David Mariner

Morehouse College Will Admit Transgender Men Starting in 2020

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Morehouse College Will Admit Transgender Men Starting in 2020

Morehouse College, the nation’s only all-male historically black college, has announced that it will update its admissions policy to include transgender men. This comes on the heels of neighboring women’s institution and historically black college, Spelman College, adopting an admission policy inclusive of transgender women in 2017.

The policy, which is set to go into effect in 2020, marks a major shift in the school’s 152-year history, and comes at a time when colleges across the country are evaluating more inclusive policies for LGBTQ and gender non-conforming students.

“This is a great first step for Morehouse that should be celebrated, especially as trans rights are federally under attack,” said Georgia Equality Deputy Director and Morehouse Alumnus, Eric Paulk. “However, it’s important to be mindful of the work that has to happen between now and the implementation of the new policy to ensure an atmosphere of equity and safety for trans students and LGBTQ+ students on campus. This means ensuring that these voices lead and are centered in every step of the process.”

Other historically black colleges and universities including, Tuskegee University, Howard University, Florida A&M University, Southern University, North Carolina Central University and Morgan State University have adopted inclusive transgender policies. “Ultimately, if there’s not a focus on faculty and staff training, a shift in student culture that supports LGBTQ+ students, and culturally competent student services, the new Morehouse policy will be nothing more than empty symbolism. Georgia Equality is committed to being a resource for Morehouse and other Georgia institutions as they navigate this space.”

Texas Legislation Poses Threat to Local LGBTQ Community

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Equality Texas

Equality Texas, the largest statewide organization solely dedicated to securing full equality for LGBTQ Texans condemned today’s Senate passage of Lt. Governor Dan Patrick and Senator Charles Perry’s SB 17, the #1 threat to the LGBTQ community.

Lt. Governor Dan Patrick’s new attack on LGBTQ Texans, SB 17, is a sweeping bill that would empower and protect discriminatory behavior across hundreds of professional activities – including medical care, where providers or clinic owners could refuse treatment for LGBTQ people in need of care.

Equality Texas urges Texans to demonstrate their opposition to SB 17 and urge the Texas House of Representatives to reject this discriminatory legislation.

“Dan Patrick has doubled down on his attack on the LGBTQ community, moving out of bathrooms and into every single licensed profession in Texas,” said Samantha Smoot, Interim Executive Director of Equality Texas. 

The newly-prioritized SB 17 will create dangerous “religious exemptions” for virtually every licensed occupation in Texas – hundreds of professions, from barbers to tow truck operators to doctors. If an occupational license holder were to call on “sincerely held religious belief” in taking a discriminatory action, the licensing agency that oversees the occupation would have no recourse to remedy that discrimination. This includes health care providers, who could turn away sick and injured people seeking care (unless immediate live-saving measures were needed), based just patient’s identity, or that of their parents. Lt. Gov. Patrick has placed this bill on his “top 30” priority list, signaling his intention to pass it.

There are an additional 15 bills that would make a mockery of religious freedom, guaranteeing that discrimination will be permitted. The bills would allow businesses, licensed professionals and even government officials to use religion to exempt themselves from nondiscrimination laws and policies, including licensing and professional standards.

“Religious freedom is a fundamental American value protected in our U.S. Constitution.  But religious freedom was never intended to be a license to discriminate,” said Smoot. “SB 17 would create a religious litmus test, and open the doors to discrimination and to real harm to LGBTQ Texans.  Dan Patrick has launched a whole new war against LGBTQ people, and this ‘license to discriminate’ bill is our #1 threat this session.” 

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Equality Texas is the largest statewide organization working to secure full equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer Texans through political action, education, community organizing, and collaboration. The Equality Texas Foundation works to secure full equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer Texans through education, community organizing, and collaboration.

Conversion Therapy Documentary Available on Amazon

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The Sunday Sessions

A new documentary exploring Conversion Therapy by Baltimore Director Richard Yeagley is now available on Amazon, ITunes, Kanopy, and DVD.

THE SUNDAY SESSIONS is an intimate portrait of one man’s struggle to reconcile his religious conviction and sexual identity. The observational documentary chronicles the turbulent journey of Nathan as he attends conversion therapy in hope of changing his sexual orientation. Conversion therapy is the controversial, non-scientifically based process which aims to convert an individual’s sexual orientation from homosexual to heterosexual.

