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Cyndi Lauper works hard for the LGBT community

Cyndi Lauper has been a busy woman. For one, the straight ally has continued her unwavering and vocal support for the LGBT community in a big way.

As previously reported, Cyndi’s True Colors Fund launched the Give A Damn Campaign, an initiative to rally straight support for LGBT equality. The Give A Damn Campaign has included a series of videos featuring Cyndi Lauper, Elton John, Whoopi Goldberg, Jason Mraz, Cynthia Nixon, Kim Kardashian and Sharon Osbourne. It was in one of the Campaign videos where Anna Paquin came out as bisexual.

Only days after the Give A Damn Campaign was launched, Lauper’s True Colors Fund announced that it would be sponsoring a permanent homeless shelter for LGBT youth in Harlem: The True Colors Residence, set to open in winter 2011. According to the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, 40 percent of homeless youth in NYC are LGBT. Many homeless LGBT youth fear for their safety as a result of violence in mainstream shelters, which makes them even more vulnerable than the general homeless and runaway population. There are currently no permanent residences catering to homeless LGBT youth in New York City; the True Colors Residence will be the first.

Said Lauper in a statement to AfterEllen.com:

Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender teens are coming out in greater numbers as they see themselves accepted and represented on TV and in movies, but they’re still being kicked out of their homes or running away and living on the streets. We need to make sure we’re taking care of them and have the opportunity to reach their full potential.

In addition to her work for the LGBT community, Lauper has also been on our TVs regularly on Celebrity Apprentice, and she’s announcedthe release of her eleventh studio album Memphis Blues on June 22. The album will be a collection of blues cover songs, a departure from the feel of her last album, 2008’s dance-floor ready Bring Ya to The Brink. Recorded this March at Electraphonic Studios in Memphis, Tennessee, Memphis Blues features appearances by legends such as B.B. King, Jonny Lang, Allen Toussaint, Ann Peebles and Charlie Musselwhite.

“This is the album I’ve wanted to make for years,” said Lauper. “All of these beautiful songs, and all of the great players on the album, were carefully chosen because I’ve admired them my entire life. And I knew from the moment Allen Toussaint hit the keys in ‘Shattered Dreams’ that we were creating something really special.”

It’s clear that Lauper pushes boundaries when it comes to activism and isn’t afraid to explore musical genres that her audience may not be familiar with. What do you think about Lauper’s foray into blues? Even if you’re skeptical about the direction her latest album is taking, can we all give her a round of applause for the work she’s done for the LGBT community this past month? I know we can all agree with that.

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