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 ...

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 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 l ...

(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 ...

people and advances a progressive vision of liberation. Leadership includes executive director Rea Carey 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-govern ...

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.

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 Tas ...

; Father Robert Carter, a Roman Catholic priest; Ron Gold; Nathalie Rockhill; 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 Herbert Lehman College in the Bronx, New York City. Early life Duberman was born ...

; 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, 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 consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

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. *

(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 "f ...

(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 ...

(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 (2000–2001) *

Lorri Jean Lorri L. Jean (born ) is an LGBT rights activist and the current CEO of the Los Angeles LGBT Center (LALGBTC). Jean spent ten years as an attorney with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), including three years overseeing the disaster ...

(2001–2003) * Matt Foreman (2003–2008) * Rea Carey (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 sin ...

, 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 ...

. 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 ...

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 theory ...

and

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

. The monument committee accepted nominations to honor "the lives of

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'', Dr. Hugh Culber on '' Star Trek: Discovery'', and the r ...

, LGBTQ human rights activist

Stuart Milk Lawrence Stuart Milk (born December 26, 1960) is an American LGBT human rights activist and political speaker. The nephew of civil rights leader Harvey Milk, he is the co-founder of the Harvey Milk Foundation. He has engaged in domestic and inter ...

, 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 of ...

References

External links