Dear John,

This Black History Month we are reflecting on the past, present, and future of racial justice in the movement for equality. As we remember black leaders like Marsha P. Johnson and James Baldwin who did so much for us, we are also reminded of the call to continue their legacy by staying committed to racial justice in our work.

Donate today: Lift up racial justice in our movement.

This week, California pardoned civil rights hero Bayard Rustin posthumously — wiping his 70-year-old conviction for having consensual sex with a man. Mr. Rustin made historic contributions despite his conviction and society’s harsh biases. We recognize that those same biases exist today. They drive policies that result in black LGBTQ people being disproportionately affected by discrimination in housing, employment, public accommodations, and healthcare.

If we’re going to help bring equity to the lives of black LGBTQ people we know the work needs to start internally. That means supporting black leadership in our movement, conducting regular racial justice training with staff and board members, committing resources to issues that disproportionately affect black LGBTQ people, and writing strong policies about what racial justice should look like in our organizations.

In order to level the playing field for every person of color, we commit to taking a collaborative, accountable, racial justice-informed approach to our work and helping our member organizations do the same. We are allocating time and money to advance racial equity in our organization and in our programmatic work. There’s no better time than Black History Month to show your support for these commitments.

Help us execute our vision for racial equality by making a donation.

Rebecca Isaacs
Executive Director 
Equality Federation