Standing on the Shoulders of Giants: Remembering David Mixner and the Fight for LGBTQ Equality

At Cause Communications, we recognize that our social change work of today has come with greater ease because we stand on the shoulders of giants. We are grateful for the efforts of those who have gone before us, visionaries who forged a path with grit and determination during times when equity was not a value shared by the larger society.

We were heartbroken to learn of the recent passing of one of those giants, Cause friend and LGBTQ activist David Mixner. Our founder, Chris Hershey, collaborated with Mixner and others to fight for LGBTQ rights over the last several decades particularly during the height of the AIDS epidemic. She offered this reflection on his legacy of a life well lived in the pursuit of justice and equity.

One of the things that sucks about getting older is losing your friends more frequently as time passes. David Mixner had been on my mind a lot lately, and in considering the legacy he leaves behind his impact on my own life looms large.

I met David initially through LGBTQ activists Diane Abbitt and Roberta Bennett in the 1970s. David had moved to Los Angeles then, around the same time that my wife Susi and I were “the new kids” in the local LGBTQ community. This group quickly became our extended family.

David was fascinated with Susi’s background as a US Diplomat’s daughter and her polish at almost everything (and especially her cooking). He quickly nicknamed her “Madame Ambassador.” We came together and forged a tight-knit group that was committed to a radical idea back then: that Love is Love and all LBGTQ individuals deserved the same rights as others. As the communicator in the group, I was always nominated to work on the words, handle the marketing, and wrangle media as needed as we sought to advance the cause that impacted each of us so deeply.

In my life, I have frequently been asked, “Why focus on communications for social change?” I saw my role in the movement for LGBTQ rights as key: to use communications as a force for good, to shape a new narrative that would change perspectives about our community during a time when we were othered as outcasts. In the 1970s when I was a young professional, no one was talking about issues I deeply cared about and that affected my everyday life, but that only made me want to do more.

Truly, communications was essential to the LGBTQ equality movement, and David understood that. There were so many needed conversations back at that time that just weren’t happening. Full equality for women and girls. The right for LGBTQ individuals to exist and live in safety with the same rights as others. The right to live and love openly and to get married if that was your thing. David opened new doors and connected “our” cause to his own formidable political connections. This radically shifted the movement and greatly accelerated our impact because now we were IN the conversations rather than someone else controlling our stories. Our visibility mattered. Our voices were being heard.

I am grateful to David for what he taught me during our time together in the fight for LGBTQ equality, the access he so generously shared, and the encouragement he offered for (almost) anything I tried my hand at. David taught me to show up. He modeled to me the importance of sobering up. And importantly, he reminded me to have some fun along the way.

Through Access Now for Gay and Lesbian Equality (ANGLE), we saw an increase in voters supporting gay rights and raised $1.3 million in gay and lesbian money for the ’92 Clinton presidential campaign. This was HUGE (remember that $1.3M in the 1990s was worth a lot more back then) because this was the first time that money fundraised by the openly gay community was welcomed by a presidential candidate’s campaign. Before then, candidates often returned our checks! (Hard to believe in today’s world.)

Encouraged by our progress, we gained confidence and started making demands – chief among them visibility at the 1992 Democratic Convention. The mastery and importance of having the words “gay” and “lesbian” acknowledged from the convention podium at the presidential candidate level cannot be overstated. It was a first, coming off the heels of the 1980s where the Reagan administration and the Moral Majority spewed hate and judgement, claiming that “AIDS was God’s wrath, our punishment for homosexuality.” Our visibility from a major political stage for the first time in our country’s history mattered!

I am grateful to my friend for his examples of boldness and committing to a path that aligns with your values, especially when there is no playbook to follow because you are the first. We are losing some of these giants that have forged the path before us, and my hope is we will commit to memory their legacies of love, passing it on to the next generation of incredible advocates and activists. My work is not over, nor is the fight for equal rights – whether it’s for the LGBTQ communities, immigrants and refugees, or others. Our fight continues but we go forward with confidence and determination just like David exemplified.

– Chris Hershey, March 12, 2024