In an email just released:
I have some pretty big news to share. I’m stepping down as the director of GetEQUAL and handing over the reins to two of the best organizers I know. This isn’t the time to step away from bold action, but GetEQUAL isn’t going anywhere. Here’s the deal…
When Kip Williams and I co-founded GetEQUAL three years ago, we knew that the movement needed a sense of urgency — it needed to reflect the very real fear and danger that folks from Kip’s home state of Tennessee and my home state of Mississippi experience every day. We knew that the movement needed to return to our roots of using direct action and nonviolent civil disobedience in order to create moral crises for elected officials and the American public. We knew that the movement needed to take bold action to insist on full federal equality — and that there were people on the ground across the country who were willing to take action to support that effort.
And, over the past three years, we’ve done exactly that. We’ve created a national grassroots network of organizers who have a deep sense of urgency, who are willing to take bold action, and who are insistent that LGBTQ Americans should be fully equal under federal law. Along the way, we’ve found folks who share all those values, and who are energized by the same vision that captured my and Kip’s imagination three years ago.
I’m thrilled you’re the first to know that, as of today,
Felipe Sousa-Rodriguez and Heather Cronk are the new co-directors of GetEQUAL!
You already know Heather and Felipe — they’ve been working like mad to change and shift the struggle for LGBTQ equality to be more urgent, bolder, and more reflective of the diverse LGBTQ community. I’m not going anywhere — I’ll still be doing the local organizing that got me started on this journey after the passage of Prop 8 and will continue to help advise GetEQUAL’s national organizing work. And, as we head into this transition, I have a favor to ask of you.
Though Felipe and Heather are incredible organizers, they have their work cut out for them — and they really need to raise the resources it will take to get all the work ahead done. I’m setting a goal of helping to raise $3,000 in honor of our three years of work, and to set them on their path with at least a small portion of the resources they’ll need in the next few months. Can you help out by chipping in whatever you can today to help me meet that goal?
Over the past three years, we have:
- Pushed the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” over the finish line and into the history books. [1]
- Raised the profile of LGBTQ workplace discrimination by pushing like hell for an Executive Order (and we’re still pushing!). [2]
- Led the charge on ensuring that the LGBTQ movement takes strong stances to end the suffering of LGBTQ immigrants and asylum-seekers. [3]
- Sounded the alarm bells over President Obama’s nomination of Chuck Hagel as Secretary of Defense, yielding concrete (yet still insufficient) changes to Pentagon policy for LGBTQ servicemembers and their families. [4]
But we have SO much work left to do! After almost four decades, we’re still pushing for the passage of a fully-inclusive Employment Non-Discrimination Act. We’re on the cusp of ensuring that LGBTQ immigrants/asylum-seekers and binational same-sex couples are included in comprehensive immigration reform. And we’re working with Marriage Equality USA to organize a national campaign to highlight the nationwide support for marriage equality during Supreme Court oral arguments next week on the Defense of Marriage Act and Proposition 8 (including 150 local events and counting!).
It’s been a total honor to help lead this work over the past three years, and I’m so happy that Heather and Felipe will be guiding us into the next phase of this work. You’ve been with us at all points on this journey by following our work, supporting our work, and/or taking action yourself during the struggle for equality. I can’t thank you enough for your relentless urgency, but we’re going to need to catapult this collective energy to the next level if we’re going to get equal!
As I transition into my new role, I invite you to join me in donating to GetEQUAL — either as a one-time donor or as a monthly donor like I am — as we continue to push full federal equality under the law! Donate here and help us launch this new phase of our work!
Get Out! Get Active! GetEQUAL!
Robin McGehee
What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.
