From: Date: Mon, 31 Oct 1994 19:51:22 -0500 Subject: Press Credentials for Creating Change ************************************************* National Gay and Lesbian Task Force NEWS RELEASE Contact: Gregory Fisher (202) 332-6483 ext. 3309 (800) 757-7736 pager Beth Barrett (202) 332-6483 ext. 3215 2320 17th Street NW Washington, DC 200009 ************************************************* MAJOR GATHERING OF GAY & LESBIAN MOVEMENT TWO DAYS AFTER ELECTIONS; CREATING CHANGE CONFERENCE IN DALLAS TO FOCUS ON RESPONSE TO RADICAL RIGHT, PLAN FUTURE STRATEGY CALL NOW FOR ADVANCE PRESS CREDENTIALS Some 1,800 gay activists will gather this month in Dallas, Texas for a national conference that promises to mark a milestone in the history of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender movement. The 1994 Creating Change Conference comes just days after votes on controversial anti-gay ballot initiatives, heated elections featuring openly gay candidates, intensified attacks by the Radical Right, and bids for national office by arch-conservative candidates that could change the political landscape in the U.S. The Creating Change Conference, sponsored by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute (NGLTF), will be held Nov. 10-13, 1994, in Dallas, Texas, at the Southland Center Hotel, 400 N. Olive St. downtown. An opening press conference will be held on Friday, Nov. 11, 12:30 p.m. at the Southland Hotel. The press conference will feature noted national and Texas gay figures, including representatives from campaigns to defeat anti-gay ballots in Oregon and Idaho. The conference will present workshops on organizing on campus, health issues, workplace equality, civil rights, anti-violence and more. Three "Fight the Right" intensives will focus on anti-gay ballot initiatives and other areas. Plenary speakers are Dr. Mel White, former writer for Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson and now dean of the Cathedral of Hope, the largest gay/lesbian church in the world; Glen Maxey, first openly gay elected official in Texas, member, Texas House of Representatives; Letitia Gomez, executive director of the National Latino/a Lesbian and Gay Organization ; and Phill Wilson, director of public policy at the AIDS Project Los Angeles and founder of the Black Gay and Lesbian Leadership Forum. For advance press credentials contact Beth Barrett, NGLTF, (202)332-6483, ext. 3215. Reporters may fax Beth requests for credentials on media letterhead, fax (202)332-0207. For more information about the Creating Change Conference, call Robert Bray at (415)552-6448; after Nov. 7 at (214)922-8000. -end-