The Red Umbrella Project is a New York based non-profit organization that advocates on behalf of sex workers and strives to empower them by giving them a voice.
45-399: The Red Umbrella Project was founded in 2010 by writer and activist Audacia Ray . As a former sex worker, Ray witnessed first-hand the discrimination against sex workers by police and society. Ray envisioned an organization where sex workers could come together to share their stories, advocate for change and help one another. She chose the name The Red Umbrella Project because in 2001 during
90-530: A Backpage sex trafficking exposé, Village Voice Media executives Scott Tobias, Christine Brennan and Jeff Mars bought Village Voice Media's papers and associated web properties from its founders in September 2012, and formed the Denver-based Voice Media Group . In May 2013, The Village Voice editor Will Bourne and deputy editor Jessica Lustig told The New York Times that they were quitting
135-547: A podcast and hosts a monthly storytelling series in New York City, The Red Umbrella Diaries, where sex workers tell their personal stories . The Red Umbrella Project, which merged with Sex Work Awareness in 2011, also runs Speak Up! Workshops that train sex workers in media literacy and advocacy. In 2010, Ray was involved with the Global Network of Sex Work Projects (NSWP). The Village Voice The Village Voice
180-817: A quarterly in April 2021. The Village Voice has received three Pulitzer Prizes , the National Press Foundation Award, and the George Polk Award . The Village Voice hosted a variety of writers and artists, including writer Ezra Pound , cartoonist Lynda Barry , artist Greg Tate , music critic Robert Christgau , and film critics Andrew Sarris , Jonas Mekas , and J. Hoberman . In October 2015, The Village Voice changed ownership and severed all ties with former parent company Voice Media Group (VMG). The Voice announced on August 22, 2017, that it would cease publication of its print edition and convert to
225-564: A sex worker and would find clients through Craigslist . She says she retired from sex work in about 2006. Ray founded a sex worker magazine, $ pread Magazine , in 2004. She was an assistant curator for the Museum of Sex in 2002. In 2007, she authored Naked on the Internet in order "to make people less afraid of the internet and what's going on, especially with women's sexuality", described as "a survey of what women are up to online" on
270-658: A documentary produced by Audacia Ray and multi- Emmy Award -Winning director David Kornfield and funded by the Red Umbrella Project. The documentary featured seven sex workers telling their stories about trading money for sex on the streets of New York City. The documentary premiered at the Portland Film Festival , in Portland, Oregon and at the IFC theater in New York City, and was a Doc NYC official selection. In 2012,
315-418: A fully digital venture, on a date to be announced. The final printed edition, featuring a 1965 photo of Bob Dylan on the cover, was distributed on September 21, 2017. After halting print publication in 2017, The Voice provided daily coverage through its website until August 31, 2018, when it announced it was ceasing production of new editorial content. On December 23, 2020, editor R. C. Baker announced that
360-426: A host to underground cartoonists. In addition to mainstay Jules Feiffer , whose cartoon ran for decades in the paper until its cancellation in 1996, well-known cartoonists featured in the paper have included R. Crumb , Matt Groening , Lynda Barry , Stan Mack , Mark Alan Stamaty , Ted Rall , Tom Tomorrow , Ward Sutton , Ruben Bolling and M. Wartella . Backpage was a classified advertisement website owned by
405-523: A monthly story-telling event at the Happy Ending Lounge on New York's Lower East Side that sought to shed the stigma around sex work, make it less isolating and show that it can be both exploitative and empowering" at the same time. The Red Umbrella Diaries was listed by The Village Voice as "The Best Way to Meet Sex Workers (for Free)", and was listed as "Best of New York City's Sports and Recreation" in 2010. The monthly event eventually led to
450-697: A personal blog in 2004, produces multi-media content in an effort to raise sexuality awareness taking advantage of social media technologies. In 2010, Ray was named New York's Best Sex Blogger of the year by Village Voice. Ray has a bachelor's degree in Cultural Studies from the Eugene Lang College The New School for Liberal Arts of New School University (2002) and a master's degree in American Studies from Columbia University (2007). After graduating from college, Ray chose to be
495-574: A two-bedroom apartment in Greenwich Village ; that was its initial coverage area, which expanded to other parts of the city by the 1960s. In 1960, it moved from 22 Greenwich Avenue to 61 Christopher Street in a landmark triangular corner building adjoining Sheridan Square, and a few feet west of the Stonewall Inn ; then, from the 1970s through 1980, at 11th Street and University Place; and then Broadway and 13th Street. It moved to Cooper Square in
