Controller Ron Galperin’s LGBTQ+ Pride, Progress and Perseverance

Controller Ron Galperin's LGBTQ+ Pride, Progress and Perseverance
Controller Ron Galperin's LGBTQ+ Pride, Progress and Perseverance story map. Photo by Ylanite Koppens: https://www.pexels.com/photo/selective-focus-photography-of-scrabble-pride-on-white-and-multicolored-background-1152661/

Controller Ron Galperin released “LGBTQ+ Pride, Progress and Perseverance,” an interactive, digital story map that explores the history of L.A.’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning/queer (LGBTQ+) community, and lays out the challenges posed by the disturbing rise in anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in 30 U.S. states, including Florida and Texas. The map also includes Los Angeles-area resources for LGBTQ+ people at risk of or currently experiencing homelessness, including housing, mental health and addiction services.

“Across the nation, the LGBTQ+ community is facing increasingly heated attacks and renewed challenges,” said Controller Ron Galperin, the first openly gay, citywide elected official in Los Angeles. “The devastation of COVID-19 and current spike in inflation has hit LGBTQ+ people especially hard, leaving too many without access to food, housing and other basic needs. As we celebrate Pride and honor our community’s historic victories, we must also reaffirm our commitment to equity and work to achieve safety, security and opportunity for all.” 

Galperin’s new LGBTQ+ story map includes the following:

  • Interactive map of L.A.’s most iconic LGBTQ+ landmarks: Showcasing the rich and often overlooked history of L.A.’s queer and trans communities, Galperin’s map allows residents to explore landmarks such as the Las Memorias AIDS Monument in Lincoln Heights and the Black Cat in Silver Lake.
  • Challenges faced by the LGBTQ+ community: As anti-LGBTQ+ legislation permeates school districts and state legislatures, Galperin outlines the unique political challenges facing the community in the struggle for fair and equitable treatment. 
  • Resources for Southern California’s LGBTQ+ community: The last section of the story map includes resources available locally and nationally, including a map of resources for youth experiencing homelessnes. LGBTQ+ people are disproportionately represented in the local homeless population and face myriad systemic inequities. Galperin’s map includes housing, educational, nutritional and social service resources for this vulnerable population. 
  • Read more on Controller Galperin’s equality and equity map.

View “LGBTQ+ Pride, Progress and Perseverance” at https://lacontroller.org/data-stories-and-maps/lgbtq-pride-progress-and-perseverance/

L.A. Controller Ron Galperin is the first openly gay citywide elected official in Los Angeles. Follow him at @LAController on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

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