Atticus Circle

Last updated
Atticus Circle
Founded2004
Dissolvedc. 2014
Focus Civil rights
Location
Method Education, advocacy

Atticus Circle was a non-profit organization whose mission was to educate and mobilize straight people to advance equal rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender partners, parents, and their children. With the national office located in Austin, Texas, Atticus Circle focused on straight allies of the LGBT social movements. [1] The organization was founded and was run mostly by straight people and works to empower straight and other allies to give them a sense of ownership in this civil rights struggle.

Contents

History

Atticus Circle, named for Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird , was founded in late 2004 by Anne Wynne after 11 states passed what she considered anti-gay "Discrimination Amendments". [2] [3] Wynne is straight and noticed the lack of organizations catering to straight allies. Since its inception, Atticus Circle has participated in campaigns in Texas around GLBT domestic partnership benefits and "Discrimination Amendments". They have advocated against "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policies and for fair family policies. Wynne notes that most gay rights activism is done by gay people, although she finds it a natural issue for straight progressives to support: she says "we haven't gotten on their radar yet." [3]

In October 2007, the organization ran a national "Seven Straight Nights for Equal Rights" event, where the straight community could show support for LGBT rights. [2] It was one of the first such events in Austin and in the United States. [4] The event was held again in 2008. [5]

As of late 2022 the organization's official website was offline. An image captured in February 2021 showed that no updates had been made in the previous seven years. [6]

Projects

January–May, 2007: Atticus Circle formed the "Equality Circle", a group of straight volunteers in Austin, Texas, who paired with LGBT people to advocate for equal rights during the 2007 Texas Legislative Session.

October 7–13, 2007: Seven Straight Nights for Equal Rights, in partnership with Soulforce was held October 7–13, 2007 in many cities throughout the United States, including Montgomery, Alabama; Phoenix, Arizona; Los Angeles and Humboldt County, CA; Atlanta, Georgia; Indianapolis, Indiana; Shreveport, Louisiana; Augusta, Maine; New York City; Raleigh, North Carolina; Salem, Oregon; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Austin, Texas; Houston, Texas; and Seattle, Washington. Straight individuals, couples and families held overnight vigils all over the country stating their support for LGBT equal rights.

See also

Related Research Articles

PFLAG is the United States' largest organization dedicated to supporting, educating, and advocating for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) people and those who love them. PFLAG National is the national organization, which provides support to the PFLAG network of local chapters. PFLAG has nearly 400 chapters across the United States, with more than 350,000 members and supporters.

This is a list of notable events in the history of LGBT rights that took place in the year 1994.

This is a list of notable events in the history of LGBT rights that took place in the year 2003.

The Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) is legislation proposed in the United States Congress that would prohibit discrimination in hiring and employment on the basis of sexual orientation or, depending on the version of the bill, gender identity, by employers with at least 15 employees.

The Log Cabin Republicans (LCR) is an organization affiliated with the Republican Party which advocates for equal rights for LGBT+ Americans, by educating the LGBT+ community and Republicans about each other.

A straight ally, heterosexual ally, or cis ally is a heterosexual and cisgender person who supports equal civil rights, gender equality, and LGBTQ+ social movements. Individuals may meet this designation through their actions without actively identifying as an ally.

This is a list of notable events in the history of LGBT rights that took place in the year 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBT rights in Serbia</span>

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Serbia face significant challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Both male and female same-sex sexual activity are legal in Serbia, and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is banned in areas such as employment, education, media, and the provision of goods and services, amongst others. Nevertheless, households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex couples.

Out & Equal Workplace Advocates is a United States lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBTQ) workplace equality non-profit organization headquartered in Oakland, California.

