Respect for LGBTQ New Yorkers
MRNY combats institutional
homophobia, transphobia,
job discrimination, hate
crimes, and harassment,
while promoting LGBTQ
inclusion and expression. We have:
Educated 8,500 high school
students with our Safe
Schools LGBTQ awareness
and anti-bullying curriculum.
Led community reconciliation
and education initiatives
after homophobic and anti-immigrant
hate crimes.
Fought systematic LGBTQ
discrimination at major retailers, winning a landmark
campaign to ensure equal
opportunities for transgender
employees at American
Eagle Outfitters.
2012 SPOTLIGHT: MRNY brought national attention to
the harmful impact of the NYPD's
stop-and-frisk tactics on
transgender New Yorkers and
trained 1,600+ youth and LGBTQ
community members about their
rights when stopped by the police.
Citizenship and Civic Engagement
MRNY connects disenfranchised
communities into
our democracy, increasing
electoral participation
through voter registration,
education, and year-round,
nonpartisan civic
engagement activities. We have:
Helped 12,000 immigrants
become citizens through
classes, test prep, and
application assistance.
Registered 20,000 immigrant,
Latino, and African American
voters.
Educated and mobilized
55,000 voters in local and
national elections.
2012 SPOTLIGHT: MRNY mobilized 20,000 new voters on
Election Day as part of our new
Campaign for Respect & Dignity,
after registering 12,000 voters
of color in NYC and Long Island
and, with the Center for Popular
Democracy, an additional 7,000
in Pennsylvania.
Safe Communities
MRNY works to ensure that
immigrants, people of color
and LGBTQ New Yorkers do
not have to live in fear of
police targeting, deportation,
or discrimination. We have:
Prevented thousands of
deportations and family
separations each year,
through policy change and
direct representation.
Worked with national allies to
win "Deferred Action" to grant
work permits to 1.5 million
undocumented youth.
Helped build a citywide
coalition to end the
NYPD's discriminatory stop-and-frisk policies.
2012 SPOTLIGHT: MRNY launched an immigration law
practice serving thousands with
Deferred Action applications and
hundreds more with deportation
defense, permanent lawful status,
and immigrant services fraud
prevention. (Check out our Guide for Immigrant Youth at www.respectanddignity.org/dream)
"Today, with 12,600 dues-paying members, MRNY is a unique amalgam of worker center, legal clinic, citizenship school, mutual aid society, policy shop, protest factory and church. Its four offices in Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and Long Island are an egalitarian oasis for members, who gather there for conversation and classes..."
