Part of The National Center for Civil and Human Rights.

The story of human and civil rights would not be complete without discussion of the on-going struggle for LGBTQ rights.

Therefore, The LGBTQ Institute at The Center was established. The LGBTQ Institute is an integral part of The Center’s global civil and human rights platform, and provides a steady spotlight that helps create a public imperative for policies that treat LGBTQ people equally and fairly, in the South and around the world.

 

THE INSTITUTE'S MISSION

The LGBTQ Institute at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights mobilizes LGBTQ communities by partnering with institutions and leaders to collectively build power through advocacy and education, with an emphasis on the U.S. South.

leadership

The LGBTQ Institute is lead by Executive Director, Tim’m T. West with support from The Center's leadership and The Institute's Advisory Board, Program Partners, Leadership Council, and Advocacy Interns.

How the Center supports the lgbtQ institute

Programming leadership
The LGBTQ Institute develops and implements programming to further the mission of The Institute and The Center to engage a large and diverse audience, with support from The Center’s programming leadership, Advisory Board, and Program Partners.


Grant preparation and oversight
The Center’s Head of Development and Executive Director, with support from The LGBTQ Institute’s Leadership Council, helps solicit donations and service grants for The Institute from outside foundations and/or corporate entities.


Logistics and Facilities support
The Center provides necessary support for The LGBTQ Institute events and logistic operations, ensuring the success of each programming and educational initiative of The Institute and The Center.


Advocacy Interns

Visitors to the National Center for Civil and Human Rights get a glimpse of a young John Lewis, Catherine Burks-Brooks, Rabbi Israel "Si" Dresner, Stokley Carmichael, and Mae Francis Moultrie engaging in the courageous work to achieve racial equality and justice in a very hostile and unwelcoming South. These young people, mostly college students, received training on the philosophy and strategies of nonviolent protest. From bus boycotts (Claudette Colvin) to school desegregation (Ruby Bridges or the Little Rock Nine), to youth involved in the March on Washington and the more contemporary struggle for justice and equality, young people have always been at the center of social change movements. Too few of our cultural centers have been a training ground for young advocates. 

It is our belief that Gen Z is uniquely positioned to be on the vanguard of thoughtful and strategic change provided the support of mentors, scholars, seasoned advocates. This is what the LGBTQ Institute’s Youth Advocacy Fellowship will provide over the next 12 months!

The LGBTQ Institute has already identified 16 young people nationally, ages 16 to 30, who will receive guidance, mentoring, and support in connecting their professional aspirations to their social justice passions: from Public Health or Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the workplace, to Advocacy Education or Civil and Human Rights History. Understanding the immediate and urgent threats to transgender and non-binary members of our community– threats that continue to be fueled by misleading rhetoric, miseducation and ignorance – young people are well-positioned to lead the charge that transgender rights are both civil rights and also human rights.


COMING SOON: LGBTQ+ HISTORY & HERITAGE ICONS

I was in graduate school when I finally learned of Bayard Rustin, thought of by many as the architect of the historic March on Washington in 1963. I'm reminded of the historic marginalization of Black LGBTQ leaders, and the importance to elevate those leaders now more than ever. Current efforts to politicize facts of history rob students of mirrors to their own identities that have been proven to positively impact educational and psychological outcomes, particularly for queer students of color, trans, and non-binary students. With this in mind, we are building history and heritage month pages, including Black History Month (February), Women’s History Month (March), and 20 AAPI Advocates you should know during AAPI Heritage Month (May), in addition to other forthcoming heritage months. The pages will launch on June 15, 2023, during our Pride Month celebration.

We invite you to celebrate those who have gone before, as well as those still here, advocating for freedom and justice.

-Tim'm T. West


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