"It no longer symbolized equality to me..."

Trans Leader Returns HRC Award

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Human Rights Campaign got dissed last weekend. President Joe Solmonese flew to San Francisco in an effort to make peace with angry trans advocates, who still feel jilted after the non-profit abandoned them during the ENDA debacle of 2007. While some people were receptive to Solmonese’s offerings, police commission president Theresa Sparks wasn’t buying it. In fact, the trans woman remains so disgusted with HRC, she returned her 2004 Equality Award.

The transgender president of the San Francisco Police Commission bluntly returned the Equality Award she received from the Human Rights Campaign during what was described as a tense meeting last weekend between members of the Bay Area trans community and HRC President Joe Solmonese.

“It no longer symbolized equality to me,” [said] Commission President Theresa Sparks… “It’s a matter of their integrity and not following through and my own integrity.”

Sparks said that she could no longer stand to even look at the etched glass award when it was on her credenza.

Sparks called the Solmonese meeting “balanced,” but hopes he got the message: “…We’re not happy, we believe we’ve been betrayed and question whether to trust HRC going forward.”

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