National Equality March-Alex Nicholson-DADT Protest & Memorial for Leonard Matlovich

[Raw video by Sean Chapin.]
ALEX NICHOLSON, cofounder and Executive Director of Servicemembers United, speaking at the DADT Protest & Memorial for Leonard Matlovich, the first servicemember to challenge the military ban on gays, on October 10, 2009, the day before the National Equality March. He was already fluent in four languages, was training to be an Army intelligence officer and had served less than a year when a female fellow soldier outed him, resulting in his discharge under DADT in 2002. He has since led several efforts to overturn the ban including founding the 2006 cross-country educational Call to Duty tour featured in the recent documentary ASK NOT. He and his Army vet partner, Jarrod Chlapowski, did another tour the next year, and the 2009 Voices of Honor tour. In 2007, he conceived a dramatic way to illustrate the toll of DADT, and soon a field of 12,000 American flags covered the National Mall in Washington for all to see, one for each of the servicemembers discharged under DADT by that time. A prayer service and educational events were also a part of the weeks events. Nicholson is also a plaintiff in a lawsuit challenging DADT.

www.servicemembersunited.org

http://www.leonardmatlovich.com/oct10thdcmemorial.html

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• National Equality March
• Alex Nicholson
• Leonard Matlovich
• Servicemembers United
• Dan Choi
• DADT
• gays
• military