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. 

Thank you,
Jasmine Beach-Ferrara
Campaign for Southern Equality