TEP partners with Friends for Life for HIV/AIDS Advocacy program

Tennessee Equality Project has partnered with Friends for Life in Memphis to teach advocacy skills to people living with and affected by HIV. Friends for Life launched an eight-week Advocacy Academy on May 19 funded by a grant from the Ford Foundation. Approximately 20 people enrolled in the class.

TEP will provide training on how to contact and speak to elected officials and research information on local and state government. TEP will also consult with graduates of the Advocacy Academy to develop a field plan focused on the advancement of HIV/AIDS public policy.

TEP has offered training in advocacy for several years to its members and allies for many years to prepare citizens for Advancing Equality Day on the Hill in Nashville and other local legislative initiatives. The advocacy skills taught in TEP workshops are not only useful for LGBT people and their allies. Such skills are valuable for anyone willing to advocate for public policy. Friends for Life approached TEP because of its strong track record for empowering the voices of sexual minorities in Shelby County and Tennessee.

TEP looks forward to empowering the voices of those living with HIV.

-Jonathan Cole

Scoring Tennessee's Congressional Delegation

The Human Rights Campaign has released their annual congressional scorecard. The guide uses a 100-point scale to track the voting records of members of Congress on issues of interest to the GLBT community such as the Matthew Shepard Act, judicial confirmations, and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

Senators Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker both got a 20. They received all their points for voting for the Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde United States Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Reauthorization Act, which repeals the ban on HIV+ visitors and immigrants.

Tennessee's House delegation was all over the map with a lot of 0s.

David Davis-0
John Duncan-0
Zach Wamp-0
Lincoln Davis-25
Jim Cooper-80
Bart Gordon-50
Marsha Blackburn-0
John Tanner-27
Steve Cohen-90

Join TEP's AIDS Walk team

Dear Friend,

The annual Nashville CARES AIDS Walk is Saturday, October 4 at Bicentennial State Park in Nashville. We would love to have you as part of TEP’s walk team.

To sign up:

1. Click here to go to www.nashvilleaidswalk.com.
2. Click on Register Here (at the top of the page).
3. Read the Waiver/Agreement, then click on I agree.
4. Select Join a Team. When the dropdown list of teams is displayed underneath "Join an Existing Team," select "TEP".

After you register, begin asking your friends and family members to sponsor you. 100 percent of the money you raise will go to Nashville CARES.

The day of the event, meet at TEP's table just before the walk. More details will follow.

If you have questions, please, contact me at lisa@tnequalityproject.com. I hope you can join us for a day of fun that provides critical resources to a great cause.

Yours,

Lisa Beavers
TEP Secretary and AIDS Walk Coordinator

William F. Buckley, Jr., HIV, and memories of Hendersonville

A Boston man recalls a gay Hendersonville, TN couple with HIV in the 1980s and the hate they endured. He connects some of the hate discourse on the Right to the late William F. Buckley, Jr. The title of the publication where his letter is posted--Workers World--immediately tips you off that conservatives won't get much of a sympathetic hearing. But it's still useful to remember the sheer terror faced by those struggling with HIV and horrible response they received and still receive in many quarters in this country.

http://www.workers.org/2008/us/letters_0327/ . (third letter on the page)