MAP stands for the Movement Advancement Project, and for more than 12 years, moving issues forward and advancing equality is what we do. How do we do this? We do it by creating, inspiring, and enacting real change.
In 2019 MAP has changed:
• How the media reports on important issues
• How people think about rural America
• How candidates are campaigning
• How American businesses treat their customers and employees
This year, MAP launched a new report series challenging stereotypes and changing how people think about rural America. The Where We Call Home series has been featured twice in USA Today, and shines a spotlight on the estimated three million or more LGBT people who call rural America home. The series also included two reports looking at the structural differences in rural life and their unique impact on LGBT people of color and transgender people in rural areas.
MAP has also been at the forefront of doing impactful research on how religious exemption laws threaten the health, wellbeing, and safety of many people across the United States, and even Presidential candidates are taking notice. In October, The Advocate, The Cedar Rapids Gazette, GLAAD, and One Iowa hosted a groundbreaking LGBTQ Presidential Forum. Taking a page straight out of MAP’s resources, Democratic candidate and former HUD Secretary Julián Castro addressed an alarming trend happening in legislatures and courts across the country: the use of broad religious exemptions laws to target vulnerable communities, including LGBT people, minority faiths, and women. Senator Elizabeth Warren also noted MAP’s crucial research in her October 10 policy plan Securing LGBTQ+ Rights and Equality.
And it’s not just the candidates. MAP continues to be the go-to for the nation’s top media outlets. This year alone, MAP’s work has appeared in nearly 350 news articles, including stories from USA Today, The New York Times, Forbes, The Washington Post, Fortune, Newsweek, and others. That’s nearly one story for every day of the year!
Finally, in 2019, MAP continued to lead the Open to All coalition, bringing together over 300,000 businesses large and small who have pledged to not to discriminate against their employees and customers. This year, Open to All welcomed business giants like Michaels Craft Stores and Sephora; announced that the fashion industry, led by Tapestry Inc. and over 50 leading fashion brands, was signing the Open to All pledge; and partnered with Yelp to launch a new search feature so consumers can now filter by “Open to All”—an attribute that allows businesses to distinguish themselves as a safe and welcoming place to everyone—when searching for restaurants, shops, bakeries, tailors, and much more. At a time of deep divisions, Open to All is committed to truly transforming the nation and changing the way America does business.
2020 is going to be an important year, and MAP is heading into 2020 ready to win. Will you join us?
