Capitol Club
Leadership Circle
EQUALITY CALIFORNIA’S QUARTERLY JOURNAL FOR LEADERSHIP CIRCLE AND CAPITOL CLUB MEMBERS
SUMMER 2021
SUPPORTER SPOTLIGHT
State Legislative Update Dear Friends, We are nearing the home stretch of the 2021 legislative cycle! As the final floor vote deadline quickly approaches, Equality California has already obtained the Governor’s signature on three sponsored bills that ensure older people living with HIV can age with dignity; reduce insurance discrimination against people living with HIV; and ensure that nonbinary people will be remembered as their authentic selves after death just as they were while living. Our remaining 2021 legislative package focuses on a range of issues affecting the health and well-being of LGBTQ+ people, including accurate identity documents for transgender people; equipping professional fiduciaries to provide affirming services to their LGBTQ+ clients who are older; protecting the chosen family structures of LGBTQ+ people; expanding effective, evidence-based substance use disorder programs; and reforming broken criminal laws that are used to unjustly profile transgender women of color. Additionally, our work to protect intersex youth and expand access to comprehensive, LGBTQ+ inclusive health care continues via two bills that will be eligible to proceed in January 2022. I am also happy to report that we achieved an exciting victory through the budget process this year. After eight years of advocacy, Equality California took the lead on a successful request for $3 million that the California Department of Education will use to create an online LGBTQ+ cultural competency training for teachers and school staff. We ensured that this training will be informed by community input and designed to be authentic, comprehensive, and effective at changing hearts and minds. As you know, fostering safe and supportive schools is one of Equality California’s highest priorities, and we are thrilled for the progress to come. Thank you for your ongoing support, which makes all of this possible. I look forward to sharing more as the year wraps up and we look forward to 2022. Sincerely, Tami Martin Legislative Director Equality California
HistoryMaking Leadership West Hollywood City Councilmember Sepi Shyne is a proud alumna of Equality California Institute’s 2019 Leadership Academy, an intensive program which includes in-person trainings, mentorship and provides ongoing opportunity identification that prepares leaders like Sepi for roles as elected or appointed government officials or for positions on corporate boards. Through her participation in the event, Councilmember Shyne was connected to her future campaign manager, Cory Allen, and went on to run a robust and transparent campaign for West Hollywood City Council. Councilmember Shyne’s election made history in November 2020 when she became the first openly LGBTQ+ Iranian person elected anywhere globally and, locally, became the first woman of color elected to the West Hollywood City Council. Later this month, she will be installed as Mayor Pro Tempore of West Hollywood.
“Within the broader US and world, we aren’t at the table in places where we need to be in power. Our stories aren’t there. Our perspectives aren’t there. If our stories and perspectives aren’t there, we are going to be missing from policy discussions and decisions that directly affect us.”
Councilmember Shyne’s story of success is a testament to the value of the Leadership Academy and the need to uplift LGBTQ+ leaders to achieve equity and true representation for our communities. Reflecting on this importance, Shyne said, “Within the broader US and world, we aren’t at the table in places where we need to be in power. Our stories aren’t there. Our perspectives aren’t there. If our stories and perspectives aren’t there, we are going to be missing from policy discussions and decisions that directly affect us.” These perspectives and stories are integral to the policies Councilmember Shyne advocates for on the West Hollywood City Council, with social justice at the forefront of her work. At her very first city council meeting, Councilmember Shyne introduced a motion to create a social justice task force made up of BIPOC residents, small business owners, and workers in West Hollywood who would meet regularly to discuss and develop policy recommendations for the city council, with the goal of helping to dismantle racism in the city. The motion passed unanimously with the support of pro-equality champion Mayor Lindsay Horvath. This task force is an example of the initiatives and priorities made possible through the support and development of LGBTQ+ leaders like Councilmember Shyne. Thank you for your impactful and groundbreaking work, Councilmember!
Federal Legislative Update
Our Washington, DC office continues to advocate for LGBTQ+ people across the country. The initial burst of legislative activity in the House of Representatives has gotten mired in hardening partisan positions on a range of high-profile bills, including voting rights, “hard” and “human” infrastructure, the debt limit, immigration, and whether Democrats can pass progressive legislation under the budget reconciliation mechanism. Equality California has called for a reform of the filibuster so that the Equality Act and other stalled priority bills might come to the Senate floor for a vote. In the interim, however, our DC office has been working to advance other means to protect LGBTQ+ people, such as building a coalition to push credit reporting agencies to safeguard the credit history of transgender people after a legal name change, pushing for the consideration of LGBTQ+ judicial candidates for the federal bench, and steering federal legislation aimed at protecting LGBTQ+ seniors who enter long term care facilities.
Equality California Around the State (and in Nevada!)
June 10: Silver State Equality members came together to celebrate pride at our second Virtual Pride Happy Hour! Participants heard from State Senator Dallas Harris, Board of Advisors Co-Chair Rachel Anderson and State Director André C. Wade.
June 27: To cap off Pride month, Equality California Associate Program Director Jeremy Payne spoke at the first-ever Culver City Pride rally and energized folks for the fight ahead.
June 17: At our first in-person pride event since the pandemic began, Equality California members gathered at The Chapel at the Abbey in West Hollywood for PROUD TOGETHER! We were blown away by incredible performances from Miss Shu Mai, Gia Banks, DJ Asha and the one and only Laganja Estranja from RuPaul’s Drag Race!
July 10: Joined by pro-equality champion Congressman Adam Schiff, Equality California members gathered at the beautiful home of Tom Safran for a Summer Brunch to raise critical funds and learn more about our fight for LGBTQ+ civil rights in Washington, DC. July 17: Equality California and REACT Foundation hosted a PROUD TOGETHER Brunch at the Hillcrest Athletic Club to help kickoff San Diego Pride. Special guests included Congresswoman Sara Jacobs and Assemblymember Chris Ward and dozens of members from the San Diego area.
Our Work, Our Impact Equality California Institute’s LGBTQ+ Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Training program first launched six years ago with the goal of giving healthcare professionals and providers the tools to provide the most respectful and culturally sensitive care for their LGBTQ+ clients. Recently, in 2020, the training program expanded to include homeless service providers. Equality California Institute’s training program is a unique program designed to empower direct service providers to understand the unique needs of LGBTQ+ people and provide respectful and culturally sensitive care to the LGBTQ+ community. The curriculum — available both in-person and online via self-paced learning modules — includes basic LGBTQ+ terminology, data on issues that affect the LGBTQ+ community, the significance of an intersectional approach and how to create a welcoming environment for LGBTQ+ people, among other relevant topics. To date, Equality California Institute has trained more than 3,500 service providers across California, Nevada and Arizona.
SA VE T HE
Our upcoming events: CA LGBTQ+ Leadership Summit* Monday, August 30, 2021 San Francisco Equality Awards* Friday, September 10, 2021 Los Angeles Equality Awards* Saturday, October 2, 2021 San Diego Equality Awards* Friday, October 8, 2021 Silver State Equality Awards* Thursday, October 28, 2021 Palm Springs Equality Awards* Friday, November 12, 2021 Holiday Happy Hour* Tuesday, December 7, 2021 Visit eqca.org/events for more information.
Los Angeles Headquarters 3701 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 725 Los Angeles, CA 90010 Phone: (323) 848-9801 email: email@eqca.org
*In-person events
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