Who We Are

As the nation’s largest LGBTQ+ civil rights organization, the Human Rights Campaign has a responsibility to advocate for all LGBTQ+ people. Living up to our mission requires that HRC fully represent the diversity and breadth of the LGBTQ+ community through our people, programs, values and priorities. But, LGBTQ+ people of color have long felt marginalized within our community and by our organization — their critical contributions to our collective history diminished or forgotten, and their current needs and priorities sidelined. It’s our responsibility to make it right.

We cannot achieve LGBTQ+ equality while LGBTQ+ people of color continue to be oppressed on the basis of race. We must lean into our responsibility to advocate for those within our community who are multiply marginalized and shut out by systems and institutions because they are people of color AND LGBTQ+. We must also address the ways racism shows up in our own community and confront it with intentional engagement and the real, hard work of self-reflection.

To that end, we must treat racial equity and inclusion as a cornerstone of our work. That requires intentionality, action, and accountability. Our staff and volunteer leadership must reflect the great diversity of the LGBTQ+ community. We must lean into the conversations that deepen our understanding of race, racism, and implicit bias and how it impacts our community and our organization. Our programmatic work must also actively challenge systems, laws and policies that disproportionately disadvantage LGBTQ+ people of color. We must deepen our support of, and partnerships with, organizations leading the fight against racial oppression. And we must challenge leaders and individuals who target communities of color through hateful policies and rhetoric that threaten to undermine our fundamental rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

We know that our work is not complete until the most marginalized within our LGBTQ+ community have achieved equality.

The Human Rights Campaign logo is one of the most recognizable symbols of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community. It has become synonymous with the fight for equal rights for LGBTQ+ Americans.

The logo — unveiled in fall 1995 — helped usher in a new era for the organization, which had previously been known as the Human Rights Campaign Fund. When HRCF was founded in 1980, it was primarily a fund for supporting pro-fairness congressional candidates. The rebranding in 1995 announced to the country that, in the words of then-Executive Director Elizabeth Birch, “We’re so much more than a fund.”

The logo was the final touch on a complete reorganization of HRC. In addition to the well-established lobbying and political action committee capabilities, new Foundation programs — including the Workplace Project and Family Project — were added. All of HRC’s research, communications, marketing and public relations functions were broadly expanded. HRC began a long period of robust growth and became respected as one of the largest and most effective mainstream advocacy organizations in the country. As Birch would often say, “A logo is only as meaningful as the hard work and standard of excellence it represents.”

The new name and logo reflected the wider goals and influence of the organization, which grew in strength to now spread the message of equality to every corner of the country.

The genesis of the HRC logo began with Birch’s vision for a unifying message for the organization. Birch formed a committee that included former HRC senior staff, board members and marketing talents such as Lisa Sherman, Wes Combs and Bob Witeck. She also enlisted the help of marketing and design firm Stone Yamashita. Birch had worked with Keith Yamashita while at Apple Computer and admired Robert Stone’s clean and exciting design style. Susan Schuman, also from Apple, joined Birch at HRC and helped guide the new positioning and branding efforts.

Stone Yamashita created 10 potential designs for the logo, some of which were variations on the old torch logo. Birch was drawn to one depicting a yellow equal sign inside of a blue square. Though it was the second-favorite choice among focus groups, Birch and her committee insisted on the simple, bold design.

After four months of work to reinvent the organization’s branding, the logo was introduced with new HRC letterhead, business cards and a campaign T-shirt.

The logo started popping up everywhere. In doing research for a bumper-sticker purchase order, staff member Don Kiser, now HRC’s creative director, learned that a square logo — different from the traditional rectangular bumper sticker — would cost just pennies to produce. The logo sticker was — and still is — distributed to new and prospective members who, in turn, help draw attention to HRC’s work by placing the sticker on their cars and windows.

Before long, the HRC logo was as visible at pride celebrations and other LGBTQ+ events as the iconic rainbow flag. Today, the HRC logo can be spotted the world over, from cars in Japan to the backpacks of hikers in Tibet.

In late March 2013, as the U.S. Supreme Court was hearing arguments in two marriage equality cases, HRC shared a red version of its logo — selected because the color is synonymous with love — on Facebook and Twitter and asked supporters to change their profile photos to show their support. The campaign went viral, and celebrities such as George Takei, Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, and others helped draw attention to the movement. Millions of people shared the logo, countless memes were created in response, and Facebook saw a 120 percent increase in profile photo updates. The Internet was awash in red and displayed the growing support for marriage equality in the U.S. and the world. Today, the red HRC logo continues to be used by HRC to promote LGBTQ+ rights.

The campaign put the spotlight on HRC and spread awareness about the organization and its original blue and yellow logo. Whether the logo is seen on a T-shirt, an HRC publication, a lawmaker’s lapel or as a backdrop for a historic speech by the president of the United States, it sends a message that the Human Rights Campaign and its more than 3.6 million members and supporters will remain vigilant in the fight for LGBTQ+ equality.

As we strive to end discrimination against LGBTQ+ people and realize a world that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all, we are committed to doing this work in alignment with our values.

Responsibility

We are mindful that the actions we take have an impact on people’s lives, and our duty is to them. As one of the world’s leading LGBTQ+ civil rights organizations, accountability is core to our mission. We are entrusted by those we serve to observe the highest standards and ethics.

Equity and Intersectionality

We believe that the diversity of LGBTQ+ people is one of our greatest strengths, yet deep disparities exist — especially for those of us who sit at the intersection of marginalized identities. Oppression in all forms is inextricably linked, which means our mission for LGBTQ equality will only be realized when we collaborate with our partners to break down every barrier and ensure that all LGBTQ+ people have the same ability to thrive.

Learning and Openness

We build spaces for engagement, reflection and developing competencies central to our work. As part of that growth process, we must acknowledge our missteps with humility and lean into our responsibility to learn and evolve.

Boldness

We are innovative, creative and courageous in our pursuit of making real and lasting change for LGBTQ+ people. It’s our job to hurry up history.

Resilience

We know that adversity can build us up instead of tearing us down. And the strength and wisdom that are borne out of struggle are only possible through caring and healing, empowering each other, and finding moments to celebrate our successes — large and small — even in our most challenging moments.

Heart

We do our best work when we do it with a strong sense of purpose and a passion for a better world. Even when we’re doing hard things, we can find love and joy in unexpected places and understand the essential role hope plays in our work.

Respect

We root ourselves in our shared humanity and treat each other with kindness and compassion. We’re at our best when we honor the equal dignity and worth of all people — even in the face of conflict.

Community and Teamwork

We value the transformative impact of collaboration. By working together, fostering open communication, furthering understanding, and building caring and supportive environments, we can achieve something bigger than we could alone.