ALLY OF THE YEAR
CYNDI LAUPER
No pop diva has flexed her muscle for our cause like Cyndi Lauper. For her True Colors tours, the singer has teamed with performers like Rufus Wainwright, the Gossip, the B-52’s, and Wanda Sykes to raise funds for LGBT advocacy groups and speak out about gay rights, particularly the passage of a hate crimes bill that would make attacks based on sexual orientation a federal crime. “We had the civil rights movement in the ’60s, women had to fight in the ’70s, and it’s just insane to think in 2009 there’s still a group of Americans recognized as ‘less than’ the rest of us,” Lauper says.
This year, her True Colors Fund partnered with Broadway Impact to launch True Colors Cabaret, a monthly series of New York City LGBT fundraisers featuring stars like Hair’s Gavin Creel and Glee’s Lea Michele. Perhaps Lauper’s most laudable achievement, though, is the True Colors Residence. The first permanent supportive housing facility for LGBT youth in New York State, the residence, located in Central Harlem, will provide 30 new studio apartments, educational services, and job training to homeless young people between the ages of 18 and 24.
“Kids are coming out in greater numbers as they see themselves accepted and represented on TV and in movies,” Lauper explains, “but they’re still being kicked out of their homes or running away and living on the streets. We need to make sure we’re taking care of them. This is the next generation of the LGBT community.”
