Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

LGBTQ media confab looks ahead to post-marriage reporting
by Gretchen Rachel Hammond
2015-03-25

This article shared 4237 times since Wed Mar 25, 2015
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email


LGBTQ media professionals gathered in Philadelphia on March 13-14, as they looked forward to the issues that will take center stage post-marriage-equality and inward to their reporting of them.

The tone of the 2015 LGBT Media Journalists Convening was set by the March 13 opening reception keynote delivered by celebrated North Carolina minister, civil-rights and political leader, author and NAACP board member Rev. Dr. William Barber II who asked the audience to repeat the phrase "forward together. Not one step back."

"The key to turning America away from much of the extremism we see, [is to] have an indigenously led state-based, state-government state-legislature focused, deeply moral, deeply constitutional, anti- racist, anti-poverty, pro-justice, pro-labor, transformative fusion movement," Barber asserted. "We're in a dangerous place right now in America politically. On the one hand we see the Supreme Court about to rule in favor of marriage equality but the same Supreme Court ruled in favor of Citizens United and against voting rights. We need to build relationships that are long-term, not based on one-issue campaigns."

Barber noted that extreme policies do not only hurt small groups of people. "[They] hurt us all," he said. "We are making it clear to the political powers that currently be 'if you touch one of us, you touch all of us.'"

He further challenged attendees to examine constitutional principles of common good and moral justice for all rather than one political party against another. "Democrat versus Republican is often too narrow," he said. "I don't call the right 'right' when I think they're wrong. I'm empowering them by constantly saying 'the right.'"

Barber added that the prefix "religious" to those on that side of the debate was also disingenuous. "We have to challenge this notion of religion that says that the pre-eminent moral issues are about religion in schools, abortion and homosexuality when in fact, the tenets of every major religion suggest that the real issues we ought to debate in the public square have to do with how you treat the poor, those on the margins, women, children, workers, immigrants and people who are different than you," he said to rousing applause. "If a person is different than me, I have a moral responsibility to make sure they do not feel that, just because they are different, they are not my brother or my sister in the human family. We cannot let the religious right have the moral discourse."

According to Barber, change in America was not going to result principally through the work of national movements. "If you look at the history of America, change is from Selma up, from Birmingham up," he said. "Not change from D.C. down. Never has, never will. The movements that changed LGBT issues started from the bottom up. We have real movements in each state led by indigenous leadership, not one person that helicopters in, gives a speech and then leaves."

He urged the audience to consistently commit to the principles of civil disobedience. "When we have followed all of the steps of non-violence, there are times that we must put our bodies on the line and be willing to be arrested to shift the narrative and prick the consciousness of the people," he said. "We must resist the 'one moment' mentality. Nobody is afraid of one rally or just one march."

Convening panels opened the following day at the Radisson Blu hotel with "The Danger of Religious Liberty Laws," which have gained momentum following successes in the attainment of marriage-equality. Accomplished attorney Katherine Grainger noted that the phenomenon is not historically unique.

"Any time a marginalized group is moving to gain more rights, the first strategy throughout history has been first try to block it and when that doesn't work people then turn to 'but it violates my religion'," she said. "The more successful [the LGBT movement] becomes the more fervent the religious exemption response comes in."

In the second session, moderator and trans writer Erin Rook, writer and GLAAD spokesperson Tiq Milan, award-winning writer Spectra Speaks and attorney and social-justice leader Urvashi Vaid wondered "What Happens When the Dog Catches the Car"—an examination of movement post-marriage goals and the issues that LGBTQ media would no doubt be covering in the future.

"As journalists, if we are looking at what is happening in our community as the next big topic, that's not what it is," Milan said. "We're talking about people's lives. It's not so much about what's going to get you the most hits, the most views."

"For me it has been to always pay attention to who's not in the room," Speaks said. "On trans people, on bisexual people. It's not just about focusing on issues. It's also about figuring out how to address our own blind spots as people."

"It's not about the next big issue," Vaid agreed. "If we focus on that we will follow the issues that the funders are funding, that the mainstream organizations are following and not necessarily the issues that grassroots organizations are working on or that are rising up in our communities."

In terms of that coverage, one particularly lively discussion was "Naming and the LGBTQ Community." Moderator, columnist and advocate Brynn Tannehill discussed terminology with panelists writer and speaker Eliel Cruz, The Advocate Editor-at-Large Diane Anderson-Minshall and LGBT Healthlink Director Dr. Scout.

In referring to last year's debate concerning the use of the word "'tr**ny," Tannehill said she could not see it as being used in any other way than pejorative.

"You have the most marginalized group of people in our culture who are being slaughtered right now and the group who are most likely to experience the word as a slur," Scout said. "Trans women of color have an experience of that word that is very negative. How many of them have to die before we start to understand that listening to that and honoring that experience is something we have to be active about doing?"

One of the day's breakout sessions featured Windy City Times writer Yasmin Nair. She and National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association Vice-President for Print and Digital Media Sarah Blazucki ( also the moderator ) and filmmaker Tiona McClodden discussed Allies in Race and Gender.

"We're all talking about moving beyond marriage," Nair said. "There is no beyond marriage because it has led to squandering our economic, political, financial and emotional resources."

