NJLGC may have a future after all
Last Updated on Tuesday, 16 March 2010 19:48 Written by Peter Frycki Sunday, 07 March 2010 13:12
The New Jersey Lesbian and Gay Coalition (NJLGC) may have a future after all. At a meeting on Saturday, March 6 in Highland Park's Pride Center almost two dozen people discussed the future of the NJLGC organization sometimes referred to in shorthand as "The Coalition." Many of New Jersey's most active LGBT organizations sent representatives and there were a few individuals that were unaffiliated too.
The two hour afternoon discussion focused on what role the organization could play in the future if it is to continue. Many had questions about the curreent NJLGC structure and the changes that would be possible if the organization found a new and revised mission and goals. The meeting was prompted by an open letter via email to the community last month that clearly said that the NJLGC may need to fold and quickly due to finances and the inability to be an effective organization in the last two years.
One popular meeting suggestion was that The Coalition could provide a forum for LGBT leadership from around the state to periodically meet for networking and discussion of LGBT issues. Several people thought this was one of the primary reasons that the organization began almost 40 years ago and that it needs to continue in that role. The NJLGC is the only organization that some thought was able to be a completely open networking group for the Garden State's LGBT local and affinity groups and many said the NJLGC could best provide an open community forum without an agenda.
Representatives of Garden State Equality emphasized that GSE would support The Coalition in whatever direction it decided to go. Views to the effect that The Coalition had outlived its usefullness and its functions were now being better performed by other organizations and other individuals in the community were presented by other attendees. A straw vote held later in the meeting resulted in a clear majority favoring continuance of the organization in some form. There were several straw votes to fold the organization and a few abstentions.
After the straw poll there was some more discusion to get a feeling of each sides reservations and what might be done now. It was stressed that the straw vote was merely a "sense of the meeting" poll and the final decisions will be made soon after the eight people that agreed to be on an ad-hoc advisory committee meet to make more concrete recomendations to the current board and officers of NJLGC.