As the National LGBTQ Task Force’s Vice President of People & Culture for the last decade, Alicia Whitaker-Boykins has a tall task: creating a welcoming home for thousands of queer people and communities, allies, and activists all under the organization’s founding mission of building queer power and fighting for liberation.
But first, that responsibility began with an internal duty of welcoming herself.
“When I first came to the Task Force, I hid in my little HR office until directors like Rea Carey or Stacy Long Simmons – or even Victoria Kirby York – started pushing me out into the spotlight saying, ‘People need to see you,’” Whitaker-Boykins recalled.
She’s has been in this role for a decade to witness the successes and challenges of queer politics around the world. For Pride month, Boykins-Whitaker discussed the journey of leading the cultural queer movement as a Black masc of center lesbian. “When I do corporate presentations, I show companies why representation matters simply by being myself. If I make it better for my community and people who look like me, I’m ultimately making it better for everybody in the workplace.”
Hidden in Plain Sight
In her earlier days, Whitaker-Boykins could feel the fractures in the larger lesbian community, specifically for masculine-presenting Black lesbians. She’d attend LGBTQ-based events on behalf of the Task Force to mingle and network and, in those conversations, would find lesbians expressing a dissatisfaction due to limiting, public perceptions.
“It hit me in a major way because we were talking about what they could do in life or who they’d like to become, and the conversations would go something like ‘Because of who I am and how I present, I’m going to be a security guard or a police officer,’ Whitaker-Boykins recalled. “That’s when it hit me like a ton of bricks: we don’t see ourselves in different [career] settings. They were literally downplaying their dreams so they could fit into what they believed they must go and do.”
Support from community and partners was another common topic. “Sometimes we need our femme sisters, women, and our partners to step up and understand when we walk into a room, there isn’t always a sense of safety or security just because of how we present.”
“What the L?”
To aid this shift, one of Whitaker-Boykins’ prominent lesbian-centered projects is the creation of “What the L,” a discussion series that explores topics important to the lesbian community. Co-founded by community facilitator Tiera Craig, “What the L” originated at the Creating Change Conference as a two-hour workshop curated by the Task Force to offer lesbian-centered programs in addition to the Lesbian Caucus.
“The room was so packed that they moved us three times, and we still didn’t have enough space,” Whitaker-Boykins recalled. Topics of the first “What the L” session included the dynamic between the spectrum of gender expression in the lesbian community, healthcare needs, and the use of “queer” over “lesbian.”
“We had to stop lesbian erasure and make sure the L stays in LGBTQ. It’s easier for people to understand that it’s OK for you to live in your lesbian truth, your lesbian relationships and be proud about that without having to assimilate into queerness because you think it’ll be easier.”
“What the L” has grown into a monthly Zoom meeting, in-person events with organizations like the National Black Justice Coalition, and partnerships such as an upcoming joint event with House of Vegas Pride in August.
Building Out the ‘Be You’ Brand
Whitaker-Boykins’ additional work includes strengthening the Task Force’s hallmark “be you” brand, an initiative that unifies queer communities without breaking the cultural and individual identities. As a director of the organization’s people and culture sector, Whitaker-Boykins recalled implementing the “be you” brand tedious and strategic. But, with the Task Force’s history of being “unafraid to cross the line,” sacrifices for the future of the queer community had to be made. “Vulnerability has been the number one key because if you’re not willing to be vulnerable with the people around you, it’s tough to connect when you keep a wall up,” Whitaker-Boykins said.
“We were stepping into a box that people weren’t sure about, especially with constituents and donors. We’re rethought everything within this organization, who we are and who we’d like to be,” she said. “If we really believe in our motto “Be you,” are we willing to have each other’s back and support these initiatives where people can be themselves? My “be you” may offend your “be you,” but what is our middle ground to get work done?”
Whitaker-Boykins reiterated the clear return on investment she’s seen by centering disadvantaged communities in the workplace and in community spaces. “The leadership and mentorship of Kierra Johnson changed this movement, and her belief in me as a leader has made me grow in ways I never thought possible,” Whitaker-Boykins said. “The partnership and allyship of the Task Force vice president Sayre Reece has moved us to build bridges and do great things. My wife has inspired me to understand what it really means to embrace everyone in our community.”
This year’s slew of DC Black Pride and WorldPride events made it clear to her that people understand the importance of solidarity, particularly at this moment of anti-trans attacks and legislation.
“You could see joy as resistance. There was more love being shown and it could just be the time we’re in where people are more protective of one another, which is a good thing,” Whitaker-Boykins said. “I also went to the WorldPride Parade too and, for some of my friends, this was the first time they ever attended a Pride parade. They said. ‘We just don’t do stuff like this,’ but it was actually more fun with everyone integrated together like that.”