On Monday, November 9, 2009, the New York City Anti-Violence Project (AVP) will honor Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Tony Kushner at its 13th annual Courage Awards, author of Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes and, most recently, The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism With a Key to the Scriptures which received its world premiere at the Guthrie Theater in May 2009 and will open in New York in 2010. â??We at AVP are inspired by Tony Kushnerâ??s brave and honest commentary on our culture and our society,â? said Sharon Stapel, Executive Director, â??His work inspires us to make connections between class, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and gender identity and to dream of a world that is fair and equal. He also forces us to see the realities of our struggles and how far we have come, and how far we have to go, to achieve equal rights for LGBT people.â?Â
Mr. Kushner is the recipient of the Pulitzer Prize, an Emmy Award, an Oscar nomination, two Tony Awards, three Obie Awards, an Olivier Award, two Evening Standard Awards, a New York Drama Critics Circle Award, two London Drama Critics Circle Awards, a Whiting Writer’s Fellowship, the PEN/Laura Pels Award for a Mid-Career Playwright, a Spirit of Justice Award from the Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, and a Cultural Achievement Award from The National Foundation for Jewish Culture, among many others. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. In 2008, he became the first recipient of the Harold and Mimi Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award. Mr. Kushner is known and respected for his truthful and cutting edge political writing and analysis and his creative and thoughtful engagement with LGBTQH themes.
Along with Tony Kushner, at this yearâ??s event AVP also has the privilege of honoring Weblog creators Bil Browning (The Bilerico Project), Joe Jervis (Joe.My.God.), Pam Spaulding (Pam’s House Blend) and Andy Towle (Towleroad), in recognition of the impact of LGBTQH weblogs have made in the fight for civil rights and against violence in our communities; and Clifford Chance US LLP, for their commitment to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and HIV-affected (LGBTQH) rights and extensive work on behalf of the communities AVP serves.
This yearâ??s Courage Awards will be held on Monday, November 9, 2009 at the W New York Ballroom at 541 Lexington Avenue, New York. The Courage Awards were created over a decade ago to honor outstanding individuals, organizations and corporations whose work on behalf of the LGBTQH communitiesâ??particularly on behalf of victims and survivors of bias and hate violence, police misconduct, domestic violence, sexual assault, rape and police misconductâ??has made a profound impact on all of our lives.
To purchase tickets to this yearâ??s Courage Awards, visit www.avp.org and click on â??Events,â? or contact Patti Rios at (212)714-1184.
AVP was founded 29 years ago as a community response to a number of hate-motivated incidents targeting gay men in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood. Today, AVP is the nation’s largest victim services assistance and advocacy agency for the LGBTQH communities and the coordinator of the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP).
By News Wire
