now, this certainly will be easing. we won't win every battle. because of each and every one of you. to advocate and to fight back. when we emerge from this national nightmare, when we prevail in 2018 and 2020, it is this president's catastrophic compulsion to bully, like, and divide that will spark a great awakening of our democracy. [applause] throughout our history, america's journey towards the promise of a more perfect union has faced countless roadblocks. for every step forward we take, there are some trying to drag us

two steps back. it is through those setbacks that our greatest movements and our fiercest fighters have emerged. from the civil rights movements to black lives matter. from women's suffrage, to the women's march and two farmworkers who organized, to her immigrants who dare to dream. and in this movement, the lgbtq equality movement, like so many others, is forged from a fire. it was harassment by police that people to fight back at stonewall, sparking a nationwide movement. it was the government's murderous actions to the thousands of lives lost to aids that led thousands more to believe silence equals death and awakens the world. it was an 83-year-old widow from new york that take it to the highest court of the land and

win. and it was the cruelty of ohio's leaders that made the world know the name over to felt. is during these moments of great struggles and strife that we rise. it is through our resistance to tyrants and our persistence towards justice that we change the course of history. so, my friends, let's do as harvey milk said, and give people hope. let's recall the fierce urgency of now. let's remember that yes we can and that we are stronger together. our greathapter of american story is waiting to be written. and we, people that turn heartache into action, who forged of the way to conquer hate with love, who taught the world the power of pride, we will be the ones to write it.

thank you all very much. thank you. [applause] back live now at the human rights campaign enabled in her. we are going to show the whole program in its entirety in our overnight schedule and still to come, amazon ceo jeff bezos, who is being honored with the human rights campaign national quality award. that should be coming up shortly. we will look in life now at the human rights campaign. it's sparked so much conversation in the media, it also in people's homes. and it changed people's hearts and minds. >> jeff bezos is a local community leader, that he is also an internationally renowned business leader. his voice is so important. his willingness to support marriage equality and a to b q americans has been -- lgbtq

americans has been radically important run for the united states and the world. >> we need leaders and it just is the leader. you put a of leader, picture of jeff >> and -- jeff. >> congratulations on an award well deserved. creating thisor great company where people can bring there. and realize it is the content of what they are doing that matters and not other extraneous things. i am so appreciative. >> your ability to hold what is possible, for artistry, and for politics and for multiple views for a wide range of heroes. your ability to hold space corps ideas come for risk and possibility. i am eternally grateful. thank you.

[applause] >> jeff bezos is one of the world's most highly respected leaders. a greatown as entrepreneur, a passionate inventor, and a customer builder. at amazon, we know him as all of that and much more. he is our trusted ceo who guides us and challenges us with his remarkable intellect and curiosity. he is the model for using amazon leadership principles in our daily work. wittya warm and conversationalist that loves to laugh. and he is a bold strategic thrives to maximize impact. mckenzie's donation of $2.5

million to washington state's marriage equality campaign exemplified how it has meaningful, far-reaching impact. more gift was 25 times than the amount i requested. it was a staggeringly generous gift and a beautifully strategic amount. make big, early advertising commitments and get discounted rates. it also enabled us to quickly build a field team and talk face-to-face to over 100,000 voters. it was a lot of money, but not too much. our campaign team had to work hard to capitalize on their generosity and to leverage this affect to raise the rest of the money we needed to fund our campaign and to engage washington voters. the money was critical for us. but just as critical as the

money was just offered to acknowledge the gift. he and mckenzie could have donated anonymously. people, private, humble and they do not seek the limelight. by allowing us to take their donations public, the world quickly and that jeff bezos supported marriage equality. [applause] their donations supercharged our fundraising and we raised $10 million, more than $2 million more than our initial goal. donation toenzie's marriage equality accelerated the acceptance of the marriage equality in our country and the effect of their donation educated you did strongly not only to washington's victory, but also to marriage equality wins in maine and maryland.

those three electoral victories in 2012 reversed the tide of 14 years of losses. it helps the stage for our ultimate supreme court victory. i have been with lizzie franklin, the love of my life, for 27 years. [applause] happy to be legally married and to share this right with every lgbtq american. [applause] thank you. i have never thanked jeff publicly for his generosity and for his role he played in our country marriage equality victory, and i am so honored to be able to do that here tonight. thank you, jeff, for your commitment to equal rights.

