We’ve had 55 years of Creating Change serving as the iconic conference of queer empowerment and innovation. This year won’t be any different. Thousands will return in the moment where we need each other most. The incoming presidential administration, and the proposed policy changes, have set out to divide, extinguish, and villainize queer existence. Their goal is to pit us against one another while working to make it illegal to “Be You” – in our beauty, our transness, and our wholeness.
It begs the question of the queer community: Who will protect and ensure our safety, if not us? This conference represents many things: community, solidarity, resilience, and joy. But one message is clear– – we are not going anywhere.
It will not be easy. The fight for queer equality usually never is. But it is our responsibility to transform these tough moments into well-deserved wins for not only us but our queer generations to come.
Creating Change is our opportunity, our last chance, to empower our communities and brace for the impact of attempted erasure and hate. This five-day, annual event for the LGBTQ communities and our allies has went from a small conference of 300 attendees to over 3,500 conference goers.
This isn’t just a conference to unite our worlds together, it is a time for all aspects of queer life to be celebrated and acknowledged. From the glitzy Vegas-inspired Friday night event Kierra’s Kabaret, to the State of the Movement held by our queer leaders here at the Task Force, our time in Vegas celebrates all of whom we are and the potential we have together.
All of it is in the name of unapologetic queer empowerment.
While we’re in the midst of learning and having fun, this week may be hard to navigate for many of us. We will need each of you to help us sound the alarm from Las Vegas to Washington, DC.
Each caucus, workshop, and institute elevate our full understanding of the queer experience and the on-the-groundwork that will secure our rights and win our battles.
As much as inevitable joy will fill our conference memories, we must have uncomfortable conversations too. We must take accountability for the horizontal violence within our communities to build safer spaces. In this moment, vulnerability is our strongest asset to merge our needs, goals, and desires to create an indomitable force of queer advocacy in this era of anti-queer legislation.
Whether it is your first Creating Change or your fifth, this year will be like no other. We are so excited to welcome you to a conference dedicated to our freedom and our movement for collective queer liberation!
As you enjoy this convening of organizers, leaders, and workers for queer rights, let us not forget our very first conference, established after the 1987 national march on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights, was meant for us to do one thing: go home and get to work. Soak in all that resonates with you at Creating Change. Find new things to add into your arsenal and share with the communities you have back home.
Just don’t forget to be you.