Advancing LGBTQ+ Equality: Elders and the Equality Act [Video]

Every LGBTQ+ person deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. Join us and SAGE live on Monday, September 13th at 6 PM ET for a discussion with prominent LGBTQ+ elders on what it’s like to get older, the rights we’ve won over the last decades, and the fights still to come.

Transcript provided by YouTube (unedited)

00:21
hello and thank you so much for joining
00:23
us today my name is jay brown i use he
00:26
him pronouns and the vice president of
00:28
programs research and training for the
00:30
human rights campaign
00:31
through our programs we work to increase
00:33
understanding and encourage lgbtq plus
00:36
inclusive policies and practices
00:39
through this work we’re building bridges
00:41
and changing hearts and minds across the
00:43
globe today and every day we are proud
00:45
to partner with sage to help ensure that
00:48
lgbtq plus elders have the resources and
00:50
protections they needed they need to
00:52
truly thrive
00:54
and that’s why we’re joining forces for
00:56
today’s event
00:57
today we will focus on the experiences
00:59
of our elders in the struggle the
01:01
challenges they face and why the
01:03
equality act is so necessary as a
01:06
transgender man and advocate i know
01:07
firsthand the unique challenges faced in
01:10
seeking equitable treatment in health
01:12
care having to navigate a lack of
01:14
knowledge among health care
01:15
professionals and a simultaneous need
01:18
for their expertise and services
01:20
the difficultness of this of course is
01:22
compounded by fears of discrimination
01:25
as lgbtq plus people age these kinds of
01:27
concerns are among the many facing our
01:29
community
01:30
sage is a true partner in confronting
01:32
these realities and a true leader our
01:35
work together with the long-term care
01:37
equality index is one part of addressing
01:39
these issues the equality act would be
01:41
another here to tell us more about the
01:44
incredible work of sage is their ceo
01:46
michael adams michael is a globally
01:48
respected thought leader and advocate
01:50
who has devoted his entire career to
01:53
advancing lgbtq plus equality michael
01:59
okay
02:00
hi everybody everybody it’s really
02:02
wonderful to be here my name is michael
02:05
adams and i’m the ceo of sage and it’s
02:08
truly a pleasure to be here with you all
02:10
uh i’m so honored to be part of this
02:13
program
02:15
with such amazing elder leaders from our
02:17
communities and with jay who was both a
02:20
great leader and a close and trusted
02:22
colleague in this work sage was founded
02:25
more than 40 years ago to improve the
02:27
quality of life of lgbtq older people
02:31
we do our work by offering services and
02:34
programs for our communities elders in
02:37
partnership with our sage affiliate
02:38
network across the country
02:41
by advocating for laws and policies on
02:43
aging that are lgbtq inclusive and by
02:47
providing training and tools for elder
02:49
care and service providers so that they
02:51
can treat our community’s elders with
02:53
the respect they deserve
02:55
and in connection with that last aspect
02:58
of our work sage is very proud to
03:00
partner with jay and his team at hrc
03:03
on the long-term care equality index
03:05
which jay mentioned we’re here today to
03:08
talk about the equality act a bill
03:10
pending before a congress that would
03:12
once and for all establish full legal
03:15
anti-discrimination protections for
03:18
lgbtq people and all the key parts of
03:20
our lives in employment housing
03:23
education credit public accommodations
03:26
health and services and more
03:29
the equality act has already been
03:30
approved by the u s house of
03:32
representatives and president biden
03:34
wants to sign it into law but for that
03:36
to happen we need the us senate to
03:38
approve it
03:39
senators of sages made passage of the
03:41
equality act one of our organization’s
03:44
top priorities because in fact the
03:47
protections it would provide are
03:48
essential for our communities elders
03:52
across the country we work with
03:54
thousands and thousands of elders who
03:56
over and over again are confronted with
