Hi, I'm Dan Kaufman, and I'm the owner of DKG Promotions. What are my progressive bona fides?
I've been a social and political activist since I was a teenager, pounding the streets of Philly and New York with my progressive Jewish friends as we rallied for better conditions for farm workers, self-determination for Palestinians, and equal rights for women, among other issues.
After coming out in 1984 at Oberlin College, I added LGBT rights to my growing list of causes, and in 1987 I attended the first of what would become many marches on Washington. In fact I moved to DC after graduating from college so that I could attend marches without having to travel. I was involved in the planning of the 1993 March on Washington for LGB Rights. I also helped plan and participated in many different political actions as a member of OUT DC, ACT UP/DC, and Queer Nation/DC in the early 1990s.
From 1989 to about 1997 I ran a separate business, selling my original gay pride designs on buttons, t-shirts, postcards, bumper stickers, and other items.
These days I volunteer in the kitchen of Food & Friends, a DC-based organization that provides nutritious meals to homebound people with HIV/AIDS and other life-challenging illnesses, and I sing with the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington, which changes hearts through music.
After working so hard for the Democratic party in this latest election, and being so disillusioned by Trump's win, I decided to rededicate myself to progressive causes. We have much more work to do.