Issue Highlights
‘We Will Hunt You’: Ugandans Flee Ahead of Harsh Anti-Gay Law - The New York Times
The legislation follows a groundswell of anti-gay rhetoric that has swept African countries in recent years, including in Ghana, Zambia and Kenya. Last month, lawmakers from more than a dozen African countries gathered in Uganda and promised to introduce or pass measures in their own countries that they said would protect the sanctity of the family and children against “the sin of homosexuality.”
Chuck Williams, Founder of The Williams Institute at UCLA Law School, Is Dead
“All of us are here at the Williams Institute event because 23 years ago, Chuck Williams had the vision and the generosity and the drive and cornered many of you over lunch or dinner to create the Williams Institute, which has had such an incredible impact on all of us in our world,” Sears said
Southern Queers: New Study Reveals the Reality of LGBTQ+ People in the South
The data indicates that the notion that LGBTQ+ people only live in blue states or big cities isn't entirely accurate.
Indonesian Indigenous group AMAN wins Skoll Award for defending land rights
AMAN says the award fuels its spirit to work even harder, as there’s still much work to be done, with many Indigenous communities still lacking legal recognition of their land rights and an Indigenous rights bill being stalled in Parliament.
Equality Florida Issues Travel Advisory to LGBTQ+ Visitors to the State
“While losing conferences, and top students who have written off Florida threatens lasting damage to our state, it is most heartbreaking to hear from parents who are selling their homes and moving because school censorship, book bans and health care restrictions have made their home state less safe for their children,” Smith said.
LGBTQ Social Justice
Ugandan peer educators -- gay, arrested, labeled as porn actors
The orchestrated hunt to shut down all LGBTQI+ healthcare, and human rights-related organizations in Uganda, is part of an effort to rid Uganda and Africa “of all homosexuality” and LGBTQI+ people, as called for by President Museveni.
Uganda's Museveni wants 'rehabilitation' measures in anti-LGBTQ legislation | Reuters
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said he would sign some of the world's harshest anti-LGBTQ legislation once provisions are added to "rehabilitate" gay people, vowing not to cede to international pressure.
Ugandan president reveals how confused he is about homosexuality
Museveni predicts 1.2 million may die because of anti-gay law. He’s OK with that.
Full Interview: Frank Mugisha on New Anti-LGBTQ Bill in Uganda That Could Impose Death Penalty | Democracy Now!
Frank, welcome to Democracy Now! Talk about the legislation that’s being passed.
Press release: European Parliament adopts first ever standalone resolution on universal decriminalisation of homosexuality and trans identities – The European Parliament's LGBTI Intergroup
The topic was elicited by the recent developments in Uganda concerning the ‘Anti-Homosexuality Bill’, which criminalises homosexuality and consensual same-sex relations
Would the Pope Fall Foul of Uganda’s Pending Anti-LGBTQ+ Law? | Human Rights Watch
This is an apt moment to recall Pope Francis’s recent statements that laws criminalizing homosexuality are “unjust,” and that the Catholic Church can and should oppose them. Recognizing that certain Catholic bishops support such laws, the Pope remarked on the need for change within the Church and emphasized the importance of recognizing the dignity of all human beings. Anglican and Presbyterian church leaders joined the Pope in condemning criminal penalties for same-sex conduct.
Opinion | Uganda — along with much of Africa — marches backward on LGBT rights - The Washington Post
Sadly, Uganda is not an outlier in Africa, posing a challenge for President Biden and other Western leaders as they seek to engage with countries on the continent — and keep them from joining China’s orbit.
Rwanda recognizes LGBTQ relationships in new youth book
The Comprehensive Sexuality Education Toolkit titled “Amahitamo Yanjye” (“My Choice”) in the country’s Kinyarwanda language seeking to curb teenage pregnancies recognizes and promotes education about homosexuality and other sexual orientations.
Florida expands 'Don't Say Gay'; House OKs anti-LGBTQ bills | AP News
The Board of Education approved a ban on classroom instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity in all grades, expanding the law that bans those lesson up to grade 3 at the request of DeSantis as he gears up for an expected presidential run
Hundreds Rally Against Anti-LGBTQ+ Bills in Arizona, Texas
Students at eight schools in Arizona walked out Friday and rallied to show their opposition to pending bills that would “criminalize drag performances, outlaw books that include any mention of pronouns, ban transgender students from accessing bathrooms consistent with their gender identity and force teachers to out students who request pronouns opposite of their biological sex,” the Arizona Mirror reports.
Phoenix Indian Center's Two Spirit Powwow returns since pandemic
The Phoenix Indian Center joined forces with PFLAG, a national non-profit dedicated to advocating for an equitable LGBTQ+ nation, to host the Powwow with the intent of honoring Native LGBTQ and Two-Spirit people and Indigenous teachings of acceptance and respect.
