Remembering her friend the civil rights leader David Mixner, Congresswoman Maxine Waters urged guests to maintain the struggle for LGBTQ+ rights during an inspiring keynote talk at a dinner in Washington held by the Institute of Current World Affairs and trustee Fabrice Houdart’s Association of LGBTQ+ Corporate Directors to celebrate Mixner’s life and achievements.
She spoke of her long friendship and collaboration with Mixner, and reaching across the aisle, describing her work during the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations.
The dinner also marked the launch of ICWA’s David Mixner LGBTQ+ Fellowship, which supports Mixner’s legacy by advancing understanding of the global challenges facing the LGBTQ+ community, and its progress.
The journalist Steven Clemons, founding editor-at-large of Semafor, and ICWA’s Taiwan-based Mixner fellow Edric Huang also spoke.
The event was generously co-sponsored by Barilla.