Yeagley states: “Seeing a man similar in age to me struggle with his sexual orientation, as well as his identity in general, was a struggle to witness. No individual in modern times should ever feel the need to hide or change their sexual identity. But unfortunately, and quite tragically, there are many communities in America and across the globe where intolerance is pervasive. In this film, I was exposed to such communities. “

Although it has been discredited by all major American medical, psychiatric, psychological and professional counseling organizations, some therapists still offer the service for reasons almost exclusively rooted in a conservative religious belief system. The filmmakers had unfettered access to these secretive and controversial therapy sessions and have crafted an emotional and psychological drama which
chronicles two years of Nathan’s journey.

Find out more at www.thesundaysessionsmovie.com.

Grandparents Today are More Accepting than You Might Think

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Grandparents

A new study from the AARP challenges some of the things you might think about today’s Grandparents. Families are depending on Grandparents more these days, and thankfully these Grandparents are more likely to be accepting of LGBTQ grandchildren.

Since 2001, the number of grandparents has grown by 24 percent (56 million to 70 million). The age of a first-time grandparent is 50, a two year increase since the survey was last conducted in 2011.

Grandparents are contributing now more than ever to the well being of their grandchildren. Grandparents take care of their grandchildren by babysitting, with one in ten living in the same household with their grandchildren, and 5 percent of those being the primary caregiver. Grandparents are also contributing financially, spending an average of $2,562 annually on their grandchildren, totaling $179 billion per year.

It is good to know that while families depend more and more on Grandparents for support, Grandparents are also becoming increasingly supportive of their LGBTQ grandchildren. Eighty-Seven percent of the grandparents surveyed report that they would be accepting of an LGBTQ grandchild.

FInd out more about the grandparent study here.

Equality Act: Survey of 50 States Finds Broad Support for LGBT Rights Across the United States

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Equality Act

A landmark national survey of over 40,000 Americans, including results for all 50 states, released by the Public Religion Research Institute finds approximately seven in 10 (69 percent) Americans support nondiscrimination protections for LGBT people today. The survey also finds nearly six in 10 (57 percent) Americans oppose allowing small businesses to refuse services to gay and lesbian people based on religious objections. More than six in 10 (62 percent) Americans also support same-sex marriage. The only major groups in which a majority oppose same-sex marriage are white evangelical Protestants and Republicans.

Majorities in All States Support Nondiscrimination Protections for LGBT People
Approximately seven in 10 (69 percent) Americans—including majorities in all 50 states—favor laws protecting LGBT people from discrimination in jobs, public accommodations, and housing, virtually unchanged from 2017 levels (70 percent). Though support is highest in Northeastern (72 percent) and Western (72 percent) states, majorities in the Midwest (68 percent) and South (65 percent) are also supportive. Even in states with the lowest levels of support, such as South Carolina (58 percent) and Arkansas (56 percent), solid majorities support these policies.

“The broad support for laws to protect LGBT people from discrimination represents a rarity in our polarized politics today—an issue that actually brings Americans together across partisan, religious, and geographic lines,” notes PRRI CEO Robert P. Jones.

The nationwide strength of support for nondiscrimination protections for LGBT people transcends age and religion. Three in four Americans ages 18-29 (76 percent) favor these protections, as do 59 percent of Americans ages 65 and over.

Solid majorities of all major religious groups in the U.S. support laws protecting LGBT people from discrimination in housing, public accommodations, and the workplace. Among major religious groups, the strongest supporters of LGBT nondiscrimination protections are Unitarian Universalists (90 percent), Jews (80 percent), Hindus (79 percent), Buddhists (75 percent), and religiously unaffiliated Americans (78 percent). Even majorities of faith traditions that have been historically more opposed to LGBT rights support these protections. Fully seven in 10 Mormons (70 percent), along with 65 percent of black Protestants, 60 percent of Muslims, 54 percent of white evangelical Protestants, and 53 percent of Jehovah’s Witnesses favor LGBT nondiscrimination laws.

Majorities of Democrats (79 percent), independents (70 percent), and Republicans (56 percent) also favor such protections, though Republican support has slipped five percentage points over the last few years, down from 61 percent support in 2015.

