Dear friends,

With approximately 100 days until the 2020 election, we are coming into the home stretch, and we cannot get complacent. Protests over the deaths of unarmed Black people still rage through our city streets, now with federal troops running amok at the behest of a president who wants to silence us. We will not be silenced. We must take the energy of those protests and use them at the ballot box to change the course of our nation now.

Billy Porter knows this, too. The Grammy/Emmy/Tony award-winning actor, singer and activist partnered with us to release an inspiring video marking 100 days until the 2020 election and encouraging people to vote.

The video features Billy’s new cover of the 1960s protest song, “For What It’s Worth,” audio from my speech at our 2019 National Dinner and inspiring images of protest past and present. “For What It’s Worth” was originally written by Stephen Stills in 1966, at the height of the civil rights movement, and we are grateful for Stephen’s artistic vision and permission. I am immensely proud to join with Stephen and with Billy, both of whom have long been outspoken advocates for what is right. Billy’s voice on this track demonstrates the power of truly seeing beyond ourselves and using each of our individual experiences to make real change.

The power of our vote to create change could not be more important. HRC Foundation is partnering with the National Trans Visibility March on a new initiative to mobilize transgender and non-binary voters. As part of this initiative, we are holding a four-part discussion series. The first took place this Wednesday and featured a conversation between myself and Ashlee Marie Preston, Founder of #YouAreEssential.

At a time when anti-equality forces are actively working to discriminate against our community, we must fight back to support and protect our community by getting out the vote.

Just yesterday, the administration released a new proposed regulation that would encourage discrimination against transgender and non-binary people served by HUD programs. This week, the Trump-Pence administration also decided to exclude undocumented immigrants from being counted when U.S. congressional lines are redrawn following the 2020 Census — a decision that is unnecessary, craven and blatantly unconstitutional. And this weekend marks the third anniversary of Trump’s twitter announcement of his despicable, unpatriotic trans troop ban.

We cannot have another four years of these attacks. And we cannot have another four years where critical legislation like the Equality Act gathers dust on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s desk.

This is a pivotal moment. We must fight around the clock to defeat anti-equality leaders and elect pro-equality champions who will help us rebuild our nation so that it truly serves all of our people. And we need you to help us get there. If you haven’t already, visit hrc.org/vote to find out how you can get registered and get involved.

Remembering John Lewis. This past week, we lost a civil rights icon who pushed our country closer to the promise of a more perfect union and whose leadership embodied the true essence of our shared humanity.

In addition to his decades of service to the American people as a leader of the Civil Rights Movement and as a member of Congress, John Lewis was an outspoken, unwavering advocate for LGBTQ equality. Speaking at our National Dinner in 2016, he said of the LGBTQ community, “You and I are partners. We are part of an ongoing struggle to redeem the soul of America, to help people in this country and around the world come to grips with one simple truth: we are one people. We are one family. We are the human family.”

Future generations will learn how he faced down discrimination with courage and defiance, boldly challenging the United States to envision a future where every person, no matter their race, sexual orientation or gender identity, has an equal chance at the American Dream. His legacy will live on in the work we do every day to further his mission and continue to get into “good trouble” in the name of equality and justice. We join the nation in mourning the loss of this giant, and share our deepest condolences with Congressman Lewis’ family and loved ones.

Equidad CL. This week, we released our second annual “HRC Equidad Chile: Global Workplace Equality Program,” a national benchmark survey and report recognizing 20 major employers in Chile who have demonstrated a commitment to LGBT equality by adopting vital LGBT-inclusive policies and practices for their employees.

This report highlights those major employers in Chile who have shown a substantial commitment to establishing LGBT-inclusive policies and practices in their workplace. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees have as much to offer as any of their colleagues and deserve to be welcomed, valued and supported as their authentic selves to ensure that they succeed. As we face so many challenges in the United States, it remains critical that we remain engaged in the global equality movement, advancing the rights of LGBTQ people no matter where they live.

In Unity,