The bookmobile program will be honored on September 28 in Los Angeles at Family Equality’s annual fall gala
Los Angeles, CA — Family Equality, the nation’s leading organization for current and future LGBTQ+ families, is pleased to announce their 2024 Murray/Reese Family Award honoree, the Rainbow Book Bus. The program, which promotes and protects access to books for queer communities and those affected by anti-inclusive legislation, will be honored alongside Visibility Award honorees Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Justin Mikita as part of a star-studded program supported by honorary chair Dan Bucatinsky; honorary committee Gwyneth Paltrow and Brad Falchuk, Kristin Chenoweth, Wendi McLendon-Covey and Greg Covey, Cheyenne Jackson and Jason Landau, and Colton Underwood and Jordan C. Brown; and event chairs Adair Curtis, Taylor Emerson, Alvin McCray, Danny Pintauro, Jai Rodriguez and Dani Wassel.
“With our community facing threats to our rights, our stories, and our histories, programs like the Rainbow Book Bus are life-changing,” said Zac Walker, Director of Strategic Events and Engagement. “When the Rainbow Book Bus shows up in towns across the country, it provides our youth and families a critical lifeline — a chance to escape, learn, and be understood. As an organization dedicated to creating a world where everyone is seen, supported, and welcome, we are thrilled to be able to honor the work of Rainbow Book Bus, a program that tells LGBTQ+ youth and families that their stories matter — even and especially when state politicians and school boards might suggest differently.”
About our Honorees
The Rainbow Book Bus, founded by drag performer Adam Powell and LGBTQ+ historian Dr. Eric Cervini, is a bookmobile program that aims to promote and protect access to representative books and media for queer communities and anyone impacted by anti-inclusive legislation. The program works toward education freedom by fighting existing censorship, as recent studies by PEN American reveal that there were 3,362 book bans enacted across 153 districts during the 2022/2023 school year, a 33% increase from the previous year. Transformed by queer artists India Torrez and Paco May, and architect Lucas Amador, the 22-foot school bus’s recent inaugural cross-country tour involved seven events with seven LGBTQ+ organizations and 8,000 books given away to kids, parents, teachers, and LGBTQ+ centers — helping to remind LGBTQ+ youth and those close to them that they’re not alone.
Co-founder, Adam Powell, graduated from Harvard University and worked for seven years in marketing and talent partnerships before launching ShopQueer, an LGBTQ+ book shop, in 2022 alongside his partner, Eric Cervini. In 2024, ShopQueer was reimagined as Allstora, an independent, 100% author-owned digital bookshop led by Powell, Cervini, and RuPaul Charles. When not driving The Rainbow Book Bus across the United States, he can be found performing as his drag alter ego, Aubergine! Fellow co-founder, Dr. Eric Cervini, is an award-winning author, producer, and historian of LGBTQ+ politics. His first book, The Deviant’s War: The Homosexual vs. the United States of America, was a New York Times bestseller and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Cervini is also the Emmy-winning creator and Executive Producer of The Book of Queer, a queer history docu-series boasting the largest all-queer cast in Hollywood history. It premiered on Discovery+ in June 2022 and is now streaming on Max.
Powell, Cervini, and the Rainbow Book Bus will be honored alongside Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Tony-Award winner actor, author (Food Between Friends), producer, and podcast host (DINNER’S ON ME) known for his work on stage (TAKE ME OUT, ON THE TOWN, THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE) and screen (COCAINE BEAR, MODERN FAMILY) and his husband, Justin Mikita, two-time Tony-award winning producer (TORCH SONG, OKLAHOMA!, IS THIS A ROOM, DANA H., SHUCKED) and partner & co-founder of Hawkins Mikita, a social impact firm working to develop the intersection of celebrity influence and social good.
About LA Impact
LA Impact will take place at Citizen News by Mother Wolf in Los Angeles on Saturday, September 28. The event offers celebrities, supporters, and community luminaries the opportunity to come together to support and protect all the LGBTQ+ families across the country so that they can glitter and be unapologetically themselves.
Past honorees include Niecy Nash-Betts, Bruce Cohen, Jason Bolden and Adair Curtis, Nats Getty and Gigi Gorgeous Getty, Greg Berlanti, Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent, Sara Gilbert and Linda Perry, Mayor Annise Parker, Johnson & Johnson, Target, and the casts of Glee, Modern Family, and Transparent.
The 2024 LA Impact honorary chair is Dan Bucatinsky; the honorary committee is Gwyneth Paltrow and Brad Falchuk, Kristin Chenoweth, Wendi McLendon-Covey and Greg Covey, Cheyenne Jackson and Jason Landau, and Colton Underwood and Jordan C. Brown; and the event chairs are Adair Curtis, Taylor Emerson, Alvin McCray, Danny Pintauro, Jai Rodriguez and Dani Wassel.
Family Equality gratefully acknowledges the support of the following LA Impact sponsors, including Murray/Reese Foundation (Silver); Progyny and Nuage Designs (Bronze); Growing Generations (Friend); GEMS x Equality Vines (VIP Cocktail Reception); Teddy Bear Party (Cocktail Reception); Erica Horton and Dan Cooper (Photobooth); The Points Guy (Signature Drink); Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, Kenvue’s Care with Pride initiative, Clockwork, Equality Vines, Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Fidelity Investments, Gerber, Nederlander, Playbill, Target, and Warner Brothers Discovery (National Corporate Sponsors).
Learn more and purchase tickets at thelaimpact.com.
About Family Equality
Family Equality is creating a world where everyone can experience the love, safety, and belonging of family. As the leading national organization for current and future LGBTQ+ families, we work to ensure that everyone has the freedom to find, form, and sustain their families by advancing LGBTQ+ equality through advocacy, support, storytelling, and education. Learn more at familyequality.org and follow Family Equality on Instagram, Facebook, Youtube, LinkedIn, Threads, and Tiktok: @familyequality.
# # #
Press Contact
Tonya Agnew,
Vice President,
Communications & Marketing
(765) 490-4709 / tagnew@familyequality.org