All Racial Groups, Most Religious Groups Oppose Allowing Businesses to Refuse Services to LGBT Customers 
A majority of Americans (57 percent) oppose allowing a small business owner in their state to refuse products or services to gay or lesbian people based on their religious beliefs. Opposition to religiously-based refusals to serve gay and lesbian people is slightly lower than support in 2017 (60 percent) and 2016 (61 percent) but consistent with support levels in 2015 (59 percent).

Majorities of residents in 40 states believe small business owners in their state should not be allowed to refuse service to gay and lesbian people. While there are no states in which a majority support religiously-based refusals to serve gay or lesbian people, opposition falls short of a majority in 10 states: Arkansas (50 percent), Kansas (50 percent), Alabama (49 percent), Nevada (49 percent), Utah (49 percent), Louisiana (48 percent), Oklahoma (48 percent), Idaho (47 percent), Tennessee (47 percent). Alaska is the only state with plurality support for religiously-based service refusals (46 percent favor, 42 percent oppose).

Younger Americans ages 18-29 (63 percent) are noticeably more likely than seniors over the age of 65 (52 percent) to oppose religiously-based refusals to serve gay or lesbian people.

Americans of all racial and ethnic groups oppose religiously-based service refusals. Black (66 percent) and Hispanic (60 percent) Americans are most likely to oppose allowing businesses to refuse service to gay or lesbian people because of religious objections. White (54 percent) and Native Americans (52 percent) are least likely to oppose such service refusals, though a majority remain against them. 

Majorities of most major religious groups oppose religiously-based refusals to serve gay or lesbian people. The greatest opposition comes from Unitarian Universalists (83 percent), Jews (68 percent), religiously unaffiliated Americans (66 percent), Buddhists (66 percent) and Muslims (60 percent). White evangelical Protestants (55 percent) and Mormons (54 percent) are the only religious groups where a majority support allowing small business owners to refuse service to gay and lesbian customers if doing so violates their religious beliefs. Jehovah’s Witnesses have no majority opinion: a plurality (43 percent) are opposed, while almost as many are in favor (39 percent); 18 percent offer no opinion.

Opposition to religiously-based service refusals varies dramatically by political affiliation. Three-quarters of Democrats (75 percent) and a majority of independents (56 percent) oppose allowing businesses to refuse service to gay or lesbian people based on religious objections. Only 36 percent of Republicans oppose religiously-based refusals to serve gay or lesbian people, compared to nearly six in 10 (59 percent) who support such a policy. Conservative Republicans exhibit significantly more support for religiously-based service refusals (65 percent), compared to moderate (44 percent) and liberal (35 percent) Republicans. 

Support for Same-Sex Marriage Remains Widespread
Support for same-sex marriage has continued growing since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2015 rule that established a constitutional right to marry for same-sex couples. More than six in 10 (62 percent) Americans now say gay and lesbian couples should be allowed to marry legally, while only about half as many (30 percent) are opposed. The increased support for same-sex marriage over the last decade has been dramatic: In 2007, over one in three (36 percent) Americans supported same-sex marriage, while 55 percent were opposed.

Majority support for same-sex marriage extends across all regions of the nation. Residents of Northeastern (70 percent) and Western (67 percent) states are the strongest supporters of same-sex marriage. Robust majorities in the Midwest (60 percent) and South (56 percent) support it as well.

Nearly eight in 10 (79 percent) young Americans (ages 18-29) support gay marriage, with only 16 percent opposed. Even among seniors (ages 65 and older), nearly half (49 percent) favor same-sex marriage today, compared to 43 percent who are opposed.

Majorities of all racial and ethnic groups support same-sex marriage. The strongest levels of support come from Asian-Pacific Islander Americans (75 percent), Americans who identify with another race or as mixed race (68 percent), and Hispanic Americans (65 percent). But majorities of white (62 percent), black (56 percent), and Native Americans (55 percent) also support same-sex marriage.

Most major religious groups in the U.S. now support same-sex marriage, including an overwhelming majority of religiously unaffiliated Americans (82 percent). White evangelical Protestants are the only major religious group in which a majority oppose same-sex marriage (31 percent favor, 60 percent oppose).

Strong majorities of Democrats (77 percent) and independents (65 percent) favor same-sex marriage. While only four in 10 (41 percent) of Republicans currently favor same-sex marriage, support among Republicans has risen by 10 percentage points since 2011, when only 31 percent favored this policy. 

