The National LGBTQ Task Force visits CREDO Headquarters

We’ve made a lot of progress for LGBTQ rights in recent years. Large majorities of the American public now favor nondiscrimination laws, hate crime laws, and relationship recognition for gay and lesbian couples. States and cities across the country have enacted laws that defend the rights and improve the day-to-day lives of LGBTQ people, and a landmark Supreme Court decision in 2015 legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.

But there is still much to do. Desperate to roll back advances in equality, extremist lawmakers in states around the country are trying to overturn existing protections and pass new discriminatory laws.

On April 14 we invited Russell Roybal, deputy executive director of the National LGBTQ Task Force, to visit CREDO headquarters in San Francisco to bring us up to date on the Task Force’s work and tell us about how they are pushing back against the latest attacks on equality.

Roybal detailed the ways the Task Force is deeply engaged in the fight. Among the Task Force’s many ongoing actions are a campaign to demand the resignation of Gov. Phil Bryant, who legalized discrimination against LGBTQ people in Mississippi.

The Task Force also has teams on the ground to fight the passage of discriminatory laws that strip the rights of LGBTQ people, such as HB 2 in North Carolina. It has trained activists, including progressive people of faith, to push back against the rhetoric from extremist religious communities and has partnered with local progressive groups to organize rallies.

CREDO has been hard at work mobilizing activists in these fights as well. In the past year CREDO activists have submitted over 330,000 petition signatures to push back against attempts to discriminate against LGBTQ people and to promote equality at the state and national levels.

Founded in 1973, the LGBTQ Task Force is the oldest LGBTQ advocacy organization in the U.S. CREDO has funded the Task Force since 1986, with donations totaling $421,144. That’s nearly half a million dollars generated by CREDO customers simply by using CREDO products! On April 14, CREDO CEO Ray Morris presented Roybal with a check for $44,922. This contribution was based on the votes of CREDO members in our March donations election.

The LGBTQ Task Force encourages everyone to “be you,” Roybal told us during his visit. “We believe people should be their whole selves. You can’t compartmentalize the fact that you’re LGBTQ and the fact that you’re Latino. Or the fact that you’re an immigrant and a woman. We want people to be their whole selves and live at the intersection of their complex identities.”

We share that vision and we’re grateful to all our customers who are helping to make it a reality.