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LGBT activists call for more global funding at Berlin conference

U.S. to host gay donor meeting next year

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Bogota, Colombia, gay news, Washington Blade

Bogota, Colombia, gay news, Washington Blade

A USAID-sponsored training in BogotĆ”, Colombia, in May drew 30 LGBT activists from across the country. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

LGBT activists from around the world gathered in Berlin this week to discuss ways to increase funding and support for the global gay rights movement.

Astraea Foundation Executive Director J. Bob Alotta, Transgender Europe Executive Director Julia Ehrt, ILGA-Europe Executive Director Evelyne Paradise, Axel Hochrein of the Lesbian and Gay Federation in Germany, Gift Trapence of the Centre for the Development of People in Malawi and SimĆ³n Cazal of the Paraguayan LGBT advocacy group Somosgay are among those who traveled to the German capital. Patricia Davis of the U.S. State Department, senior USAID advisor Claire Lucas, Katharina Spiess of Germanyā€™s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Keyvan Sayar of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other government officials also took part.

The Berlin conference followed a similar gathering the Swedish International Development Corporation Agency (SIDA) and the Netherlands-based Humanist Institute for Cooperation (Hivos) co-hosted in Stockholm, Sweden, in 2010. U.S. Ambassador to Germany John Emerson announced during the conference that the next meeting of this kind will take place in the U.S. next year.

ā€œUSAID along with the State Department is happy to represent the U.S. government and participate in the Dec. 5 and 6 Berlin conference on increasing support and resources for global LGBTI rights and development,ā€ Jay Gilliam of USAID told the Washington Blade.

ā€œThe cross-sector dialogue slated to take place among government officials, NGOs, local activists and LGBT organizations has the potential to be catalytic ā€” both in terms of increasing the resources available and in achieving a level of coordination that will accelerate advancement of the human rights of LGBT people everywhere,ā€ added Arcus Foundation Executive Director Kevin Jennings before the conference began.

Helen Kennedy, executive director of Egale Canada, a Canadian LGBT rights group, told the Blade on Friday she feels it was important for her organization ā€œto be presentā€ at the conference ā€œin order to contribute to the conversation of how funding and resources can be increased and broadened.ā€ Staffers from the Canadian Embassy in Berlin attended the gathering, but Kennedy said Prime Minister Stephen Harperā€™s administration can do more to support the global LGBT rights movement.

ā€œItā€™s important for a strong message to be delivered to our government that we are sadly missed as a leader in these discussions at the international level,ā€ Kennedy told the Blade.

The Berlin conference began a day after National Security Advisor Susan Rice stressed during a speech she gave at Human Rights Firstā€™s annual summit in D.C. that LGBT rights remain an essential part of U.S. foreign policy.

USAID, SIDA, the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice and the Ford Foundation on Sept. 24 hosted a meeting of funders of global LGBT advocacy efforts in New York that coincided with the beginning of the U.N. General Assembly. Secretary of State John Kerry and representatives from 10 countries two days earlier issued a declaration that calls for an end to anti-LGBT violence and discrimination.

USAID earlier this year announced a public-private initiative with SIDA, the Gay and Lesbian Victory Institute and other groups that will contribute $12 million over the next four years to LGBT advocacy groups in Honduras and other developing countries. The LGBT Global Development Partnershipā€™s first two trainings took place in the Colombian cities of BogotĆ” and Cartagena in May and August respectively.

Uzra Zeya, acting assistant secretary of the State Departmentā€™s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, told the Blade during a June interview that her agencyā€™s Global Equality Fund since 2011 has spent more than $4 million in 25 countries to directly support LGBT advocates and underrepresented groups.

ā€œParticipating in the Berlin conference allows the agency (USAID) to continue discussions with stakeholders like agencies from donor countries and non-governmental organizations in this space on progress made and how to move the advancement of international LGBTI rights forward,ā€ Gilliam said.

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Congress

Sens. Butler, Smith introduce Pride in Mental Health Act to aid at-risk LGBTQ youth

Bill is backed by Democrats in both chambers

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U.S. Sen. Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.) speaks at the International LGBTQ Leaders Conference on Nov. 30, 2023. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

U.S. Sens. Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.) and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) introduced the Pride in Mental Health Act on Thursday, legislation that would strengthen resources in mental health and crisis intervention for at-risk LGBTQ youth.

ā€œAccessing mental health care and support has become increasingly difficult in nearly every state in the country,ā€Ā said Butler, who is the first Black LGBTQ senator. ā€œBarriers get even more difficult if you are a young person who lacks a supportive community or is fearful of being outed, harassed, or threatened.”

“I am introducing the Pride in Mental Health Act to help equip LGBTQ+ youth with the resources to get the affirming and often life-saving care they need,” she said.

ā€œMental health care is health care,” said Smith. “And for some LGBTQ+ youth, receiving access to the mental health care they need can mean the difference between living in safety and dignity, and suffering alone through discrimination, bullying, and even violence.ā€Ā 

The Minnesota senator added that data shows LGBTQ students are experiencing “an epidemic” of “anxiety, depression and other serious mental health conditions.”

