Media Releases

Washington, DC – Today marks the 29th anniversary of National Coming Out Day, a day the world celebrates courageous individuals who share their truth and talk about what it means to be a member of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and same gender loving (LGBTQ/SGL) community. As we celebrate all it means to be Out & Proud, the National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC), the nation’s leading civil rights organization dedicated to the empowerment of Black LGBTQ/SGL people, including people living with HIV/AIDS, is honored to host its annual OUT on the Hill Issue Advocacy Day (IAD) on Capitol Hill.

WASHINGTON, DC – On September 18-19, 2017, the National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC) convened a core group of leaders from across the country near the nation’s capital for a critically important meeting focused on the spread and impact of HIV/AIDS on Black families. African American communities continue to be disproportionately impacted by the disease. Entitled the Convening of Black National Stakeholders, which is part of NBJC’s Summit on Black Lives: Black America’s Response to the HIV/AIDS Epidemic, the convening brought together influential Black advocates and leaders, media personalities and policymakers to set the foundation for a comprehensive path forward to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Black communities.

WASHINGTON, DC – The National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC), the nation’s leading civil rights organization dedicated to the empowerment of Black lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people, released the following statement in support and admiration of Spelman College’s new institutional policy to admit transgender women:
 
Spelman College is breaking down barriers and setting a powerful example of what inclusivity must look like for students attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Spelman honors an enduring legacy of sisterhood by educating Black women through a lens that critically examines sexism, patriarchy, transphobia and cis-heterosexism. This inclusive policy follows Bennett College, the only other HBCU exclusively for women that has implemented groundbreaking policy to admit transgender women.

WASHINGTON, DC – The National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC), the nation’s leading civil rights organization dedicated to the empowerment of Black lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people, including people living with HIV/AIDS, released the following statement from Sharon J. Lettman-Hicks, Chief Executive Officer, in response to the tweets of President Trump to ban transgender people from serving in the military:
 
“This morning our nation’s 45th President utilized Twitter to announce his decision to ban transgender people from serving in our nation’s military. This position is beyond disgraceful and spits in the faces of the more than 15,000 transgender people currently serving honorably and those that have previously served in our nation’s armed forces.