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

The conference, according to NGLTF, was subtitled 'Building An Anti-Racist Movement: Working For Social and Economic Justice and Freedom.' But according to Gabi Caro, Urzula Urzua, Aurora Pineda and Mary Torres, who attended the conference representing their Latina lesbian organization, Amigas Latinas, the conference succeeded primarily in pointing out areas where the GLBT movement, still overwhelmingly white and male in its leadership, needs to confront its lingering racism and classism rather than actually breaking down racial stereotypes and economic barriers. The Chicago women identified the high price of food and drink at the hotel and some surrounding restaurants, conference organizers' failure to provide refreshments, such as soft drinks and snacks, at certain events lasting for eight hours at a time, and inhospitable hotel rooms as areas where improvement was necessary.

'I was expecting a lot more from a national organization,' said Urzula Urzua. 'When (Amigas Latinas) went to Miami for the LLEGO conference last year, it was a totally different experience. The hotel didn't offer beach views (as was the case with NGLTF), but (LLEGO conference organizers) fed us, entertained us, and made every effort to show us our presence was valued. NGLTF gave us free unlimited transit passes to use, and that was appreciated, but it still came up short.'

Creating Change offered two days of anti-racism workshops, of which the 'People Of Color Organizing Institute,' which was closed to whites, ran virtually nonstop. The women of Amigas Latinas experienced frustration and anger during their participation. 'I felt as if we did not exist,' said Gabi Caro, who says her efforts to raise consciousness around undocumented immigration met in at least one case with a knee-jerk conservatism which surprised and angered her. 'There needs to be equal space for Latino/a issues at these conferences. I felt our experience was not given the same amount of respect and credence as those of others.' Added Urzua, 'It seems to me that whoever organized the schedule didn't take into account that 'people of color' might want to attend both the anti-racism workshops (scheduled during the same time frame and ostensibly intended for whites) and the people of color organizing institute. How can you have a talk on racism when it's primarily whites discussing the issue among other whites? It's important for people of color to be part of that dialogue.'

Scheduling snafus continued, most notably Nov. 8, perhaps the busiest day. During one 90-minute timeframe, a handful of caucuses targeted to specific minority groups were held. Since the Amigas contingent chose to attend the Latino/a Caucus, they found themselves unable to attend other caucuses which interested them and afforded opportunities for networking. Additionally, the People of Color Institute regroup session was scheduled during this same time. 'The purpose of the (people of color regroup) was to reconvene all of us who had been together (during the earlier People of Color Institute), but the way the schedule was made up, we had to decide whether to attend the Latino/a caucus or the people of color regroup.' Scheduling caucuses for Latino/a persons, African American persons, and other minority groups at the same time is equivalent, according to Urzua, for 'a lesbian caucus to be held at the same time as a women of size caucus and a mom's caucus. Women whose identities cross definitions would have to choose which to attend.'

White participants also expressed disappointment that there was not more opportunity to network and dialogue with people of color around shared issues.

Creating Change 2003 identified the fight for marriage rights as the next great victory for GLB individuals, which didn't sit well with all in attendance. Speaking during the conference at a workshop titled 'Class And The Queer Agenda: How Decisions Are Made In Our Movement And By Whom,' Amber Hollibaugh, Director of Education, Advocacy, and Community for SAGE in New York City and a veteran of many years of organizing, spoke critically about the GLB movement's focus on gay marriage while at the same time overlooking continuing issues of poverty and racism which, arguably, will impact many more GLBTQs than marriage rights. '(Poverty and racism) are in part constructs of capitalism,' Hollibaugh said, 'and nobody says the word 'capitalism' anymore. There is no longer a progressive infrastructure in the larger, mainstream community ... to remind us of the importance of capitalism to classism. Nobody is addressing the issues that keep the poor and disenfranchised in those situations.'

According to Roberta Sklar, communications specialist at NGLTF: 'Every year, NGLTF learns more about how to make Creating Change more effective. And beginning in 2002, we began to learn the importance of having dialogue around issues of race. We felt this effort reverberate in a positive way throughout Creating Change 2003. We did not hear the same feedback from others (as was expressed by the Chicago contingent), though we are certainly concerned that the Chicago group had a less than positive experience. We take feedback very, very seriously.' Sklar stated that as the conference continued, organizers became aware that some in attendance 'felt there was too much of a focus on gay marriage. But as Juan Battle, an African-American sociology professor and one of our plenary speakers, stated during the conference, another way to look at the question of gay marriage is to consider it as part of the larger tapestry of equal rights. Not every straight person gets married, but they all have the right to do so. Marriage is a critical right and it is relevant to the fight for equal rights, whether those rights are those of partnership and insurance and survivorship.' Regarding the logistical issues raised by the Amigas women, Sklar responded that NGLTF 'tried to make costs as reasonable as we could for as many as we could. We tried, for example, to select a hotel that had easy access to alternatives for eating and drinking, so people didn't have to order room service. We offer scholarships to each Creating Change event, and our focus is really to get as many people to the conference as possible. We did the best we could with the budget we had.'

NGLTF Executive Director Matt Foreman also weighed in with remarks regarding attendees' split around the issue of marriage. During closing statements Nov. 9, Foreman said: 'Let me say that neither I nor the Task Force see marriage as the penultimate issue or goal of the LGBT liberation movement. I certainly did not get involved in the movement to see ourselves simply assimilated into the institutions of heterosexual society. I have no illusions about marriage and I can tell you from my experiences as a lawyer that if you ask women—or the party who is economically disadvantaged—who have come through a contested divorce what they think about the institution of marriage, you will not hear much support for the institution.

'Instead it is our vision—and what we have been working so hard for—that as we work toward complete equality, that we will create new ways of creating and protecting families and relationships ... ways that do not come with the often oppressive baggage associated with marriage. And, we have accomplished a great deal in this area already,' Foreman said.

At the same time, he said, 'we must recognize two things. First, that we deserve and are entitled to the freedom to marry. And, second, that the right is using 'gay marriage' as a wedge to divide America, to attack our community, and to roll back the limited rights we have already won. We did not choose this fight at this moment, but it is here and we simply must engage and fight back or risk being set back for decades to come.' Plenary speakers included Rep. Evelyn Mantilla of Connecticut, a Puertoriquena bisexual; Juan Battle, Associate Professor of Sociology at Hunter College and the Graduate Center of the City University of NY; Joyce Pierson of the National Center For Lesbian Rights; Evan Wolfson, founder of Freedom to Marry; Nadine Smith, Executive Director of Equality Florida; Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State; and Connie Watts, director of Field Operations for Planned Parenthood.

The Amigas said they will be back for next year's Creating Change. Says Aurora Pineda, '(NGLTF's) intentions are good, and we will continue to do our part to ensure that Latina lesbians have a place at the table.'

(Weiner and Urzua traveled to the conference together and shared the same room.) ----------------------------------------