QUEER ACTIVIST CONFERENCE GOES VIRTUAL FOR JANUARY 28-31, 2021
REGISTRATION NOW OPEN AT WWW.CREATINGCHANGE.ORG
(WASHINGTON, DC, NOVEMBER 19, 2020)
Thousands of LGBTQ advocates, activists, leaders, and allies will, for the first time ever, gather virtually for the 33rd Creating Change Conference from January 28 through January 31, 2020.
The Creating Change Conference, run by the National LGBTQ Task Force, is the foremost political, leadership, and skills-building conference for the LGBTQ social justice movement. Since 1988, Creating Change has created opportunities for tens of thousands of committed people to develop and hone their activist skills, build community and inspire.
This will be the third Creating Change Conference managed by Andy Garcia, who has guided this year’s complete overhaul of the conference as an entirely virtual experience.
Garcia said, “We knew that 2020 was going to be a critical year for all of us, but could never have predicted the overwhelming challenges we face, from a global pandemic to an economic depression to the uprising against racial injustice facing this country,” said Garcia. “I am thrilled that we have Big Freedia, adrienne maree brown and Dominique Jackson participating, along with thousands of LGBTQ+ activists and allies. We will have the chance to create community, learn from each other and plan for the year ahead. When Creating Change begins we will be living under a new White House administration and hopeful, but also facing a possible sea change in the status of queer rights from the Supreme Court and needing to see real institutional and policy change for racial and economic justice. All while we continue to grapple with the impact of the pandemic and other obstacles we face as a community. Given its virtual nature, we hope more queer people than ever before participate in Creating Change, as we need each other now more than ever,” concluded Garcia.
PROGRAM
The program will include the following, MC’d by Sandra Valls:
Opening Keynote: Dominique Jackson
Closing Keynote Speaker: adrienne maree brown
The Annual State of the Movement Address: This year’s State of the Movement holds more meaning than ever, as the country faces unprecedented challenges and the Task Force officially transfers leadership of the organization from longtime Executive Director Rea Carey to incoming Executive Director Kierra Johnson.
Several performances by Big Freedia
The program will include 2 days of day-long institutes and dozens of workshops and caucuses, the annual “Agents of Change Ball” and other activities.
ACCESSIBILITY
The Creating Change Conference is committed to radical accessibility. Everyone benefits when everyone participates fully and equitably in every aspect of the conference. When you register online for Creating Change, you can request ASL interpretation, Spanish interpretation.
MORE INFO
Sandra Valls: Sandra Valls is a comic, actor, singer, writer, and badass. She is a funny, high energy, smart, outspoken Latina, best known for her powerful, electric, stand up comedy performances in Showtime’s THE LATIN DIVAS OF COMEDY and PRIDE: LGBT COMEDY SLAM!
Big Freedia: known as the Queen of Bounce, Big Freedia is a New Orleans-based rapper and ambassador of Bounce music. A vibrant twist on hip-hop, Bounce music is characterized by call-and-response lyrics over rapid-fire beats and booty-shaking. After running the New Orleans club scene for over two decades, Big Freedia is now bringing the Bounce movement to a world-wide stage with her hit reality show, Big Freedia Bounces Back on Fuse. The weekly docu-series, now in its sixth season, follows the life of a gay choirboy turned Bounce rapper and remains the highest rated original series on the network.
Dominique Jackson: An actress/activist/advocate/model/author the multi-talented Jackson is a Tobagonian-American actress, author, model, and reality television personality. As an actress, she is most known for her leading role of Elektra Abundance on the FX television series Pose but has a long history in the ball scene.
adrienne maree brown: is an American author, doula, women’s rights activist and black feminist based in Detroit, Michigan. From 2006 to 2010, she was the executive director of the Ruckus Society. Much of her work as a writer is based around the writings of Octavia E. Butler. Her second book, Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good, was published in 2019 and demonstrates how activists can tap into emotional and erotic desires to organize against oppression.
MEDIA ATTENDANCE AND CREDENTIALS
Press are invited to the conference, please request credentials email to Cathy Renna ([email protected]). Confirmation of credentials will be considered as they are received.
CONTACT
Cathy Renna, Interim Communications Director, National LGBTQ Task Force
[email protected], 917-757-6123