Ebony Cross knows the Kentucky’s LGBTQ movement well. She’s certain Louisville’s activists, including her organization, the Louisville Pride Foundation, are ready to take on the rising stakes of the midterm election and the aftermath of its results.
“When looking at the history of what we’ve done in our community…we were part of that beginning [struggle],” Cross said, referencing the Louisville Fairness Ordinance in 1999 barring anti-LGBTQ discrimination. A Cleveland native, Cross has spent the last 15 years in Kentucky.
“For what the state used to be, look at how far we’ve come.”
Almost 30 years since the historic and transformative ordinance, Cross’ participation as one of many Creating Change local ambassadors is shining a light on the regional success the LGBTQ movement has had.
“Somebody from a different red state could come to town and see what has Kentucky done,” Cross imagined.
Creating Change is an opportunity to learn from activists who have already organized and strengthened LGBTQ communities across their states. It’s also a timely chance to train leaders seeking solutions as similar challenges await in 2027.
“I think it’s definitely a mutual benefit for us and the Task Force for Creating Change to be here,” Cross said. “Creating Change coming here shines a line on what a red state looked like years ago, what we look like now, and what we can look like in our future.”
Encouraging, Affirming Ebony
“No matter who you are, what you look like, how smart you are, just live [as] your true, authentic self and people will gravitate to you.” Cross said, reminiscing on the advice from family in her childhood.
Cross’ masculine-of-center identity was visible at an early age. She was embraced by her Catholic-then-Baptist family, who built an environment that encouraged authenticity. “I think it allows me to adapt in different spaces, it affects my leadership,” she said, naming her male cousins, “crapload of brothers” and uncles as influence. “Growing up being a young dark-skinned girl, you already feel ‘other than.’ A lot of my strength came from my mother and devout Baptist grandmother [encouraging me] to stand still and live authentically for yourself.”
Louisville Pride Foundation is unique in Kentucky’s queer landscape. Cross leads the org with board chair member Victoria Syimone Taylor, a Black trans woman and renowned artist whose work intersects with performance, education, and the movement.
“Once me and Victoria were promoted in our positions, we did some research and realized we are the first LGBTQ org in our region to have a Black masc woman and Black trans woman in leadership,” Cross said. The diverse team also includes Hanh Kimball-Pham, a Vietnamese-American activist.
With her intersectional lens, Cross sits comfortably in Louisville Pride Foundation, especially as an activist focused on all sectors of life. “Being in the LGBTQ community doesn’t mean you’re not dealing with houselessness, being hungry or having access to harm reduction materials, and I think that’s why it’s almost taboo– you’re not thinking of us,” she said, citing partnerships with Christian-founded orgs like Dare to Care Food Bank to ensure Louisville’s queer folks don’t go hungry. “Yes, our sexuality may make us different, but we deal with the same pitfalls as anybody else.”
“We Do It Anyway”
Cross’ work is focused on “gathering” – from the collection of resources for queer folks, to the unification of Kentucky’s local movement against threats like the recent, failed bills to erode LGBTQ rights.
Her former work as an administrative assistant for Louisville Metro Government opened her eyes to the ins and outs of “care” and its trickle-down effect in queer livelihood. “It was saddening to look at,” Cross said. “People are getting tests, and you see how insurances maybe don’t pay for this and they’re trying to get those resources to make sure they can mitigate the problem and become healthier individuals.”
The Louisville Pride Foundation’s physical space has been open in the Old Louisville area since 2022. Going brick-and-mortar, Cross says, laid down a stronger foundation for community and sharper movement action. The physical space has strengthened what Cross calls the Kentucky LGBTQ movement’s “connective tissues” as Louisville Pride Foundation hosts a spectrum of queer-focused events.
“We offer the space to be rented for other LGBTQ+ organizations who may be virtual and who may want to come into the space for workshops, retreats, or their meetings. I think there is a lot more that’s changed, especially with funding and DEI rollbacks,” Cross said. “We added programming and now we do vaccine clinics, have harm reduction resources and supplies as well as HIV Testing. Once, you were afraid to go into these spaces that weren’t or aren’t LGBTQIA+ welcoming but, when you come into our space, we can connect you with somebody who will come to your house or you can take it home and follow directions, then send it off.”
An actual location has unified Kentucky queer organizations’ efforts against judicial pushbacks on annual drag shows on Louisville’s waterfront. To wade through the collective disappointment of the 2024 election results, Cross kept the center open as a queer safe space. “At about four o’clock in the morning, when [results] finally came out, I thought about shutting the center down to allow our community time to grieve our loss of democracy, but I actually opened it up early, and there was this revolving door of people coming in. We’d talk about it or sit in complete silence. The need to feel safe and be in community in that moment was apparent.”
As another election cycle ebbs and flows, Cross says its divine timing for Creating Change, taking place 85 days after midterms. The Task Force’s national influence is alluring for the local and regional gamut of queer activists. It sets Louisville at the center of a polarizing chapter in queer movement rights, one layered with unknown implications for America’s path ahead.
“With the Task Force having so many boots on the ground, there’s a certain knowledge you all have that Louisville and our LGBTQ+ scene and leaders can benefit from,” Cross said. “You are all bringing information to us that we aren’t aware about. How can we navigate [this moment] without getting our feet too much in the water?”