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#1732858381663540-766: A valuable resource for reporters covering the Trump presidency. The Voice has published investigations of New York City politics, as well as reporting on national politics, with arts, culture, music, dance, film, and theater reviews. Writers and cartoonists for The Voice have received three Pulitzer Prizes : in 1981 ( Teresa Carpenter , for feature writing), 1986 ( Jules Feiffer , for editorial cartooning) and 2000 ( Mark Schoofs , for international reporting). The paper has, almost since its inception, recognized alternative theater in New York through its Obie Awards . The paper's " Pazz & Jop " music poll, started by Robert Christgau in
585-438: A variety of bullying tactics forced defendants to forgo their constitutional right of a trial by jury and agree to a plea bargain of a sex worker diversion program which consisted of a court mandated treatment program, followed by adjournment in contemplation of dismissal (ACD). The Red Umbrella Project argued that the city's intentions were good and that the new court does help people who are forced into sex work. However,
630-457: Is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village , New York City , known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly . Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf , Ed Fancher , John Wilcock , and Norman Mailer , The Voice began as a platform for the creative community of New York City. It ceased publication in 2017, although its online archives remained accessible. After an ownership change, The Voice reappeared in print as
675-724: The Editor & Publisher EPpy Award for Best Overall U.S. Newspaper Online Service – Weekly, Community, Alternative & Free in 2003. In 2005, the Phoenix alternative weekly chain New Times Media purchased the company and took the Village Voice Media name. Previous owners of The Village Voice or of Village Voice Media have included co-founders Fancher and Wolf, New York City Councilman Carter Burden , New York magazine founder Clay Felker , Rupert Murdoch , and Leonard Stern of
720-623: The 49th Venice Biennale of Art in Venice, Italy , sex workers demonstrated against inhumane work conditions and human rights violations by holding up red umbrellas , making this a symbol of resistance to discrimination. In 2009 Ray started hosting storytelling events for sex workers at the Happy Ending Lounge on New York's Lower East Side. The goals of these workshops and storytelling events were to shine light and empower sex workers, but it soon became apparent that these sex workers shared several common burdens. Many identified as trans or queer , there
765-570: The East Village in 1991, and in 2013, to the Financial District . Early columnists of the 1950s and 1960s included Jonas Mekas , who explored the underground film movement in his "Film Journal" column; Linda Solomon , who reviewed the Village club scene in the "Riffs" column; and Sam Julty , who wrote a popular column on car ownership and maintenance. John Wilcock wrote a column every week for
810-828: The Hartz Mountain empire. After The Village Voice was acquired by New Times Media in 2005, the publication's key personnel changed. The Voice was then managed by two journalists from Phoenix, Arizona . In April 2006, The Voice dismissed music editor Chuck Eddy . Four months later, the newspaper sacked longtime music critic Robert Christgau . In January 2007, the newspaper fired sex columnist and erotica author Rachel Kramer Bussel ; long-term creative director Ted Keller , art director Minh Oung, fashion columnist Lynn Yaeger and Deputy Art Director LD Beghtol were laid off or fired soon afterward. Editor in chief Donald Forst resigned in December 2005. Doug Simmons, his replacement,
855-741: The Internet television show Geek Entertainment TV hosted by Violet Blue . Since 2008, Ray has served as the Program Officer for the Online Communications and Campaigns division of the International Women's Health Coalition . She was interviewed on CNN 's Prime News regarding the sex scandal that resulted in Governor Eliot Spitzer 's resignation from public office as well as being sourced for an article by Elizabeth Landau on
900-686: The GLF petitioned it to do so. Over time, The Voice changed its stance, and, in 1982, became the second organization in the US known to have extended domestic partner benefits. Jeff Weinstein, an employee of the paper and shop steward for the publishing local of District 65 UAW, negotiated and won agreement in the union contract to extend health, life insurance, and disability benefits to the "spouse equivalents" of its union members. The Voice ' s competitors in New York City include The New York Observer and Time Out New York . Seventeen alternative weeklies around
945-532: The Reading Eagle Company, and holds the same roles at The Village Voice . After taking over ownership of The Voice , Barbey named Joe Levy, formerly of Rolling Stone , as interim editor in chief, and Suzan Gursoy, formerly of Ad Week , as publisher. In December 2016, Barbey named Stephen Mooallem, formerly of Harper's Bazaar , as editor in chief. Mooallem resigned in May 2018, and was not replaced before
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#1732858381663990-405: The Red Umbrella Project started offering memoir writing workshops in New York City which was made possible in part by a grant from Poets & Writers. The peer-facilitated workshops were open to all people with experience in the sex trade and allowed sex workers a safe space to build writing skills, share their stories with others, and get feedback from their peers. Attendees of the workshop have
