Terry Bean Pushes for a New Generation of LGBTQ+ Leadership and Accountability
Michigan, US, 10th July 2025, ZEX PR WIRE, Terry Bean, now 76, has spent more than half a century building power, equity, and visibility for the LGBTQ+ community, in Oregon. A nationally recognized figure, Bean co-founded the Human Rights Campaign and the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund. Through fundraising, grassroots organizing, and political strategy, he helped push LGBTQ+ rights from the political margins into the national conversation. But today, with the political climate turning hostile once again, Bean is making a new demand of the movement he helped shape: accountability.
“We’re no longer fighting to be seen,” Bean says. “We’re fighting to ensure the people who claim to represent us actually deliver on the promises they make.”
His message is both urgent and clear: visibility is not the end goal. Representation alone does not guarantee results. And now more than ever, LGBTQ+ communities need leaders who not only embody the movement but are willing to carry it forward with integrity, courage, and results.
From Visibility to Responsibility
Bean remembers when coming out could mean losing your job, your family, or your life. He remembers when being gay meant being invisible in the eyes of the law. He also remembers how hard the community fought to change that.
“In the early days, we fought just to have our voices heard,” he says. “We built organizations, elected our own, and forced people to reckon with our existence. That took decades of sweat, strategy, and sacrifice.”
But now, as more LGBTQ+ individuals enter public office and high-profile positions in business and media, Bean warns that representation alone is not enough.
“Being out is important. Being visible matters. But that’s the starting line—not the finish,” he says. “We have to ask: what are you doing with the power you’ve been given?”
The Call for Accountability
In recent years, Bean has watched the LGBTQ+ movement achieve landmark victories—marriage equality, broader media representation, and the election of openly LGBTQ+ lawmakers at every level. Yet, he sees troubling signs of stagnation and complacency.
“Some of the people we fought to put in office have forgotten who they work for,” he says. “And that’s unacceptable.”
Bean calls on voters, donors, and organizations to apply real pressure to LGBTQ+ leaders and allies alike. He wants measurable results, not symbolic gestures.
“Don’t just wear a Pride pin and expect applause,” he says. “Pass the bill. Protect trans kids. Fund our housing programs. Show up when it matters.”
He argues that without consistent accountability, the movement risks turning into a brand rather than a force for justice.
“We didn’t build this movement for photo ops,” he says. “We built it to change lives.”
Investing in New Leadership
Bean isn’t only critiquing current leaders—he’s focused on empowering the next wave. He believes the future of LGBTQ+ leadership must reflect the full diversity of the community: Black, brown, trans, disabled, immigrant, and working-class voices.
“We need leaders who understand struggle firsthand,” he says. “We need people who can walk into a state legislature or a nonprofit boardroom and speak truthfully, not cautiously.”
To support that vision, Bean continues to mentor young activists and strategists across the country. He emphasizes practical training: how to build coalitions, how to fundraise ethically, how to push policy through difficult legislatures.
“Leadership isn’t charisma—it’s consistency,” he says. “It’s doing the hard work when the cameras are off.”
A Long View of Progress
Throughout his life, Bean has approached change with equal parts urgency and patience. He helped raise more than $1 million to defeat Oregon’s Measure 9 in 1992, a proposed constitutional amendment that would have labeled homosexuality as “abnormal.” He spent decades lobbying for federal anti-discrimination protections. He helped LGBTQ+ candidates win public office long before it became politically fashionable.
“I’ve lived through cycles—progress, backlash, more progress, more backlash,” he says. “That’s the nature of this work. It never stays still.”
He believes the current backlash—seen in the surge of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation across dozens of states—demands the same level of resistance that fueled the movement in its earliest days.
“People think because we’ve won some big battles, the war is over,” he says. “But if you’re paying attention, you know it’s not. We have to meet this moment with the same fire that got us here.”
Holding the Center
In today’s divided political climate, Bean sees an opportunity—and a responsibility—for LGBTQ+ leaders to build bridges without compromising values. He argues that the most effective advocates are those who can listen across difference and still hold firm to principle.
“You don’t win by shouting louder,” he says. “You win by organizing smarter. By building coalitions that last. By refusing to be used by either side of the aisle.”
He believes that LGBTQ+ leadership must be rooted in community, not celebrity. That means showing up at school board meetings, fighting for housing and healthcare, and pushing back against laws that harm the most vulnerable.
“If your leadership doesn’t reach the person getting kicked out of their home for being queer, then what is it for?” he asks.
The Legacy He Fights For
Despite decades of activism, Bean has never sought the spotlight. He prefers to work behind the scenes, raising funds, building alliances, and pushing strategies forward. But as he reflects on his life’s work, he admits to feeling both proud and restless.
“I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished,” he says. “But I’m not satisfied. Not when Black trans women are still being murdered. Not when kids are afraid to come out in their own homes. Not when politicians use us as punching bags for cheap votes.”
His goal now is simple: ensure that the next generation inherits not only a more just world, but the tools to defend it.
“I want young leaders to feel equipped—not just inspired,” he says. “That’s my job now. To hand them the map we drew with our lives.”
Looking Forward
Bean believes the LGBTQ+ movement stands at a pivotal point. It can either lean into its power, holding leaders accountable and investing in deep, durable change—or it can settle for tokenism and press releases.
“I don’t want to see this movement turn into a museum,” he says. “I want to see it keep pushing, keep fighting, keep growing.”
He continues to work with grassroots groups, speak at conferences, and advise organizations on how to move from visibility to impact. For him, the work isn’t over. It just looks different than it used to.
“I don’t need to lead the march anymore,” he says. “But I’ll be on the phone the night before, making sure someone does.”
About Terry Bean
Terry Bean is a nationally recognized LGBTQ+ rights activist, strategist, and philanthropist. He co-founded the Human Rights Campaign and the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, and played a pivotal role in defeating Oregon’s Measure 9 in 1992. Over the past five decades, Bean has helped elect hundreds of LGBTQ+ candidates, advised countless campaigns, and raised millions of dollars for civil rights causes. He resides in Portland, Oregon, and remains an active voice in national advocacy.
For more information about Terry Bean or Basic Rights Oregon and its ongoing efforts to promote equality, please visit www.basicrights.org.
To learn more about Terry Bean’s advocacy work, public statements, or current initiatives, please visit his official site at terry-bean.info.
