Human Rights Campaign names Alphonso David as president

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation's largest LGBT rights advocate, on Tuesday announced that Alphonso David will be its next president.

The announcement marks the first time a person of color will lead HRC.

HRC President Chad Griffin announced in November that he was leaving the organization. David, a 48-year-old civil rights lawyer, is set to begin his term as president in August.

"I believe that together, we can harness the strength that's inherent in our differences, to stand together in the face of fear and division," David said in a statement. "And that's exactly what the Human Rights Campaign was built for."

"If we want to win full equality, that's going to require us to come together, to dig deep, to be resilient, to embrace our differences, to tenaciously defend the most vulnerable among us, to fight with every ounce of determination we have. I promise you this, I will fight for each and every one of us," he said.

David served as chief counsel and legal advisor to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat. Prior to that job, he was a staff attorney at the LGBT law group Lambda Legal.

HRC, which was formed in 1980, has annual revenues of roughly $40 million. David will be the group's eighth president.