Arts & Entertainment
Gearing up for ‘Change’
LGBT conference unfolds in Baltimore this weekend

Not surprisingly, Rea Carey, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, is excited about the start of the 24th Creating Change conference, now underway in Baltimore.
This year, the Task Force expects a record-breaking crowd of about 3,000 LGBT activists and their allies to come together for a weekend of celebrating victories, analyzing losses and developing strategies for moving forward in the challenging political and social landscape of 2012.
“This conference is where many of us got our start as LGBT activists,” Carey says. “It brings together an amazingly diverse array of people from across the country and around the world.”

The NAACP’s Benjamin Jealous speaks at Creating Change in Baltimore this weekend. (Photo courtesy NAACP)
There are, for example, workshop tracks on aging, arts and culture, disability, community centers and community organizing, fundraising, legislative challenges and the 2012 elections, families, gender issues, campus mobilization, labor, religion, people of color, the transgender community and sexual freedom. In addition, the conference started with day-long skill-building and networking institutes and the first-ever Creating Change Lobby Day where activists traveled to Capitol Hill to brief their congressional delegations on the spectrum of issues facing gay and lesbian Americans.
Carey notes that two of the most active contingents this year are youth and elected officials. “We have a large contingent of young people who are working in their high schools and colleges and in their communities to create progressive change. We will also have more elected and appointed officials participating in the conference than we ever have before.”
Conference attendees come together for a series of plenary sessions emceed by lesbian comedian Kate Clinton. This year, the plenaries include a state-of-the-movement address by Carey, a panel on international issues moderated by Cary Alan Johnson of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, and a performance by gay actor and activist Wilson Cruz. Blade editor Kevin Naff moderates a panel on national politics with the Victory Fund’s Robin Brand, Equality Forum’s Malcolm Lazin and Equality Federation’s Rebecca Isaacs Friday at 3 p.m.
The highlight of this year’s conference is the keynote address by Benjamin Todd Jealous, president and CEO of the NAACP. Jealous comes from a long line of civil rights advocates and has become a straight ally in the fight for LGBT equality.
“We are deeply honored to have one of the best civil rights leaders in the country address us and I am sure he will be speaking from the heart,” Carey said.
Jealous has spoken movingly of the struggles faced by his gay brother, whom he describes as “the closest person to me in the world,” and remembers how they fought together against childhood bullies. Working with NAACP Chairman Emeritus Julian Bond, Jealous created a LGBT Equality Task Force at the NAACP to help the African-American community fight the challenges of homophobia and transgender discrimination.
Jealous and the national office of the NAACP were staunch opponents of Proposition 8, the anti-same-sex marriage measure in California, but Jealous notes that lack of outreach to the African-American community was in issue in the loss. At last year’s NAACP convention, Jealous said, “If folks really wanted to win on Prop. 8, and thought the black community was so important, then they should have started organizing outreach a lot sooner.” Instead, LGBT organizers “who came to the black community late” sent a message of disrespect.
Carey emphasizes that, “It is part of the value of the Task Force to partner with non-LGBT organizations as we seek justice and equality. The challenge for all of us is that we have a lot to learn from other movements and they have a lot to learn from us.”
The conference runs through Sunday at the Hilton Baltimore. Visit creatingchange.org for details.
a&e features
Looking back at 50 years of Pride in D.C
Washington Blade’s unique archives chronicle highs, lows of our movement

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of LGBTQ Pride in Washington, D.C., the Washington Blade team combed our archives and put together a glossy magazine showcasing five decades of celebrations in the city. Below is a sampling of images from the magazine but be sure to find a print copy starting this week.

The magazine is being distributed now and is complimentary. You can find copies at LGBTQ bars and restaurants across the city. Or visit the Blade booth at the Pride festival on June 7 and 8 where we will distribute copies.
Thank you to our advertisers and sponsors, whose support has enabled us to distribute the magazine free of charge. And thanks to our dedicated team at the Blade, especially Photo Editor Michael Key, who spent many hours searching the archives for the best images, many of which are unique to the Blade and cannot be found elsewhere. And thanks to our dynamic production team of Meaghan Juba, who designed the magazine, and Phil Rockstroh who managed the process. Stephen Rutgers and Brian Pitts handled sales and marketing and staff writers Lou Chibbaro Jr., Christopher Kane, Michael K. Lavers, Joe Reberkenny along with freelancer and former Blade staffer Joey DiGuglielmo wrote the essays.

The magazine represents more than 50 years of hard work by countless reporters, editors, advertising sales reps, photographers, and other media professionals who have brought you the Washington Blade since 1969.
We hope you enjoy the magazine and keep it as a reminder of all the many ups and downs our local LGBTQ community has experienced over the past 50 years.
I hope you will consider supporting our vital mission by becoming a Blade member today. At a time when reliable, accurate LGBTQ news is more essential than ever, your contribution helps make it possible. With a monthly gift starting at just $7, you’ll ensure that the Blade remains a trusted, free resource for the community — now and for years to come. Click here to help fund LGBTQ journalism.






The fourth annual Equality Prince William Pride was held at the Harris Pavilion in Manassas, Va. on Saturday, May 17.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)






















The Washington Blade held its 18th annual Summer Kickoff Party in Rehoboth Beach, Del., on Friday, May 16. Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer spoke along with State Sen. Russ Huxtable, CAMP Rehoboth Executive Director Kim Leisey, Blade Editor Kevin Naff, and Clear Space Theatre Managing Director Joe Gfaller. The event raises funds for the Steve Elkins Memorial Fellowship in Journalism, which was awarded to AU student Abigail Hatting.
(Washington Blade photos by Daniel Truitt)


















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