As legislative attacks on LGBTQ rights surge across the country, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has launched a new campaign aimed at reclaiming space and power for LGBTQ Americans — particularly in states where that power is being most directly challenged.
Announced Monday on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, the “American Dreams Tour” is the HRC’s largest storytelling and organizing initiative in years. The effort will focus on Red and Purple states like Ohio, Texas, Georgia, and Tennessee — states where LGBTQ individuals are both increasingly visible and increasingly under threat.
“We’re not just afraid. Our lives are literally under attack,” said Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign. “But we’re not without power.”
Robinson, who became the first Black queer woman to lead the HRC in 2022, described the campaign as a deliberate pivot away from relying solely on courts and legislation. Instead, the tour will use direct engagement — from kitchen table conversations to public town halls — to highlight personal stories and confront misinformation head-on.
The tour comes in response to what HRC has described as a national emergency. Over the past year alone, nearly 1,000 anti-LGBTQ incidents have been reported nationwide, and more than 600 anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced in state legislatures. These range from bans on drag performances to efforts targeting gender-affirming care and bathroom access for transgender people.
The political climate has worsened under renewed targeting by President Donald Trump, who has made rolling back LGBTQ rights a recurring feature of his campaign rhetoric and executive actions.
Despite these attacks, Robinson emphasized that the LGBTQ community’s history — from the HIV/AIDS crisis to marriage equality — has always been defined by resilience. “We’ve always moved this country forward using our voices, our vision, our grace, and our grit,” she said.
The campaign’s title — American Dreams — reflects both urgency and optimism. “We’re declaring that this is our country too,” Robinson explained. “Pride and patriotism go hand in hand.”
The tour will prioritize listening as much as speaking. Alongside rallies and trainings, HRC plans to meet with local legislators, faith leaders, and undecided voters to counter the “constant diet of misinformation” that Robinson says has distorted public understanding of LGBTQ people.
“Our struggle and our fights are intertwined,” Robinson said. “Equality cannot be conditional.”.