welcoming join me in 2017 equality award recipient, jeff bezos. [applause] ♪ jeff: well, the huge thank you thank you. -- a huge

to the hrc. and a big thank you to jennifer. i have been lucky to know you for 20 years now and i have seen firsthand how your passions and determination have changed lives and promoted equality. in washington state and throughout the lgbtq community. jennifer, for everything you have done, and for everything you continue to do. it is so much. i also want to recognize some other amazonian's who are here tonight. and who work on equality and inclusion every day at amazon. there are a bunch of members of here.oup glamazon [applause] our diversity director, latasha

glaspie, thank you natasha. [applause] course, the brilliant storytellers from transparent, including jeffrey tambor. [applause] his remarkable portrayal of the character has touched so many of us. thank you, jeffrey. [applause] work all proud of the of you do every day to improve amazon and to improve the larger community. amazon has more than 500,000 employees around the world. and from our earliest days, we have been committed to equality in our workplace. [applause] we want our employees to be

empowered to speak their mind and to be heard. amazonian should feel comfortable sharing their unique perspectives and every amazonian should seek out the perspectives of others. employees and the communities where we operate to ,mbrace that we are all human we are all different, and we are all equal. [applause] at amazon, equality is a core value for us. and it is simply write. inequality persists in many forms across our communities.

and we must never just look past it. we have to expose it, understand it, question it, and fix it. allwe, i mean the big we, the people in this room and beyond, we are fixing it. [applause] fighting,des of marriage has become a right for all americans. [applause] and across the united states, more people now support gay and transit rights than ever before. rights than ever before. [applause] i believe that the idea of equality is ingrained deeply within all of us. it is in alienable.

except one another for who they are, gate, transgender, straight. they think of people with weaknesses and strengths. they inherently understand the concept of human equality. it is in eight. -- innate. we live in a world more accepting than the one our grandparents lived in. [applause] liveur grandchildren will in an even more accepting world than the one we do now. [applause] they will be embraced for who they are, how they identify, and who they love. optimistic.bly so many companies, communities, and organizations like hrc, are

embracing this future and helping to create it. it is up to everyone one of us to keep making progress together. i am so honored to receive the equality award from an organization that has impacted so many lives. [applause] thank you to the hrc team and all of you for your relentless focus on celebrating and promoting equality across all our communities. thank you. [applause] ♪ [applause]

>> please welcome golden globes and any nominated actress, from the hit series, orange is the new black, taylor schilling. ♪ [applause] taylor: hi. thank you so much for your beautiful welcome and what an incredible night. thank you especially for giving me a few minutes to express my and for whosoever dubai join me in honoring her this evening. artists andrageous

,ctivists, a precious friend and tonight, i am proud to help recognize her as a fierce ally for equality. i am proud to be with you at the human rights campaign tonight as we harness our elected courage and help equality rise everywhere. s brilliance overflows into all aspects of who she is. actress, he military and, daughter, sister, friend, mentor, coach, advocate, some marathoner, director, singer, dancer, walking broadway encyclopedia, truly. skydiver. hostess supreme. quiz, speaker, tennis advocate, and i am sitting here. i can keep talking.

she brings every drop of herself to every role she enters. she meticulously reconfigures her vast spirit to inhabit the people she portrays. she transforms and in doing so, is us the gift of seeing the world from a new angle. she does powerful service with her great talent, exmoor space for all of us to be ourselves. more space for different voices, different experiences, more space for people to be uniquely themselves. watching her work is to experience the heart of another. revolutionize in her artistic bravery. she lets us see the world through other people's eyes. some might call that a brilliant talent, and it is. you might say it is a multiple emmy award-winning talent, and that is true too. friend, it is a tool

to break down barriers and make the others known. she invites us to confront and celebrate our differences. importantly, she illuminates what makes us all the same. she knows it is our differences that make us human and help our capacity to accept, love, and support each other. wherever we come from, wherever we currently are, what a week choose four hours -- whatever we choose for ourselves. equality is our god-given birthright. lightfers a tremendous for her work. to standge is for us up and let our voices be heard and our beliefs be known. let's take a look. uzo: this is why we do not bring

strangers into our home. you don't deserve to be one of us. hello? >> what is it? uzo: i've never seen anything like this. dragging her, oh my god. >> vicki? uzo: people are shooting. people have lost their minds. what would you go back to? >> i think i would go back to that night at site the broom closet. -- outside the broom closet. we were supposed to do the dance

