One community_s path to greater social justice : building on earlier successes

M. Otis

Across the nation, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities are facing the challenge of advancing civil rights on the local and state levels. One community successfully met that challenge with the passage of the Fairness Ordinance in Lexington-Fayette County, Kentucky, in 1999. Although the opposition characterized the Fairness Alliance as a "million dollar operation out of Washington," the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) recognized the work of the Alliance as a model of local grassroots organizing with its Creating Change Award. This case study examines that campaign and the strategies the Fairness Alliance used, including effective lobbying and coalition building between the LGBT community and business, civic, political, community, and religious leaders.[Copies are available from: Haworth Document Delivery Center. The Haworth Press, Inc., 10 Alice Street, Binghamton, NY 13904-1580, USA]