The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the
nation's largest LGBT rights advocate, on Friday released three
videos for its Deep South campaign Project One America.
The
campaign, announced last month, aims to raise awareness for LGBT
rights in the Deep South with permanent campaigns in Mississippi,
Alabama and Arkansas.
The three videos feature activists and
everyday folks working for change in their states.
State Rep. Patricia Todd, Alabama's
first openly gay elected lawmaker, said she decided to get involved
in politics to alter
the conversation on gay rights at the statehouse.
Tippi McCullough and Barbara Mariani of
Little Rock feature prominently in another video.
McCullough received an outpouring of
support after she was fired from her teaching job at a Roman Catholic
school for marrying Mariani in New Mexico.
“There is light at the end of the
tunnel and I will tell everyone in the South: Hang on, because I'm
telling you there's a wave coming and no one's going to stop it,”
Mariani said. (The video is embedded on this page. Visit
our video library for more videos.)
Bryson, a transgender man living in
Mississippi, discussed
his experience living in Mississippi.
“It's hard for gay and lesbians as
is, so just imagine how hard it is for anybody that's transgender,”
he said. “I've been to some doctors and explained to them, 'Okay,
well this is who I was and this is who I am now.' And they're like,
'Well, I've never heard of anything like that before.'”