GLAAD's Spirit Day Sends United Message of Support and Acceptance to LGBTQ Youth

GLAAD, the world's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, announced participants wearing purple or going purple online today for Spirit Day in a united stand against bullying and show of support for LGBTQ youth. Since the inaugural Spirit Day in 2010, GLAAD organizes hundreds of celebrities, media outlets, brands, landmarks, sports leagues, tech leaders, influencers, faith groups, school districts, organizations, colleges and universities in what has become the most visible anti-LGBTQ bullying campaign and united show of support for LGBTQ youth. Purple symbolizes spirit on the rainbow flag.

For more on Spirit Day, visit www.glaad.org/spiritday or search #SpiritDay on social media. GLAAD will be sharing content from participants all day on GLAAD's Twitter. For another year, Twitter has set up a special #SpiritDay emoji.

GLAAD's initial list of confirmed 2020 Spirit Day participants including celebrity, media, athletes, landmarks, and corporate partners follows.

Hosts of Access Hollywood, Despierta América, Entertainment Tonight, Extra, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Late Late Show with James Corden, Un Nuevo Día, LATV's The Zoo, and others will participate by wearing purple on-air on Spirit Day. The Advocate and Pride Media are also changing their social logos for the day.

CNBC logos on-air, on social media and on CNBC.com are purple today. Hosts, reporters, and staff will also participate on CNBC in the U.S. and around the world. CNBC is also running a Spirit Day ad on its network with the OUT@NBCUNIVERSAL employee resource group.

Sports leagues including the MLB, NFL, NBA & WNBA are all scheduled to participate in Spirit Day.

Celebrities set to participate in 2020 Spirit Day include Cher, The Chicks, Halle Berry, Macarena Achaga, Amy Allen, Jonathan Bennett, Elizabeth Berkley, Regina Blandón, Bright Light Bright Light, Connie Britton, Megan Boone, Sterling K. Brown, Jiggly Caliente, Coty Camacho, Roberto Carlo, Jackie Cox, Chelsea Clinton, Miz Cracker, Kat Cunning, Ted Danson, Daughtry, Paulina Davila, Ariana DeBose, Ana de la Reguera, Nicky Doll, Andrés Durán, Lisa Edelstein, Ednita, Brita Filter, Jack Galinsky, Kany García, Gigi Gorgeous Getty, Carlie Hanson, Ty Herndon, Megan Hilty, Juan Pablo Jaramillo, Jazz Jennings, Natalia Jiménez, Ken Jeong, JoJo, Jujubee, Padma Lakshmi, Lali, Jason Lewis, Maggie Lindemann, Litzy, LeeAnne Locken, Bárbara López, Countess LuAnn, Nicole Maines, MAX, Ava Max, Coco Maxima, Shane McAnally, Bethany C. Meyers, Ben O'Keefe, Horacio Pancheri, Peppermint, Maite Perroni, Calle y Poché, Michael Ray, LeAnn Rimes, Adam Rippon, Ana Rizo, AnnaSophia Robb, Frankie Rodriguez, Vincent Rodriguez III, Tegan & Sara, Thalia, Scott Turner Schofield, Mario Selman, D.J. "Shangela" Pierce, Johnny Sibilly, Dahlia Sin, SOKO, Speelburg, Brandon Stansell, Patrick Starrr, Mary Steenburgen, Tegan & Sara, Nico Tortorella, Gloria Trevi, Trinity The Tuck, Jaymes Vaughan, Nina West, Kameron Westcott, Dario Yazbek Bernal, the cast of FBI and FBI: Most Wanted, and the cast of Lifetime's The Christmas Set Up.

This year, AT&T's headquarters in Dallas, the Spheres at Amazon's Seattle campus, the ViacomCBS Building at 1515 Broadway, the CBS Broadcast Center, and the Reuters, NASDAQ, and American Eagle billboards in Times Square will go purple for Spirit Day. SKITTLES and MARS Inc. are also working with GLAAD to include Spirit Day messaging on the M&M's New York Jumbotron at the Times Square (Broadway & 7th Ave) location on October 15.

The following studios, networks, streaming services, and social networking platforms are confirmed to take part in the world's largest and most visible LGBTQ anti-bullying campaign today:

• TikTok will be turning its profile headers purple on its social platforms in support of LGBTQ youth for Spirit Day.

• Disney | ABC Television will run PSAs across their networks for Spirit Day, which coincides with its October "Choose Kindness" campaign.

• Several The CW stars are also confirmed to participate in 2020 Spirit Day, including Batwoman's Javicia Lelie, Riverdale's Madchen Amick, Stargirl's Meg DeLacy and Hunter Sansone, Legacies' Danielle Rose Russell and Ben Levin, Dynasty's Elaine Hendrix and Daniella Alonso, The Outpost's Jake Stormoen, Reece Ritchie, and Adam Johnson, Legends' Adam Tsekhman, and the cast of Batwoman.

• For the 4th year, Hulu has produced a carousel of LGBTQ-inclusive titles, curated by GLAAD, that will run on the service from October 12-15.

• For a fourth consecutive year, iHeartMedia will participate in Spirit Day by airing PSAs voiced by on-air personalities Elvis Duran, Ryan Seacrest, and Enrique Santos across its broadcast radio stations and posting on its social media channels to encourage fans and listeners to go purple and stand in support of LGBTQ youth.

• The NFL Network talent will wear and feature the color purple on set to show solidarity with LGBTQ youth on Spirit Day.

• Sony Pictures has confirmed participation from their upcoming LGBTQ-inclusive films THE CRAFT: LEGACY and HAPPIEST SEASON.

• For the first year, Spotify will be participating in Spirit Day by encouraging artists to participate in "My Spirit Day Soundtrack," which asks them to share the songs that embody the messages of Spirit Day for them on their social accounts.

