The Need to Lead

LGBTQ+ LEADERSHIP FROM 1924 –PRESENT.

Over the summer, I completed a coast-to-coast LGBTQ+ conference “tour” with the mission to find a much-needed media partner and LGBTQ+ and allied owned businesses to help bring in much-needed revenue and sustainability for Embrace Magazine. While those goals still elude me, what I found fuels me more, both personally and professionally. I have found examples of true LGBTQ+ leadership in action and have seen what that means for the LGBTQ+ community, both domestically and globally.

The first was the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce 2023 International Business and Leadership conference held in Denver, CO, August 15 – 18, 2023. The NGLCC was established in 2002 by Justin Nelson, president, and Chase Mitchell, CEO, when they noticed that the economic equality of LGBTQ2+ individuals and the potential influence of economics on the equality campaign were overlooked and underestimated. In order to demonstrate that LGBTQ2+ individuals are entrepreneurs, employers, taxpayers, and healthcare providers, as well as a vital and integral component of the small business sector that powers the American economy, the two co-founders set out to provide an equitable platform for them.

These days, the LGBTQ business owners that the NGLCC represents contribute more than $1.7 trillion to the national economy, create employment, and develop cutting-edge business solutions. Furthermore, NGLCC is the front-runner in the eld of public policy advocacy, pushing for federal, state, and local procurement opportunities for Certified LGBTBE® rms. NGLCC Global is reaching five continents and building global bridges between LGBTQI human rights and economic opportunities.

The second was the National Lesbian & Gay Journalism Association, now known as the Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists, of which I serve as a national board member. The 2023 National Convention was held in Philadelphia, PA, September 7 – 10, 2023. In April 1989, The American Society of Newspaper Editors (ASNE) ordered that it undertake the first-ever study of LGBTQ+ journalists working for American newspapers. At the ASNE national conference in Washington, D.C., in April 1990, Roy Aarons both publicly came out and presented the findings of the historic poll, Alternatives: Gays and Lesbians in the Newsroom.

Journalists who identify as LGBTQ+ who work for media outlets throughout the country were moved by the study and voiced a wish to join a formal association. In 1991, NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists was legally organized under Roy’s direction, and branches were established around the nation.

Today, the Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists is a powerful voice in the news industry, staying true to the objectives of its founders. It educates decision-makers in newsrooms about how to cover the LGBTQ+ community, advocates for the implementation of equal benefits and non-discrimination laws and develops educational programs to assist the upcoming generation of LGBTQ+ newsroom leaders. Members of the LGBTQ+ community are credited for bringing about a significant positive change in the caliber and volume of news coverage of the community by educating their peers about accuracy and fairness in newsrooms.

The third was the International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association 40th Anniversary Global Convention held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, October 4 – 7, 2023. Established in 1983 in Key West, Florida, the International LGBTQ+ Travel Association is the world’s premier network of tourist enterprises that welcome LGBTQ+ travelers. While always striving to advance equality and safety within LGBTQ+ tourism globally, they o er free travel tools and information. Travel advisors, tour operators, hotel and transportation companies that cater to the LGBTQ+ community, as well as travel media from more than 80 countries, are among the members of IGLTA.

The fourth was the National LGBTQ Task Force 50th Anniversary Gala held in Miami, Florida, on October 14, 2023. A group of activists realized the need for a strong, cohesive, and well-organized voice in the emerging homosexual rights movements, and they established the National LGBTQ Task Force in October 1973 in New York City. The Task Force was the first national LGBTQ rights organization in the United States, founded by a number of prominent figures in post-Stonewall queer activism, including Dr. Bruce Voeller, Barbara Gittings, Frank Kameny, Dr. Howard Brown, Arthur Bell, Ron Gold, Nathalie Rockhill, and Martin Duberman. Later, the founders of the Task Force rose to prominence and played a significant role in the LGBT rights movement of the 20th century.

Presently, the National LGBTQ Task Force’s unreservedly using an intersectional perspective to guide the organization to fight for criminal justice reform, housing justice, body autonomy, reproductive justice, and other issues where LGBTQ+ people are still disproportionately affected.

Other noteworthy conventions I attended were the first ever held FLOCC Florida LGBTQ Tourism Convention in Tampa, Florida, August 1 – 3, 2023, and Unleashed LGBTQ+, the first ever queer business conference and festival, held in Dallas, TX, September 22 – 24, 2023. The latter was modeled after SXSW and held a lm festival. I attended the screening of “The Mattachine Family” by director Andy Vallentine and written/produced by his husband, Danny Vallentine. I researched the name and learned about The Mattachine Society; a now defunct organization, was launched in 1950 by Harry Hay as an early national gay rights organization in the United States.

That led me to research other prominent LGBTQ+ organizations. Some noteworthy include: The Society for Human Rights (1924), the rst recognized U.S. gay rights organization; One National Gay & Lesbian Archives (1952); Lavender Menace (1970); Lambda Legal Defense Fund (1971); Human Rights Campaign (1980); The GLAAD (1985); ACT UP (1987); LGBTQ Victory Fund (1991); and Out & Equal (1996).

At the time of this writing, I have one more event to attend: LGBTQ+ Victory Institute 2023 International LGBTQ+ Leaders Conference, held in Washington, DC, November 30 – December 2, 2023. I was invited by Daniel Sohn, president of The Pride Chamber of Orlando, the home chamber of Embrace Magazine, and the person I spent the most time with at the NGLCC conference in Denver. As I write this, I received an email invitation to a free Candidate & Campaign Training workshop held at the kickoff of the conference. I registered. When asked my reason for registration I wrote, “As publisher of Embrace Magazine, a LGBTQ+ oriented magazine based in Florida, I have served the LGBTQ+ community from the sidelines. After participating in a coast-to-coast LBTQ+ conference ‘tour’ I am inspired to serve from the frontlines.”

It is time.

BY JOHN SOTOMAYOR

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