White House Meets with Michigan LGBT Advocates

BY AJ TRAGER

DEARBORN – White House and federal officials met with LGBT advocates from across the state in an LGBT focused summit April 21 to discuss LGBT school policies, access to healthcare for trans Michiganders and access to capital for LGBT-owned small businesses.
The Obama administration has been committed to ensuring that the LGBT community is not only represented by hiring LGBT members to administration staff but also uplifted by passing and supporting legislation that directly affects the lives of LGBT Americans. Key members of the president's administration were joined by Equality Michigan and LGBT organizations from across the state to discuss how federal programs are actively working to provide full equality for LGBT people.
"As local activists it's not always obvious to us about what the federal government does and how it impacts our lives. So today I want you to get a chance to hear from folks directly, have deep conversations and come away with a real sense of what tools and opportunities are available on the federal level that can apply and fuel your work at the local level," Executive Director of Equality Michigan Stephanie White said in her opening address to the gathering.
Michigan is experiencing a significant amount of activity around the rights of LGBT youth and trans members of society. There has been debate over the completely optional set of LGBT guidelines for LGBT youth in K-12 schools, and state Sen. Tom Casperson recently announced he will introduce a bill to ensure that trans men and women use the bathroom that is contrary to their gender identity.

Meet the Feds

Michigan isn't the only state experiencing an onslaught of anti-LGBT legislation and the comments that follow. At the White House LGBT Summit, Obama administration officials highlighted the fact that services and programs that receive federal funding are required to follow the mandates and statutes of federal law.
"The accomplishments and progress made in the past 40 years were hard won. They required tremendous sacrifice and they did not happen without tears and uncertainty. I am mindful that there is still work required. We must continue to work together to create a more perfect union," Raffi Freedman-Gurspan, LGBT liaison to the White House, said in her address presented at the summit.
Freedman-Gurspan was joined by Jaan Williams, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS); Ashlee Davis, U.S. Department of Agriculture; Nick Martin, U.S. Department of HHS; Alejandro Aviles, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; and Lolita Davis, U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. All six of these representatives were personally appointed by the president.
"From President Obama and from the administration, there is the belief that people are policy. When you put people into positions where they can make change, who they are and where they're coming from matters," Williams said.
Davis, an EEOC official, said that the commission was focused on addressing issues affecting LGBT communities. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 states that no person shall be discriminated against based on their sex, but that is considered sex discrimination. Davis explained that the EEOC has worked with Affirmations, the ACLU and other organizations in the state to help LGBT Michigan residents file employment discrimination complaints, along with how to draft those charges.
HUD helps many of the most marginalized people, especially trans youth experiencing homelessness. Aviles explained how a 2012 change to allocating HUD funds ensured that homeless shelters receiving federal funds could not turn away or discriminate against those in need based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.
HHS is working to update section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, which would provide further support and offer more expansive trans-related health care to those navigating the marketplace. The LGBT community is more likely than its heterosexual counterparts to be uninsured or underinsured. By working with national partners and folks on the ground, HHS is closer to supporting all communities in the healthcare system.
"Access to those communities and communities that experience higher rates of tobacco use, sexual violence and HIV/AIDS is our main priority," Martin said.
A Q&A session was held after the panelists addressed the audience with specific changes and updates to LGBT policies within their departments. One commenter asked how quickly the work that has been done by the Obama administration can be undone by a new president.
"I cannot imagine how fast it would take to rework what we have accomplished in our own workforce for the LGBT people there. That has taken so much time that it is important to press forward," Freedman-Gurspan said. "…We need the community to be engaged at the local and state level and remember how much has changed over our federal government."
The summit featured a second panel discussing local issues and featured Sommer Foster and Leah Taraskiewicz from Equality Michigan; Pat Clark from Community AIDS Resource & Education Services; Jerry Peterson from the Ruth Ellis Center; Kathleen LaTosch from SAGE Detroit; and Danielle Woods from the Detroit Police Department. These local advocates highlighted the services currently being offered by Michigan organizations and what work is left to do in the state.

Small Business Administration

Deputy Associate Administrator for Field Operations for the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), Eugene Cornelius, joined Jan Stevenson and Kevin Heard of the Detroit Regional LGBT Chamber of Commerce to talk about the importance of uniting and uplifting LGBT owned businesses.
Two-thirds of the jobs that have been created in the past five years were created by small businesses. Cornelius said that when he found out that there was a certification for LGBT owned businesses across the nation but only 135 companies had achieved certification, he moved immediately to get more LGBT owned businesses certified. Over the last six to seven months, with the help of the SBA, nearly 850 businesses across the country are now certified as LGBT owned.
Heard, president of the Detroit Regional LGBT Chamber of Commerce, said that a benefit to working in an LGBT Chamber of Commerce is that the membership represents everybody. LGBT chambers consist of a collaboration of people from all identities that intersect with various communities from the disabled and veteran communities to Asian and black communities. LGBT chambers provide opportunities that no other chamber of commerce can deliver.
"The bottom line is that it's important that you certify even if you're not doing business with these administrations. I think our community is good at displaying our visibility. But we should be visible everyday, in every category, in every district, in every state, and we should be able to say in front of any senator or administration that here is our numbers, this is what we contribute to the national profit GDP," Cornelius said. "Advocacy is a part of this."
Three panel sessions were held following the keynote address presented by Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Catherine Lhamon: addressing safe school policies, safe school policy implementation and one focused on updates on trans health and coverage in the ACA. The latter half of the summit was not open to the press.
"By connecting movement leaders from nearly every LGBTQ organization in the state with White House and federal officials as well as key state officials, the summit provided a great catalyst that will propel our collective work forward," Equality Michigan said in a statement following the summit.