Tag: Pride Month

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Pride Music: June 27, 2020

It’s the last weekend of Pride 2020, and since we can’t get out on an actual dance floor here’s new music to bop to from Lizzo and the Fab 5, Ariana and the Rose, The Aces, GRiZ and Sara Bareilles. • Self-care queen Lizzo teams up with the men of Queer Eye for the music video for her hip-hop/pop tune, “Soulmate.” The colorful video is an animated Pride-themed romp with the Fab 5 as Lizzo picnics with Bobby, throws a corgi party with Antoni and throws down a pole dance with Karamo.

• Ariana and the Rose serve up an inclusive, colorful celebration of all kinds of love with “True Love.” The synth-pop dance track is a bouncy bop, and the video features six diverse, real-life couples spanning the diverse spectrums of race, age and sexuality. Ariana DiLorenzo, the band’s frontwoman, is a “proud and fierce ally for the LGBTQ community,” and told NewNowNext that performing at Pride events, lending her voice as a soundtrack to the celebrations, “is an honor.”

• “Daydream” is the latest single from Utah-based all-girl pop/rock band The Aces. While the infectious track is about long-distance lovers, the tune can easily relate to the distance many of us are feeling during the ongoing pandemic. The band, launched by queer sisters Cristal and Alisa Ramirez, decided to make the video about the crew out on a summer adventure rather than a too “on-the-nose” tribute to romance.

• Multi-instrumentalist and producer GRiZ releases his new single, “Medusa,” featuring DJ and producer Wreckno. What he coins his ‘queer anthem banger’ is a bass-fueled, hip-hop-laden slice of empowerment, created to uplift the underrepresented LGBTQIA+ voices in dance music. In celebration of Pride Month, “Medusa” is a message to queer kids encouraging them to embrace exactly who they are. (Explicit lyrics).

• And finally, Sara Bareilles covers the title track from the Grammy/Emmy Award-winning TV special, “Free To Be…You And Me.” Bareilles’s pure, soulful voice is perfect for the folk/pop tune. Created by actress and activist Marlo Thomas (That Girl) in 1972, the iconic album, book, and television special was the first anti-racist, anti-sexist, anti-judgment entertainment for children. All proceeds for the project will benefit NAACP Legal Defense Fund. Fans of the song will notice the new version of the includes two lyric changes. The word “children” has been changed to “people” in one of the song’s main refrains. And, in order to better embrace the non-binary community, a lyric that referred to ‘boys’ and ‘girls’ growing up to be ‘men’ and ‘women’ was rewritten: “Every child in this land, may you all understand, that you’re proud and you’re strong and you are right where you belong.”

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President Obama Addresses Pride Live’s Stonewall Day Event

President Barack Obama addressed viewers of today’s virtual Stonewall Day event presented by LogoTV. After noting the progress made over the past 51 years since the night of the Stonewall uprising, Obama urged Americans to get involved, raise our voices, and yes, VOTE. The event is streaming live as I write this and it’s quite the star-studded event. From LogoTV:

Pride Live’s Stonewall Day features appearances by President Barack Obama, Taylor Swift, Ellen DeGeneres, Cynthia Erivo, Kesha, Hayley Kiyoko, Demi Lovato, Katy Perry, Christian Siriano, George Takei and many others, presented in partnership with WarnerMedia, Nasdaq, Logo and Pride Media.

The program is raising funds for four of the many LGBTQ+ organizations that have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic: Brave Space Alliance, Trans Lifeline, TransLatin@ Coalition, and The Ally Coalition.

This year’s Stonewall Day focuses on the recent events highlighting the need for fair and equal treatment under the law for all, offers support to the Black Lives Matter movement, and addresses LGBTQ+ issues including the dangerous rise of violence facing transgender women, especially Black trans women.

I’m posting Obama’s greeting for Pride Live’s Stonewall Day, plus the full event below.

