The Texas climate was especially appreciated by Gill, who works in Washington, D.C. “It’s really nice to be down here in the South where the weather is much warmer. It’s really cold in the northeast right now. It’s seventy out here today, so it’s beautiful weather.”
The five-day conference took place at the Hilton Americas Hotel in Houston. Services for the hotel are provided by Unite Here, Local twenty-three, a union of workers in the hotel, gaming, food service, manufacturing, textile, laundry and airport industries throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Many at the conference expressed great excitement to be in Houston to collaborate with other advocates and activists for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community. Creating Change is hosted annually by the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, an organization that has been advocating for equality for forty years.
The Task Force, as it is often called, boasts that Creating Change is the “national conference on LGBT equality. Creating Change is the largest annual gathering of activists, organizers, and leaders in the LGBT movement,” according to the Creating Change Facebook page.
The conference marks its twenty-sixth year in 2014. Many attendees are conference veterans. For some, this is a first, as it is for Ashby Dodge, Crisis Services Director of The Trevor Project. “It’s really diverse, really fun, and good energy. It’s a lot of people and can be overwhelming, although I think it’s spread out very well and it’s very well organized, so it doesn’t seem that overwhelming, but it’s pretty big,” Dodge said.
The licensed social worker has attended several workshops this year on subjects like life empowerment, how to be a trans ally, and intimate partner violence. She is planning on attending a workshop called ‘real talk for sex education.’
A number of HIV-focused groups are said to have been in attendance at Creating Change this year, with the issue being featured pretty prominently.
Creating Change offers a great variety of workshops to attendees. A common topic is the role of allies in LGBT community.
While social media has served as a platform for allies to more openly voice their support, this Twitter user emphasizes that allies are needed in the real world, not just in the world of social media, because allies show up for their LGBT counterparts.
Often discussed at Creating Change is the idea of intersectional oppression. While some people feel that it has more prominence than others, participants agree that it is a very important to recognize that oppression felt by the LGBT community extends to other minority groups, and that individuals may have multiple identities.
Dodge said “They’re definitely talking about it and educating about it. I haven’t experienced it happening. I haven’t felt a lot of it happening within the group, but it’s definitely a common subject on everyone’s tongue in different conversations.”
On the subject, Gill said “I do think it has some prominence. I think that’s one of the areas that creating change really tries to breach the forefront, is intersectional oppression. I think that the workshops really focus a lot in that area. They try to make it a really diverse group of workshops that bring that to the forefront. The main speeches may not do that as much, so I think that’s a change, and that’s what Laverne Cox brought to it.”
Laverne Cox is a black transgender woman who provided the opening keynote address at Creating Change. Cox is an actress and advocate who has made an appearance recently on Katie Couric’s show, ‘Katie,’ and stars in the Netflix original series ‘Orange Is The New Black’ where she plays a transgender inmate.
In her speech, Cox said that “justice is just love in public.” Facebook and Twitter were overrun with news about Laverne Cox and her moving speech. Moof Mayeda, Deputy Director of the Academy for Leadership at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force posted this status after Cox’s speech, along with a picture of the two of them.
“Laverne's presence was incredibly powerful for me. She was one of four fierce transgender women of color who spoke at the conference this year. It felt like a much-needed turning point in our movement to be taught and led by these smart, resilient, thoughtful women,” Mayeda said. Posts like this were typical of conference attendees, and everyone wanted a picture with Cox.
The impact of the speech was undeniable. One conference attendee said to me “She gave an amazing speech. I literally cried twice during it, it was very, very powerful. She’s an incredible speaker, I can’t say enough good things about it.”
Another said “It was just unbelievable. It was such an amazing speech. It was so terrific, I can’t even tell you. She really placed an emphasis on trans people and people of color, and the adjustments they make. Making it clear that we have to do more to protect those people and how it’s not acceptable the way society criminalizes them. It was just really amazing.”
These conference attendees were lost for words at times in communicating how Cox’s speech influenced them and their experience at Creating Change.
One conference attendee said that that Cox’s presence at the conference has been a stark contrast from what they have seen in the past.
“I thought it was really great that it shifted the focus. It made it clear where the needs are, urgency, and what needs to be accomplished yet. It’s not what people normally hear about, it’s not marriage equality, it’s not non-discrimination, and everything else. And it’s all great work that’s being done locally that’s not ever emphasized. I find in that way, it’s a turn from the usual narrative.”
Former Communications Director of EqualityMaine, Ian Grady, said “I leave CC energized and refocused on the importance of our movement's work, from marriage to trans* rights to youth and elder issues. It is always empowering to meet with folks who are engaged in the same struggles we are in cities and states across the country.”
Ian said that he is hoping to attend the conference next year.
Young people had a great presence at Creating Change this year and mark the next generation of activists who will take on continuing the movement toward full equality for the LGBT community.
Members of The Trevor Project Youth Advisory Council posed for a picture after the organization featured its first all-day institute that drew an audience of sixty people.
These young people are a few of twenty youth and young adults that serve in a volunteer capacity as a liaison between the national organization and youth nationwide.
Many LGBT elders have embraced the idea that young people are leading the movement, and will be the leaders of tomorrow, and focus on providing the necessary skills that the work will require.
When asked why they attend Creating Change, an attendee said “it’s really great to be able to see people from across the country, advocates, and talk about what our work is, talk about the work that needs to be done and find out what they’re doing, and find out how we can best work together. So for me it’s really about collaboration. Seeing people who work to strengthen the movement and sharing our work. I just love that aspect of this conference.”
With the conference coming to a close, attendees pack their bags and go home with new skills in their ‘toolboxes’ to effect meaningful change in their communities.
Future attendees can look forward to coming back together next year for more collaborative work and skill building.
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