LGBTQ Non-Profit Organizations
Blade contributor wins GLAAD Media Award
Erin Reed recognized for Outstanding Blog
Los Angeles and Washington Blade contributor and journalist Erin Reed took home a GLAAD Media Award this past Saturday as she was honored for her reporting on LGBTQ laws, people, and moments around the world with special emphasis on in-depth reporting on issues affecting the trans community, of which she along with her fiancée, Montana state Rep. Zooey Zephyr (D-Missoula) are part.
Reflecting on her recognition by the world’s largest LGBTQ media advocacy organization winning for Outstanding Blog: Reed said:
“When I started reporting on queer and trans issues several years ago, I never envisioned myself becoming a journalist in this space. Instead, I was simply trying to help people understand where to get their healthcare resources, what laws challenged those resources, and what they could do to advocate for themselves through the legislative process and courts. I moved to writing long-form content almost two years ago when I realized that major media outlets were leaving a giant void in reporting on queer and trans issues.
I have been so blessed to be in the position I am in, where I can tell our stories every day. I cannot do this without standing on the shoulders of giants — the trans kids I saw tonight at the Gender Cool Project, the trans elders who fought for our healthcare long before us, and the activists in every single state messaging me every time they see something important. I also could not do it without all of you, the subscribers who make this work sustainable.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart. You make this work worth it.”
The 35th annual GLAAD Media Awards:
GLAAD President Sarah Kate Ellis, introduced by New York State Attorney General Letitia James, said in part: “10 years ago when I started at GLAAD, It was a much different landscape …And now we have the urgent need to protect it all. Our latest poll shows that more than half of American voters are turned off by candidates who are anti-trans. Hating us is becoming a losing proposition. We have to keep telling our stories, raising our voices, pushing back on the rhetoric.”
GLAAD presented the following awards onstage in New York:
- “Our America Who I’m Meant to Be – Episode 3” received the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding TV Journalism – Long-Form presented by Don Lemon
- “Family Karma” received the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Reality Program presented by the cast of “We’re Here” (Jaida Essence Hall, Latrice Royale, Priyanka, Sasha Velour)
- “Melissa Etheridge: My Window” received the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Broadway Production presented by Uma Thurman
- “Jennifer Hudson Surprises HIV Activist with $10,000” “The Jennifer Hudson Show” received the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Variety or Talk Show Episode presented by Carla Gugino and Mary McDonnell
- “Red, White, and Royal Blue” received the GLAAD Media Award for Queer Fan Favorite presented by Cody Rigsby and Beanie Feldstein
GLAAD also announced these winners in an offstage video reel in New York:
Outstanding Podcast: “Las Culturistas” (iHeart)
Outstanding Film – Streaming Or TV: “Rustin” (Netflix)
Outstanding Documentary: “Beyond the Aggressives: 25 Years Later” (MTV Documentary Films), “Kokomo City” (Magnolia Pictures), and “The Stroll” (HBO | Max Documentary Films)
Outstanding New Series: “The Last of Us” (HBO)
Outstanding Kids & Family Programming or Film — Live Action: “Heartstopper” (Netflix)
Outstanding Broadway Production: “Melissa Etheridge: My Window,” by Melissa Etheridge
Outstanding TV Journalism Segment: “New York City Gay Bar Deaths Classified as Homicides” (NBC News Now)
Outstanding Live TV Journalism — Segment or Special: “Indiana Students Put on LGBTQ-Themed Play Themselves After it’s Canceled By the School” “Yasmin Vossoughian Reports” (MSNBC)
