58 LGBT And Civil Rights Organizations Join Together In Support Of Michael Brown’s Family

Originally issued earlier this week with 17 signatories, a letter offering support to the family of Michael Brown has grown dramatically. Read the full letter and list of signatories here.

A letter denouncing “fear, harassment and brutality” of people “simply because of who they are or how they look” now has been signed by 58 LGBT and civil rights organizations. Lamenting that “it is clearer than ever that there is something profoundly wrong in our country,” the letter states that the “LGBT community stands with the family of Michael Brown, who was gunned down in Ferguson, Missouri.”

The letter was first published on Tuesday afternoon with 17 signatories, but the count of LGBT and civil rights groups that have added their names to the list is now 58, and likely will continue to grow, especially as more news is being revealed about Brown’s death.

Brown was an 18-year old college-bound student who was gunned down by a police officer on Saturday in Ferguson, Missouri. He was unarmed and was shot multiple times. Some reports state his hands were in the air when he was shot. Attorney General Eric Holder has announced the federal government will be investigating the shooting.

Police late this morning finally released the name of the officer, and additional details about the incident, after several nights of protests and tear-gassing by police.

“Advocacy organizations from every corner of the nation are standing with the community of the slain teenager,” an HRC press release states. 

Below the full text of the letter and all 58 signatories.

When communities experience fear, harassment and brutality simply because of who they are or how they look, we are failing as a nation. In light of the recent events in Missouri, it is clearer than ever that there is something profoundly wrong in our country.

The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community cannot be silent at this moment, because LGBT people come from all races, creeds, faiths and backgrounds, and because all movements of equality are deeply connected. We are all part of the fabric of this nation and the promise of liberty and justice for all is yet to be fulfilled.

The LGBT community stands with the family of Michael Brown, who was gunned down in Ferguson, Missouri. We stand with the mothers and fathers of young Black men and women who fear for the safety of their children each time they leave their homes. We call on the national and local media to be responsible and steadfast in their coverage of this story and others like it–racialized killings that have marred this nation since the beginning of its history. We call on policy makers on all levels of American government not to shrink from action, and we are deeply grateful to Attorney General Eric Holder and the Department of Justice for their immediate commitment to a thorough investigation.

At this moment, we are inspired by the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies … but the silence of our friends.”

ACLU
Advocates for Youth
AIDS United
AMBi – The Alliance of Multicultural Bisexuals Bay Area Bisexual Network
BiNet USA
Bisexual Organizing Project
Bisexual Resource Center
Black Youth Project 100 (BYP100)
Campus Pride
Center for Black Equity, Inc.
CenterLink
COL AGE
Courage Campaign
Equality Federation
Equality Hawaii
Equality Maine
Equality Michigan
Equality North Carolina
Equality New Mexico
Equality Pennsylvania
Equality Texas
Family Equality Council
Fairness Campaign (KY)
Garden State Equality
Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD)
Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN) Georgia Equality
GetEQUAL Nevada
GLAAD
GMHC

GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBT Equality Hetrick-Martin Institute (HMI)
Human Rights Campaign
Immigration Equality
Indiana Equality Action
Lambda Legal
MassEquality
National Black Justice Coalition
National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR)
National Center for Transgender Equality
National Coalition of Anti-Violence Projects
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
National Minority AIDS Council
National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA)
Nehirim
One Colorado
PFLAG National
Pride at Work, AFL-CIO
Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE)
Soulforce
Southerners on New Ground (SONG)
Tennessee Equality Project
The Equality Network (OK)
Trans People of Color Coalition
Transgender Law Center
Trevor Project
True Colors Fund