Peach State bar named landmark
The Associated Press reported that Atlanta, Ga.’s Atlanta Eagle has been designated a historic landmark, the city’s Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said. It is the first to be recognized and protected from the Deep South.
info: bit.ly/38vWaIq.
Institute releases 2020 review
The Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law has released its “2020 Data in Review” report, outlining key research by the organization. It includes LGBTQ studies on religion, violence, vulnerability, racial inequity, marriage, discrimination, health, voters and DACA.
info: bit.ly/2Ja4ViB.
March slated for January
The Womxn’s March on Raleigh will be held on Jan. 23, 2021 and is now accepting contributions toward the effort. Visit bit.ly/3aEErAS to donate.
info: bit.ly/34PKizZ.
Trans Xmas tune released
Trans Trenderz have released their “It’s a Very Trans Christmas” music and video from a Black transgender-led record label. Listeners can access the audio at transtrenderz.lnk.to/iavtc and the video at youtu.be/10wmUNYxVuk.
info: transtrenderz.com.
Black Institute kicks off Creating Change
The National Black Justice Coalition has announced that its annual Black Institute will take place on Jan. 28, 2021. The Black Institute is a part of the National LGBTQ Task Force’s 33rd annual Creating Change Conference, being held from Jan. 28-31, 2021. This is the first virtual event for the annual conference.
info: nbjc.org. thetaskforce.org/creatingchange.
Film launches online
Producers have released their “A Heart’s Calling” online. The film short tells the story of coming out in the face of push-back by a young man’s church and family. It is free to watch and can be accessed online.
info: facebook.com/aheartscalling.
School establishes health center
The University of California, Los Angeles Fielding School of Public Health has launched a new center to promote the health of sexual and gender minorities through research and partnerships with the LGBTQ community, community-based organizations, public health officials and policymakers in Los Angeles and beyond. The UCLA Center for LGBTQ Advocacy, Research & Health, or C-LARAH, will develop and implement evidence-based strategies that address both the physical and mental health needs of LGBTQ individuals while working closely with local, national and global partners.
info: ph.ucla.edu.
Court provides trans victory
On Dec. 16 the U. S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio struck down a discriminatory state policy that prevented transgender people born in Ohio from correcting the gender marker on their birth certificates. The decision was issued in Ray v. McCloud, the lawsuit filed more than two years ago by Lambda Legal, the ACLU, the ACLU of Ohio, and Thompson Hine on behalf of plaintiffs Stacie Ray, Basil Argento, Ashley Breda and Jane Doe.
info: lambdalegal.org. acluohio.org.
TOY begins national ED search
Time Out Youth Center has officially launched its search for a new executive director as a result of the departure of long-time head Rodney Tucker’s departure earlier this year. They have selected Kevin Chase Executive Search Group to handle the effort. In the meantime, the organization is being run by O’Neale Atkinson who stepped into the executive director role during the transition. Atkinson has been with the organization since 2013.
info: timeoutyouth.org.
Med summit slated for online
NMAC’s 2021 Biomedical HIV Prevention Summit will be held online on March 30-31, 2021. Registration and abstract submission for workshops are now open on the Summit website.
info: nmac.org.
Travel awards voting open
The Fifth Annual Gay Travel Awards, sponsored by Andrew Christian, is currently open to voters who can “show their love” for favorite destinations, airlines, accommodations, car rental vendors and more. Visit gaytravelawards.com/vote to make selections.
info: gaytravel.com.
Stars featured in UK film
A new feature film, “Supernova,” will be released in theaters on Jan. 29, 2021 and stars Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci as leads in the gay-themed feature.
info: bit.ly/37E33Ib.
Funding distributions include diverse recipients
Elsewhere and VAE Raleigh partnered to distribute a total of $65,800 to 94 artists through the first cycle of funding from Pivotal Fund, made possible through funding provided by The Andy Warhol Foundation for Visual Arts Regional Regranting Program. Of the 94 artists who received funding, 20 were non-binary/gender non-conforming/gender-fluid and nine were transgender.
info: goelsewhere.org.
Nun writes about feast relevance
A recent blog post on New Ways Ministry’s website features a post by lesbian religious Sister Grace Surdovel, IHM, who writes about the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, and its relevance to the LGBTQ community. The post is entitled “Finding the Courage to Speak Our ‘Yes’ to God.” Surdovel is editor of a soon-to-be published book, “Love Tenderly: Stories of Lesbian and Queer Religious,” featuring 23 stories of the spiritual journeys of lesbian and queer Catholic nuns. The book will be published by New Ways Ministry.
info: newwaysministry.org.
New ED named
The Equality Federation and Equality Federation Institute Board of Directors announced that Fran Hutchins has been hired as the incoming executive director. Hutchins has served as deputy director since 2016. She will be the first queer, mixed-race Asian American to lead the organization.
info: equalityfederation.org.
Book focuses on bilingual storyline
On Jan. 20, 2021, “Pepito Has a Doll,” written by Jesús Canchola Sánchez, will be released and centers on the experience of a shy, young boy who lives with this grandmother. Pepito only has one friend, that of his doll Lola, until Miguel appears. The script unfolds in a bilingual format (English and Spanish) and showcases LGBTQ characterizations.
info: pepitohasadoll.com.
Philanthropic org releases HIV/AIDS report
Grantmakers In Aging has created “Moving Ahead Together: A Framework for Integrating HIV/AIDS and Aging Services” to help end the isolation and improve the care of older people living with HIV as a result of information detailed in a recently conducted study. The framework covers three areas: social complexities and challenges, including low awareness of the issue and the stigma and social isolation many older people with HIV face; the need for a whole-person approach to coordinate medical, mental and behavioral health care with social and psychosocial support; and updating state and federal policies.
info: giaging.org.
Anniversary on suit marked
On Dec. 18, the nation observed the five-year anniversary of the settlement in Michael Ferguson, et al., v. JONAH, a first-of-its-kind lawsuit brought by the Southern Poverty Law Center and co-counsel partners on behalf of four young men and two of their mothers against Jews Offering New Alternatives for Healing (JONAH), a New Jersey-based organization offering so-called conversion therapy to people who are gay. The lawsuit charged that JONAH, its founder and a counselor violated New Jersey’s Consumer Fraud Act by claiming that they could “convert” people from gay to straight. Following the trial in June 2015, a unanimous jury found that conversion therapy services offered by JONAH were fraudulent, and ordered the organization to pay the plaintiffs $72,400 in damages. A subsequent lawsuit was filed and won where JONAH agreed to permanently cease operations and dissolve its corporate entity as part of a settlement reached on Dec. 18, 2015 that would preclude an appeal of the jury’s verdict. The agreement also prohibited JONAH’s founder and the counselor from engaging in any form of conversion therapy commerce in New Jersey. The anniversary comes at a time when the issue is still being challenged in courts. In November 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in Atlanta blocked the enforcement of local ordinances in Florida that ban conversion therapy on LGBTQ minors. A request for rehearing of the case is currently pending, and an appeal could go before the U.S. Supreme Court. Today 20 states and the District of Columbia have prohibited the practice.
info: splcenter.org.
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