Outstanding Print Article: “As Drag Bans Proliferate, Maren Morris Goes Deep With Drag’s Biggest Stars on Why the Show Must Go On” by Stephen Daw (Billboard)
Outstanding Online Journalism Article: “The AP Interview: Pope Francis Says Homosexuality Not a Crime” by Nicole Winfield (AP.com)
Outstanding Online Journalism — Video or Multimedia: “7 Remarkable Trans Elders Share Lessons for the Next Generation” (them.us)
Outstanding Blog: Erin Reed (“Erin in the Morning”)
Spanish Language — Outstanding Online Journalism Article: “Personas mayores LGBTQIA+ ‘tienen que regresar a un clóset para poder buscar vivienda’” por David Cordero Mercado y Joaquín A. Rosado Lebrón (PeriodismoInvestigativo.com and ElNuevoDia.com)
Spanish Language — Outstanding Online Journalism — Video or Multimedia: “Conoce a la primera diputada negra y trans de Brasil” por Natalia Barrera Francis, Joyce García, David von Blohn, Paula Daibert y Claudia Escobar (Descoloniza – AJ+ Español)
GLAAD previously announced Special Recognition awards for “The Dads” (Netflix), “Love in Gravity, Relighting Candles” (Hulu), “Renaissance: A Film by Beyonce” (AMC Theatres), “The Tennessee Holler, Yes I Am: The Ric Weiland Story, Drag Latina” (Revry / LATV), “Enamorándonos” (UniMás), “El sabor de la Navidad” (ViX), “Wendy, perdida pero famosa” (ViX)
GLAAD also previously announced that +Life Media received the Barbara Gittings Award for Excellence in LGBTQ Media.
The following winners were announced at the 35th GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles on March 14:
Outstanding Drama Series: “Yellowjackets” (Showtime)
Outstanding Comedy Series: “Ted Lasso” (Apple TV+)
Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series: “Fellow Travelers” (Showtime)
Outstanding Film – Wide Theatrical Release: “Bottoms” (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
Outstanding Film – Limited Theatrical Release: “Monica” (IFC Films)
Outstanding Reality Competition Program: “RuPaul’s Drag Race” (MTV)
Outstanding Music Artist: Renee Rapp, “Snow Angel” (Interscope)
Outstanding Breakthrough Music Artist: David Archuleta (Archie Music)
Outstanding Children’s Programming: “Blue River Wedding” “Ada Twist: Scientist” (Netflix)
Outstanding Kids & Family Programming or Film — Animated: “Hailey’s On It!” (Disney Channel)
Outstanding Magazine Overall Coverage: “Out”
Outstanding Video Game: “Baldur’s Gate 3” (Larian Studios)
Outstanding Comic Book: “Star Wars: Doctor Aphra,” written by Alyssa Wong (Marvel Comics)
Outstanding Original Graphic Novel/Anthology: “Four-Color Heroes” by Richard Fairgray (Fanbase Press)
Outstanding Scripted Television Series — Spanish Language: “Las noches de Tefía” (Atresplayer)
Outstanding TV Journalism — Spanish Language: “Adolescentes trans relatan su experiencia” “Noticiero Telemundo” (Telemundo)
LGBTQ Non-Profit Organizations
Evan Low named next LGBTQ+ Victory Fund president
Former Calif. lawmaker to succeed Annise Parker
The LGBTQ+ Victory Fund and LGBTQ+ Victory Institute have named gay former California state Rep. Evan Low to serve as its next president and CEO, the groups announced on Tuesday.
“Today, we face an existential crisis,” he said. “The LGBTQ+ community, along with other historically excluded communities, are being systematically legislated out of existence.”
He added, “I am committed to ensuring our voices are not just included, but impossible to ignore—and represented at the highest levels of office.”
Low will succeed former Houston Mayor Annise Parker, who announced in February 2024 that she would step down after leading the organizations since 2017.
The Victory Fund works to increase the number of LGBTQ elected officials serving in all levels of government and “has helped thousands of LGBTQ+ candidates win local, state, and federal elections.” The Victory Institute works to ensure “the success of our LGBTQ+ elected and appointed officials at all levels of government.”
