How to Bridge the Gap From College to Career: New Book Maps The Next Great Step

Job openings are near record highs, and unemployment is close to a generational low. But recent college grads face their own unique challenges. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York released data that the jobless rate for those ages 22 to 27 with a bachelor’s degree has surpassed the national average every month since January 2021. What does this mean for parents of new grads? What can these young adults do to prove their worth to prospective employers? And will they ever make enough money to move out of the house?

 

The competition for finding a job after college can be fierce, but career coach and former Fortune 500 consultant Beth Hendler-Grunt says there is reason to be hopeful.

 

Her new book, The Next Great Step: The Parents' Guide to Launching Your New Grad Into a Career, provides a proven, step-by-step approach for successfully guiding young adults through the transition from college to career.

 

Filled with tips, job aids and insightful stories, The Next Great Step addresses everything from how parents can help their young adults get “unstuck” and navigate the hiring process, to how students and grads can stand out from the rest of the graduating class. Hendler-Grunt shares the secrets of how to “network” the right way and excel in interviews, and how parents can offer solid career advice to their grad.

 

“Navigating the post-college job world is all about developing and implementing the right strategies,” Hendler-Grunt said. “This book is required reading for families looking to navigate a changing world from college-to-career. Companies need new grads. It’s just a matter of connecting the dots.”

Billie Eilish and Family Add Their Voices to the 62 Million Equality Voters Supporting LGBTQ+ Rights

Today, Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Billie Eilish, her mother, actress/screenwriter Maggie Baird, along with her older brother, singer-songwriter Finneas O’Connell, shared on Instagram that they are Equality Voters, joining 62 million Americans in expressing the need to turn out to vote this election & the importance of lived & legal equality for the LGBTQ+ community. The posts were featured before their collective audience of over 116 million followers.

“We’re grateful that Billie, Finneas, and Maggie continue to meet us in this unprecedented moment as champions for equality,” said Jennifer Pike Bailey, Deputy Director of Governmental Affairs at HRC. “When Equality Voters, whether they be high-profile figures or everyday Americans, state loudly and proudly that everyone has the right to be their authentic selves and enjoy life with whomever they love, we send the clear message that now is the time for our leaders to be on the right side of history this election year.”

Equality Voters are a voting bloc made up of demographically and geographically diverse people who are united by the advancement of LGBTQ+ equality. These voters are younger, more racially diverse, and more female than the general electorate, and comprise more than 62 million voters nationwide who may determine the outcome of this election.

I Wanna Dance With Somebody in theaters December 21, 2022

I Wanna Dance with Somebody is a powerful and triumphant celebration of the incomparable Whitney Houston. Directed by Kasi Lemmons, written by Academy Award nominee Anthony McCarten, produced by legendary music executive Clive Davis and starring BAFTA Award winner Naomi Ackie, the film is a no-holds-barred portrait of the complex and multifaceted woman behind The Voice. 

From New Jersey choir girl to one of the best-selling and most awarded recording artists of all time, audiences are taken on an inspirational, poignant—and so emotional—journey through Houston’s trailblazing life and career, with show-stopping performances and a soundtrack of the icon’s most beloved hits as you’ve never heard them before. Don’t you wanna dance?

Biden-Harris Administration announces more than $2.9 million for seven community air pollution monitoring projects in Colorado

Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has selected seven Colorado groups to receive funding to conduct air quality monitoring in communities across the Denver metro area, Northern Colorado, and Southwest Colorado. These grants are among 132 air monitoring projects in 37 states that will receive $53.4 million from President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act and American Rescue Plan to enhance air quality monitoring in communities across the United States. The projects are focused on communities that are underserved, historically marginalized, and overburdened by pollution, supporting President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative.

“This funding will help address air quality information gaps in and near underserved communities across the Front Range and Southwest Colorado, providing community members with more data about the air they breathe” said EPA Regional Administrator, KC Becker. “The data these projects produce will help Colorado communities more closely evaluate potential pollution concerns and opportunities to address them.”

