MINNESOTA GOVERNOR TIM WALZ SIGNS EXECUTIVE ORDER BANNING “CONVERSION THERAPY”: “Thanks to today’s decisive action by Governor Tim Walz, LGBTQ young people in Minnesota will be safer, healthier and more free to be who they are. No longer will any child in the state have to fear the specter of the dangerous and debunked practice of ‘conversion therapy,’ which has no place in Minnesota or anywhere in the United States. Governor Walz’s common sense Executive Order reflects best practice, expert medical voices and mountains of evidence demonstrate that the outcomes of ‘conversion therapy’ are devastating for youth,” said HRC President Alphonso David (@AlphonsoDavid, he/him). “LGBTQ youth deserve to live their lives authentically​, safe from harm. Today, Minnesota has taken another step toward the promise of full equality for all.” More from HRC, Newsweek and Axios.

HRC MOURNS AIDELEN EVANS, BLACK TRANSGENDER WOMAN KILLED IN TEXAS: “The loss of another Black transgender woman is heartbreaking and infuriating. Aidelen did not deserve to have her life taken from her -- none of the transgender and non-binary people who have been killed deserved to have their lives cut short,” HRC Director of Community Engagement for the Transgender Justice Initiative Tori Cooper (@MsToriCooper1, she/her). “The violence that continues to impact transgender and gender non-conforming people, especially Black transgender women, must stop. We need everyone to speak out against stigma and in support of trans lives.” More from HRC.

THE U.S. HAS 1.2 MILLION NON-BINARY LGBTQ ADULTS: Last month, research from the Williams Institute found that there are about 1.2 million non-binary LGBTQ adults in the United States. The survey found that 76% of LGBTQ non-binary adults are between 18 and 29. Most are white, live in urban areas and struggle to make ends meet, the study said. More from USA Today.

🏆 THE ASSOCIATION OF LGBTQ JOURNALISTS ANNOUNCES 2021 EXCELLENCE IN JOURNALISM AWARD RECIPIENTS: This week, NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ Journalists (@nlgja) announced the recipients of its 2021 Excellence in Journalism Awards. More from NLGJA.

🎉 NEW SECTION ALERT: Starting today, a new section will air most Fridays in #AM_Equality called ✨ Friday Feature ✨, spotlighting an LGBTQ journalist, artist or creator. Want to nominate someone to be featured? Send us their information at amequality@hrc.org!

✨ FRIDAY FEATURE ✨: Tre’vell Anderson (@TrevellAnderson, they/them) is an award-winning journalist, social curator and world changer who always comes to slay! Named to The Root’s 2020 list of the 100 most influential African Americans, they have dedicated their career to centering those in the margins and grey spaces, and at the intersections of life through a pop culture lens.

• Check out their work: ‘My Job in the Revolution Is as a Storyteller.’ Akwaeke Emezi Is Writing New Possibilities Into Being, What does it really mean to be non-binary? and Untold Stories: Beyond the Binary podcast

• Read their recommendation: Queen Latifah and the Black Queer Kids BET Never Loved by Carmen Phillips

• Learn about who inspires them: “ALOK is deeply inspiring. Their work constantly reminds me to choose my own happiness, as a nonbinary person, and to reclaim an archive and history in which folks like me have been disappeared and excluded.”

📍 IN THE STATES

🚽 STARTING IN THE FALL, PHILADELPHIA SCHOOLS WILL HAVE GENDER-NEUTRAL BATHROOMS IN EVERY BUILDING: More from 6ABC.

📺 GET CULTURED

SHORT DOCUMENTARY FROM PBS FOCUSES ON OLDER LGBTQ GENERATION AND PROM: ‘Senior Prom’ is a documentary about the experiences of three attendees of the Los Angeles LGBT Center prom. More from Instinct Magazine.

DAZZLING DANCE DOC CELEBRATES THE LEGACY OF AN AIDS-ERA MASTERPIECE: “Can You Bring It: Bill T. Jones and D-Man in the Waters” is a new documentary highlighting the legacy of the dance group Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company and their improvisation performance following the passing of Arnie Zane. More from LA Blade and New York Times.

🌍 GLOBAL EQUALITY

EU EXECUTIVE TAKES LEGAL ACTION AGAINST HUNGARY, POLAND OVER LGBT RIGHTS: Yesterday, the European Commission launched legal action against Hungary and Poland because of anti-LGBTQ actions taken. In a statement, the Commission said “Equality and the respect for dignity and human rights are core values of the EU ... The Commission will use all the instruments at its disposal to defend these values.” More from Reuters, DW and The Guardian.

NIGERIAN POLICE JAIL 5 GAY MEN AS ANTI-LGBTQ PERSECUTION CONTINUES: Last weekend, Nigerian police arrested five gay men in the country’s second-biggest city of Kano. This is the latest in a series of anti-LGBTQ actions from Nigerian police and government which is especially concerning because, under the Nigerian criminal code, individuals detained over accusations of being gay face potential imprisonment of up to 14 years. More from them.

JUDGE ORDERS RELEASE OF WOMEN JAILED IN CAMEROON FOR BEING TRANS: Last week, a judge in Cameroon ordered the release of two trans women after they spent five months in a men’s prison. Shakiro Njeukam and Patricia Mouthe, who were arrested in February while eating in a restaurant, have been released pending the appeal of their case. More from Reuters and them.

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