REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED (see below). Registrants will receive the Zoom link in an email one hour before the talk begins.

The 4^th Annual Anthony Mascioli Rainbow Dialogues will confront the double pandemic of COVID-19 and racism in its 2021 program, to be held virtually on Saturday, February 27, 2021.

This year’s theme, Lessons Learned from an Unequal World, takes an intersectional approach to understanding and addressing longstanding and continuing inequality facing the Rochester community. Keynote speaker William A. Johnson will reflect on his experiences confronting racism and supporting the LGBTQ+ community as head of the Urban League, mayor of Rochester, and co-chair of the Commission on Racial and Structural Equity (RASE) and share the lessons he’s learned along the way. Afterward, panelists will share their own experiences of inequality and discuss efforts—personal and community-driven—to overcome the challenges.

The Anthony Mascioli Rainbow Dialogues is presented by the Central Library of Rochester & Monroe County and the Out Alliance and sponsored by the Friends & Foundation of the Rochester Public Library. The annual program’s goal is to demonstrate how LGBTQ+ history and archival documents are relevant for people today and to contextualize LGBTQ+ life in Rochester against the backdrop of local and national social justice issues. Additional support is provided by faculty from the Rochester Institute of Technology and SUNY College at Brockport, community volunteers, and ImageOut.

The Dialogues grew out of a partnership between the Out Alliance and the library to preserve LGBTQ+ history. To date, more than 21 LGBTQ+ archival collections have been transferred from the Out Alliance to the Local History& Genealogy Division of the library to ensure long-term preservation and public access. These collections, one of the largest LGBTQ+ archives in New York State, provide the intellectual foundation for the Rainbow Dialogues; specific collections are referenced in Dialogue descriptions.

The 2021 Anthony Mascioli Rainbow Dialogues Planning Committee looks forward to seeing you online on Saturday, February 27, 2021, to share this unique experience!

This event will be ASL interpreted.

For more information, please go to the Rainbow Dialogues website at http://www.rainbowdialogues.com/2021-dialogues/.