Take Action and Be Kevin Jennings' Friend

Kevin Jennings is a hometown boy made good.

Though Kevin wasn't born here, he grew up in Winston-Salem. He went on to found the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) and is currently the Assistant Deputy Secretary for the Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools at the U.S. Department of Education.

He's written six books on gay rights and education, and he won the Lambda Literary Award in the Children's/Young Adult category for his book Telling Tales Out of School.

In 2004, Kevin received the National Education Association (NEA)'s Virginia Uribe Award for Creative Leadership in Human Rights.

Of course, now that he's an openly gay man in a leadership position in the current executive administration of the country, anti-equality groups are slandering him something fierce. He's been accused of everything from child molestation to advocating murder. A few of them have apologized for some of the lies, but more of them are still propagating misinformation as part of political character assassination.

The mainstream press and gay bloggers have come to his defense, and now you can, too. Become his Facebook friend, or at least a member of the Support Kevin Jennings Facebook Group.

Kevin is a great educator and advocate for the LGBT community, and the opposition against him is nothing more than homophobia.

All it takes is a couple of clicks to show your support, and your virtual connection will make a real difference.

Ten Years: Working With You For Change

By Ian Palmquist

Ten years ago today, something happened that changed my life in ways I couldn't have imagined then: I started my first day of work at Equality NC.

I'd graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill that May and had been looking for a way to get into LGBT movement work. I was sure that was going to mean leaving North Carolina and heading off to New York, DC, or maybe San Francisco.

Happily, Equality NC's then-Executive Director, MK Cullen, asked me to come on staff. I have to admit, I was pretty nervous about it. It was the first time Equality NC was hiring a permanent second staff person. Plus, I was leaving my $11 per hour full-time job at UNC Student Stores for an $8 per hour half-time job.

My parents thought I was crazy. But I knew that chances to do paid movement work right here in my home state were few and far between, and leaped at the chance.

I've never regretted it.

At lunch today, a former intern of ours asked me what my favorite thing about working for Equality NC was. I thought a minute, and realized that the answer was clear.

The thing that his given me the most joy these ten years has been the chance to work with amazing leaders across the state and the nation who are fighting to make all of our lives better:

• Incredible volunteers who work tirelessly to win local policy victories or collect hundreds of postcards to legisaltors in conservative areas;
• Dedicated board members who work to realize a vision of what Equality NC could become;
• Amazing coalition partners who time and again stand up to insist that the LGBT community be included and protected;
• Hard-working colleagues at other Equality Federation organizations who have made me a better leader, and our movement more effective; and
  
• Talented co-workers and interns who pour their heart and soul into
  improving the lives of LGBT people in our state.

MK, and her successor Jo Wyrick, taught me so much about politics, grassroots organizing, and running a non-profit as I became the Assistant Director. Ed Farthing stuck with me as Co-Executive Director through some tough financial times and encouraged me to keep fighting because the work we were doing was so important.

Now Kay Flaminio, Shawn Long, and Rebecca Mann make coming to work as Executive Director these last three years something to look forward to, and have made our recent successes possible.

Ten years is a long time, and sometimes people ask my why I've stayed at Equality NC. I've been recruited a couple times to work for national organizations, but when I thought about it I realized that I could have the greatest impact working right here with you.

I truly believe that the most important work we can do to win full equality nationwide is to fight the fight in the states. The federal work is unquestionably important, too. But no amount of lobbying in DC will make a difference if our community isn't on the ground in local communities building public support for equal rights, passing local and state policies, and creating a climate for change.

That's why I'm so proud to work with Equality NC. Thanks to the amazing hard work of everyone that makes up this organization, we have achieved things no one thought were possible.

Here in our proudly Southern state, no bill that would diminish the rights of our community has passed since 1996, while our neighbors have seen attacks on our families enshrined into their state constituions.

Instead, we've increased protections for same-sex couples by ensuring basic hospital visitation rights. We've made life safer for our young people by making sure schools address bullying and harrassment. We've protected the lives and health of people by securing comprehensive sex education in public schools, increased funding for HIV prevention programs, and expanded access to HIV/AIDS drugs for low-income North Carolinians.

Most importantly, we've made our voices heard and laid a foundation that will, in time, allow us to build a state of equality.

I'm so proud of what we've done together. But I'm even more excited about what we can achieve going forward.

Thanks for being a part of my journey this past decade. I'm counting on you to stick with us as we keep moving forward together.

ENDA Suits Us to a (LGB)T

By Stephen Wiseman, former ENC intern

As I started a new job last week, I once again thought about my lack of protection as a queer person in the workplace.

