Adam Eli (born September 26, 1990) is an American

activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

and writer known for his work in

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

activism. His first book, ''The New Queer Conscience'', was released in June 2020.

Career

Eli is the founder of Voices4, a nonviolent direct-action activist group committed to advancing global queer liberation. It was originally launched to protest the anti-gay violence in Chechnya and has since created international chapters in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. He got his start in activism as a member of

Gays Against Guns Gays Against Guns (GAG) is a direct action group of LGBTQ people committed to ending gun violence through nonviolent means, civil disobedience, and activism. The group was founded by Kevin Hertzog, Brian Worth and John Grauwiler in 2016, as a res ...

, ultimately managing their social media accounts. Eli has a large following on

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

and says

social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...

is an important tool in his activism. "Social media is one of the most important tools the resistance has. Social media is about self-expression, sharing information, crafting identity and community...If used effectively, the power of social media is limitless." ''Out'' magazine described Eli as "one of the most prominent young faces in a wave of contemporary activism not seen since

ACT UP AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) is an international, grassroots political group working to end the AIDS pandemic. The group works to improve the lives of people with AIDS through direct action, medical research, treatment and advocacy, ...

." He is known for his "signature pink

yarmulke A (plural: ''kippot''), , or is a brimless Jewish skullcap, usually made of cloth, traditionally worn by Jewish men to fulfill the customary requirement that the head be covered. It is the most common type of head-covering worn by men in ...

." Before beginning in activism, Eli worked in real estate. In 2019, a video Eli posted went viral showing him being followed and harassed on the street in New York City. “Stay in the closet...Make sure your closet is in another closet...this is not Judaism!" the unidentified man can be seen yelling. The video has been viewed over a million times and was shared by Mayor

Bill De Blasio Bill de Blasio (; born Warren Wilhelm Jr., May 8, 1961; later Warren de Blasio-Wilhelm) is an American politician who was the List of mayors of New York City, 109th mayor of New York City, mayor of New York City from 2014 to 2021. A member of t ...

, who wrote, "There’s no place for hate in this city." Eli said he felt compelled to share the video of the confrontation as a reminder that the struggle for LGBT rights isn't over. Eli currently serves as the Editor-in-chief of Gucci's queer zine, ''The Chime Zine''. “Gender-based discrimination, oppression and violence take many different forms,” he says. “Having a global perspective is essential to the mission of Chime for Change and ''The Chime Zine.''" Chime for Change is a global campaign founded by Gucci in 2013 to convene, unite and strengthen the voices speaking out for gender equality. In June 2020, he published his first book, ''The New Queer Conscience'', a part of Penguin Teen's "Pocket Change Collective Series" with

Alok Vaid-Menon Alok Vaid-Menon (born July 1, 1991, stylized ALOK) is an American writer, performance artist, and media personality. Vaid-Menon is gender non-conforming and transfeminine, and uses the singular they, singular ''they'' third person pronouns. Vai ...

, Kimberly Drew, and Xiuhtezcatl Martinez.

Recognition

Eli has been recognized in ''Out'' magazine's annual

Out100 ''Out'' is an American LGBTQ news, fashion, entertainment, and lifestyle (sociology), lifestyle magazine, with the highest circulation of any LGBTQ monthly publication in the United States. ''Out'' was owned by Robert Hardman of Boston, its orig ...

list (in 2018), Logo TV's Logo30 list, and ''Out'' magazine's "Most Eligible Bachelor’s of 2018".

Personal life

Eli came out as queer in 2009. He credits his Judaism as, "the impetus for isqueer activism." Eli applies the Jewish principle, "Kol Yisreal arevim zeh bazeh," meaning, "All Jews are responsible for each other," to his ideology towards his LGBT+ activism, believing that, "queer people anywhere are responsible for queer people everywhere."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eli, Adam 1990 births Living people 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American LGBTQ people American gay writers American LGBTQ rights activists American male non-fiction writers Jewish American activists Jewish American non-fiction writers University of Southern California alumni