National LGBTQ Task Force Executive Director Kierra Johnson. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)
The National LGBTQ Task Force, the oldest LGBTQ grassroots social justice advocacy nonprofit, will hold its annual Creating Change conference in Washington, D.C., next week.
From Tuesday, Jan. 20, to Sunday, Jan. 25, thousands of LGBTQ activists and allies will descend on the nation’s capital to “hone their skills, celebrate victories, build community, and be inspired by visionaries of our LGBTQ+ movement.”
First held in D.C. in 1988, the conference has long been one of the leading organizing and training conferences for LGBTQ activists and allies.
Ahead of Creating Change, the Washington Blade sat down with Cathy Renna, director of communications, to discuss why the event is just as important today as it was when it began 38 years ago.
“There is nothing like it,” Renna told the Blade. “It brings together the most diverse set of queer advocates and allies in every way imaginable. There’s an energy around it that you really don’t find anywhere else.”
The nearly week-long conference touches on a wide variety of issues critical to both national and local LGBTQ political organizing. Renna explained that this is not a typical D.C. conference.
“We don’t even really call it a conference anymore, because it is more than that,” she said.
With events like “Kink for Geniuses,” which offers a one-of-a-kind look at how kink culture has changed over the past 15 years; social events like the new “House Ball” (with special guests); specialized spiritual programming for every belief; and workshops like “Queer Leadership on the Job,” which can help LGBTQ people with mentoring and leadership development, the conference expands far beyond the expected breakfast keynote and endless PowerPoints. Instead, it offers a wide range of programming for every LGBTQ person.
The theme of this year’s conference is simple: Unstoppable.
Creating Change has five major “tracks” this year: Building Capacity for the Movement; Democracy and Civic Engagement; Health and Wellness; Practice Spirit + Do Justice; and Sexual Healing and Liberation.
“It’s an opportunity for movement leaders to be together in a space to not just plan and scenario-plan for what we’re dealing with now and what we can potentially be dealing with, but also just to be together in community, which is so important right now,” Renna said. “There’s such a wide variety of the queer experience right now — people feeling anxious, feeling afraid, also feeling emboldened — and I think being in that kind of space together is really vital.”
She also offered insight into the State of the Movement address from National LGBTQ Task Force President Kierra Johnson.
“Kierra sometimes keeps it a little close to the vest, but in the last couple years, she’s talked a lot about principled struggle and the challenges we face in an increasingly hostile climate,” Renna said. “It really sets the tone for the entire conference.”
That tone includes emphatic support for the transgender community.
“We’ve always led in uplifting trans voices, which is one of the reasons I actually work here,” she said. “From the general session stage, there’s a tremendous amount of trans representation — whether it’s the speakers or the entertainment. Bringing Alok is going to be incredibly powerful. They are one of the most high-profile nonbinary voices in the world right now.”
Those general sessions are not just available for conference attendees this year’s— Creating Change will livestream them for all on their website.
“Dominique Jackson is coming — talk about a revered Black trans advocate and actress,” Renna added, listing just some of the trans advocates who will be in attendance.
When asked about the history of the event, Renna pointed to Washington’s role in helping the National LGBTQ Task Force create a space for the community to grow and learn.
“The first Creating Change was held in Washington right after the 1987 March on Washington, because hundreds of thousands of people came, went home energized, and were told to get to work — but they needed the tools, the training, and the infrastructure to do that.”
Given the current national LGBTQ political landscape — from transgender rights being debated at the Supreme Court to the widespread purge of federal workers that some have called a “Lavender Scare 2.0” — Renna acknowledged that the nation’s capital may not be the first place LGBTQ people want to visit. Still, she emphasized that speaking up loudly for LGBTQ rights is part of the community’s history.
“Having us convene several thousand LGBTQ and allied advocates in Washington as we begin the second year of the Trump administration — and plan for what is going to be another challenging, potentially even more challenging year than last — is critical for the movement,” she said.
There is no official National LGBTQ Task Force protest planned in response to the Trump-Vance administration’s recent actions — many of which have stripped LGBTQ people of their rights — but Renna offered a witty response when asked about the possibility.
“The thing that we always say a little bit tongue-in-cheek is, when you train people to organize, sometimes they do it right in front of you,” said the former GLAAD national news media director. “But in terms of an actual organized protest, something might happen spontaneously, but for us, the focus is having folks in the space to do the work.”
While fostering community is a major part of the conference, Renna emphasized that attendee safety is a top priority.
“For security reasons, we’re being a little bit more withholding about some of the more public information, because we don’t want to be targeted.”
One way the conference is doing that is by only providing locations and detailed schedules to people who have officially registered, via the PheedLoop Go app.
The event — and the opportunities it provides to build community — is not just a political necessity, Renna said, but a matter of queer survival.
“We’re living in a political and cultural climate that is increasingly less affirming — and even dangerous. When our community is under great challenge, being together in this kind of space is so affirming.”
In hoping to make the event affirming to more local residents— and for fans of the more social events, this year there is a “Weekend Party Pass” that provides access to Friday and Saturday evening events. This ticket does not include the entire conference events though.
“Creating Change has always been a beloved space, but during moments of crisis, it becomes essential.”
For more information on Creating Change and the other work that the Task Force does, you can visit their website at www.thetaskforce.org.
The National LGBT Media Association represents 13 legacy publications in major markets across the country with a collective readership of more than 400K in print and more than 1 million + online. Learn more here: NationalLGBTMediaAssociation.com.
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