Today’s announcement includes funding for the following air monitoring projects in Colorado:

• San Juan Basin Public Health ($312,500) – Deployment of particulate matter (PM), ozone, and volatile organic compound (VOC) monitors in underserved neighborhoods in Archuleta, La Plata, and San Juan Counties, including development of a Community Checkout Program to make mobile PM sensors available for community use.
• City of Fort Collins ($499,139) – VOC and air toxics monitoring at locations near oil and gas development in Larimer and western Weld Counties through use of stationary monitors and a mobile plume-tracker vehicle.
• 350 Colorado ($498,537) – Implementation of an air quality monitoring program for VOCs, ozone, methane and particulate matter near two public schools in Greeley with nearby oil and gas operations.
• Cultivando ($500,000) - Operation of a continuous monitoring station and deployment of a mobile air monitoring van to identify and quantify air toxics in the Commerce City, Globeville, and Elyria-Swansea neighborhoods, which are communities disproportionately impacted by pollution.
• Jefferson County ($225,954.25) - Program to create local air monitoring capacity for underserved communities in Jefferson County through a partnership between the Jefferson County Public Health Department and local groups. Air monitors for particulate matter will be installed and data will be shared through a public-facing dashboard.
• Tri-County Health Department ($403,996) – Expansion of a community air monitoring network consisting of fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) sensors that display real-time, public facing data across Adams and Arapahoe counties.
• Black Parents United Foundation ($472,656) – Installation and operation of ozone, VOC, methane, and PM_2.5 air monitors in disproportionately impacted communities in Aurora, with data transmitted in real-time to a public-facing web portal.

“The last few years have made clear the importance of addressing inequities in the public health of every community,” said Senator Michael Bennet. “This $2.9 million from the Inflation Reduction Act and American Rescue Plan will help protect our air quality in Colorado and I’m glad to see these funds coming to our state.”

The air pollution monitoring projects are made possible by more than $30 million in Inflation Reduction Act funds, which supplemented $20 million from the American Rescue Plan and enabled EPA to support 77 additional projects, more than twice the number of projects initially proposed by community-based nonprofit organizations, state and local governments, and Tribal governments.

These grant selections further the goals of President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative and Executive Order, Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad, which directed that 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain Federal investments flow to overburdened communities that face disproportionately high and adverse health and environmental impacts.  By enhancing air monitoring and encouraging partnerships with communities, EPA is investing in efforts to better protect people’s health, particularly those in underserved communities.

EPA will start the process to award the funding by the end of 2022, once the grant applicants have met all legal and administrative requirements. Grantees will have three years to spend the funds from the time EPA awards the grants.

See the full list of applications selected for award. 

Jinkx Monsoon’s Sketch Comedy Series Greenlit for Season 2 By World of Wonder

Emmy-winning media company World of Wonder, the team behind RuPaul’s Drag Race, has picked up a second season of the Jinkx Monsoon-led comedy series Sketchy Queens. The renewal announcement today comes timed to the season finale of the 8-episode series. Premiering in 2023, Sketchy Queens’ second season will continue to stream exclusively on WOW Presents Plus, World of Wonder’s owned and operated SVOD service.

Jinkx Monsoon, the “internationally tolerated” comedienne, and her comedy partner Liam Krug will return as the series leads and Executive Producers with Randy Barbato, Fenton Bailey, and Tom Campbell of World of Wonder to stay on as Executive Producers.

Sketchy Queens first premiered on the heels of Jinkx Monsoon’s legendary ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race: All Stars’ run where she was crowned as the only two-time winner of Drag Race and the reigning Queen of All Queens. A smash hit sketch comedy series, bringing an authentic style of comedy for WOW Presents Plus, season one saw unique sketches, a revival of Jinkx's iconic Snatch Game character Little Edie, and a rotating door of celebrity guest stars. The first season subsequently quickly took off as a fan-favorite amidst WOW Presents Plus’ long-line of successful reality programming.

"This series had us all in stitches, and the WOWPP audience can’t get enough!” said World of Wonder co-founders Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato. “ Who knew Jinkx Monsoon was such a Sketchy Queen? Turns out everyone knows now!"

"Liam and I are so thrilled to start the long, hilarious, disjointed process that goes into creating another season of Sketchy Queens!” Says Jinkx Monsoon. “Sketchy Queens Season 2 is going to be bigger and more wild-- with more celebrity guests and plenty of that dry, esoteric wit we're so damn proud of. We're grateful to World of Wonder for believing in our show and allowing us true creative freedom. Thank you for watching, and here's to more!"

