The world’s largest LGBTQ media advocacy group is singling out Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed for a prestigious award.
Reed will receive GLAAD’s “Local Hero Award” at the high-profile GLAAD Atlanta celebration on Oct.26.
“Mayor Reed has time and again shown his stalwart support for the LGBTQ community, both in Atlanta and across the nation,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, GLAAD President & CEO. “By taking a firm stand against discrimination, he has sent a clear message of acceptance and set a powerful example for city leaders around the country.”
The award goes to an individual who has had "an important impact on the local LGBTQ community," according to GLAAD, which was founded over 30 years ago to counteract what other journalists and writers considered the tabloid New York Post's "grossly defamatory and sensationalized" coverage of HIV and AIDS.
GLAAD hailed Reed for being an "outspoken opponent" of Georgia's House Bill 757, the so-called 'religious liberty' bill, which Gov. Nathan Deal vetoed in April; for taking a public stand against and banning nonessential travel to North Carolina in the wake of its passage of legislation blocking cities from allowing transgender individuals to use public bathrooms for the sex they identify with as well as passing broader nondiscrimination laws (the "bathroom bill"), and for appointing transgender advocate Tracee McDaniel to the Atlanta Citizen Review Board.
Hosted by B98.5’s Melissa Carter at the Atlanta History Center, GLAAD Atlanta is a celebration of national and local leaders accelerating LGBTQ acceptance. The evening will also feature a special performance by Grammy award-nominated and Dove Award-winning country artist Ty Herndon, as well as a video appearance by James Corden, host of CBS’ The Late Late Show and the wildly popular “Carpool Karaoke” feature.
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