| 2008 Richard L. Schelgel National
Legion of Honor Award Recipients
Cullyn Foxlee – Emerging Activist
Cullyn Foxlee is a junior at Port Angeles High School in Port Angeles,
Washington. Xie serves as a member of the Port Angeles High School
Gay Straight Alliance. As a Jump-Start student with the Gay, Lesbian,
and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), Cullyn belongs to a national
network of LGBT and ally students working to end bullying and harassment
for all students. Cullyn has worked with several student leaders on
organizing a summit for Port Angeles HS and Clallam County students
on how to develop and sustain Gay Straight Alliances. The event was
so successful that xie was asked to organize the summit again for
the local junior college and for staff and teachers in the community.
Cullyn took hir local organizing to a state level when xie lobbied
Washington State Representatives on passing safe schools legislation
in support of LGBT students. It is due to these contributions to hir
community towards safe schools for LGBT students that Cullyn Foxlee
is receiving the Richard L. Schlegel National Legion of Honor Award
for Emerging Activists.
The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
– Visionary Leader
Founded in 1973, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force is the oldest
national LGBT organization in the United States. For many years, the
Task Force has played a key role in the LGBT movement and in ensuring
the inclusion of all people in the struggle for full social and political
inclusion. This past year, many members and allies of transgender
and gender variant communities on AU's campus felt vulnerable and
under attack when provisions that could have protected them were being
stripped from the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) in Congress.
The Task Force came to the rescue. The Task Force formed a new and
powerful network called United ENDA, a coalition of nearly 400 member
organizations from across the country that support the full inclusion
of gender identity protections in ENDA. While the battle for fully
inclusive laws and social climates is a
long-term campaign, the AU community can be
confident that the Task Force will be there as supporters of the entire
LGBT community, including students through the many opportunities
they provide. Several American University students have been interns
or fellows with the Task Force in recent years, including Becca Levin
as a Law Fellow and KT Thirion as an Organizing & Training Fellow.
The Task Force's annual gathering, Creating Change: The National Conference
on LGBT Equality has served as an opportunity for AU students to develop
themselves as leaders in the LGBT movement, and the conference was
the birthplace and continues to be the annual meeting place of the
Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resource Professionals, the professional
organization of which our Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and
Ally Resource Center is a member.
To
see previous award winners and themes, click here.
The deadline for 2008 nominations
is over.
»Nomination
Form
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The
Awards
The
Richard L. Schlegel National Legion of Honor Award recognizes
individuals living in the United States who have exhibited outstanding
leadership and significantly contributed to the dignity and
freedom of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people. The
presentation of the Legion of Honor Award at the annual American
University Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Ally (GLBTA)
Resource Center Awards Ceremony serves as an opportunity to:
•
Recognize and encourage the dedication of individuals committed
to social justice
• Celebrate important contributions to creating a society
that values every member
• Showcase the diversity of gay, lesbian, bisexual,
and transgender communities
• Highlight individuals whose work may not have been
recognized to the level it merits
• Allow members of the American University community
to interact with individuals who have significantly enhanced
the lives of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people
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Richard Schlegel with award prototype (2002)
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Richard
L. Schlegel was an American University alumnus and a pioneer in the
GLBT civil rights movement. Richard fought discrimination based on
sexual orientation in the late 1950s and early 1960s, long before
GLBT rights were discussed openly. His own wrongful termination case
against the Department of the Army, Schlegel vs. United States, was
pursued all the way to the Supreme Court.
The Richard
L. Schlegel National Legion of Honor Award is administered by the
GLBTA Resource Center at American University. The GLBTA Resource Center
works to strengthen and sustain an inclusive campus community that
welcomes people of all sexual orientations and gender identities by
providing support, educational resources, and advocacy.
Selection
Process
Nominations
must be received by the GLBTA Resource Center no later than Friday,
February 29, 2008 at 5:00p.m. EST. Our Selection Committee, comprised
of members of the American University community, will review the nominations,
research nominees, and select the winners. Award recipients will be
announced by mid March 2008.
Nomination
Form
A
web-based nomination form for Richard L. Schlegel National Legion
of Honor is provided below, or click here
for a Microsoft Word version of the nomination form. Nominations may
be submitted by anyone, including the nominee.
The deadline for nominations is Friday, February 29, 2008. Please
feel free to submit additional information about the nominee to:
GLBTA
Resource Center, American University
Attn: Nicholas Sakurai
Mary Graydon Center, Room 201
4400 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20016
Tel: (202) 885-3347
Fax: (202) 885-1883
Email: sakurai@american.edu
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