with no pants, but i chickened out. >> turns out, she is crazier than me. >> my first guest tonight is an emmy award winner that you know as crazy eyes. .zo aduba >> when i was a kid, i came home from school and i said to my mom, can you call me zoe? she said, why? because nobody can say uzo aduba . , ifout skipping a beat they can learn to say dosto yevsky, they will learn to say uzo aduba. >> we have a cross-section of

latino women and a cross-section of white women and black women and gay women that melting pot is the world i like to see. i love seeing that part reflected back at a. -- at me. exampleshere are a few , it does not mean we have done everything we need to get done. telling lgbt stories , especially when it comes to leading a project. there is something very magical about the world. there is always a message of belief and striving to be more and to be better. how can you be your best you? everything -- everybody has something beautiful about them.

that is what is going to make you radiate and resonate. that will make you feel beautiful, rather than conceal those things you think are less than. they might be the thing that makes you more than. in this life, we are here to serve as a reminder that we are present, our voices matter, and our existence made some kind of difference. as an artist, i want to be the most authentic, pure artist i can be. my ambition is to bring as many people and as many seats to the ande as i possibly can introduce as many new ideas as i possibly can. i want to do everything. i want to tell great stories. if you believe, anything is possible. ♪

taylor: please join me in presenting the highlight equality award tonight to uzo aduba. ♪

[applause] uzo: hello, everybody. [applause] how are you doing tonight? [applause] i said, how are you doing tonight? [applause] amazing. i want to say come up and foremost, thank you so much to my friends, my cast mates, taylor schilling for that warm welcome. [applause]

i want to thank the human rights campaign for this incredible honor and looking at here at these amazing faces and spirits during the hard work every day to up left and create the space and equalities for so many individuals.tq it is really remarkable. thank you very much. when i started to think about coming out here, i started having the conversation with myself of what it was i wanted to say and it became abundantly clear to me that there are so many people who could not be here this evening and, in particular, the young people who have not found the space to use their voices and stand out loud in the way they deserve. [applause] realize i had, within my own family tree, a family member of mine, who is currently one of

voices.iet i realized what i wanted to do tonight was to address him and all of those quieted, silenced voices. to preface this letter that i'm going to give to him here by saying in order to respect the privacy of my family member, his name has been changed to sam. family, we have well over 300 of us. there is no use in trying to piece together this puzzle. say --we my dear sam, i know you could not be here with us tonight, but the truth of the matter is, more

than anything, i wish you could have. the most important thing i can think of tonight is you. it is not the fact i am coming to one of my favorite cities, washington, dc. [applause] it was not the idea of figuring out what in the world i was going to say while receiving this incredible honor. of it was not the challenge working silly jokes like hrc is c.tually at the h r but the letter has proven a very close second. in the end, you are the most important thing. it is knowing that, as you, my young bright shining star learns to navigate life of pressure in and of itself is level with learning to live his open and honest truth. [applause]

young there are so many lgbtq kids around the globe today just like you who spend many stressful hours away from their childhood worrying about how their truth might be received. yousam, i want to remind and all of those who are slowly finding their voices, how liberating the truth can be. [applause] remember the times when you and your family came to visit me in new york city at the young age of 14. he spoke passionately about your love for the city and how you hope to one day live here. why, i asked? because of the freedom to be yourself. you began to share your thoughts on what was then known as a to be dq issues. that iin that moment

began to listen with great content. suddenly, i heard not just what you are talking about on the surface, but i heard what it seemed like you were really trying to say. i will be forever grateful that on that same walk, we ran into my friend, frankie. i had known each other for the better part of our professional careers. we started together as a kids on the broadway. [applause] [laughter] and i have admired frankie throughout the years, not only for his immense talent, but most importantly, for his pride and ownership of his gay identity, hisfabulosity, and inability to apologize for either. [applause]

date, frankie is the only person i have ever met to take the lyrics to rihanna's "shine diamond" and a change them to say shine bright like frankie. glimmers in the light and it is beautiful when he does. i can still remember today that meeting. a strange coincidence on the street with frankie, his kind and fabulous self and you, sam, seemingly transfixed. after our quick exchange, dispersed onto separate paths, and it, unable to quench your curiosity, inquired incessantly about frankie. it became clear your questions went beyond public intrigue. they were personal. i imagined you had seen a piece of yourself in frankie. i knew then that my one wish for

