White House LGBT Update: Deep in the Heart of Texas

Earlier this week, Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to the President, joined Attorney General Eric Holder in Arlington, Texas to deliver keynote remarks at the White House LGBT Conference on Safe Schools & Communities.

Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to President Obama, delivers keynote remarks along with Attorney General Eric Holder at the White House LGBT Conference on Safe Schools and Communities at The University of Texas at Arlington, Tuesday, March 20th, 2012. (Photo courtesy of The University of Texas at Arlington).

In speaking before an audience of over 400 teachers, students, parents, community advocates, law enforcement officers and officials, and elected officials, Valerie described the steps the Obama Administration has taken to ensure safety and security for all our young people – including LGBT students – in our schools and neighborhoods.

As she closed her remarks, Valerie told the story of Tempest Cartwright, a 12th grader from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, who experienced – but was able to overcome – bullying and whose story inspires us to continue to fight for safe schools and communities:

So in closing, I would share one more story from a leader who is here today. Because change doesn’t begin in Washington. Change happens because ordinary people do extraordinary things … people like Tempest Cartwright.

Tempest is from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma – she’s 18 years old. When word first got around her high school that she was gay, she lost friends. Some people stopped talking to her at church. Other students called her hurtful words that no young person should ever hear. For a while, Tempest was depressed. But she refused to let bullies ruin her life. As she put it, “Their attitudes and assumptions need to change, not me. If I don’t help that along, who will?

So today, Tempest is the president of her school’s gay-straight alliance – an alliance that has more than quadrupled its membership since she became involved. It’s not easy. In fact, it is hard. When her organization places posters around the school, they often get torn down. But she and other members keep putting them right back up. And every day, bit by bit, she changes the world around her. As she put it, “When people put me down, it inspires me to stand up.”

Well, young people like Tempest should inspire us all to stand up, and keep standing up, for what is right. To stand up for the safety of our children and neighbors. To stand up for the belief that in America, no one should face bullying, harassment, or violence because of who they are, because that’s not who we are.

Read Valerie’s remarks as prepared for delivery

Since launching the White House LGBT Conferences, we’ve been in Philadelphia, Detroit, and Dallas/Ft. Worth to discuss issues such as Health, Housing and Homelessness, and Safe Schools and Communities. Stay tuned for announcements about future White House LGBT Conferences on issues including HIV/AIDS, Aging, and Families.

Best regards,

Gautam Raghavan
Office of Public Engagement
The White House

In Case You Missed It: White House LGBT Conference on Housing & Homelessness

Earlier this month, hundreds of advocates, community organizers, and interested members of the public came together in Detroit, Michigan for the White House LGBT Conference on Housing & Homelessness to participate in a dialogue with the Obama Administration on these issues. The Conference was hosted by the White House Office of Public Engagement in partnership with the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) and the Ruth Ellis Center, a Detroit-based center for runaway and homeless LGBT youth.

Secretary for Housing & Urban Development Shaun Donovan delivered keynote remarks at the Conference. In his remarks, Secretary Donovan described the important steps HUD has taken to ensure that all people – including LGBT people – have “a place to call home” and announced that HUD’s new Equal Access rule has gone into effect. Thanks to that rule, no one can be discriminated against on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity when trying to access HUD funded programs or FHA insured mortgages.

Watch archived video of the opening session and Secretary Donovan’s keynote

Two panel sessions followed Secretary Donovan’s remarks: first, a panel of senior leaders that discussed the work being done across the Administration to address housing for LGBT people, and second, a panel of nationally recognized advocates who work directly with runaway and homeless LGBT youth.

Watch archived video of the panel discussions

President Obama Announces New Director of the Office of National AIDS Policy

Last week, President Obama announced the appointment of one of the nation’s leading public health policy experts as the Director of the Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP) – Grant Colfax, M.D., the former Director of the HIV Prevention Section in the San Francisco Department of Public Health. Dr. Colfax will coordinate the continuing efforts of the federal government to reduce the number of HIV infections across the United States. A component of the White House Domestic Policy Council, ONAP emphasizes prevention through wide-ranging education initiatives and helps to coordinate the care and treatment of citizens with HIV/AIDS.

