Photos: Go Inside the 2023 Liberty Awards National Dinner with Billy Porter, Patina Miller, and More

Lambda Legal celebrated its 50-year anniversary with the 2023 Liberty Awards National Dinner, which took place at The Glasshouse in New York on Thursday, June 8, where artist Billy Porter and the late activist Urvashi Vaid were honored.

Check out the photos below!

The event celebrated half a century of advocacy and legal victories on behalf of the LGBTQ+ community and everyone living with HIV. The Liberty Awards National Dinner is Lambda Legal’s largest event of the year, bringing together supporters, advocates, and allies from across the country to honor individuals who have made significant contributions to the fight for justice and equality.

The evening was hosted by comedienne Kate Goldberg.  Broadway and all around icon Billy Porter was presented with the Lambda Legal Liberty Award for demonstrating an unwavering commitment to the LGBTQ+ community and those impacted by HIV/AIDS, by longtime friend (Tony and Grammy winner) Patina Miller. Patina spoke about meeting Billy when she was a student at Carnegie Mellon University and Billy was teaching on campus – and how over the years they he has been her mentor and close friend.  Billy took the stage to receive his award and mentioned that 10 years ago this year they both won Tony Awards (Patina for Best Actress in a Musical for PIPPIN and he for Best Actor in a Musical for KINKY BOOTS). Billy then went on to talk about how he became an unintentional activist through his art and that there is still a lot to do so that EVERYONE has equal rights.

Late activist Urvashi Vaid was posthumously presented with the Kevin Cathcart Movement Leader Award in recognition of her vision, compassion, and commitment to justice, which propelled the LGBTQ+ movement toward historic gains in our fight for equality. Urvashi’s life was dedicated to activism. The award was accepted by Urvashi’s partner, comedienne Kate Clinton.