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News Round-Up: June 24, 2020

Some news items you might have missed: • CBS Sports: Major League Baseball is set to return starting either July 23 or 24, the league has announced. It’s worth noting that 40 MLB players and staff members reportedly tested positive for the novel coronavirus in recent days. • Billboard: Former President Barack Obama is set to deliver a special message to the LGBTQ community for the 3rd annual Stonewall Day virtual event. He will be joined by major stars such as Taylor Swift, Demi Lovato, Katy Perry and more, who will be offering their own messages of support, while pop superstars Kesha and Hayley Kiyoko will take to the digital stage for special performances. The Stonewall Day 2020 livestream on Logo’s YouTube and Facebook pages from 12:45 p.m. to 3 p.m. ET on Friday, June 26. • NewNowNext: Also on Friday, the cast of FX’s Pose will reunite for “Pose-A-Thon,” a commercial-free, one-hour online kiki with the cast and creative team of Pose. The event will raise awareness for three LGBTQ organizations: GLSEN, Hetrick-Martin Institute, and Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund. The “Pose-A-Thon” will air Friday, June 26 at 10pm ET on FX, Freeform, and the “Pose-A-Thon” website. • New Music: Lauv drops a surprise new EP titled Without You. The 4 tracks were all written and produced during quarantine. The global hottie also releases the quarantine made video for “Dishes,” the totally chill-vibe lead track for the EP. p.s. He also recently launched Breaking Modern Loneliness, an episodic podcast where each episode is a new open forum discussion on all things human relationships, mental health, and technology.

• Zillow: The massive real estate website has announced all Zillow listings will now provide information regarding local LGBTQ protections to help home buyers and renters identify which communities provide protection for all. Currently, only 22 states and the District of Columbia have laws against housing discrimination that include sexual orientation and gender identity. • Reuters: American approval of Donald Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic has dropped to the lowest level on record since Reuters/Ipsos polls started asking the question at the beginning of March. With new COVID-19 cases surging, 58 percent said they disapproved. • Out: Actor and activist Wilson Cruz (My So-Called Life, Star Trek: Discovery) offers this subtle reminder that at the young age of 46-years-old, he ain’t playing.

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News Round-Up: June 21, 2020

Singer-songwriter Pablo Alborán comes out (image via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • NewNowNext: The pandemic might have forced us to reimagine how we honor Pride Month, but the spirit of Pride is very much alive. Check out this list of 10 virtual Pride events you can attend from the safety of your own home, including a range of events centering Black LGBTQ people amid ongoing actions against systemic racism and police brutality. • The Know: Kenneth Felts, at 90 years old, recently came out as gay to his family and friends. After deciding to write his autobiography during COVID-19 lockdown, he was inspired by the memories of the man that got away. • Pride Music: Fab The Duo has also released their new blues/gospel-tinged music video “Our Love Is Resistance,” the title track from their new EP. The video shows the duo marching down the streets of Manhattan towards The Stonewall Inn, the birthplace of the gay rights movement. Of the title track and music video, Fab The Duo says: “We recorded this song and music video at the beginning of 2020 in a world that feels very different from the one we live in now. Yet this track and its message seem more relevant than ever. We must fight against the hate and injustices of the world at all costs and know that love will prevail.”

• Digital Journal: The Amazon Video series After Forever scored three trophies including “Best Drama Series” at the 2020 Indie Series Awards on Thursday. The second season of the acclaimed series  is nominated for six 2020 Daytime Emmy Awards including “Outstanding Digital Drama Series.” • ABC News: Florida continued to set record-breaking numbers of COVID-19 cases, with an additional 4,049 new cases reported Saturday. There were an additional 40 Florida resident deaths related to COVID-19, according to the state’s Department of Health. On Friday, Florida reported what was then its record-high one-day increase of 3,822 cases. • Out: In an emotional video message posted to his Instagram account, Grammy-nominated, Spanish singer-songwriter Pablo Alborán (top photo) publicly opened about his sexuality, and how he is coming out as a proud gay man. “Today, I want my voice to be louder and for it to have more value and weight. I’m here to tell you that I am homosexual and it’s okay. Life goes on, everything will remain the same, but I’m going to be a little happier than I already am.”

