Building allies in any civil- or human-rights movement is an essential element to success. No such movements can be won without the assistance of allies, who are often more effective in helping to change the opposing opinions of their peers than those impacted by the issue(s) at hand. In spite of the fact that many local and national polls demonstrate an increase in pro-LGBT attitudes from the general public, there is still quite a bit of resistance to the passage of certain legislation that will get us closer to being equal citizens with our heterosexual counterparts.
One such ally local leaders are working with is the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. On a national level, the NAACP has shown itself in recent years to be a fairly progressive black organization and ally to the LGBT civil-rights movement. Recently, they hired an openly gay black man, Maxim Thorne, as their senior vice president of development and communications. During the LGBT equality rally and march in Washington, D.C., last weekend, Julian Bond, chairman of the national NAACP board, spoke about the support the national organization has for LGBT civil rights.
Later this month, we will come one step closer to building stronger bridges with African-American allies from around the state to enlist their efforts to help support various pro-LGBT legislation at federal and state levels. On Oct. 31, the NAACP is hosting a statewide conference here in Philadelphia. Several Philadelphia-based leaders met with the local NAACP leadership, who agreed to give us a panel at the conference to discuss LGBT legislative issues with which we would like their support. We see this as a step in the right direction as we continue to build our ally base in the state to move pro-LGBT legislation forward.
The panel discussion will cover five pieces of legislation: the Defense of Marriage Act, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” hate-crimes legislation, immigration reform and House Bill 300. Of these, the only one that is state-level legislation is HB 300, which would add sexual orientation and gender identity or expression to the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act, which bars discrimination in employment, housing, education, credit and lending and service in public accommodations. The remaining four legislative issues are federal level; however, we need to make sure our Pennsylvania Congressional members support these pieces of legislation.
We are also keenly aware that our elected officials from Philadelphia are often in support of pro-LGBT legislation and that we need to influence our allies in other parts of the state to pressure their elected officials to create the tipping point we need to pass our legislative agendas. To this end, we are seeking written testimonials of discrimination experienced by black LGBTs in the Philadelphia region, with a strong interest in obtaining testimonials from persons residing in other parts of the state. Putting a personal face on how the lack of this legislation impacts the lives of individuals can often create the emotional connection we need to garner additional allies.
The panel discussion will take place from 10 a.m.-noon Oct. 31 at the Hilton Hotel, 4200 City Line Ave., and is open to the public. No registration is needed. Please get the word out to friends and colleagues from around the state that we are looking to obtain written testimonies of discrimination by 5 p.m. Oct. 29. Testimonies should be no longer than 1,500 words. Questions about the panel or testimonial submissions should be sent to [email protected].
Lee Carson is president of Black Gay Men’s Leadership Council, a grassroots nonprofit organization that fosters leadership, education and dialogue in the black gay male community (www.bgmlc.org).