LGBT Activist Brian Silva Speaks OUT (AUDIO)

In this exclusive audio interview Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson host of OUTTAKE VOICES™ talks with Brian Silva, Executive Director of Marriage Equality USA (MEUSA) that will be closing down later this year after accomplishing their mission of marriage equality in all 50 states and at the federal level. Silva will then shift his efforts as director of grassroots engagements for Freedom for All Americans (FFAA), an organization focused on achieving national nondiscrimination protections for our LGBT community. In 33 states LGBTQ people are still not fully protected from discrimination whether in employment, housing or in public spaces like restaurants or hotels. The National Equality Action Team (NEAT) developed by MEUSA in 2012 will now have a new home at FFAA. Through NEAT, volunteers will continue to be able to make phone calls to residents in states with pending legislation, knock on doors to urge residents to contact their lawmakers and assist with a variety of other actions that places NEAT volunteers right in the middle of these important historic campaigns. We talked to Brian about his transition to FFAA and his spin on our LGBT issues.

When asked what his personal commitment is to LGBT civil rights Silva stated, “It starts with the personal as a gay man who is about to marry his partner this year. Having equality and being treated equally is something obviously very personal to me and my fiancé and something we will definitely benefit from. But I think in addition to that the idea that we would have a two tiered system for just about anybody in our community or in our nation is to me highly offensive and really goes against what I think the majority of Americans believe what our country is about. I think it’s also important to make sure that we’re looking at our community and our community’s issues not just from the traditional LGBT lens, you know marriage, nondiscrimination and conversion therapy, things that just effect the LGBT community. Those are all very important but the members of our community are also people of color who are affected by a discriminatory criminal justice system. They are women who are having their access to reproductive health and rights attacked. They are undocumented families and kids and parents whose families are being torn apart by a broken immigration system. So my commitment is to look at our community and the people in it holistically and to use some of the privileges I have been given and the opportunities I have been given to make sure that other people have opportunities and privileges and I’m fighting for all of those things in our community that need to be fought for to really create the American dream for each of us.”

Brian Silva’s leadership expanded MEUSA’s grassroots education and advocacy work into communities across the nation contributing to the passing of marriage equality in all 50 states especially with the establishment of the National Equality Action Team (NEAT) coalition. NEAT’s work is already underway in Massachusetts where a bill is pending that would ensure that transgender people cannot be turned away or denied service at a public place on the basis of their gender identity and in Florida where advocates are working to update Florida’s nondiscrimination laws to include sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.
For More Info: theneat.org

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Groundswell A New LGBT Retreat & Ecovillage

In this exclusive audio interview Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson host of OUTTAKE VOICES™ talks with Kyle DeVries one of the founders of Groundswell, a new LGBT retreat center and ecovillage two hours north of San Francisco. Just over a year old, Groundswell is about to begin its first full lineup of queer-focused programs starting with a forestry camp and an artists gathering. Groundswell’s retreat center is a rustic former kids camp set in a stunning natural environment. Across a year-round creek from the campus is Groundswell’s ecovillage, a residential and agricultural complex that aims to model sustainable queer-spirited living. The first program of the year is Forestry Camp held February 18th to 22nd which is an opportunity for people to learn about sustainable forest management and some woodsy crafting projects. In addition there will be an exploration of the connection between our LGBT community and nature around a roaring fire pit with s’mores. Then March 3rd to 6th Groundswell is organizing MUSE: Inspire which is an LGBT creatives retreat. A gathering for LGBTQ artists of all types, MUSE offers skill sharing, artistic inspiration, creative collaboration and plenty of time to connect with other LGBT creatives. This year’s focus is on who or what sparks inspiration and how LGBTQ people inspire the world. MUSE is a community creation and each year extends the opportunity for people to present their passions as an artist. We talked to Kyle about his inspiration for Groundswell and his spin on our LGBT issues.

When asked what his personal commitment is to LGBT civil rights DeVries stated, “As a gay man myself I feel full accomplishment of LGBT civil rights is a very personal means of legal protections for what I consider my extended community. I’ve been doing activism in the LGBT community for over a decade now starting with civil disobedience and community organizing actions like the equality ride and then continuing to do community organizing once I moved to California more in the arts spectrum. And Groundswell is another part of my commitment to LGBT equality because again we are trying to create a space that is advocating for the celebration of that otherness of being gay, or lesbian, or transgender or bisexual.”

