In advance of the Creating Change conference held in Chicago in January, the National LGBTQ Task Force has been holding "Change Chats" to address topics featured at the conference. The latest Change Chat was held on Nov. 12 at the Hyde Park's Little Black Pearl Gallery, and focused on the intersection between the movements for Black lives and LGBTQ equality.
Rachel Williams, activist and local high school teacher, moderated the conversation and began by asking where participants felt like the Black Lives Matter ( BLM ) and LGBTQ movements had intersection. BLM activist Jason pointed out that BLM was started by Black queer women and operates through a queer feminist lens. He called BLM "a powerful opportunity to bring my whole self to this work." Another participant, Alex Garcia, said they found BLM's queer perspective "refreshing."
Other participants had different stories. Xavier, a queer Black man with Human Rights Campaign ( HRC ), felt his identities were challenging for him, while activist Veronica Morrismore said she sometimes felt attacked because of her queer identity while working in a Black organization not centered on queer issues. In terms of the LGBTQ movement's acceptance of Black issues, Morrismore said that when she participated in the 2015 Pride Parade's action, white spectators demanded to know why she was stopping their parade, and Williams said she saw bottles thrown at Black activists and even Black spectators unrelated to the action.
Williams added, "A lot of us sit at that intersection. When something comes up, we're either pushed or pulled to where we're supposed to be." Morrismore said, "If you don't believe we ain't free until we're all free, why are only the queer people talking about gender and sex?" The conversation felt contentious at times, with one participant requesting that discussions on this topic remain "in-group" and another feeling mentions of Black homophobia could serve as a trigger.
Some participants focused on specifics. Melissa, working with Affinity, repeatedly wanted to know "what issue are we going to work on next." Garcia asked if power players in both movements could be held accountable if their movements failed to be inclusive. Xavier, citing the Black community's lack of connection with HRC, pointed out, "People have to care if you're not showing up." Aria, Affinity's interim director, said she attended the gala and had conversations with people at her table about where movements such as BLM were that evening.
After listening to nearly an hour and a half of dialogue, Task Force organizer and host Joshua Oakes said he felt success would be best achieved by lifting up common barriers: issues like AIDS decriminalization, teen homelessness and violence. Looking to the upcoming Creating Change conference, he mentioned that a challenge for a crowd of 4,000 having this conversation was to not make it feel like a fishbowl.