How 3 local businesses in Asheville, NC are creatively supporting the Campaign for Southern Equality.
Friends –
Today is the fifth anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court that affirmed the freedom to marry for same-sex couples nationwide, including in every Southern state. It marked the culmination of an important chapter in the movement for LGBTQ dignity and equality, and it fueled momentum for a broader, necessary conversation about the totality of LGBTQ people’s lives and families.
As the Campaign for Southern Equality worked for marriage equality with our “WE DO Campaign” and litigation, we always knew that marriage was one part of the journey to full equality, both legal and lived, for all LGBTQ Southerners. That’s why, as we worked for marriage equality, we also fought back against discriminatory legislation, led free legal clinics on name changes, launched the Southern Equality Fund to support Southern queer grassroots organizers, spoke out against racial injustice, and built community among LGBTQ Southerners.
Five years later, we’re still doing all of that – and more. In March we helped strike down an anti-LGBTQ curriculum law in South Carolina. We’ve trained more than a thousand health care professionals on trans issues and published 3 editions of our Trans in the South guide. We’ve granted more than $400,000 to LGBTQ Southerners through our Southern Equality Fund. We’ve worked in solidarity with partners in the #BlackLivesMatter and immigration justice movements. And even in this era of social distancing, we’re helping LGBTQ folks make connections and friendships through activism and art.
I’m so moved by the support that LGBTQ people and allies across the South and nationwide have shown to the Campaign for Southern Equality for the past decade. We do this work every day because we believe with all of our hearts that every person is entitled to dignity, equality, and the freedom to be who they are, no matter where they live.
We celebrate today’s anniversary less than two weeks after another massive victory – the affirmation of LGBTQ-inclusive employment nondiscrimination under federal law. We celebrate today amid a deepened and long overdue global reckoning about dismantling white supremacy and committing more deeply to anti-racism. We hold in our hearts the queer family we have lost over the decades and in recent months. We approach today with Pride, and with resolve to never stop working toward lived and legal equality for all LGBTQ people.
We couldn’t do this work without your support – and the support of so many amazing partners. Please take a look below to see how 3 local businesses here in Asheville, NC are creatively supporting the Campaign for Southern Equality. And if you have funds to spare and want to get us started on support for Give Out Day (this Monday), click here to donate. ([link removed])
Thank you,
Jasmine Beach-Ferrara
Campaign for Southern Equality
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** EAST FORK POTTERY
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Today kicks off a two-week-long online auction from our friends at East Fork Pottery. Proceeds from the items, which include private dinners, cooking classes, sculptures, ceramics, textiles, art prints, and more, benefit the Campaign for Southern Equality. All of the items are in Lapis blue, the new color line from East Fork launching July 2. A portion of the Lapis line will also benefit CSE. View the auction and place your bids! ([link removed])
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** SPICEWALLA
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The Asheville-based Spicewalla has highlighted CSE throughout June for Pride month – and they’re donating sales from their gorgeous Pride Collection spice kit and tote bag to CSE! 100% of sales from their Rainbow Tin Tote and 50% of sales from the Pride Collection and Rainbow Tin Tote Bundle will benefit CSE, a generous contribution at any time but especially during the challenges of the pandemic. Click here to browse and buy. ([link removed])
** ASHEVILLE CITY SOCCER CLUB & SOUTH SLOPE BLUES
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All month, the folks at Asheville City Soccer Club and South Slope Blues have been supporting CSE with their annual Prideraiser, which has gone virtual this year! Earlier today, CSE legal team member Meghann Burke chatted with Tim Blekicki about the Obergefell anniversary, their love of soccer, and the generous support from ASSC and South Slope Blues. They’re also donating proceeds from their summer scarf to CSE. Check out the summer scarf. ([link removed]) And learn about Prideraiser. ([link removed])
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