The openly gay head of a New Jersey human-rights office paid his own way to Detroit in 2008 to witness the International Association of Official Human Rights Agencies pass its first LGBT resolution. That happened to be the first year on the job for Rue Landau, the lesbian who leads the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations.
“Over the years, many IAOHRA members have talked to me about their personal LGBT issues,” Landau said.
She remembered talking with one person about a gay grandson feeling rejected at church and another whose daughter transitioned to a son.
“That’s why this year we decided to come to Philadelphia, a city that has a trailblazing history with protecting the LGBT community,” Landau said.
The 67th-annual IAOHRA conference takes place Aug. 7-11 at the Loews Hotel, 1200 Market St. It will spotlight LGBT issues for the first time. Landau pushed for that focus with the support of her fellow board members.
Pennsylvania Physician General Rachel Levine, a transgender woman, will speak at the opening of the conference Aug. 8. Representatives from the Bryson Institute, the training arm of The Attic Youth Center, will speak later in the week.
Panels include “From Selma to Stonewall: The LGBTQ Community and the Question of Equal Justice Under the Law,” “LGBTQ Youth Perspective: Real Talk” and “Pressing the Issue: LGBTQ and the Question of Religion, Community and Equal Rights.” There will also be discussion of community-police relations, fair housing and racial equity.
Landau especially looked forward to attendees hearing from David Johns, the executive director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans.
About 100 leaders of human-rights agencies from across the country are expected to attend, in addition to some advocates from the Philadelphia region. They will also take a tour Aug. 8 of Philadelphia’s civil-rights sites led by Bob Skiba, the archivist of the William Way LGBT Community Center.
For more information, visit www.iaohra2016.org.