NGLTF honors three GLBT
allies; VP Gore attends
Q-Notes ▼ October 4,1997 T PAGE 11
by Mark F. Johnson
Special to Q-Notes
WASHINGTON, DC—^Vice President AI
Gore addressed a crowd of about 300 people at
the National Gay and Lesbian Task Forces
eighth annual “Honoring Our Allies” reception
September 15 in Washington, DC. The annual
event honors those who make an extraordinary
contribution to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and
transgendered (GLBT) community.
In his remarks, the Vice President reaffirmed
his commitment to light against discrimination
faced by members of the GLBT community.
He also told the crowd that in addition to hav
ing a seat at the table, “everybody’s got to real
ize that as full members of the American fam
ily, it’s your table too.”
The Vice President came to pay tribute to
Coretta Scott King, the founder and former
chairman, president and chief executive officer
ofThe Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Non
violent Social Change in Atlanta; John Sweeney,
president of the AFL-CIO; and the Mautner
Project, a health services organization for lesbi
ans with cancer. All three were recipients of the
1997 Honoring Our Allies award.
Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) intro
duced Mrs. King and renewed his commitment
to pushing for passage of the Employment Non-
Discrimination Act (ENDA).
In her acceptance remarks, Mrs. King said,
“I accept this award as a reaffirmation of my
commitment to carry forward the unfinished
work of my husband, Martin Luther King, Jr.
My husband understood that all forms of dis
crimination and persecution were unjust and
unacceptable for a great democracy. He believed
that none of us could be free until all of us were
free, that a person of conscience had no alter
native but to defend the human rights of all
people.” She continued, “1 want to reaffirm my
determination to secure the fullest protection
of the law for all working people, regardless of
their sexual orientation...it is right, just and
good for America.”
Mrs. King also acknowledged the contribu
tions gay men and lesbians have historically
made to the civil rights movement. “Many of
these courageous men and women were fight
ing for my freedom at a time when they could
find few voices for their own, and I will always
remember and honor their contributions,” she
said. “It has been encouraging to see the grow
ing participation of people of color in the lead
ership ranks of the lesbian and gay freedom
struggle and I urge you to continue making this
movement a model of diversity.”
Remarking on the criticism she receives for
speaking out against discrimination based on
sexual orientation, Mrs. King said, “I still hear
firom people who claim to be followers of Mar
tin Luther King, Jr., but who think I should be
silent about the human rights concerns of gays
and lesbians. All I can do is tell these folks that
the civil rights movement that I believe in
thrives on unity and inclusion, not division and
exclusion. All of us who oppose discrimination
and support equal rights should stand together
to resist every attempt to restrict civil rights in
this country.”
NGLTF. Executive Director Kerry Lobel
supported Mrs. King’s comments, saying, “The
Right continues its attempts to pit people of
color against the gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans
gender community. As we witnessed tonight,
efforts to drive a wedge between us do not work.
We stand united in our efforts to move for
ward a progressive agenda based on our shared
values of justice, fairness and inclusion.”
Echoing similar sentiments,Vice President
Gore remarked that gays and lesbians “certainly
have my commitment to work as hard as I can”
to stop anti-gay hate crimes, find a cure for
AIDS and end workplace discrimination. The
Vice President, who was well-received by the
crowd, also vowed to ensure gay and lesbian
issues continue to have a place on the agenda
of this administration. Gore reiterated the
administration’s commitment to combat hate
crimes against members of minority groups,
including the GLBT community. He spoke
about the upcoming White House conference
scheduled for November 10 which is intended
to focus attention on these acts of violence and
tvays to prevent them.
“Some of the greatest challenges we foce are
not challenges of law but challenges of the
heart,” said the Vice President. “Please be as
sured, you certainly have my commitment to
work as hard as I can until the day we do reach
those goals.”
Linda Chavez-Thompson, executive vice
president of the AFL-CIO accepted the award
for Mr. Sweeney. Chavez-Thompson, the high
est ranking woman of color in the labor move
ment said, “your destiny and our destiny are
linked.” Recalling an old Woody Guthrie song,
she said “this land wasn’t made for the bigots
who claim that their families and their mar
riages are threatened by your families and your
marriages. This land was made for you and me
to live with dignity and security and equality
and hope.” T
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