The origin of the LGBT student movement can be linked to other activist movements from the mid-20th century in the United States. The Civil Rights Movement and Second-wave feminist movement were working towards equal rights for other minority groups in the United States. Though the student movement began a few years before the Stonewall riots, the riots helped to spur the student movement to take more action in the US. Despite this, the overall view of these gay liberation student organizations received minimal attention from contemporary LGBT historians. This oversight stems from the idea that the organizations were founded with haste as a result of the riots. Others historians argue that this group gives too much credit to groups that disagree with some of the basic principles of activist LGBT organizations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBTQ rights in the United States</span>

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in the United States are among the most advanced in the world, with public opinion and jurisprudence changing significantly since the late 1980s.

This is a list of notable events in the history of LGBT rights that took place in the year 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation</span> Demonstration

The March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay, and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation was a large political rally that took place in Washington, D.C., on April 25, 1993. Organizers estimated that 1,000,000 attended the March. The D.C. Police Department put the number between 800,000 and more than 1 million, making it one of the largest protests in American history. The National Park Service estimated attendance at 300,000, but their figure attracted so much negative attention that it shortly thereafter stopped issuing attendance estimates for similar events.

Queer Liberaction (QL) is a Dallas–Fort Worth, Texas-based grassroots organization advocating for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights. The group was founded in November 2008 following the international attention surrounding California's Proposition 8, which changed that state's Constitution to deny marriage rights to any LGBT couples who are not defined as "a man and a woman", passed by a slight majority. The organization is a proponent of same-sex marriage rights for LGBT couples, considering civil unions and domestic partnerships as less than full equality.

Fair Wisconsin, previously called Equality Wisconsin is a 501c4 nonprofit civil rights political advocacy organization dedicated to securing equal rights under the law for Wisconsin's LGBTQ+, transgender and non-binary community. The organization focuses on expanding rights for LGBTQ+ and transgender Wisconsinites, most notably working to enshrine same sex marriage protections, HIV/Aids Advocacy and adding gender identity to the states non-discrimination laws. The organization was founded in 1994 as LGBT Center Advocates, consolidating elements of the Domestic Partnership Task Force, the Human Rights League, and the LGBT Alliance for Equality. The organization claims several accomplishments in areas of domestic partner recognition, non-discrimination, and securing greater resources for LGBTQ+ social services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBTQ Aggies</span> Student group at Texas A&M University

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Aggies is an officially recognized student group at Texas A&M University. Originally known as Gay Student Services (GSS) and later as Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Aggies, the organization was officially recognized by Texas A&M University in 1985 after a lengthy court battle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Equality Alabama</span> Nonprofit civil rights organization

Equality Alabama (EA) is a statewide non-profit civil rights organization that advocates for the rights of LGBTQ people in Alabama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Equality Pennsylvania</span>

Equality Pennsylvania is an organization which advocates throughout the state of Pennsylvania for LGBT rights. Equality Pennsylvania also attempts to "advance LGBT-friendly policy and legislative initiatives". The organization is a member of the Equality Federation.

Austin, Texas, has one of the most prominent and active LGBT populations in the United States. Austin was acclaimed by The Advocate in 2012 as part of its Gayest Cities in America, and was recognized by Travel and Leisure as one of America's Best Cities for Gay Travel. Much of Austin's gay nightlife scene is clustered around 4th Street. LGBT activism groups Atticus Circle and Equality Texas are headquartered in Austin.

References

  1. About Atticus Circle, 2009, retrieved September 5, 2018
  2. 1 2 Ankrum, Nora (October 5, 2007). "Seven Straight Nights to Shine Light on Gay Rights". Austin Chronicle.
  3. 1 2 Lisotta, Christopher (October 25, 2005). "Howdy, partners". The Advocate.
  4. Gonzales, Suzannah (October 11, 2007). "Straight supporters of gay rights gather for all-night vigil at Capitol". Austin American-Statesman.
  5. "Out and About, September 15 2008". Archived from the original on 2011-07-20. Retrieved 2011-02-05.
  6. "Atticus Circle (home page)". Atticus Circle. Archived from the original on 25 February 2021. Retrieved 3 December 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)