From the Restore Fairness blog.

Jarvious Cotton’s great-great-grandfather could not vote as a slave. His great-grandfather was beaten to death by the Klu Klux Klan for attempting to vote. His grandfather was prevented from voting by Klan intimidation; his father was barred by poll taxes and literacy tests. Today, Cotton cannot vote because he, like many black men in the United States, has been labeled a felon and is currently on parole. – From ‘The New Jim Crow’.

On November 4th, 2008, Proposition 8 passed in California, eliminating the right to marry for same-sex couples.  One year later, the rights of the LGBT community are again up for a popular vote, in Maine, Washington and Michigan. 

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As a straight ally in the fight for marriage equality, I am often asked why I work on the issue of marriage equality.

Under the nation’s first African American President and U.S. Attorney General, a much welcomed reinvigoration of our federal government’s commitment to civil rights is underway.  As a civil rights advocate, I applaud the DOJ’s refocusing on civil rights and urge that the DOJ’s Civil Rights division, which was established in 1957 during the era of massive civil rights changes, reprioritize its original mission of fighting racial discrimination.

Here's an upcoming conference in Los Angeles that APAP/LA will be signing up to co-sponsor. There's a great line-up of speakers and they even have travel stipends. Check it out.

Register today for the inaugural

 

Advancing Justice Conference: