Please join us on Tuesday May 19th from 5:30pm-7:30pm at the USM Glickman Library on the Portland campus for a keynote and community forum hosted in partnership with EqualityMaine, Queerly ME, Equality Community Center and the Southern Maine chapter of the American Red Cross.
Our gathering will include a short keynote from a national ARC staff member 5:45pm to 6:00pm, followed by a panel discussion and audience Q&A 6:30pm-7:30pm to:
- acknowledge the harmful impact of the longtime US FDA's blood ban for men who have sex with men,
- educate about recent (and still not fully inclusive) changes to this policy,
discuss continued advocacy needed to move toward reconciliation and reparations with queer communities when it comes to donating blood, and
- demystify the blood donation process with the hopes of engaging the LGBTQ+ community with the Red Cross
From 6:00pm to 6:30pm, participants will be invited to visit the Maine Family Planning's and Frannie Peabody's resource tables as well as the Sampson Center's LGBTQIA+ archive downstairs and its literature table. Refreshments will be provided.