CITY OF HOLLYWOOD, Florida Earns Perfect LGBTQ+ Municipal Equality Index Score for the Second Straight Year

For the second year in a row, the City of Hollywood earned a perfect score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation’s 2022 Municipal Equality Index (MEI). The MEI examines how inclusive municipal laws, polices and services are of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer+ people (LGBTQ+) who live and work there.

Hollywood joins 118 other cities across the U.S. that earned a perfect score. “Since its founding by Joseph Young in 1925, Hollywood has established itself as a welcoming and diverse City for everyone,” says Hollywood Mayor Josh Levy. “I take great pleasure in knowing a much wider audience is learning how Hollywood is a place for equity, diversity and inclusion.”

The HRC scored the City on LGBTQ+ focused activities in five categories – non-discrimination laws, municipality as employer, municipal services, law enforcement, and leadership on LGBTQ+ equality. Examples of City initiatives that contributed to the perfect MEI score include:

• Supported the annual Hollywood LBGTQ Council’s Pride Street Festival in downtown Hollywood which includes an opening ceremony, Flag Raising and Pride Brunch.

• Issued a Proclamation in Recognition of Pride Month and held a Progress Pride flag raising ceremony at City Hall.

• Provided funding for organizations that serve LGBTQ+ youth and young adults.

• Shared information on Lesbian Visibility Day, and National Transgender HIV Testing Day and posted on the City’s main social media accounts.

• Launched a LGBTQ+ Ally Program for City employees, where participants viewed the documentary “Open Dialogues: Stories from the LGBTQ Community” provided by the Art and Culture Center/Hollywood, “Be come an Ally – LGBTQIA+” video presentation, and attend LGBTQ 101 Proficiency and Workplace Bias Training.

From its beaches, to its lively downtown, to its distinctive neighborhoods, Hollywood is a city focused on a sustainable future. Discover an outstanding quality of life and a welcoming place of equity, diversity and inclusion. Find your future in Florida’s Hollywood.

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Under the baton of Key West native Maestra Sebrina María Alfonso and President & CEO Jacqueline Lorber, this LGBTQ power couple is making great strides in bringing world-class classical music performances of the highest caliber to its audiences. Today, the South Florida Symphony Orchestra is the largest orchestra in the region and is recognized as a major cultural institution serving Broward, MiamiDade, and Monroe counties. It is celebrated for its commitment to diversity and inclusion and Symphony in the Schools, a robust music education program reaching more than 100,000 youth in under-resourced communities and schools. Their accolades are many, having been named the first Partner in the Arts at Broward Center’s The Parker, and the couple recently took home a prestigious Diversity Honors award for transforming lives by living authentically and advancing inclusiveness.

The upcoming 2023/24 season, which runs November – April, features famous classical music works, including a not-to-be-missed performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, honoring the 200th anniversary of the famed work, plus orchestra premieres by African American female composers Florence Price and Jessie Montgomery, and much more.

In May, June, and July, music fans can enjoy their annual Summer Chamber Music Series in Fort Lauderdale and Miami (a nice respite from the heat that includes a meet and greet with musicians and a glass of bubbly).