04:00
discrimination in their daily lives in
04:03
housing in elder care
04:05
and services and in every aspect of
04:07
their lives sages work closely with the
04:10
coalition supporting the equality act to
04:13
include specific language and provisions
04:16
that will finally provide the legal
04:19
protections that our elders need so that
04:21
they’re treated with the dignity and
04:22
respect they deserve as they age
04:25
too often we hear from sage’s
04:26
constituents that they feel forced to go
04:28
back into the closet in order to protect
04:31
themselves from discrimination where
04:32
they live where they get their services
04:35
where they get their care
04:37
enough
04:38
this has to stop and it has to stop now
04:42
our community’s elders truly cannot
04:44
afford to wait any longer we need the
04:47
equality act to become law and we need
04:50
to become law now okay so enough from
04:52
hearing about me and from me
04:54
it’s now time to turn the floor over to
04:57
two elder leaders from our community two
05:00
sages as we say
05:02
so that we can be inspired by their
05:04
experiences and by their wisdom as we
05:08
work together to pass the equality act
05:11
we’re honored to be joined by reverend
05:13
goddess kennedy and randy robertson
05:16
since reverend kennedy and randy are our
05:19
special guests of honor jay and i are
05:21
going to take turns asking them to
05:23
enlighten us on some key questions
05:26
uh and i’m going to start with the
05:27
question for the reverend so reverend
05:30
kennedy i think we all know that you
05:32
have a life story that has brought you
05:34
through a lot
05:35
and i’d like to start us off by
05:37
grounding us in your story in your past
05:41
and your present so that we have a
05:43
better understanding of what brings you
05:45
to activism today in the present now i
05:48
know that your mom your mother forced
05:50
you to marry a man when you were just 14
05:53
years old in order to cure you of liking
05:55
girls can you talk to us about that
05:58
event and how it changed your life path
06:01
um yes good afternoon everybody and
06:04
thank you for having me um
06:06
yes i was at 14 years old living in
06:10
saratoga springs new york i was born and
06:12
raised up there and of course in those
06:14
days you know parents always had say so
06:16
over their children my mother signed for
06:19
me to get married at 14
06:21
trying to so-called cure my lesbianism
06:25
and which did not work
06:28
and the course of it was
06:30
that
06:31
i was determined not to get married she
06:34
was determined for me to marry
06:36
long story short i ran away from home
06:38
joined the air force passed the test was
06:40
in waco texas and really thought i had
06:42
gotten away mother had private detective
06:45
and long story short i was in the air
06:47
force exactly 14 days and there she was
06:50
her and the private detective and
06:52
everybody there i got a meritorious
06:54
service for wanting to serve my country
06:57
returned to saratoga springs long story
06:59
short got married at 14 june 7 1953
07:04
the only one upset i had on my mother
07:06
was she had picked out someone for me to
07:08
marry and being back and forth in new
07:10
york um my grandmother on my father’s
07:13
side moved here and so i had been back
07:15
and forth to new york and i used to hang
07:16
out this little storefront church and
07:18
they were getting ready to put the
07:19
minister out because he was not married
07:21
and we sort of like struck a deal
07:24
called my mother told her well i’m in
07:26
love i’m hurting a minister she was
07:27
thrilled
07:28
and
07:29
the result of it was yes i did get
07:31
married however
07:33
um when it was found out about what had
07:36
happened and it was really illegal for
07:40
what she did
07:41
although the marriage was consummated
07:43
was unknown what do you think saying
07:45
another dearest from going to jail
07:51
thanks reverend kennedy
07:57
i know you will also have oh there we go
08:00
to randy randy i know you have an
08:02
incredible life story too you you you
08:04
rose to rank of lieutenant colonel
08:05
during your 22-year career in the air
08:07
force which is phenomenal thank you so
