Official News Outlet for the Rainbow Round Table of the American Library Association
Via press release CHICAGO — In recognition of National Blood Donor Month, Librarians Build Communities (LBC), a Membership Initiative Group of the American Library Association (ALA), has organized a community blood drive during the 2015 ALA Midwinter Meeting in Chicago. Conference attendees are encouraged to join LBC in this life-saving event on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2015, and Sunday, […]
By John Mack Freeman During this past week’s State of the Union, President Obama included the words “lesbian,” “bisexual,” and “transgender” in the text of the speech. While LGBT issues have been spoken of in the past, this is the first time that these groups have been explicitly named. From Gay Star News: [Obama said,] […]
By John Mack Freeman This week, TED released a talk given by Morgana Bailey in which she comes out as a lesbian. What follows is a talk about the importance of inclusion and fully embracing openness in the workplace. You can watch it below:
By John Mack Freeman The Supreme Court has decided that they’ll hear marriage equality cases this spring, and it has people across the country thinking that this issue may well be settled once and for all. But that hasn’t stopped movement in the states. Here’s some of what has gone on this week: In the […]
By Ashley Lierman The Advocate.com recently posted a listing of the 21 films at the Sundance Film Festival that have LGBT themes. The independent film festival is currently ongoing, and runs from January 22nd to February 1st. View the list at The Advocate to explore this year’s highlights.
By John Mack Freeman A new speaker has been confirmed for the panel “Blood Donations: Facts, Fears, and Discrimination” at ALA Midwinter 2015. Congressman Mike Quigley, Democrat from the Illinois 5th Congressional District, will be joining the panel. We encourage all members and interested parties to attend!
Via press release The ALA Task Force on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion was created in the spring of 2014 by then ALA President, Barbara Stripling. The Task Force is currently in the information-gathering phase. To aid with information gathering, it has launched a series of short surveys to be conducted at times to coincide with […]
By John Mack Freeman Starkville, Mississippi’s Mayor Parker Wiseman has vetoed a resolution approved by the city council that would strip LGBT people in that town of protections that bar them from discrimination. Starkville was the first city in Mississippi to have such protections, with Hattiesburg, Oxford, and Jackson following suit over the course of the next […]
By John Mack Freeman A spokesman for the panel that is putting together the new Thai Constitution has said that there will be explicit references to third gender people. The goal is to protect all genders and sexes. Though Thailand has a large LGBT population, they currently have few protections under the law. Via PinkNews: […]
By John Mack Freeman “The Kentucky Student Privacy Act” is a bill put forth by Republican Kansas Senator C. B. Embry that states that students can sue their schools for $2,500 each time they see a trans student in the bathroom. Embry has sought to make this an emergency bill. Via TowelRoad (with text from […]