In its sophomore season, Sketchy Queens promises to bring fans even more camp, laughs and cringe. Born from the weirdest ideas within the wacky minds of Monsoon and Krug, the series will continue to feature the duo's iconic celebrity impersonations alongside hilarious (and humiliating) new material. Season one welcomed an exciting array of guest stars including Trixie Mattel, Brittany Broski and Brandon Rogers and season two promises to continue to surprise audiences with cameos from your favorite queens and comedians.

The entire first season of Sketchy Queens is available now exclusively on WOW Presents Plus.

Human Rights Campaign Condemns Violent Attack Against Tulsa Business

On October 31, news broke that a business based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the Donut Hole, was vandalized when someone threw a Molotov cocktail – a hand-thrown incendiary weapon – after hosting an event involving drag queens. It was the second time the shop had been vandalized within three weeks.

In response to this violent attack, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest LGBTQ+ civil rights organization, issued the following statement:

“This week in Tulsa, we saw the latest in an ever-growing list of violent attacks against the LGBTQ+ community. Our hearts are with the business owners and local community,” said Joni Madison, Interim President of the Human Rights Campaign. “In recent months, we have seen anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric, discrimination and harassment spike on social media, driven by a small group of extremist politicians and their allies. This attack, which comes on the heels of bomb threats to hospitals that provide care to transgender youth, and threats to drag shows and Pride parades, shows that there are real life consequences to online harassment beyond the screen.

“These disgusting actions taken against a small business will do nothing to deter us in our fight for equality and liberation for all LGBTQ+ people.”

Nearly 1 in 5 of any type of hate crime is now motivated by anti-LGBTQ+ bias, and the last two years have been the deadliest for transgender people, especially Black transgender women, we have seen since we began tracking fatal violence against the community.

Online anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric has, over recent weeks and months, grown increasingly violent and harassing, often crossing into physical spaces as seen in this attack. Last month, HRC joined with the Center for Countering Digital Hate to produce Digital Hate: Social Media’s Role in Amplifying Dangerous Lies About LGBTQ+ People, a report detailing how In the wake of the passage of Florida’s discriminatory “Don’t Say Gay or Trans” bill, extremist politicians and their allies engineered an unprecedented and dangerous anti-LGBTQ+ misinformation campaign that saw discriminatory and inflammatory “grooming” content surge by over 400% across social media platforms.

Are You Gay With Something To Say? Bloggers Wanted to Write About Denver's Gay Community

Are you a new or experienced writer or blogger? Do you want to be? Or maybe you're just some gay guy with something to say? Well, what better forum for you than MileHighGayGuy?

MileHighGayGuy is looking for regular and guest bloggers to write about local news and events, do music and movie reviews, or write opinion or feature pieces from a gay perspective.

These are unpaid positions but offer the opportunity to be published in Colorado's Best Gay Blog (2010, 2011, 2012 OUTstanding Awards, Denver 2012 #WebAwards), expand your audience and gain valuable experience. There's also swag available in the form of free movie and concert tickets, music, books and other cool stuff.

If interested, shoot an email over to Drew Wilson at drew@milehighgayguy.com. And if you've got column or story ideas to pitch, this is the place to do it.

Colorado to receive $411,440 through EPA’s Pollution Prevention Grant program

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is providing the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) with $411,440 in Pollution Prevention (P2) grants to support state programs as they work with businesses to prevent or reduce pollution and reduce costs. CDPHE is one of thirty-two (32) recipients of $9 million in P2 grants announced by the EPA earlier this month.

“EPA’s support of Colorado’s exemplary Pollution Prevention partnerships continue to help businesses develop and implement strategies to reduce toxic pollution, waste production, water and energy use, and the use of raw materials, while also lowering business costs” said EPA Region 8’s Acting Director of Land Chemicals and Redevelopment Division, Nancy Morlock.  “This funding will also help the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment develop and share best practices through several different pathways focusing efforts on environmental justice concerns in underserved communities.” 

CDPHE’s P2 grant will be used to:

• Identify, develop, document, and share P2 best practices through the Colorado Green Business Network (CGBN) technical assistance and recognition program. Through this program, businesses throughout the state of Colorado can receive free on-site and off-site technical assistance in operational efficiency, as well as recognition to incentivize continual improvement in operational sustainability.
• Support community based P2 efforts amongst state and local technical assistance providers (TAPs), in addition to providing resources to enable the foundation of new TAPs across the state. The CGBN will focus efforts throughout its activities on environmental justice (EJ) concerns in underserved communities and on climate change impacts and GHG emissions reductions. Click here to learn more about CGBN.
• Support five P2 internship projects for Colorado State University graduate fellows, focusing on the Food and Beverage Manufacturing and Processing sector.
   

