Today we recognize Juneteenth - a celebration marking the day in 1865 when enslaved Texans learned they’d be free, two months after Robert E. Lee surrendered and ended the Civil War and two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation.
Black people have been killed, Black people are dying at the hands of police, our country is in crisis, and we all need to take action. We cannot sit on the sidelines, we cannot acquiesce, and we cannot assign responsibility to others. We, as leaders in the LGBTQ movement, must rise up and call for structural change, for divestment of police resources and reinvestment in communities, and for long-term transformational change. Now is the time to take action, and this letter amplifies our strong calls for urgent and immediate action to be taken.
Moments ago, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that firing someone for being LGBTQ is a VIOLATION of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act!
You can read the full opinion at: https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/19pdf/17-1618_hfci.pdf
Statement on today’s ruling by Equality Florida’s Executive Director, Nadine Smith:
ORLANDO, FL - As the nation marks four years since the tragic shooting at Pulse Nightclub that left 49 mostly LGBTQ people of color dead, Equality Florida, in its ongoing commitment to honor the victims with action, is announcing the launch of its largest election program in the organization’s history. The efforts will target 500,000 pro-equality voters in the state of Florida with the goal of ensuring they have updated registrations, resources to educate themselves on where candidates stand on equality, and sign up to receive their ballots by mail.
Sign up for a shift here: https://bit.ly/3dMhVFe
To commemorate the 4th year since the tragic shooting at Pulse Nightclub, Equality Florida has teamed up with the creative team behind a new musical, From Here. Written by Orlando-based playwright Donald Rupe (with orchestrations and arrangements by Jason M. Bailey), From Here is about a 30-something gay man (Daniel) and his tight-knit group of friends and their lives before, during, and after the shooting that changed their community (and our's) forever.
Join us for a discussion about the importance of voting in the 2020 election and the challenges and barriers transgender people may face at the polls. This hour-long virtual town hall will be held June 17th at 4:00pm EST.