08:09
much for your service i believe you
08:10
retired in 2010 how do you feel about
08:13
what you saw us as a service member in
08:14
regards to don’t ask don’t tell and
08:16
other discriminatory treatment
08:20
i i threw my criteria through the
08:23
entirety of the don’t ask don’t tell era
08:26
and
08:28
um the end of my career the end of 2010
08:31
i was actually privileged to be in the
08:34
auditorium at the pentagon when jay
08:37
johnson then the general counsel for the
08:39
department of defense along with the
08:42
chairman of the joint chief staff chief
08:44
of staff
08:46
briefed many of us who were on staff in
08:48
the pentagon military personnel
08:51
um
08:52
not saying the end of don’t ask tell was
08:55
uh
08:56
for certain
08:57
but
08:58
setting us up to ensure that we were
09:01
thinking about the policy pieces that
09:03
were an inevitable
09:04
outflow from that
09:06
and interestingly enough as i stood in
09:08
the back of the auditorium i got there
09:10
too late to have a seat um
09:14
the thought that crossed my mind was
09:17
this is great for my friends in the
09:19
service who are lgb
09:22
but for me as a trans person
09:25
this was never going to
09:28
the end of don’t ask me
09:30
was never going to affect me and my
09:32
ability to continue to serve
09:34
and it was a mixed bag it was good and
09:37
it was bad
09:38
all at the same time
09:39
[Music]
09:44
okay thanks randy
09:46
reverend kennedy i want to ask you a
09:48
question obviously you you share with us
09:52
just a little bit about your about your
09:54
life path um so far in our program and
09:58
um i think we all know
10:00
that in our fight for
10:02
lgbtq rights we’ve
10:04
made some progress we’ve made some
10:06
advances so what i’d like to ask you is
10:09
what
10:11
what are the advances that stand out to
10:13
you
10:14
and and how have they impacted your
10:16
personal life and by contrast where
10:19
where are the areas where you think that
10:21
we’re still really falling short in
10:24
terms of you know you know really still
10:27
facing
10:28
serious challenges with discrimination
10:30
without the protections we need so so
10:32
both advances and
10:34
um and falling short which what’s your
10:36
take on that
10:37
well the the biggest thing was like
10:40
having going back to
10:42
um being involved in stonewall 1969 who
10:45
knew
10:46
52 years later here we are but the thing
10:50
is the most important thing is
10:52
that
10:53
backwards
10:54
never followed ever and that’s been like
10:57
a slogan with me and the thing that i’m
11:00
really really very concerned about is
11:03
what is happening with our transgender
11:05
youth and what’s happening with our
11:07
youth period i mean it breaks my heart
11:11
to know that even today as we speak
11:14
young transgender um
11:16
young transgender youth and gay youth
11:18
are still living on the piers in new
11:20
york
11:21
and um
11:23
so the fight has to continue people must
11:26
it’s absolutely a must that everybody
11:28
talk to their congressman the state
11:30
people um their state chair people
11:33
whoever it takes
11:35
to get the message out that this is not
11:37
over
11:38
and there’s still going on
11:40
and uh on that on that point i
11:43
will try transmit just one minute there
11:46
is
11:46
in brooklyn right now um an exhibit
11:49
called um not another second a book by
11:52
the same name the proceeds from that
11:55
book watermark is taking on um getting
11:58
housing for youth so i’m definitely
12:00
pushing for people to get the book
12:02
and um add to
12:04
the fact that this housing is needed and
12:07
legislation is needed the equality act
12:10
is one of the most important things
12:12
that’s happening today but up in the in
12:15
the gay community and transgender
12:16
community and these communities it is up
12:19
to us to really make sure that the
12:21
quality act deals with us
12:25
as
12:25
uh young old elder whatever in this
12:29
community and that we are
12:32
thoroughly represented
12:35
yeah thank you thank you reverend
12:37
kennedy and um you know i think randy to
12:40
you you know you you mentioned you how
12:42
don’t ask don’t tell didn’t help uh
12:44