The grants announced this month are in addition to $12 million in P2 grants that were announced in September and made possible by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s historic $100 million program investment in EPA’s P2 program.

The P2 grants also deliver on the President’s Justice40 initiative, which aims to deliver 40 percent of the overall benefits of climate, clean energy, affordable and sustainable housing, clean water, and other investments to disadvantaged communities. EPA anticipates the majority of grants will successfully direct at least 40% of their environmental and human health benefits onto disadvantaged communities that are marginalized, underserved, and overburdened by pollution.

The United States produces billions of pounds of pollution each year and spends billions of dollars per year controlling this pollution. Preventing pollution at the source, also known as P2 or source reduction, rather than managing waste after it is produced is an important part of advancing a sustainable economic and environmental infrastructure. P2 can lessen exposure to toxic chemicals, conserve natural resources, and reduce financial costs for businesses, particularly costs associated with waste management, disposal and cleanup. These practices are essential for protecting health, improving environmental conditions in and around disadvantaged communities, and preserving natural resources like wetlands, groundwater sources, and other critical ecosystems.

A full list of the entities selected to receive funding can be found here.

Read more about P2 and the P2 Grant Programs.

LGBTQI+ holiday romcom 'Merry & Gay' premieres Dec. 1 on newly launched, queer streaming network DIVABoxOffice.tv

Two well-meaning, but meddling moms hatch a plot to reunite their children, who were childhood friends and high school sweethearts, in the delightful, holiday romcom Merry & Gay, from A Baker Production.

 

Starring Dia Frampton (I Hate New Years; runner up in the inaugural season of The Voice and lead singer of the band Meg & Dia) and Andi René Christensen (Bel-Air, Hacks), Merry & Gay premieres on VOD Dec. 1 on DivaBoxOffice.tv, the newly launched LGBTQI+ network, dedicated to telling stories featuring and about the lesbian/queer community and women loving women.

 

Christensen is the first non-binary actor to star in a lead role in a holiday romcom. The film also stars Stella Parton (Nothing is Impossible, Dolly Parton's Christmas of Many Colors: Circle of Love, Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors), Hayat Nesheiwat, Janet Ivey (The Least of These: A Christmas Story, Nashville), Jon Lee (Fear the Walking Dead: Farley, Lovecraft Country) and Sarah Daddario.

 

The DIVABoxOffice.tv network, which premiered Dec. 1, is a partnership between A Baker Production and DIVA magazine, the world's leading magazine for LGBTQI+ women and non-binary people. The film is the fourth holiday romcom from veteran writer/producer/director Christin Baker, known for critically acclaimed, queer feature films (Christmas at the Ranch, I Hate New Years, Season of Love) and series (Emmy-nominated Secs and EXECS and Riley Parra) with powerful, original soundtracks.

 

Showcasing an upbeat, holiday-inspired soundtrack, Merry & Gay features all original music, including songs by Frampton, Rachel Dye and composer Everett Young. 

Comedy Invasion Set to Make Worldwide Streaming Debut

Following the successful release of two seasons of Comedy InvAsian Stateside on Peacock earlier this year, executive producer Quentin Lee (Margin Films) and distributor Victor Elizalde (Viva Pictures) re-team for Comedy Invasion, a new spin-off TV series spotlighting a fresh cast of diverse Canadian standup comedians to world premiere on Nov 29, 2022 on AAM.tv, and then following Amazon Prime, Roku, Tubi and other global streaming platforms.

 

Each episode of this first TV series of its kind, Comedy Invasion, will feature a half hour set from a breakout Canadian comic who is either from the disabled, BIPOC, LGBTQIA+ and/or female community.

 

The first season of Comedy Invasion mainstages diverse Canadian comedians (Top left clockwise to bottom left in photo): Toronto’s Desirée Walsh living with cerebral palsy, Vancouver’s indigenous Keith “Bubbas” Nahanee, Vancouver’s Japanese Canadian Yumi Nagashima, Calgary’s transgender drag queen activist Karla Marx, Vancouver’s queer and Asian DJ On, dual citizen South Asian American and Canadian comedian Alisha Dhillon, Calgary’s fearless and bisexual female comedian Victoria Banner and Vancouver’s own social media sensation Davin Tong (aka Peter Chao). 

