Modeled on "Camp Obama," fifth "Camp Courage" will teach Spanish- and English-speaking activists to change hearts, minds and votes

MEDIA ADVISORY

July 30, 2009

WHAT:

Camp Courage, a training camp for activists modeled on Obama’s winning grassroots campaign, aims to turn the LGBT community’s anger into effective action and win back marriage equality. Camp Courage gives local activists the practical, hands-on skills to organize their neighborhoods and restore the freedom to marry for same-sex couples in California.

The East Los Angeles training will feature Lt. Dan Choi, the U.S. Army translator who made headlines this month by challenging the military’s “Don’t ask, don’t tell“ policy barring gays from serving openly.

This will also be the first Camp Courage offered in both Spanish and English, a major step towards engaging Latino communities about marriage equality. Exit polling by Edison Media Research showed that 53 percent of Latino voters supported Proposition 8, the constitutional amendment that ended marriage equality when it passed last November. A diverse group of local activists, including dozens of monolingual Spanish speakers, are ready to start turning those numbers around in East Los Angeles.

WHO:     

Rick Jacobs, Chair, Courage Campaign Issues

Roland Palencia, longtime activist and member of the Latino Equality Alliance

Lt. Dan Choi, West Point Graduate and the first Arab-language specialist dismissed through the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy under the Obama Administration


WHEN:
Saturday, August 1 (8:30 a.m.- 5:30 p.m.) AND Sunday, August 2 (8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.)                         
  
BACKGROUND: 

Camp Courage is inspired by the “Camp Obama” trainings that powered neighbor-to-neighbor organizing across America in 2008. The Camp is an intensive two-day training designed to teach the principles and skills of community organizing to activists working to restore marriage equality.

The East Los Angeles training is the fifth of several planned around the state in the coming months. Several community organizations will be co-hosting Camp Courage East Los Angeles, including API Equality LA, Asian Pacific Americans for Progress, Bienestar, California Faith for Equality, Equal Roots, Here To Stay Coalition, HONOR PAC, Latino Equality Alliance, Satrang, Somos Familia, South Asian Network, and The Wall Las Memorias Project.

Registration pages for Camp Courage East LA are set up in English and Spanish:   

ENGLISH: http://www.couragecampaign.org/CampEastLA

SPANISH: http://www.couragecampaign.org/EastLAEspanol

Camp Courage is designed primarily for new activists or those who have never engaged with the broader community about marriage equality as well as veteran LGBT activists and allies.

Camp Courage is organized by Torie Osborn, Mike Bonin, and Lisa Powell.  Osborn is a senior advisor to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the United Way, and former executive director of the Liberty Hill Foundation and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. Bonin is a former regional field organizer for Obama for America, a veteran campaign staffer, and a community activist.  Powell is an attorney, longtime trainer, community leader, and co-founder of United Lesbians of African Heritage.

On Tuesday, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villariagosa authored an email to invite participants to Camp Courage East Los Angeles. The message is below:

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From: Antonio Villaraigosa, for Courage Campaign
Subject: A change of heart

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa would like to share this message with the Courage Campaign community in Los Angeles. We hope that you are able to come to Camp Courage East L.A. on August 1-2. With only a few days to go, slots are filling up fast, so please register now before Friday’s deadline. Rick Jacobs Chair, Courage Campaign

Dear %%FirstName(Friend)%% —

I had dinner recently with someone who expressed her strong support for Proposition 8 — the ballot measure that eliminated the right of same-sex couples to marry.

We talked and talked, and I listened and she listened. By the end of dinner, she had changed her mind somewhat, if not her heart. While she still couldn’t express support for same-sex marriage, she knew she could no longer deny that right to others.

This experience demonstrated to me that there’s a power that comes in listening, in reaching out, in trying to find that common ground that’s so necessary for the change we want.

With the fate of marriage equality back in the hands of California voters, we have a unique opportunity as a community to help people understand what marriage equality means and to change the hearts and minds necessary to repeal Prop 8.

I am confident that Californians will have a change of heart and overturn this unjust ban at the ballot box. But first, we need to tell our stories to voters and help the majority of our neighbors understand the real, painful, human impact of Prop 8 across our state.

That’s why I am inviting you to participate in Camp Courage East Los Angeles — a transformative training event on August 1-2 for marriage equality activists of all kinds, experienced or new to the movement. Just click one of the links below to register before space runs out. DEADLINE: Friday at 10 a.m.:

ENGLISH: http://www.couragecampaign.org/CampEastLA

SPANISH: http://www.couragecampaign.org/EastLAEspanol

As I have said before, the fight for equality is not about morality or religion, our schools or our places of work. It’s about real people and real human beings. It’s about men and women trying to lead successful lives with those they love. It’s about parents hoping to raise a family and ready to accept the responsibilities of a lifelong commitment.

We need to tell these stories. And that’s what Camp Courage is all about. Modeled after “Camp Obama,” Camp Courage uses the “Story of Self” to transform personal experiences — each participant’s unique inspiration for supporting marriage equality — into compelling and authentic narratives that can persuade undecided voters.

Camp Courage has received amazing reviews from participants — most rating it a 9 (on a scale of 1 to 10) — following recent trainings in Los Angeles, Fresno, San Diego and Oakland.

This will be an unforgettable experience. If you don’t want to miss Camp Courage East L.A. on August 1-2, please make sure you register now before it fills up. Just click on one of the links below before Friday at 10 a.m.:

ENGLISH: http://www.couragecampaign.org/CampEastLA
   
SPANISH: http://www.couragecampaign.org/EastLAEspanol

To win back marriage equality, we need to change hearts and minds across California. That means reaching out to people who don’t agree with us and having serious conversations about the effect of denying someone the fundamental right to liberty and happiness and the right to marry — and the second-class citizenship that denial denotes.

That’s why I hope you can be at Camp Courage East L.A. on August 1-2.

Thanks for helping the Courage Campaign bring full equality to California and our country.

Antonio Villaraigosa
Mayor of Los Angeles
 

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Courage Campaign Issues is part of the Courage Campaign’s online organizing network that empowers more than 700,000 grassroots and netroots supporters to push for progressive change and full equality in California.