On the final day of the 24th National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change in Baltimore, Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley expressed his hopes that Maryland will soon become the seventh state with marriage equality, he just recently introduced the Civil Marriage Protection Act of 2012. The governor also talked about his support for efforts to secure gender identity nondiscrimination protections in the state.
He received numerous rounds of applause during his remarks to activists from around the nation who have been meeting this week in Baltimore to strategize and mobilize in this critical election year. He told the crowd:
“We have just begun our 2012 legislative session, and if there is a common thread running through the issues that we are addressing, it is the thread of human dignity — the dignity of every individual and every family in our state. The dignity which says that discrimination based on gender identity is wrong — and that passing a law to protect transgender Marylanders from employment, credit and housing discrimination is the right thing to do. The dignity of a free and diverse people who at the end of the day, all want the same thing for their children: to live in a loving and caring and stable home that is protected equally under the law.”
O’Malley then talked about the effort to secure marriage equality in Maryland. He mentioned the broad coalition working on the issue, including faith, labor, family and civil rights groups. He said:
“Other states have found a way to protect religious liberty, religious freedom and to protect rights equally, and it is time for Maryland to do the same – and that’s why this week we proposed a civil marriage law in the General Assembly of Maryland and we seek to get it done this year. Our bill balances equal protection of individual rights with the important protection of religious liberty and religious freedom. Maryland was the seventh state admitted to the union. We believe with your help and a lot of hard work, we will be the seventh state to pass a civil marriage equality law.”
You can read the full text of O’Malley’s remarks here.
Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley addresses Creating Change.
The Task Force’s 2012 Leather Leadership Award was presented to Viola Johnson, who has been an activist, educator, writer, motivational speaker and author in and for the leather community for nearly four decades. Viola thanked Creating Change participants for “understanding that yours is the next generation of voices that will not be silenced.”
Viola Johnson receives the Leather Leadership Award.
The Corporate Leadership Award was presented to Showtime by Task Force Director of Institutional Gifts David Alexander to honor the company’s historic support for the LGBT community from the airing of the film As Is in 1986, one of the first films ever to address the AIDS crisis, to groundbreaking programs Queer as Folk and The L Word, to direct philanthropic support for many years to the Task Force and other LGBT organizations. The network shared a video montage, and George Debolt accepted the award on behalf of the network.
George Debolt accepts the Corporate Leadership Award for Showtime.
Task Force Deputy Executive Director of External Relations Russell Roybal presented Ernesto Dominguez with the Paul A. Anderson Youth Leadership Award for his activism in Portland, Ore., with CHATpdx and with Advocates for Youth. He spoke passionately about the trials of being out both as a gay man and undocumented. “LGBT rights are immigrant rights, and immigrant rights are LGBT rights,” he said.
Task Force Deputy Executive Director of External Relations Russell Roybal presents Ernesto Dominguez with the Youth Leadership Award.
Wilson Cruz, known for his role as Rickie in My So-Called Life and Angel in Rent performed ‘”Love, Child” to close out the conference.
Wilson Cruz performs 'Love, Child.'
In addition to the closing plenary, early in the morning, pro-LGBT faith people convened one last time for Engaging the Spirit, an interfaith gathering to close Practice Spirit, Do Justice. It included rituals, readings and music from diverse spiritual traditions to symbolize the coming together of these particular faiths and as a call to continue to do justice.
Practice Spirit, Do Justice is an important component of the Creating Change convening. This gathering brought together faith leaders and laypeople from numerous denominations and spiritual practices. They strategized on how to bring more faith allies into the LGBT movement and how best to counter religious-based bigotry. The workshops touched upon a diverse array of issues from how to make the religious case for LGBT equality to discussing the process of coming out as an LGBT minister. As part of Practice Spirit, Do Justice, a selection of stoles from the Shower of Stoles Project is put on display. The project is an extraordinary collection of more than 1,000 liturgical stoles and other sacred items representing the lives of LGBT people of faith.
The Shower of Stoles on display at Creating Change.
Thanks to & from the staff of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force for another successful Creating Change! We can’t wait to see you in Atlanta, Ga., Jan. 23-27, 2013, for our 25th National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change!
The staff of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.
Saturday’s plenary at the National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change featured important news on the domestic front and a call to action on international LGBT human rights.
HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan addresses the Creating Change audience.
