Chad Griffin at his farewell party thrown by friend Rob Reiner, co-founder of the American Foundation for Equal Rights, telling the crowd in Reiner's Brentwood backyard how he intended to visit with LGBT youth in Arkansas as one of his first official actions at HRC (Photo by Karen Ocamb)
Anyone who has ever heard Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin speak – whether at a news conference celebrating the American Foundation for Equal Rights victory in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals or at a backyard in Brentwood – knows that Chad is profoundly motivated to improve the lives of LGBT youth. It was fitting, therefore, that Griffin start his tenure and the new era at HRC last Monday, June 11, by meeting with young people in a slew of cities. In fact, the week before, on Thursday, June 7, Griffin released a new HRC report on the discrimination faced by LGBT youth at a news conference with LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa at the LA Gay & Lesbian Center.
But in a blog post Griffin wrote on June 11, he noted the personal importance to him of going back to Arkansas, where he grew up before joining as a teenager Gov. Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign:
Being here in Arkansas is truly a special moment for me. It’s also a reminder that while we’ve made historic gains in the past few years, there are LGBT people in so many communities who need us working to secure their equality. We need to continue loudly advocating, forging partnerships with our allies, educating those who oppose us, and not resting until today’s youth can be assured of their right to live openly and safely.
Here is Chad Griffin, after one week on the job, advocating for LGBT youth on Andrea Mitchell’s MSNBC show:
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