Add NBA player Jason Collins and the Netflix series “Orange is the New Black” to the list of honorees at the upcoming Logo TV “Trailblazers” special. The one-hour show honoring pioneers in the fight for LGBT equality will premiere on June 26 at 9 p.m. ET/PT, the one-year anniversary of the defeat of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which allowed states to ignore the out-of-state marriages of same-sex couples.
Brooklyn Nets forward Collins was the first out athlete to play in one of the four major American sports leagues and “Black” has won accolades for portraying the lives and stories of characters rarely seen on U.S. TV screens. Both are being honored by LOGO for their work in overcoming bias and bringing about LGBT equality.
“Black” cast members, including transgender star Laverne Cox, will appear alongside the night’s other honorees, Edie Windsor and lawyer Roberta Kaplan, who helped defeated DOMA and open the door for gay marriage thanks to the landmark United States v. Windsor case. “It is an honor to be included in the company of Edie Windsor and Roberta Kaplan in Logo’s celebration of our progress towards LGBT equality,” said Collins. “We are proof that the actions we make, big or small, can have a positive, global impact on our community.”
Pop duo Tegan and Sara, rocker Laura Jane Grace, openly gay college athlete Matt Kaplon and out ex-NFL player Wade Davis will also appear, alongside a number of other celebrities, including: Jared Leto, Kylie Minogue, Ariana Grande, and Rita Ora. A Great Big World is slated to perform on the show and more honorees, performers and presenters will be announced soon.
The annual “Trailblazers” special will make its debut during the most historic week of gay rights in the U.S. — the 45th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots that helped kick off the modern movement and the one-year anniversary of DOMA’s defeat. The special will also focus on four “Trailblazing Youth” who are making a positive impact on their local communities. They include: Cason Crane, who became the first openly LGBT person to scale the highest peaks on each continent while raising $135,000 for the Trevor Project with his Rainbow Summits Project, 13-year-old transgender advocate and Transkids Purple Rainbow Foundation founder Jazz, Tennessee State Director of Marriage Equality for Organizing for Action Jordan Scruggs and Adam White, who helped spearhead Mormon-based Brigham Young University’s “It Gets Better” campaign.
You can also get involved by submitting your own story of friends, family and community leaders who have made a profound personal difference in your lives. Five of these local leaders will be featured on the “Trailblazers” site as a “Hometown Trailblazer,” with one individual being selected to attend the event along with their submitter.
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