trans service members and and then you
12:47
obviously as many of us watched uh sort
12:50
of progress and then setbacks and then
12:52
progress again so same question to you
12:54
now you know when you think about
12:56
where we are when it comes to lgbtq
12:58
rights and you know the reverend
13:00
certainly touched on two uh pieces that
13:03
are
13:03
so um front of mind for me um where
13:07
we’re falling short sorry my dogs are
13:09
joining the conversation apologies
13:14
i’ll let you just take that over randy
13:16
what do you think
13:18
progress when we look at the battle for
13:20
civil rights through this struggle it’s
13:22
probably a better term uh for civil
13:24
rights in our country which extends back
13:28
hundreds of years
13:29
it has always been a struggle right it’s
13:32
always been a struggle it’s never been
13:34
an easy path it’s always been bits and
13:37
pieces at a time
13:38
and i i think we have to on one hand
13:41
fight against that but we also have to
13:44
recognize that that’s just part of the
13:46
reality doesn’t mean we don’t keep
13:48
struggling it doesn’t mean we don’t keep
13:50
working hard
13:51
um
13:52
to to do those things but we can either
13:55
be overrun by
13:57
the
13:58
negatives that come and we’ve certainly
14:00
seen you know when you look at the
14:02
policy relating to service in the
14:04
military it was it was just it went from
14:06
one extreme to another
14:08
and were at least in my opinion at a
14:10
much better place than we were but it’s
14:12
still not perfect the devil’s in those
14:14
details and the details
14:18
flow out when we have overarching
14:20
legislation that that that says we’re
14:23
going to treat everybody equally so
14:26
interestingly enough right now we back
14:28
we’re back to in the department of
14:30
defense where transgender service is
14:33
um
14:34
allowed because it’s a policy issue and
14:37
interestingly enough individuals who are
14:39
transgender
14:40
now are
14:42
again covered with the medical care
14:44
necessary for those of us who are
14:46
transgender
14:47
in the in the process but here’s the
14:49
interesting part
14:51
i’m a retiree
14:53
i’m not covered by that at this point
14:56
even though even though i am quote
14:59
covered by the same basic health care
15:01
system
15:02
i’m not covered it’s the devils are in
15:04
the details and if we
15:06
enact
15:08
the equality act suddenly all those
15:11
little details that live all across
15:14
u.s code u.s law and and policy
15:18
will be dissolved we’ll have the tool to
15:21
go to the administrative organizations
15:23
and leaders and say you’ve got to comply
15:25
and this is what compliance
15:28
all right yes yes
15:30
great
15:32
uh thank you so much for that randy
15:34
that’s really powerful and reverend i
15:36
want to turn it back i want to turn it
15:38
back to you and i actually appreciate
15:40
you mentioning the um not another second
15:42
exhibit because one of the things that
15:44
is so
15:45
beautiful and powerful about that
15:47
equipment is to you and the fact that
15:49
you are you are um featured and
15:52
spotlighted in that exhibit and one of
15:53
the things that’s striking when i went
15:55
to see that exhibit was learning about
15:58
so many different parts of your life
15:59
that you’ve been an activist in so many
16:01
different movements
16:03
and that makes me want to ask you
16:05
what message would you want to deliver
16:07
to today’s activists to younger
16:09
activists who are trying to figure out
16:11
themselves
16:12
how to move the needle right
16:15
how to advance how to bring progress
16:17
what what advice what message would you
16:19
want to bring to them
16:21
well the first of all the thing is i
16:23
talk to young people all the time uh one
16:25
of the things is i am the grandmother of
16:27
the national national network youth
16:29
movement
16:30
reverend sharpton’s organization which
16:32
i’m also one of the founding members of
16:33
the organization and my my story is this
16:37
love yourself
16:40
live your truth
16:42
and laugh in the face of adversity
16:45
because that way
16:46
it’s like
16:48
you are staying focused on who you are
16:51
and that’s the most important thing
16:53