Comedy Invasion is the Canadian spinoff of Comedy InvAsian, co-created by Quentin Lee with distribution by Viva Pictures Distribution LLC, Season 1 of Comedy InvAsian had its world premiere on Hulu as an exclusive in 2018. Season 2 of Comedy InvAsian premiered on May 2022 on Peacock and Tubi.

“Despite not getting support from Canadian broadcasters from financing to distribution, an independent Canadian creator must do what they must… to create and release the first TV series of its kind in Canada based on our proprietary format of Comedy InvAsian. Comedy Invasion will be a platform of discovery empowering diverse Canadian comedians to shine and own a piece of global media history,” said Quentin Lee, creator of Comedy Invasion.

“Comedy Invasion is an opportunity to celebrate marginalized and often underrepresented voices of up-and-coming Canadian comedians. Comedy Invasion is the first of its kind and we hope that it will set the stage for many more to come,” said Cindy AuYeung, producer of Comedy Invasion.

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 2022 inductee Carly Simon to release iconic 'Live at Grand Central Station' on audio and Blu-Ray

Carly Simon’s legendary surprise concert at New York’s Grand Central Terminal will be released on audio and Blu-ray for the first time on January 27, Live at Grand Central. The video has been digitized, converted to HD and re-edited. The audio has been re-mixed by multi-Grammy Award winning producer and engineer Frank Filipetti. The concert will be available on Blu-ray, CD, vinyl and digital streaming platforms via MRI/Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment. There’s also a very limited edition colored vinyl available. Pre-order HERE.

In celebration of the announcement, Carly is sharing the album track “Like A River” alongside a video; watch/share the video HERE.
In April 1995, commuters walking through Grand Central were pleasantly surprised to stumble upon Simon and her band performing a full, unannounced concert in the middle of the main terminal. The concert—Simon’s first in fourteen years—was filmed and aired on Lifetime for a television special which was released on VHS later that year.

On November 5, Simon will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame live from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. The exhibition is officially open now at the historic Cleveland museum, including her original outfit and some original prints from the famous Norman Seeff photo shoot for the cover of Playing Possum, handwritten lyrics from an early draft of “You’re So Vain,” and her custom-made Taylor guitar with beautiful personalized inlay work. Exclu

WalletHub: 2022 FIFA World Cup By The Numbers & 2022’s Best Cities for Soccer Fans

With the FIFA World Cup kicking off on November 20 in Qatar and the U.S. Men’s National Team having qualified, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2022's Best Cities for Soccer Fans, as well as accompanying videos and expert commentary. WalletHub also released its FIFA World Cup By The Numbers infographic with fun stats about the competition.

To find the best places for loving on the world’s favorite sport, WalletHub compared nearly 300 U.S. cities with at least one college or professional soccer team across five divisions comprising 52 key metrics. The data set ranges from minimum season-ticket price for a game to stadium accessibility to number of championship wins.

Below are some highlights from the infographic and report.

World Cup By The Numbers

• $220 Billion: Reported cost of hosting the 2022 World Cup (most expensive in history).
   
• $7 Billion: Expected revenue for FIFA from the 2022 World Cup cycle ($600 million over the target budget initially set).
   
• $20 Billion: The World Cup’s expected impact on Qatar’s economy.
   
• $2,286: Average price of the cheapest round-trip tickets from a major U.S. city to Doha for the World Cup.
   
• $847 Million: Estimated cost of the Al Bayt Stadium, the most expensive venue built for the 2022 World Cup (6.5 times cheaper than the SoFi Stadium, the world most expensive arena).
   
• $425 Million: Amount paid by Fox for the rights to the 2018 and 2022 World Cup tournaments.
   
• 1st: Time the World Cup will be held in the Middle East Region (with Qatar being the smallest nation to ever host the tournament).

