The Center for Black Equity, the D.C.-based national organization that advocates for the Black LGBTQ community, announced this week that its founder and Chief Executive Officer/President Earl Fowlkes will retire in August and the organization’s deputy director, Kenya Hutton, has been named interim CEO/president.

“After 25 years of dedicated service leading the organization’s fight for racial equity, Mr. Fowlkes will step down from his current role but will remain actively involved with the CBE in an advisory capacity as CEO/President Emeritus,” a statement released by the organization says.

“The CBE Board of Directors has unanimously appointed Mr. Kenya Hutton as Interim CEO/President,” the statement says. “Mr. Hutton, a seasoned leader with a proven track record in advancing racial justice initiatives, will assume his new position on August 1, 2024,” according to the statement.

The CBE describes itself as a “leading national organization dedicated to achieving racial equity and economic justice for Black LGBTQ+ communities” through “advocacy, education, and empowerment programs.” Among other things, the Center for Black Equity has been the lead organizer of D.C.’s Black Pride celebrations and has supported Black Pride celebrations worldwide.

“It’s been an incredible privilege to lead the Center for Black Equity for the past quarter century,” Fowlkes said in the statement. “While I’m excited to embark on this next chapter, I have no intention of stepping away from the fight for racial equity,” he said. “I look forward to supporting Kenya Hutton and the talented CBE team in their ongoing efforts to dismantle systemic barriers and empower Black LGBTQ+ communities,” Fowlkes said.

The statement says Hutton has served as deputy director of CBE for the past four years and prior to that served for a decade in other positions with the organization. “Mr. Hutton brings 26 years of experience in public service with various organizations,” the CBE statement says.

“I am honored by the board’s trust and excited to build upon the incredible foundation laid by Earl Fowlkes Jr.,” Hutton says in the statement. “The Center for Black Equity plays a vital role in advancing racial equity, and I am committed to leading the organization in its next chapter of impactful work.”

Time magazine on Wednesday unveiled its highly anticipated list of the 100 Most Influential People of 2024, and it includes several LGBTQ celebrities and activists who continue to champion queer rights.

Among the notable figures that Time recognized is actor Coleman Domingo, who portrayed civil rights activist Bayard Rustin in the biopic “Rustin.” Domingo, among other things, is the second openly gay man nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of a gay character.

Other people on the list are:

• Actor Elliot Page, known for his roles in “Juno” and “The Umbrella Academy.” His recent memoir, “Pageboy,” sheds light on his journey as a transgender man, inspiring audiences amid ongoing challenges to trans rights.
• Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson.
• Frank Mugisha, executive director of Sexual Minorities Uganda, a Ugandan LGBTQ rights group.
• Rosanna Flamer-Caldera, an LGBTQ activist in Sri Lanka who led the effort to decriminalize consensual same-sex sexual relations in her country.

Time’s list also includes other LGBTQ influencers, such as fashion designer Jonathan Anderson, reproductive biologist Katsuhiko Hayashi, chef Dominique Crenn, and healthcare advocate Ophelia Dahl.

When conservative legislators endeavor to restrict the rights of transgender youth, such as by blocking access to gender-affirming healthcare, they betray their commitment to freedom from government intervention into the private lives of American families, combat veteran Eric Childs explains in a new ad by the Gender Research Advisory Council and Education.

The South Carolina father opens the ad by sharing how he is working to secure a future in which his trans child can enjoy “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” the same principles for which he served his country “in defense of freedom, fighting for democracy.”

“I live in a small town in South Carolina,” Childs says, as the ad shows him loading a handgun to practice target shooting with his son. “I absolutely believe in protecting my rights.”

He then addresses his state’s proposed bill to ban guideline-directed, medically necessary healthcare interventions for trans minors: “I ask that you respect the sacrifices that were made in the name of freedom for this country, and vote no for Bill H. 4624.”

“My child has parents that get to decide his health care,” Childs says. “If you love your child, I need you to step back and love them enough to believe them when they tell you who they are. Love them. At all costs — beyond everything.”

Testifying before the South Carolina Legislature in January, Childs told lawmakers his family’s healthcare decisions are not made on a “whim” and explained how he wants to guarantee his son has every medically recommended option available.

Along with blocking access to treatments that are supported by every mainstream scientific and medical society, H. 4624 would prohibit healthcare providers from facilitating minor patients’ access to this care while also requiring school administrators to forcibly “out” trans students to their parents.

Alaina Kupec, founder and president of GRACE, told Bay Area Reporter that her new nonprofit “has a specific mission that does not conflict with other nonprofits in the LGBTQ or transgender-specific space” by working to “assist other groups in addressing misinformation about transgender people.”

The group’s members are in D.C. this week to meet with advocacy leaders and officials in the White House and on Capitol Hill.

On Wednesday, the law firm Skadden Arps is hosting a fundraiser for GRACE that will feature Kupec alongside Rick Colby, a “life-long Republican, Parents Advisory Councilmember of GRACE, and proud father of a transgender son” and “other leaders engaged on transgender issues.”