Advancing Equality: My Never Stand Still Conversation with Human Rights Campaign President Alphonso David

I first met Alphonso David, president of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), back in February when he visited PayPal’s New York office to speak to employees as part of our Black History Month celebrations. Hearing Alphonso’s personal story during our fireside chat, it makes you sit up a bit straighter—partly because of its uniqueness, but mostly because it demonstrates the incredible perseverance Alphonso has shown to get to where he is today.

As the descendant of enslaved Liberians in Arkansas and Mississippi, Alphonso lived what he called a “unique and privileged” upbringing in Liberia as the son and nephew of the Mayor of Monrovia and President of Liberia, respectively. Then, a military coup in 1980 changed everything. His uncle was assassinated and his father, along with Alphonso and the rest of his family, was held under house arrest for years until they found asylum in the United States. Since then, Alphonso has achieved many firsts. He was the first openly gay man and first Black person to be chief counsel to the Governor of New York. Now, he’s the first person of color and first civil rights lawyer to be president of the HRC.

Alphonso truly embodies what it means to get back up after you’ve been knocked down. He brings undeniable conviction, clarity and focus to his role at HRC, and it was such a pleasure to continue my conversation with Alphonso on Never Stand Still. Here’s some of what I took away from our time together.

Embrace intersectional identities and advocate for those who are marginalized.

In his first year at the HRC, Alphonso has placed an emphasis on liberating those who are marginalized—specifically, those who are “multiply marginalized,” or who are “hit not once, not twice, but in some cases three times by policies that just disregard who they are.” As Alphonso explained, “You can’t achieve equality by only focusing on the ‘haves.’ You can only achieve equality by focusing on those who are marginalized, because that is the only way you’ll be able to really understand the underpinnings of oppressive systems and overturn them for long-standing, sustainable change.” To that end, he’s also encouraging all of us to think about identity in a much more intersectional way, understanding how the various aspects of people’s identities overlap with one another and can compound systems of discrimination.

At PayPal, we strive to create an environment where employees feel safe, welcomed and encouraged to bring their whole selves to work. And we aim to mirror this in our external actions as well, such as committing $530 million to Black and minority-owned businesses, or signing on to amicus briefs stating that same-sex foster parents should not face discrimination in child welfare and opposing suspension of the issuance of green cards for immigrants residing outside of the U.S. We have a responsibility to create a culture of inclusion inside PayPal, and in the communities we serve as well.

Our right to vote in the United States is an essential part of our democracy.

Voting is an essential part of our democracy. Yet one of the most common reasons people cite for not making it to the polls is that they can’t get away from work. At PayPal, we believe that businesses can and need to address this. That’s why two years ago, we committed to increasing voter participation and launched the non-partisan Time to Vote initiative in partnership with Levi Strauss & Co. and Patagonia. Now, more than 700 companies have joined the movement. In the lead-up to the U.S. general election on November 3, PayPal announced that all of our U.S. employees will have four hours of paid time off on Election Day to vote without any conflicting work obligations. And for those who plan to vote early or by mail, this time off can be applied to other forms of civic engagement like volunteering at polling stations.

Given this is such a prominent topic ahead of the general election in November, I asked Alphonso about the HRC’s partnership with Stacey Abrams’ Fair Fight initiative, which examines voter suppression around the U.S. and especially in 20 battleground states. Through the Vote Equal, Vote Safe campaign, HRC is also pushing Congress to provide states with adequate funding to offer alternatives to in-person voting. As I do, Alphonso believes having your voice heard at the ballot box is crucial to our democracy. His message to young people who may feel disillusioned with voting is one we would all benefit from hearing: “This election and every election is not about one position…Even if you're not that excited about the presidential race, you should exercise your right to vote because it will also make a significant difference in your own town.” Together, we can ensure all Americans can have their voices heard and advance the issues they care about.

Create reserves to weather difficult times.

One of the ways Alphonso has persevered through such challenging times in his life is by “creating reserves.” While many companies are used to doing this in a financial sense, Alphonso shared the wisdom that we need to adopt this practice in our personal lives, too. He likes to run, rock climb, bike, practice yoga, and spend time with family to relieve stress and build his own personal reserves. In the process, he says he can be “introspective about where [he’s] going and why” and then be ready to weather storms in his personal and professional life.

We’re all living through multiple crises at once—health, economic, psychological, and social injustice—making it more important than ever to create reserves that we can draw from to keep going. For me, it’s practicing Krav Maga or spending time outside. Whatever it is that gets you through hard times, you should be leaning into that now more than ever.

Check out the video of our full conversation to hear more about Alphonso’s exceptional life story and how HRC is fighting to protect LGBTQ rights and the multiply marginalized. How do you create reserves and find your purpose? I’d love to know in the comments below.