Teach-in for Equality

The Teach-in was AMAZING! Don’t lose the momentum!

Jordan — Wed, 13 May 2009 04:37:43 +0000

Saturday’s Teach-in was absolutely amazing, with over a dozen of today’s most influential speakers and educators bringing to the attendees an incredible mix of passion, history, and motivation. Walter Williams, our main history speaker, received a standing ovation from the crowd. One person was overheard saying that the presentation changed his life. Try and get that out of your average college lecture, right?

From the paradoxical mix of Julius Nam and Marshall Burns in our religion break-out, to Sister Buffy and Jim Williams discussion moderated by Ange-Marie Hancock, participants had a chance to delve deeply into the hidden history of the LGBT movement that many had never seen before. And boy, is it rich!

Now it’s time to take that information and apply to the struggles we’re a part of today. Here’s what you can do:

First, join us on Wednesday, May 12th, and each Wednesday thereafter to participate in the burgeoning Equality Network. We will be discussing actions relating specifically to the upcoming Decision Day, among other things. More information on the Facebook page / Equality Network blog.

Second, as you are aware, the California Supreme Court will be issuing its decision on whether or not to repeal Proposition 8 by June 3rd. We are asking people to gather the Day of the Decision at Santa Monica and San Vicente at 7:00 PM for a rally and a march. Please find out about this event on the Facebook event page.

Also, the Saturday after Decision Day, an event called Meet in the Middle will be taking place. The entire LGBT population of California will be converging on Fresno to show our power and support of LGBT civil rights everywhere!

More than anything, it’s important that you take the lessons learned at the Teach-in to empower yourself, and keep in mind that you are part of a rich ancestry of LBGT people, reaching back through history to the dawn of time. We are a critical part of our civilization, and we must never allow ourselves to be closeted by the forces of hatred and homophobia! Use your knowledge to make change!

Stay tuned here for information about similar, upcoming events, by clicking on the “Subscribe” buttons to the right.

Sponsor love

Jordan — Wed, 13 May 2009 02:54:06 +0000

Without their help, the Teach-in would not have been possible. Please be sure to visit the websites of, and support, our wonderful sponsors of the Teach-in:

Courage Campaign sponsored video-taping and photography!

Equality California, Silver level sponsor

Silver Peso rail excursions, Silver level sponsor

We also want to give a shout-out to our wonderful donors:

Jane W. – $100
Todd O. – $50
Robin M. – $50
Charlene P. – $25
Kip W. – $10

Finally, we also want to thank everyone who sent out e-mail blasts about the event, and helped promote it on Facebook and via e-mail. We could not have done it without you. You’re amazing, and your support is deeply, deeply appreciated.

Thank you again to everyone who helped make this happen. You’ve been a party of a truly special moment in history, and we here at Equality Network just feel privileged and humbled to have been a part of it!

Amazing HIV/AIDS session!

Jordan — Sat, 09 May 2009 02:56:00 +0000

We couldn’t be more excited about the HIV/AIDS break-out, which has just in the past few days come together as one of the most compelling stories at our Teach-in. Jim Williams, of AIDS Project Los Angeles will be there with Ange-Marie Hancock, associate professor of political science at USC and former AIDS outreach organizer. Additionally, Sister Buffy of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence will be also participate, to discuss her personal interaction with AIDS patients in the 1980′s. We hope many people will be excited to participate in this amazing session!

“Breakfast with History” tickets sold out!

Jordan — Fri, 08 May 2009 18:20:32 +0000

The Breakfast with History tickets have now sold out! We’ll have 17 participants, and 9 speakers (Walter Williams has been added) there for over an hour of networking, questions, and discussion!

“LGBT people in the Media” session cancelled

Jordan — Fri, 08 May 2009 18:00:27 +0000

Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances with scheduling, we’ve had to cancel the “LGBT people in the Media” session with Paul Colichman and Chris Freeman. We appreciate their willingness to participate. Paul Colichman will still be able to attend the Breakfast with History, though, so if you’re interested in meeting, grab one of the last few tickets!

Teach-in technology prep

Jordan — Fri, 08 May 2009 15:00:39 +0000

We’re going to be posting some last-minute reminders regarding traffic, (etc.) on the morning of the event, but in the mean-time, I wanted to give everyone some technology tidbits:

Twitter
Are you attending the event, or want to watch via Twitter? We’ll be using hashtag #teachin.

Live-blog
A few hours before the event starts, tomorrow, we’re going to have a live-blog of the events, using CoverItLive, which is a wonderful little app that allows us to post via Twitter, while watch everything happening live!

