Despite the
fact that Georgia does not have any statewide protections for their LGBTQ
citizens, the state’s capital city, Atlanta, has achieved a perfect score on
the Human Rights Campaign Municipal Equality Index every year
since 2013, a distinction that gave the city an ‘All-Star’ status in 2018.
Elected as
Atlanta’s mayor in 2017, Keisha Lance Bottoms appointed Malik Brown as
Atlanta’s first full-time LGBTQ Affairs Coordinator not long after she took
office. On Friday, November 20, Brown became the city’s first Director of
LGBTQ Affairs. According to the press release, Brown will advise the Mayor and City departments
on policies, programs, and initiatives concerning LGBTQ residents, city
employees, and visitors.
Brown also
serves as an executive committee member of the Human Rights Campaign’s National
Board of Governors as well as a member of the Democratic National Committee’s
LGBTQ Advisory Board.
Mayor Bottoms
spoke on the creation of the Director position:
“Since taking
office, our Administration has prioritized the well-being and advancement of
Atlanta’s large and diverse LGBTQ community and municipal LGBTQ affairs. By
creating a Director-level LGBTQ Affairs position in the Mayor’s Office and
continuing the work of the Mayor’s LGBTQ Advisory Board, we are creating
institutional support for LGBTQ Atlantans.”
Brown will act
as the city of Atlanta’s liaison to the LGBTQ Advisory Board,
which Bottoms announced new members of the Advisory Board on Friday.
The press release also states that Atlanta is one of a handful of cities to establish a full-time position that advises the mayor and city officials on LGBTQ issues.
SOURCE: INSTINCT MAG
Alrighty! 👍🏻🙂
ReplyDelete