Grantee News

Astraea celebrates the Delhi High Court ruling overturning the ‘Sodomy’ Law.  The Court ruled that Penal Code Section 377, enacted during British Colonial Rule, was unconstitutional and violated international human rights conventions.  We applaud our grantee partners and the myriad and creative ways they work to advance justice for LGBTI people in India. [More]

Astraea Grantee Partner, FIERCE, has been making incredible progress. Their White Paper, created in collaboration with the Urban Justice Center, is the first-ever from a queer youth organization in New York City. It aims to ensure the needs of the entire community are being met—particularly those who are most vulnerable during the economic crisis—in the redevelopment of a section of piers on the New York City waterfront. The Paper was officially released at a public event to a crowd of over 100—elected officials, community organizations, service providers, LGBTQ youth, West Village residents and the press. A key goal of FIERCE’s campaign is a 24-hour LGBTQ youth center on the pier. Astraea is proud to have signed on to the Paper. [More]

FIERCE member Ra Ruiz tells her story: a compelling account of how much a simple pier can mean.  FIERCE continues its campaign to protect public space and build a 24-hour queer youth center on New York City’s Christopher Street Pier. [More]

Astraea grantee partner, J-FLAG, was featured in an Essence article exposing the dangers faced by LGBTI people in Jamaica. The only political and legal advocacy group working for lesbian, all-sexual, and gay human rights in Jamaica, J-Flag is a literal lifeline, providing counseling services, community building, and legal advocacy. [More]

Astraea Grantee Partners Helem and Meem, in collaboration with Lebanese Human Rights organizations, staged a protest in opposition to the violence in the Lebanese society targeting LGBTI people, women, children, domestic and foreign workers and others. [More]

The last few months were a historic period for members of the Audre Lorde Project (ALP) community.  Some of us participated in electoral organizing for the first time and some of us with more energy than ever before - door knocking, phone banking, fundraising, and organizing.  When Barack Obama won the presidency, we saw a victory made possible through the efforts of millions of people, which was powered by hope on a scale many of us have not experienced before.  The energy that people, and especially young people, brought was a testament to how much folks want to be active and engaged in the workings of the United States, and the United States in relation to the rest of the world.  We noticed all around us, people breathing sighs of relief that there is a chance the U.S. will have a presidential administration which does not have contempt for people and dissidents; or an attitude that people are expendable, and that accountability is a joke.  We noticed that we were juggling multiple emotions – amazement, fear, skepticism, visions of a different future, and anxiety.  We know that President Obama will inherit impossible expectations, the worst conditions that the U.S. has dealt with since the Great Depression, and the current versions of white supremacy which have never gone away.  We also know that Obama ran as a centrist, and as someone who believes in neoliberal economic strategies. [More]

Just one way Astraea grantee partners are engaging in movement building to achieve a common vision for social justice hit the news this week. FIERCE, a membership-based organization that builds the leadership and power of LGBTQ youth of color, joined a media-grabbing civil disobedience planned by Right to the City Alliance, of which FIERCE is a member. Right to the City Alliance is a national coalition that is building a nationwide urban movement for housing, education, health, racial justice and democracy. [More]

Long-time Astraea grantee partner, Sylvia Rivera Law Project’s 4th annual “Small Works for Big Change” was a smashing success. Held at the donated Leslie/Lohman Gay Art Foundation whose gallery was nearly filled to capacity, the event featured over 50 contributing artists and a runway show. [More]