From: NGLTF@aol.com Date: Tue, 9 Jul 1996 11:21:27 -0400 Subject: Largest LGBT Activist Conference Set for the Fall ************************************ PRESS RELEASE National Gay and Lesbian Task Force 2320 17th St. NW; Washington, DC 20009 Contact: Sue Hyde (617) 492-6393 shyde@ngltf.org or Elise Jimenez (202) 332-6483 ext. 3305 Pager (800) 757-6476 ************************************ BARNEY FRANK TO ANALYZE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION AT NINTH ANNUAL CREATING CHANGE CONFERENCE WRITER/ARTIST/ACTIVIST JUNE JORDAN TO DELIVER FIRST ANNUAL VITO RUSSO LECTURE ON ART & POLITICS Washington, D.C. -- July 9, 1996 -- Barney Frank, the outspoken Democratic Congressman from Massachusetts, will kick off the ninth annual Creating Change Conference, regaling attendees with his views of the 1996 Presidential election. Frank's keynote address opens the conference on Thursday evening, November 7, 1996. The pre-eminent national gathering of gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender activists returns this year to its birthplace of Washington, DC. Pre-conference institutes and trainings will be held November 6 and 7, with the core conference running November 7 through 10. All events during this ninth annual national gathering sponsored by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) will be held at the Radisson Plaza Hotel at Mark Center in Alexandria, Virginia. This year's conference features the First Annual Vito Russo Memorial Lecture on Art & Politics, to be delivered Friday, November 8 by author and poet June Jordan. Jordan is a prolific writer and social critic whose greatest strength is her ability to live what she believes. The late Vito Russo, a 1989 Creating Change keynote speaker, wrote the critically acclaimed study of cinema The Celluloid Closet. Veteran organizer Carmen Vasquez, currently the director of public policy at the New York City Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center, will deliver a keynote address on Saturday, Nov. 9. Vasquez, a self-described Butch-Puerto Rican-Socialist, is co-director of Promote the Vote, a national voter registration and mobilization project of the country's 65 community centers. Five all-day pre-conference institutes are scheduled prior to the core workshops and roundtables of the conference. On Wednesday, November 6, two institutes will run simultaneously: the annual "People of Color Organizing Institute," with organizers/facilitators Don Kao, Cathy Cohen, Graciela Sanchez, Michael Marinez, and Katherine Acey; and "Race Is The Issue: An Institute for White Activists," with lead organizer Suzanne Pharr of the Arkansas Women's Project, assisted by a team including Amber Hollibaugh, Marj Plumb, Laura Flanders, Mab Segrest and Jamie Grant. On Thursday, November 7, the three simultaneous institutes scheduled are "Finding Common Ground: Building Alliances Across Race, Class & Gender Lines," organized and facilitated by Pam McMichael and Pat Hussain, co-directors of Southerners on New Ground; "Youth Organizing Institute," coordinated by youth organizers from the New York City Lesbian and Gay Community Services Center; and "Community Centers: Laying the Foundations to Create Change," convened by leaders from the country's gay and lesbian community centers. Two special all-day tutorials are offered: Fundraising Training with Kim Klein on Thursday, November 7 and Board/Leadership Development with Karl Mathiasen on Friday, November 8. Participants at these special trainings are expected to attend them for the entire day. Registration for these trainings is not included in the conference registration fee; a separate fee will be charged and lunch is included. A Strategy Meeting for Statewide Organizations will be held on Thursday, November 7. This day-long gathering is by, for, and about the people and groups that toil in the state legislatures, building networks across their state, county by county and town by town. This meeting is organized and facilitated by Helen Gonzales of NGLTF, Paula Ettelbrick of the Empire State Pride Agenda, and Urvashi Vaid, attorney and community organizer. A panel of inside-the-Beltway pros will lead off the morning on Friday, November 8 with a pithy discussion of The Next Presidential Administration. The current discussions of same-gender marriage, the status of ENDA and federal hate crimes law and the outcome of Colorado's Amendment 2 provide much grist for this mill. This panel discussion is organized and facilitated by writer and activist Torie Osborn. Conferencegoers can choose from dozens and dozens of workshops, panels, caucuses, meetings and small group sessions about activists' work in their communities. Subject matter includes: freedom to marry, media, sex and gender identity, organizational development, anti-violence, workplace organizing, speakers bureaus, leadership skills, sodomy laws, and current hot topics and trends in the movement. Digital Queers returns for the fourth year with a full schedule of computer, on-line, and web trainings for everyone, from the weak-fingered rookies to the veteran cyberjocks. For more information or to receive a Creating Change 1996 brochure and registration brochure, call 202/332-6483, ext. 3329. It is also available on the world wide web at http://www.ngltf.org/cc96. To reserve a room at the Radisson Mark Center Hotel, call 703/854-1010; mention the NGLTF Creating Change conference to get the special conference room rate of $89/night. Creating Change is a registered trademark of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. NGLTF is a progressive organization that has supported grassroots organizing and pioneered in national advocacy since 1973. Since its inception, NGLTF has been at the forefront of virtually every major initiative for lesbian and gay rights. In all its efforts, NGLTF helps to strengthen the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender movement at the state level while connecting these activities to a national vision for change. ###