Approximately 100 Black LGBT leaders and activists from around the continental United States have gathered in Washington, D.C., for the National Black Justice Coalition's (NBJC) 2nd Annual OUT on the Hill Black LGBT Leadership Summit, according to a press release.
The summit runs through Sept. 25.
This year, NBJC is announcing several groundbreaking events, including the first-ever LGBT-themed, Congressional Black Caucus Foundation forum "From Civil Rights to LGBT Equality: African Americans and the LGBT Community at the Intersection," Sept. 23 at the Washington Convention Center. Confirmed panelists include Phill Wilson, HIV/AIDS activist and executive director of the Black AIDS Institute; Cheryl Kilodavis, author of the Princess Boy and proud parent to a 6-year old boy who wears pink dresses; and Sirdeaner Walker, mother of Carl Walker-Hoover, who took his own life at the age of 11 after experiencing bullying at school.
On Sunday, Sept. 25, in conjunction with the mayor's office of GLBT affairs, NBJC will co-host an advance screening of the Spike Lee-produced film Pariah, which tells the coming-out story of a Black lesbian youth.
See www.nbjc.org .
Ugandan
gay-rights
activist to receive
Kennedy award
Frank Mugisha, a prominent young advocate for the rights of sexual minorities in Uganda, has been chosen to receive the prestigious Robert F. Kennedy (RFK) Human Rights Award, according to a press release from the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice & Human Rights.
Mugisha, 29, is the executive director of Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), a leading organization of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) movement in the East African country.
"Frank Mugisha's unbending advocacy for gay rights in Uganda in the face of deep-rooted homophobia is a testament to the indomitability of the human spirit," said RFK Human Rights Award Judge Dean Makau Mutua, Professor of Law and Dean of the University at Buffalo Law School (SUNY).
Mrs. Robert F. Kennedy and U.S. Sen. John Kerry will present the award in Washington, D.C., Nov. 10.