Methodology:
The American Values Atlas (AVA) is a project of PRRI. The survey was designed and conducted by PRRI and was made possible by generous grants from The Nathan Cummings Foundation, The Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund, The Gill Foundation, The E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation, and the United Universalist Veatch Program at Shelter Rock. Results for the nondiscrimination laws and religiously-based service refusal questions are based on a subset of 40,292 telephone interviews (including 24,149 cell phone interviews) conducted between March 14, 2018 and December 16, 2018. The margin of error for these questions is +/- 0.5 percentage points at the 95 percent level of confidence. Results for the same-sex marriage question are based on a subset of 4,028 telephone interviews (including 2,413 cell phone interviews) conducted between March 14, 2018 and March 25, 2018 and between June 27, 2018 and July 8, 2018. The margin of error for the same-sex marriage question subsample is +/-1.5 percentage points at the 95 percent level of confidence.

California Legislation Would End Unnecessary Genital Surgery on Intersex Babies

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Scott Wiener

From Equality Florida: Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) has introduced legislation to ensure intersex individuals—a term used often used by people born with variations in their sex characteristics, including genitalia—can provide informed consent before any medical treatments or interventions that could irreversibly affect their fertility or sexual function, will be pulled from the 2019 legislative session and pushed to 2020. After hearing testimony on the bill last Monday, the Committee decided to postpone the vote to see if consensus could be reached between the bill’s supporters and medical associations that had previously refused to negotiate with Senator Wiener.

Senate Bill 201 is an overdue measure which will give individuals the opportunity to delay medically unnecessary, potentially harmful, irreversible procedures until they have the ability to make an informed decision for themselves. SB 201, at its core, is about giving people born with variations in their sex characteristics autonomy over their own bodies and lives. When it comes to choosing deeply personal interventions for an individual when they may not be wanted, acting is risky, while waiting costs nothing. Delay gives individuals and their families the most options, including access to future medical advances once the patient can understand the risks and their own priorities. Senate Bill 201 would not have prohibited treatment or surgery when medically necessary; it simply prohibited medically unnecessary surgeries on babies that are purely elective and based on a desire to “normalize” a child’s genitals. Some of these surgeries include invasive procedures such as reducing a clitoris, creating a vagina, or removing healthy gonadal tissue. They can also lead to assigning a gender before an individual has the opportunity to express a gender for themselves.

Comprising approximately 1-2% of all people, those born with both variations in their sex characteristics, sometimes referred to as intersex traits, aren’t rare—they are just invisible. A subset of these variations are recognized at birth, while others may go unnoticed until later in life, if ever. Although a very small percentage of intersex infants may require immediate surgical intervention—for example some are born without the ability to pass urine—the vast majority are born with no health issues related to their genitals and are able to live rich, fulfilling lives without any modification.

“We’ve made significant strides in California to protect the right of sexual minorities to determine our lives and make decisions about our own bodies, but much work clearly remains to raise awareness and educate about this important civil rights issue, both in the Legislature and in the medical profession,” said Senator Wiener. “Progressive California should not be denying individuals the basic human right to decide what happens to their own bodies, yet that is exactly what is happening as surgeons and parents assign genders to babies without any actual input from that child. SB 201 stands for a very basic and common-sense notion: That individuals should choose for themselves if and when to undergo life-altering and gender-assigning surgeries that aren’t medically necessary. Our broad coalition of intersex advocates, medical professionals, LGBT advocacy organizations, parents, civil rights organizations, and affected individuals look forward to the day when this basic human right is respected and protected by law, and we will continue to fight to make this vision a reality.”

Beginning in the mid-twentieth century, physicians began modifying the genitals of infants they considered atypical. These treatments and interventions have included infant vaginoplasties, clitoral reductions, and removal of gonadal tissues, and may result in extreme scarring, chronic pain, incontinence, loss of sexual sensation, post-traumatic stress disorder, and incorrect gender assignment. While a number of doctors continue to perform these irreversible procedures in infancy based on the theory that they will help intersex people feel more “normal,” no research definitively proves that claim, or the assumption that conformity is more important than autonomy over their bodies. All major groups led by affected adults condemn the practice when performed without the consent of the individual involved.

Three former Surgeons General, who were appointed by Presidents of both parties, oppose medically unnecessary genital surgery on intersex babies stating, “When an individual is born with atypical genitalia that pose no physical risk, treatment should focus not on surgical intervention but on psychosocial and educational support… [I]ntersex persons routinely face forced medical surgeries that are conducted at a young age without free or informed consent. These interventions jeopardize their physical integrity and ability to live free.” Read their full report here.

