The Tolerance, Equality, and Awareness Movement, known by the acronym TEAM, is a federally tax-exempt

human rights organization A human rights group, or human rights organization, is a non-governmental organization which advocates for human rights through identification of their violation, collecting incident data, its analysis and publication, promotion of public awareness ...

. TEAM is based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and was founded by in 2009 by Chris Surfus. TEAM was incorporated in 2010 and became a 501(c)(3) federally tax-exempt nonprofit in 2011 through Internal Revenue Service classification as a public charity. The Tolerance, Equality, and Awareness Movement organized the July 2011 candlelight vigil at Ah-Nab-Awen Park in Grand Rapids, MI for the mass murder victims and families, which made international news. The 2011 Grand Rapids mass murder were committed by Rodrick Dantzler, who ultimately committed suicide after a standoff with Grand Rapids Public Safety. Vigil assistance was provided by the

American Red Cross The American National Red Cross is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Humanitarianism, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. Clara Barton founded ...

and Grand Rapids Public Safety. In addition, TEAM organized a counter-protest against the

Westboro Baptist Church The Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) is an American unaffiliated Primitive Baptists, Primitive Baptist church in Topeka, Kansas, that was founded in 1955 by pastor Fred Phelps. It is widely considered a hate group and a cult, and is known for Prot ...

's planned picketing of United States First Lady

Betty Ford Elizabeth Anne Ford (; formerly Warren; April 8, 1918 – July 8, 2011) was First Lady of the United States from 1974 to 1977, as the wife of President Gerald Ford. As first lady, she was active in social policy, and set a precedent as a politi ...

's Funeral and TEAMwork: A Night of Dance and Drag for Diversity at The Pyramid Scheme nightclub and music venue in Grand Rapids.

History

The Tolerance, Equality, and Awareness Movement was originally a

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

group, started in response to

LGBT LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...

and

racial discrimination Racial discrimination is any discrimination against any individual on the basis of their Race (human categorization), race, ancestry, ethnicity, ethnic or national origin, and/or Human skin color, skin color and Hair, hair texture. Individuals ...

experienced by several members at a Grandville, MI business.

became one of the major platforms to spread the organization's mission on

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

. TEAM formally incorporated on March 31, 2010. TEAM focused initially on educational events, like discussion panels and lectures, without funding from any sources. TEAM uses three Facebook pages to promote its organization, with approximately 4,000 followers. The organization has done the following, according to its website, a Holland Sentinel article, and interviews with the Grand Rapids LGBT History Project, Speak Up! Panel Project Series, Anti-bullying Program (which includes addressing local school districts), Diversity and Inclusion Program, Nondiscrimination policy work, general outreach at community events, participation in the Grand Rapids LGBT History Project, and providing disaster relief services.

Recognition

The Tolerance, Equality, and Awareness Movement was recognized by the City of Grand Rapids Board of Commissioners as a nonprofit organization in March 2012.

References

{{reflist Human rights organizations based in the United States