Equalize started in the summer of 2008 when Alex attended Warped Tour 2008. Warped has a large area for non-profit organizations, but none of them explain or uniquely support LGBTQ rights. It felt like something was missing, like a part of the music community wasn’t represented. There had to be people out there like us, gay or straight or queer, who wanted that too; people who would get excited about an organization that supported equal rights for all genders and sexualities. Thus Equalize was born.

Equalize is an organization that is focused on young people, a part of the counterculture music scene that exists to start dialogue about gay activism and equal rights. Youth music culture is diverse and large, filled with people who have opinions on equal rights but don’t necessarily know what they can do to further the cause. Equalize gives young people the tools and the power to be active in their own communities, as a part of the music scene they love. Equalize is based on an activist model rooted in the music community, similar to other non-profit youth-directed organizations. This model uses tactics like street teaming, passing out fliers at shows, discussing equal rights and related issues with musicians and bands to further knowledge in the music scene, and throwing benefit shows to support equal rights causes.

We are a group of people devoted to the cause of equal rights and promoting that cause in the music community. We invite you to join us in furthering our goals and seeing through to a future where all people are equal.