Conferences
EAA is coming together at the grassroots! Since late February, more than 1,200 activists have gathered in Rochester, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, D.C., San Francisco, San Diego, and Texas at citywide or regional conferences to discuss and debate our history and strategize for the future of our movement. New and veteran activists have been energized and are mobilizing for full federal equality for LGBTQ people.
Texas Conference of the
Equality Across America Network
Unite and Fight:
Strategizing for LGBT Equality
May 21-23, 2010
Austin, Texas
Austin Community College, Eastview campus
Plus
Harvey Milk Day
March and Rally at the Texas State Capitol
on Saturday, May 22
The fight for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender equality is heating up. Come join other activists and Equality Across America as we debate, discuss, and strategize how we can carry on the fight here in Texas. Our one single demand: EQUAL PROTECTION in all matters governed by civil law in ALL 50 STATES!
Featured speakers:
Nik Maciejewski (Equality Across America interim governing board), Zoe Nicholson (author and longstanding activist for women's and LGBT equality), Mattie Williams (activist and member of Queer Liberaction in Denton), and Chloe Noble (former EAA Board Member and advocate for LGBT homeless youth).
Registration is $15 / $10 with student ID.
Registration is free for volunteers (volunteer assignments are first-come, first-served).
More info and conference registration at:
Co-sponsored by: GetEqual-Dallas, Equality Across America-Houston, Equality Now-Austin Community College, Equality Rising-Austin, International Socialist Organization, jaysays.com, Join the Impact-Austin, Movimiento Estudiantil Chicana/o de Aztlan (UT Austin), Out Students and Allies (Houston Community College), Queer LiberAction-Denton, Queer People of Color and Allies (UT Austin), Qwee, Texans for Peace, Travis County Green Party, and a growing list of activist organizations.
To get involved or co-sponsor, email: texasEAAconference@gmail.com
reports from past conferences:
Out of the Closet & Into The Streets!
A One Day LGBT Activist Conference
February 20, 2010 Rochester Institute of Technology
The Civil Rights Front of Rochester, NY working with local activists and community grassroots organizations hosted a one day educational and motivational conference called "Out of the Closets..Into the Streets!!" We demand full equality for all LGBTQ individuals and we are working towards this everyday.
The conference drew around 85 people, mostly students from 6 colleges, plus a few from high school and about a dozen working people from Pride at Work.
There were workshops on everything from Transgender History to Lessons of the 60s Struggles and What Do we Mean by Direct Action in which activists debated strategies from lobbying to civil disobedience. Sherry Wolf was the keynote speaker at the end and folks gave a standing ovation to the arguments for EAA's unite and fight strategy of collective grassroots action and solidarity with labor and immigrant struggles, among others. All the attending groups signed on to be part of EAA as Federal Equality Action Teams.
The event was seen as a huge success (none of the organizers had ever pulled together a conference before) and definitely excited dozens of activists to join EAA and the day ended with a call for a citywide planning meeting to organize the Harvey Milk Day action. The day had an excited buzz to it and seems to have put some wind in the sails of local activists after a post-march period of confusion and some stagnation.
Sponsored by Civil Rights Front-Rochester rochestercrf@gmail.com
Intro to EAA & Direct Action
Sunday, March 7th
11am - 1:30pm
University of Southern California,
Von Kleinsmid Center, 156
3518 Trousdale Pkwy,
Los Angeles, CA 90007
For more information Email Us!
Unite + Fight EAA Midwest Conference
March 12–14, 2010
Chicago’s Columbia College
www.eaamidwestconference.wordpress.com
On the weekend of March 12–14 about 275 activists from across the Midwest gathered to discuss and debate how to achieve full federal equality while forming a strong regional grass roots network. Activists attended plenaries and workshops with Staceyann Chin, Dan Choi, Richard Aviles, Adam Bouska, Sherry Wolf, and lots of new transgender and queer activists. The host committee involved Join the Impact, LGBT Equality, Gay Liberation Network and many, many others who did a fantastic job at organizing an exciting event that ended with strategy and action planning on Sunday.
Sunday's session of around 125-150 included activists from Detroit, Terre Haute, St. Louis, Chicago, Minneapolis, Cincinnati and lots of small towns and campuses throughout the Midwest who are taking action. People voted UNANIMOUSLY to form both the Unite and Fight Midwest Equality network and to affiliate with Equality Across America!
The weekend was a huge success and giant step forward for Midwest LGBT activists and our allies. Everyone is planning big actions for Harvey Milk Day (and that whole week), including civil disobedience, rallies, LGBT history tours and much more!
LGBT Rights: Making an Impact
EAA Northeast Regional Conference
For two days and two nights (March 26-28), more than 380 LGBTQA grassroots activists collaborated, educated, networked, debated, and strategized about the struggle for full LGBT equality.