so if you learn to love yourself
16:56
live your truth
16:58
laugh in the first face of adversity
17:00
everything else will fall into
17:02
place that’s why we call you sage
17:05
reverend kennedy thank you
17:12
you have said you said that the struggle
17:14
for justice randy is just that it’s a
17:16
struggle and it will always be so for
17:18
marginalized communities it’s our
17:20
struggle and it has to be that way so
17:22
maybe maybe our struggle can’t be
17:24
overcome maybe enduring it is part of of
17:26
what we’re doing here but how do you
17:28
make it easier how do you
17:30
how do you um what is your advice to
17:32
folks uh and especially when we’re
17:34
thinking about the equality act and what
17:36
we need uh to make it easier
17:40
so
17:41
the struggle yeah the struggle is always
17:44
maybe part of it at least for
17:47
marginalized and certainly for
17:49
marginalized groups because if you’re
17:50
not in that marginalized group you don’t
17:53
understand
17:54
the need you don’t understand that there
17:56
is a struggle even in many cases it
17:58
doesn’t mean people are uncaring or
18:01
uninterested they just don’t understand
18:03
and so it is left to us
18:07
to carry that forward to to put forward
18:10
who we are and what we need and why we
18:13
need it and so
18:15
that’s that’s always probably going to
18:16
be part of it we’re probably always
18:18
going to have to manage that now that
18:21
doesn’t mean that forever and always
18:23
lgbtq people are going to have to have
18:26
the struggle but if it’s not us it’s
18:28
going to be somebody else and we have as
18:30
big a responsibility
18:33
to those other groups as we have to
18:35
taking care of ourselves in this
18:37
struggle um and so
18:40
right now it’s the equality act and
18:42
interestingly enough the equality act is
18:44
going to reach farther than just lgbtq
18:47
rights and that’s what a lot of people
18:48
fail to realize it’s ultimately much
18:51
bigger than that so this struggle even
18:53
now reaches beyond and we’ve got to keep
18:55
that in in mind as we as we
18:58
advance this right and just struggle
19:03
so reverend kennedy speaking of um going
19:06
vague picking up on randy’s comments i
19:08
wanna i wanna ask you a question about
19:10
faith
19:11
um
19:12
you know some opponents of the equality
19:14
act ground their opposition
19:17
to
19:18
to our rights to equality
19:20
in their interpretations of faith
19:23
i want to ask you
19:25
what’s your perspective on how
19:28
faith
19:29
and lgbtq equality and rights coexist
19:35
well um first of all the these uh
19:39
so-called uh
19:40
so-called i say so called christian
19:43
people
19:44
um
19:45
they base their whole theory on uh the
19:47
kg the king james version of the bible
19:50
of sodom and gomorrah was supposed to
19:52
have been destroyed because of
19:54
homosexuality and of course for years i
19:56
was saying like you know science versus
19:58
religion
19:59
uh sodom under meyer was destroyed
20:01
because um there was a lava
20:04
eruption and that’s why the city was
20:07
destroyed
20:08
homosexuality
20:10
on the other side of that
20:11
i tell people that god loves us god
20:14
goddess loves us just the way we are
20:17
and then finally when they get to that i
20:20
said look
20:21
none of y’all have a heaven or hell to
20:22
put me and any of the lgbtq people in
20:26
so
20:27
get out of our face
20:28
leave us alone
20:30
and you keep on praying to whatever
20:31
you’re praying to but know that god
20:33
loves all of us just the way we are
20:37
thank you
20:39
um
20:39
thank you very much i love that uh
20:42
randy so as as a trans person uh what do
20:45
you see are some of the complications
20:46
especially related to aging and care and
20:49
some of the ways that the equality act
20:50
could make a difference for us
20:52
in dealing with some of those challenges
20:56
as we all know at least all of us in the
20:57
conversation today as we all know
21:00
um as we get older life gets more
21:02
complicated um
21:04
amazingly in a little over a year ago
21:08
i found myself
21:09
in the emergency room in the local
21:12
medical center
21:13
and it started an 11 day saga of
21:16
inpatient care and amazingly i was