1035-535: The United States are owned by The Voice's former parent company Village Voice Media . The film section writers and editors also produced a weekly Voice Film Club podcast. In 1996, after decades of carrying a cover price, The Voice switched from a paid weekly to a free, alternative weekly. The Voice website was a recipient of the National Press Foundation 's Online Journalism Award in 2001 and
1080-541: The court still treats the sex workers like criminals and makes the assumption that all sex workers are victims of human trafficking and that no one does sex work out of free will, for their personal economic gain. There may also be assumed discrimination within the workforce due to the fact that many sex workers are of color , queer or trans. The counseling and assistance offered through the court mandated treatment program provides them with no way of economic opportunity other than sex work. The Red Umbrella Project wants to see
1125-425: The early 1970s, is released annually and remains an influential survey of the nation's music critics. In 1999, film critic J. Hoberman and film section editor Dennis Lim began a similar Village Voice Film Poll for the year in film. In 2001, The Voice sponsored its first music festival, Siren Festival, a free annual event every summer held at Coney Island . The event moved to the lower tip of Manhattan in 2011, and
1170-516: The first time since 2018. At the time, The Village Voice was a quarterly publication. The Voice has published columns and works by writers such as Ezra Pound , Henry Miller , Barbara Garson , Katherine Anne Porter , James Baldwin , E.E. Cummings , Nat Hentoff , staff writer and author Ted Hoagland , Colson Whitehead , Tom Stoppard , Paul Lukas , Lorraine Hansberry , Lester Bangs , Allen Ginsberg and Joshua Clover . Former editors have included Clay Felker . The newspaper has also been
1215-583: The last article to be published on the website. Two weeks after the Village Voice ceased operations on September 13, co-founder John Wilcock died in California at the age of 91. In January 2021, a new original story — the first one in two-and-a-half years — was published on the website of The Village Voice . On April 17, 2021, the Spring 2021 issue of The Village Voice appeared in news boxes and on newsstands for
1260-429: The management by some of its current writers, Hentoff himself, and by The Voice ' s ideological rival paper National Review , which referred to Hentoff as a "treasure". At the end of 2011, Wayne Barrett, who had written for the paper since 1973, was laid off. Fellow muckraking investigative reporter Tom Robbins then resigned in solidarity. Following a scandal concerning The Village Voice 's editorial attack on
1305-401: The newspaper referred to the riots as "The Great Faggot Rebellion". Two reporters, Howard Smith and Lucian Truscott IV, both used the words " faggot " and " dyke " in their articles about the riots. (These words were not commonly used by homosexuals to refer to each other at this time.) Smith and Truscott retrieved their press cards from The Voice offices, which were very close to the bar, as
1350-552: The option of having their work published in the Red Umbrella Project's biannual literary journal Prose & Lore , and to share their work on stage as part of their Page to Stage workshop. Audacia Ray Audacia Ray (born April 25, 1980) is an American human sexuality and culture author , who focuses on the influences of modern technology. She is a sex worker rights advocate and leads media skills workshops intended to train sex workers to deal with interviews. Ray's company, Waking Vixen Productions , which began as
1395-461: The paper for decades. Feingold was rehired as a writer for The Village Voice in January 2016. Michael Musto was also rehired in 2016 and wrote cover stories regarding subjects like Oscar scandals and Madonna's body of work. Musto returned again to write features in 2021 under new publisher Brian Calle. In July 2013, Voice Media Group executives named Tom Finkel as editor. Peter Barbey , through
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1440-445: The paper rather than executing further staff layoffs. Both had been recent appointments. By then, The Voice had employed five editors since 2005. Following Bourne's and Lustig's departure, Village Media Group management fired three of The Voice ' s longest-serving contributors: gossip and nightlife columnist Michael Musto , restaurant critic Robert Sietsema , and theater critic Michael Feingold , all of whom had been writing for
1485-431: The paper would resume publishing new articles both online and in a quarterly print edition. In January 2021, new original stories began being published again on the website. A spring print edition was released in April 2021. The Voice 's website continues to feature archival material related to current events. The Village Voice was launched by Ed Fancher , Dan Wolf, and Norman Mailer on October 26, 1955, from
1530-647: The paper's first ten years. Another regular from that period was the cartoonist Kin Platt , who did weekly theatrical caricatures. Other prominent regulars have included Peter Schjeldahl , Ellen Willis , Jill Johnston , Tom Carson, and Richard Goldstein . Staff of The Voice joined a union, the Distributive Workers of America , in 1977. For more than 40 years, Wayne Barrett was the newspaper's muckraker , covering New York real estate developers and politicians, including Donald Trump . The material continued to be