• For another year, WarnerMedia will be activating several of their brands and show casts. WarnerMedia will also be doing a light-up installation inside Hudson Yards in honor of Spirit Day.

• The casts of various CBS shows will be participating in Spirit Day, including The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Late Late Show with James Corden, NCIS, NCIS LA, NCIS New Orleans, FBI, FBI: Most Wanted, The Young and the Restless, The Bold and the Beautiful, The Talk, Mom, Bob Hearts Abishola, Magnum P.I., MacGyver, All Rise, Unicorn, SEAL Team, The Neighborhood, B Positive, SWAT, and Blue Bloods.

• Spanish-Language streamer Pantaya will be turning their channels purple in honor of Spirit Day.

GLAAD has also partnered with the Global Shapers Community and the Forum of Young Global Leaders - both initiatives of the World Economic Forum - to ensure messages of solidarity, acceptance, and support reach LGBTQ youth around the world on Spirit Day. Today, GLAAD and the Global Shapers Community released a video featuring young leaders in South Africa, Ecuador, and India sending special messages to LGBTQ youth for Spirit Day. Members of the Global Shapers Community and the Forum of Young Global Leaders are also participating throughout the day on social media. Learn more about their participation here.

In honor of Spirit Day, Teen Vogue also published an article featuring words of advice from GLAAD's 20 Under 20 honorees to other LGBTQ youth who may be experiencing bullying.

Influencer Parker Kit Hill has joined GLAAD and presenting partner Target to create the official 2020 Spirit Day Dance. Posted on Instagram (@ParkerKitHill), Parker dances to "Just Do You" by India.Arie and encourages his and GLAAD's followers to go purple and make their own dance videos to spread the Spirit Day message.

GLAAD launched a photo campaign calling on LGBTQ people to share their #SpiritDay stories to encourage allyship for LGBTQ youth. Participants are encouraged to post photos to answer the question: Who empowered you to accept and celebrate yourself as LGBTQ? Tell the story of what their allyship meant to you in your caption using #SpiritDay. Post your story on all social media platforms from today through Spirit Day on October 15. Use the hashtag #SpiritDay and tag @GLAAD on your posts.

To recognize Spirit Day and fight back against cyberbullying, GLAAD has worked with Zoom to share some best practices to secure virtual meetings and protect yourself online. In addition to elevating Zoom's overall security recommendations, GLAAD & Zoom have identified top tips to protect the LGBTQ community, who disproportionately face bullying in-person and online.

This year, presenting partners Delta Air Lines, Kellogg Company, and Target, official partners Amazon, NYC Department of Youth and Community Development and the New York City Council, and Skittles, as well as community partners Kirkland & Ellis, the National Basketball Association (NBA) & the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) will all participate in the anti-bullying campaign.

GLAAD and Little Bee Books also released a new LGBTQ-inclusive children's book titled, Spirit Day: A Book About Spreading Joy. The Spirit Day title is the sixth book to be released in an ongoing series of LGBTQ-inclusive children's books with Little Bee Books. Illustrated by Joy Yang, Spirit Day: A Book About Spreading Joy is a beautiful, bold board book that teaches children about Spirit Day and its mission to stop bullying. Spirit Day: A Book About Spreading Joy can be purchased on Amazon, Bookshop.com, Barnes & Noble, and at various in-store locations.

"From the effects of COVID-19, to the social uprising against racial injustice and police brutality, to the Trump administration's consistent attacks on LGBTQ people, this year has presented unprecedented challenges and crises, all of which continue to uniquely and disproportionately impact LGBTQ youth," says GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis. "At a time when LGBTQ youth may be isolating in homes that are not affirming or might not have access to their usual support systems, this year's Spirit Day is a chance for LGBTQ people and allies to send messages of acceptance and support to LGBTQ youth when they need it most."

Coinciding with National Bullying Prevention Month, Spirit Day began in 2010 when then high school student Brittany McMillan created a Tumblr post asking students to wear purple following the suicide deaths of several LGBTQ and LGBTQ-perceived young people.

According to GLSEN's most recent National School Climate Survey, 70.1% of LGBTQ students report being verbally harassed. Additionally, 59.5% of LGBTQ students feel unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation and 44.6% because of their gender expression. GLSEN also reported that 87.3% of LGBTQ students experienced harassment or assault based on personal characteristics, including sexual orientation, gender expression, gender, religion, actual or perceived race and ethnicity, and actual or perceived disability.

The Trevor Project's 2020 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health found that 1 in 3 LGBTQ youth reported that they had been physically threatened or harmed in their lifetime due to their LGBTQ identity. The Survey also found that more than half of transgender and non-binary youth have seriously considered suicide. A new study released by the Trevor Project on October 6, titled "All Black Lives Matter: Mental Health of Black LGBTQ Youth," found that 44% of Black LGBTQ youth reported seriously considering suicide in the past 12 months, including 59% of Black transgender and nonbinary youth and half of all Black LGBTQ youth ages 13-17 years old. The study also found that Black LGBTQ youth who had high levels of family support had nearly 3 times lower rates of suicide attempts in the past 12 months. However, less than 1 in 3 Black LGBTQ youth actually reported having high levels of family support.

In 2020, Spirit Day takes on a renewed importance due to the unprecedented challenges facing LGBTQ youth. This year, many LGBTQ youth are beginning the school year at home and are unable to attend in-person meetings of Gay-Straight Alliances, Gender-Sexuality Alliances or on-campus college LGBTQ organizations. Some LGBTQ youth may be confined to a home environment that may be unsupportive or abusive. GLAAD's Spirit Day resource kit for students is available here and GLAAD's kit for parents and educators here.

For more information on Spirit Day, visit glaad.org/spiritday.

To post a comment, you must register and login.