LLEGO, the National Latina/o Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Organization, has been awarded a $50,000 grant from the Ford Foundation to support ACCION LLEGO, the organization's national advocacy program addressing issues which make Latino LGBT civil rights unique within the general LGBT community: racial justice, citizenship, immigration and cultural norms.
Created in 2002, ACCION LLEGO focuses on community organizing and mobilization, public policy, and media advocacy to address the uniqueness of Latino LGBT issues in the areas of racial and social justice. The Ford Foundation grant will fund ACCION LLEGO's efforts to fight homophobic/racist legislation and to obtain immigration rights for binational couples. The grant will also fund work to pass legislation—such as the federal Employment Nondiscrimination Act ( ENDA ) —which provides protection from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and efforts to obtain marriage equality for same-sex couples.
Originally a local Michigan philanthropy, the Ford Foundation—established with gifts and bequests from Henry and Edsel Ford in 1936—has since become a national and international foundation which supports strengthening of democratic values, reduction of poverty and injustice, promotion of international cooperation and advancement of human achievement.
'The Ford Foundation's generous grant has helped make it possible for ACCION LLEGO to carry out its mission of addressing LGBT civil rights concerns which are specific to Latino communities,' said Martín Ornelas-Quintero, LLEGO executive director. 'This is very important work, and we are thankful to the Ford Foundation for its support.'
LLEGO is the only national organization devoted to representing Latino lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender ( LGBT ) communities and advocating on behalf of their needs on an array of issues ranging from civil rights and social justice to health and human services. Through a growing network of 172 affiliate organizations, LLEGO focuses on developing solutions to social, health and political disparities which exist due to discrimination based on ethnicity, sexual orientation and gender identity affecting the lives and well-being of Latino LGBT people and their families. For more information about LLEGO, call ( 202 ) 408-5380 or visit www.llego.org .
