Friday, February 8

Matt Foreman delivers annual ‘State of the Movement’ address
Guy Baldwin receives Leather Leadership Award
Task Force recognized for work on transgender issues
Task Force joins AARP’s Divided We Fail coalition

Matt Foreman delivers annual ‘State of the Movement’ address

Task Force Executive Director Matt Foreman was met by several rounds of spirited applause today from the 2,000 LGBT activists who came to hear his “State of the Movement” address at the 20th National Conference on LGBT Equality: Creating Change in Detroit, Mich.

In his address, Foreman highlighted our movement’s many accomplishments of the past year, including the fact that the 2007 state legislative session was the most productive ever for LGBT rights. Foreman also acknowledged the challenges that lie ahead in the struggle for complete LGBT equality. Watch here.

Foreman also reminded the audience that while the LGBT movement continues to work on “our community’s priorities,” it needs to “simultaneously work for a better and more just society.” By working on other progressive issues, the LGBT movement has “the obligation to think and act beyond the narrow confines of our own LGBT-specific interests and be part and parcel of a transformed America.” Watch here.

[ Download the entire speech here ]

Guy Baldwin receives Leather Leadership Award

Guy Baldwin received the Leather Leadership Award today for his longtime work on behalf of the leather community. Mikel Gerle, International Mr. Leather 2007, presented the award to Baldwin, a Los Angeles-based psychotherapist, author and activist on behalf of “erotically uncommon people.” Accepting his award, Baldwin talked about how our community needs to be united against agents of intolerance. Watch here.

In 1987, Baldwin launched the DSM Project to mobilize mental health professionals worldwide to press for changes to the official clinical definitions that had long been used to label leather people, gay and otherwise, as pathological. The DSM Project succeeded with the publication of new and substantially improved language in 1993 in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).

Task Force recognized for work on transgender issues

Mara Keisling (pictured), executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality and spokesperson for a broad coalition of transgender organizations and activists, acknowledged the Task Force for our work on behalf of transgender civil rights. Recognizing the leadership role of the Task Force during the battle for a transgender- inclusive ENDA, Keisling appreciated our “total commitment in working towards complete equality and justice for all people.”

Task Force joins AARP’s Divided We Fail coalition

The Task Force joined with the AARP to work for affordable quality health care, making prescription drugs more affordable for all, creating incentives to save for retirement, expanding job opportunities so people can keep working and contributing to society as they get older and the strengthening of the federal Social Security program by joining the Divided We Fail coalition. On behalf of the Task Force, Deputy Executive Director Rea Carey signed the platform, which was received by Eddie Rivas of AARP’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion.

[ To read more about the platform, please visit DividedWeFail.org ]

All photos by andrewpotterphoto.com.

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