The National LGBTQ Task Force is an American
social justice
Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has often referred to the process of ensuring that individuals fu ...
advocacy
non-profit
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
organizing
Organizing or organized may refer to:
* Organizing (management), a process of coordinating task goals and activities to resources
* Community organizing, in which communities come together to act in their shared self-interest
* Professional org ...
the
grassroots
A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or economic movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from the local level to effect change at t ...
power of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and
queer
''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against those with same-sex desires or relationships in the late 19th century. Beginning in the lat ...
(LGBTQ) community. Also known as The Task Force, the organization supports action and activism on behalf of
LGBTQ
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term is a ...
people and advances a progressive vision of liberation. Leadership includes executive director
Rea Carey
Rea Carey (born December 22, 1966) is an American lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights activist and served as the executive director of the National LGBTQ Task Force (previously the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force) from 2008 t ...
and deputy executive director
Kierra Johnson.
The Task Force organizes the annual Creating Change conference, a skills-building event for community and allies with over 2,000 attendees each year. The Task Force Policy Institute
think tank
A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...
conducts social science research, policy analysis, strategy development, public education, and advocacy.
History
Founded in 1973 as the National Gay Task Force, the organization became the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force in 1985. It adopted its current identity in October 2014.
The founders of the National Gay Task Force included Robert L. Livingston and his husband, Tom Ellis; Dr.
Howard Junior Brown
Dr. Howard Brown (April 15, 1924 – February 1, 1975) was a founder of the National Gay Task Force (now the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force) and a New York City Health Services Administrator who helped change the image of gay men and lesbian ...
; Dr.
Bruce Voeller
Bruce Raymond Voeller (May 12, 1934 – February 13, 1994) was a biologist and researcher, primarily in the field of AIDS, and gay rights activist. In 1973 he co-founded the National Gay Task Force. In 1977, the now renamed National LGBTQ Task ...
; Father
Robert Carter, a Roman Catholic priest;
Ron Gold;
Nathalie Rockhill
Nathalie is a female given name. It is a variant of the name Natalie (given name), Natalie/Natalia (given name), Natalia which is found in many languages, and is especially common in French language, French and English language, English speaking c ...
; Dr.
Martin Duberman
Martin Bauml Duberman (born August 6, 1930) is an American historian, biographer, playwright, and gay rights activist. Duberman is Professor of History Emeritus at Lehman College, Herbert Lehman College in the Bronx, New York City.
Early life
Du ...
; and Dr.
Frank Kameny
Franklin Edward Kameny (May 21, 1925 – October 11, 2011) was an American gay rights activist. He has been referred to as "one of the most significant figures" in the American gay rights movement.
In 1957, Kameny was dismissed from his po ...
. Later board members included
Lani Ka'ahumanu
Lani is a given name. Notable people with the name include: Given name
* Lani Belcher (born 1989), British canoeist
* Lani Billard (born 1979), Canadian actress and singer
* Lani Brockman (born 1956), American theater actress and director
* L ...
, who was the first out bisexual to be invited and to serve on a national gay and lesbian board.
The Task Force has acted to promote LGBTQ rights and acceptance. In 2005, the Task Force protested against the
Instruction Concerning the Criteria for the Discernment of Vocations with regard to Persons with Homosexual Tendencies in view of their Admission to the Seminary and to Holy Orders, prohibiting the
ordination
Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorization, authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominational ...
of
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
homosexual seminarians. In 2010, Jaime Grant, then director of the Task Force's Policy Institute, introduced the idea of a bright pink sticker for people to stick on census envelopes which had a form for them to check a box for either "lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or straight ally", which her group called "queering the census".
Although the sticker was unofficial and the results were not added to the census, she and others' goal was to include the statistic in the
2020 census.
In 2013, the Task Force received the Large Nonprofit Organization of the Year award as part of the Pantheon of Leather Awards.
Creating Change conference
The annual National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change was first held in 1988, one year after aiding in the organization of the
Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights
The Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights was a large political rally that took place in Washington, D.C., on October 11, 1987. Its success, size, scope, and historical importance have led to it being called, "The Great Ma ...
. The Task Force has added and changed components of the conference over the years. For example, in 2003, the Creating Change conference featured the first ever Skills Academy for Leadership and Action, a daylong session dedicated to skills training for grassroots activists.
Executives
Robert L Livingston, Broadway producer, producer of the Joey Bishop show, first openly gay Commissioner for Human Rights, New York City, his husband, artist Tom Ellis, and Doctor Howard Brown, Surgeon General of New York City; co-founders, 1973, New York City.
*
Bruce Voeller
Bruce Raymond Voeller (May 12, 1934 – February 13, 1994) was a biologist and researcher, primarily in the field of AIDS, and gay rights activist. In 1973 he co-founded the National Gay Task Force. In 1977, the now renamed National LGBTQ Task ...
(1973–1976; co-director 1976–1978)
*
Jean O'Leary
Jean O'Leary (March 4, 1948 – June 4, 2005) was an American lesbian and gay rights activist. She was the founder of Lesbian Feminist Liberation, one of the first lesbian activist groups in the women's movement, and an early member and co-dir ...
(co-director 1976–1979)
*
Charles Brydon
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...
(co-director 1979–1981)
*
Lucia Valeska Lucia may refer to:
Arts and culture
* ''Lucía'', a 1968 Cuban film by Humberto Solás
* ''Lucia'' (film), a 2013 Kannada-language film
* '' Lucia & The Best Boys'', a Scottish indie rock band formerly known as ''LUCIA''
* "Lucia", a Swedish c ...
