We are pleased to welcome our newest member organization, the Fairness Campaign in Kentucky! The Fairness Campaign has recently merged with Kentucky Fairness Alliance to create a more unified, stable, and successful LGBT equality movement in the Bluegrass State!

We connected with Chris Hartman, the Director of the Fairness Campaign, to learn more about Kentucky’s new joint organization and how it plans to better serve the state’s LGBT community.

Equality Federation: Please tell us about the Fairness Campaign and its mission.
Chris Hartman from the Fairness Campaign: Since 1991, the Fairness Campaign has been working in Louisville, Kentucky, to build a community with a broad, inclusive vision of the work for social justice. The Fairness Campaign was founded on, and remains directed by, these key principles for our work:

• We believe gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people have the right to respect, dignity, and full equality.
• We believe that dismantling racism is central to our work.
• We believe that all issues of oppression are linked and can only be addressed by working in coalition.
• We believe in non-violent, grassroots organizing that empowers individuals and builds a social justice movement that creates lasting change.

EF: Why did the Fairness Campaign and Kentucky Fairness Alliance decide to merge at this time?
CH: Having historically been associated with efforts in Jefferson County, in recent years the Fairness Campaign has taken on enhanced levels of responsibility across the commonwealth through its involvement with the statewide Fairness Coalition, which includes the ACLU-KY, Kentucky Commission on Human Rights, and Lexington Fairness.

As the Fairness Campaign broadened and deepened its relationships and base of support outside Louisville, a merging with Kentucky Fairness Alliance, which previously led the statewide effort, appeared a logical move for leaders of both organizations.

EF: As a new unified group, how are you better equipped to educate and advocate for the LGBT community?
CH: With this increased capacity, the Fairness Campaign will be able to make stronger connections and build more support across the commonwealth than ever before. The consolidation of databases, legislative tools, and communications infrastructure will truly streamline the fight for LGBTQ rights in Kentucky.

EF: As a new combined organization, what are your immediate goals? What are your long-term goals?
CH: The Fairness Campaign's first move as Kentucky's LGBT civil rights organization is to hire a part-time Western Kentucky Organizer to compliment the Fairness Coalition's Eastern Kentucky Organizer in Berea. We’ll also continue to support the grassroots organizing work in Berea, Morehead, and nearly a dozen other communities across our commonwealth.

Our ultimate goal remains passage of a statewide anti-discrimination fairness ordinance, which, we feel, is wholly dependent upon the strength and momentum of these municipal movements. We anticipate several more cities will need to pass local fairness ordinances before the Kentucky General Assembly will have a full discussion on the anti-discrimination law.

EF: What events can we hope to see following this merger?
CH: On October 19, we’ll be hosting our “Fairness Over Louisville” party, where folks can meet Mayor Johnny Cummings and Police Chief Tony Vaughn from Vicco, Kentucky, of recent Colbert Report fame for becoming the smallest city in America with LGBT fairness protections.

We just held a community-wide celebration in Frankfort, our state’s capital, to honor their recent passage of an anti-discrimination fairness ordinance last month, and we’ll be hosting plenty of advocacy opportunities both at the local level and in the State Capitol once the legislative session is back in full swing next January.

EF: How can community members engage with the new organization?
CH: Facebook and Twitter reign supreme! We release all our news, volunteer opportunities, and updates on social media first, and we also send out regular missives chocked full of LGBTQ and allied events in Kentucky. Folks can sign up for our newsletters at www.Fairness.org.

Congratulations to the Fairness Campaign and Kentucky Fairness Alliance on a successful merger! We look forward to celebrating your progress toward these exciting goals in Kentucky!