21:19
treated
21:20
marvelously and i live in one of the
21:22
most um
21:24
republican counties in the state of
21:26
florida um well
21:29
the the nurses and the physicians
21:32
assistants was astounding
21:35
they always got my gender right they
21:38
were always kind and gracious and
21:40
respectful
21:41
and the surgeon who ultimately did the
21:44
surgical procedure that needed to be
21:45
done
21:46
although a good surgeon did a great job
21:48
um
21:50
he just
21:51
an older gentleman has actually since
21:53
retired um
21:55
just couldn’t apparently wrap his head
21:57
around the idea of a transgender person
22:00
and misgendered me
22:02
interestingly enough it’s one of those
22:04
things where it’s that again it becomes
22:06
a trickle down of things because
22:10
if
22:11
we get something like or if we get the
22:14
equality act in place
22:17
suddenly um doctors nurses the training
22:21
requirements the retraining the
22:23
continuing ed requirements now can start
22:25
to encompass
22:27
all of these things that that make the
22:29
spaces
22:31
more friendly to us not just in acute
22:34
care settings but in doctor’s offices
22:36
and in long-term care facilities
22:39
where
22:40
our vulnerability like you said at the
22:42
beginning jay
22:43
um
22:44
is
22:45
is profound every time you go to a new
22:48
doctor you get to you get to out
22:49
yourself wow that’s an exciting
22:51
experience and you’re going to have to
22:53
trust that the advice and the care that
22:56
you get from them
22:58
is going to meet your needs and going to
22:59
account for that and and so that’s a
23:01
real struggle and so the equality act
23:03
will go a long ways to ensure
23:06
that through law and through
23:09
um
23:10
those processes that the federal system
23:12
will start to push and that will go and
23:14
it will go further than just the lbgq
23:18
community it will have longer
23:20
reach than just our community to ensure
23:24
appropriate care uh is accessible
23:28
and is
23:30
is welcoming to minority groups not just
23:34
us
23:39
yeah i so appreciate that and i you know
23:41
a lot of the work we do
23:42
in both of our organizations is training
23:44
oriented and i am
23:46
i’m very enthusiastic about the
23:48
opportunities ahead of the equality act
23:50
to reach even more audiences uh with
23:53
with um the educational tools that will
23:55
be needed to
23:56
hopefully improve our life experiences
23:59
so i really appreciate that um i have a
24:01
question for you michael um so as as you
24:05
grow older as an lgbtq plus person i’m
24:08
curious how’s your perspective changing
24:10
and can we learn from anything from that
24:12
change in perspective can you what do
24:14
you have to share with us on that
24:15
yeah i really appreciate that question
24:17
jay and that feels um kind of um timely
24:21
i’m turning 60 in october so uh inside
24:24
stage we call 60 sage age so i’m uh i
24:27
mean
24:28
i i guess i i’d say a couple of things
24:31
um one is i think over time i started to
24:35
better understand
24:37
how precious time is um you know i have
24:40
been
24:41
an activist in our communities for
24:44
almost 40 years i i don’t go i don’t go
24:47
quite back to stonewall as uh reverend
24:49
kennedy does but i but almost four
24:52
decades um and
24:54
the entire time that i’ve been an
24:56
activist in our
24:57
um
24:58
in our communities
25:00
we’ve been fighting for
25:03
this this federal law right these
25:05
federal protections so that we have the
25:07
same basic rights that everybody else in
25:09
society does in terms of protection from
25:12
discrimination um and here we are 40
25:15
years later we really don’t have
25:17
um we can’t keep waiting right so i i
25:21
feel like i’ve i’ve learned a lot as
25:23
i’ve got older about how precious time
25:25
is um
25:27
i guess something else i would say is
25:29
i’ve also learned a lot about how strong
25:31
we are how strong we are as people and
25:33
how strong we are as a community um when
25:36
i was in my early 20s we were
25:39
living through really
25:41
the worst
25:43
of the aids epidemic you know those
25:45
early years of aids i
25:48
i
25:49
lost
25:50
you know close dear
25:52
friends
