Soulforce is seeking individuals who want to craft doves for their Altar of Life protest at the National Religious Broadcaster’s global annual conference in Orlando, Fla., from Feb. 27-March 2. Doves have already made an appearance at the Creating Change Conference held in Philadelphia, Pa. in January. Visit Soulforce’s website to get instructions and shipping details.
info: soulforce.org.
Before he left office in his final days, Former President Barack Obama commuted the sentence for Chelsea Manning who has been incarcerated for espionage. The former intelligence analyst was sentenced to 35 years in prison in May 2013. Manning, who is transgender, has undergone hardship while jailed due to her gender dysphoria and her ignored requests for gender reassignment surgery. She has spent months in solitary confinement and for the entire time, she has been forced to dress like a man, with her hair cropped close to her head. Her connection with the outside world was been limited with extremely strict rules on who can visit her, reported Broadly. She will be released on May 17.
info: broadly.vice.com.
HBO’s “Vice News Tonight” recently aired an episode on transgender law enforcement. It features pioneering transgender police officers and their departments as they work to bridge the divide to help bring visibility so that trust can become more grounded. This is especially significant for the LGBTQ community since distrust leads many to let crimes go unreported.
info: hbo.com/vice.
The Washington Blade is digitizing its nearly 50-year archives in partnership with the D.C. Public Library.
info: washingtonblade.com.
The Kiss My Trump Foundation has sent a message that “drives Trump crazy” with is newly-designed underwear which shows Trump’s mouth right next to the underwear’s opening, leaving the president in a compromising position whenever “something” pops out, the foundation shared. One hundred percent of profits raised from the sale of the underwear will go to support The Trevor Project, Equality Florida, Free 2 Be, The Point Foundation and Gay and Lesbian Victory Institute.
info: kissmytrumpfoundation.com.
The majority of Americans side with LGBTQ rights, though “bathroom bills” appear to cause division, The Harris Poll reported. It also said that 63 percent agree in single-user, non-gender specific bathrooms, even with some states poised with or in the process of filing anti-discriminatory legislation.
info: theharrispoll.com.
Three transgender models were featured in the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitor’s Bureau campaign that was launched in mid January 2017. It is considered to be the first use of transgender models in destination advertising efforts.
info: sunny.org.
On Jan. 31, Logo debuted the first episode in season two of its LGBTQ docuseries “Fill in the Blank,” produced by social media star Mike Kelton. It shared stories about out athletes.
info: logotv.com.
Florida legislators filed legislation on Feb. 2 to update Florida’s Civil Rights Act of 1992 to include LGBTQ people, sending an important message that Florida welcomes all people to live, work, and play.
info: eqfl.org.
Juana Mora Cedeño and Tamara Adrián will join World OutGames Miami as plenary speakers during the Global Conference on Human Rights (May 26-29). Mora is a Cuban LGBTQ activist and Adrián is a lawyer and advocate for LGBTQ rights and the first transgender politician elected to office in Venezuela.
info: outgames.org.
Award-winning director and choreographer Jerry Mitchell will be honored on Feb. 17 at the Harmony Gala that benefits the New York City Gay Men’s Chorus and Youth Pride Chorus.
info: bapany.org.
The Log Cabin Republicans has elected its first female national chairperson, Sarah Longwell.
info: logcabin.org.
GLAAD has announced its nominees for its upcoming 28th Annual GLAAD Media Awards.
info: glaad.org.
The International Gay Polo Tournament will be held in the Palm Beaches in Florida from April 6-9.
info: gaypolo.com.
Sen. Scott Wiener in Sacramento, Calif., introduced the HEAL (Help End Antiretroviral-related Lipodystrophy) Act, requiring insurance companies and government programs to cover medical treatment for lipodystrophy. The condition, causing changes in body fat distribution, impacts many HIV-positive people who took life-saving early, highly toxic HIV medication. Equality California is a co-sponsor of the bill.
info: eqca.org.
Xfinity On Demand has been selected to curate over 100 titles of GLAAD Media Awards-related content. This is being done in partnership with Comcast.
info: comcastcorporation.com.
The Boy Scouts of America has amended its rules and is now accepting transgender boys in to its programs.
info: scouting.org.
Jay Irwin won a write-in bid to become a member of the Ralston Board of Education in Nebraska. Irwin is the first transgender official.
info: victoryfund.org.
Funders for LGBTQ Issues released a new infographic, “Philanthropy OUTlook: LGBTQ Criminalization and Criminal Justice Reform (2017)” which explores the scope and character of funding to address LGBTQ criminalization and criminal justice reform.
info: lgbtfunders.org.
A poetry contest has been launched by World OutGames Miami 2017 as part of its cultural pillar. Submissions are due by April 15.
info: outgames.org.
Treatment Action Group (TAG) has announced the expansion of its Ending the Epidemic campaign to foster the development of epidemic-ending initiatives in some of the most heavily impacted regions of the U.S., especially the heavily-impacted South by HIV/AIDS.
info: treatmentactiongroup.org.
The American Military Partner Association, the nation’s largest non-profit organization of LGBTQ military families and their allies, announced that USAA and Comcast NBCUniversal will be joint presenting sponsors of the 4th Annual AMPA National Gala — the nation’s largest LGBT military event of the year.
info: militarypartners.org.