“SB 201 has not only already raised tremendous intersex visibility in California and national media, it has given our entire community hope that compassionate and ethical care for children born with intersex traits is on the horizon,” said Kimberly Zieselman, Executive Director of interACT: Advocates for Intersex Youth, an intersex woman herself affected by the surgeries.

“At its core, SB 201 is about the State of California respecting each and every person’s autonomy over their own body and their own gender identity,” said Equality California Executive Director Rick Zbur. “California has led the way in protecting the civil rights of LGBTQ people over the last 20 years, and the fundamental principle underlying those protections has been respect for an individual’s own sexual orientation, gender identity and autonomy over their body. The bill’s delay today means that thousands more Californians will be subjected to medically unnecessary and often irreversible procedures aimed at ‘normalizing’ their bodies—without their consent and before they have any sense of their gender Identity.”

“We are proud that SB 201 has brought awareness of this marginalized population of children to the legislature. California already prohibits certain other practices with high risks of irreversible harm from taking place during childhood. SB 201 is in line with this approach and will help ensure that care is centered on the needs of patients themselves, not the ‘normalization’ of their bodies,” said Becca Cramer-Mowder, Legislative Coordinator and Advocate for the ACLU of California.

Human Rights Watch, the World Health Organization, and every other human rights organization to consider the issue has condemned the continued performance of these procedures without individual consent. Dozens of United Nations entities have repeatedly condemned the practice of intersex infant genital surgery. SB 201 is supported by Human Rights Watch, Lambda Legal, GLAAD, Trevor Project, Transgender Law Center, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, Physicians for Human Rights, GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBT Equality, and numerous other human rights, LGBT, and medical organizations. It was co-authored by Senators Jim Beall (D-San Jose) and Cathleen Galgiani (D-Stockton), and Assemblymembers Wendy Carrillo (D-Los Angeles), David Chiu (D-San Francisco), Todd Gloria (D-San Diego), Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento), Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), and Bill Quirk (D-Hayward). The bill was officially introduced on January 28. Full bill text can be found here.

SB 201 builds on Senator Wiener’s Senate Concurrent Resolution 110, passed in 2018, which called on the medical community to delay performing medically unnecessary sex-assignment and genital “normalization” procedures until an individual can provide informed consent. The resolution was the first of its kind in the nation, and called on the medical community to create clear guidelines to protect this population of vulnerable children. Unfortunately, the California medical community failed to act, and it became clear that SB 201 was needed to drive this next step. The bill was opposed by the California Medical Association, the American Association of Clinical Urologists, the American Urological Association, the California Society of Plastic Surgeons, the California Urological Association, the Pediatric Endocrine Society, and the Societies for Pediatric Urology.

Las Vegas LGBTQ Center Launches Intersex Support Group

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Intersex Support Groups

The Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada, (The Center) has launched a new Intersex Support Group.

Intersex Connect is a group for people of any gender identity or sexual orientation who were born with any variety of natural body variations in hormones, chromosomes, or gonads that do not fall under institutionalized, binary definitions of male/female-sexed bodies. This is a space to share experiences, ask questions, find resources, and build community. People who are intersex can often be very isolated in that experience, with no other intersex people in their lives to relate to, share experiences and resources with.

The group meets on the fourth Thursdays, monthly, from 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM at The Center, 401 S Maryland Pkwy Las Vegas, NV 89101.

click here for more information

NCAVP Mourns the Death of Ashanti Carmon

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Ashanti Carmon

NCAVP mourns the death of Ashanti Carmon, a 27-year-old black trans woman in Washington D.C. According to media reports, Ashanti was died of gun shot wounds last Saturday on the eve of Transgender Day of Visibility. Carmon’s fiancé, Phillip Williams, told NBC News that they had been on a movie date the day before she was found dead.

“Until I leave this Earth, I’m going to continue on loving her in my heart, body, and soul,” Williams said. “She did not deserve to leave this Earth so early, especially in the way that she went out. She did not deserve that.”

NCAVP’s latest report, issued earlier this year, Hate Violence and Intimate Partner Violence in LGBTQ and HIV-affected Communities highlights the disproportionate risk for severe and fatal violence faced by trans women of color, like Ashanti. Local community held a vigil on April 2 to honor Ashanti’s memory

It can be hard to read these reports of violence against our communities. If you need support in these difficult times, you can always reach out to your local NCAVP member. If you or someone you know is experiencing violence, you can reach our free bilingual national hotline at 212-714-1141 or report onlinefor support.