 

Top 20 Cities for Soccer Fans
1. Los Angeles, CA	11. Columbus, OH
2. Seattle, WA	12. Chicago, IL
3. Portland, OR	13. Boston, MA
4. Orlando, FL	14. Miami, FL
5. Kansas City, MO	15. Houston, TX
6. Washington, DC	16. Philadelphia, PA
7. New York, NY	17. Cary, NC
8. Atlanta, GA	18. Denver, CO
9. Salt Lake City, UT	19. Dallas, TX
10. St. Paul, MN	20. San Jose, CA

Homebody: Digital and Fandor Exclusive Out December 6

Cinedigm has announced that writer-director Joseph Sackett's body-transfer fantasy comedy Homebody will release theatrically at the Laemmle Theaters in Los Angeles on November 11th, followed by a digital and exclusive Fandor release on December 6th.

Premiering at Outfest, where it won the Emerging Talent Award, the film went on to screen at NewFest, where Colby Minifie was awarded Best Performance, Inside Out 2SLGBTQ+ Toronto where is won Best First Feature, and many other festivals including Cleveland International, Milwaukee, New Hampshire, etc. 

Colby Minifie (The Boys) stars in this lighthearted, genderqueer comedy, expanded from Joseph Sackett's 2018 short I Was in Your Blood. Young Johnny discovers a YouTube video that teaches him how to send his spirit out of his body and into his beloved babysitter Melanie. He can see through her eyes and operate her from the inside out. Johnny-as-Melanie plays dress-up, buys obscene amounts of candy, and has awkward run-ins with her friends, clients and partners. The pressures of pretending to be someone else can stack up fast! 

Homebody is the directorial feature debut for Sackett, one of Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film,” whose shorts have screened in competition from Slamdance to Cannes.

"As clever as it is sweet, Homebody is a progressively modern riff on movies like Big or Being John Malkovich," says Aaron Hillis, Director of Programming at Cinedigm. "Subverting the familiar high-concept plot of a body-swap comedy, filmmaker Joseph Sackett and his cast have created something hip, fun and proudly queer." 

Kamala Harris, Sheryl Lee Ralph, and Others Join Human Rights Campaign Incoming President Kelley Robinson at HRC Annual Dinner

Saturday night, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) civil rights organization, hosted its annual dinner, just 10 days before the midterm elections. The star-studded event featured remarks from Vice President Kamala Harris and Incoming HRC President Kelley Robinson. HRC honored Emmy winner Sheryl Lee Ralph with the National Ally for Equality Award, which recognizes the outstanding efforts of those who use their voice to publicly stand up for the LGBTQ+ community, and the Prime Video series “A League of Their Own” with the National Visibility award, which recognizes LGBTQ+ leaders and entities that represent living open and honest lives at home, at work, and in the greater community. Stars Abbi Jacobson and Chanté Adams accepted the award on behalf of the show.

In her first public remarks as Incoming President, Robinson highlighted the threats facing the LGBTQ+ community, discussed her vision for the future of HRC under her leadership, and called out opponents of equality like Arizona U.S. Senate candidate Blake Masters, Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson and Georgia U.S. Senate candidate Herschel Walker as folks start heading to the ballot box.

View Robinson’s full speech.

“This idea of salvation, of survival, has never been more true than in this moment,” said Incoming HRC President Robinson in her remarks about the upcoming election and what’s at stake. “Good people, this is about survival for LGBTQ+ kids and families. This is about survival for the folks across the nation who are being denied access to basic health care. This is about survival for those whose lives are being threatened by hate and extremism. This is about survival for our trans community — especially Black trans women who go to work, who go out for drinks with friends, who walk their dogs, who go to church every day wondering if this is the day they don’t get to go home again. This moment is about the very survival of our people. We’ve got to be very clear that white supremacy is hurting all of us. Our opposition is not just coming for the progress of the last 40 years, they’re coming for the progress of the last 400 years.

“We are facing an opposition that does not think we should be allowed to exist. And they are willing to do anything — and say anything — to achieve their ends. Blake Masters in Arizona called Justice Jackson a ‘pedophile apologist.’ Ron Johnson is saying school shootings are caused by wokeness. Herschel Walker is saying kids are identifying as cats. There is no end to their hate and no bottom to their— as Joe Biden would call it—  their malarkey.”

In addition to Robinson’s remarks, Vice President Harris, and honored guests spoke passionately about the importance of representation and the need to defend LGBTQ+ rights around the world. The event included performances from Robin S., Shea Diamond, and DJ Nico Craig and appearances from celebrities and LGBTQ+ advocates from across the country.