Equality North Carolina

Equality NC's leadership includes Executive Director Kendra Johnson.[3] Equality NC's work is supported by two boards: the Equality NC Board and the Equality NC Foundation Board. The Equality NC Action Fund PAC governs all PAC activities. All three groups are composed of volunteers from across North Carolina.[4]

The current C4 board members are:

• Candis Cox
• Frank Dorsey
• Elinor Landess
• Mark Tiegel
• Tracey Ward
• Irving Zavaleta Jimenez
• Tika Douthit
• Milan Pham
• Elgin Phillips
• Crystal Richardson[5]

The Current C3 board members are:

• Jenna Beckham
• Ivan Canada
• Robert Dogens
• Ray Mitchell
• Donna Oldham
• Summer Wisdom
• Holning Lau
• Adrian Parra
• Zach Wardle
• Tangela Williams[6]

Equality NC began in 1979 and originally was called the North Carolina Human Rights Fund.[7] Meanwhile, in 1992, activists, including Mandy Carter and Michael R. Nelson, founded the NC Pride PAC as a response to Sen. Jesse Helms' victory in 1992.[8] The two merged and were named Equality North Carolina in 2002, when the board agreed they needed a parent organization to manage the work and to link all the smaller foundations together.[9]

ENC's Matthew Shephard Memorial Act issued in 1999 became the first pro-gay bill ever voted on in the North Carolina House of Representatives, although it ended up losing by ten votes.[10] In 2004, ENC succeeded in blocking a constitutional amendment prohibiting lesbian and gay marriages.[10] Equality NC PAC also managed to get Senator Julia Boseman, the first openly gay state legislator in North Carolina, elected in 2004.[10]

The organization was successful in getting the 2008 edition of the State Personnel manual to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. In the summer of 2007, they petitioned to the state, requesting that it allow lesbians and gays, when hospitalized, to be visited by their partners if they wish. The new permission was approved, and allowed to take effect beginning on May 1, 2008. However, the rule only allows gay partners to visit their loved ones; it does not allow them to make any medical decisions for them.[11]

Equality NC had significant success in passing the North Carolina School Violence Prevention Act in 2009, which protects teachers, students, and school employees from bullying and harassment. The act explicitly includes bullying based on sexual orientation or gender identity, making North Carolina one of a handful of states which particularly singles out bullying based on gender identity.

Equality NC was a strong opponent of North Carolina Amendment 1, which banned marriage equality in the state. After Amendment 1 passed, Equality NC responded by hosting a series of town halls all across the state.[12] Amendment 1, along with other bans on same-sex marriage, was struck down in Obergefell v. Hodges.

ENC was also a firm opponent of North Carolina House Bill 2, sometimes called “The bathroom bill.” ENC helped facilitate a strong response to the bill, including boycotts and strong action from the business community. HB2 was eventually partly repealed, with portions expiring in 2020. ENC’s response to HB2 however did also highlight some shortcomings in the organization, emphasizing a need to be more grassroots and collaborative.[13]

In its current iteration, Equality NC has evolved from a single-issue focus on LGBTQ rights to a broader social justice organization committed to racial equity. The organization works through an intersectional lens, with the understanding that LGBTQ rights are inextricably linked to other crucial social justice issues, such as racism, economic justice, or immigration justice. As a result ENC has expanded its work and advocacy, including hiring a new executive director, adopting a new mission statement, and reframing its work.[13]

In 2019, Equality NC lobbied the NC General Assembly to pass a ban on conversion therapy for minors, under the Protect Our Youth NC campaign.[14] Although the legislation didn’t pass, they successfully lobbied Gov. Roy Cooper to pass an executive order barring the use of taxpayer dollars to fund conversion therapy.[15] ENC was also able to successfully lobby to expand the kinds of healthcare providers who can provide letters for changing gender markers on driver’s licenses, though the current NC policy still doesn’t quite reach the organization’s preferred policy.

In 2020, the Equality NC PAC endorsed 147 candidates for the general elections, successfully electing 86. This was the most candidates endorsed by the organization in its history, as well as the most successful candidates.[16]

In 2021, Equality NC was successfully able to fend off three anti-trans bills in the NC General Assembly.[17][18] Additionally, Equality NC successfully launched the #NCisReady campaign in coalition with the Campaign for Southern Equality, pushing for comprehensive non-discrimination laws on the local level. Eight cities and counties have passed ordinances as a result of these efforts.[19]

• QNotes: Carolina LGBT News
• Lambda Magazine: UNC Chapel Hill News
• Human Rights Campaign: Backstory Blog