Top Protests of 2015

The LGBT community can always count on ACT Up to take groups -- from the Human Rights Campaign to pharmaceutical companies -- to task for not adequately advocating for gays or people living with HIV/AIDS. And in 2015, they did not disappoint, presenting a full panel of die-ins, marches and pickets in front of the Waldorf-Astoria.

But this year also saw protests against the FDA's ban against MSM donating blood, including art-based protests like "Blood Mirror" and The Celibacy Challenge. Riders pedaled from Boston to NYC to raise money for HIV programs, as did Life Group LA with their "Drenched" fundraiser. Activists even took the streets for International Women's Day.

Let's hope that 2016 finds our community continuing to stand up and fight for what we believe in.

GMHC CEO Donates Blood to Protest FDA Ban; Used to Create 'Blood Mirror': In 2015, artist Jordan Eagles enlisted a group of nine extraordinary gay men, each with a unique life story, to donate their blood in protest of the FDA's ban and for the creation of a sculpture, Blood Mirror. Leo Herrera, activist and filmmaker, documented the process in an original, political art film, which is being released in advance of World Blood Donor Day (June 14), in honor of LGBT Pride month, and within the public comment period for the FDA's proposed, updated policy. "I wanted to create a sculpture that would become a time capsule, documenting this moment in time, while showing that this blood could have been used to save lives," said Eagles. "This discriminatory policy is part of our gay history and part of our nation's history, and the sculpture asks us to reflect on discrimination in our country, as well as the homophobia that exists around the world. For me, the sculpture is a work in progress. It will never be finished until the FDA's blood donation policy is fair for all people." Read more here.

ACT Up NY and TAG Hold Town Hall Meeting on Cuts to HIV/STD Programs: In response to disturbing trends in New York City's response to the ongoing HIV and STD epidemics, ACT UP New York and Treatment Action Group (TAG) will host a town hall meeting at the New York City LGBT Center on 13th Street in Manhattan at 6:30 p.m. on September 1. ACT UP and TAG seek to push the de Blasio administration to mitigate the massive citywide reduction of sexual health services in recent years, including the March 2015 closure of the Chelsea STD Clinic. Read more here.

Cycle for the Cause Raises Funds for NYC LGBT Center HIV Programs: On Sunday, September 20, the riders and crew of the 21st Annual Cycle for the Cause: The Northeast AIDS Ride finished the last leg of their 275-mile journey from Boston back to New York City's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Community Center. The ride raised more than $801,000 to support Center HIV/AIDS programs. "Every year I'm amazed when people on Cycle for the Cause thank me for the opportunity to cycle hundreds of miles and raise hundreds of thousands of dollars," said Glennda Testone, Executive Director of The Center. "It's the people on the ride and their dedication to ending this epidemic and supporting those who live with HIV and AIDS that brings me back again and again." Read more here.

Life Group LA Invites You to Get 'Drenched': As the summer comes to an end, get "Drenched" one last time on October 3 at this fun fundraiser pool party to benefit The Life Group LA. The event will be co-hosted by DJ EurOSteve and Stan Smith. One hundred percent of all money raised during "Drenched" will help the continuation of The Life Group's work. The purpose of the event is to raise awareness of the fact that the AIDS pandemic is not over and to raise much-needed funds for the HIV services provided by The Life Group LA.�Founded in 2005, The Life Group LA provides education, empowerment and emotional support to persons infected and affected by HIV/AIDS that they may make informed choices regarding their healthcare and personal well being. Read more here.

Chicagoans 'Sleep Out' to Fight Youth Homelessness: In the spirit of giving back this upcoming holiday season, the Chicago-area community will come together on�Friday, November 20, for an overnight sleep out�to raise visibility and funds to help provide a stable living environment for youth experiencing homelessness. The first-of-its-kind event in Chicago, the�Out In the Open Sleep Out,�will bring together members of the community to raise funds for 18 organizations serving youth experiencing homelessness. The event will be at Cricket Hill near Montrose Ave. and Lake Michigan.�"We are striving to bring new people and resources to this critical issue in Chicago," said Tracy Baim, Windy City Times�publisher and executive producer of the event. "We've modeled the event after similar events in other cities, and we plan to also showcase the talents of this next generation." Read more here.

ACT UP To Protest HRC's Annual Corporate Gala: "We demand that HRC include several criteria to evaluate companies on their treatment of employees living with HIV, as well as their contributions to organizations and causes related to reducing the incidence of HIV among LGBT Americans, particularly among the young," the protest's Facebook page reads. "For over 30 years, too many have been fired, harassed, outed and discriminated against at work for having HIV." Read more here. They also held protests in NYC and San Francisco. Read more here.

Activists Mobilize for One Billion Rising: Revolution Campaign: "One in three women across the planet will be beaten or raped during her lifetime. That's one billion women and girls. Every February, we rise -- in hundreds of countries across the world -- to show our local communities and the world what one billion looks like and shine a light on the rampant impunity and injustice that survivors most often face," said Eve Ensler, playwright, activist and founder of One Billion Rising. "We rise through dance to express joy and community and celebrate the fact that we have not been defeated by this violence. We rise to show we are determined to create a new kind of consciousness -- one where violence will be resisted until it is unthinkable. This year we are rising for Revolution." Read more here.

Activists Take the Streets on March 8 for Intl. Women's Day: Originating more than 100 years ago, International Women's Day or Working Women's Day celebrates the political, economic and social gains of women won through struggle. On March 8, 1857, New York women took to the streets to protest dangerous working conditions for women textile workers. Exactly 51 years later, 15,000 women marched through New York demanding shorter hours, the right to vote and an end to child labor. In New York City, UN Women will observe this date with a March for Gender Equality and Women's Rights, in collaboration with the City of New York, NGO CSW, the Working Group on Girls, the Man-Up Campaign and the UN Women for Peace Association. Read more here.

Alan Cumming Launches 'The Celibacy Challenge' Against FDA: It's the ultimate challenge for a do-gooder: abstaining from sex for an entire year, just to donate blood. In December 2014, the Food and Drug Administration relented on their 30-year discriminatory policy preventing men who have sex with men (MSM) from donating blood -- provided they abstain from sex for a year. Although legal experts applauded the move for bringing the health policy in line with other gains for LGBTs, critics said that it was too incremental, not based on science, perpetuated stigma and blocked more than half of this new population of potential donors. Enter The Celibacy Challenge, a provocative new campaign to bring attention to the FDA's new blood donation policy, and how difficult it is to meet the criteria. Because of their batch assay screening methods, the FDA says, "compelling scientific evidence is not available at this time to support a change to a deferral period less than one year while still ensuring the safety of the blood supply." Read more here.