LGBT Latino town hall meeting and documentary

FERNDALE – A Latino LGBT Town Hall meeting and documentary screening, sponsored by the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan's Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Project, La Comunidad, and the Human Rights Campaign is scheduled for Oct. 14, at 7 p.m. at the George Fadiga Rainbow Pride Building, located at 429 Livernois Street.
The meeting will address issues including coming out and homophobia within the Latino community, discrimination in employment, housing and services, same-sex relationships and immigration, and HIV/AIDS. Speakers include Sally Green, Field Organizer for the Human Rights Campaign, Michael Odom, Project Coordinator for La Comunidad, and Jay Kaplan, staff attorney with the ACLU of Michigan.
A screening of the film, De Colores, a bilingual documentary about how Latino families and communities are replacing the deep roots of homophobia with the even deeper roots of love and tolerance, will be screened.
The 2000 United States Census reports that the Latino population increased sixty percent since 1990, totaling an estimated 35 million or thirteen percent of the total United States population. This also includes an increase in the Latino LGBT population. While the LGBT community asserts the need for equal access to rights currently protecting heterosexuals, the experience of LGBT Latinos is framed by discrimination based on race, ethnicity, national origin, citizenship status, class, in addition to sexual orientation and gender identity.
La Comunidad, (the community), is a group created by the Midwest AIDS Prevention Project, to provide information, education, foster pride and advocacy and create social activities for Michigan's LGBT Latino community.
Supporting sponsors for this event include the Triangle Foundation, Affirmations Lesbian & Gay Community Center, PFLAG Detroit and Hermanos de Corazon.
For more information, contact Michael Odom at [email protected] or 248-545-1435.