25:54
at a very young age and they were at a
25:56
very young age beautiful people
25:58
beautiful men who were really just
25:59
starting their
26:01
starting their lives right um and
26:04
and
26:05
um
26:06
we lost so
26:07
many people there was a time when i
26:09
think we all thought we would die we
26:10
thought we would never make it but the
26:13
fact is many of us lived
26:15
many of us lived many of us survived we
26:18
survived to continue fighting for our
26:20
rights now we’re living through a second
26:22
pandemic um and we’ve again lost people
26:26
and we’ve lost people that are so close
26:27
to us and again
26:29
many of us are living
26:31
and we will continue to fight right so
26:34
nobody should ever underestimate our
26:37
strength and our determination um i
26:39
guess those are some of the things i’ve
26:41
learned um with the passage of time and
26:43
jay i’m going to throw that question
26:45
back at you and uh you’re not not quite
26:47
as old as i am but we’re all aging so
26:49
would have been
26:50
someone yeah a very wise colleague of
26:53
mine just said one thing we know we all
26:55
have in common is that we’re all a day
26:56
older than we were yesterday um
26:59
and we’re having that conversation
27:01
um you know i i i love that reverend
27:04
kennedy brought the young people into
27:06
the conversation because i really do
27:07
think about the spectrum of all of of
27:10
this life’s journey and um of what the
27:13
impact of the equality act would have on
27:15
our entire community and and one thing
27:18
that i i think a lot of folks when they
27:20
think about um aging they
27:23
they go to older folks but we are all
27:25
aging every day and we are all
27:28
journeying and and in fact so the the
27:31
need for the young folks to have
27:33
protections that don’t stop at a state
27:35
line that really are clear and explicit
27:38
to the education educational leaders in
27:40
this country to me is is one of my
27:42
highest priorities but i also i just
27:44
came back from
27:46
a trip where i got to spend some time
27:48
somebody i’ve known for years who’s in
27:50
in their 80s and is going through a
27:52
transition and you know i think
27:55
about that person who who who you know
27:58
is independently living now but needs
28:02
support needs community and and may find
28:04
themselves in a place where they want
28:07
you know their gender expansive uh
28:09
identity to be reflected uh or respected
28:12
and
28:13
and for their life to be sort of um
28:16
cared for in the way that our young
28:18
people deserve too so i mean i think the
28:20
thing about the equality act is that it
28:22
would really touch our entire community
28:26
and um and i am as i’m thinking about
28:28
aging i’m thinking about sort of what
28:30
that means to the to all of us as we age
28:34
and how how pivotal the equality act
28:36
could be um to us so i guess with that
28:39
i’ll turn it over to
28:41
randy and then reverend kennedy maybe
28:43
you can close it out which is what would
28:45
it what would it mean to you personally
28:47
randy uh for the equality act pass
28:50
so i’m a professional pilot it’s what
28:52
i’ve made my livelihood um doing and so
28:55
i travel part of what i do is i travel
28:58
and you one of the weird things that
29:00
exists right now is
29:02
if
29:03
if i fly into certain states
29:06
are my like my rights as a u.s citizen
29:10
for protections less than if i’m in
29:13
another well given the current legal
29:15
structure that’s absolutely the case
29:18
um
29:19
i have more rights in some states than i
29:22
that than in others and and that should
29:24
not be i should be able to have the same
29:26
expectation of
29:28
care
29:29
and
29:30
be able to use you know public
29:33
facilities it shouldn’t matter that i’m
29:35
in state x y or z
29:37
um it should be universal across our
29:39
nation
29:40
and the equality act
29:43
brings that it brings that for all of us
29:46
so it doesn’t matter aging not you know
29:48
whether you’re a little bit older or a
29:51
little bit younger it doesn’t matter and
29:53
that’s the important part um regardless
29:56
we’ve got to get to where it doesn’t
29:58
matter where you grew up where you’re
