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Sunday, Jul 20, 2008
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Gay & Lesbian Task Force to honor GSBA director Louise Chernin at January awards dinner |
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| Gay & Lesbian Task Force to honor GSBA director Louise Chernin at January awards dinner | ||
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by Barbara Sehr -
SGN Contributing Writer "The work of the political activist inevitably involves a certain tension between the requirement that position be taken on current issues as they arise and the desire that one's contributions will somehow survive the ravages of time." - Angela Davis The work of Louise Chernin has, without a doubt, survived the ravages of time. In her lifetime she fought for peace in Vietnam, the end of oppression of women, and the rights of Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender people. As she overlooks the nation's largest organization of local LGBT businesses, she can rest assured that "the world is no longer run by straight, white men." Chernin serves as executive director of the Greater Seattle Business Association, a commercial network born out of a need for community, and nurtured into a force more than 1,000 members strong. Chernin has had a relationship with GSBA since 1991, and has served as its leader since 2001. On January 12, 2008, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force will honor Chernin at its National Leadership Awards banquet at the Grand Hyatt Hotel. "At the beginning [of the GSBA], it was hard for community business owners to identify one another," Chernin recalls. "Now we have a place at the table." One might think that it would be natural for marketing forces to be sensitive to what today amounts to a $690 billion market. But getting the nation's eye on the lavender buy has not always been easy. Even in liberal Seattle, being known as a "Gay business" did not come without repercussions just a decade after Stonewall. GSBA was formed in the wake of the community's success in fighting a 1978 initiative that would have overturned Seattle's then-nascent Gay rights ordinance. GSBA was incorporated in 1981 and in its initial years fought hard to demand, define and dialogue rights for the LGBT community. At one time, demands were simple - perhaps the ability to walk down Broadway without being the target of low expectorations. Today, the dialogue in Seattle has risen to the corporate boardroom where employers are discovering that LGBT employees not only make great cogs in the wheel, but they can delight shareholders with a wheel that is not only functional, but fashionable. "Equality has been great for business," Chernin recalls. GSBA is a community of mostly small businesses that redefine the Seattle economy one brainstorm at a time. Not every business within GSBA is owned by an LGBT entrepreneur. Many come to network over hors d'oeuvres and stay to invest in more than $650,000 in scholarships that the organization has established for LGBT students since 1990. Chernin says GSBA has become like a "Gay YMCA" with attorneys, hairdressers, construction workers, and perhaps even a Native American or two, brainstorming together - competitor with competitor - to create the robust environment that exists for Gay businesses in Seattle today. "There's one thing about GSBA members, they definitely care about each other," Chernin says. Chernin has served in leadership roles in the local chapter of the National Organization for Women and the Pride Foundation before working with the GSBA. As an often deep-seated advocate for oppressed communities, it wasn't easy to make the transition to a Chamber of Commerce-type organization. "Business was once part of the problem, but GSBA members come from a community that is very engaged and dedicated to the idea of corporate involvement in the community," Chernin notes. Once in a while, Chernin demonstrates her executive moxie by chiding even the 800-pound gorilla in the local market. Microsoft, known as a champion of diversity efforts, backtracked to neutrality in the face of efforts of opponents of a state of Washington LGBT rights bill during the 2005 legislative session. The bill failed by a single vote during that session. "How can Microsoft in one breath say it promotes diversity in the workplace and has a nondiscriminatory policy so none of its employees face discrimination, when outside the walls of Microsoft those very same employees are subject to discrimination in housing, accommodations and insurance simply by the virtue they are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgender? "Chernin asked in her open letter to Microsoft. "There is no moral stance to justify a world business leader lacking enough courage to stand up against intolerance." Weeks after the vote, Microsoft reversed itself and again stood in support of the bill. The legislation passed early in the 2006 session of the legislature. Microsoft is now a corporate sponsor of the GSBA. Since the 2006 vote, the Washington State Legislature has passed a domestic partnership bill giving LGBT partners some of the rights that married couples have. Although the State Supreme Court diminished the community's hopes for marriage equality, Seattle and the state of Washington have become a Mecca for LGBT folks around the nation. Federal protections, however, remain weak, and efforts on the national stage are often divided, as witnessed in the recent Congressional debate surrounding ENDA. "GSBA is very firm in its support for an inclusive ENDA," Chernin reiterated after the House passed a version of the Employment Non-discrimination Act without gender identity protection. "The 'T' community is a very important component of GSBA." Chernin says both the state and the federal government still have a lot of work to do in raising the comfort level of being LGBT in America. Discrimination is still very much alive, even in Seattle, she notes. Just weeks ago, GSBA sponsored a session on safety on Capitol Hill in light of recent spikes in the rate of attacks on LGBT or LGBT-perceived persons. The session was, as Chernin put it, an opening of a dialogue into what can be done to make the neighborhood safer for all. Participants included representatives from Seattle law enforcement, government, and community organizations. Chernin has overseen a network of hope rise in the LGBT community, in her years of bringing GSBA to its current sphere of influence. With LGBT entrepreneurs prospering in Seattle's blistering economy and openly LGBT candidates present in all levels of local government, it is clear that "straight white men" are no longer as dominant here. Is it time for a Lesbian woman with thousands of friends and network connections to reach from the GSBA into local political power? "I don't think so," Chernin says. She notes the constant demands for raising money in local political campaigns drains the energy of even the best local officials. "When I raise money, I would rather give it away." |
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