FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - April 14, 2005
16-HOUR NATIONAL CELEBRATION OF THE GLBT CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
Tribute at Independence Hall, Concert with Cyndi Lauper, SundayOUT! Street Festival, Interfaith Service, Programs and Parties
The 16-hour National Celebration on Independence Mall includes the Gay Pioneers & 40 Heroes Tribute, SundayOUT! street festival, screenings of the documentary Gay Pioneers, an Interfaith Service with Bishop Gene Robinson at historic Christ Church, a Gay Icons Pavilion at the Independence Visitors Center, Conversations with Gay Leaders at the National Constitution Center, the National Celebration Concert with Cyndi Lauper at Penn’s Landing, celebrities and parties – including one at the Real World Philadelphia House.
The centerpiece of the 16-hour National Celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the GLBT Civil Rights Movement will be a two-hour Gay Pioneers & 40 Heroes Tribute on a large stage in front of Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell Center.
“The National Celebration is the largest collaboration in the history of the GLBT Civil Rights Movement, with 105 nonprofit organizations participating,” said Malcolm Lazin, Executive Director of Equality Forum. “Through the efforts of 40 Heroes, many organizations, and individuals coming out, we are at a tipping point. Forty years ago, we were in a debilitating closet. In 2005, we have a lot to celebrate, and we reaffirm our commitment to ensuring equality.”
The award winning PBS documentary filmmaker Glenn Holsten is producing a segment honoring the Gay Pioneers and one-minute documentary portraits of each of the 40 Heroes. The films will be screened on jumbotrons on Independence Mall during the Gay Pioneers & 40 Heroes Tribute. After each portrait, the Hero will receive a 40 Heroes Award from a Presenter. Comedienne Kate Clinton, the National GALA Chorus, speakers and entertainers will take part in the ceremony.
Gay Pioneers Frank Kameny and Barbara Gittings, the father and mother of the GLBT Civil Rights Movement will attend. The Gay Pioneers launched the Movement by staging the first annual and organized gay and lesbian civil rights demonstration at Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell on July 4, 1965.
Forty Heroes who helped lead the movement over the last 40 years were selected through an international process. The 40 Heroes appearing include Rep. Barney Frank, Judy Shepard, Bishop Gene Robinson, MTV, Germany’s Volker Beck, Grethe Cammermeyer, Kate Kendell, Evan Wolfson, Olga Orraca Paredes, Kevin Jennings, Matt Foreman, Ambassador Jim Hormel, writer Andrew Sullivan and others.
The 40 Heroes Awards will be presented by national and international leaders including Joe Solmonese, President of HRC; Selisse Berry, Executive Director of Out & Equal Workplace Advocates; Toni Broaddus, Executive Director of the Equality Federation; Patrick Guerriero, Executive Director of the Log Cabin Republicans; Dixon Osburn, Executive Director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network; Eric Stern, Executive Director of the National Stonewall Democrats; Andrew Stokes, President of the International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association; Andy Tobias, Treasurer of the DNC; Chuck Wolfe, Executive Director of the Victory Fund; and others.
The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission will unveil a Historical Marker designating the area around Independence Hall as the site of the first organized and annual gay and lesbian civil rights demonstration. This Historical Marker is believed to be only the second official marker to designate a site significant to the GLBT Civil Rights movement.
Equality Forum 2005 & National Celebration (April 25 to May 1) features over 100 programs, including 14 parties and 40 special events. More than 105 state, regional, national and international non-profit organizations and 32 national and international GLBT Executive Directors will be participating. Thirty (30) states, D.C. and Puerto Rico will hold State Receptions on Saturday, April 30.
There is no registration fee for Equality Forum 2005 and all substantive events including the National Celebration are free. Twenty (20) Center City hotels are offering lowest rate.
For more information, visit the Press Room at www.equalityforum.com or contact Dan Wagner, Communications Associate at dan@equalityforum.com or (215) 732-3378 x10.
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