San Francisco – Equality California will honor California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, Washington Post columnist and MSNBC political analyst Jonathan Capehart, local business leader Michael Dunn and transgender reality TV star and writer Jazz Jennings at the 2017 San Francisco Equality Awards for their extraordinary service to the LGBT community. The awards will take place on Saturday, May 6, 2017 at 6:00 p.m. at the Westin St. Francis on Union Square.
The son of working-class Mexican immigrants, Vanguard Leadership Award recipient California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has been a staunch ally of the LGBT community for decades. While in Congress, he was a member of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus and was one of only 67 members of Congress who opposed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in 1996. He was a vocal supporter of marriage equality before it was the law of the land, and has championed other priorities of the LGBT community including passage of the federal Equality Act and the inclusion of LGBT people in demographic data collection. This month, Becerra reaffirmed California’s ban on state-funded travel to North Carolina after that state passed a law that failed to repeal its anti-LGBT HB 2.
“Xavier Becerra was one of the LGBT community’s most reliable allies in Congress and continues to be a fighter for LGBT equality and social justice as California Attorney General,” said Rick Zbur, executive director of Equality California. “In his new role as our state’s top law enforcement official, he will continue to ensure that California stands strong against attempts to target any community based on sexual orientation, gender identity, ethnic or religious background or immigration status.”
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jonathan Capehart is the recipient of this year’s Equality Leadership Award. He is a member of the editorial board of the Washington Post, writes on politics and social issues for the newspaper’s PostPartisan blog and is a regular contributor to MSNBC. He is an unflinching critic of the divisive policies of the Trump Administration and has taken on anti-LGBT public figures including former Texas governor Rick Perry, evangelist Franklin Graham, Vladimir Putin and others. Prior to joining the Washington Post, Capehart served as deputy editor of New York Daily News’ editorial page, as a policy adviser to Michael Bloomberg in his successful campaign for mayor of New York City, as a national affairs columnist for Bloomberg News and as a member of the Daily News editorial board.
“Through the insight of his commentary and his public example as an out gay man, Jonathan Capehart has helped not only to familiarize Americans with LGBT people but to educate the broader public about the challenges facing the LGBT community,” said Zbur. “His prominence as one of the country’s most influential political commentators makes him an important voice in the LGBT community, as well.”
Humanitarian Award recipient Michael Dunn is chairman and CEO of brand and marketing consultancy firm Prophet. As a business leader, he has dedicated a significant portion of his firm’s resources to support the work of organizations dedicated to LGBT civil rights, childhood literacy, AIDS relief, environmental conservation and the arts, among other things. Under his leadership, Prophet launched the “Prophet for Nonprofit” (P4NP) initiative, one of corporate America’s most robust pro bono programs. Through P4NP, Prophet has contributed millions of dollars in free services supporting the work of organizations including Lambda Legal, Seeds of Peace, Room to Read, Park Pride Atlanta, StartupAID, Reading in Motion, Outward Bound, Olio, First Things First, City Surf, and the Water Trust. Prophet recently completed a yearlong strategic review of Equality California’s mission and brand identity which led to an update of our mission statement and visual identity. Dunn has has also served as treasurer of Equality California’s board of directors and is a boardmember of Teach for America, Cathedral School for Boys and is a past member of the board of Pacific Primary School.
“Michael Dunn is a humanitarian in the truest sense of the word,” said Zbur. “As he built Prophet into one of the world’s most influential marketing consultancies, he has used the firm’s expertise and resources to give back to a wide range of nonprofit organizations across the country. Through his pro bono work for dozens of nonprofit organizations, he has had a profound and direct impact on the lives of millions of people in our communities.”
Equality Visibility Award recipient Jazz Jennings is a transgender writer, youth advocate and reality TV star. She first gained national prominence in 2007 when Barbara Walters included her in a feature about transgender children. Since then, she has appeared on numerous talk shows and also features in the TLC reality show ‘I Am Jazz’, focusing on growing up as a transgender girl. She co-wrote a children’s book by the same name detailing her real-life experiences, and has published a memoir, “Being Jazz: My Life as a (Transgender) Teen”. She actively participates in LGBT civil rights events and is the founder of Purple Rainbow Tails, a company that makes mermaid tails to raise money for transgender children. She was plaintiff in a case that successfully challenged a United States Soccer Federation policy barring transgender players.
“Jazz Jennings’ insistence from early childhood on living openly and with courage has lifted up the lives of countless transgender people and inspired the rest of us,” said Zbur. “By simply being herself, she has contributed to a greater understanding of and respect for transgender people, as well as an appreciation of the gifts and contributions they bring and make to our broader communities. With her courage, openness and involvement in our community, she is role model for transgender youth and for all teens everywhere.”
In addition to this year’s Equality Awards recipients, the program will also feature special guest California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom, who was the recipient of an Equality Award in 2014.
Co-chairs of the 2017 San Francisco Equality Awards are Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), California State Board of Equalization member Fiona Ma, San Francisco Supervisor Jeff Sheehy and Equality California Board members Andrea Casalett and David Tsai. The event is sponsored by AT&T, the Coca-Cola Foundation, Gilead Sciences, La Crema, Prophet, PG&E, Sempra Energy and Southwest Airlines.
Each year, Equality California recognizes individuals and organizations who have made a significant impact on the movement to secure full and lasting equality for LGBT people at its annual Equality Awards — a series of formal events held in San Francisco, San Diego, Palm Springs, Los Angeles, and Sacramento.
This year’s San Francisco Equality Awards will take place on Saturday, May 6, 2017 at the Westin St. Francis on Union Square, located at 335 Powell St. in San Francisco. Individual tickets are $400 and up, with event sponsorships opportunities beginning at $5,000. For more information about the Equality Awards, to purchase tickets or to become a sponsor, click here. For more information, contact Scott Gizicki at scott@eqca.org or 323-848-9801.
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Equality California is the nation’s largest statewide lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization dedicated to creating a fair and just society. Our mission is to achieve and maintain full and lasting equality, acceptance, and social justice for all people in our diverse LGBT communities, inside and outside of California. Our mission includes advancing the health and well-being of LGBT Californians through direct healthcare service advocacy and education. Through electoral, advocacy, education and mobilization programs, we strive to create a broad and diverse alliance of LGBT people, educators, government officials, communities of color and faith, labor, business, and social justice communities to achieve our goals. www.eqca.org
