GLAAD honors social justice activists
By: Greg Archer
Special to The Examiner
May 30, 2010

SAN FRANCISCO — The City isnâ€t shy when it comes to honoring civil rights leaders, but the 21st annual GLAAD Media Awards may surpass expectations.

The gala, which honors LGBT advocates and spotlights the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamationâ€s mission to promote fair and inclusive stories of LGBT issues, is Saturday at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis.

This year, it has special star power with honors going to “Precious” director Lee Daniels, actress and civil rights activist Cybill Shepherd and The Cityâ€s own Robert Hanson, president of Levi Strauss Americas, who receives the San Francisco Local Hero Award.

Hanson, a tireless advocate for social justice, LGBT rights and marriage equality, championed the companyâ€s involvement as a leader in the Business Council for the “No on Prop. 8” campaign and other notables.

“Iâ€m very humbled by the honor,” he says. “GLAAD promotes the idea that we must show up every day with authenticity, vocally confronting oppression or misrepresentation with the simple truth about our community.”

Nikki Blonsky, Wilson Cruz, Jai Rodriguez, Clementine Ford and Jan Wahl are also slated to appear.

Comedy titan Bruce Vilanch hosts, and live entertainment arrives in the form of Sam Sparro and Chely Wright — the country singer — who told The Examiner that sheâ€s surprisingly “at peace” standing in the middle of a media hurricane sparked by her memoir, “Like Me,” in which she wrote about coming out.

Meanwhile, Daniels receives GLAADâ€s Davidson/Valentini Award, presented to an openly LGBT media professional championing equal rights through their work — “Precious” star Gabourey Sidibe is presenting it — and Shepherd gets the Golden Gate Award.

“Everything starts at home,” Shepherd notes of opening hearts and minds to LGBT culture and causes. “Our children arenâ€t sponges to soak up hate. We have such a huge responsibility as parents to fill those sponges with love and teach lessons that really kill prejudice off in ourselves.”

Hanson is even more candid about GLAADâ€s ripple effects.

“The only thing we can choose in life is how we show up each day,” he says. “Being gay is authentically one part of who I am. If I were to show up vaguely or closeted, I would be suppressing part of who I am; this would make it difficult to leverage all of my potential. In the end, I hope my being present and, when required, vocal, not only unleashes my full potential but helps pave the pathway for others.”

IF YOU GO

GLAAD Media Awards

Where: San Francisco Marriott Marquis, 55 Fourth St., San Francisco
When: 4:30 p.m. (reception); 6:30 p.m. (dinner); 8 p.m. (awards) Saturday
Tickets: $350
Contact: glaad.org/mediaawards/21/sf/tickets

The post Reminder: GLAAD honors social justice activists; Bruce hosts 6/5 first appeared on We Got Bruce!.

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) announced today that Cybill Shepherd will receive the Golden Gate Award and Lee Daniels will receive the Davidson/Valentini Award at the 21st Annual GLAAD Media Awards presented in San Francisco by Southwest Airlines on June 5, 2010 at the Marriott Marquis.

The GLAAD Media Awards elevate and promote fair, accurate and inclusive stories of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) issues, people and allies that have increased awareness, understanding and respect for the lives of LGBT people. The GLAAD Media Awards also fund GLAAD’s work to amplify stories of LGBT people and issues that build support for equality.

Openly gay recording artist Sam Sparro will perform along with country music singer Chely Wright, who recently came out in People. Writer and comedian Bruce Vilanch will host the event. Jan Wahl, local television news for KRON, will join Actors Wilson Cruz and Jai Rodriguez at the event.

Cybill Shepard will receive the Golden Gate Award from her daughters Clementine Ford and recent Yale graduate Ariel Shepherd-Oppenheim. The award is presented to media professionals who, through their work, have increased the visibility and understanding of the LGBT community. In addition to being an actress, musician, author, producer and model, Shepard has also been a vocal advocate of LGBT equality. In the final three seasons of the Showtime original series The L Word, Shepherd starred as Phyllis Kroll, a married woman who comes out as a lesbian, divorces her husband, and falls in love with her divorce attorney (played by Jane Lynch). Shepherd has been an advocate for marriage equality and same-sex parental rights for decades, marching and speaking at the 1993 March on Washington and appearing on the cover of The Advocate to discuss her reaction to the march. Sheperd’s daughter Clementine Ford is an openly gay actress who currently portrays Mackenzie ‘Mac’ Browning on The Young & the Restless and Shepherd is ardently supportive of her daughter. Previous recipients include Megan Mullally, Jennifer Beals, Stockard Channing, Jennifer Tilly, James Schamus, and Brooke Shields.