 

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🙂

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Zales & Kay Jewelers Announce Two Virtual Pride Events Benefiting GLAAD

KAY Jewelers and Zales will be kicking off two very special PRIDE virtual events this week to stand on the side of love and equality. As part of these initiatives, they will be donating to GLAAD, an organization dedicated to accelerating LGBTQ+ acceptance. First, since ‘every kiss begins with KAY,’ on National Kiss Day – celebrated annually on June 22nd – KAY Jewelers wants that kiss to stand for equality, inclusion and PRIDE. Often members of the LGBTQ+ community feel uncomfortable expressing their love in public. KAY Jewelers is encouraging friends, advocates and members of the LGBTQ+ community to share a kiss with their partner or loved one using the hashtag #EveryKiss. With this campaign, KAY wants to proudly stand on the side of love with the goal of reaching over a million kisses online! To participate, on Monday, June 22, post a photo of yourself to your social media feed using #EveryKiss and geotag your location. The kisses will then be collected and featured on Kay’s social media channels to promote love and pride around the US! Additionally, in an effort to promote inclusiveness and coming together, Zales will be hosting a virtual Pride Parade on Instagram calling on influencers and allies of the LGBTQ+ movement alike to participate and show their love and support. Zales wants to remind people that although we may have to celebrate apart, when it comes to PRIDE, we are always together. To participate, record a video of yourself on Instagram parading from left to right on the screen as if you were walking in a Pride parade. Post the video by June 28th using the hashtag #PrideTogether and geotag your location. Zales will then string together the individual pride marches so it seems like one seamless digital pride parade happening across the country! On Pride Sunday, June 28th, the digital Pride parade will air live on Instagram for everyone to enjoy and celebrate from the comfort and safety of their homes! Stay tuned for some surprise guests to emcee the event!

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Trump Administration Orders Pride Flag Taken Down From Embassy

(image via US Embassy in South Korea/Instagram)
The Trump administration has ordered the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, South Korea, to remove a rainbow flag hung in support of LGBTQ Pride Month. The instructions to remove the Pride Flag reportedly came from the offices of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who has a long history of anti-LGBTQ positions. The embassy in South Korea was also ordered to take down a banner in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. CNN reports the two banners hung from the embassy building’s facade were originally placed there thanks to Ambassador Harry Harris. The Twitter account for the U.S. Embassy in Seoul proudly shared photos of the Pride flag and Black Lives Matter banner prior to their removal. https://twitter.com/USEmbassySeoul/status/1267243731565948928 https://twitter.com/USEmbassySeoul/status/1271745253863649280 The State Department cited the Black Lives Matter movement’s status as a non-profit organization as the reason for removing the BLM banner because “the US government does not encourage contributions to the group or promote any specific organization.” But no reason was given for removing the Pride flag. According to CNN, the Pride flag was removed on Monday just hours before the landmark ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court which affirmed federal protections for LGBTQ Americans in the workplace. You may recall the Trump administration rejected requests from U.S. embassies to fly Pride flags from embassy flag poles last year. At the time, State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said Pompeo had no issue with rainbow flags being flown as long as it wasn’t from the embassy flagpoles. “Secretary has the position that, as it relates to the flagpole, that only the American flag should be flown there,” said Ortagus. The embassy in Seoul worked around the denial in 2019 by hanging the flag on the outside of the building, but clearly, that approach didn’t fly this year. Contrast all this with the Obama years when the government granted blanket permission to fly rainbow flags during June in honor of LGBTQ Pride Month. Additionally, President Obama issued presidential proclamations recognizing June as Pride Month all eight years of his administration. (source: CNN, NBC News)

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Pride Plays 2020 Debuts Online Tonight