you is that you could feel safe and that you could be yourself. [applause] later that day, as we sifted through clothing, you brought up frankie again, asking why do you think frankie act that way? iseplied, because frankly special. -- frankie is special. isn't it great to be special? and there was a pregnant cause and a powerful cause. he considered this idea and you looked at me and said, i think i am special too. my response that is the same it is now. yes, you are, and don't you ever forget it [applause] . -- forget it. [applause] what i want you to know is that

you most certainly are special, but you are not alone. toy have come before you live a life openly and equally, but it is my hope that none will have to come after you to achieve this basic human right. that which is afforded to anybody else upon this earth. [applause] and that very special conversation with you reminded me of a conversation i had with my best friend. i have known crowley since i was seven years old. he liked to embarrass me by informing everybody that i want fell asleep in our first grade class and our teacher told everyone to just let her sleep. i let him tell that story because that is what best friends do. we let them tell our stories. becauseet him tell it he has always been one of the most amazing, unconditional,

loving, and supportive friends i have ever known. [applause] one night while on a summer break from college, probably was driving me home from a night out with friends. and he decided to drop me off last that evening. i didn't think anything of it. it wasn't until we parked in front of my house that he turned off the ignition and said, i have something to tell you. i was perplexed and i wondered, ok, what could crowley have to say? all of a sudden his face became red and i knew it would be something serious. i said to myself, crowley is about to tell you he is in love with you. [laughter] true story.

warning, hethout punched the steering will end up very quickly i readjusted and said, nope. he is not going to tell you he is in love with you, he is about to come out to you. [applause] and i waited. and he did. and as i listened to him share his story as you have shared yours, sam, i knew i had only one job that night, to try to awesome,he same, unconditional, loving friend crowley had always been to me. [applause] i tell this story because it is what best friends let you do. you tell their stories. they are their true selves.

now, sam, you this because what gives me the greatest joy of seeing my friend live a full and happy life every day. he is the reflection of progress made and a shining example of how the truth of being yourself really does set us free. it truly does get better. [applause] the last thing i need you to know, sam, is that you are loved. i want you to understand that truth deep inside the marrow of your being. [applause] all that you have a family around the world which supports you and will continue to support you in the same, beautiful way that your nuclear family already does. note that you have allies at home, as well. doubt,there is ever any

can also share his story with you. up in theeasy going 1980's. generally. [laughter] well, no fashion choices. the jury is still out on most of them. ok? but it really wasn't easy coming into one sexual identity in nigeria. a country and a culture i am proud to be a part of and love but one that is still worlds away from offering the equality and acceptance that every citizen deserves. [applause] truly. truby. was soe cousin truby

brave to live without love. and be his true of, authentic self. my mother talked about his son being gay. she said, are you prepared to lose your son because he is a what, a gay? mommy, i said, you don't say "gay."" it's just what do you mean? never mind, just keep going. are you prepared to lose your site because of your son is what , gay? [applause] and in the end, he wasn't. we worked.

-- worked. weren't. the only thing that mattered is that we had our son, cousin, nephew, rather, to share -- share in a way that only he could manifest. [applause] now it is because of these lives and the ones we had never come to know that i can borrow from the great maya angelou and say that your passage has been paid for. pretend with you or any other member of this tribe that there may not be bumps along the road in your near future. undoubtedly, there will be. go,you still have miles to i am an army ready to support you. [applause]

and, as the fight wages on, know that there is joint on the other end of this glorious rainbow. i have known too many holy spirits happily living their lives out loud to not know this to be true. i am going to say just this. i love you, sam. more than you could possibly ever know. we all do. and if tonight can serve no other function than to reaffirm that principle, then i will it to be so with the hope i might serve as the space older to relate one basic truth. you are loved. period. ever,e special and you ever forget it. thank you so much. god bless you all. i am so deeply honored and moved.

[applause] thank you so much. [applause] ♪ >> thank you so much. we love you. now i have the pleasure of giving away a brand-new 2018 lexus sport. we are going to see what this car has to offer while my cochair picks a winner. please roll that video. ♪ you are watching live coverage of the human rights campaign annual dinner is evening in washington dc. there going to show you dinner from the beginning now on you can watch it anytime

c-span.org. speakers include hillary clinton, billy jean king, kamala harris, and jeff bezos. he was honored with the human rights campaign national equality award. ♪ >> good evening. last year, when i had the chance to speak at the democratic national convention. i joined with people from every background to demonstrate a simple message. equality for all. makes this country stronger for everyone. tom fuzzy bbq equality racial justice, to immigrant arets, all of us every day part of a movement to reclaim the story of america from those who wish to roll back the