Press

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force held its 10th annual Creating Change Conference November 12-16 in San Diego, California. More than 1,500 activists from around the country and some from abroad came together to learn, discuss, strategize and debate in 150 workshops, meetings and all-day institutes. Creating Change is the nation's oldest and longest-running gathering of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) activists and allies.

In addition, participants heard from many nationally prominent speakers including Sheila James Kuehl, Speaker Pro Tem of the California Assembly, Martin Ornelas-Quintero, Executive Director, National Latino/a Lesbian and Gay Organization, Roland Sintos Coloma, NGLTF Youth Institute graduate and public school teacher, and Dorothy Allison, author of Bastard Out of Carolina, who delivered the second annual Vito Russo Lecture on Arts and Politics.

"This is a phenomenal political gathering" said NGLTF Executive Director Kerry Lobel of the Conference. "It is a tapestry of every idea and issue facing our community. The exchanges, relationships and tools at Creating Change prove that we do our best work in collaboration," she added. This was the second time in the decade-old history of Creating Change that the national event was held on the west coast. About half of the participants came from California.

In addition to the warm Pacific breezes, Conference attendees were welcomed with strong and encouraging words from Kuehl. The Speaker Pro Tem of the California Assembly and the first open lesbian to have the job, told the crowd how they could make political changes in their own communities. In a speech comparing members of the GLBT community to the four well-known travelers to Oz, she told them that they already had the power to compete for a political seat or to contribute to the GLBT political movement. Kuehl's speech and that of the other three keynote speakers was cybercast live by GLOradio, the broadcast arm of PlanetOut.

"Everybody went home with something," noted Sue Hyde, Creating Change Conference coordinator. Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin received the NGLTF Community Service Award for their organizing work and political involvement over the past forty years. Tim Gill who is used to giving to others, also received a Community Service award at this year's Conference. Gill invented Quark software and heads the Gill Foundation, which provides funding for GLBT organizations, particularly in rural locations.

Consortiums and national groups ranging from GLBT community centers to Federal GLOBE held their own annual conferences at Creating Change. Nearly 40 member states of the Federation of Statewide Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Political Organizations, met to elect an Executive Committee and to select Paula Ettelbrick of the Empire State Pride Agenda and Dianne Hardy-Garcia of the Texas Lesbian and Gay Rights Lobby, as the organization's co-chairs. Also at this yearÕs Conference, about 60 faith activists met to develop strategies for moving forward their work. They delivered a statement at the closing plenary pledging to more actively participate in the GLBT political movement.

Creating Change was the birthplace of a new organization. The National Consortium of Directors of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Resources in Higher Education was officially launched at the Conference. Eighteen professionally-staffed GLBT organizations participated in the development of the organization which will work to support GLBT students and faculty on college and university campuses.

Sponsors of the 1997 Creating Change Conference include The Gill Foundation, Pacific Bell, American Airlines, Tzabaco, Nike, Xerox, PlanetOut and the Gay and Lesbian Times of San Diego.

In 1998, the Creating Change Conference will be held from November 11-15 at the Westin William Penn Hotel in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. For more information about Creating Change call 202-332-6483 ext. 3329 or visit the Creating Change Conference website at: http://www.ngltf.org/cc97.

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The mission of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force is to build the political power of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community from the ground up. We do this by training activists, organizing broad-based campaigns to defeat anti-LGBT referenda and advance pro-LGBT legislation, and by building the organizational capacity of our movement. Our Policy Institute, the movement’s premier think tank, provides research and policy analysis to support the struggle for complete equality and to counter right-wing lies. As part of a broader social justice movement, we work to create a nation that respects the diversity of human expression and identity and creates opportunity for all. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., we also have offices in New York City, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis and Cambridge.