to answer a call to defeat the forces that divide us and unite to secure our victories. As we join together to celebrate pride in ourselves and our community, let us also carry the work forward with greater intentionality to effect change for all of us, not some of us. Find ways to show up for yourselves and others at hrc.org/pride.