For example, a 2023 study by The Trevor Project found that 54 percent of LGBTQ youth reported symptoms of depression, compared to 35 percent of their heterosexual counterparts.

Joining the senators as cosponsors are Democratic U.S. Sens. Ed Markey (Mass.), Bob Casey (Penn.), Peter Welch (Vt.), Alex Padilla (Calif.), Jeff Merkley (Ore.), Cory Booker (N.J.), and Tammy Baldwin (Wis.). Baldwin was the first LGBTQ woman elected to the House in 1999 and the first LGBTQ woman elected to the Senate in 2013.

Leading the House version of the bill are LGBTQ Democratic U.S. Reps. Sharice Davids (Kan.), Eric Sorensen (Ill.), and Ritchie Torres (N.Y.), along with 163 other House members.

Organizations that have backed the Pride in Mental Health Act include the Human Rights Campaign, GLSEN, American Academy of Pediatrics, National Education Association (NEA), National Center for Transgender Equality, Seattle Indian Health Board, PFLAG National, The Trevor Project, American Psychological Association, Whitman-Walker Institute, InterACT: Advocates for Intersex Youth, National Alliance on Mental Illness, American Federation of Teachers (AFT), Mental Health America, and Center for Law and Social Policy.

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District of Columbia

D.C. mayorĀ honors 10th anniversary of Team Rayceen Productions

LGBTQ entertainment, advocacy organization praised for ā€˜vital workā€™

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Rayceen Pendarvis co-founded Team Rayceen Productions. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser today issued an official proclamation declaring Monday, March 18, 2024, as Team Rayceen Day in honor of the local LGBTQ entertainment and advocacy organization Team Rayceen Productions named after its co-founder Rayceen Pendarvis.

ā€œWhereas Rayceen, along with Team Rayceen Productions co-founder, Zar, have spent 10 years advocating for the Black LGBTQI+ community using various forms including in-person events, social media, and YouTube,ā€ the proclamation states.

The proclamation adds that through its YouTube Channel, Team Rayceen Productions created a platform for ā€œBlack LGBTQIA+ individuals to discuss various topics including spotlighting nonprofit organizations and small businesses, voter registration and participation, the state of LGBTQIA+ rights and resources in D.C, gender equality and equity, and the amplification of opportunities to bring the community together.ā€

It also praises Team Rayceen Productions for its partnership with the Mayorā€™s Office of LGBTQ Affairs in helping to produce ā€œexciting events like the District of Pride talent showcase held each June and the iconic 17th Street High Heel Race celebrated in October.ā€

ā€œWhereas I thank Team Rayceen Productions for its vital and necessary work and am #DCProud to wish you all the best as you continue to support Black LGBTQIA+ residents across all 8 Wards,ā€ the proclamation continues.

ā€œNow, therefore, I, the Mayor of Washington, D.C., do hereby proclaim March 18, 2024, as TEAM RAYCEEN DAY in Washington, D.C. and do commit this observance to all Washingtonians,ā€ it concludes.

ā€œWe thank Mayor Bowser for this special proclamation, which highlights where it all began, with the Black LGBTQIA+ community of Washington, D.C,ā€ Team Rayceen Productions says in a statement. ā€œStarting with The Ask Rayceen Show, Reel Affirmation, and events with D.C. Public Library to Art All Night, Silver Pride by Whitman-Walker, and events with the Mayorā€™s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, we are #dcproud of what we have accomplished in the Nationā€™s Capital,ā€ the statement says. 

“For TEAM RAYCEEN DAY, we thank the diverse group of individuals who have made everything we have done possible by volunteering their time and talents over the past decade ā€“ as online co-hosts, event staff, performers, DJs, photographers, and more,ā€ says the statement.

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U.S. Supreme Court

Supreme Court declines to hear case over drag show at Texas university

Students argue First Amendment protects performance

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The U.S. Supreme Court justices on June 30, 2022. ((Photo by Fred Schilling of the U.S. Supreme Court)

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday declined to hear a First Amendment case over a public university president’s refusal to allow an LGBTQ student group to host a drag show on campus.

The group’s application was denied without the justices providing their reasoning or issuing dissenting opinions, as is custom for such requests for emergency review.

When plaintiffs sought to organize the drag performance to raise money for suicide prevention in March 2023, West Texas A&M University President Walter Wendler cancelled the event, citing the Bible and other religious texts.

The students sued, arguing the move constituted prior restraint and viewpoint-based discrimination, in violation of the First Amendment. Wendler had called drag shows ā€œderisive, divisive and demoralizing misogyny,” adding that “a harmless drag show” was “not possible.”

The notoriously conservative Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, who former President Donald Trump appointed to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, ruled against the plaintiffs in September, writing that ā€œit is not clearly established that all drag shows are inherently expressive.”

Kacsmaryk further argued that the High Court’s precedent-setting opinions protecting stage performances and establishing that “speech may not be banned on the ground that it expresses ideas that offend” was inconsistent with constitutional interpretation based on ā€œtext, history and tradition.”

Plaintiffs appealed to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which is by far the most conservative of the nation’s 12 appellate circuit courts. They sought emergency review by the Supreme Court because the 5th Circuit refused to fast-track their case, so arguments were scheduled to begin after the date of their drag show.

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