Florida Humanities Grants $10,000 for SpeakOut Series by Gulfport Library and LGBTQ Resource Center

LIVE at the Library and on Zoom
SpeakOut: The Intersection of LGBTQ Identity and Law Tickets, Thu, Apr 21, 2022 at 7:00 PM | Eventbrite

April 21, 7 – 8:30 p.m.
The Intersection of LGBTQ Identity and Law

The Pentagon discharged 2-4 Americans every day for being gay under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” What did that law, and policies like it dating to World War II, say about the relationship of LGBTQ Americans to civic life, citizenship, the constitution, and family? How did the struggles for racial and gender integration in the Armed Forces inform DADT and its ultimate repeal in 2010? How did the cultural narrative have to shift to make DADT repeal possible? What can DADT repeal tell us about struggles for inclusion, equality and humanity today?

C. Dixon Osburn will explore these topics in our inaugural SpeakOut address. He led the campaign to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” as co-founder of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. His book, Mission Possible, recounts the individual, social and financial cost of a policy at the intersection of law and LGBTQ identity. Kirkus Reviews calls the book “A well-crafted work on a watershed moment in American culture….” Dixon also has been Director of Law & Security at Human Rights First, Executive Director at the Center for Justice and Accountability and a Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School Carr Center. He holds a JD/MBA from Georgetown University.

Partial funding for this program was provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Florida Humanities or the National Endowment for the Humanities.