Time and time again, I hear how the National LGBTQ Task Force is more than an advocacy group. It’s more than an LGBTQ rights organization – it’s a family. People are what make the National LGBTQ Task Force so special. From successfully removing queerness from the DSM, and securing federal funding to combat the AIDS crisis, to the fight against the onslaught of anti-LGBTQ and especially anti-trans, legislation to making sure our voices are heard on the many issues that affect our community, from reproductive justice to gun control to disability rights. Our impact is made possible through the advocates and organizers who have been walking the walk for 50 years. It’s only fitting that we celebrate our 50th anniversary by spotlighting some of the people and movements who have been with us along the way.
I’m so excited to announce that our limited podcast series, Movement Moments: The National LGBTQ Task Force at 50, launches on March 31, featuring engaging conversations between thought leaders and trailblazers who have a diversity of experiences talking about the critical issues affecting LGBTQ+ people over the last five decades. On the pod, you’ll hear a conversation about faith and queerness between the only queer trans Latina Pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church and a radical faerie priest. On another episode, you’ll listen in on a powerful intergenerational conversation between two Black queer activists, one of whom currently serves as the Director of Public Policy and Programs for the organization the other founded. Like our history, there are moments of profound joy and somber reckoning. In that spirit, we’ve chosen to launch our podcast on Transgender Day of Visibility, a day that honors the joy and resilience of trans and nonbinary people all over the world. Our debut episode features a conversation with author and speaker ALOK and Imara Jones, journalist and founder of TransLash Media. Their conversation reminds us that we must continue to acknowledge our progress, celebrate our victories and those upon whose shoulders we stand, and be unrelenting in our fights ahead.
This limited series podcast celebrates what the National LGBTQ Task Force is all about. You’ll hear about 50 years of struggle, joy, and passion on the quest for queer liberation. I invite you to listen intently to these stories and let them move, inspire, and catalyze you! This 50th anniversary is about more than honoring our past. It’s about taking in our present and defining what’s next. This is our moment to celebrate how far we’ve come as we continue to work towards a bold, inclusive, and intersectional future where we are all free to BE.
Happy listening,
Kierra Johnson