  Beginning tonight – Playbill is proud to present Pride Plays 2020 in celebration of Pride month. The festival, taking place throughout the month of June will feature four primetime live streams of key LGBTQIA+ plays and culminate in a musical celebration with Playbill’s Pride Spectacular June 28. The event, presented by Playbill, will serve as a fundraiser for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. The Pride Plays season will include: • one in two by Donja R. Love at 7PM ET tonight, June 12 • Masculinity Max by MJ Kaufman at 7PM ET June 19 • The Five Lesbian Brothers reuniting for a one-night-only live reading of their 1992 play Brave Smiles…Another Lesbian Tragedy at 7PM ET June 22 • Mart Crowley’s The Men From the Boys, directed by Zachary Quinto, at 7PM ET June 26. All live streams will air on the Playbill website at Playbill.com/PridePlays. Honoring iconic LGBTQIA+ musicals, creators, and musical performers, the Spectacular will feature performances by Pulitzer Prize-winner Michael R. Jackson (A Strange Loop), Tony Award winner John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig and the Angry Inch), Tony nominee Jenn Colella, Tony nominee Caitlin Kinnunen, Pose star Mj Rodriguez, Tony nominee Brandon Victor Dixon, Cheyenne Jackson, and more.

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News Round-Up: June 8, 2020

Fitness guru Joel Green (via Instagram)
Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Woofy Joel Green (above) offers some good advice this Monday – ‘Do not give your past the power to define your future.’ Follow him on Instagram here. • Amazon Prime: The streaming video platform has curated a collection of LGBTQ films, documentaries, and television series all in one place for you to peruse including Rocketman, The Handmaiden, The L Word, RuPaul’s Drag Race and more. • Provincetown: The Massachusetts LGBTQ getaway is open for business just in time for Pride Month. The announcement by Governor Charlie Baker of Phase 2 of the reopening, effective today, allows lodging, restaurants, and retail to open under newly eased and specific guidelines mandated by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
(image via Provincetown Instagram)
• Out: Oregon State Head Coach Jonathan Smith dismissed sophomore football player Rocco Carley after learning he’d used racist and homophobic language in a recently discovered audio recording. Smith, along with the school’s Athletic Director Scott Barnes, agreed on booting Carley from the team saying what they heard was “entirely unacceptable, regardless of the circumstance or environment.” Carley has issued an apology saying – like just about everyone who finds themselves in this predicament – the recording doesn’t ‘represent’ who he is today. • The Advocate: L.A. Pride organizers have stepped away from the previously announced Black solidarity march after the event came under fire for its involvement with law enforcement. Some activists noted that any partnership with cops is counterintuitive to the purpose of the protests taking place in response to the killing of George Floyd, police brutality, and race-based violence. Pride organizers say they are “in full support” of the new protest, which is now named the All Black Lives Matter March. • New Music: Dig the super-catchy new single from pop-rock band Neon Trees, “New Best Friend,” from the band’s upcoming album, I Can Feel You Forgetting Me. “They call me crazy, but crazy’s my new best friend.” “’New Best Friend’ is about embracing the crazy that lives within all of us,” shared out frontman Tyler Glenn. “The nostalgic highs, the unflattering lows, and the beautiful messiness of being human. I’ve realized that there are memories with people that have come and gone in my life, and while I reminisce on those moments, ultimately at the end of the day I’m still left with myself.”

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Billy Porter’s Message To America On Racism, Homophobia & Change

Billy Porter has a ‘Message to America’
Tony/Grammy/Emmy Award-winner Billy Porter took to Instagram this week to share his candid, and sometimes blistering, “Message to America.” Porter,  who doesn’t demure from expressing his opinions, begins by calling out white Americans who continue to deny systemic racism in the United States. The Pose star then shifts his attention to the African-American community noting the violence committed by black men against LGBTQ people, especially transgender women of color. “My basic human rights have been up for legislation every single day that I have had breath in my body from all sides,” says Porter.  “And by that, I mean that the black community’s relationship with the LGBTQ+ community is appalling at best and eerily similar to that of white supremacists versus black folk.” “Hear me, black people, and hear me well – I’m calling you out right here and right now,” he continued. “You cannot expect our demands of equality to be met with any real legislative policy and change when y’all turn around and inflict the same kind of hate and oppression on us. The tragic reality here is that black trans, as well as gender non-conforming, women and men are being killed in the United States by cis black men to such a degree that it is nearly the worst emergency for trans women on the planet.” “The murders of black trans women by black men since 2016 have helped drive the most violent period for LGBTQ+ people on record,” he added. “Just this past week, during the riots, during the peaceful protests, Iyonna Dior was brutally beaten by a gang of black men while trying to peacefully protests for our rights.” “LGBTQ+ black folks are black people, too! Our lives matter, too! So this is my response to those of y’all who don’t understand that: F*ck you! And, yes, I am cussing. It’s time for cussing.” Speaking to “all my homophobic and transphobic brothers and sisters,” Porter was clear and direct in his message: “Get your f*cking houses in order.” Porter’s remarks refer to a transwoman, Iyonna Dior, who was beaten by a group of more than 20 men by a group of onlookers. She managed to escape, though not before sustaining heavy bruising and swelling. The actor also addressed the upcoming presidential election in no uncertain terms: “We have two clear choices in November: vote this motherf*cker and all his cronies out of office, reset, and begin the American experiment again at zero, or not.” “In November, this election is the most important that we’ve ever seen in our lifetime. Democracy is on the ballot. White supremacy is on the ballot. Homophobia, women’s rights, trans rights, Muslim rights, all human rights all on the ballot this November, and I ask you America: will we be better than this? I guess we’ll know the answer come November.” “It’s time for change, and this time, change for good,” said Porter in closing. “Vote, vote, vote, vote,” he says, his passionate voice rising with emotion. “God bless you all, and God bless the United States of America.”

