Throwing Down the Gauntlet to the HRC When it comes to TG inclusion, it’s time to move from talk to action by Sarah DePalma

Editor’s note: The Human Rights Campaign has a checkered history with the transgender community, and has been the subject of frequent and long-standing protests. Although in March of last year the HRC amended its mission statement to include transgenders, in the HRC’s lobbying for the passage of ENDA (the federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act), it has yet to include transgenders.

Sarah DePalma has been one of the most vocal critics of the HRC through the years. At this year’s March 2 HRC Gala, DePalma, Vanessa Edwards Foster, and Beth Richard met with HRC executive director Elizabeth Birch. We asked DePalma to describe that meeting.

Following the recent gala sponsored by the Human Rights Campaign, HRC executive director Elizabeth Birch and three of her staff members attended the wine and cheese reception sponsored by several transgendered organizations from the greater Houston area. The meeting was cordial and touched off a discussion with two other transgender activists and myself speaking on behalf of the transgendered community. Lasting into the early hours of Sunday morning, the meeting was at various times raucous and blunt; at other times, thoughtful and insightful. From my perspective it was the most comprehensive and useful meeting I have attended in my nearly eight years of work on the issue of transgender inclusion within the HRC.

The bottom line is that after a lengthy and sometimes heated discussion, I believe change within the HRC is in the air. No promises were made and no timelines were given. I have told the members of the transgendered community that we can either gripe about the past or we can hoist our sails and ride the winds of change into a more productive relationship. Yelling at each other has its limits. I want results.

At this meeting I gave my personal commitment to Elizabeth Birch, and she committed the HRC to work toward a more productive relationship. We agreed to look for more effective modes of communication. We each committed to educating legislators about transgenders and agreed to begin exploring ways to make this education a priority.

No, we didn’t reach an agreement about transgender inclusion in ENDA. No, it doesn’t mean that I have "sold out," and, no, it doesn’t mean that I have suddenly come to trust the HRC. This new agreement says that based on our discussions, a more productive way to reach our goals may be possible. I have committed the Texas Gender Advocacy Information Network (TGAIN) to a one-year trial of this new approach. At the end of this trial we will look at what has or has not been accomplished. In essence I challenged HRC to "show me the money."

Longtime gay rights leaders will recognize what came next. Literally within hours of announcing our new approach, the hardliners in my community went on the offensive. I was labeled "the sellout in Texas." Suddenly my many years of work on behalf of transgender rights meant nothing. I had made a pact with the HRC/Great Satan. Eventually the attacks became so intense that I nearly left activism altogether. The bullies almost won.

Yet it has always been my belief that a leader should lead and be willing to accept the consequences. I use Ray Hill as exhibit A of what a leader should be. Love him or hate him, Ray always stands up for what he believes. I’m not nearly the leader he is, but I’m not a coward either.

Speaking for myself, I’m tired of picketing and bitching. I am not going to back down from this new approach and bullies won’t run me off. I’d like to try something different just to see if a change in approach will bring about a change in results. I have committed TGAIN to a one-year experiment to see if cooperation with the HRC is worth our time. We have not withdrawn from our commitment to employment nondiscrimination coverage for the transgendered community. Let’s see if a more peaceful approach to the HRC will bring us to the desired outcome.

Sarah DePalma has been a human rights activist for more than 30 years and is currently the executive director of the Texas Gender Advocacy Information Network, a statewide transgender rights organization.

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