First up, U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan announced a new HUD policy to fight discrimination against LGBT people in federally supported housing programs. The new rules, to be published next week, will help LGBT people and their families across the country stay in their homes, get the loans they need to buy homes, and access life-saving federal assistance programs to help get low-income people and families back on their feet. You can read more about the new policy and Donovan’s full remarks here.
Update: You can watch video of Secretary Donovan’s remarks here:
Donovan is the first sitting Cabinet secretary in history to speak at the National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change, the country’s largest annual gathering of LGBT rights advocates.
The plenary ended with an extraordinary panel focusing on international issues. Cary Alan Johnson, executive director of the International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission, moderated the discussion featuring LGBT organizers from around the world, including Nisha Ayub, programme manager of the Transgender Programme of the Pink Triangle Foundation of Malaysia; Joel Simpson, founder and co-chairperson of the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) in Guyana; and Val Kalende, a noted Ugandan LGBT activist and co-founder of Freedom and Roam Uganda.
Mira Patel, special advisor on LGBT and women’s rights at the U.S. State Department, joined the discussion to reiterate the Obama administration’s support of international LGBT human rights. This follows a Presidential Memorandum from President Obama and a historic speech from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton supporting LGBT human rights earlier this year.
Each of the organizers told stories of discrimination in their home countries, including appallingly discriminatory laws against homosexuality and transgender people. Yet, all of the organizers expressed hope for positive change and are building political power within their countries to enact that change.
At the end of the panel, there was a call to take action to promote international LGBT human rights. You can join the action by visiting iglhrc.org/action to send letters to the U.S. ambassadors to Guyana, Malaysia and Uganda to promote and support LGBT human rights.
International panel with IGLHRC at Creating Change.
HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan announces new LGBT housing discrimination protections at Creating Change
HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan announces the new rule.
Today, while addressing nearly 3,000 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights advocates at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force’s 24th National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change, U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan announced a new HUD policy to fight discrimination against LGBT people in federally supported housing programs.
The new rules, to be published next week, will help LGBT people and their families across the country stay in their homes, get the loans they need to buy homes, and access life-saving federal assistance programs to help get low-income people and families back on their feet.
Donovan is the first sitting Cabinet secretary in history to speak at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force’s National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change, the country’s largest annual gathering of LGBT rights advocates. They have been meeting this week in Baltimore to strategize and mobilize in this critical election year.
“I’m here this afternoon because our president and his administration believe the LGBT community deserves a place at the table — and also a place to call home. Each of us here knows that rights most folks take for granted are routinely violated against LGBT people,” Donovan said. “That’s why I’m proud to stand before you this afternoon and say HUD has been a leader in the fight — your fight and my fight — for equality. Over the last three years, we have worked to ensure that our housing programs are open. Not to some. Not to most. But open to all.”
Donovan spotlighted steps HUD has already taken to help protect LGBT people from housing-related discrimination. This work includes protecting LGBT people from discrimination under the Fair Housing Act and collecting data to better understand how same-sex couples suffer housing discrimination.
Donovan then unveiled the latest step.
“Today, I am proud to announce a new Equal Access to Housing Rule that says clearly and unequivocally that LGBT individuals and couples have the right to live where they choose. This is an idea whose time has come,” he said.
Donovan outlined the scope of the new rule.
“First and foremost, this rule includes a new equal access provision that prohibits owners and operators of HUD-funded housing, or housing whose financing we insure, from inquiring about an applicant’s sexual orientation or gender identity or denying housing on that basis. If you are denying HUD housing to people on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity — actual or perceived — you’re discriminating, you’re breaking the law — and you will be held accountable. That’s what equal access means, and that’s what this rule is going to do.”
He continued, “Secondly, this rule makes clear that LGBT families … are eligible for HUD’s public housing and Housing Choice Voucher programs that collectively serve 5.5 million people. Third, the rule also makes clear that sexual orientation and gender identity should not and cannot be part of any lending decision when it comes to getting a mortgage insured by the FHA — part of HUD.”
This announcement marks another victory for the New Beginning Initiative, a coalition of more than two dozen organizations convened by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, working to change how the federal government treats LGBT people and their families. The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force applauds the work of its coalition partners to secure this win for LGBT people and their families.
“Thanks to your leadership in convening the New Beginning Initiative, together we have made extraordinary progress, creating changes throughout the administration that have improved the day-to-day lives of LGBT people across the country,” Donovan said.
Rea Carey, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, praised today’s announcement and spoke of its vital importance to the lives of LGBT people.
“This policy announced today by Secretary Donovan will literally save lives. LGBT people and their families all across the country depend on HUD programs to have a roof over their head. Unfortunately, there are landlords out there who would choose to discriminate, putting families in peril,” Carey said. “These housing protections will reduce homelessness and increase economic security for LGBT people, which helps break the cycle of poverty that many families experience due to discrimination.”
She added, “This announcement could not have been made to a more appropriate crowd — the thousands of LGBT activists working on the ground in all of the states across the country who see the impacts of housing discrimination every day. We thank President Obama and Secretary Donovan for their recognition of the importance of housing security and their continued commitment to ending discrimination against LGBT people.”
Read Secretary Shaun Donovan’s full remarks at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force’s National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change here:
http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/press/speeches_remarks_statements/2012/Speech_01282012
Watch Rea Carey’s ‘State of the LGBT Movement’ address on C-SPAN
Task Force Executive Director Rea Carey delivered the ‘State of the LGBT Movement’ address at the 24th National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change on Friday, Jan. 27. You can read the full text of the speech here.
Friday at Creating Change!
The largest-ever National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change continued today with a galvanizing “State of the Movement” speech by Task Force Executive Director Rea Carey, and dozens of workshops, panels and exhibits. Early in the morning, the Obama administration held a town-hall meeting with conference attendees.
Obama administration officials take questions from the LGBT community at Creating Change.
At the end of the plenary, Michael Adams, executive director of Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE), gave the SAGE Advocacy Award for Excellence in Leadership in Aging Issues to Kathy Greenlee, assistant secretary of Aging at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. As a federal appointee by President Obama, she played a leading role in the Administration on Aging’s decision to fund the creation of the country’s first and only National Resource Center on LGBT Aging.
Assistant Secretary of Aging at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Kathy Greenlee accepts the SAGE Award.
Rea Carey delivers ‘State of the LGBT Movement’ at Creating Change
Task Force Executive Director Rea Carey Delivers the "State of the LGBT Movement" at Creating Change.
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Executive Director Rea Carey presented the annual “State of the LGBT Movement” address today at the 24th National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change, in Baltimore, Md., where nearly 3,000 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights advocates have gathered to strategize and mobilize to advance LGBT equality and social justice in this critical election year.
Read the full text of Carey’s speech after the jump Read more…
NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Jealous delivered the opening keynote speech at the National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change last night. Read more…
Largest-ever Creating Change off to a rousing start!
We started the day by making history with the first-ever Creating Change Lobby Day in Washington, D.C., today! Five buses full of hundreds of LGBT rights advocates left from the Baltimore Hilton and made their way to Capitol Hill. Activists took to the halls of Congress to lobby their senators and representatives. We delivered a clear message: It’s time to pass legislation that will provide workplace protections for LGBT people, equal pay for equal work, bully-free safe schools and anti-violence programs that are LGBT-inclusive.
Citizen lobbyists hard at work.
For many activists it was not only their first time lobbying, but also their first time in our nation’s capital. The day was energizing and the presence of hundreds of LGBT people and allies meeting with their elected officials on Capitol Hill demonstrated our movement’s political power. In addition to their lobby meetings, participants heard from Hill staffers and Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) about the importance of sharing their stories to change hearts and minds to ultimately pass legislation that will benefit LGBT people.
Let's hear it for our citizen lobbyists creating change on Capitol Hill!
In addition to Lobby Day, there were more than 12 day-long institutes on a variety of topics ranging from “Building a Queer AAPI Movement” to “LGBTQ Youth Organizing.” And Twitter was full of great tips that came out of the New Media Training Institute through the #cc12 hashtag!
The evening events kicked-off with a reception opened by Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, who welcomed conference attendees to Baltimore.
Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake with Dana Beyer, director of Gender Rights Maryland.
After the mayor spoke, Maryland’s First Lady Katie O’Malley addressed the crowd. She highlighted her support for LGBT rights, mentioning the need to win the freedom to marry in the state, combating violence and discrimination against transgender people, and the need to create safe spaces for LGBT youth.
Maryland First Lady Katie O'Malley with Task Force Executive Director Rea Carey.
The last event of the day was the opening plenary, which began with a prayer led by the First Nations Collective.
The First Nations Collective
Task Force Deputy Executive Director of External Affairs Russell Roybal and Creating Change Director Sue Hyde then gave the official welcome to the 24th National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change. Hyde welcomed the crowd of nearly 3,000 LGBT allies “to the most fabulous, fierce, fresh and fun confab of transgender, bisexual, lesbian, gay and straight allies ever.” Meanwhile, Roybal reminded the participants that “we convene again to continue our march toward freedom, justice and equality for all people.”
