September 17, 2019
Trans Actress Angelica Ross to Host 2020 Candidates' LGBTQ Forum
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 2 MIN.
A forum on LGBTQ issues featuring the presidential contenders for next year's elections is set to be hosted by "Pose" star Angelica Ross, reports Deadline.
"Pose" has the distinction of employing more trans actors than any series that came before. Ross starred as Candy Abundance Ferocity on the show's first two seasons.
Ross is also a trans activist and the founder of TransTech Social Enterprises. She has faced discrimination in her work and family situations. She began her acting career in the 2016 web series "Her Story."
Ross took to Twitter to send out an exciting post on the news.
Can you believe this @ZachStafford??? You've had my back since DAY 1! One of the FIRST supporters of @TransTechSocial and now look! Standing in solidarity together on one of the most important stages leading up to the presidential election! Let's do this!!! https://t.co/BK2oDuVZMX– Angelica Ross (@angelicaross) September 16, 2019
Reported UPI:
Transgender activist Ross and GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis will discuss with the candidates their plans for improving acceptance of the LGBT community if elected President in 2020.
The forum is slated to include Democratic front-runners Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren, as well as openly gay candidate Pete Buttigieg. Others expected to appear include Tulsa Gabbard, Cory Booker, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Juli�n Castro, Hoe Sestak, and Marianne Williamson.
The Sept. 20 forum will take place in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and will be live-streamed. It is sponsored by GLAAD, One Iowa, The Gazette, and The Advocate, Deadline reported.
The Human Rights Campaign will present a similar forum on Oct. 10 - just before National Coming Out Day on Oct. 11. That event will take place at UCLA. A Human Rights Campaign statement from last March said:
Today, in 30 states, LGBTQ people remain at risk of being fired, evicted or denied services because of who they are. Thirty-five states have yet to outlaw the dangerous and debunked practice known as "conversion therapy." LGBTQ youth continue to face elevated levels of bullying and rejection, and many associated physical and mental health challenges. According to FBI hate crimes statistics from 2017, the most recently available data, the bureau reported a surge in hate crimes disproportionately affecting LGBTQ people, black people and religious minorities, especially those living at the intersection of multiple identities. And at least 100 transgender people – most of whom are transgender women of color – have been murdered in the United States since the beginning of 2015.
No such similar forum has been planned for the incumbent Republican president or any of the GOP statesmen who have declared they will run against him in the primaries.
Though her time on "Pose" concluded with the death of her character on that drama, Ross stars in the upcoming season of "American Horror Story," a long-running anthology series also by "Pose" creator Ryan Murphy.
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