Kyle DeVries also manages the nonprofit retreat center, helps care for the many animals and works with wood. Its non-human domestic residents include goats, alpacas, llamas, sheep, chickens, pigs, rabbits, guinea fowl and dogs. In addition to their content another unique aspect of Groundswell’s programs is their accessibility for people of all incomes. Every event offers work trade and scholarship opportunities for those who cannot afford the event registration fees so that financial means are not a barrier to access. The programs and retreat center are run by Groundswell Institute a non-profit that manages this accessibility through donations and renting out the facilities to other groups. The non-profit retreat center is just one aspect of Groundswell. The other is a residential community committed to sustainable, queer-spirited living. Currently with four full-time residents, the community plans to grow to become as many as 30 over the years.
For More Info: groundswell.institute

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Diedra Meredith Leads LGBT Academy of Recording Arts

In this exclusive audio interview Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson host of OUTTAKE VOICES™ talks with Diedra Meredith, CEO of OUTmusic Inc and Chairwoman of the LGBT Academy of Recording Arts that recently presented their 9th annual OUTmusic Awards. OUTmusic Inc. a 501(c)3 non-profit charitable organization was founded in 1990 by life partners Daniel Martin and Michael Biello in their East Village Apartment in New York City. They wanted to create a place where LGBT and queer music people could exercise their authentic freedom of expression openly and proudly. For 17 years Dan and Michael headed the organization until they sought new leadership in 2006. In 2007 Diedra Meredith, aka Deepa Soul, Billboard chart topping recording artist, was appointed as the new Chairwoman. Under her new leadership OUTmusic was re-founded as the LGBT Academy of Recording Arts creating the acronym LARA. LARA defines what OUTmusic is as the alliance of LGBT recording artists, creative industry professionals and patrons of the arts. We talked to Diedra about what she hopes to accomplish with LARA and her spin on our LGBT issues.

When asked what her personal commitment is to LGBT civil rights Meredith stated, “I am a person who sits on the great intersect because I’m Afro-American, I’m a woman, I’m openly lesbian and I can’t imagine not doing the work that I’m doing without bringing to the table the way I was raised in the deep south of New Orleans. We were born into the civil rights movement; there wasn’t a choice from the first breathe that we took we became civil rights activists just because of what we were up against. I still saw signs when I was a little girl No Coloreds Allowed. In 1970 I still saw atrocities of what happens to people like me and it’s still happening. So when it comes to LGBT civil rights I don’t have a division but unfortunately in the Afro-American community I sit at the intersect where they don’t want me to bring up that I’m a lesbian but I do because it is a civil right. I’m an American. I’m a law-biding citizen. It is my right and I am right. I’m Afro-American, I’m a woman, I’m lesbian and I deserve every civil right that every man has. It’s my commitment to human civil rights period”.

Diedra Meredith in her early years as a recording artist landed twice in the top 4 on Billboard Club Play Charts. She hit instant success with her first record when she was discovered and produced by Superstar DJ/Producer Junior Vasquez who is responsible for producing mega crossover dance hits for Cher, Madonna, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Beyonce, Mary J Blige, Elton John and many more. She is currently in discussions to obtain a broadcast or streaming deal for the 10th Annual OUTmusic Awards in the same cultural vein as The Grammys, Country Music Awards, The Black Music Awards and the Latin Grammy Awards. Diedra believes that with a more commercial presence, LARA will help support the growing LGBT music and entertainment industry.
For More Info: thelara.org

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SAGE & Friends Miami LGBT Fundraising Event

In this exclusive audio interview Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson host of OUTTAKE VOICES™ talks with Elizabeth Schwartz, Co-chair of the Board of Directors of SAGE (Services & Advocacy for GLBT Elders) about their upcoming event that takes place February 6th in Miami at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables from 6P to 8P. The evening will be honoring LGBT Pioneer Activists Ruth Berman and Connie Kurtz. The SAGE & Friends Miami fundraising event supports SAGE's important work on behalf of LGBT older adults locally and nationally. This generation of gays and lesbians who are now approaching their 70s and 80s are unfortunately facing new discriminations as they age. Entering independent and assisted living facilities as well as receiving other services has presented enormous problems for some elderly gay and lesbians who must confront a still existing ignorance that forces them back into the closet. One of SAGE’s missions is to educate these facilities and all services offered to our older LGBT population so that they can continue to enjoy this stage of their lives with a sense of openness and acceptance. The SAGE & Friends Miami event will be an evening of cocktails and delicious snacks at a gorgeous venue, all for an effective organization and critical cause. We talked to Elizabeth about this fabulous event and her spin on our LGBT issues.

