Marginalized communities’ fight for equality isn’t a one-time battle. It’s an ongoing struggle that slowly but surely helps move the needle toward justice. That struggle can be particularly difficult for LGBTQ folks amid a political climate that at best often refuses to acknowledge queer people’s existence — and at worst foments violence.
For more than two decades, Nashville-based nonprofit the Tennessee Equality Project has been advocating for the rights of LGBTQ Tennesseans. Sometimes that means responding to Republican-backed legislation often referred to as the annual “Slate of Hate” — bills that aim to do things like limiting gender-affirming care for young trans people or even banning Pride flags in public schools. Sometimes it means compiling research and plans for action, or organizing town hall events. And sometimes it means hosting and funding joyful community-building events like this year’s BoroPride in Murfreesboro when corporate sponsorship dried up.
So thank you to the folks at the Tennessee Equality Project for sticking their necks out when it matters. And thank you, importantly, for helping provide sources of joy with your Pride celebration efforts, especially in parts of the state where being out and proud isn’t always celebrated.
—D. Patrick Rodgers
Editor-in-Chief, Nashville Scene
Our notes of gratitude to the community advocates, health care workers and others who make Nashville special
