LGBT advocacy and service organizations joined millions of people going purple for Spirit Day. While prominent figures like Laverne Cox, Jenny "JWOWW" Farley, and Jason Collins served as Spirit Day Ambassadors, national LGBT organizations shared an anti-bullying message with their own communities.
The National Center for Transgender Equality posted photos of their staff wearing purple, and tweeted the photo with the fact that 78% of transgender and gender non-conforming students have been bullied in school.
The Transgender Law Center changed its logo purple.
Freedom to Marry went purple in the office and on line.
PFLAG created a purple version of its logo.
The Point Foundation also created a purple logo.
All Out created a purple logo for Twitter.
Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (who we call "single A GLAD") went purple on Facebook and Twitter.
GMHC went purple all over the place.
The National Black Justice Coalition took a stand on Facebook.
The LGBT elder organizatino SAGE turned its logo purple.
The True Colors Fund, established by Cindi Lauper, created a purple header for its web page.
Finally, we'll leave you with a Spirit Day video created by the National Hispanic Media Coalition:
On October 17, 2013, celebrities including Oprah Winfrey, Ashton Kutcher, Betty White, Demi Lovato, Jimmy Kimmel, Nick Cannon, Kristen Bell, Macklemore, Melissa Etheridge, WWE Superstar Darren Young and more went purple for the fourth annual Spirit Day. Eric McCormack & Debra Messing also wore purple ribbons during a Will & Grace reunion– as did TLC's Stacy London - on TODAY. Hosts of shows including Access Hollywood, Elvis Duran and the Morning Show, Extra, Good Morning America and the Wendy Williams Show also wore purple and spoke about Spirit Day on-air. The White House sent out messages of support on Twitter and tumblr. Sports leagues including Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, the NBA, the NFL, the NHL and the WNBA participated on social media. And companies like American Eagle Outfitters, NBCUniversal, MTV, The Coca-Cola Company and Johnson & Johnson took a stand, along with hundreds of landmarks, schools, faith groups, media outlets, companies, and organizations. Facebook and Twitter users turned their profile photos purple and posted photos of classmates and coworkers wearing purple, and their messages of support for LGBT youth made #SpiritDay trend on Twitter.
Founded in 2010, Spirit Day is an international, united stand against bullying and show of support for LGBT teens and young adults everywhere. As we look back on Spirit Day 2013, please continue to spread the message and take action against bullying:
- Take a look at photos of who went purple to support LGBT youth
- Upload your own photos of you wearing purple to our website.
- Add your photos to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr using hashtag #SpiritDay
- Taking action to stand against bullying year round
Thanks for helping make Spirit Day 2013 a success!