San Francisco, Calif.-based GLBT Historical Society’s “Saint Harvey” exhibit was the inspiration for photographing Harvey Milk’s suite by Leo Herrera in commemoration of the society’s upcoming 20th anniversary.
info: glbthistory.org.
Equality Illinois has called on the Illinois General Assembly to reject discriminatory legislation introduced in late January that would isolate and stigmatize transgender and gender non-conforming youth by forcing them to use separate restrooms and locker rooms from their peers in schools.
info: eqil.org.
Pennsylvania’s state Department of Community and Economic Development Secretary Dennis Davin delivered keynote remarks at the Central Pennsylvania Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce’s annual dinner that underscored the importance of the LGBTQ community’s contributions to Pennsylvania’s economy and reinforced the Wolf Administration’s commitment to equality initiatives throughout the state.
info: dced.pa.gov. state.pa.us.
A Normal Lost Phone mobile game was launched as a unique narrative mystery game exploring themes of sexuality, identity and growing up which directly addresses sexual and gender identity, homophobia, depression and peer pressure.
info: accidentalqueens.com.
In Sacramento, Calif. on Jan. 26, Sen. Toni G. Atkins and Sen. Scott Wiener announced legislation to enable more transgender, intersex and non-binary people to obtain state-issued identity documents that accurately reflect their gender. It is sponsored by Equality California and the Transgender Law Center.
info: eqca.org.
A new study by the Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law reports that Georgia’s unsupportive legal landscape and social climate contribute to an environment in which LGBTQ people are at risk of discrimination and harassment, with costs estimated in the hundreds of millions, as outlined in “The Economic Impact of Discrimination and Stigma Against LGBT People in Georgia.”
info: williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu.
Healthcare professionals can gain a greater understanding of the health needs and challenges of the LGBTQ community in OnCourse Learning’s new two-part series of inter-professional continuing education courses.
info: oncourselearning.com.
The AMA Wire reported that a new textbook from Vanderbilt University faculty members aims to provide insights and clinical guidance to those interested in a more comprehensive picture of LGBT healthcare. “It’s designed to be a book that any practicing clinician would find valuable, whether they’re looking for care recommendations or just trying to understand how they can make their practice more affirming, welcoming and accepting of LGBT patients,” said co-editor Jesse Ehrenfeld, MD, the first openly gay member of the American Medical Association Board of Trustees and co-director of Vanderbilt’s Program for LGBTI Health.
info: medschool.vanderbilt.edu/lgbti.
“One-Man Show. The Life and Art of Bernard Perlin” by Michael Schreiber and published by Bruno Gmünder has been named a 2017 Stonewall Honor book by the American Library Association in the Israel Fishman Non-Fiction Award category.
info: brunogmuender.com.
Aging services have been bolstered in Pennsylvania in efforts to improve the lives of LGBTQ seniors.
info: state.pa.us.
The National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce is celebrating its 15th anniversary and has announced its International Business & Leadership Conference slated for Aug. 1-4 in Las Vegas, Nev.
info: nglcc.org.
“Ken. To be destroyed” exhibit will be unveiled on Feb. 17 at the London College of Communications as part of the Moose on the Loose Biennale of Research.
info: arts.ac.uk/lcc. mooseontheloose.net.
Rapid infectious disease test developer bioLytical Laboratories in Canada announced that it is the recipient of the Breakthrough Technology Award from Premier Inc. for its INSTI® HIV-1/HIV-2 rapid point of care diagnostic test.
info: biolytical.com.
The “Boystown” series has introduced its first transgender character.
info: boystowntheseries.com.
Capt. Jeffrey Ward, commanding officer of amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6), facilitated transgender training with chiefs and officers in the ship’s wardroom. The training was conducted to provide command leadership guidance on transgender policy in accordance with Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) instructions. Bonhomme Richard, forward-deployed to Sasebo, Japan, will provide a rapid-response capability in the event of a regional contingency or natural disaster.
info: navy.mil.
The Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections is being held from Feb. 13-16 in Seattle, Wash.
info: croiconference.org.
The Teratology Society has released a series of studies that could shed light on sex determination in human development, including how changed molecular structure of DNA could predict certain Disorders/Difference in Sex Development (DSD), known as intersex, and could have the potential for treatments in the future. The society work centers on birth defects and developmentally-mediated disorders. Gaining social acceptance is something that all those with DSD search for, they said.
info: teratology.org.
“No Wrong Way” by singer Dyllan Murphy has been released as a music video and explores equality for love between all races and genders, focusing specifically on the LGBTQ community. Proceeds from the single go to GLAAD and The Trevor Project.
info: youtu.be/tmRYWSgp4Ig. glaad.org. thetrevorproject.org.
President Donald Trump was the inspiration behind Trudie Styler’s “Freak Show” LGBTQ drama, The Hollywood Reporter wrote. The film is about bullying, Styler said. Trump inspired the creation of head cheerleader, queen bee and mean girl Lynette (played by Abigail Breslin). The director is the wife of the musician Sting.
info: hollywoodreporter.com.
Time has published a feature on pioneering photographs of 1960s gay life which follows photographer Anthony Friedkin’s journey capturing images.
info: time.com.
“An Act of Love,” a film from director Scott Sheppard, which charts how an act of love affects an entire community locally and globally, is now out on VOD/Digital and DVD. It tells the story of Frank Schaefer, a pastor who officiates at his son’s same-sex wedding, is put on trial by the United Methodist Church.
info: anactoflove.com.