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 Al Toney served as a Police Officer in the Worcester Police Department from March 1987 to April 1995. After the tragic death of his life partner resulting from a shooting in which Al survived but his partner and another friend perished, Al left the police department due to permanent injuries sustained from the shooting. As an openly gay African American male, Al has been the target of homophobia and racism. His work is dedicated to the elimination of these and other forms of discrimination. Since 1993 he has provided diversity and awareness education consulting services and cultural competency workshops throughout the country where he challenges his colleagues and constituents to be aware of their internalized stereotypes and myths.
Undaunted by the shooting which forced him into early retirement, Al harnessed his energy to address the need for diversity training and cultural competency workshops in both the public and private sectors. A sample of his past and present clients include Human Rights Campaign (HRC), The Child Welfare League of America, Casey Family Programs, National Grid, The National Black Justice Coalition, MassEquality, Massachusetts Department of Education, Massachusetts Department of Social Services (DSS), Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH), schools, nonprofit agencies, law enforcement agencies and public and private corporations. Al offers diversity training as a means of creating healthier and more effective learning and working environments. Al was appointed to Vice-Chair of The Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD) by Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, and also served as a Commissioner with the Massachusetts Legislative Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth. He previously was President of The Gay Officers Action League of New England, Commissioner with The Worcester Human Rights Commission, Board Member of AIDS Project Worcester, and ran for public office in 1999 for a seat on the Worcester City Council. Al is also a Master Trainer for DSS and was a foster parent for approximately 10 years opening his home to almost 50 children.
Gay and Lesbian Adolescent Social Services (GLASS) inc., profiled Al in 2003 as one of severalChampions of LGBTIQQ Youth; The Advocate, a national gay and lesbian publication, named Al as one of 117 Worldwide Innovators in 2001; The local National Conference for Community and Justice awarded Al with the Twenty-Fourth Annual Leadership Award in 2001; in 1998 Worcester Magazine named him a Hometown Hero; and he was named Best of Boston in 1997 by Boston Magazine.
In 2004 Al and his spouse, Keith Toney, and biological daughter, Kayla, were featured in the Showtime documentary, Same Sex America, which followed the couple through the marriage equality debate in Massachusetts to their own wedding. Al and Keith completed a book as contributing writers and editors with the National Black Justice Coalition and MassEquality called, Jumping the Broom: A Black Perspective on Same-Gender Marriage, the Massachusetts Edition, in 2007. They successfully challenged the Federal Government's Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in 2009 regarding same-sex marriage licenses being acceptable proof of a legal name change for passport purposes. Al is also the co-creator and illustrator of their first in a series of diversity and anti-bullying children's books, Snions, Stiraffes and Frish… Hooray! Gonzo Finds Fairview Valley, published in 2012.
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