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Welcome to our internet home!
Below: This Just In - Currently in the Works - Who We Are, What We Do, and You 
(Drawing on May 19, 2012) Performance will be held at the Pensacola Saenger Theatre, Sunday, May 27, 2012 - 7:30 pm 
On Monday March 13, 2012, representatives from three local organizations working on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender
rights, and HIV/AIDS education and prevention met with a recipient of the U.S. Department of State's "Woman of Courage"
award, Safak Pavey of Turkey. The Secretary of State's International Women of Courage program is aimed at honoring women
who have undertaken extraordinary steps and broken seemingly insurmountable obstacles in the pursuit of equality, opportunity,
and justice. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton bestowed the citation saying, "For her personal dignity and courage not only
in overcoming physical disabilities, but also emerging as an effective local and global champion of the rights of women,
minority groups, refugees and disabled persons." This meeting was coordinated by the Gulf Coast Diplomacy Council by invitation
of the US Department of State.
This discussion brought together representatives from ACLU, Susan Watson-Panhandle Director; Gay Grassroots of Northwest Florida, Doug Landreth-President; and OASIS, Patrick Rodgers-HIV Prevention Coordinator. The purpose of this appointment was to explore the status of LGBT rights and HIV/AIDS advocacy throughout each of our regions, and to discuss the implications that LGBT/HIV/AIDS intolerance and discrimination has upon citizenship, immigration, deportation, and asylum. The U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs funds and administers the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP), one of its premier professional exchange programs. The IVLP is designed to build mutual understanding between the U.S. and other countries through carefully designed visits that reflect the participant' professional interests and support U.S. foreign policy goals. Participants are established or potential foreign opinion makers in government, public policy, media, education, labor, the arts, and other key fields. Selected by American embassies abroad, International Visitors come to the United States to meet and confer with their professional counterparts and to gain an appreciation of the ethnic, cultural, political, and socio-economic diversity of the U.S. Ms. Pavey provided a rare and honest assessment of the climate of systemic governmental and cultural resistance of LGBT liberation, Woman rights, and HIV/AIDS education and prevention in her country. The take away was that any progress that has been reported in the media has been only for show in ease inclusion into the European Union; little if any enforcement of protective or inclusive laws is expected or desired. Our local delegation shared some of each of their best practices that have been used in their respective areas. Susan Watson of the ACLU spoke of recent efforts to train local citizens to speak on behalf of overturning Florida's ban on adoption by gays and lesbians, a ban that for 33 years denied thousands of children safe, stable, forever loving homes. Doug Landreth of Gay Grassroots of Northwest Florida shared the success of the 1st ever city and county political candidate forum on LGBT issues they hosted during the last election years, providing future officials with a startling insight into LGBT discrimination and inequalities. Patrick Rodgers spoke of the importance of social media driven connections and community building. Upon leaving, Ms. Pavey asked that Gay Grassroots share with her the results from a survey they conducted that asked people to rank and comment on the various manners that being Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, or Transgender on the gulf coast had impacted their quality of life. Ms. Pavey also asked that the findings of a research study, "Homophobia in Pensacola: Fact or Fiction," conducted by the University of West Florida's Health Psychology Research Lab, under the direction of Susan Walch, Ph. D., be provided to her. Follow up correspondence from Ashley Hardaway, Program Director Gulf Coast Citizen Diplomacy Council said that Ms. Pavey, "especially enjoyed her discussion with you and could have stayed much longer if her schedule permitted it. Thank you for the time you took and for being frank and open in your discussion." I am so thrilled that we have organizations like yours in our community and love sharing them with the outside world! Pensacola is lucky to have you all in it. Titles: Member of Parliament, Turkish General National Assembly, Deputy of Istanbul Bio: Safak Pavey, the first disabled woman elected to the Turkish Parliament, has demonstrated great personal dignity in overcoming physical obstacles each and every day, while locally and globally championing the rights of vulnerable populations, including refugees and disabled persons. Whether working in extreme conditions for the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) in the Middle East, South Asia and Africa, or acting as a lightning rod to spark the UN Interagency Support Group for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Pavey has sought to turn her disability into strength on a global level. Undaunted by her own challenges, she is also an agent of change at home. Pavey endeavored to foster acceptance for the Armenian community in Turkey, and is one of a small number of non-Armenians who wrote for the Armenian Turkish newspaper, Agos. After winning a seat in the Turkish parliament in June 2011, Pavey is continuing to empower and give voice to disabled persons, women, and minority populations.