My new employment comes only weeks after the House Committee on Education and Labor heard testimony about the devastating impact of workplace discrimination faced by gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. This hearing was part of the Committee’s work on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), HR 3017, which would prohibit workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

One of the witnesses at the hearing, Vandy Beth Glenn, was immediately fired from her job at the Georgia state legislature when she informed her supervisor she was transitioning from male to female. Unfortunately, Ms. Glenn’s experience is one that is all too common within the transgender community.

Over the summer I worked with the National Gay and Lesbian Task force analyzing data from the National Survey of Transgender Discrimination, a groundbreaking survey on discrimination against transgender people in the United States.

Data from this large-scale (6450 respondents), first-of-its-kind survey show that discrimination in employment against transgender people is a nearly universal experience: 97 percent of the respondents reported being mistreated or harassed at work, and nearly half (47 percent) said they had lost their jobs, were denied a promotion, or denied a job as a direct result of being transgender. Results from this survey (a partnership between the Task Force and the National Center for Transgender Equality) were submitted as testimony to the Committee.

We are at a critical point in defining the state of the workplace for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and particularly transgender Americans. The passage of ENDA will go a long way in ensuring individuals are able to contribute their talents and skills in the workplace, free from discrimination.

For more information and how you can become involved please visit www.thetaskforce.org and www.nctequality.org.

Equality in the News October 2-8

Happy Friday….I’m actually writing from Virginia and let me tell you, it is beautiful up here. The leaves are starting to change colors and the days are getting shorter. There isn’t much longer until the holiday season! I have quite a bit of news to report today…so jump it!

-Jennifer

STATE

Blue Ridge Pride is Tomorrow!

...and we'll be there, along with supporters of equal rights from across Western NC. Read all about the event in the Mountain Xpress, which includes a peek behind the scenes to show the many amazing organizers who have been carefully planning this year's Pride for months. They promise a "family friendly" day, where participants will "come together in high-profile gatherings to connect, be recognized and revitalize their activism." Sounds like a great time!

The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later

On Monday (the 11^th anniversary of Matthew Sheppard’s death), New York will give fresh meaning to the term “world premiere,” with more than 140 simultaneous, one-night only productions occurring throughout the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Spain, Hong Kong and Australia. Currently, Winston-Salem’s Paper Lantern Theatre Company & Raleigh’s Burning Coal are the only North Carolina companies participating. The audiences at most of these stagings will participate in an interactive, web-based simulcast with the New York premiere at the Lincoln Center. Director Ian Finley finds the center question of the epilogue to be: “How do we create the story that defines our communities?” With only a handful of tickets left at press time, company officials were considering adding a second show Monday afternoon to accommodate demand. Proceeds from the Burning Coal event will go to Equality North Carolina Foundation, and those from Paper Lantern will go to the Adam Foundation and the Matthew Shepard Foundation.

Greensboro Billboard Stirs Emotions

Last week, the Triad Equality Alliance unveiled a billboard in Greensboro above the Battleground Avenue near Cone Blvd. The billboard will “open up the debate over equal marriage,” according to the group. One of the couples on the billboard [Pearl Berlin and Ellen (Lennie) Gerber] are more than happy to be featured. They have been together over four decades and believe that the only thing that is missing in their relationship is the wedding. Greensboro citizens seem to be torn about the billboard the message it conveys. I hope the billboard opens the eyes to some of the citizens of the city to become more proactive towards equal marriage.

Hickory Resident Moves from LGBT Acrimony to Advocacy

Brent Childers of NC-based Faith in America details his journey from self-proclaimed religious bigot to outspoken advocate for LGBT rights in this Newsweek web exclusive.

NATION

Missouri finds Discrimination to be a Destructive Cancer

Second-parent adoption is a hot button issue in North Carolina and across the country. In Montana, Justice James Nelson sided with a 6-1 majority on the state supreme court that upheld a ruling giving parental rights to a Missoula woman who had been in a 10-year relationship with another woman that included two children legally adopted by her partner. Justice Nelson used strong language to get his point across that LGBT rights are human rights.

Nelson is quoted as saying that discrimination against LGBT individuals is “a prevalent societal cancer grounded in bigotry and hate…I remain absolutely convinced….that homosexuals are entitled to enjoy precisely the same civil and natural rights as heterosexuals, as a matter of a constitutional law.”

A Texas Divorce?

On Thursday, a Texas judge cleared the way for two Dallas men to get a divorce. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott argued that because the state doesn’t recognize same-sex marriage, its courts can’t dissolve one through divorce. District Judge Callahan ruled that the court “has jurisdiction to hear a suit for divorce filed by persons legally married in another jurisdiction,” meaning the court can legally grant the couple a divorce. There is a lot of disagreement among Texas citizens on this issue, but as with equal marriage, ALL American citizens should have the right to a marriage, or divorce, if they so chose to.

Congress Votes to Extend Hate Crimes to Include Sexual Orientation

The US Congress voted Thursday to classify anti-LGBT violence as federal hate crimes, as part of a military policy bill. The bill would extend protections to those attacked based on a variety of factors, including sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, military service or gender. Next stop: the US Senate!