Lee Daniels will receive the Davidson/Valentini Award which is presented to an openly LGBT media professional who has made a significant difference in promoting equal rights for our community. This year Daniels became the first openly gay African American man to be nominated for Achievement in Directing at the Academy Awards® for Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire. Daniels also served as Producer of the film which was nominated for Outstanding Film -Wide Release at the 21st Annual GLAAD Media Awards for its inclusion of the character “Ms. Rain,” an out lesbian teacher. Daniels also directed Shadowboxer, and produced The Woodsman and Monster’s Ball. The Davidson/Valentini Award is named after Craig Davidson, GLAAD’s first executive director, and his partner Michael Valentini. Previous recipients include Chad Allen, Ilene Chaiken, Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman, Alec Mapa, Robert Gant, B.D. Wong, and Sandra Bernhard.

It was previously announced that Robert Hanson, president of Levi Strauss Americas, will receive the San Francisco Local Hero Award. As a strong advocate for social justice, LGBT rights and marriage equality, Hanson championed the company’s involvement as a leader in the Business Council for the “No on Prop 8” campaign. He also supported the company’s decision to sign on to the amicus brief to the California Supreme Court in support of the freedom to marry for same-sex couples. During a 6-year term on the Board of Directors for the Hetrick-Martin Institute in New York City, Hanson was instrumental in developing a partnership between the organization and the Levi’s brand to raise awareness and financial support for LGBT youth.

Awards scheduled to be presented onstage include the following categories: Outstanding Music Artist, Outstanding Documentary and Outstanding Digital Journalism – Multimedia. A complete list of this year’s nominees and award recipients from the GLAAD Media Awards in New York and Los Angeles are available at www.glaad.org/mediaawards.

Each year, the GLAAD Media Awards in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco bring together more than 4,000 supporters to raise funds for the organization’s work.

GLAAD will live tweet from the GLAAD Media Awards. GLAAD’s tweets can be seen at http://twitter.com/glaad. If you tweet about the GLAAD Media Awards, please include the hashtag #GLAADMediaAwards in your tweets. Also, please follow @glaad on Twitter at http://twitter.com/glaad.

More than 100 corporate partners are showing their support, including New York Co-Presenting corporate partners IBM and Prudential, Los Angeles Presenting corporate partner ABSOLUT® Vodka and San Francisco Presenting corporate partner Southwest Airlines. GLAAD is also grateful to the 21st Annual GLAAD Media Awards Platinum Underwriter corporate partners: AT&T, Anheuser-Busch, Inc., Time Warner, Lexus and University of Phoenix, as well as Underwriter corporate partners: Allstate Insurance Company, American Airlines, Comcast, Delta Air Lines, Fox Group, Harrah’s Foundation, Herb Ritts Foundation, Here Media, MTV Networks, MillerCoors, New York City Marriott & Renaissance Hotels, The Palette Fund, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Terry K. Watanabe Charitable Trust and UBS.

General tickets for the San Francisco event are $350 and include entrance to the cocktail reception, silent auction, dinner, show, and after party. For a full list of corporate partners and information on how to become a corporate partner, or to become a table host, purchase tickets or place a tribute in the tribute book, please call (877) 519-7904 or visit www.glaad.org/mediaawards.

About GLAAD

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) amplifies the voice of the LGBT community by empowering real people to share their stories, holding the media accountable for the words and images they present, and helping grassroots organizations communicate effectively. By ensuring that the stories of LGBT people are heard through the media, GLAAD promotes understanding, increases acceptance, and advances equality. For more information, please visit www.glaad.org. For the latest updates, join us at www.facebook.com/glaad and www.twitter.com/glaad.

The post Save The Date: Bruce Vilanch To Host GLAAD Media Awards In San Fran 6/5 first appeared on We Got Bruce!.