NC Advocacy Coalition gets first press coverage

The North Carolina Advocacy Coalition (click here for more info) receives its first press coverage this week in Greensboro’s YES! Weekly. The printed issue comes out tomorrow, Wednesday, May 24th, but the online edition is already up.

You can check out the article on YES! Weekly’s website.

I’m actually really excited as to how far the group has been able to come in the first three weeks of its existence. We had an individual in Charlotte contact us today to find out more about possibly being on the Interim Board of Directors and our MySpace profile has grown to have more than 50 members since it was first created sometime last week.

Hopefully with my hoped-for trip to DC’s Capital Pride festival (which I’m still raising money for by the way), I can help to raise the profile of the group a little more and get some good advice and tips on how to keep growing the organization. I’ll be meeting a lot of great LGBT and allied leaders in DC, not to even mention I’ll be staying with one while I’m up there.

But yeah… check out the article in YES! Weekly. Ms. Kingsley does a terrific job with it. Here’s a snippet:

Coalition forms to advocate for gay and lesbian rights
Amy Kingsley
Staff writer

Greensboro residents might be slogging through an election loaded with all the familiar faces, but this year they at least have a new organization to help guide them through the process.

The NC Advocacy Coalition is a fledgling political action committee a shade different from its predecessors. The group, founded by a college sophomore, has dispensed with fussy suits and direct mailings in favor of rainbow colors and a Myspace account.

Matt Hill Comer, a local blogger scarcely of voting age himself, has filed paperwork to establish the NC Advocacy Coalition as a fully registered non-profit, tax-exempt political organization. The group’s goal is to advocate for members of Greensboro’s gay, lesbian and transgender community and engage young voters.

The NC Advocacy Coalition is not a pioneer in the field of gay and lesbian political activity. Equality North Carolina has lobbied state legislators on behalf of gay and lesbian residents since its formation in 1990. In addition to their focus on the General Assembly, they’ve weighed in on local races in the Triangle and Charlotte. But the group has never entered the Triad’s political sphere.

“[Equality North Carolina] has done a lot of great work and they are good at making things happen,” Comer said. “But from my standpoint as a youth and a college student, we need more of a grassroots effort in the community.”

Comer has submitted all the necessary forms, but he’s still seeking volunteers to fill a couple of crucial positions. No one has offered to serve as the group’s treasurer or development director yet.

Check out the full article at YES! Weekly.

Posted in Civil Rights, Greensboro, LGBT, LGBT Youth, Media, North Carolina, Politics |