National Equality March in Washington

Thirty years ago, gay rights activists staged their first national march in Washington D.C. Now, thirty years later, thousands of advocates are preparing to rally again in the nation’s capital this weekend. The march is to bring many of the same issues to the public's attention such as: bills to outlaw job discrimination based on sexual orientation, the extension of existing hate crimes legislation, and a presidential order allowing LGBT soldiers to serve openly in the military. On the eve of the march, President Obama plans to deliver the keynote address at a dinner in Washington sponsored by the Human Rights Campaign. Urvashi Vaid, whose private foundation gave $50,000 to support the march, stated that the weekend would also showcase progress. Legally married same-sex couples, straight supporters and members of mainstream religious denominations are among those planning to attention. These alliances would have been unimaginable 30 years ago.

Speaking of Washington…

On Tuesday a bill that would allow same-sex couples to marry in D.C. The bill was nearly certain to pass the D.C. city council, but becoming a law will prove to be more complicated because Congress gets a chance to review D.C. legislation before it takes effect. The good news is, Congressional leaders acknowledge that the bill is likely to become a law!

Non-Maine Natives in support of Maine’s Campaign to Keep Marriage Equal

On November 3^rd, citizens of Maine will go to the polls to decide whether to uphold the state’s equal marriage law or overturn it. It will be the first time voters in a state will decide the fate of same-sex marriage law approved by the Legislature. Pam Perkins, a North Carolina native, flew up to Maine using frequent-flyer miles donated by a supporter of equal marriage through a program called “Travel for Change.” Pam says she has spent much of her time making phone calls to Maine citizens to gain their support in the campaign. Many other out-of-staters are up in Maine showing their support for the campaign. I wish them all the best. It is wonderful to have so much support on such a pressing issue.

President Obama chooses an openly gay lawyer for ambassadorship

On Wednesday, President Obama plans to nominate an openly gay lawyer as the United States ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa. If confirmed by the Senate, David Huebner would become the third openly gay ambassador in United States history and the first pick by the Obama administration.

WORLD

Russian Court Rules Against Same-Sex Couple

This past Tuesday a Moscow court ruled against a two women seeking to become Russia’s first legally married same-sex couple. The couple’s lawyer, Nikolai Alexeyev, who is a longtime Russian gay rights activist, told reporters that they plan to fight the ruling. The couple plans to fly to Canada later on this month to marry and then return to Russia in order to force authorities to recognize the marriage. Congrats to the couple for not giving up on their rights. However, it’s still a shame that in order to have their union recognized they need to fly to another country. Hopefully Russia revisits equal marriage; and quickly.

French Soccer Team Snubbed by Muslim Team

Recently, a French gay soccer team believes that its members were victims of homophobia when a team of Muslim players refused to play a match against them. The team states that it received an email from the Creteil Bebel club canceling a match scheduled for last Sunday. The email read: “…because of the principles of our team, which is a team of devout Muslims, we can’t play against you…our convictions are much more important than a simple football match.” Creteil Bebel, told French-info radio that he apologized if anyone “felt upset or hurt.” Too little too late Bebel, too little too late…

That’s all I have for now! Have a great weekend & tune in for more briefs next week!

A Sign of the Times ...

If you live in Greensboro, you might've seen this billboard, created by Triad Equality Alliance (TEA).

Actually, you may have seen or heard something about it if you just live in the area, or the state, or, well, the whole world! Their most recent initiative has really gotten some attention:

• The Towle Road blog
• NC's statewide News Channel 14
• Fox 8
• WFMY News 2
• Greensboro News and Record

TEA has been around for years. TEA's mission is to eliminate prejudice and to secure social justice and civil rights for LGBT people by educating and enlightening the general public about LGBT members of the community and the special issues affecting them. Equality NC Foundation has served as their fiscal agent.

You can see some of their previous billboards here:

• Good People Campaign
• All Equal
• Gay Equality
• abOUT Face

Their work has been a perfect example of putting a face on a civil rights issue. When you're just denying rights to 'The Gays,' then it's easy. When you have a human face whose civil rights and American promise of equality are being taken away, that's much, much harder.

Anything that humanizes the LGBT community works in favor of equality. Here's what one teenager said about TEA's first billboard campaign:

"I turned around and went by it 3 times...."

"I'm a 17 year old and I go to Burke High. I always kind of knew that I was attracted to girls and last year fell in love with Kathy and am sure now that I'm a lesbian. Since then, I haven't said anything to anyone but my mom who was pretty cool about it but wanted me to talk with a counselor who has been great. Anyway, besides Kathy, my mom and my counselor, all I hear around here about gays and lesbians is really awful. It has had me real, real depressed.

