Community Conversation: Eric Paulk // Georgia Equality
On Monday, the Supreme Court ruled employers could not discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender identity. While this represented a monumental victory for the LGBTQ community, Georgia Equality’s Deputy Director Eric Paulk made it clear that his organization’s work is far from finished. In Thursday’s conversation with CCI’s Sagdrina Jalal, Paulk discussed his aspirations for Georgia Equality and the future of the LGBTQ movement.
For Paulk, that starts with embracing the intersectionality between the LGBTQ community and other marginalized identities. Although there are many parallels between the fight for LGBTQ rights and the Black Lives Matter movement, Paulk identified diversity as an issue among LGBTQ leadership. “Where we can do better as a movement is in diversity and, you know, the racism and anti-blackness that happens within LGBT communities.”
One of Georgia Equality’s main advocacy efforts, which also ties in with Black Lives Matter, is for hate crime legislation. Paulk called the George Floyd murder, “a message to communities that you’re not safe, that you should be fearful.” With Georgia being one of only four states without hate crime legislation, Paulk believes the time is now to push for change.
“I think that we have opportunities here to really think about our work in a more intersectional way. I think that’s where we can really make some tremendous gains, that we have to have a racial justice lens on the work that we do.”
Another area where Paulk sees the LGBTQ and Black communities working together is in the push for comprehensive civil rights legislation. Once again, Georgia is one of three states that does not have any state-level civil rights protections. “These aren’t just LGBT issues,” noted Faulk. “These are issues that affect all communities.”
While part of Paulk’s work is advocating for policy changes, he believes it entails more than that: “I love changing policies and procedures and all that good stuff, but you also have to change hearts and minds.”
WATCH
Watch the full video of our Community Conversation with Eric Paulk here.