Keep Up With Community and Political Events From Equality Arizona

Plus: watch a recording of last week's candidate forum with Jennifer Longdon and Mark Moeremans

Catch up on a candidate forum with Jennifer Longdon (Legislative District 5) and Mark Moeremans (Phoenix City Council District 6), hosted on July 13 at For The People. Topics range from urban development and the balance between city and state government to LGBTQ+ rights and reproductive freedom. Click here to see more photos from the event, and keep reading to discover some of the great events and volunteer opportunities we have planned for the coming months!

Town Hall

Town Hall | The Maricopa County Attorney Race with the ACLU of Arizona

5:00 pm - 6:00 pm July 20, 2022 | register

With a critical election for Maricopa County Attorney just around the corner, it’s important to understand the current state of our criminal justice system and to grow your awareness of the innovative, people-centered solutions Arizona needs. In a town hall event at the Tempe Public Library, K.M. Bell of the ACLU of Arizona will give an overview of the Maricopa County Attorney race and discuss how the policy of defelonization could transform our criminal justice system and the lives of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people. Join us at 5:00 PM in Meeting Room B to learn more from an expert on this important issue.

Queer People Fit: Cycling

Queer People Fit: Cycling

6:45 pm - 7:45 pm July 21, 2022 | register

We’re thrilled to continue our Queer People Fit program in partnership with OutCyclist and Bike Saviours, two incredible local community groups. At 6:45 PM, we’ll meet at the Tempe Town Lake Marina Boat Launch to prep for a bike ride around the lake kicking off at 7:00 PM. Stick around after the event for an optional dinner! Queer People Fit was created in response to the wave of exclusionary anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and discrimination sweeping the nation this year, and is designed to create a safe space for LGBTQ+ community members and allies to move together to build the movement for equality.

Spectrum Academy

Spectrum Academy

11:00 am - 2:00 pm July 23, 2022 | register

Looking to take your activism to the next level? Join Equality Arizona’s Spectrum Academy, a space for LGBTQ+ community members and allies to develop their leadership skills, network with activists and community leaders, and have critical discussions about the political landscape of our state. On July 23, from 11 am to 2 pm, we’ll be at the Tempe Public Library with some incredible leaders from the group Old Lesbians Organizing for Change for our first meeting of the Spectrum Academy. See you there!

Town Hall

Learning the Political System: the Executive Branch

5:00 pm - 6:00 pm July 26, 2022 | register

As part of our ongoing project of political education, we’ll be hosting a workshop exploring and explaining the executive branch of the U.S. Government. Join us at Fair Trade Café in Phoenix for coffee and community and to build your knowledge of the political system. If you were able to attend our previous installments, this will build on the concepts we covered so far, but all levels of knowledge are welcome and encouraged to sign up.

Queer People Fit: Running

Queer People Fit: Running

5:30 pm - 7:00 pm July 28, 2022 | register

We’re thrilled to continue our Queer People Fit program in partnership with Phoenix FrontRunners, a running and walking club for the LGBT+ community and allies. We’ll start out in the Tempe Lake Parking are at 250 W Rio Salado Pkwy as a designated meetup spot at 5:30 PM, and head out for a run around Tempe Town Lake after a 10 to 15 minute introduction. Stick around after the event to get some late-night boba tea with the group! Queer People Fit was created in response to the wave of exclusionary anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and discrimination sweeping the nation this year, and is designed to create a safe space for LGBTQ+ community members and allies to move together to build the movement for equality.

Movie Night: Milk

Brick Road Coffee Movie Night

6:30 pm - 9:00 pm July 29, 2022 | register

Who doesn’t love a summer movie night? On Friday, July 29, find us at Brick Road Coffee, where we’ll be screening the 2008 biopic Milk, about the trailblazing LGBTQ+ organizer and politician Harvey Milk. The first openly gay man to be elected in California, Harvey Milk built a movement cleaning the streets of the Castro District that grew to win the first LGBTQ-inclusive non-discrimination ordinance in San Francisco. His community-based approach to political change is a model we follow today, and a lesson we can all learn from. We’ll start the night at 6:30 with coffee and introductions and host a short discussion after the film.

Volunteer Phone Banks

August Volunteer Phone Banks

August 3, 4, 11, 16, 20, 23, & 24 | register

Midterm elections perennially suffer from lower voter turnout, and critical down-ballot races — that decide the future of LGBTQ+ rights — often go overlooked. Can we count on your help to reverse that trend? Volunteer with Equality Arizona to mobilize voters for pro-LGBTQ+ candidates running in the midterm elections. We have seven volunteer action dates scheduled during the month of August, where we'll be making calls on behalf of our endorsed candidates. To learn more about our endorsements for 2022, click here.