Can You Throw a "Not To Be Missed" Party, or Just Grill a Hot Dog?
We all love to get together with our own circle of friends. Now you can add an new level of meaning to just such
an afternoon or evening by turning your next get together into a Circle of Friends fundraising house party.
The concept is simple. Invite you own group of friends over for a dinner, cocktails, or dessert party and ask
your guest to donate what they would have paid at a local restaurant for a similar experience to Equality House.
You can make the get together as laid back or as formal as you wish. You set the date and time. Gay Grassroots
will be happy to provide you with invitations, loan you decorations, supply LGBT information materials, and even
a speaker if you desire. This is your chance to support Equality House with your own special flair. Please
contact us ASAP, let's cover the whole area with circles of friends.
Gay Grassroots YouTube Channel
LGBT History Project of Northwest Florida
Historic preservation and heritage conservation is a endeavor that seeks to collect, preserve, conserve, and protect objects, artifacts, and records 
of historic significance. The greater Pensacola LGBT Community has a very colorful and important,
though not widely known, history that merits saving. Gay Grassroots of Northwest Florida wants to make sure
that this history is not lost. Our goal is
to not only preserve the past but to make it more widely known and appreciated by future generations. Our collective story should become better known,
understood, and shared. As we kick off this project, we are looking to collect more photographs,
newspaper clippings, letters, publications, etc., that can add context to our local LGBT history. If you have any items that
you wish to donate or loan to this project, please contact us. Additionally,
we have purchased a video camera and are working to record the personal
stories of LGBT persons with ties to Northwest Florida, via video/audio
taping. If you would be interested in having your own story recorded, please let us know by
e-mailing us.
Glad you found our internet home! Gay Grassroots, the Equality House, and
PensacolaPRIDE all have ways that you can connect with your community,
and proceed on the road toward full UNDERSTANDING, RESPECT, EQUALITY,
and INCLUSION of all LGBT persons. Please get involved today through a variety of different ways: ABOUT - Read about our mission, history, structure, and leadership. MEMBERSHIP - Help support Equality House, our community center. EVENTS - Join us for all sorts of fun happenings throughout the month such as book club, 50 plus coffee chat, movie nights, potluck dinners, game night, volunteer training, holiday events, and more! ADVOCACY - Just like coming out is life long journey, not a quick one stop single event, so is securing and maintaining our civil rights. Find out about our advocacy goals and where you can help. NEWSLETTER - RainbowBlades is our monthly newsletter, and is chock full of local, national, and international news; hot topics; commentaries; and pages dedicated to current LGBT issues. PensacolaPRIDE - PensacolaPRIDE moves to a spring festival! Watch for details of this April 2012 event to be announced soon! EQUALITY HOUSE - Read about our LGBT Community Center. HEALTH - Knowing that the LGBT community is disproportionally hit by many health issues, Gay Grassroots works to provide health related education and services that are culturally sensitive to the LGBT community. CONTACT - Visit, write, email, join our mailing list, follow us on twitter, and friend us on facebook! http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/XFRZSHC |
HOME - ABOUT - MEMBERSHIP - EVENTS - ADVOCACY - NEWSLETTER - PensacolaPRIDE - EQUALITY HOUSE - HEALTH - CONTACT
LGBT Resource Center
be housed at Equality House where they may be used for research and educational purposes openly and freely.
If you have materials you feel would be an asset to our collection please