
ABC
Educators
Sam Champion
Meet one of the artists, disruptors, educators, groundbreakers, innovators, and storytellers who all helped make the world a better place for LGBTQ+ people.
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Meet one of the artists, disruptors, educators, groundbreakers, innovators, and storytellers who all helped make the world a better place for LGBTQ+ people.
Viewers across America listen to Sam Champion for the weather report on Good Morning America, WABC-TV, and beyond. But the Emmy-winning anchor recalls a time not so long ago when it wasn't possible to be the out and proud media professional (and husband) he is today.
"When I started in 1982 and even by the time I got to NYC in 1988, there were 'no openly gay people in the mainstream news industry.' I watched people lose their jobs for the suspicion of being gay," the 63-year-old recalls. "...I stuck it out with the support of my immediate managers and bosses and a very supportive loyal NYC audience."
"We’re at a crossroads in history when it would be very easy to go back to those days,” he reminds. “Today’s LGBTQIA+ community must be ready to fight for the rights they enjoy and vote to keep them. It’s hard to imagine, but they came at great cost, and I watched people suffer getting us where we are today." @samchampion
Raffy is a Los Angeles-based writer, editor, video creator, and critic.
Raffy is a Los Angeles-based writer, editor, video creator, and critic.
Meet one of the artists, disruptors, educators, groundbreakers, innovators, and storytellers who all helped make the world a better place for LGBTQ+ people.
Nick Adams, vice president of the GLAAD Media Institute, has been fighting for transgender equality since joining the organization in 1998. His role is to amplify the voices of trans people and help them be “trans in the public eye.”
He created the transgender section of GLAAD’s Media Reference Guide, setting industry standards for respectful and accurate reporting. Adams’s expertise has been incredibly valuable in major media moments, including Caitlyn Jenner’s coming-out story in 2015.
This year, Adams worked closely with Trevor Anderson, the co-writer and director of a new film, Before I Change My Mind, about a teen living in Alberta, Canada, whose gender is never clarified but is the driving force behind the story. Adams says the film “is a welcome and necessary antidote to the lies about trans youth being peddled by anti-trans politicians.”
As a transgender man himself, Adams says he’s passionate about continuing the fight against the small group of loud, fringe, anti-trans activists working to scare Hollywood into removing queer characters from the media. “I will make sure executives and creators know that the vast majority of their audiences expect and want to see our stories on screen,” he says. @glaad