WASHINGTON, D.C. The National LGBTQ Task Force — the country's oldest LGBTQ advocacy group — celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2023, honoring 50 years of advancing freedom, justice, and equality for LGBTQ people. This milestone year will recognize and celebrate the Task Force's rich history of driving progress within the LGBTQ community, from its early days lobbying the American Psychiatric Association to remove homosexuality as a mental illness and advocating for AIDS funding to longstanding campaigns to Queer the Census, Queer the Vote, work for trans rights, fight for reproductive justice and bringing an intersectional approach to the LGBTQ movement. Beginning with Creating Change, the Task Force's flagship conference for training and mobilizing queer organizers, the upcoming year serves as an opportunity to reimagine what queer activism can look like.
"Our anniversary comes at a time when those in power threaten to undo our 50 years of progress— but we're meeting these threats with more strength, unity, and support than ever before," said Kierra Johnson, Executive Director of the National LGBTQ Task Force. "We take an intersectional, proactive approach to our advocacy, underscoring our fundamental interconnectedness. The Task Force is everywhere because queer people are everywhere. As we look towards the next 50 years, we will evolve and expand our work to positively impact LGBTQ folks' ability to thrive."
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The primary goal of the Creating Change Conference is to build the LGBTQ movement's political power from the ground up to secure our overarching goal of full freedom, justice, and equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people in the U.S.
Since 1988, Creating Change has created opportunities for thousands of committed people to develop and hone their skills, celebrate victories, build community, and to be inspired by visionaries of our LGBTQ movement and allied movements for justice and equality.
50th ANNIVERSARY CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Creating Change:
The Task Force 50th anniversary celebrations kickoff with the 2023 Creating Change Conference, the foremost political, leadership, and skills-building conference for the LGBTQ social justice movement. Event details:
Date: Friday, February 17 - Tuesday, February 21
Location: Hilton Hotel Union Square, San Francisco, California
Special Guests:
Angelica Ross, transgender rights activist and star of FX's POSE
Amy Schneider, most successful female contestant in Jeopardy! history
X González, gun violence prevention activist and LGBTQ rights advocate
more to be announced....
Theme: The State of the Movement: Our Past. Our Present. Our Future.
Kierra Johnson, Executive Director of the National LGBTQ Task Force will reflect on the last year and the work ahead. For more information including registration information and full schedule see HERE.
Winter Party Festival:
The 50th Anniversary celebration will continue in Miami Beach at the 30th Annual Winter Party Festival — a week-long series of events benefiting the LGBTQ community locally and nationally. Produced by the Task Force, the Festival takes place Wednesday March 1 - Tuesday March 7 in Miami Beach, FL. The 2023 theme is "Live Free. Play Hard. Give Back."
Task Force Gala 2023:
In October 2023, the Task Force will host its premier annual celebration of South Florida's LGBTQ community. This year, the gala is an opportunity for queer people and their supporters to celebrate 50 years of community, history, and work advancing equality for all LGBTQ people and their families.
Other events related to the 50th will be announced as they are confirmed!
About the National LGBTQ Task Force:
The National LGBTQ Task Force advances full freedom, justice and equality for LGBTQ people. We are building a future where everyone can be free to be their entire selves in every aspect of their lives. Today, despite all the progress we've made to end discrimination, millions of LGBTQ people face barriers in every aspect of their lives: in housing, employment, healthcare, retirement, and basic human rights. These barriers must go. That's why the Task Force is training and mobilizing millions of activists across our nation to deliver a world where you can be you.
