Activism

The Wall Street Journal reports: George Soros, the legendary investor, philanthropist and right-wing target, is handing control of his $25 billion empire to a younger son—Alexander Soros, a self-described center-left thinker who grew up self-conscious of the family’s wealth and wasn’t thought to be a potential successor. The 37-year-old, who goes by Alex, said in the first interview since his …

Just in via press release: Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) — the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) civil rights organization — officially declared a state of emergency for LGBTQ+ people in the United States for the first time in its more than 40-year history, following an unprecedented and dangerous spike in anti-LGBTQ+ legislative assaults sweeping …

Pink News reports: Democratic representative and trans trailblazer Zooey Zephyr has proposed to her girlfriend, the independent journalist and LGBTQ+ activist Erin Reed. Reed told PinkNews that the couple had been “side by side through it all for the last several months” and they are “thrilled” to be “a source of happiness for our community”. The past few weeks have …

ABC News reports: Hundreds of drag performers and allies rallied in Florida Tuesday afternoon against recent legislation that organizers say is attacking the LGBTQ community. The rally drew advocates from across the state to Tallahassee for a march to the state Capitol, where speakers included state Sen. Shevrin Jones. “First of all, I want to acknowledge your existence,” Jones said …

The New York Times reports: Harry Belafonte, who stormed the pop charts and smashed racial barriers in the 1950s with his highly personal brand of folk music, and who went on to become a major force in the civil rights movement, died on Tuesday at his home on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. He was 96. The cause was …

The Independent reports: Kevin Bacon has gone viral with a video he made in protest of the drag bans. On Sunday, he posted a video of him and his wife, the actor Kyra Sedgwick, dancing to Taylor Swift’s song “Karma” and wearing t-shirts with the slogan “Drag is an art and drag is a right”. In the caption to the …

Via email from LGBTQ youth advocate Carl Siciliano: Since stepping down as the Ali Forney Center’s Executive Director in 2020, I’ve been overseeing our efforts to support programs housing LGBTQ youth across the country and around the world. One group that I’ve worked especially closely with is the Warsaw House Foundation in Poland. They have recently begun to offer housing …

Fort Lauderdale’s ABC affiliate reports: The LGBTQ community in Wilton Manors is preparing to march Sunday against new measures that Republicans in Florida are pushing forward. Christ Caputo, a Wilton Manors commissioner, said it’s time for the community to stand against “discriminatory” Florida bills. Caputo said he is especially concerned about House Bill 1011 and Senate Bill 668, which set …

The Des Moines Register reports: Iowans by the hundreds rallied Sunday at the center of Iowa government to protest legislation targeting the rights of LGBTQ citizens. Nearly a thousand parents, students, educators, faith leaders, community organizers and elected officials attended the Sunday Rally to Resist on the West steps of the Iowa State Capitol. “Iowans have had enough. We understand …

The Orlando Sentinel reports: For University of Central Florida students Izzie Uribe and Niyanna Jeffcoat, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ efforts to dismantle diversity and inclusion programs and interrogate campuses about health services provided to transgender students pose an imminent threat to their campus. The pair stood with hundreds of their peers on the university’s Memory Mall on Thursday afternoon, protesting what …

The New York Daily News reports: Henry Berg-Brosseau, a prominent transgender rights advocate and the son of Kentucky Sen. Karen Berg has died at the age of 24. His death was confirmed by the Democratic lawmaker in a statement released Tuesday afternoon. “Last Friday morning my son Henry died by suicide. He was a beloved son, brother, nephew, dog parent …

The Mirror reports: LGBT+ football fans have launched a fund in an attempt to persuade FIFA where to hold the 2030 World Cup through ‘donations’. This year’s tournament is being held in Qatar, which is alleged to hunt, arrest and beat LGBT+ people. Considering a bid for the 2030 tournament is Saudi Arabia, another country which outlaws homosexuality and persecutes …

Fortune reports: Jeff Bezos named Dolly Parton the latest recipient of his Courage and Civility award, handing the music legend $100 million to direct to any charities she chooses. “She gives with her heart. What she’s done for kids, and literacy, and so many other things, is just incredible,” Bezos, 58, said in a video posted on social media. “I’ve …

Via press release: GLAAD, the world’s largest LGBTQ media advocacy organization, is releasing two urgent new ads about the stakes for LGBTQ Americans in the upcoming midterm elections, including the threat to marriage equality, to urge LGBTQ people and allies to vote. GLAAD created the 30-second spot “Marriage Threat” in collaboration with Family Equality. The ads premiere October 12th with …

The Gainesville Sun reports: In his first visit to campus as the sole finalist to be University of Florida president, U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse faced questions Monday on his conservative political positions — along with a protest that disrupted a question-and-answer session and ended with him speeding off in a police vehicle. UF announced last week that a presidential search …

The Associated Press reports: Several hundred people on Saturday joined an LGBTQ pride march in Montenegro, held amid strong opposition from the influential Serbian Orthodox Church in the small conservative Balkan country. Montenegro’s 10th pride event was dubbed “No more buts,” reflecting demands that more be done to stem hate speech and harassment of LGBTQ community despite huge steps that …

The Hollywood Reporter reports: Sacheen Littlefeather, the Native American actress and activist who took to the stage at the 1973 Academy Awards to reveal that Marlon Brando would not accept his Oscar for The Godfather, has died. She was 75. Littlefeather died at noon Sunday at her home in the Northern California city of Novato surrounded by her loved ones, …

Gothamist reports: LGBTQ+ activists gathered outside Sen. Chuck Schumer’s office in Manhattan on Sunday to demand better access to monkeypox testing and vaccines from the federal government. Organizers with ACT UP New York, PrEP4All and members of the queer community that have been impacted by the monkeypox outbreak called for or an emergency use authorization of the tecovirimat, or Tpoxx …

The Taipei Times reports: The organizers of WorldPride 2025 have canceled the Kaohsiung event because its licensing group, InterPride, demanded that it remove “Taiwan” from the event’s name, they said in a statement yesterday. Kaohsiung was to host WorldPride Taiwan 2025 after being granted the right by the global LGBTQ advocacy group. However, the WorldPride 2025 Taiwan Preparation Committee said …

The CBC reports: Organizers of the Montréal Pride festival have cancelled today’s parade. They cited a lack of security staff for the parade route, adding that the decision was made in collaboration with Montreal police. Events taking place at the Esplanade du Parc olympique from 2 p.m., including the closing show with Pabllo Vittar, will go on as as planned. …