Gay Today: World

100 Activists from 6 Midwestern States
to Meet in Chicago

Compiled By GayToday

Nadine Smith is the co-chair of the Federation of Statewide LGBT Advocacy Organizations

Chicago, Illinois--More than 100 activists from six Midwestern states will attend a three-day Power Summit Friday, September 7 through Sunday, September 9 in Chicago. This summit, hosted by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the Federation of Statewide LGBT Advocacy Organizations, will train activists in the areas of legislative organizing, fundraising and community advocacy.

"This year, many Midwestern states face critical struggles for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender equality," said NGLTF Executive Director Lorri L. Jean. "As we work to pass anti-discrimination laws, secure recognition of our families and fight anti-gay initiatives, it is imperative that we equip our leaders at the state and local level with the knowledge and tools necessary to win our battles."

"The Federation's mission is to make state advocacy groups stronger and more effective," said Nadine Smith, Federation co-chair and executive director of Equality Florida. "We view the Power Summit as a powerful tool that will further develop our grassroots muscle. Every state and local organization that participates in the Power Summit will be stronger as a result."

The purpose of the Power Summit is to recruit, train, and activate leaders from across the Midwest who will work to build effective community support for laws and policies that promote equal rights for GLBT people. NGLTF and the Federation launched this year's Power Summit as a pilot project to be expanded over time to other regions of the country. Through the Power Summit, NGLTF and the Federation are working to build a model to build grassroots organizing capacity at the state and local level.

The Power Summit will provide leaders with the practical, fundamental skills necessary for building the base of community support GLBT people need to win - including fundraising effectively through person-to-person asks, building a mass base of pro-GLBT voters that will lobby and vote in favor of GLBT issues, and building community speakers' bureaus that can change policies as well as hearts and minds.

Most of the more than 100 participants are from six states: Illinois, Ohio, Missouri, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Arkansas. After the Power Summit, they will take the skills they learned and put them to work on their own campaigns. Examples of their work include:

Illinois Power Summit participants will work intensively this fall with Equality Illinois, a statewide GLBT advocacy organization, in targeted state senate districts to enlist the support of GLBT and pro-GLBT voters for Illinois HB 101, a GLBT anti-discrimination measure. The bill is currently pending in the state Senate after having passed the House of Representatives earlier this year. The Power Summit is the kick-off for Equality Illinois' intensified grassroots lobbying effort to pass HB 101.

Dayton, Ohio Power Summit participants, working in conjunction with the Miami Valley LGBT Community Coalition, will be building mass community support for a city-wide anti-discrimination ordinance. An anti-discrimination ordinance was first considered in December of 1999 but was defeated due to right-wing opposition.

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Power Summit participants will work with the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center to build a large base of GLBT and pro-GLBT voters across the city that will demand accountability on GLBT issues from city elected officials. Earlier this year, the GLBT community was stunned when city aldermen, by one vote, refused to ratify a collective bargaining agreement for city workers because it extended benefits to employees' domestic partners. Although the measure ultimately passed, the preliminary vote galvanized many in the Milwaukee GLBT community. Wisconsin participants will continue their campaign at a scheduled training in November in Milwaukee, host of this year's national Creating Change conference.

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National Gay & Lesbian Task Force

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Missouri Power Summit participants from Kansas City and Columbia will work this fall with PROMO, Missouri's statewide advocacy organization, to enlist the support of GLBT voters in targeted districts to lobby state legislators to support a statewide anti-discrimination measure. This year the measure cleared an important hurdle when it passed the House Judiciary Committee by a 5-2 vote.

Michigan Power Summit participants from the tri-cities area will work with the Triangle Foundation to create a community speakers' bureau to counter the virulent anti-gay propaganda disseminated by the American Family Association (AFA), while summit participants from the Detroit area will work with Michigan Equality to help raise funds to continue its support to local communities under attack by anti-gay ballot measures. Between now and November 2002, at least four Michigan communities face anti-gay ballot measures.

Arkansas Power Summit participants will work with the Arkansas Equality Network, the state's LGBT advocacy group, to pass hate crimes legislation.

NGLTF and the Federation of Statewide LGBT Advocacy Organizations are able to host the Midwest Power Summit because of financial support from the Arcus Foundation and due to the organizing work of Equality Illinois, Miami Valley LGBT Community Coalition of Ohio, PROMO of Missouri, Triangle Foundation of Michigan, Michigan Equality, Arkansas Equality Network and the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center.