Press

WHAT:
Candlelight vigil in remembrance of Arthur “J.R.” Warren Jr., featuring leaders from civil rights and gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender organizations, religious leaders. Advocates will call on the U.S. House of Representatives to pass the hate crimes legislation pending in Congress.

WHEN:
Thursday, July 20, 2000 * 7:30-9:00 P.M.

WHERE:
Upper Senate Park on the U.S. Capitol grounds
bordered by Constitution Ave., Louisiana Ave., Delaware Ave. and C Street
Metro Stop: Red Line, Union Station

WHY:
Warren, victim of a possible hate crime earlier this month in West Virginia, is an African American gay man whose body was found July 4. He had left his parents’ home in Grant Town and walked to a vacant house where two 17-year-old boys – David Allen Parker and Jared Wilson – allegedly beat and kicked him to death, according to local law enforcement officials. After putting Warren’s body into the trunk of a car, the two teens drove outside of Grant Town, laid his body on the ground and then drove over it several times to try to stage a hit-and-run accident. The alleged perpetrators later burned their bloody clothes, the officials said.

WHO:
(alphabetical at press time - list in formation)
API Queer Sisters (APIQS) of Metro DC
API Queers United for Action (AQUA) of Metro DC
Black Lesbian & Gay Leadership Forum
DC Metro PFLAG
Equal Partners in Faith
Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation
Human Rights Campaign
Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
Maryland Free State Justice
National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
National Latina/o Lesbian and Gay Organization
National Stonewall Democrats
National Youth Advocacy Organization
Parents, Friends and Family of Lesbians and Gays
Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League
Youth Pride Alliance

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The mission of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force is to build the political power of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community from the ground up. We do this by training activists, organizing broad-based campaigns to defeat anti-LGBT referenda and advance pro-LGBT legislation, and by building the organizational capacity of our movement. Our Policy Institute, the movement’s premier think tank, provides research and policy analysis to support the struggle for complete equality and to counter right-wing lies. As part of a broader social justice movement, we work to create a nation that respects the diversity of human expression and identity and creates opportunity for all. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., we also have offices in New York City, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis and Cambridge.