NCAVP works to prevent, respond to, and end all forms of violence against and within lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ) and HIV-affected communities. NCAVP is a national coalition of local member programs and affiliate organizations who create systemic and social change. NCAVP is a program of the New York City Anti-Violence Project.

Cyndi Lauper’s True Colors Fund Is Now True Colors United

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True Colors Fund

The True Colors Fund, a leader in the pursuit to prevent and end youth homelessness, has announced a major rebrand, including a new name, logo, and visual identity. The new name, True Colors United, emphasizes the importance of working together to create an equitable world and reflects the responsibility we have as a society to eliminate the barriers youth experiencing homelessness face in achieving happy and healthy lives.

In the United States, 4.2 million youth experience homelessness each year, with LGBTQ youth 120% more likely to experience homelessness than their non-LGBTQ peers. Furthermore, up to 40% of all youth experiencing homelessness are LGBTQ, while only 10% of the general youth population is LGBTQ. Black/African American youth have an 83% higher risk of homelessness, while Hispanic youth have a 33% higher risk. True Colors United has set bold new goals for the future to bring these numbers down. By 2024, the organization aims to:

  • Establish and implement LGBTQ inclusion standards for organizations and communities working to address youth homelessness.
  • Activate policymakers to center the experiences of LGBTQ youth and youth of color to create equitable policies and practices.
  • Establish youth collaboration as an industry standard for youth homelessness work.
  • Expand the work of True Colors United internationally, beginning in Europe and Canada.

As they move into their second decade, True Colors United is also expanding their work to help ensure they are preventing and ending homelessness for all disproportionately affected youth, not just those who identify as LGBTQ. They will continue to partner with young people with lived experience of homelessness to ensure they’re in positions of power to drive change through their ideas, skills and talents so their peers in the future won’t have to experience homelessness.

“As we stand at the crossroads of our first and second decades, we can’t help but look back and be proud of what we’ve accomplished through our collaboration with service providers, policymakers, communities and, most importantly, youth to make sure policies and practices are inclusive, affirming and supportive of LGBTQ young people – but there’s still a great deal of work to be done,” said Gregory Lewis, Executive Director & CEO of True Colors United. “We are going to continue to shake things up by reexamining and reimagining services and systems so they better meet the needs of LGBTQ youth and all highly impacted young people. If we can ensure services are safe for and affirming of the most impacted young people, we can be confident that they’ll be safe and affirming for all youth.”

Co-founded in 2008 by Cyndi Lauper, True Colors United has transformed the response to youth homelessness in America by ensuring LGBTQ youth are at the heart of the solutions being developed locally and nationally. Over the past decade, True Colors United has:

  • Ensured that LGBTQ youth experiencing homelessness have access to safe and welcoming care by training thousands of homelessness service providers and staff in communities around the country, assessing and strengthening the inclusivity of their practices, and provided a wide array of tools and resources, including distributing 1,000 Inclusion Toolboxes, to help them create more inclusive spaces and cultures.
  • Worked with communities across the country to develop and implement long-term plans to prevent and end youth homelessness that are inclusive of LGBTQ youth, including partnering with the Federal Government on a groundbreaking initiative to pilot methods to prevent LGBTQ youth from experiencing homelessness in Houstonand Cincinnati.
  • Played a lead role in securing annual funding of $250 million from Congress for the Federal Government to invest in up to 71 communities around the country to develop solutions to end youth homelessness, and in 2018, launched the State Index on Youth Homelessness, a first-of-its-kind resource assessing all 50 states and Washington, DC on their work to end youth homelessness, and providing recommendations for improvement.
  • Developed the leadership skills of over 100 youth with lived experience of homelessness, helped establish over 25 Youth Action Boards across the country, and co-founded the National Youth Forum on Homelessness – the country’s only youth-led advocacy body dedicated to preventing and ending youth homelessness.

“I’m so proud of everything we’ve accomplished together over the past 10 years, but we’ve got to keep going. As a mother – and as someone who experienced homelessness in my youth – I can’t stand by as millions of young people go through the same thing in a country with as much promise and prosperity as ours,” said Cyndi Lauper, Co-founder and Board Member of True Colors United. “We have to solve this issue by working together – especially with youth and young adults who have experienced homelessness. It’s our responsibility – not only as an organization, but as society –  to stand with these young people so they live in a world where they are celebrated for being their authentic and true selves.”

