We’re ‘Out on the Hill’ this week with the National Black Justice Coalition

Out on the Hill, organized by the National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC), kicks off today and features meetings with legislators, panel discussions and a town hall. The high-profile gathering, which runs through Sept. 25, is scheduled to coincide with the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Annual Legislative Conference and brings thousands of black policy makers, organizers and concerned citizens to our nation’s capital.

National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Deputy Executive Director Darlene Nipper will speak at the Sept. 21 National Town Hall, whose theme is The African American Community & The LGBT Community “At the Intersection.”

Among the issues Nipper will talk about are the alarming findings of a new analysis, Injustice at Every Turn: A Look at Black Respondents in the National Transgender Discrimination Survey, from the Task Force, NBJC and the National Center for Transgender Equality. The analysis shows that black transgender and gender non-conforming people face some of the highest levels of discrimination of all transgender people. Read more here.

Stacey Long, Task Force federal legislative director and chair of Out on the Hill’s public policy committee, will participate in a Sept. 22 issue briefing in preparation for the day of advocacy on Capitol Hill.

In an interview with MetroWeekly, NBJC Executive Director Sharon Lettman-Hicks said:

It is very important for LGBT activists to be known inside of the black leadership. We can’t engage in a positive way if we’re only talking to the choir. This is the intersection of racial justice and LGBT equality. It’s important that the black community see black leadership as a stakeholder in the LGBT agenda.

Long added:

It’s not every day you have black LGBT people talking with members of Congress, and many members of Congress want to hear from people firsthand, not from lobbyists. This is the time of year the organization is dedicated to making its presence known and lifting up those voices that may not have been engaged before.

Read the full MetroWeekly story here.

For more information and a full schedule of Out on the Hill events, please visit nbjc.org.