Hyde and Roybal introduced the mistress of ceremonies, “Lady Ha Ha” Kate Clinton, who joked about the latest occurrences in the LGBT community. Clinton then welcomed the host committee co-chairs Sharon Brackett, the Rev. Mother Meredith Moises, the Rev. Sam Offer and Matthew Thorn, who talked about the work leading up to the conference.
The opening plenary keynote speech was delivered by Benjamin Jealous, president and chief executive officer of the NAACP, the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization. As an outspoken supporter of LGBT rights and under his leadership, the NAACP launched its LGBT Equality Task Force in 2009, a partnership with the National Black Justice Coalition. Most recently, the Baltimore NAACP chapter joined the steering committee of Marylanders for Marriage Equality, the broad and diverse coalition working to bring civil marriage equality to Maryland.
Jealous gave a rousing speech in which he talked about how the “LGBT struggle is a cause dear to my heart,” and how me must fight to end racial, economic, sexual and gender discrimination because “oppression is oppression is oppression.” He also talked about the importance of continuing to fight united until all people “can live in a country free of discrimination, hatred or violence.” Jealous delivered one of the most applauded lines of his speech when he said that any “child who is being bullied in school doesn’t have access to a fair education.”
Watch a clip of Jealous’s speech:
Closing the plenary, Hyde handed the Susan J. Hyde Award for Longevity in the Movement to “our good friend Joan E. Biren, known around the world by her photographic byline, JEB.” Biren is a prolific photographer whose photographs became the book, Eye to Eye: Portraits of Lesbians, the first collection of photographs of lesbians by a lesbian ever published. She also expanded her documentary palette by making films and founding Moonforce Media. Highlighting the scope of her work, Hyde poignantly said, “for four decades, Joan E. Biren has given us the most simple and profound gift: permanent and cherished images of ourselves.”
Joan E. Biren accepting the Susan J. Hyde Award.
Following the plenary, participants received a special treat — a Creating Change cake by Charm City Cakes.
The Creating Change cake from Charm City Cakes!
Move to get marriage equality over the line in Maine
Task Force's Sarah Reece celebrating in front of the more than 105,000 signatures gathered to put a marriage equality initiative on the ballot in Maine
The Maine Freedom to Marry Coalition today announced it was moving forward with placing a marriage equality amendment on the November 2012 ballot. At a press conference in the statehouse in Augusta, the coalition said it had gathered more than 105,000 signatures, nearly twice the necessary number required to place the “Act to Allow Marriage Licenses for Same-Sex Couples and Protect Religious Freedom” on the general election ballot in November. If the measure qualifies, it will mark the first time a marriage equality initiative has been voted on at the ballot box.
The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force has deep roots in Maine that stretch back more than a decade with side-by-side work to train leaders and provide staff and financial support for the ultimately successful effort to pass and defend the state’s non-discrimination law and the work to build public opinion to a majority of support for marriage equality for same-sex couples.
Task Force Executive Director Rea Carey said:
Maine is poised to make history, and we are proud to be part of this journey — a long journey filled with nitty-gritty hard work, poignant and personal conversations about our lives and why marriage is so meaningful, occasional setbacks, and a jaw-dropping supply of energy, tenacity and inspiration. Changing hearts and minds may sound like a saggy cliche, but in reality that’s what is happening. A transformation is unfolding thanks to years of effort, all building toward this moment. We are on the brink of marriage equality in Maine. We now have this all-important push toward November 2012. This means more doors to knock on, more conversations to have, and yes, more opportunities to change hearts and minds. We look forward to continuing to support our state partner EqualityMaine and the entire marriage coalition to get this done. Loving, committed Maine same-sex couples and their families deserve nothing less.
The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Foundation and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Action Fund have invested significantly in the work of EqualityMaine to build greater political power for the LGBT community:
In 2009, the Task Force Foundation:
- Gave $82,000 to launch and grow EqualityMaine’s first-ever voter identification project. The grant enabled EqualityMaine to hire its first statewide organizer to recruit and train hundreds of volunteers to talk with voters face to face about marriage equality and identify voters supportive of the issue. As a result, EqualityMaine has built a list of more than 50,000 identified supporters of the freedom to marry, one of the largest such state lists in the country.
