Mile High Creating Change

Demonstrations at the 2015 conference of LGBTQ activists highlight issues targeting trans people of color. Activists urge solidarity.

Last October, Janice Thom of the National LGBTQ Task Force, one of the leading organizations fighting for equal rights for all people regardless of color, gender or sexual orientation, addressed Inter- Pride, the international association of LGBTQ Pride Coordinators, at its annual world conference in Pittsburgh. Thom formally invited the representatives from Prides around the globe, whose events reach more than 13 million people, to consider attending Creating Change in February 2015. A group led by Boston Pride and including members of Palm Springs Pride, New York City Pride, Jersey Pride, Inc., and others, answered the call.

C r e a t i n g Change is the brainchild of Sue Hyde and Urvashi Vaid. What is now an annual meeting in its 27 th year was launched by these veteran activists to channel the tremendous energy of the 1987 March on Washington to where it could do the most good – our homes, schools, and neighborhoods – to reduce violence, promote equality for all, and leverage the power that LGBTQ people were beginning to realize as a community. The first conference was organized the old-fashioned way: via telephone calls, posters, and word of mouth; 300 people from all over attended. This year, more than 4,000 delegates convened in Denver, some from as far away as Taiwan, with a common desire: to create change where they live and work so that there is equality for all.

The first evening, Russell Roybal, Deputy Executive Director for External Affairs of the Task Force, and Sue Hyde, Director of the Creating Change conference, welcomed everyone and introduced Kate Clinton as the Mistress of Ceremonies. Clinton’s opening remarks were unexpectedly interrupted by the sound of air horns blaring from the back of the packed ballroom, followed by people marching down the aisles and waving signs painted in the pale pink and blue of the transgender movement. “Trans Lives Matter” and “Jesse Hernandez RIP”, among other messages, let us know why our brothers and sisters were outraged. Nine days previously, Jessie Hernandez, a 17-year-old gender non-conforming woman of color, was killed by the Denver Police. This brought the targeting of trans women, trans men, and gender non-conforming youth to the immediate forefront for the assembled delegates and gave us a quick education about how different life may be, especially for people of color.

Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock was scheduled to greet us, but decided to cancel his appearance out of respect for the group. The protestors took over the microphone in order to demand an immediate change in how police approach all people and an end to the use of deadly force, disproportionately directed at gender non-conforming people and trans people of color. Their biggest ask was for us, their brothers and sisters, to ally with them to amplify their presence and voice.

Keynote speakers Rinku Sen, President and Executive Director of Race Forward: The Center for Racial Justice Innovation, and Rashad Robinson, Executive Director of ColorOfChange, engaged in a dialogue on Ferguson and what it means for us all. Cutting across gender, race, and politics, we are poised for change. Rather than waiting for a fabled “Someone” to lead us, both Sen and Robinson encouraged us to look within ourselves to be that leader.

At the session on the State of the Movement, activists who passed in 2014 were honored and young trans women and trans men activists and activists from Ferguson took the podium to remind us that while all lives matter, people of color are most endangered right now, today. Follow #blacklivesmatter on Twitter for more detailed information.

Rea Carey, Executive Director of the Task Force, spoke eloquently about what we accomplished this year, what our setbacks have been, and where our opportunities for success remain. Several times Carey became emotional, giving greater impact to her words. “What would it take for you to be fully you, to be whole? What would it take for you to feel whole?” Carey’s closing words resonate most. “The work of being you is never done. It’s being you in exactly what each day brings... And with every change we make, with every law we pass, with every heart we open, we ease the pain of discrimination just a little bit, making it that much easier for someone else to step forward and join us in this work...This speech is not the State of the Movement...You are the state of this movement. And the state of this movement is energized, passionate, strong, and ready for more.” Now that’s encouragement to continue the fight!

We all have the capacity to change the world around us. When you hear ignorance around the water cooler, start a conversation. You’re not holding out for a hero. The hero is you. Make change; be change. Create change wherever you are.

Creating Change 2016 will meet in Chicago. Care to join me?

With every change we make, with every law we pass, with every heart we open, we ease the pain of discrimination just a little bit, making it that much easier for someone else to step forward and join us in this work.

Sherri Rase is an award-winning activist in New Jersey’s LGBTI community. Her writing ranges from op-eds to LGBTI history. She is Special Events Director for Jersey Pride, Inc. and also manages their Rally stage. Rase is active in appreciation of the arts and is happy to contribute to the websites of FIQNews, NYQNews, and QonStage, as well as The Jersey Gaze and Out in Jersey magazines, and now the Boston Pride Guide.

The Boston Pride team (from left to right: Sylvain Bruni, Staci Stift, Anna Dubrowski, and Michael Anthony Fowler) steals a moment between workshops for a group photo. Credit: Boston Pride