“Grant Colfax will lead my Administration’s continued progress in providing care and treatment to people living with HIV/AIDS,” said President Obama. “Grant’s expertise will be key as we continue to face serious challenges and take bold steps to meet them. I look forward to his leadership in the months and years to come."

Read more about Grant and the Office of National AIDS Policy

Wear Purple on October 20 for Spirit Day #SpiritDay

Millions of Americans wear purple on Spirit Day as a sign of support for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth and to speak out against bullying. Spirit Day was started in 2010 by teenager Brittany McMillan as a response to the young people who had taken their own lives. Observed annually on October 20, individuals, schools, organizations, corporations, media professionals and celebrities wear purple, which symbolizes spirit on the rainbow flag. Getting involved is easy -- participants are asked to simply "go purple" on October 20 as we work to create a world in which LGBT teens are celebrated and accepted for who they are.

MTV’s ‘Skins’ Parties in Reverse

By Bob Marshall

Despite recently having advertising from the likes of Subway, Schick, H&R Block, GM and Wrigley pulled over protest from the Parents Television Council, MTV’s “new” show about sexy teens having sex and doing drugs, Skins USA, is continuing on and even releasing new promo spots like the one above.

Hilariously enough, the US version of the show is reportedly less morally depraved than the British version of the show that has been airing on the BBC since January 2007. Are American parents just too sensitive about a show depicting actual teenage actors engaging in adult behavior that at times calls for nudity? Or, are accusations that the show could be considered child pornography spot on?

Regardless, the pilot’s high ratings mean MTV isn’t going to pull the plug on the series any time soon. Also, this can be seen as an opportunity for a new set of advertisers (Trojan Condoms, Four Loko, K-Y Jelly, Adderall) to embrace the show’s risque content and capitalize off of the controversy. Is the show a realistic portrayal of teenage life? Who cares. The promos from Post Millennium writer/director Evan Silver and editor Nathan Byrne make this fantastic drug-and-booze high school orgy set to Sleigh Bells’ “Kids” look like too much fun for MTV’s target demographic to ignore.

The full-length promo follows after the jump:

Depression in Black Gay Men: A Silent Issue

Breaking the silence of depression in the Black gay community

Posted by Antoine on @ 1:40 pm

Article printed from speakeasy: http://blogs.alternet.org/antbern

URL to article: http://blogs.alternet.org/antbern/2010/04/19/breaking-the-silence-of-depression-in-the-black-gay-community/

Speaking out about a taboo subject

By Antoine Craigwell

Nationwide, members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community on Friday, Apr 15, 2010, commemorated a day of silence – vowing not to speak for one 24-hour period as a unified protest action in solidarity with other LGBT and against the treatment members of the community receive from a majority of people. This day of silence was also an occasion to create a crack in the reluctance to speak about depression and its debilitating effects in the Black gay community.

In the Black community, there is significant resistance to addressing depression. Without regard to ethnic origin, whether African American, Afro Caribbean, or African, the cultural belief is that one does not speak his business, especially his personal business about himself, out of the family. Equally, in many Black families, with the emphasis on masculinity and survival in challenging times, including dealing with racial discrimination, speaking out about one’s inner feelings is often regarded as a weakness or a significant flaw, to be strengthen or eradicated, at all costs and by all means. Therefore, many Black gay men are caught in a vicious cycle: it is taboo to talk about what’s bothering him, and if he should try, he would be branded as weak.

A New Jersey-based journalist, Glenn Townes, when he lived in Kansas City, MO, wrote about his own depression, in “Tale of a Wounded Warrior: One Man’s Battle Against Depression” for the Infinity Institute International, Inc., Website, “I still find there’s a strong stigma to African Americans and therapy, particularly for brothers. Tell someone you’re seeing a shrink and they just may haul off and hit you with: “Man, you must be crazy.” But I think it’s just the opposite: Sometimes you’d have to be crazy not to seek therapy.”

To read the entire article click here:

Breaking the silence of depression in the black gay community

Marsha Ambrosius - new video “Far Away”

Marsha sends a strong message about sexuality, suicide and bullying in her new video “Far Away.”

The video begins with Marsha beautifully sitting atop a piano, playing a particular note in red stilettos. Then Miss Ambrosius and who appears to be her boyfriend are walking through the park. He then comes to her house, and they share a glass of wine. Then, his boyfriend arrives! Blew my mind too!

