ABOVE: “LGBTQ #BlackLivesMatter Town Hall,” a virtual event being held by Equality Florida, aims to mobilize LGBTQ organizations in tackling racial inequality in their work (Courtesy: Facebook)
LGBTQ political advocacy group Equality Florida is holding a virtual town hall meeting June 3 to discuss current racial issues.
“LGBTQ #BlackLivesMatter Town Hall” will feature conversations with prominent black LGBTQ leaders, such as Alphonso David – president of the Human Rights Campaign – and Imani Rupert-Gordon, who serves as executive director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights.
The event follows the publication of an open letter by the Human Rights Campaign on May 29, which calls for an end to the recent uptick in racial violence that has been plaguing black Americans. The letter has been signed by over 200 LGBTQ organizations, according to Equality Florida.
“Many of our organizations have made progress in adopting intersectionality as a core value and have committed to be more diverse, equitable, and inclusive,” an excerpt from the letter states. “But this moment requires that we go further — that we make explicit commitments to embrace anti-racism and end white supremacy, not as necessary corollaries to our mission, but as integral to the objective of full equality for LGBTQ people.”
Subsequently, Equality Florida has said that the discussion of this virtual town hall will center around the types of action that these commitments to racial equality will require of these pledging organizations.
Nadine Smith, executive director of Equality Florida, noted that the intersection of LGBTQ history and police brutality – most notable in the Stonewall riots – underscores the relevance of LGBTQ individuals working for racial justice
“The LGBTQ community knows about the work of resisting police brutality and hate violence,” Smith said. “We understand what it means to stand up and push back against a culture that tells us we are less than, that our lives don’t matter. Today, we stand up again to say Black Lives Matter.”
This town hall comes in the wake of the death of Tony McDade, a black transgender man who was shot by police in Tallahassee, as well as the racial profiling of Christian Cooper, a Black gay man in New York City.
Equality Florida serves as “the largest civil rights organization dedicated to securing full equality for Florida’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community” and is comprised of two organizations – the educational charity Equality Florida Institute, Inc. and the advocacy organization Equality Florida Action, Inc. Equality Florida Action, Inc. has helped defeat anti-LGBTQ legislation in Tallahassee for the past 16 years.
“LGBTQ #BlackLivesMatter Town Hall” will take place June 3 from 6-7 p.m. and will be moderated by Smith. To attend the event, you can RSVP here. For additional information, you can also visit Equality Florida’s official Facebook page.
