“Vampire Diaries” star and LGBT advocate Kat Graham will be honored with the Celebrity in the Spotlight Liberty Award at Lambda Legal’s West Coast Liberty Awards, TheWrap has learned exclusively.
This year’s edition of the annual event will take place on June 2 in Beverly Hills, celebrating those “whose personal or professional advocacy furthers the organization’s vision of equality.”
Previously, transgender actress Candis Cayne and lifestyle expert Lawrence Zarian were announced as hosts for the event.
“I am thrilled to be honored this year with The Celebrity in the Spotlight Liberty Award. I truly admire the work that Lambda has done for equality and I think it’s especially important to support young LGBTQ,” said Graham.
Graham is best known for playing Bonnie Bennett on the CW’s “The Vampire Diaries.” She has been extremely outspoken about her support of the LGBTQ community and has been a frequent supporter at LGBT events and fundraisers as well as a GLAAD Leadership Council Member.
“We are delighted to have Kat Graham as an honoree this year, she is such an outstanding young ally for Lambda Legal and LGBTQ rights,” said Rick Davis, Lambda Legal’s Western Regional Director.
The West Coast Liberty Awards is a celebration of those who have made an impact on the lives of lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender people and those living with HIV. The program is staged by Lambda Legal, the oldest and largest national legal organization working for the civil rights of LGBT individuals and HIV/AIDS sufferers through litigation, education and public policy work.
The CW Diversity Scorecard: From 'Arrow' to 'Vampire Diaries' (Photos)
Its cast is large, but "The 100" features only 3 non-white characters out of 11.
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"Arrow" is one of the network's highest-rated shows, but is not very diverse, with only one non-white cast member in a main roster of 8.
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"Beauty and the Beast" is among the most diverse shows on the network, with a cast led by Kristin Kreuk.
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All of The CW's new shows are overall more diverse than past seasons, but midseason drama "iZombie" is the least diverse amongst the newbies, with 4 white and 2 non-white leads.
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"Jane the Virgin" starring Gina Rodriguez is the most diverse show on The CW for the 2014-2015 season, featuring a cast of 5 non-white and 2 white characters.
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"Reign," heading into its second season, is one of two shows on the network featuring zero non-white lead characters.
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"Supernatural" is the only other show besides "Reign" on The CW that features an all-white series regular cast.
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"The Flash" deliberately made white comic book characters African-American, and has surrounded its hero with a diverse group of allies.
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Not much is known about midseason sci-fi thriller "The Messengers," but its balance between white and non-white lead characters -- five to three -- is among the network's best.
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"The Originals" features vampires, werewolves and hybrids -- but most of them are white, with only one non-white character out of six.
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"The Vampire Diaries" also features all sorts of supernatural creatures, but only managed to scare up one non-white character out of a large group of 11.
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The youth-driven broadcast network is improving year to year, but still doesn’t quite reflect the diverse world of its target audience
Its cast is large, but "The 100" features only 3 non-white characters out of 11.