The new branding is a result of a year-long project conducted with Publicis New York, who developed the new identity through extensive research, creative development, and close collaboration with True Colors United’s leadership and staff. In addition to the new name, the bold, colorful, and flexible visual identity embodies the organization’s collaborative spirit and the diverse communities it serves. The resulting identity system is one that reflects both the organization’s heritage and its expanding mission as it enters its second decade.

Carla Serrano, Chief Strategy Officer, Publicis Groupe and CEO, Publicis New York, commented, “True Colors United is committed to preventing and ending youth homelessness, and we are honored to work with Cyndi and her team. We hope the new design and identity capture the spirit of True Colors United as they embark on their second decade of preventing and ending this important issue.”

The organization will continue its commitment to raising awareness during the annual #TrueColorsDay on April 24, at the True Colors Impact Summit on September 4-5, and at the annual Cyndi Lauper & Friends: Home for the Holidays concert in December.

LGBTQ Guide to Miami

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LGBTQ Miami

Miami Beach is an award-winning LGBTQ destination filled with spirit and pride offering a multitude of experiences that cater to gay travelers from around the globe. From new, “hetero-friendly” hotels debuting stateside and must-visit drag brunch shows, to the iconic Miami beach Pride Parade next month, Miami Beach is like no other place in the world, embracing and celebrating the gay community all 365 days of the year. 

“Miami Beach has a long history of welcoming gay travelers and offering a variety of events, hotels, restaurants, bars and destinations that makes anyone in the LGBTQ community feel at home,” said Steve Adkins, Chairman of the Miami Beach Visitor and Convention Authority (MBVCA). “More than 1.2 million LGBTQ travelers visit our destination each year and we are dedicated to continuing our concerted efforts to accommodate this coveted traveler segment through ongoing, city-wide initiatives.”

Travelers looking for a gay-centric stay on Miami Beach this year can choose from a number of Miami Beach Visitor and Convention Authority picks including:

What to Do:

  • Princess, Out There (March 8) – The iconic duo will be premiering their live narrative video album that takes on cultural misogyny and the Divine Feminine at the Bass Museum.
  • Winter Music Conference (March 25-28) – Check out Miami’s LGBTQ Underground Panel during the city’s premiere musical event, which provides the opportunity for music lovers from all over the globe to gain industry insights, and connect with other music lovers, all while enjoying beautiful Miami Beach.
  • 11th Annual Miami Beach Pride Parade (April 7-8) – The mission of Miami Beach Pride is to bring together members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community, their friends, allies, and supporters in celebration of the unique spirit and culture of the LGBTQ community.
  • Outshine Film Festival (Starts April 18) – The biannual film festival highlights the local LGBTQ+ community. With film screenings and events throughout the city, it’s a can’t miss event to celebrate contemporary and classic queer cinema.

Where to Stay:

  • Axel Hotels – The internationally renowned LGBTQ hotel brand will call Miami Beach home in 2019, the chain’s first US location, that will include a destination restaurant, spa and community experiences.
  • Hotel Gaythering – This award-winning, iconic gay-owned hotel in Miami Beach is a boutique destination with “handsome industrial” design. Fully equipped for gay vacationers and locals alike with amenities such as an onsite gay bar with daily events and weekly specials, and clothing-optional, men-only gay sauna, jacuzzi, and steam room.

Where to Eat + Drink:

  • Front Porch Café – Stop by this beloved gay-owned institution that has been serving up the best breakfast in town for over 20 years and don’t miss the iconic pancakes.
  • Palace Bar – Brunch on the weekends is destination event on Ocean Drive and Palace Bar brings out all the stops with their legendary bottomless brunch + live drag shows.
  • Big Pink –Located South of Fifth, the restaurant is an all-hours scene for anyone looking for a retro diner experience to recover after a late night out.
  • Icebox Cafe – a staple on Miami Beach for 20 years, this gay-owned culinary destination offers up breakfast, lunch, brunch and dinner and is even home to Oprah’s favorite chocolate cake.

For more information on the best gay-friendly ways to experience Miami Beach in 2019, download the Miami Beach app at http://www.miamibeachapi.com/.