Advance Review: X-MEN - RED #1 Brings 'Compassion, Warmth, & Clear Purpose to JEAN GREY's Mission' (8/10); Newsarama, February 1, 2018

David Pepose, Newsarama; Advance Review: X-MEN - RED #1 Brings 'Compassion, Warmth, & Clear Purpose to JEAN GREY's Mission' (8/10)

"Call me a traditionalist, but whenever the X-Men seem to veer away from their central mission - about the peaceful coexistence of man and mutant - the franchise winds up getting stuck in its own idiosyncrasies. And while jaunts into space and time have led to fun wrinkles like the Shi’ar or the Age of Apocalypse, let’s be clear - those are detours to the X-Men’s central themes of diversity and inclusiveness. So it’s refreshing to see Taylor tackle these ideas head-on, with perhaps an unlikely lead - Jean Grey. For so many years, she’s been framed as either Scott Summers’ love interest or a WMD-in-waiting, but Taylor takes a new angle on the character: Jean not just as a telepath, but as a thinker. She’s had a second chance on life, but the world has only gotten darker since she last walked among the living - and thanks to her innate mutant abilities, Jean’s able to bring together ideas, countries, and teammates in a way that feels ambitious and inspiring."

LGBT panel to advise Peduto; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 1/14/17

Adam Smeltz, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; LGBT panel to advise Peduto

"The mayor was traveling back from Washington, D.C., after a $250 million grant announcement involving Carnegie Mellon University, Mr. Acklin said. He said the group can hold city officials accountable to Mr. Peduto’s vision for “the most open, inclusive city in the country.”

“This is such an amazing and positive step in the right direction to be truly reflective of Pittsburgh’s LGBTQIA+ community as it is in 2017,” Mr. Kraus said. Three people helped the mayor’s office to assess 79 applicants.

“I think their charge is even more important today than it was a few years ago, when we started this process,” said Mr. Kraus, who is openly gay. He said “there will always be those who feel that we are, in some way, lesser members of society.” 

The group’s acronym stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex and asexual. The “+” symbol typically signals further inclusiveness."

I'm From Driftwood: The LGBTQ Story Archive

I'm From Driftwood: The LGBTQ Story Archive:

"VISION

I’m From Driftwood envisions a world where every lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer person feels understood and accepted, and every straight person is an ally.

MISSION

I’m From Driftwood aims to help LGBTQ people learn more about their community, straight people learn more about their neighbors and everyone learn more about themselves through the power of storytelling and story sharing.

Increasing empathy and empowering individuals is accomplished by creating an apolitical forum for LGBTQ stories from every age, race, gender, background and culture. The stories deepen our understanding of each other, preserve history, and open hearts and minds."