New National Black Advocacy Group Forms

Black gay advocacy group comes together

The National Black Justice Coalition on Thursday announced its official board members, becoming the first national black gay advocacy organization to follow the demise of the 14-year-old Black Leadership Forum last August. The coalition will focus its work on breaking down the barriers of prejudice in black and lesbian, gay, transgender, and bisexual communities through education, advertising, and other activities. The ad hoc group of black community leaders, public figures, and activists plans to raise over $100,000 for a nationwide campaign to generate black support for gay marriage and to battle the recently proposed Federal Marriage Amendment.

The board members are Keith Boykin of New York; Jasmyne Cannick of Los Angeles; Mandy Carter of Durham, N.C.; Roddrick Colvin of New York; Maurice Franklin of New York; Donna Payne of Washington, D.C.; Frank Roberts of New York; and Sonya Shields of New York

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** NEWS RELEASE **

BLACK JUSTICE COALITION MOVES FORWARD


LOS ANGELES - The National Black Justice Coalition today announced its official board members. The board members are: Keith Boykin of New York, NY; Jasmyne Cannick of Los Angeles, CA; Mandy Carter of Durham, NC; Roddrick Colvin of New York, NY; Maurice Franklin of New York, NY; Donna Payne of Washington, DC; Frank Leon Roberts of New York, NY; Sonya Shields of New York, NY. The board consists of four women and four men of African descent.

Author Keith Boykin and HRC Senior Field Organizer Donna Payne will serve as the board's president and vice-president, respectively. Roddrick Colvin, NGLTF Policy Institute Research DIrector will serve as secretary. Southerners on New Ground (SONG) Executive Director Mandy Carter will serve as the interim chair for the coalition's grassroots committee. The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation's Jasmyne Cannick will chair the media committee and serve! as the public relations representative. Frank Leon Roberts, a senior at New York University, will chair the youth committee, a sub-committee of the grassroots committee. Maurice Franklin was selected to chair the civil rights committee, and Ernest Hopkins will chair the political committee.

The mission of the National Black Justice Coalition is to break down the barriers of prejudice in black and lesbian, gay, transgender and bisexual communities through education, visibility and other activity.

The National Black Justice Coalition will conduct a nationwide campaign to generate black support for marriage equality and to fight against the recently proposed Federal Marriage Amendment.


The National Black Justice Coalition is an ad hoc coalition of black lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered community leaders, public figures and activists who have come together to fight against discrimination in their community.