1575-507: The privately owned investment company Black Walnut Holdings LLC, purchased The Village Voice from Voice Media Group in October 2015. Barbey is a member of one of America's wealthiest families. The family has had ownership interest in the Reading Eagle , a daily newspaper serving the city of Reading, Pennsylvania and the surrounding region, for many years. Barbey serves as president and CEO of
1620-450: The publication's shutdown. Under the Barbey ownership, advertisements for escort agencies and phone sex services came to an end. On August 31, 2018, it was announced that the Village Voice would cease production and lay off half of its staff. The remaining staff would be kept on for a limited period for archival projects. An August 31 piece by freelancer Steven Wishnia was hailed as
1665-511: The same issue. In 2010, she appeared on Fox News discussing the controversy over New York City schoolteacher and former sex worker Melissa Petro. In 2009, Ray was an adjunct professor of sexuality at Rutgers University in Newark , New Jersey . In 2010, Ray founded the Red Umbrella Project (RedUP), a New York City company that aims to give public voices to sex workers. It has
1710-497: The same parent company as The Village Voice. In 2012, Nicholas Kristof wrote an article in The New York Times detailing a young woman's account of being sold on Backpage. The Village Voice released an article entitled "What Nick Kristof Got Wrong" accusing Kristof of fabricating the story and ignoring journalistic standards. Kristof responded, noting that The Voice did not dispute the column, but rather tried to show how
1755-774: The sex trade and twenty-five times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS than the general population. The Red Umbrella Project points to the fear of condoms as being used as evidence of prostitution along with profiling of race and gender by police officers where: "Women and trans people having condoms on them is criminalized, whereas a white cis male having condoms on him is looked at as safe-sex practice." The Red Umbrella Project and other advocacy groups have been able to push for reform in heavily liberal cities such as New York City, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. , but other more conservative cities such as Phoenix use condoms as evidence as part of their anti-prostitution campaign Project Rose. The Red Umbrella Diaries started as
1800-491: The sex-worker diversion program restructured with an emphasis on economic empowerment through job training and economic opportunities. The Red Umbrella Project along with the Nation Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE) and Best Practices Policy Project (BPPP) published a report that transgender people in the sex trade are twelve times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS than transgender people who were never involved in
1845-505: The timeline in Kristof's original piece was inaccurate. In this rebuttal, he not only justified his original timeline, but expressed sadness "to see Village Voice Media become a major player in sex trafficking, and to see it use its journalists as attack dogs for those who threaten its corporate interests", noting another instance of The Village Voice attacking journalists reporting on Backpage's role in sex trafficking. After repeated calls for
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1890-541: The trouble began; they were among the first journalists to record the event, Smith being trapped inside the bar with the police, and Truscott reporting from the street. After the riot, the Gay Liberation Front (GLF) attempted to promote dances for gays and lesbians in The Voice , but were not allowed to use the words "gay" or "homosexual", which the newspaper considered derogatory. The newspaper changed its policy after
1935-535: Was an alarming rate of HIV/AIDS cases among them, they feared carrying condoms due to the criminalization of condoms, and most of all they were tossed aside and mistreated by most of society, when all they were doing is trying to make a living and find economic opportunity. In 2014 New York City created a series of special courts for sex workers arrested on prostitution-related charges. The new courts, known as Human Trafficking Intervention Courts (HTIC), treated all sex workers as human trafficking victims, and through
1980-503: Was re-christened the " 4knots Music Festival", a reference to the speed of the East River's current. During the 1980s and onward, The Voice was known for its staunch support for gay rights , and it published an annual Gay Pride issue every June. However, early in its history, the newspaper had a reputation as having a homophobic slant. While reporting on the Stonewall riots of 1969,
2025-447: Was sacked in March 2006 after it was discovered that a reporter had fabricated portions of an article. Simmons' successor, Erik Wemple , resigned after two weeks. His replacement, David Blum , was fired in March 2007. Tony Ortega then held the position of editor in chief from 2007 to 2012. The sacking of Nat Hentoff , who worked for the paper from 1958 to 2008, led to further criticism of
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