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Good evening GLSEN supporters and honored guests, my name is Frank Jump (which is usually a verb and sometimes a noun- I don’t do pronouns) and I am a gay NYC elementary school teacher, author of The Fading Ads of NYC, an artist living with HIV since 1984, a husband of 28 years –
I also happened to be Rosario Dawson’s Uncle Frank.
I met Rosario’s mom Isabel in the early 80s and we became family INSTANTLY. Isabel often said we sometimes choose our families. Never having children of my own, I was fortunate to have been cast in the role as Uncle Frank in the Dawson Family.
Rosa’s extended family is a rather eclectic crew featuring radical queers (wave hello Auntie Kelly), transgendered warriors who have passed on (hello Chloë) and AIDS activists who were supposed to die but didn’t. Rosa was (and still is) a remarkably generous and perceptive child.
In 1986 when Rosa was eight, I found out I was HIV positive so naturally I went over to Isabel’s for some emotional rescue and some kick ass lasagna. Being super careful about my utensil use at the dinner table- Rosa picked up on that right away and said,
“You know Uncle Frank, you can’t get it from sharing knives and forks, the whole world would have it.”
And she proceeded to feed me a hunk of her lasagna with her fork.
A few years after Rosa debuted in the film Kids in her last year of high school on the Lower East Side- I get this message on my answering machine from her Mom who was living in Texas:
Hi Uncle Frank, hope you and Vincenzo are doing well. I’m still in Texas. Rosa is moving in with you at the end of the week. Talk to you later, bye.
At the time, Enzo and I were living in a sprawling five-bedroom apartment in Clinton Hill Brooklyn and Rosa was thrilled to have her own bathroom. One day I’m coming into the building and Mrs. Washington, an elderly woman who lived on our floor and knew all the goings on at 415 Washington Avenue said, Do you know that young actress Rosario Dawson is going in and out of your apartment all day? Really? Is she alone? Why, YES! Good, you tell me if she has any guests. OH! Yes I surely will. (It does take a village.)
Soon my little girl was an independent woman, highly engaged in philanthropy, community service and activism. She is generous with her star power influence but she is choosy. She takes a hard look at what is going wrong in the world and jumps in feet first. Rosa is a hands-on cultural worker who doesn’t invest in the charity model-
Early on, Rosa volunteered at the Lower East Side Girls club where she became a mentor to countless NYC girls. She also co-founded Voto Latino in 2004. Just after recording the soundtrack for the film RENT, Rosa was generous enough to lend her star power to an organization that was close to my mother’s heart-
-The NYC Chapter of P-FLAG for which my mother did volunteer work for over twenty-five years and marched with me by my side in the Pride Parade. So Rosa and I took part in an ad campaign for P-FLAG called Stay-Close in 2004 where celebrities like Cyndi Lauper and Ben Affleck would be featured in a poster with their gay or lesbian family member. This was very exciting and meant so much to my mom and her organization.
Rosa has integrity and she is true to her convictions. Once we were sitting at an upscale Japanese restaurant after one of her film premieres and the CEO of Revlon came over to our table and said, Rosario, you are beautiful, you have to do our commercials. And as he was leaving she turned to me and said,
I ain’t doin no freakin Revlon ads
and I said baby, you get tons of royalties for those and she said,
Uncle Frank. I don’t wear make-up in my everyday. I couldn’t live with myself.
I am super proud to be chosen to be Rosario Dawson’s Uncle Frank, and she chooses to be Auntie Rosario to mothers and their children across Africa, she chose to adopt her daughter Isabella and she continues to choose her ever-growing family which now includes all y’all. Ladies and gentlemen, I am thrilled to introduce to you your fabulous newly adopted Auntie, Rosario Dawson.
Rosario Dawson to Receive Inspiration Award on May 21st at Cipriani 42nd Street
New York, NY (May 8, 2018) – GLSEN, the leading education organization working to create safe and inclusive K-12 schools for LGBTQ youth, will honor Rosario Dawson with the Inspiration Award during the 2018 GLSEN Respect Awards – New York.
“It is a thrill to honor Rosario, who has been an amazing ally to GLSEN and all of the students we serve. She is a wonderful example of someone engaged with all of the pressing issues of our time who also knows how to amplify the voices of youth too often left out of the conversation,” said Eliza Byard, GLSEN Executive Director. “A warm and inspiring presence at a variety of GLSEN events over the years, Rosario has helped GLSEN reach a broader audience and brought new allies to our side in the urgent fight for Respect for All.”
The GLSEN Respect Awards, introduced in 2004 and held annually in Los Angeles and New York, showcase the work of students, educators, community leaders, and corporations who serve as exemplary role models and have made a significant impact on the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth. Past honorees include Kerry Washington; Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake; Julia Roberts and Danny Moder; Zendaya; Shonda Rhimes, and Carla Gugino. The GLSEN Respect Awards – New York will welcome approximately 500 guests, including outstanding youth leaders and educators from around the country, raising more than $1 million in support of GLSEN’s work.
For nearly three decades, GLSEN has led the way on LGBTQ issues in K-12 education through groundbreaking original research, innovative program development, educator training, student organizing, and targeted state and federal advocacy. With the development of educational resources, direct engagement of youth and educators, and national programs like GLSEN’s Day of Silence, GLSEN’s No Name-Calling Week, and GLSEN’s Ally Week, GLSEN has seen the impact of its work.
Tickets for the Respect Awards are available now. For additional information, please visit www.glsen.org/events.
About GLSEN
GLSEN works to create safe and inclusive schools for all. We envision a world in which every child learns to respect and accept all people, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, and/or gender expression. Each year, GLSEN programs and resources reach millions of students and educators in K-12 schools across the United States, and our network of 39 community-led chapters in 26 states brings GLSEN’s expertise to local communities. GLSEN’s progress and impact have won support for inclusive schools at all levels of education in the United States and sparked an international movement to ensure equality for LGBTQ students and respect for all in schools. For more information on GLSEN’s policy advocacy, student leadership initiatives, public education, research, and educator training programs, please visit www.glsen.org.