"Tuesday night I was driving to town from the mall and drove by y'alls billboard. Wow! I almost ran off the road. It was awesome. Just awesome. And it's BIG!!

"It was the first positive thing I've heard since I admitted to myself that I'm gay and it just knocked me out.

"I was driving down 26 crying and everything - I turned around and went by it 3 times, then found out how to get back there in the Sears lot to just stare at it for awhile. Anyway, I wanted to thank ya'll for doing it. You can't really ever know what it meant to me but I wanted to try to tell you."

-- Angela

Most of the time you don't hear about how your actions have affected others. The feedback TEA has received has been extremely positive, and that's only what's known. There's no way to tell how many countless lives have been affected by this simple affirmation of common humanity.

It's truly a positive sign of the times.

"The Dream is the Truth ...." - GLBT History Month

The title is a snippet of a quote from Zora Neale Hurston, the fabulous black lesbian author who is one of the 31 out LGBT folks being celebrated as part of GLBT History Month that extends through all of October 2009.

If you go to the main website, each day you can get information about each of the people being lauded including videos, bios, and resources. They even have factsheets and posters your can download and distribute.

Check out the honorees throughout the month, and you might learn something about our community and its rich contributions to history and culture. Here's who you can find on which day:

1. Alvin Ailey Jr.

2. John Amaechi
3. Tammy Baldwin
4. John Cage
5. Ruth Ellis
6. Rainer Fassbinder

7. Michel Foucault

8. Harry Hay

9. Magnus Hirschfeld

10. Zora Neale Hurston

11. Jasper Johns

12. Cherry Jones

13. Kate Kendell

14. Alfred Kinsey

15. k.d. lang

16. Rachel Maddow

17. Deirdre McCloskey

18. Paul Monette

19. Pauli Murray

20. Joan Nestle

21. Todd Oldham

22. Suze Orman

23. Christine Quinn

24. Robert Rauschenberg

25. Jerome Robbins

26. Hilary Rosen

27. Yves St. Laurent

28. Esera Tuaolo

29. Urvashi Vaid

30. Gus Van Sant

31. B.D. Wong

Education, visibility, and awareness are the keys to overcoming the ignorance and prejudice that preclude equality. Take this opportunity to tell a friend, family member, or co-worker about GLBT History Month.

Equality in the News for September 26-October 2

Happy October! Time sure is flying by quickly! I hope everyone had a great weekend and enjoyed Pride this year! I was unable to attend because of work, but heard some many great things!

-Jennifer

STATE

Pam Spaulding Speaks at NC Pride

Many of you were well aware that North Carolina’s 25^th Pride took place in Durham! Please take a look and listen at Pam Spaulding’s keynote address, where she mentions ENC and the passage of the School Violence Protection Act.

Speaking of Pride…

The News & Observer reports that 4,500 attended this year’s pride fest which has been the largest number yet! Woo-hoo! The Herald-Sun also covered the event, and includes a small slide show.

A University Study Confirms What We Already Know…

East Carolina University (which just so happens to be my school), states that a study published this month in Adoption Quarterly found that: “the sexual orientation of adopted parents was not a significant predictor of emotional problems.” Well of course it isn’t. The only thing that should matter is whether or not the parents are going to love their children!

Orange County: The New Travel Hot Spot?

The Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau held a symposium for the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association and ENC Executive Director Ian Palmquist was quoted giving some details about the political climate in the area.

Local Teens' Perspectives on the Need for Ally Week

The teen column in Wilmington's Star-News focused on making schools safer for LGBT students this month, and highlights the need for allies to speak out against name-calling.

NATION

Pro-Prop 8 Campaign Seeks to Shield Internal Memos

On Friday U.S. District Chief Judge Vaughn Walker in San Francisco heard arguments from lawyers seeking internal campaign records from sponsors of California’s voter-approved gay marriage ban. The attorneys are challenging Prop 8, saying it denies equality to LGBT couples in violation of the U.S. Constitution. The judge is expected to rule on the issue next week.

Illinois: Marriage Equality Bill Introduced

On Thursday Illinois Senator Heather Steans introduced a marriage equality bill in the Illinois State Senate. The bill is co-sponsored by Representatives Deb Mell, Sara Feigenholtz, Constance Howard, Harry Osterman and John Fritchey. Our friends at Equality of Illinois applaud the sponsoring legislators! Congrats to Illinois!

“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”

An article in Joint Force Quarterly--the Pentagon's top scholarly journal--argues forcefully for repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Adm. Mike Mullen who is the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff states that, “after a careful examination, there is no scientific evidence to support the claim that unit cohesion will be negatively affected if homosexuals serve openly.” You don’t say? It amazes me how there have to be “studies” for many citizens in this country to believe in equal rights.

Well, that is it for this week’s round up. Please tune in next week for additional news briefs. Also, fan us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for daily updates!