Naming Our Destiny

Naming Our Destiny trains LGBT leaders of color and builds sustained relationships with communities of color. We’re building deep and more powerful alliances across race, class and gender lines.

To find out about the next Naming Our Destiny training, contact rmckenzie@theTaskForce.org.

What’s the purpose?

Ever wondered, “How can we as people of color mobilize our community to build a base of power that can be used in electoral campaigns and other issues affecting our community?”

When attacks are coming from inside and outside our communities, how do we respond effectively? Where are the voices of LGBT people of color? How are we organizing and taking action in our communities?

Naming Our Destiny (NOD) is an electoral training predominantly for people of color that is centered on teaching how to build grassroots political power. We focus on what you need to build your organizations, strengthen your campaigns and build your volunteer base. The organizers create the NOD curriculum by meeting individually with hundreds of potential participants to find out which skills and topics are most valuable to them.

What will I learn?

Naming Our Destiny trainings, conducted by the Task Force, provide grassroots skills such as phone banking, canvassing, volunteer recruitment and fundraising, helping us support and sustain local political or social campaigns that move our communities forward.

You’ll also meet other LGBT people of color who are organizing and taking action in their communities.

What happens at a typical training?

The first NOD training occurred in June 2004, and it brought together 35 people of color in New York City. These 35 participants attended practical workshops on topics including fundraising, volunteer recruitment, voter contact, and leadership skills. On Saturday participants and trainers headed to Harlem to speak to voters about the upcoming presidential election and to stress the importance of voting. Not only did 256 voters agree to turn out to vote in November to make their voices heard, but the canvassers also registered twenty-four new voters! Sunday, after participants got on the phones to raise money and recruit volunteers, they built next-steps action plans to put their skills to use for specific campaigns they cared about.

How long are the trainings?

Usually, 2–3 days.

Also, the NOD Academy in Southern California is offering a series of one-day trainings to organizers and leaders of color who come together periodically to examine their organizing work and get training and support for taking the next steps to success.