Human Rights Campaign Fund Founding

groundwork for LGBTQ activism. The movement reached a critical turning point in 1969, when police raids of the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar, became riots for gay rights activism. The Stonewall Uprising was a pivotal moment in LGBTQ history because it changed the momentum of activism toward emphasizing “gay power” and “gay pride”.

The 1970s saw immense progress in the Gay Rights Movement. In 1973, the movement experienced an accomplishment when the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from the Diagnostic Statistical Manual. Homosexuality was no longer classified as a mental disorder. In 1976, the Gay Rights National Lobby and the National Gay Rights Advocates were founded. These organizations were important to the movement because they established LGBTQ presence in politics.

In response to the national progress of gay rights activism, anti-gay backlash developed. The formation of the New Right Republican Party and the fundamentalist religious movement openly challenged gay rights activism by denouncing homosexuality as sinful and dangerous. Opposition to homosexuality took a violent turn in 1978 when gay political figure Harvey Milk and his friend, Mayor George Moscone were assassinated. In response to this anti-gay opposition and backlash, gay rights activist Steve Endean founded the Human Rights Campaign Fund, the nation’s largest LGBTQ rights group and political committee. 

What happened?

Steve Endean, founder of the Human Rights Campaign, was one of the most impactful LGBTQ activists of the post Stonewall period. His interest in this type of activism developed shortly after he declared a political science major at the University of Minnesota. Identifying as a gay man and also working as a politician, Endean realized his sexual orientation would play a role in both his personal and professional lives. With this in mind, he began devoting his life to the gay rights movement. 

Endean founded Minnesota’s first gay and lesbian political group, the Gay Rights Legislative Committee in 1971. He also concentrated on lobbying for gay and lesbian rights through working on the Twin Cities’ gay rights ordinances and Minnesota’s non-discrimination bill.

The assassinations of Harvey Milk and George Moscone motivated Endean to move to Washington D.C., where he became the director of the Gay Rights National Lobby. As director of GRNL, Endean lobbied and gathered funds for candidates who supported LGBTQ communities. Additionally, while holding this position at GRNL, he founded the Human Rights Campaign (Fund) in 1980.

Originally, HRC was a political action committee, focused on lobbying and fundraising to support congressional candidates who were either

members of LGBTQ communities or supported the movement. Merging with other organizations such as the Gay Rights National Lobby and Fairness Fund, HRC was able to focus on campaigning against anti-gay laws created by Congress. In addition to lobbying efforts, HRC expanded their efforts to include more human rights organizations by taking on new projects, such as the HBCU Outreach Program, the Family Project, the Workplace Project, the National Coming Out Project, the Religion and Faith Program, and the HRC Research Institute.

HRC’s mission statement to this day stays true to supporting LGBTQ communities in all aspects of life:

“The Human Rights Campaign is organized and will be operated for the promotion of the social welfare of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community… strives to end discrimination against LGBT people and realize a world that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all. [It] is organized for the charitable and educational purposes of promoting public education and welfare for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. HRC Foundation envisions a world where lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are ensured equality and embraced as full members of society at home, at work and in every community."

Effects and significance

The formation of the Human Rights Campaign as a political action committee has had national effects, both in terms of lobbying efforts and, in later years, in terms of social reform programs. What was originally intended as an organization to raise money for political candidates has now grown into the largest national lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender civil rights organization in the United States.

In the early years of the HRC, the organization was focused on raising money to support political candidates that would likely

urt decision that marriage equality bans were unconstitutional. HRC contributed largely to this campaign through drafting legislation and money donations.Significant LGBTQ lobbying and activism has earned the Human Rights Campaign recognition from the United States government. In 1997, President Bill Clinton became the first sitting President to publicly address a gay and lesbian civil rights organization at the annual HRC fundraiser. Since then, the HRC has remained the most prominent LGBTQ civil rights organization in the United States.

Primary source analysis

Cornell Library Exhibition