GLAAD launches "People of Color" campaign

The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation is launching the "People of Color" media campaign to promote fair, accurate, and inclusive representations of people of color in the GLBT community. The campaign is part of GLAAD's strategic plan to develop diverse markets. "GLAAD's [People of Color] media program is designed to serve the explosive growth of media targeting specific communities," said John Sonego, GLAAD's director of communications. "And we wanted to invest significant staff time and resources to maximize opportunities for collaboration." Monica Taher, former Western regional media manager for GLAAD, has been tapped to build the program. Prior to her employment with GLAAD, Taher worked for public relations firm Rogers and Associates, the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center, and the news departments of two Telemundo stations. She is credited with placing the first op-ed about GLBT images in Spanish language media in La Opinion, the largest Spanish-language paper in the country. "With the new [People of Color] media imitative and the expansion of GLAAD's staff, the organization will increase the innumerable opportunities in local and national markets to share our stories and encourage inclusive representation of gay and lesbian people of color in all media," said Taher.