SAG-AFTRA

Spring 2014

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18 SAG-AFTRA | Spring 2014 | SAGAFTRA.org S AG-AFTRA National Director of EEO and Diversity Adam Moore joined a panel of activists, journalists and equality advocates at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., to discuss the ongoing LGBT civil rights movement. "We find ourselves living in a pivotal time, where our global society is insisting on greater levels of inclusiveness and understanding," said Moore. "According to the first-of-its-kind report we produced with UCLA's e Williams Institute, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Diversity in Entertainment: Experiences and Perspectives of SAG-AFTRA Members, we see that our membership can lead the way, as they are overwhelmingly supportive of LGBT actors and that many LGBT actors found benefits in being 'out.' Forums such as this one are part of the plan of action we are implementing to ensure that anyone who wants to work in entertainment and news media can do so honestly and without fear." Moore was joined on the Feb. 25 panel by Washington Blade editor Kevin Naff; National Black Justice Coalition co-founder Mandy Carter; former Philadelphia Gay News editor and National Gay & Lesbian Journalists Association Vice President of Print and Online Media Sarah Blazucki; author- activist and Iraq War veteran Rob Smith; and activist Will Walters, founder of FreeWillUSA. SAG-AFTRA National Director of EEO and Diversity Adam Moore, second from right, was joined by fellow panelists to discuss LGBT issues at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Scene Around SAG-AFTRA JOINS LGBT PANEL IN D.C. USPS STAMP HONORS CHARLTON HESTON RITA MORENO READS TO ELEMENTARY STUDENTS O n the heels of her triumph at the SAG Awards in January, Rita Moreno made time to visit with the children of Rosa Parks Elementary in West Berkeley, Calif., to read to them and speak with them about her life and work. Moreno had just wrapped up taping I Need My Monster by Amanda Noll for BookPALS Storyline Online, a literacy program supported by the Screen Actors Guild Foundation, which records well-known actors reading children's books, and creates dynamic videos that li the illustrations right off the page. THOM SENZEE USPS SAG-AFTRA elected leadership and staff at the April 11 launch of the U.S. Postal Service's Charlton Heston stamp in Hollywood. T he United States Postal Service has honored movie icon Charlton Heston, who served as president of Screen Actors Guild from 1965-1971, with a new postage stamp. An April 11 ceremony hosted by Turner Classic Movies' Ben Mankiewicz at the TCL Chinese eatre in Hollywood marked the official launch of the stamp. Heston is the latest entertainment figure from Hollywood's "Golden Age" to be honored in the Legends of Hollywood series of stamps. He is also the third SAG president, along with Ronald Reagan and James Cagney, to appear on a stamp. SAG-AFTRA President Ken Howard was unable to attend the ceremony, but Executive Vice President Gabrielle Carteris delivered remarks in his stead. She recalled Heston's activism against racism and his support to his fellow union members, and highlighted "… his strength, wisdom, service to others, and always an honest and true love for his cra, his fellow actors and his union." Among the others giving remarks were former SAG-AFTRA Executive Vice President Ned Vaughn, USPS Board of Governors Chairman Mickey Barnett and Heston's son Fraser, who attended the event with his mother Lydia and other members of the family. Fraser Heston appreciated the support of SAG-AFTRA members and said there was more to his father than the roles for which he was so well known. "As it turns out, he was not an Old Testament prophet, a charioteer, a saint, a genius, a cowboy, a Spanish knight, an English king, a president or an astronaut. He only played those people. What he was was a warm, loving husband, father and grandfather, a passionate artist, a committed labor leader and an unabashedly patriotic American with a deep, abiding sense of civic duty," he said. 11-19_For Members_F.indd 18 4/23/14 4:18 PM

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