Human Rights Campaign It’s turned Washington DCfor the resilience and vision of last weekend, this past weekend LGBTQ+Movement. From grassroots town halls to Washington Hilton chandeliers, to the largest Washington Hilton over two days LGBTQ+ Rights groups reminded thousands of supporters that the “American Dream” remains both contested and worth fighting for.
Related: Tim Walz celebrates the LGBTQ+ community at the National Dinner (exclusive) of the Human Rights Campaign
On Friday, the group’s American Dream Tour was stopped by DC at the Westin downtown. The event, part of the HRC’s third annual Equality Treaty, was hosted by legendary White House reporter, journalist April Ryan, and featured HRC president Kelly Robinson and U.S. Rep. Emily Randall. Washington, Virginia State Sen. Danica Rohm and HRC National Press Secretary Brandon Wolf. Together they wrestled with the meaning of belonging to a prohibited country Books And the bathrooms are spreading as fast as legislative attacks. Transgender life.
Robinson, the first black queer woman to lead the HRC, explained the struggle in generational language. “It can be difficult to dream when you live in a nightmare,” she said, comparing today’s law targeting queer and trans people to Jim Crow South’s separatist policies. Roem reconstructed his dreams around the Universal School Meal health careRandall spoke about a multi-generational battle for the dignity of her Chicano family. Wolf, a survivor of the Pulse Nightclub Massacre, claimed that every child deserves to grow up believing that it is worth imagining the future.
Tatiana Williams, left, Jodie Patterson, right, current artist/advocate Amy Sherald won the Alliance Award at the 2025 Human Rights Campaign National Dinner in Washington, DC on Saturday, September 13, 2025Kevin Wolf/AP Content Service for Human Rights Campaigns
That sense of urgency was brought on Saturday night when more than 3,000 people buried the Washington Hilton for HRC’s national dinner. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, Delaware Rep. Sarah McBride, both Democratsand artist Amy Sherald, whose portraits of black culture icons become an equipment for American art, framed in the moment as one of the deep interests.
Moore, Maryland The first black governor summoned both policy and personal testimony. Within months of his inauguration, he signed the Transhealth Equity Act, issued an executive order protecting access to gender-affirming care, and worked with the Maryland LGBTQIA committee to decriminalize HIV. But his statements went beyond the legislative checklist. “Words are important, but they are actions that make a difference,” he told the crowd, rejecting the notion that quietness might soften the attack. “If you stop being so noisy, will they stop attacking you? No. That’s not how it works. We can’t choose the era, but we can decide how to meet them.”
McBride, the first transgender member of Congress, placed his struggle in the context of history. Equality of marriageshe won by reminding her audience and retreating into bitterness, not by expanding outwards, welcoming imperfect allies, and reshaping public opinion. “Moving the masses is our best and only long-term defense,” she says, proximity to the “superpower” of the community. “We exist in every family, every community, every region and race. Through those connections, we open our hearts, and by being close to each other, we find compassion.”
Related: After the Smithsonian controversy, Amy Sherald’s trance statue of freedom heads for Baltimore
Sherald, who retracted the exhibit from the Smithsonian facility over censorship concerns, received the HRC Alliance Award. She spoke of art as a resistance to censorship. “The best art is not only mirrors, it’s medicine,” she said. “My drawing may have been defeated, but this movement cannot be defeated. You are what freedom it looks like when it changes.”
(r) David Archuleta will perform in the gay male chorus in Washington, DC, and (L) Vincint will perform on Saturday, September 13th, 2025 at the 2025 Human Rights Campaign National Dinner in Washington, DC.Kevin Wolf/AP Content Service for Human Rights Campaigns
The evening’s mix of politics and culture reflects the HRC’s central message, from speeches to performances by David Archuletta, Vincinto and gay boys chorus in Washington, DC. He was one of the guests in attendance, comedian Dana Goldberg, digital creator Lessanda Rias and Space Force Colonel Brie Frum. Goldberg raised over $150,000 to host the evening auction. As Robinson said, the moral arc of the universe is bent.
Source: Advocate.com – www.advocate.com