The entry with the link to the Live-blog may move down the main page, due to other news items scheduled for that day, so be sure to bookmark the following page: LiveBlog of the Teach-in.

Can’t guarantee it’ll be updated a whole heck of a lot, but we’re going to try!

WiFi
Unfortunately, there won’t be any event-sponsored WiFi (it’s too darned expensive!), but if you’re lucky, and the wind’s blowing in the right direction, you might catch some of the WeHo free WiFi. Look for “WEHOWiFi” as the network name. Here’s more information on the service.

1 “Breakfast with History” ticket left!

Jordan — Fri, 08 May 2009 07:41:05 +0000

We’ve got just ONE seat left for the “Breakfast with History,” in which you’ll have over an hour of dedicated face-time with the following amazing influences on our community:

Cleve Jones
Torie Osborn
Jennifer C. Pizer
Waiyde Palmer
Marc Solomon
Roland Palencia
Paul Colichman
Rick Jacobs

Attendance is limited to the speakers and just 17 other people, for a total of 25. This isn’t some 300-person plenary where you get a one-shot question. This is a real, no-holds-barred, “Tell me how I can be the next CLEVE JONES!” moment of time!

Do you need to be there, for your organization, your community, yourself? Get it now, because three seats have sold in the last 30 minutes. (No joke!) Don’t wait – do it now!

Seats are limited! Have you registered yet?

Jordan — Mon, 04 May 2009 05:47:22 +0000

We just want to make sure that, if you’re planning on coming, you’ve registered for your seat! Be sure to head now to the ticket website and register your ticket!

Just as a reminder, we’ve assembled some of the greatest influences on our modern history, including the following:

Walter L. Williams: professor at USC, specializing in GLBT history;
Cleve Jones: friend and advisor to Harvey Milk (portrayed by Emile Hirsch in Milk), founder of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt;
Torie Osborn: former Executive Director of the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center, and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force;
Jennifer C. Pizer: Senior Counsel and Marriage Project Director for Lambda Legal;
Sheila Kuehl: first gay or lesbian person elected to the state assembly of California;
Waiyde Palmer: former West coast organizer of ACT UP!;
John A. Pérez: assemblymember of the 49th district of California, in Los Angeles;
Marc Solomon: former Executive Director of Mass Equality, Marriage Equality Director of Equality California;
Surina Khan: Vice President of Programs for the Women’s Foundation of California, former executive director of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission;
Roland Palencia: Director of Community Benefits at L.A. Care Health Plan, former Chief of Operations and Vice-President of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation;
Talia Mae Bettcher: Director of the Center for the Study of Genders and Sexualities at California State University in Los Angeles, author;
Jacob Hale: professor in the Department of Philosophy at California State University, Northridge;
Rick Jacobs: founder the Courage Campaign, former Senior Advisor to Democracy for America, co-founder of Brave New Films, a director of the Liberty Hill Foundation;
Chris Freeman: lecturer at University of Southern California in 20th century gay and lesbian studies, author;
Julius Nam: associate professor of religion at Loma Linda University School of Religion in California, commissioned minister of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

If you’re interested in meeting some of these speakers face-to-face and picking their brain for a while, we encourage you to sign up for the Breakfast with History event!

Can you donate to help with these costs?

Jordan — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 13:00:09 +0000

We’re still in dire need of donations to help defray some of the costs associated with the Teach-in. Can you donate just a small amount of money to help defray some of these costs?

1x $100 to feed performers
1x $170 to feed speakers
2x $100 to feed volunteers
2x $250 for brochure printing costs
2x $150 for tables and chairs
1x $100 for attendee packet materials
1x $100 for speaker printing costs reimbursement
1x $100 for miscellaneous printing costs for the event
2x $150 for projection system(s)
4x $500 (not a typo!) for WiFi coverage

Your donation will earn you a spot in our event brochure, mention at the event, and if large enough, may even qualify for sponsorship consideration! For more information, see our Donate/Sponsor page, or head directly to the donation form by clicking the link below!

Can you volunteer for four hours?

Jordan — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 00:43:45 +0000

If you’re not sure you can participate all day, in our event, we’d still love to have you join us as a volunteer! We’re in dire need of folks who can help us on the day of the event, as our schedule is extremely tight. There will be some of down-time, and you may even get the chance to sit in a session with the other attendees! Volunteers can choose one, two, or three sessions at three hours a piece.

If you can volunteer, please be aware that you’ll need to attend our volunteer training session this Sunday, May 2nd, at Plummer Park (map), from 12:00pm to 1:30pm.

Our volunteer form will get some preliminary information from you, and if you’d like, you’re welcome to RSVP on our Facebook event page as well!