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[King of Prussia, Pa. - Nov. 2, 1996]
In what has been called the second most important event in the history of the transgender community after the Stonewall Riots, and certainly the defining event of the decade, twelve transgender organizations representing national, regional, and local constituencies signed Articles of Association to form the Gender Public Advocacy Coalition (GPAC), a community-wide association dedicated to working issues of gender, affectional and racial discrimination at a national level. In taking this step forward, the transgender community came of age. The significance of GPAC is its underlying foundation of support from a broad-based coalition of transgender organizations representing major and minor factions and national and local organizations.
GPAC started in June of 1995 as a loose-knit advisory committee to help raise money and direct activism against gender-oppression. From the beginning GPAC was different from other attempts to create political activity in the transgender community. Rather than based on the support of individuals, GPAC was based on the support of transgender community organizations, and, in effect, automatically building a constituency and support structure. Slightly more than a year after its formation, committee members saw the potential for this advisory unit to play a much larger and more significant role in transgender activism by creating a formal association of organizations with the specific purpose of advocating gender, affectional and racial equality as these issues affect transgendered people. So, November 2, 1996 was set as the date for a meeting to mobilize the community's organizations.
Transgender activists began arriving around 9 a.m., not quite sure of what they were about to do. Some came with serious issues to air, while others came with open minds and hearts to listen and learn. The meeting started with a series of brief greetings from advisory committee members and then the floor was opened to the group at large for suggestions, recommendations and issues to be discussed as the day progressed. The process took the better part of the morning.
After lunch the group reconvened to sign the GPAC Articles of Association. The signatories (and their representatives) of this historic document are: American Educational Gender Information Service [AEGIS]* (Dallas Denny); FtM International* (Jules Russell for Jamison Green); International Foundation for Gender Education [IFGE]* (Alison Laing); It's Time America!* (Jessica Xavier); Renaissance Education Assoc.* (JoAnn Roberts for Angela Gardner); Society for the Second Self [Tri-Ess]* (Maryann Kirkland); American Boyz* (Gary Bowen); Intersexed Society of North America* (Martha Coventry); Transgender Health Action Coalition (A. "Dee" Stalhworth); Transgender Officers Protect & Serve [TOPS]* (Tony Baretto-Neto); Deaf Transgendered Alliance* (Jess Marlowe); and Expressing Our Nature, Inc., (Angela Brightfeather Sheedy). Organizations unable to have representatives at the meeting included the Outreach Institute (which sent word it supports GPAC) and the International Conference for Transgender Law & Employment Policy [ICTLEP]. Both Outreach and ICTLEP will be given an additional opportunity to sign the Articles of Association.
The activists then broke into two working groups for the afternoon addressing a variety of issues facing GPAC, after which the group held its first official board meeting and elected officers. Angela Gardner continues from the advisory committee as Chair of the Board. Tony Baretto-Neto is vice-chair. Maryann Kirkland is Secretary. Joanne White (Treasurer of Renaissance National and the Treasurer for Fantasia Fair) was appointed to the board and elected Treasurer. Appointed Ex-Officio members of the GPAC board are: Riki Ann Wilchins, Executive Director of GPAC; Dana Priesing, GPAC Lobbyist; Pat Conover, Policy Analyst; and JoAnn Roberts, Policy Analyst. A list of nominees for appointments to the GPAC board of directors was taken under advisement. These appointments will be made to insure the board is diverse in its representation of the transgender community.
During the day some discussion centered on a perceived "Northeast" bias in GPAC. Considering the home base for each of the organizations comprising GPAC, the regional representations are: 2 organizations from New England (IFGE & Outreach); 3 Mid-Atlantic organizations (Renaissance, Amer. Boyz & DTA); 2 organizations in the Southwest (Tri-Ess & ITA!); 2 organizations from the South (AEGIS & TOPS); and 2 organizations from the West Coast (FtM & ISNA). Angela Gardner said, "GenderPAC will do everything possible to represent the diversity of the transgender community. For example, our next face-to-face board meeting should be out on the West Coast, possibly at the California Unity convention (April 15 - 19, 1997) in Long Beach, California. We'll certainly discuss it and other locales. Meanwhile, I urge each of the GenderPAC member organizations to appoint east coast and west coast alternates, so we'll be sure to have a quorum wherever we meet."
The meeting adjourned at about 6:30 p.m. and the mood of the group was high. Details of future GPAC activities will be presented to the community in the coming weeks and months as the GPAC board formulates policies and plans to implement them.
For more information about GenderPAC, please contact Riki Ann Wilchins, GPAC Exec. Dir., 274 W11 St, NYC 10014 or send email to: gpac@gpac.org. On the internet, GPAC information can be found at http://www.gpac.org. If you would like to make a contribution to GPAC, send it to GPAC, c/o PO Box 229, Waltham, MA 02254.
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