Equality Illinois CEO Bernard Cherkasov was an activist with the Queer Unity Project when he attended his first Creating Change conference in Washington, D.C., in 1996. The LGBT-rights movement was on the defensive against a series of anti-LGBT proposals across the country. Then-President Bill Clinton signed the federal Defense of Marriage Act into law.
"In most states, we were on the defensive trying to keep many of the really, really, really bad laws from being considered or being enacted or at least minimizing their impact as opposed to now," said Cherkasov. "I didn't think back in 1996 how fast we get to a day like this."
Cherkasov was among the more than 3,000 activists from across the country who attended the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force's 24th annual conference in Baltimore Jan. 25-29.
NAACP President Benjamin Jealous and Maryland First Lady Katie O'Malley opened Creating Change Jan. 26. Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley officially closed the conference.
Rea Carey, executive director of the Task Force, described 2011 as a momentous year for LGBT Americans in her annual State of the LGBT Movement speech Jan. 27.
Same-sex couples began to legally marry in New York in July, while Illinois was among the four states that enacted laws last year that allowed gays and lesbians to enter into civil unions. Connecticut, Hawaii, Nevada and Massachusetts added gender identity and expression to their non-discrimination laws. California and Vermont passed statutes that now allow transgender people to change the gender on their birth certificates without sex-reassignment surgery. Dallas, Oklahoma City, Jackson, Miss., and Arkansas were among the jurisdictions that adopted LGBT-inclusive anti-bullying measures.
"We at the Task Force are honored to have helped in many of these efforts and to have worked with our colleagues in the statewide equality organizations," said Carey.
On the federal level, the repeal of the ban on openly gay and lesbian servicemembers became official in September. The White House said last February that it would no longer defend DOMA in court, while the Department of Veterans Affairs directed its facilities to provide appropriate care to trans patients. The Obama administration announced in August it would allow federal authorities to take an undocumented immigrant's community and family ties into account in deportation proceedings. Several White House staffers also participated in a panel at Creating Change about the White House's record on LGBT-specific issues.
Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan announced at the conference Jan. 28 that his agency would codify a proposed ban on anti-LGBT discrimination in federal housing programs this week.
"I am proud to announce a new equal access to housing rule that says clearly and unequivocally that LGBT individuals and couples have the right to live where they choose," he said to a sustained standing ovation from activists inside the auditorium. "This is an idea whose time has come."
Lorri Jean, chief executive director of the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center, described Donovan's speech as historic.
"That was an extraordinary indicator of progress and I was just blown away," she told Windy City Times during a Washington Blade-sponsored reception Jan. 28.
"Called upon to lead"
The optimism among Creating Change attendees was certainly palpable, but the sense of urgency among those who continue to fight against proposed constitutional amendments that would bar marriage for same-sex couples in North Carolina and Minnesota was certainly palpable.
"We're going to be called upon to lead a lot this year," said Carey.
O'Malley introduced a marriage-equality bill in the Maryland Legislature only days before the conference. Lawmakers in New Jersey and Washington continue to debate measures that would allow same-sex couples to tie the knot, but Carey stressed that nuptials for gays and lesbians is the not the only issue for which LGBT activists need to fight this year.
"The LGBT movement is not a movement for marriage only," she said, noting legislators in Michigan, New York and Maryland will consider bills that would add gender identity and expression to their non-discrimination laws. "It is a movement for the full dignity of our lives, for a transformed society."
Cherkasov said Creating Change will allow Equality Illinois to further advance their agenda with insight from their colleagues across the country.
"This is the one place when we can come together with thousands of other like-minded activists who we can share our lessons and our aspirations and our frustrations and re-energize and go back to our field," he said.
Video of Donovan speaking at Creating Change can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch
