--- title: Kelley Robinson's 2024 TIME100 Gala Toast | TIME description: “There is reason for hope,” 2020 TIME100 honoree Billy Porter said by way of introducing Kelley Robinson ahead of her toast. Porter took care to highlight Robinson’s intersectional work when it came to LGBTQIA+ rights as president of the Human Rights Campaign. Robinson used her toast as a way to highlight the ways in which America has progressed and the work that lies ahead, as well as the integral role that queer folks have played in the country’s social change. “Don’t tell me change isn’t happening, because my family is proof,” she said. “We are all truth in this room. Read the history of America, the story of America is a story of hope. It’s a story of progress. It’s a story of change—and lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, and trans folks. We have always been at the forefront of that change.” canonical: https://time.com/video/r99XM4S7/ og:title: Kelley Robinson's 2024 TIME100 Gala Toast og:description: “There is reason for hope,” 2020 TIME100 honoree Billy Porter said by way of introducing Kelley Robinson ahead of her toast. Porter took care to highlight Robinson’s intersectional work when it came to LGBTQIA+ rights as president of the Human Rights Campaign. Robinson used her toast as a way to highlight the ways in which America has progressed and the work that lies ahead, as well as the integral role that queer folks have played in the country’s social change. “Don’t tell me change isn’t happening, because my family is proof,” she said. “We are all truth in this room. Read the history of America, the story of America is a story of hope. It’s a story of progress. It’s a story of change—and lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, and trans folks. We have always been at the forefront of that change.” og:url: https://time.com/video/r99XM4S7/ og:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/r99XM4S7/poster.jpg?width=720 og:type: video.other twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Kelley Robinson's 2024 TIME100 Gala Toast twitter:description: “There is reason for hope,” 2020 TIME100 honoree Billy Porter said by way of introducing Kelley Robinson ahead of her toast. Porter took care to highlight Robinson’s intersectional work when it came to LGBTQIA+ rights as president of the Human Rights Campaign. Robinson used her toast as a way to highlight the ways in which America has progressed and the work that lies ahead, as well as the integral role that queer folks have played in the country’s social change. “Don’t tell me change isn’t happening, because my family is proof,” she said. “We are all truth in this room. Read the history of America, the story of America is a story of hope. It’s a story of progress. It’s a story of change—and lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, and trans folks. We have always been at the forefront of that change.” twitter:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/r99XM4S7/poster.jpg?width=720 --- * Ideas # Kelley Robinson's 2024 TIME100 Gala Toast > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Subscription: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME is a general-interest news organization founded in 1923, reporting on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world. A TIME subscription provides full access to that journalism in print and digital, from $20 a year, and can be cancelled at any time. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ## Video: Kelley Robinson's 2024 TIME100 Gala Toast [Watch (HLS stream): Kelley Robinson's 2024 TIME100 Gala Toast](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/r99XM4S7.m3u8) (3:10)  _Published 2024-05-13. “There is reason for hope,” 2020 TIME100 honoree Billy Porter said by way of introducing Kelley Robinson ahead of her toast. Porter took care to highlight Robinson’s intersectional work when it came to LGBTQIA+ rights as president of the Human Rights Campaign. Robinson used her toast as a way to highlight the ways in which America has progressed and the work that lies ahead, as well as the integral role that queer folks have played in the country’s social change. “Don’t tell me change isn’t happening, because my family is proof,” she said. “We are all truth in this room. Read the history of America, the story of America is a story of hope. It’s a story of progress. It’s a story of change—and lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, and trans folks. We have always been at the forefront of that change.”_ --- May 13, 2024 3:20 AM UTC --- ## More From This Series [All Videos](https://time.com/video/) [Colman Domingo's 2024 TIME100 Gala Toast](/video/sv4pQfIp/) ### Colman Domingo's 2024 TIME100 Gala Toast [Tracie D. Hall's Toast | TIME100 Gala 2023](/video/FJvrPb8g/) ### Tracie D. Hall's Toast | TIME100 Gala 2023 [Watch Toasts from the 2022 TIME100 Gala In Under 4 Minutes](/video/4jL8zO0J/) ### Watch Toasts from the 2022 TIME100 Gala In Under 4 Minutes --- ## Transcript This is just unreal. Y'all. I got to tell you, I grew up black and queer on the south side of Chicago. My family is from Iowa Iowa. Growing up, I didn't even know rooms like this existed. So to be here, it's humbling and it's powerful. By great Aunt, Bert, she was a matriarch of our family. She passed away a few years ago at the age of 102. I know I'm gonna live forever. When she passed away, we went down to Iowa, and we had the homegoing celebration to end homegoing celebrations. We rented out the FW. We did every line dance, know demand. We drink up every wine cooler in the region. We had a time. And as part of the celebration, we told the story of my family, of how we were enslaved people in Mississippi and Louisiana, of how we fought our way to becoming the first free Black family in Muscatine Iowa. Oh. And just think about that, Shel, two generations ago. My great aunt sat at the footsteps of people born into slavery, and today, I stand here as the first black queer woman to lead the human rights campaign. So don't tell me progress is impossible. Don't tell me change isn't happening because my family is proof. We are all proof in this room that the history of America, that the story of America is a story of hope. It's a story of progress. It's a story of change. And lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer and trans folks, we have always been at the forefront of that change. 'Cause let me remind you, there would be no civil rights movement without Byard Rustin. There would be no Harlem Renaissance without Ma Rainey. There would be no fast car without Tracy Chapman, y'all. We have queer excellence all across up and down the T 100, and I'm so proud of that. And as much as I want to celebrate, I'm also very clear that we are in the fight for our lives. We are up against forces who want to divide us and erase us and push us back into the closet. I'm talking about bullying in schools, violence and discrimination, book bans happening all across America. My friends, what we do now right now will quite literally decide our future and the futures of generations to come. So tonight, I'm asking you, I am imploring you. If you know a queer trans child, love them and love them fiercely. If you've got a pride flag, fly it and fly it proudly, y'all. And if you've got a vote, if you've got a vote by God, you better use it. We have got to vote. Because in this moment, we got to do more than just believe in equality. We've got to roll up our sleeves and fight for it. So tonight, I'm raising a glass to achieving equality for all, without exception to freedom for all, without exception, to joy. Somebody say joy. Without exception. Cheers, and onward, everyone. ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Kelley Robinson's 2024 TIME100 Gala Toast","description":"“There is reason for hope,” 2020 TIME100 honoree Billy Porter said by way of introducing Kelley Robinson ahead of her toast. Porter took care to highlight Robinson’s intersectional work when it came to LGBTQIA+ rights as president of the Human Rights Campaign. 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