An unheated church
in Somerville, MA was the backdrop for the EAA Northeast Regional Conference. As conference organizer and EAA Interim Board Member Ann Coleman declared, "This ain't no tea party!"
Friday's Kick-Off Party featured performances by Good Asian Drivers, Jamie Caroline, Casey Rocheteau, Kristen Ford & Mo Pepin
Guest speakers included:
Tom Barbera -- founding member of Pride at Work and SEIU National Director of the Lavender Caucas
Ashley Bottoms -- transgender activist and model
Ben Chason-Sokol -- high school activist
Staceyann Chin – Activist, Poet, Author
Aiyi’nah Ford – Equality Across America Interim Board member, Activist, Poet, Radio Personality
Sue Hyde – National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Director of Creating Change, Longtime Community Organizer
Nik Maciejewski -- EAA Interim Board member and co-founder of Join the Impact Chicago
Gunner Scott – Founding member of Mass Transgender Political Coalition, nationally recognized activist, educator, and community organizer.
Jeff Sheng – Activist artist and teacher at UC Santa Barbara
Sherry Wolf – Activist, Author and EAA Interim Board member
Saturday's event included 24 different workshops & panels on civil rights and LGBT history, issues facing our movement, and the tactics and strategies needed to achieve full equality for all.
Sponsored by Boston PRIDE, Boston GALLAN, Cambridge Welcoming Ministries, Equality Across America, First Presbyterian Church of Waltham, Gay & Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, GLSEN Mass, Global Justice Ministry, Haymarket Books, Hispanic Black Gay Coalition, Join the Impact MA, Mass. Bar Association, MassEquality, Mass. Gay & Lesbian Political Caucus, Mass National Organization of Women, Mass Transgender Political Coalition, Metropolitan Community Churches, National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, Philadelphia Family Pride, Providence Equality Action Committee, Queer Rising Boston, Queer Women of Color and Friends (QWOC+ Boston), SpeakOUT, Stonewall Communities, Stonewall Warriors, Truth Wins Out, The Network/La Red, UMass Boston LGBT Equality Coalition, UMass Boston Queer Student Center, WMWM Salem Radio.
Please contact us at lgbt2010con@gmail.com for more information.
EQUALICON
From MARCH to MOVEMENT: How do we win FULL FEDERAL EQUALITY?
EAA
Mid-Atlantic Regional LGBTQI&A
Activist & Educational CONFERENCE
Saturday, April 17th
Washington, D.C.
Intro to EAA and Direct Action
Sunday April 18th
San Diego LGBT Center, from 11am-3pm.
3909 Center Street, San Diego
For more information Email Us!
Building Bridges - Struggle, Solidarity, Equality
Northern California Regional Equality Across America Conference
April 17th-18th, 2010
Mission Cultural Center, San Francisco, California
www.lgbtbridges.org
On April 17th-18th, over 90 people from all over the Bay Area attended the Building Bridges conference in San Francisco, California. The conference was a great starting point to starting building and continue building relationships with various LGBT activists and allies in the Bay Area. Many people left the conference excited about how the conference was inclusive of all people and felt they were not tokenized. The quality of people there, groups represented and the presentations/workshops was great!
The conference workshops were a great space for people to gain a sense of the history, as well as a space to debate challenges and opportunities we have to build a movement based on active solidarity, where the fight for labor rights, social and economic rights like housing and immigrant rights are not outside a fight for LGBT rights, where transgender inclusion should be real and not in name only, and how we need to continue to build a movement based grassroots activism together.
The town hall meeting the following day, people debated about the need to continue to build relationships and solidarity with different groups, including communities of color, transgender activists, homeless activists and more. During the town hall meeting on Sunday, we voted to have a contingent at the May Day March, as well as moving forward on more events together over the next 6 months, including participating on a Harvey Milk Day/Week action, doing something for Pride, possible protest outside of a insurance company. Also, we voted that any left over money from the conference would go to help starting a center for homeless LGBT youth in San Francisco and to cosponsor the May Day march.
Mission Statement:
Our mission is to respond to the call for action by Equality Across America to build a national network of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Questioning, Intersex, Asexual, Ally and 2 Spirit activists and organizations in the struggle for full federal equality. We believe that action in the streets and in our communities is necessary for social justice gains. This conference will build strategy and plans for successful protest, community organizing, civil disobedience, and direct action via a regional and national network. We will embrace radical inclusivity in our efforts to build a movement acknowledging the presence, history, and struggles of the trans community, people with disabilities, immigrants, people living with HIV/AIDS, youth,communities of color, elders, working people, and those who do not fit in with “conventional” categories. Help us build solidarity, connections, and momentum as move forward towards full federal equality!
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