Part-way through my Skype interview with Adrian Jjuuko, executive director of the Human Rights Awareness and Promotion Forum (HRAPF), in Kampala, Uganda, a dog’s loud, insistent barking began. Startled, Jjuuko looked away from the camera. He was not, however, at home and it was not a family pet. Jjuuko was at work, and what my …
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Countries all over the world have gay pride events every year. The annual festivities are usually safe places for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people to celebrate their communities. That’s even been true in recent years in Uganda, a country where it’s a crime to be gay. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the case in Uganda last week. In the capital Kampala, police raided a …
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It will be a new era for the American Jewish World Service when Robert Bank, a gay man, takes over at the global Jewish organization starting July 1. Bank, 56, succeeds Ruth Messinger as president and CEO of the progressive organization and he plans to continue Messinger’s legacy as well as make his own imprint …
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This past weekend, I marched with AJWS staff and supporters in New York City’s Pride Parade. It felt especially poignant to march together in the wake of the Orlando shooting; to show that love will triumph over hate. As we marched, I thought of fellow activists around the world who are risking their own lives for the dignity of LGBT people. Some of these activists are LGBT people themselves. Others are not.
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One of the giants of faith-based relief and development, Ruth Messinger, is retiring at the end of June. As the President of American Jewish World Service, it is hard to overstate Ruth’s contribution to the fight for lives of dignity and prosperity around the world. Her powerful voice will be sorely missed. Her witness and …
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