Online versions of our Sing Out for Freedom concert and our annual LGBTQ Rights cocktail party were both big hits.
In 2020, we were determined to still celebrate culture and community despite COVID—so we went virtual!
On July 15, we turned to the streaming platform Hopin to host an online version of our annual LGBTQ Rights Reception, which featured breakout sessions following a panel discussion. Speakers included NYCLU Executive Director Donna Lieberman; James Esseks, ACLU Director of the LGBT & HIV Project; NYCLU Policy Counsel Allie Bohm; and Chase Strangio, ACLU Deputy Director for Transgender Justice, LGBT & HIV Project, who successfully argued this summer’s Supreme Court ruling that extended workplace and other protections to LGBTQ people.
The event also featured a tribute to Aimee Stephens, the ACLU client who died in May, not living to see the Supreme Court rule in her favor in June, in her case against a Detroit-area funeral home that fired her because she was transgender. Performing at the event was Broadway star Adrienne Warren, Tony-nominated for Tina: The Tina Turner Musical.
Then, the night before the election, we hit the screens again for our Sing Out for Freedom concert (the new name for our long-running Broadway Stands up for Freedom), centered around the history of voting rights, which honored and celebrated the contributions of Rep. John Lewis and Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, both of whom died in 2020, as well as suffragists.
The event was directed by Tony nominee Liesl Tommy, hosted by Orange is the New Black’s Lea DeLaria and featured appearances and performances by Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), Phillipa Soo (Hamilton), Celia Keenan-Bolger (To Kill a Mockingbird), André de Shields (Hadestown) and others. A highlight was watching DeLaria playing a tuba!
“I want to thank everyone...for reimagining this event this year in such a creative way,” said NYCLU head Donna Lieberman. She took a moment to highlight major ACLU and NYCLU wins in 2020, including the repeal of New York State’s police-protecting 50-a law and successfully blocking Trump’s attempt to cut immigrants out of the Census. And she ran down key goals for 2021 and beyond, including digital privacy protection and New York State-level efforts to legalize marijuana and pass an equal rights amendment.
Still managing to produce a full extravaganza in the middle of a pandemic? Now, that’s entertainment!