As a part of GLAAD's video series, GLAAD: All Access, host Claire Pires documented every day of GLAAD's Southern Stories Summer Tour. Starting on June 12 in Nashville, GLAAD kicked off the tour with the inaugural Concert for Love & Acceptance presented by Ty Herndon and GLAAD. GLAAD traveled by bus to six states in eight days to meet local LGBT advocates and allies to bring attention to their stories.
In this video below, you get a quick behind-the-scenes look at what GLAAD did during our three days in Atlanta. You get a behind-the-scenes look at the screening and panel for the documentary "GLAAD: Presents: State of Change -- Georgia" at Turner Broadcasting in downtown Atlanta, you see Monica Trasandes, GLAAD's Director of Spanish Language & Latino Media, preparing for and being interviewed on Café CNN at CNN's headquarters in Atlanta, you get a backstage pass to the screening and panel for "Blackbird," a film about a young African American singer who struggles to be accepted for being gay in his Southern Baptist community, and you see a behind-the-scenes look at GLAAD's youth & family event at Lost-n-Found Youth, a homeless LGBT youth center in Atlanta.
As a part of GLAAD's Southern Stories Summer Tour, GLAAD also traveled to Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, and South Carolina to meet local advocates and discuss pertinent issues surrounding the LGBT community. For example, in Alabama, GLAAD participated in the Birmingham AIDS Outreach Poker Run on Smith Lake, Alabama to raise money and awareness for people living with HIV and AIDS. In Birmingham, Alabama, GLAAD staff also met with local LGBT advocates and allies to discuss their issues locally. In Mississippi, GLAAD held a screening and panel for the documentary "L Word Mississippi: Hate the Sin" to amplify the voices of LGBT people and allies in Mississippi. In Jackson, Ross Murray, GLAAD's Director of Programs: Global & U.S. South, gave the sermon at the St. Alexis Episcopal Church to emphasize that religion and LGBT issues can work in tandem. In Florida, GLAAD met with local LGBT military families. In South Carolina, GLAAD screened "GLAAD Presents: State of Change -- South Carolina," a short documentary profiling the experiences of LGBT advocates and their allies in South Carolina. This documentary is the first in a series of six films that will share the experiences of, and accelerate acceptance for, LGBT people and communities across the U.S. South. "GLAAD Presents: State of Change -- South Carolina" was exclusively released by The Huffington Post. In Georgia, GLAAD also attended the Reconciling Ministries Network Worship Service at the Oconee Street United Methodist Church in Athens, Georgia, and held a talk-back for "bare: a pop opera" in Newnan, Georgia.
GLAAD's Southern Stories Summer Tour was produced with support from Major Partner, Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams, and Official Partner, Honey Maid.
Throughout the eight days of GLAAD's Southern Stories Summer Tour, we met so many local LGBT advocates and allies who are making a difference for the LGBT community. We hope to amplify their voices through the media going forward to bring attention to the LGBT community in the U.S. South.
Don't forget to watch fun short behind-the-scenes reels of Day 1 in Tennessee, Day 2 in Alabama and Mississippi, Day 3 in Mississippi, and Days 4 and 5 in South Carolina.
GLAAD's video series, GLAAD: All Access, features interviews with newsmakers, hit-makers, and people accelerating acceptance. Check out GLAAD's video here:
