District Hall – 75 Northern Avenue, Boston, MA
Free tickets available at the door.
Event sponsored by District Hall and the Seaport.

Defending Transgender Equality in Massachusetts – A Public Discussion on the Repeal of the Public Accommodations Ballot Question

Boston Pride and Freedom for All Massachusetts are co-hosting the 2018 Political Forum of Boston Pride Week, in partnership with District Hall. The panelists invited to this event will discuss the upcoming Massachusetts ballot question that would repeal the law providing critical protections for transgender people. Practical tips will be shared on how our community shall mobilize in defense of trans equality. The event will be moderated by Alison King of NECN and NBC 10 Boston.

Keynote Speaker

Sarah McBride
National Press Secretary, HRC
Sarah McBride is the National Press Secretary for the Human Rights Campaign and the author of Tomorrow Will Be Different: Love, Loss, and the Fight for Trans Equality. In 2012, Sarah made national headlines when she came out as transgender while serving as student body president at American University. A native of Wilmington, Delaware, Sarah serves on the Board of Directors of Equality Delaware, the state’s primary LGBTQ-advocacy organization. In that capacity, Sarah helped lead the successful effort to add gender identity and expression to her state’s nondiscrimination and hate-crimes laws. In 2008, Sarah worked for Governor Jack Markell (D-DE) and, in 2010, for former Attorney General Beau Biden (D-DE). Prior to coming to HRC, Sarah worked on LGBTQ equality at the Center for American Progress and interned at the White House, the first out trans woman to do so. Sarah became the first openly transgender person to address a major party political convention when she spoke at the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.

Panelists

Panelists include Lizbeth DeSelm (transgender activist, Melrose School Committee member), Deborah Drew (Worcester Pride Vice President), Mimi Lemay (parent advocate of a young transgender child), State Representative Byron Rushing, Kasey Suffredini (Freedom for All Americans President of Strategy), Nicole Talbot (teenage transgender activist), and Chastity Bowick (coordinator of Transcend, a program of AIDS Action Committee).

Moderator

Alison King
Political Reporter, NECN and NBC Boston
Alison King joined NBC Boston and necn in 1995 as the station’s first Connecticut Bureau Chief. Nine months later she moved to Boston to become the station’s Political Reporter. Since then, Alison has covered six presidential races and a wide range of New England political stories, including a documentary on the late Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy. Prior to joining NBC Boston and necn, she was a reporter at WFSB-TV in Hartford, Connecticut. She has also worked as an anchor/reporter at News 12 in Norwalk, Connecticut and WECT-TV in Wilmington, North Carolina. Alison worked on programming for ABC Sports during the 1988 Winter Olympic Games in Calgary and at ABC’s Good Morning America. She has earned a number of awards for her work including three Emmys, two Gracies, several Associated Press Awards, and she was a contributing member to necn’s 2000 Dupont award. Alison was the reporter and producer of the May, 2007 documentary, “The Education of Deval Patrick, The First 100 Days,” which exclusively chronicled the first tumultuous months of the administration of the Massachusetts governor. She has traveled around the world, from Bosnia with the Massachusetts National Guard in 1997 following the war to a Trade Mission to Israel with Gov. Patrick. A career highlight occurred in 2014 when Alison traveled to Washington for a behind-the-scenes visit to the White House, including a one-on-one interview with President Obama. She holds an undergraduate degree from Colgate University, and a master’s degree from New York University’s School of Journalism. Alison is a native of Orange, Connecticut. She and her husband live in Boston with their two children.

About this event

		Rain or Shine
		Free and Open to the public
		Wheelchair accessible
		ASL interpretation available
		South Station (Red line) Courthouse Station (Silver line)

Past Events in Boston Pride’s Human Rights Programming

Boston Pride’s Human Rights & Education events are dedicated to creating discussion-based spaces and engaging events focused on critical issues facing our community. Through advocacy and education, we believe that our community will continue to fight effectively for equality for everyone, everywhere.

Monday, June 5th, 2017 – 2017 Boston Pride Political Forum
6pm at the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate (210 Morrissey Blvd, Boston, MA)

Monday, June 6th, 2016 – 2016 Boston Pride Political Forum
6pm at Historic Faneuil Hall (1 Faneuil Hall Sq, Boston, MA)
Read more about this event here.

Tuesday, March 22nd, 2016 – Community Forum on Intersectionality
6:30pm at BCYF Blackstone Community Center (50 W Brookline St, Boston, MA)
Read more about this event here.