#AMPLIFY

AMPLIFY

If you are looking for the AMPLIFY Q&A to contribute your own story, click here to go to our online form! Every story raises the visibility of LGBTQ experiences in Western PA.  AMPLIFY is a storytelling project, a community art project and a historical archive project sharing the lived experiences of LGBTQ neighbors in Western Pennsylvania […]

Bring Andre Gray Home: A Gay Black Man Disappears in Pittsburgh

On October 23, 2014, Andre Gray disappeared. Andre is a 34 year-old gay black man with a loving family and a circle of friends who miss him dearly. He is more familiarly known as Dre or Pok’ie, nicknames and endearments that remind us that Andre is more than a missing gay black man – he […]

Update On The Search For Andre Gray & How To Donate

Andre Gray has been missing from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania since October 23, 2014. This past weekend, Andre’s family and friends (and strangers) gathered on the North Side to search the area near the spot where Andre’s abandoned car was found. Now we have a new way for you to get involved and show your support for […]

Take Part In The LGBTQ&A 2014 Pride Edition

LGBTQ&A

  Last year, I launched a feature “LGBTQ&A” to learn a little more about members of our community and allies. We ran over 30 profiles from Mayor Bill Peduto to Dyke and Trans March Founder Eli Kuti to Ledcat. This year, we’d like to include your story! To be eligible, you simply need to have […]

Small Update: Britney Cosby and Crystal Jackson

C.d. Kirven

Earlier this week, LGBTQ folks and allies across Texas gathered in vigil for the two women and solidarity with one another. From LoneStarQ GetEQUAL TX’s Cd Kirven, who organized the vigils, told those who gathered in Dallas that she wanted to hold LGBT-affirming memorials to honor how the couple lived. At a family-organized vigil in […]

City Councilman Burgess Doesn’t Seem To Think LGBTQ Identity Reflects Diversity

City Councilman Ricky Burgess believes – nay, insists – that the next President of City Council be a person of color. And he’s willing to step up to the challenge.  Burgess notably the only member of that body who refuses to sign the Pridefest Proclamation because Pride is too “sexualized” has also historically  ignored the […]

Stack the Shelves: Call to Action To Support Local School Libraries During Banned Books Week

Earlier in the week, we reported on a startling situation in Pittsburgh’s Northside – Manchester Elementary School had fewer than 40 books in their library and most were in poor condition.  More from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: The librarian predicts that the 250-student school’s decaying fiction section has now grown from less than 100 usable books […]

The Legitimacy of the Rape Debate (Trigger Warning)

It is hard to know where to begin with the wretched “legitimate rape” comment from Todd Akin, Senate candidate from Missouri. “It seems to me, from what I understand from doctors, that’s really rare,” Akin told KTVI-TV. “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down. […]

Blog for Equality 2010 – Stop the Discrimination, Join the Blog Swarm

This is now a sticky post to remain at the top of the blog until Blog for Equality Day is Over. Read below for more current posts *************************************************************************************** Back in 2008, 14 Pittsburgh blogs participated in our first Blog for Equality event to speak out against the attempt by the Pennsylvania Senate to amend our […]