A Framingham, Massachusetts-based LGBTQ youth organization that was endorsed by Governor Maura Healy openly advertised a marketing photoshoot that paid White models less than “people of color” as a “commitment to racial equity.”
The organization, OUT MetroWest Inc., is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that describes its mission as building communities where LGBTQ youth “thrive through social, educational, and supportive programming.”
OUT MetroWest, in coordination with Rose Wine Photography, promoted a “Youth Photoshoot 2026” scheduled for August 12 from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m. at its Framingham headquarters.
According to a report from Mass Daily News, the group sought 20 LGBTQ+ youth, pre-K through age 29, for photos intended for social media, fundraising, and marketing campaigns.
Participants would also have the option of free professional headshots. The sign-up page directed applicants to a Google form and media release.
The original public posting and Google form stated:
“White youth will be paid $20 for participating, and BIPOC youth will be paid $25 for participating, as we plan to use these photos for general and specific marketing. BIPOC youth are paid at a higher rate in align to our commitment to racial equity.”
After the ad went viral and the legal issues were pointed out, the organization changed the fee to $20, with a “possible bonus of $5 for photos used at a higher rate, with prime photo placement.”
OMG
LGBTQ youth org in Massachusetts advertised a youth photoshoot that pays White children LESS than BIPOC children to achieve “racial equity”
They just changed their site after backlash.
Here’s the before and after. The internet is forever.
Racial discrimination is ILLEGAL!… pic.twitter.com/xjF7qvIa4T
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) July 22, 2026
Obviously, the revised language could still allow selective race-based handing out of the bonus.
Mass Daily News reports:
Massachusetts’s Fair Employment Practices Act (Chapter 151B) makes it unlawful to discriminate in pay on the basis of race or color for any employer with six or more employees. Federal Title VII of the Civil Rights Act does the same for employers of 15 or more. Both statutes apply to wages and compensation paid for work performed. Whether an unpaid or lightly-compensated participant in a marketing photoshoot qualifies as a worker for the purpose of those statutes is the point at which the legal analysis turns.
But publicly advertising a rate card that pays participants differently based on race is ordinarily the kind of thing the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination is set up to look at, and the racial-symmetry of the two laws means the differential does not become legally invisible because it pays white participants less. Title VII and Chapter 151B are race-neutral prohibitions.
The organization claims to serve more than 375 youth and their families each year across the region, with free programs for ages pre-K through 29, participation in local Pride events, and education sessions.
Financial filings show recent annual revenue in the hundreds of thousands of dollars from private donors and foundations.
After the ad drew public attention and backlash, with many pointing out that discrimination based on race is illegal, the group changed the language.
Democrat Governor Healey continues to list the group among official state LGBTQ youth resources.
Here’s Democrat MA Governor Maura Healey ENDORSING an LGBTQ organization that racially discriminates against White children.
Why does @MassGovernor hate White kids?? https://t.co/YMddoF48uh pic.twitter.com/mA6xREMWaf
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) July 22, 2026
The governor has not publicly responded to the organization’s discriminatory practices.
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