On April 30, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) hosted its Greater New York Dinner at the Marriott Marquis Times Square, per a press release.
The event featured speeches from HRC Interim President Joni Madison, who used her remarks to directly confront the right-wing anti-LGBTQ+ misinformation campaign and called the current momentwith numerous anti-LGBTQ+ bills passing in states across the country and the constant dissemination of misinformationan "emergency."
She also said, "There are people asking why they should get involved because they think they're going to be OKbecause they are cis, because they are white, because they are well-to-do. Many movements are guilty of this. HRC has been guilty of this. But we must change.
"The safety of every single member of our community must be our priority. Because that's what liberation requiresand because that's the only way we save ourselves."
The event also featured remarks from New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. British actress Golda Rosheuvel (Bridgerton) was honored with the HRC Equality Award and multi-platinum pop superstar Jessie J performed. Actors Tituss Burgess and Ian Alexander, actress/transgender-rights activist Nicole Maines,= and comedian Dana Goldberg also spoke at HRC's event.
"In 1999, as a newly elected senator, I was the first senator to march in the gay pride parade," Schumer said. "In 2019, I was the first senator as the proud parent of a gay couple, to march with my daughter and her wife in the great pride parade. I will be the first senator as majority leader to pass the Equality Act!"
Rosheuvel talked about a time when she was advised not to come out publicly. "I thought, 'F*ck that.' It's more important for me to be authentic than to be in an industry that doesn't accept me. I've always felt the need to be true to who I am, no matter what."