When asked what her personal commitment is to LGBT civil rights Schwartz stated, “I’ve always been committed to this cause. I’ve been involved in LGBT activism for decades and on various issues but especially since I’ve seen older people in my life get exploited and taken advantage of and left destitute, it’s definitely been a real call to action. But I’ll say even through action, I worked to repeal the marriage ban and to repeal the adoption ban in the state of Florida and to do lots of work to agitate for change, I’m very mindful that marriage equality came too late for many people in our community and definitely came too late for a lot of older adults who perhaps might have been with their partners for decades but weren’t married long enough to get social security survivor benefits, weren’t married in the right jurisdiction or died too soon or lost parental rights because they weren’t able to adopt soon enough. So I feel like while many people seem to be thinking that marriage equality means, we’re done, we’re out, I feel like doubling down now and I feel like now is when we really need to ramp-up and tweak the rights for the rest of everyone else for whom marriage came too late or it doesn’t solve the problem. You know like folks who are still working and so you get married on Sunday and Monday get fired from their job, treatment that LGBT older adults are receiving in nursing homes and facilities are so abominable and there is so much we can do and I feel since we got the momentum from our marriage win and folks are starting to wake up and see like, OK maybe LGBT people are humans deserving rights and dignity that now is our opportunity to keep that momentum going and to really ramp-up the protections that we provide for everyone in our community.”

Elizabeth Schwartz has been practicing law since 1997 and is one of Florida's best-known advocates for the legal rights of our LGBT community. While her firm equally works with straight and gay clients in matters of family law, estate planning and probate, she has been at the forefront of providing crucial legal protections for LGBT families. Elizabeth lectures locally, nationally and internationally about the impact of nationwide marriage equality and the continued importance of LGBT couples protecting their loved ones through estate planning, stepparent and second parent adoption.
For Sage & Friend Event Tix: giveto.sageusa.org

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Ken Henderson Creating Change With Entertainment

In this exclusive audio interview Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson host of OUTTAKE VOICES™ talks with Ken Henderson Executive Director of Richmond/Ermet AID Foundation that for over twenty years has raised millions of dollars by producing Broadway quality entertainment events and galas to advance HIV treatments and support AIDS services until there is a cure. Recently REAF has expanded its fundraising focus to the Bay Area’s growing demand for two new areas by providing food for the needy and programs that support homeless, disadvantaged and disenfranchised youth. On February 1st REAF presents “One Night Only Benefit Cabaret” with the touring cast of the Tony Award-winning cast of “Jersey Boys” that takes place at Brava Theater 2781 24th Street in San Francisco at 7:30P. Songs from “Jersey Boys” will not be performed but instead they will provide an evening of music, dance and comedy. We talked to Ken about this fabulous philanthropy and stellar entertainment organization and his spin on our LGBT issues.

When asked what his personal commitment is to LGBT civil rights Henderson stated, “As a gay man that’s one of the most important things I think in my life is trying to have equality and full rights like everyone else. I’ve been involved with HIV fundraising for the last 22 years but I’ve been around and seen the impact HIV has had on our community and I’ve seen the changes in our community. We fought hard for the rights that we have and it's advanced much faster than I ever thought it would. Having marriage equality and everything across the country not just in one or two places, has been a huge impact, although I know we have a Republican caucus coming up that is trying to change all of that and it’s not a time to let our guard down. We have to fight harder than ever to make sure that the rights we have won continue to exist and that we continue to advance.”

Ken Henderson serves as Executive Director of REAF and has served as Co-Producer for REAF events since its inception in 1994 when founders Barbara Richmond and Peggy Ermet called Joe Seiler and Ken with an idea of producing a benefit to honor both their sons and help raise funds to help support the HIV/AIDS agencies that provided services for their sons before they died; they both readily accepted. Doug Ermet had been an especially close friend to Ken and Joe and it seemed a great way to pay tribute to their great friend as well as make a significant contribution to the fight against AIDS. Ken’s love of theatre made Barbara and Peggy’s appeal even more inviting. Ken also maintains a graphic design business and has worked with many non-profits on their fundraising events. As one of the original founders of REAF he has helped create REAF’s vision and oversee most of REAF’s event committees. In addition to co-producing the  “One Night Only Benefit Cabaret” series of fundraisers for REAF and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS they produce "Help is on the Way" and "Help is on the Way for the Holidays” productions. Additionally Ken has been the key contact for corporate underwriting for REAF overseeing the beneficiary selection process as the chief administrative officer and donates his graphic design skills and time to the foundation. Ken is motivated by so many friends he has lost to AIDS and those still fighting the battle, but as we move closer toward a cure there’s still a lot more work to do to end this epidemic once and for all. 
For More Info & Tix: reaf-sf.org

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Jen Richards Creates New LGBT Web Series

In this exclusive audio interview Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson host of OUTTAKE VOICES™ talks with writer-actress Jen Richards about her fabulous new web series HER STORY. The series is co-written by Jen who we first became familiar with on the reality series I AM CAIT and Laura Zak from the tello series #HASHTAG. On January 19th this groundbreaking series will release its six-episode first season on their website and YouTube. The scripted new series follows Violet (Jen Richards) and Paige (Angelica Ross) as two transgender women in Los Angeles who have almost given up on love when suddenly chance encounters renew their hope for happiness. Violet is drawn to Allie (Laura Zak), a reporter who approaches her for an interview while career-driven Paige meets James (Christian Ochoa), the first man she considers opening up to in years. Like trans actress Laverne Cox who plays a transgender character in ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK all the transgender roles in HER STORY are played by transgender actresses which keeps this series uniquely genuine. We talked to Jen about her inspiration for HER STORY and her spin on our LGBT issues.

