Distinguished Service Award for Councilmember Carol Schwartz

Presented by Barrett Brick, GLAA Treasurer

GLAA 28th Anniversary Reception
Charles Sumner School
Thursday, April 22, 1999

I have a sense of deja vu this evening, for this is not the first time I have stood in this room to praise Councilmember Carol Schwartz. A little over a decade ago, on December 20, 1988, many of us gathered here to pay tribute to Carol. As I remarked then, it was a bittersweet occasion, because Carol was stepping down from the Council. Tonight, however, we celebrate that Carol's love for our city has brought her back to the Council, where she continues to be a caring and compassionate advocate for the needs and concerns of Washington's Gay and Lesbian community.

I first came to know Carol during her first run for the DC Council. But Carol's is a record of service that goes back to her first years in public life in Washington. As a member of the Board of Education in the 1970s and early 1980s, Carol worked successfully to ensure that DC's sex education curriculum included fair and accurate information on homosexuality, and also made sure that the Superintendent of Schools was one who was supportive of our community. Subsequently, as a member of the DC Council, Carol has been a supporter and a leader on virtually every issue tracked by GLAA, from health care to family issues to equal rights to public safety. Carol has been an effective leader and advocate for us before the U.S. Congress, including suing Congress over the first Armstrong Amendment . . . and winning! Carol attended the first AIDSWalk in DC -- even when the mayor wouldn't. She has given countless years of service to numerous community organizations, among them the Whitman-Walker Clinic, the Metropolitan Police Boys and Girls Clubs, Brother Help Thyself, the Jewish Council for the Aging, and the Kennedy Center, as well as tutoring at Malcolm X Elementary School.

I could go on and on, but suffice it to say that in Carol Schwartz, we have not only a dedicated public servant and a strong advocate, we also have a great friend. It is my honor to present GLAA's Distinguished Service Award to Councilmember Carol Schwartz.