The most important issues LGBTQ people of color and low-income people face are often caused by racism and poverty. Unless we work to change systemic racism and fight poverty, LGBTQ people will never be able to live free from oppression. NCLR advocates to improve the social safety net and workers’ rights, co-leads the National LGBTQ Anti-Poverty Network, and supports the work of coalitions such as the Movement for Black Lives and Coalition on Human Needs.
Race & Poverty
Photo Courtesy The Pipeline Project funded by the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund
Advocacy
Legislation & Policy
National LGBTQ Anti-Poverty Action Network
Nationwide
NCLR co-founded the National LGBTQ Anti-Poverty Action Network in October 2018 and co-coordinates the Network with The Vaid Group. The mission of the Network is to end poverty in the U.S., advocate for economic justice, and pursue solutions to economic, racial, gender and social disparities as they specifically impact low-income LGBTQ people. It seeks to do this through research, organizing, learning, public education, and advocacy in coalition with organizations and individuals working within and outside of the LGBTQ movement.
Cases & Advocacy
A.G. v. County of Los Angeles
California
A.G.’s complaint states that on January 6. 2015, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department entered A.G.’s father’s home and used a Taser on his father, who was mentally ill, because he would not stop singing in his bathroom. A.G.’s father died as a result. The California Superior Court improperly dismissed A.G.’s wrongful death claim solely because A.G.’s father was not his biological or adoptive father, even though he was A.G.’s presumed legal father under California law.
Resources
Press Release
U.S. House of Representatives Passes the Raise the Wage Act of 2019
July 18, 2019. Today, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to pass the Raise the Wage Act of 2019, which would raise wages for nearly 40 million workers. The Raise the Wage Act would increase the minimum wage to $8.55 this year and raise it gradually over the next six years, to $15 an hour in 2025. After 2025, the minimum wage would be adjusted annually to keep pace with growth in the typical worker’s wages. The Act would phase out the outdated subminimum wage for tipped workers, which has been stagnant at $2.13 since 1991, and phase out the subminimum wage for workers with disabilities and workers under the age of 20.