Eldie Acheson

Yesterday, I went to a GLIFAA-sponsored event with Eldie Acheson as the keynote speaker. Eldie Acheson is the granddaughter of the great post-WWII diplomat and former Secretary of State Dean Acheson. Her many roles over the years have included Assistant Attorney General of the United States, National Gay and Lesbian Tast Force, and currently works on the upper echelons of Amtrak. She was supposed to be introduced by Secretary Hillary Clinton, her good friend and freshmen roommate at Wellesley College. Unfortunately, Mrs. Clinton could not make it, so Cheryl Mills introduced Ms. Acheson herself.

Ms. Acheson spoke a lot of her grandfather and compared him to Secretary Clinton, using his memoir Present at Creation to make these points. She noted that each of them in their times did and are facing very new international systems. Her remarks grew increasingly pointed as she spoke on the witch hunts by Senator McCarthy against Communists and homosexuals that marred Dean Acheson's later years at the State Department. Dean Acheson would warn against such public sentiments--Bolshevik methods leading to Bolshevism--and would warn against the temptation developing a national orthodoxy inimical to the spirit of free enquiry.

Toward the end of her speech, Ms. Acheson came to the present to laud President Obama's support of LGBT causes as well as his many appointments of LGBT people and his Executive Memorandum which extends many rights formerly denied to gay federal employees and their partners. She reminded the audience, nevertheless, the LGBTs are still second-class citizens in many ways, "boxed out" from American society. Specifically, legistlation such as Don't Ask, Don't Tell, the Defense of Marriage Act and the lack of protection against discrimination in housing and employment are primitive purges that should be the target of reform. The event closed with several comments and a song by the Lesbian and Gay chorus of Washington.

Later that day, I attended an fundraising event sponsored by IGLHRC, the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commision. My friend Laurie, who quite coincidentally I had met on Craigslist while I was searching for housing, invited me to the event as she was once on the IGLHRC board. The event was filled with ranking members of many corporations and organizations, both governmental and non-governmental. There I met many people of interest and perhaps even had a few join GLIFAA that day. A few speakers spoke on specific situations around the world that have called IGLHRC's attention, such as Uganda's backsliding: though it previously has never had anti-homosexual laws, several are now advocating to put such laws in place. IGLHRC works to "advance human rights for everyone, everywhere to end discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression." I really liked this organization, and though I could not give money, I hope to one day give my time to this worthy organization.