When asked what she would like to see happen for LGBT equality in the next few years Richards stated, “I think I’d like to see just more of everything. My particular focus lately has been representation in media and I’d like to see trans representation flourish. I’d like to see gender queer representation and non-binary representation. I’d like to see us as both heroes and villains. I’d like to see us as love partners. I’d like to see us as doctors and lawyers. I’d like to see us on screen where our trans identity wasn’t the only reason we’re part of the story; we’re part of larger stories that include the full portrayal of our complicated lives and identities. Then beyond trans representation I think more than anything I would like to see a real reduction in violence against trans women of color that’s been really horrifying to me and I’ve been working behind the scenes for many years. In some ways HER STORY is a reaction to those kinds of events. I’d like to see everything from large corporations to local ma & pa shops start hiring trans people. I’d like to see trans people protected in schools, that they feel safe there and they can get an education. I’d like to see religious communities accept trans people as members of their flocks and help keep them protected as well.”

Jen Richards received her BA in Philosophy from Shimer College, studied at Oxford University and in Kyoto, Japan. She has published articles, lectured and led workshops on a variety of topics across the country as well as being a consultant and advocate focusing on nonprofit management and gender and racial justice working with national organizations and media projects. Jen was also featured in Logo’s “Beautiful As I Want To Be”, several episodes of AOL’s “True Trans” with Laura Jane Grace and appears in videos for BuzzFeed and OWN. She was previously the Co-Founder and Director of “The Trans 100” and creator of “We Happy Trans” a website dedicated to celebrating positive transgender experiences that has received national media attention. HER STORY’s Executive Producer is Eve Ensler, produced by Katherine Fisher/Speed of Joy Productions and directed by Sydney Freeland with cinematography by Bérénice Eveno. This groundbreaking web series features predominantly LGBTQ women, on and off-screen and premiers on January 19th.
For More Info: herstoryshow.com
 
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Filmmaker Tim McCarthy Global LGBT Mission

In this exclusive audio interview Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson host of OUTTAKE VOICES™ talks with Filmmaker Tim McCarthy about his recent trip to Uganda to complete the filming of his documentary “Voices of the Abasiyazzi – Combatting Homophobia in Uganda” that he is producing with Pepe Julian Onziema. Abasiyazzi is the Ugandan equivalent of the American word queer. McCarthy has been exploring our LGBT community in Uganda since 1999 and filming his documentary on location for the last five years. Tim tells us that Uganda is fifty years behind our country in achieving LGBT equality. His work in Uganda also includes teaching video techniques to our Ugandan LGBT community so they can continue to tell their stories. Tim has traveled the world exploring and filming LGBT culture in 91 countries and all 7 continents. He has built an incredible LGBT film archive that he is in the process of preserving. We talked to Tim about the inspiration for his work and his spin on our LGBT issues.

When asked what his personal commitment is to LGBT civil rights McCarthy stated, “I came out at thirteen years old because it was essential to me for my own life. I knew that coming out was my only way to really hold on to who I was because it was something of value that I knew I had. I didn’t understand what it was but I knew it was there. My entire life, I’m now 58, has been fighting for LGBTI rights, not just here in the United States but around the planet. My life’s dedication is to every single country there is and finding our people, particularly going to non-American, non-Capitalistic, non-Christian places and seeing how LGBTI people live there and of course we have. I’ve been to 91 countries now and I’ve never failed to find us. But what’s important in that is in our society there’s still the understanding in some rightwing quarters that we are not proper and that AIDS was God’s revenge and a variety of other crazy things. When you go to non-American, non-Capitalistic, non-Christian places you see that we exist there. So those arguments fundamentally are false and the empirical evidence is inequitable. To me my entire life has been spent fighting for but not just us as a people, to be clear with you, but for me as a person. I deserve to know who I am before I die and that is what I extend to everyone.”

Tim McCarthy is an LGBT Video Historian who has traveled the world since April 1990 in search of LGBT culture in 91 countries so far and all 7 continents. Some of Tim's archival footage appeared in the Oscar Nominated documentary "How To Survive A Plague". He is also an award winning filmmaker and has filmed Life Portraits with Harry Hay, James Broughton, Marvin Liebman, Urvashi Vaid, Barney Frank, Edward Albee, Steve Endean, Barbara Gittings and hundreds of others. He is currently completing his documentary “Voices of the Abasiyazzi – Combatting Homophobia in Uganda” and in the process of preserving his archive of our LGBT stories and Provincetown’s video archives at liptv.us.
For More Info: abasiyazzi.com

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