LGBT group launches fundraiser for nonprofits, art project
Lambda Legal asked the US Supreme Court on Sept. 7 to review the case of Jameka Evans, a Savannah security guard who was reportedly physically assaulted, harassed, denied equal pay and forced to leave her job because she is a lesbian. The goal of the petition is a nationwide ruling that sexual orientation discrimination violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
In April 2015, Evans filed suit against her former employer, Georgia Regional Hospital, claiming it violated Title VII via gender-based discrimination.
“My supervisor … did not like that I was a lesbian who didn’t fit his stereotype of how a woman should look,” Evans said in a prior statement. “It is heartbreaking to know that no matter how good I was at my job, being a lesbian with a short haircut meant I would never be good enough.”
The US District Court in Georgia dismissed her complaint, saying Title VII does not offer gender-based protections. In January 2016, Lambda Legal filed an appeal on Evans’ behalf, and in March 2017, a three-judge panel of the Eleventh Circuit denied the claim again. Lambda Legal then asked the whole Eleventh Circuit court to rehear the case, but that request was declined.
Atlanta peer mentoring group Rainbros launched a fundraiser this month for a new art installation at the intersection of 10th Street and Piedmont Avenue that could, if enough money is raised, lead to the city’s first transitional housing dedicated to the transgender community.
The building wrap on the wall in between G’s Midtown and 10th and Piedmont restaurants would read “Still Too Busy To Hate,” with the letters spelling “hate” filled with messages of love from the fundraiser’s donors.”
The total cost of the project, minus services and supplies donated by gay-owned Atlanta businesses KEYLAY Design and Prima Printing, would be $7,800, according to Rainbros. All additional funds raised beyond that, and a PayPal processing fee, will go to five social justice organizations: Trans Housing Atlanta Program, Lost-n-Found Youth, Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights, The Link counseling Center and The Atlanta Women’s Foundation.
Rainbros set an overall fundraising goal of $25,000 by Sept. 26. There are four levels of giving, starting at $100 for a personalized heart on the building wrap. For $250, donors can choose the location of their heart. At the $500 level, donors’ names will be included on all promotional material, and those who give $1,000 will receive a public thank-you at the unveiling on Oct. 7.