Remembering David Mixner: a true legend and staunch supporter of the LGBTQ+ community

Hi, I'm David Mixner. I'm a living legend.

Few people can say that when they meet new people. Even fewer can actually say it. When David Mixner says it - and he says it a lot - he means it.

David was and always will be a legend. He believed that all Americans belong everywhere in America, and he spent decades of his legendary life realizing that goal. Since he first advocated for racial equality at the end of the Vietnam War more than sixty years ago, he has worked to reverse the harms of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," and to promote the causes of marriage equality, transgender rights, and sex discrimination. In recent years, David has actually made a lot of changes that are just words.

He once told me that the only thing that belonged in his closet were cowboy boots. Once we had an hours-long conversation in his apartment and he let me try on a few pairs. Like a diary, each boot has a story. "I wore them when I first ratted out my friend Bill Collington. Then I got arrested and I chained myself to his White House fence," he remembers wickedly as he points to his favorite pair. "I wore these when I made my debut on Broadway," pointing to another pair. They should have given me a special Tony Award for that.

Even without his cowboy boots, David always held his head high. The conviction he felt in every suggestion, every guideline, every nuanced examination of the current political landscape also made you feel taller. He is a passionate nature lover and every time he takes a magical journey with just his words, you feel like you are on a great journey with him.

He was also a knowledgeable historian - and not just of the history he helped create. He makes sure you know that as an LGBTQ+ community, we have a history of our own that we must write, preserve, and share - and we can't let it be erased.

At his funeral in New York City, we laughed, we cried, we told the kind of dirty jokes that David loved. But, as David always asked us to do, we also bore witness. An eclectic group of people came to pay their respects. On the benches sat elected officials and civil servants, artists and activists, radical advocates and quiet revolutionaries. Though all of our work was different, the one thing we all had in common was an understanding of the historical impact David had, and how all of us became who we are and where we are today because of what he did.

Former White House staffer Sean Patrick Maloney, who went on to become a member of Congress and then an ambassador, offers one of many fascinating reflections on the life and impact of David. In his words, he reminds us that before David, the shadow of the Lavender Scare loomed over all of our futures.LGBTQ+ Americans who want to fight, even give their lives, for the country they love, must do so in complete secrecy within our armed forces. For anyone who leaves, or is even perceived to be, a life in public service as a political appointee or professional employee in Washington, D.C. is nearly impossible. It is impossible to get the national security clearances we need to get the job done, so while some people quietly hide from their work, countless others are still deported because of who they are and who they love, and their livelihoods are forever jeopardized.

David's name is all over the halls of power in Washington and throughout the U.S. More than 70 years ago, the Lavender Scare attempted to remove all groups of cool kids from the federal government. Yet in 2023, dozens of my LGBTQ+ appointees and staff gathered to celebrate how far we've come and how far we still have to go years after the Panic. One of our guest speakers mentioned David and how excited he would be if "all of us came here as cool kids" in a building named after the President, who said we couldn't possibly be trusted to serve the country we love.

The camera turns to the Biden-Harris administration, the most pro-equality and inclusive administration in U.S. history. A record 15% appointees are members of the LGBTQ+ community and are celebrating their overall identity and intersectionality more than ever.

David was a co-founder of the LGBTQ Victory Fund, which helps recruit and train elected and appointed officials in our community. It is a wonderful testament to his legacy that the program responsible for putting people like us in positions of influence and service will soon be renamed the David Mixner Presidential Appointments Program.

Being a "David Mixner Presidential Appointee" is as much of an honor as being asked to serve by the President himself. Serving my country as an out and proud gay man is a dream come true, and thankfully, thanks to David, that dream has been realized. This is the most pro-LGBTQ and pro-equality government ever. More LGBTQ+ people are working at all levels of government in the U.S. because David asked us to be there. He refuses to accept anything less than equality and will never let you escape the fight to make it happen - for our communities, for anyone who needs a voice.

That's why I have a picture of David on my desk next to a signed copy of one of his many books. When I need a reminder that I need the courage to make a change, I look to David and remember that there is always more work to be done.

Perhaps more importantly: every pair of cowboy boots I see makes me smile with pride and determination.

Jonathan Lovitz is an appointee of the Biden-Harris Administration focused on the economy. He most recently served as senior vice president of the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) for nearly a decade, leading the passage of more than 20 pro-LGBTQ and minority laws across the United States. Follow him @jdlovitz.

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