- Organized the Maine LGBT Power Summit in late April, which brought together 140 leaders from across the country, including more than 70 Mainers, for training in campaign fundamentals. At the summit, participants walked door to door and spoke with more than 1,100 voters about marriage equality.
- Trained more than 30 additional Maine leaders at Task Force Power Summits in 2004-2005 to support EqualityMaine’s voter identification project.
In 2009, the Task Force Action Fund:
- Sent organizers to work on the ground in Maine in February 2009 to launch EqualityMaine’s marriage equality field program. Following the April Power Summit, several Task Force organizers remained in Maine to provide additional field support in the final days leading up to the Senate vote.
- Provided $20,000 to EqualityMaine in seed money in January 2009 to hire nine field organizers.
- Dedicated a Task Force organizer to work full time for one month in the No on 1 campaign in 2005, which successfully defeated a referendum that would have repealed its statewide nondiscrimination law.
- Contributed $93,000 to the No on 1 campaign.
In 2005, the Task Force Foundation:
- Gave $75,000 in grants to Equality Maine to identify pro-LGBT voters.
- Gave $94,500 in cash contributions to Maine Won’t Discriminate to fight the repeal effort.
- Sent seasoned staff to work on the campaign, some of whom took key roles in volunteer recruitment and the GOTV campaign.
- Led intensive training of more than two dozen Maine activists.
- Operated 19 phone-bank sessions from New York and Washington, D.C., involving 198 volunteers and live contacts with 3,656 pro-LGBT voters in Maine.
Creating Change conference kicks off in Baltimore, Md.
The 24th National Conference on LGBT Equality kicked off in Baltimore, MD. today. Highlights of the conference include ‘State of the LGBT Movement’ address, speeches by NAACP President Benjamin Jealous, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley and U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan, a Capitol Hill Lobby Day, a faith convening, and much more!
NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Jealous.
More than 2,500 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights advocates from across the country will converge in Baltimore, Md., on Jan. 25-29 for the 24th National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change. It is the largest convening of LGBT activists and allies in the country.
Benjamin Jealous, president and chief executive officer of the NAACP, the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization, will deliver the opening plenary keynote speech on Thursday, Jan. 26. Jealous is an outspoken supporter of LGBT rights.
A major conference draw is the annual “State of the Movement” address, which will be given by National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Executive Director Rea Carey on Friday, Jan. 27. She will present a vision for the year ahead in the struggle for LGBT equality, and for social and economic justice.
U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan will address Creating Change on Saturday, Jan. 28, where he will discuss federal efforts to advance the rights and well-being of LGBT people and their families at HUD and beyond.
Also on Saturday, there will be a plenary panel focusing on international LGBT issues, a topic that is making national and global headlines of late following a Presidential Memorandum from President Obama and a historic speech from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on the importance of international LGBT human rights. Cary Alan Johnson, executive director of the International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission, will moderate a discussion featuring LGBT organizers from around the world.
Other conference highlights
The conference kicks off with hundreds of LGBT rights supporters converging on Capitol Hill on Thursday, Jan. 26, for Creating Change’s inaugural Lobby Day. They will advocate for passage of critical legislation in the areas of employment nondiscrimination, pay equity, anti-bullying and safe schools. A coalition of LGBT groups, as well as the ACLU, SEIU and the American Association of University Women, will join to support and sponsor the Creating Change Lobby Day.
Faith leaders and laypeople from numerous denominations and spiritual practices will convene for Practice Spirit, Do Justice, held in conjunction with the conference. Religious-based arguments are often used to undermine LGBT equality. Participants will strategize on how to bring more faith allies into the LGBT movement and how best to counter religious-based bigotry.
Actor and singer Wilson Cruz will close out the conference on Sunday, Jan. 29, with Love, Child…, a musical performance. Cruz has earned both critical acclaim and a loyal fan base throughout his career in television, film and stage productions. He won the hearts of audiences with his portrayal of Rickie Vasquez, the first openly gay teen on primetime television, in the ABC series My So-Called Life. Onstage, he took over the role of “Angel” both on Broadway and in the West Coast premiere of Rent.
The National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change also features hundreds of skills-building workshops, more than 15 additional daylong institutes, networking sessions and much more.
There will be sessions on topics such as immigration equality, lessons learned for organizing, racial justice, social media training, online campaigning, and an interactive art space! You can tweet about your experience at the conference, or follow the conversation on twitter by using the #cc12 hashtag.
