January, 15 2010, 02:01pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Inga Sarda-Sorensen
Director of Communications
(Office) 646.358.1463
isorensen@theTaskForce.org
Honoring the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
WASHINGTON
The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force honors the Rev. Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr. on this, the day of his birth, as well as on
Monday's official holiday commemorating the civil rights leader.
Statement by Rea Carey, Executive Director
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
Download a high-resolution photo
"We honor the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s enduring message of
courage, hope and equality. Dr. King is one of history's towering
beacons of inspiration to people around the world who struggle and
strive each day to show our common humanity. The global outpouring of
support and care expressed following the devastating earthquake in
Haiti is an example of how people from everywhere, and all walks of
life, can share in compassion and kinship, even in the most challenging
times. Dr. King knew we were capable of this human connection, and
spoke beautifully of its promise.
"Dr. King's legacy is everlasting. His words - 'injustice anywhere
is a threat to justice everywhere' - continue to resonate deeply
worldwide. We believe that were he alive today, he would be standing
side by side with the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community
as we too reach for equality.
"Fortunately, we continue to have Dr. King's wisdom to lift us, even
in the face of setbacks. As he said, 'We must accept finite
disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.' We never will, because
we are on the right side of history."
Statement by Darlene Nipper, Deputy Executive Director
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
Download a high-resolution photo
"Sharing a birthday with Dr. King has helped me to stay focused on
the dream and to fight for equitable and just treatment of all people
in society. I am profoundly thankful for his words and inspired by his
actions."
The National LGBTQ Task Force advances full freedom, justice and equality for LGBTQ people. We are building a future where everyone can be free to be their entire selves in every aspect of their lives. Today, despite all the progress we've made to end discrimination, millions of LGBTQ people face barriers in every aspect of their lives: in housing, employment, healthcare, retirement, and basic human rights. These barriers must go. That's why the Task Force is training and mobilizing millions of activists across our nation to deliver a world where you can be you. Join us!
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"Disclose, divest, we will not stop, we will not rest," chanted hundreds of students as they marched around the area where organizers had set up a tent encampment early Wednesday morning.
Columbia President Minouche Shafik informed the campus community on Thursday that she had authorized the police to clear the encampment.
As it has been in the past, the school has become a center of anti-war protests—and crackdowns by school officials and the police—since Israel began its bombardment of Gaza in October.
Pro-Palestinian students and alumni have demanded that Columbia divest from companies that profit from Israel's apartheid policies in the occupied Palestinian territories and cancel its dual degree program with Tel Aviv University.
In response to pro-Palestinian demonstrations, Columbia in November suspended the campus chapters of Jewish Voice for Peace and Students for Justice in Palestine—an action that pushed the New York Civil Liberties Union and Palestine Legal to file a lawsuit on behalf of the students last month.
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