Before his election to the California State Assembly, where he served from 2014-2024, Low was the first Asian American to serve on the Campbell City Council, going on to lead the city as the country’s youngest openly LGBTQ mayor.
In the state legislature, Low “led groundbreaking efforts in marriage equality, LGBTQ+ rights, and economic opportunity,” the Victory Fund said in a press release.
“His leadership and service have been widely recognized, earning him multiple ‘Legislator of the Year’ honors and a proclamation of ‘Evan Low Day’ from then-San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom.”
LGBTQ Non-Profit Organizations
Blade to cover Creating Change conference in Las Vegas
National LGBTQ Task Force convenes movement leaders at a pivotal moment
The Washington Blade will be in Las Vegas this week to cover the National LGBTQ Task Force’s flagship annual Creating Change conference, Jan. 21-26, where movement leaders will convene at a pivotal moment for LGBTQ rights.
More than 3,000 are registered to attend, nearly a third of whom identify as transgender or gender nonconforming, and more than half as people of color. A livestream of the plenary sessions is available here.
This year’s conference comes days after the inauguration of President Donald Trump, along with his administration’s issuance of executive orders targeting immigration and LGBTQ rights, together with the revocation of his predecessor’s executive actions that established and clarified rights and protections for these and other marginalized communities.
For instance, Trump on Monday signed an order to direct the federal government to recognize only two genders, based on birth sex, which will likely mean that U.S. citizens will no longer be able to select the “X” gender marker for their passports and official documents, though the U.S. State Department has not provided clarity on how that will be enforced.
In recognition of the shifting legal and regulatory landscape — and the need for immigrant and trans or gender nonconforming communities to understand and prepare for changes in the coming weeks and months — the Task Force this year has organized sessions like “Protecting Your Rights: Navigating Legal Systems” with attorneys from the Transgender Law Center, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and Oasis Legal Services.
Along with covering breaking news from sessions during the four-day program, the Blade will be talking with experts for stories focused on the backlash against diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, the Trump administration’s expected ban on military service by trans people, insights into how major LGBTQ advocacy organizations are preparing to push back against actions by this White House and congressional Republicans, and more.
LGBTQ Non-Profit Organizations
Gov. Tim Walz to headline HRC National Dinner
Tickets still available for event on Saturday
Minnesota governor and Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz will be the keynote speaker at the Human Rights Campaign National Dinner on Saturday, the organization announced on X.
BIG NEWS: We are thrilled to have Vice Presidential Nominee Governor Tim Walz join us at our National Dinner! He has been a steadfast champion for the LGBTQ+ community and will continue fighting for our rights once he is elected to the White House. pic.twitter.com/nRsZfzuMYg
— HRC 🥥🌴 (@HRC) September 4, 2024
Tickets are still available for the event. HRC is also hosting an Equality Convention this week, “a destination for trailblazers in politics, culture, and business who are igniting change and driving LGBTQ+ equality forward.”
When Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic 2024 presidential nominee, announced Walz as her running mate on Aug. 6, HRC President Kelley Robinson said her pick “sends a message that a Harris-Walz Administration will be committed to advancing equality and justice for all.”
The group wrote in a press release: “Governor Walz is a career-long champion for LGBTQ+ people. In 1999, as a history teacher and football coach, Walz sponsored the school’s first gay straight alliance student group.
“He opposed efforts to ban same-sex marriage in the Minnesota Constitution. While serving in Congress, he co-sponsored legislation to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), voted to repeal the discriminatory ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ law, voted for the Matthew Shepard/James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act and introduced legislation to protect LGBTQ+ service members from discrimination in benefits.
“As Governor, Tim Walz signed an Executive Order banning the dangerous practice of ‘conversion therapy’ in Minnesota.”
HRC in May pledged $15 million to organize in key battleground states for the Democratic ticket. Just days after President Joe Biden stepped out of the race and backed Harris as the presumptive nominee, the group raised more than $300,000 for her campaign in a virtual fundraiser.
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