Twitter quietly changes its hateful conduct policy to remove standing protections for its transgender users
the sentence had been plucked from Twitter’s section on slurs and tropes, while all other descriptions of policy violations remained intact
Anti-LGBTQ Disinformation Surges Online After US Shootings - Towleroad Gay News
Activists say they worry about more fallout from such falsehoods, which come as more US states pass bills limiting gender-affirming health care and LGBTQ rights.
Trans kids feel unsafe and stressed at school. This study shows why. - Washington Post
In a sweeping Washington Post-KFF poll, 45% of trans adults said school made them feel unsafe.
Nonprofit Group Working to Help Transgender People Escape the U.S.
A newly formed group launched two weeks ago seeks to help transgender Americans escape the United States. Nearly three dozen applicants have already sought assistance emigrating from the country or obtaining asylum.
Anti-Trans and Anti-Abortion Activists Use the Same Playbook
the same small group of people who have made abortion almost impossible in swaths of the country (and aren’t done yet) are now trying to ban trans health care. So far, the same playbook — which comes down to fomenting moral panic around the most vulnerable and co-opting progressive tropes to help fuel it — is working well for them
The groups behind anti-trans bills in U.S. states
The sudden flood of state-level efforts to restrict transgender rights is being fueled by many of the Christian and conservative groups that led the charge against Roe v. Wade.
Great Apes & Gibbons
Champion of the gorillas: the vet fighting to save Uganda’s great apes | Conservation | The Guardian
Under the watchful and resourceful eye of award-winning conservationist Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, Uganda’s threatened mountain gorilla population has made an impressive recovery – as has the local community
Camera trap images of rare gorillas with infants bring hope in DRC
Camera traps in the Tayna Nature Reserve in the Democratic Republic of Congo have recorded two mother-infant pairs of eastern lowland gorillas, confirming the presence of healthy family groups in one of their last strongholds.
Why aren't all chimpanzees jerks? | Popular Science
The suggestion that animals have distinct personalities was considered taboo not too long ago, with Goodall herself accused of anthropomorphism with her descriptions. Scientists have studied animals ranging from squid to birds, finding evidence of distinct personalities. These quirks, idiosyncrasies, and ways of relating to the world around them remain reasonably stable over time and across situations.
VIDEO | Fight for survival: The battle to save the last Tapanuli orangutans
A Chinese-backed hydropower dam project, under construction since 2015, is cutting across the forests where the orangutans live, increasing their risk of extinction.
To build its ‘green’ capital city, Indonesia runs a road through a biodiverse forest
Prior to road construction, the integrated forest and coastal ecosystem supported populations of orangutans, sun bears, proboscis monkeys and Irrawaddy dolphins.
Philanthropy
Bankrolling biodiversity: How are private philanthropists investing in nature?
A Mongabay analysis of the largest-ever private philanthropic campaign for biodiversity conservation has found about a quarter of the pledged $5 billion has already been allocated.
How Nonprofits Can Stand Up to Anti-Trans Legislation — Bolder Advocacy
Nonprofits especially must leverage their knowledge, power, and resources to fight alongside the 1.6 million transpeople living in America whose rights and lives are being threatened by extremist politicians.
Here are just a few ways your nonprofit can stand up to anti-LGBTQ bills.
Beyond Borders: A Regional Look at MacKenzie Scott’s Global Giving | Inside Philanthropy
Scott’s support for UHAI – EASHRI, the East Africa Sexual Health and Rights Initiative, boosts Africa’s first indigenous, feminist, activist, participatory fund “for and by” sexual and gender minorities and sex worker communities. It works across several eastern African states: Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, employing tactics like flexible funding, capacity-building, convening and research.
Scott also gave $4 million to The Other Foundation, a community foundation dedicated to the rights of LGBTI people in South Africa. The Other Foundation advances the ideas of openness, tolerance, humanity, and equity and freedom — especially through the lens of sexual orientation and gender identity.
Is MacKenzie Scott the Leading Social Justice Funder? Yes and No | Inside Philanthropy
On the power-shifting front, Scott’s giving practices are a mixed bag. From my perspective, how she gives doesn’t impact my overall perception of her philanthropy, which is based on what she’s giving to. Others feel that giving such large sums for general operating support is fundamentally shifting power in the sector. The question remains: If the rest of her $27 billion goes out the door in the next few years, will the terrain look fundamentally different for organizations seeking systemic change?
Funders, what are you communicating with your grant systems? - Alliance magazine
For instance, funders that prioritize access might have grant systems that offer multi-language funding submissions or have low-bandwidth websites that cater to communities with internet challenges. Or for say, funders that are working with threatened communities, a due diligence process that by default collects personally identifiable information about at-risk grantees and community members for audit purposes, is inadvertently communicating that they value probity over safety and security.
7 best practices in participatory grantmaking - Alliance magazine
10 groups who have been practicing participatory grantmaking in various forms for the past half century