Days later, the two gentlemen took a stroll through the park, hand in hand, and pass a group of “thugs.” Days pass, and the guy we assumed was Marsha’s boyfriend went through the park alone, and the thugs jumped him. Apparently, the bullying and rejection got to the guy, because he committed suicide by the end of the video.

Continue reading to view the message Marsha personally writes to the viewers and watch the powerful video!

Dear Friends,

Every year over 1 million people commit SUICIDE. Some were BULLIED because of their SEXUALITY. I lost a friend to SUICIDE, and I’m asking all of you to support alternative lifestyles.

Don’t put up with or join in with BULLYING. It’s time we became more aware in this WORLD. Take responsibility to make a difference. So if my MUSIC can save one life, I’ve done my job.

I love you all so much!

Marsha

The LGBT College Presidents: 'It Gets Better' (VIDEO)

Their group is just six months old, but members of the LGBTQ Presidents In Higher Education are presenting a strong front in support of gay and lesbian university community members.

LGBTQ Presidents in Higher Education mission is to advance effective leadership in the realm of post-secondary education, supports professional development of LGBTQ leaders in that sector, and provides education and advocacy regarding LGBTQ issues within the global academy and for the public at large.

The second Meeting of the LGBTQ Presidents in Higher Education took place in Los Angeles on the AULA campus on November 21 and 22, 2010. President Neal King was especially pleased to host the distinguished group of educational leaders.

“Pioneers and progressives by nature and history, and long an extremely LGBTQ affirmative university, AULA was honored to host this august group of courageous men and women who walk their talk and provide needed and impactful leadership in American Higher Education in the area of LGBTQ rights, scholarship, and advocacy,” commented Dr. King.

The aim of this year’s meeting was to make preparations for a panel presentation at the 93rd Annual Meeting of the American Council of Education (ACE) to be held March 5-8, 2011. Over the course of the two-day meeting, the presidents’ presentation addressed the issue of diversity and leadership in higher education. As a participant in the ACE conference, the LGBTQ Presidents in Higher Education will contribute a unique voice to the conference agenda.

Joining the ranks of Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi, the group sat together -- some with their partners -- to share their challenges and triumphs as openly gay university leaders. Watch below.

White House staffers' It Gets Better video

by: Bil Browning

bilerico.com

Several LGBT White House staffers including Greg Millett, Senior Policy Advisor at the White House Office of National AIDS Policy got together to make an It Gets Better video. President Obama and Vice President have also both done videos to encourage LGBT kids that things do eventually get better.

This is a great entry to the IGB collective of videos. I've met quite a few of the folks featured and for all of the questioning of Obama's commitment to LGBT rights, they are some of the most dedicated advocates we could ask for. They bring LGBT issues to the White House daily.

And they're living proof that it does indeed get better.

GLBT Study: Gay, Lesbian Kids Singled Out for Punishment

Posted by David W Freeman

(CBS.com) When it comes to bullying gay teens, narrow-minded classmates may not be the only offenders.

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) adolescents are about 40 percent more likely than other teens to be punished by school authorities, police, and the courts, according to a new study by scientists at Yale University.

"We found that virtually all types of punishment - including school expulsions, arrests, juvenile convictions, adult convictions and especially police stops - were more frequently meted out to LGB youth," lead author Kathryn Himmelstein, who initiated the study while she was a Yale undergraduate, said in a written statement.

Lesbian and bisexual girls were especially at risk for unequal treatment, Himmelstein said. "They reported experiencing twice as many police stops, arrests and convictions as other girls who had engaged in similar behavior," she said in the statement.

Could it be that LGB are punished more because they are more prone to misbehavior? Not likely, says Himmelstein, who is now a public school teacher in New York CIty. The study showed that disparities in punishment could not be explained by differences in the rates of misbehavior. In fact, it showed that LGB teens are less likely than their peers to engage in violent behavior.

To conduct the study, researchers followed about 15,000 middle and high school students for seven years. In addition to details on the teens' sexuality, the study collected information about how frequently they engaged in misbehaviors ranging from lying to their parents to using a weapon.

The study was published in the January 2001 issue of Pediatrics.