30:00
growing up whether you have access to to
30:03
the right care to the care that the
30:05
physicians say that we
30:07
we need
30:08
um and those kinds of things and that’s
30:10
what the equality act means to me means
30:13
safety where i go it means that i don’t
30:15
have to
30:16
worry about
30:18
having a book or a
30:21
pre-studying to make sure i can stay
30:23
safe in a given space
30:31
remember kennedy yes
30:35
i love so much what uh randy has said
30:38
you go listen you go gal you go sister
30:41
right on the thing that occur to me is
30:44
that here we are um 2021 we’re in the
30:47
21st century
30:49
and with the clouds the equality act
30:52
again it is of the utmost importance
30:55
that everybody that sees this
30:57
talk to their congress people talk to
31:00
the senate talk to anybody that you need
31:02
to
31:02
because for me as a person of color
31:04
being um half native american and half
31:08
black
31:08
we have been here us people of color and
31:12
especially black people have been here
31:13
on this continent since 16
31:16
16 19 that’s 402 years so here we are
31:21
fighting
31:22
and we’re on we’re involved in the
31:24
struggle and the struggle continues and
31:27
it will not stop it must not stop we
31:29
must all continue to put our shoulders
31:32
to the grindstone as they say
31:34
and get this thing done i’m hoping for
31:36
the day that my grandchildren my
31:39
great-grandchildren by the way i got 20
31:41
of those
31:42
and um
31:43
my great-great-grandchildren got two of
31:45
them
31:46
well
31:47
this will all be resolved everybody will
31:49
be living and equality will not be
31:53
something that we have to even talk
31:55
about because in the centuries to come
31:57
it just is and we are the ones that made
32:00
it possible
32:03
thank you thank you well thank you so
32:06
much uh reverend kennedy and randy i i
32:09
want to thank
32:10
uh you both and michael for sharing your
32:13
time and experiences with all of us i
32:15
know i speak for many of us when i say
32:17
that i’m so deeply inspired by your
32:18
leadership and your advocacy and i think
32:21
as all of us who have been listening
32:23
here with us today have heard our elders
32:26
have carried the movement in our
32:27
community for so long securing rights
32:29
and broadening futures and helping many
32:31
reach dreams that we all thought were
32:33
impossible so now we must fight
32:35
alongside each other and make sure that
32:38
our elders experience the inclusion
32:40
support and welcome that you all are
32:42
helping make possible every day and help
32:44
make possible uh in the past so thank
32:46
you so much that starts with the
32:47
equality act for more information we
32:49
always encourage folks to go hrc members
32:52
can go to hrc.org qualityact or folks
32:55
can text equality act at
32:57
472-472 to get involved and i’ll turn it
33:00
over to you michael to close us out
33:04
okay um thanks so much jay and i want to
33:08
again thank reverend kennedy and randy
33:10
robertson for your
33:13
really your wisdom
33:14
your wisdom today
33:16
and i want to thank you jay and hrc for
33:18
being such important partners with sage
33:21
in ensuring that the voices and the
33:24
interests of our community’s elders are
33:27
really front and center in the campaign
33:30
for passage of the equality act because
33:32
that’s where our elders need to be
33:34
so please
33:35
do everything you can to get involved
33:38
in the campaign for the quality out that
33:40
ask everybody who’s watching this to
33:42
please get involved you can go to the
33:44
hrc website you can go to sageusa.org
33:49
backslash equality act to get involved
33:51
as reverend kennedy
33:53
said as jay said as randy said let’s
33:55
join together let’s get this done
33:57
for everybody in our community for our
34:00
elders for our young people for all of
34:02
us thank you so much
34:05
we will not be invisible
34:07
we will not be invisible amen to that
34:09
hey man go right there
34:11
here
34:13
thank you all
34:14
right thank you

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This post was previously published on YouTube.

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