"I would like to see more narrative non-fiction," McClodden added. "How we can get people to understand from the eyes of oppressed communities—what their lives look like and how they deal with a lot of the issues that they face. Everyone is looking for story or an event. Not everyone is looking for that inside view."

Other sessions included "Bijacked: Bisexuals Strike Back Against Inaccurate Reporting" and "Three Great HIV Story Ideas You Could Write Tomorrow."


This article shared 4237 times since Wed Mar 25, 2015
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

Oprah, Niecy Nash-Betts honored at GLAAD Media Awards 2024-03-15
- Oprah Winfrey and Niecy Nash-Betts were honored at the 35th Annual GLAAD Media Awards that took place in Los Angeles at The Beverly Hilton on March 14. Winfrey received the Vanguard Award, introduced by iconic Chicago ...


Gay News

UPDATE: Nex Benedict's death ruled a suicide; family responds 2024-03-13
- A medical examiner's report concluded that the cause of death of Oklahoma student Nex Benedict (he/they) was suicide, media reports confirmed. Benedict—a 16-year-old transgender student—died Feb. 8, a day after ...


Gay News

State Rep. Kelly Cassidy attacked on social media, allegedly by backers of Burke 2024-02-26
- Illinois state Rep. Kelly Cassidy—a supporter of Cook County state's attorney Democratic candidate Clayton Harris III—posted on social media that a backer of Eileen O'Neill Burke, who's running against Harris ...


Gay News

Chicago Bears hire first woman assistant coach 2024-02-21
- The Chicago Bears are hiring Jennifer King as an offensive assistant, according to The Chicago Sun-Times and other media outlets. She will be an assistant running backs coach. King—who will become the first female assistant coach ...


Gay News

Oprah Winfrey, Niecy Nash-Betts to be honored at the 35 annual GLAAD Media Awards in LA March 14 2024-02-20
--From a press release - Los Angeles, CA -Feb. 20, 2024 - GLAAD announced that global media leader, producer, philanthropist, actress and author Oprah Winfrey will receive GLAAD'sVanguard Award and Emmy-winning actress and producer Niecy ...


Gay News

GLAAD releases report on LGBTQ+ inclusion in video games 2024-02-19
- LGBTQ+ media-advocacy organization GLAAD has released a report on queer inclusion in the world of video games. Among the key findings in "Gaming: The State of LGBTQ Inclusion in Video Games" is that 17%—nearly one in ...


Gay News

Second Glance Productions hosts LGBTQupid Soiree 2024-02-16
- In celebration of Valentine's Day, Chicago based film and media production company Second Glance hosted The LBGTQupid Soiree. The event, which was focused on spinning attitudes on this particular day, was presented at The iO ...


Gay News

GLAAD finds missed chances for LGBTQ+ inclusion in Super Bowl ads 2024-02-12
--From a press release - Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024 — GLAAD is reacting to a lack of LGBTQ storytelling in ads that aired duringSuper Bowl LVIII on Feb. 11 and is reminding brands, corporations and advertising agencies why including the LGBTQ ...


Gay News

GLAAD, NFL host third annual pre-Super Bowl event 'A Night of Pride' 2024-02-08
- On Feb. 7, LGBTQ+ media-advocacy organization GLAAD, along with The National Football League (NFL), hosted the third annual "A Night of Pride" at Caesar's Palace in Super Bowl LVIII's host city of Las Vegas, a press ...


Gay News

GALECA announces nominees for the Dorian Film Awards 2024-02-07
--From a press release - Feb. 5, 2024 - GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics, consisting of over 500 entertainment critics, journalists and media icons, today announced the group's democratically chosen nominees for its 15th Dorian Film Awards. All of ...


Gay News

GLAAD remembers Cecilia Gentili, transgender Latina, actress, activist, health care activist, journalist 2024-02-06
--From a press release - (New York, NY - February 6, 2024) GLAAD, the world's largest LGBTQ media advocacy organization, is responding to the death of transgender actress and advocate Cecilia Gentili and elevating voices of transgender and political leaders honoring ...


Gay News

Comcast NBCUniversal partners with News is Out, Word In Black on fellowship program highlighting Black, LGBTQ+ issues 2024-02-06
--From a press release - Digital Equity Local Voices Lab Fellows to be placed at 16 local publications to receive training and create content Philadelphia (Feb. 6, 2024) — News is Out [ https://newsisout.com ] , a queer media collaborative of ...


Gay News

Tara VanDerveer becomes winningest coach in college basketball 2024-01-22
- Stanford University women's basketball coach and gender-rights advocate Tara VanDerveer became the college-basketball coach with the most wins ever on Jan. 21, media outlets reported. After her team defeated Oregon State 65-56, VanDerveer has 1,203 ca ...


Gay News

GLAAD announces nominees for the 35th annual GLAAD Media Awards 2024-01-21
--From a press release - Following its acceptance of the iconic Governors Award at the 2023 Emmys Ceremony presented by the Television Academy, GLAAD announced the nominees for the 35th Annual GLAAD Media Awards. The GLAAD Media Awards honor media for ...


Gay News

Northwestern grad Calzada joins Windy City Times team 2024-01-16
Windy City Times news release - Lu Calzada has joined Windy City Times for a five-month fellowship position funded by Northwestern University's Local News Accelerator project. Lu graduated with their master's in journalism from Northwestern in 2023. During their time at NU, ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.