NEON releases new installments in its Black History legacy series, featuring Torrian L. Baskerville honoring Bayard Rustin and Jari Jones honoring Marsha P. Johnson
NEON, an ongoing digital content series that aims to increase the visibility of Black LGBTQ people, has released new installments in its Black History legacy series.
On Wednesday, NEON highlighted the impact Bayard Rustin has had on advocate, Torrian L. Baskerville. Check out the photo and video below.
Black LGBTQ figures have shaped our history in the United States and abroad. During #BlackHistoryMonth, we’re showcasing current LGBTQ leaders from multiple disciplines as they pay homage to groundbreaking figures of the past. This week we are looking at the impact Bayard Rustin has had on advocate, Torrian L. Baskerville (@baskerville_mwg). Torrian is an unapologetic Black Queer advocate, activist and agent of change. He has a deep love for social service and an unwavering drive to reduce health disparities, increase visibility and improve health outcomes for marginalized populations; especially youth and young adults, persons living with HIV, and Black and Latinx men who have sex with men. Torrian is the Statewide LGBTQ Prevention Manager at Hyacinth Foundation and Founder/Managing Partner of Mounted Wings Group, LLC. He currently sits on several advisory boards including the New Jersey HIV Planning Group and He is Valuable, Incorporated; and serves as Board Chair of The Door: Adolescent Health Center in New York City. #NEONxGLAAD Photography by @laquanndawson Video by @akcorlette Makeup by @kayemakeup
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Bayard Rustin was an American leader in social movements for civil rights, nonviolence, and LGBTQ rights, and he is best known for his work as adviser to Martin Luther King Jr. in the 1950s and 1960s.
Torrian is an unapologetic Black Queer advocate, activist and agent of change. He has a deep love for social service and an unwavering drive to reduce health disparities, increase visibility and improve health outcomes for marginalized populations; especially youth and young adults, persons living with HIV, and Black and Latinx men who have sex with men. Torrian is the Statewide LGBTQ Prevention Manager at Hyacinth Foundation and Founder/Managing Partner of Mounted Wings Group, LLC. He currently sits on several advisory boards including the New Jersey HIV Planning Group and He is Valuable, Incorporated; and serves as Board Chair of The Door: Adolescent Health Center in New York City.
Torrian shared the NEON post on his own social media.
On Friday, NEON highlighted the impact that Marsha P. Johnson has had on actress, Jari Jones. Check out the video and photo below.
Black LGBTQ figures have shaped our history in the United States and abroad. During #BlackHistoryMonth, we’re showcasing current LGBTQ leaders from multiple disciplines as they pay homage to groundbreaking figures of the past. This week we are looking at the impact Marsha P. Johnson has had on actress, Jari Jones (@IAMJARIJONES). Jari is a Black Transgender actress, curve model, activist and creative. With her career start in theater, she has graced some of New York’s greatest stages, such as The Public Theater’s Production of Elizabeth Swado’s “The Runaways”, Here Art Center’s “The Sex Myth: A Devised Play” and Lin Manuel’s “In The Heights.” Jari later shifted her career into TV & Film, and have been featured in POSE , Sundance nominated film “Adam”, Netflix’s Tales of The City and the highly acclaimed “Transparent: Musical Movie Finale.” Recently she has produced alongside Martin Scorsese and RT Films, as well as costarred in the new film Port Authority which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. Jari is the first Black trans woman to have a film produced and premiere at Cannes in its 72 year entirety. After building a successful career as a fashion and editorial photographer, she jumped on the other side of the lens and into publication and campaigns, quickly becoming internationally recognized as a Trans and Body Positive model and influencer. Jari has been featured in publications such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, Teen Vogue, Allure and recently in PAPER Magazine Predictions: 100 people taking over 2019, with her insight on fashion within politics, body positivity, LGBTQ community building and relationships. #NEONxGLAAD Photography by @laquanndawson Video by @akcorlette Makeup by @kayemakeup
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Marsha P. Johnson was a trans activist and drag performer who advocated on behalf of homeless LGBTQ youth and those affected by HIV/AIDS. She is also recognized as one of the key figures of the Stonewall Uprising in 1969 and the LGBTQ movement as a whole.
Jari is a Black Transgender actress, curve model, activist and creative. With her career start in theater, she has graced some of New York’s greatest stages, such as The Public Theater’s Production of Elizabeth Swado’s “The Runaways”, Here Art Center’s “The Sex Myth: A Devised Play” and Lin Manuel’s “In The Heights.” Jari later shifted her career into TV & Film, and has been featured in Pose, Adam, Tales of The City and Transparent: Musical Movie Finale. Recently she has produced alongside Martin Scorsese and RT Films, as well as co-starred in the new film Port Authority which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. Jari is the first Black trans woman to have a film produced and premiere at Cannes in its 72 year entirety. After building a successful career as a fashion and editorial photographer, she jumped on the other side of the lens and into publication and campaigns, quickly becoming internationally recognized as a Trans and Body Positive model and influencer. Jari has been featured in publications such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, Teen Vogue, Allure and recently in PAPER Magazine Predictions: 100 people taking over 2019, with her insight on fashion within politics, body positivity, LGBTQ community building and relationships.
Jari shared the NEON post on her own social media.
NEON leverages the power of storytelling and GLAAD’s platform to create multi-dimensional, accurate portraits of the Black LGBTQ experience. NEON’s Black history legacy series will continue throughout the month of February.
For more information about NEON, including members of the team and upcoming content, click here.