 

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✊🏽✊🏾✊🏿 #blacklivesmatter #blacktranslivesmatter

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Joe Biden On 50th Anniversary Of Pride Month ‘I Believe In The LGBTQ+ Community’

L-R President Donald Trump, former Vice President Joe Biden
As in previous years, President Donald Trump did not issue a presidential proclamation recognizing June as Pride Month. Now, I realize we are in the middle of a global pandemic, skyrocketing unemployment and racially-charged protests across the nation. But Trump’s office did manage, in the last days of May, to prepare proclamations recognizing June as Great Outdoors Month, National Ocean Month, and National Homeownership Month, to name just a few. Last year, Trump broke his silence of the previous two years to dispatch – no, not a proclamation – but two tweets wherein he lauded his administration’s “global campaign to decriminalize homosexuality” around the world. https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1134538168324300800 You may recall when he was initially asked about the effort in February 2019, he didn’t know anything about it. But this year? Nothing. Trump has, however, been selling an uninspired, rainbow-themed campaign t-shirt on his website for months, so…there’s that. Contrast that with former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate, who penned a lengthy statement honoring the 50th anniversary of LGBTQ Pride. https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1267650896562843648 Noting the first Pride event occurred a year after the Stonewall protests, Biden remarked on past progress by the LGBTQ community from Harvey Milk’s election to office in San Francisco to the historic candidacy of Pete Buttigieg, the first openly gay mayor to run for president. He also pointed to positive steps made during the Obama-Biden Administration including “signing the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act into law; repealed Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell; addressed the epidemic of bullying in schools; established the advancement of LGBTQ+ equality as a foreign policy priority; and the White House beamed bright with the colors of the rainbow to mark the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision recognizing marriage equality.” I’ll note here that the Obama-Biden administration issued presidential proclamations recognizing Pride Month 8 years in a row. Biden then shifted his focus forward to the damage done to the LGBTQ community by the Trump-Pence administration. “Donald Trump and Mike Pence have systematically used the power of the White House as a literal bully pulpit to undermine LGBTQ+ rights,” he wrote. “They have given safe harbor to white supremacists and other forms of hate. Predictably, we’ve experienced a rise in hate crimes targeting LGBTQ+ people.” Biden mentions just some of the ways Team Trump has worked to reduce rights and protections for LGBTQ people including banning transgender individuals from serving in the U.S. military, denying LGBTQ people access from critical health care, and ignoring the “epidemic of violence” against trans people. “This is wrong,” Biden continued. “We must send a clear message that hatred and bigotry have no place in America or on the world stage.” He promises that, as President, he will “take swift action to reverse these odious policies and advance our progress toward ending discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals.” “There are dark and challenging realities ahead that we cannot ignore,” he adds before striking an upbeat tone. “Yet, I remain optimistic because I believe in who we are as a nation. I believe in the story of this country and the LGBTQ+ community.” You can read the full text of Biden’s statement on the 50th Anniversary of Pride here.