Laverne Cox to Receive Pride in Action Award in Seattle
Laverne Cox will receive Lifelong’s “Pride in Action” award at the organization’s inaugural Pride Gala in Seattle on Saturday, June 13. The honor puts laverne cox at the center of a first-time fundraising event built around direct services, not just celebration.
Seattle gala honors Cox
More than two decades into her fight for transgender rights, Cox arrives at the gala as an Emmy-winning actress, producer, author, and advocate. She said, “I’m still a student at 54 years old,” and added, “I have to continue to learn and listen and be teachable, so that I can be a better teacher.”
Cox’s résumé helps explain why the award lands here: she was the first openly transgender person nominated for an Emmy in an acting category for Orange Is the New Black, produced Disclosure, and published the memoir Transcendent. She also recently hosted Outright International’s annual gala, keeping her public role tied to advocacy work rather than a single appearance.
Funds for 8,200 people
The gala will raise money for Lifelong’s mission to provide food access, housing support, medical case management, and other essential services for more than 8,200 people in Washington. That shifts the night from a routine Pride-season tribute into a fundraising event with a defined operating purpose and a measurable client base.
Brad Goreski will host, while Macy Gray, Jake Shears, and Miz Cracker are set to perform. Jean Smart and Bella Thorne will serve on the honorary committee, giving the inaugural gala a broad entertainment draw without turning it into a pure celebrity showcase.
Local support, public message
Cox has been unusually direct about why the work stays local. “It’s all about the local organizations,” she said, adding, “Local organizations foster community and foster a sense of ‘I’m not alone.’ You can go somewhere and meet people who are like you and have similar experiences, and that support piece is just everything, just not feeling alone and isolated is just everything.”
She also said, “When we’re gathered together, we feel our collective power, we feel how magical we are, and how much we love each other,” and, “There’s just something that’s life-giving about that, that’s life-sustaining.” The Seattle gala turns that message into a funding test: if the room gives, Lifelong can keep serving thousands of people who rely on those programs across Washington.
That is the real measure here. For Cox, the award recognizes advocacy built over more than two decades; for Lifelong, the night has to convert visibility into support for food, housing, and medical case management in Washington.
