Chad Griffin HRC Salary Scandal

Chad Griffin, the new head of HRC, is paid $379,000 in salary. This salary is too rich for a head of a non-profit organisation that proclaims a commitment to fight for LGBT equality. How can the Human Rights Campaign advocate for equality when its own payroll leads to economic inequality amongst its employees ? This is one of the most glaring problems with "mainstream" LGBT groups in Washington, D.C., and with the "leaders" that our movement puts forth. It's what I'm noticing in my research about Christine Quinn, although there is no direct relationship. The LGBT civil rights movement develops leaders, who begin as community organisers, but then, as the climb up the ladder of corporate, organisational, or political hierarchy, at some point, along the way, our LGBT leaders conveniently forget that we are fighting for equality -- not the inequality that comes with outsized compensation packages. In order to "play by the rules," our progressive leaders are adopting the very same ethical failures of the powerholders we target. In order to restore the LGBT civil rights movement's commitment to true equality, we need to organise at a true grassroots level and say that we do not consent to such high concentrations of income or decision-making power in our leaders. We need to let the community reach a consensus on what our consent should be on what we consider a fair salary for Mr. Giffin, but it cannot be a mere, passive acceptance of this situation here.