(co-director 1979–1982)
*
Virginia Apuzzo
Virginia "Ginny" Apuzzo (born June 26, 1941) is an American gay rights and AIDS activist. She is a former executive director of the National LGBTQ Task Force. She served as executive deputy of the New York State Consumer Protection Board and as t ...
(1982–1986)
*
Jeff Levi
Jeff is a masculine name, often a short form (hypocorism) of the English given name Jefferson or Jeffrey, which comes from a medieval variant of Geoffrey.
Music
* DJ Jazzy Jeff, American DJ/turntablist record producer Jeffrey Allen Townes
* ...
(1986–1989)
*
Urvashi Vaid
Urvashi ( sa, उर्वशी, Urvaśī}) is the most prominent apsara (celestial nymph) in Hindu mythology, considered to be the most beautiful of all the apsaras, and an expert dancer. She is mentioned in both ''Vedic'' and ''Puranic'' scr ...
(1989–1992)
*
Peri Jude Radecic (1992–1994)
*
Melinda Paras (1994–1996)
*
Kerry Lobel (1996–2000)
*
Elizabeth Toledo
Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to:
People
* Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name)
* Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist
Ships
* HMS Elizabeth, HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships
* Elisa ...
(2000–2001)
*
Lorri Jean (2001–2003)
*
Matt Foreman (2003–2008)
*
Rea Carey
Rea Carey (born December 22, 1966) is an American lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights activist and served as the executive director of the National LGBTQ Task Force (previously the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force) from 2008 t ...
(2008–2021)
*
ierra Johnson2021–present
National LGBTQ Wall of Honor
In February 2019, the Task Force, in conjunction with the
Imperial Court System
The International Imperial Court System (IICS) also known as the International Court System is one of the oldest and largest LGBT organizations in the world. The Imperial Court System is a grassroots network of organizations that works to build ...
, announced a joint project, the
National LGBTQ Wall of Honor
The National LGBTQ Wall of Honor is an American memorial wall in New York City dedicated to LGBTQ "pioneers, trailblazers, and heroes." The wall is located inside of the Stonewall Inn and is a part of the Stonewall National Monument, the first U. ...
, to be installed at the
Stonewall Inn
The Stonewall Inn, often shortened to Stonewall, is a gay bar and recreational tavern in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City, and the site of the Stonewall riots of 1969, which is widely considered to be the s ...
, to mark the 50th Anniversary of the
Stonewall Riots
The Stonewall riots (also known as the Stonewall uprising, Stonewall rebellion, or simply Stonewall) were a series of spontaneous protests by members of the gay community in response to a police raid that began in the early morning hours of Ju ...
.
The Stonewall Inn is in the middle of New York's
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...
, and is across from the
Stonewall National Monument
Stonewall National Monument is a U.S. national monument in the West Village neighborhood of Greenwich Village in Lower Manhattan, New York City. The designated area includes the Stonewall Inn, the Christopher Park, and nearby streets including ...
, the first
U.S. National Monument
In the United States, a national monument is a protected area that can be created from any land owned or controlled by the federal government by proclamation of the President of the United States or an act of Congress. National monuments prot ...
dedicated to
LGBT
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term is a ...
rights
Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical the ...
and
history
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...
. The monument committee accepted nominations to honor "the lives of
LGBTQ
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term is a ...
trailblazers, pioneers and s/heroes who have passed", and have had a positive impact on
LGBTQ civil rights.
The first fifty names were unveiled in June 2019 as part of the
Stonewall 50 – WorldPride NYC 2019
Stonewall 50 – WorldPride NYC 2019 was a series of LGBTQ events and celebrations in June 2019, marking the 50th anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall riots. It was also the first time WorldPride was held in the United States. Held primarily in the ...
celebration.
The nominations are administered by a Board of Governors. LGBTQ leaders include
transgender activist
The transgender rights movement is a movement to promote the legal status of transgender people and to eliminate discrimination and violence against transgender people regarding housing, employment, public accommodations, education, and health ...
Marsha Botzer,
Black LGBTQ activist
Mandy Carter,
LGBTQ youth advocate
Wilson Cruz
Wilson Cruz (born Wilson Echevarría; December 27, 1973) is an American actor known for playing Rickie Vasquez on ''My So-Called Life'', Angel in the Broadway tour production of ''Rent (musical), Rent'', Hugh Culber, Dr. Hugh Culber on ''Star Tr ...
, LGBTQ human rights activist
Stuart Milk, and founder of the
Metropolitan Community Church
The Metropolitan Community Church (MCC), also known as the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches (UFMCC), is an international LGBT-affirming mainline Protestant Christian denomination. There are 222 member congregations in 37 ...
Troy Perry
Troy Deroy Perry Jr (born July 27, 1940) is the founder of the Metropolitan Community Church, with a ministry with the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities, in Los Angeles on October 6, 1968.
Early life
Troy Perry is the eldest o ...
.
See also
*
LGBT rights in the United States
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights in the United States are among the most socially, culturally, and legally permissive and advanced in the world, with public opinion and jurisprudence on the issue changing significantly si ...
*
List of LGBT rights organizations
This is a list of LGBT rights organizations around the world. For social and support groups or organizations affiliated with mainstream religious organizations, please see ''List of LGBT-related organizations and conferences''. For organizations ...
*
Torie Osborn
Torie Osborn (born July 27, 1950 Copenhagen, Denmark) is a community organizer, activist, and author.
Education
Osborn attended Barnard College, received her Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Middlebury College and earned her MBA at the ...
References
External links
*
Creating Change conference
{{DEFAULTSORT:National LGBTQ Task Force
LGBT political advocacy groups in the United States
Task forces
History of LGBT civil rights in the United States
Organizations based in Washington, D.C.
Organizations established in 1973
1973 establishments in the United States
1973 establishments in Washington, D.C.
1973 in LGBT history