FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Howie Berman
703.894.2900 ext. 106
Members of the ACTFL Board of Directors unanimously passed a motion on May 22, 2021, that will exclude any yet-to-be contracted locations with current or pending anti-transgender legislation from future consideration to host the ACTFL Convention until such legislation is overturned or reconsidered.
The vote was a follow-up to the statement that ACTFL issued on April 22, 2021, in support of the transgender, non-binary, and gender nonconforming communities.
“As we have said in the past when we see ideologies of hate like racism, bigotry, homophobia, and transphobia—in our classrooms and our communities—we have an obligation to act, both in word and deed”, said Howie Berman, ACTFL Executive Director. “By taking this specific action, ACTFL and its Board have sent a clear message that states with anti-transgender laws won’t benefit from our future convention business as long as these laws remain.”
ACTFL does have existing contracts with city locations ten years into the future, which is common and necessary given the size and complexity of the ACTFL Convention. For our current convention city partners where already-passed or pending anti-transgender legislation is a concern, ACTFL will use its voice and influence—like it did in Nashville in 2017 during the “bathroom bill” debate—to advocate for change and help local resistance to do the same.