The National LGBTQ Task Force, the oldest LGBTQ grassroots social justice advocacy nonprofit, will hold its annual Creating Change conference in Washington, D.C., next week.

From Tuesday, Jan. 20, to Sunday, Jan. 25, thousands of LGBTQ activists and allies will descend on the nation’s capital to “hone their skills, celebrate victories, build community, and be inspired by visionaries of our LGBTQ+ movement.”

First held in D.C. in 1988, the conference has long been one of the leading organizing and training conferences for LGBTQ activists and allies.

Ahead of Creating Change, the Washington Blade sat down with Cathy Renna, director of communications, to discuss why the event is just as important today as it was when it began 38 years ago.

“There is nothing like it,” Renna told the Blade. “It brings together the most diverse set of queer advocates and allies in every way imaginable. There’s an energy around it that you really don’t find anywhere else.”

The nearly week-long conference touches on a wide variety of issues critical to both national and local LGBTQ political organizing. Renna explained that this is not a typical D.C. conference.

“We don’t even really call it a conference anymore, because it is more than that,” she said.

With events like “Kink for Geniuses,” which offers a one-of-a-kind look at how kink culture has changed over the past 15 years; social events like the new “House Ball” (with special guests); specialized spiritual programming for every belief; and workshops like “Queer Leadership on the Job,” which can help LGBTQ people with mentoring and leadership development, the conference expands far beyond the expected breakfast keynote and endless PowerPoints. Instead, it offers a wide range of programming for every LGBTQ person.

The theme of this year’s conference is simple: Unstoppable.

Creating Change has five major “tracks” this year: Building Capacity for the Movement; Democracy and Civic Engagement; Health and Wellness; Practice Spirit + Do Justice; and Sexual Healing and Liberation.

“It’s an opportunity for movement leaders to be together in a space to not just plan and scenario-plan for what we’re dealing with now and what we can potentially be dealing with, but also just to be together in community, which is so important right now,” Renna said. “There’s such a wide variety of the queer experience right now — people feeling anxious, feeling afraid, also feeling emboldened — and I think being in that kind of space together is really vital.”

She also offered insight into the State of the Movement address from National LGBTQ Task Force President Kierra Johnson.

“Kierra sometimes keeps it a little close to the vest, but in the last couple years, she’s talked a lot about principled struggle and the challenges we face in an increasingly hostile climate,” Renna said. “It really sets the tone for the entire conference.”

That tone includes emphatic support for the transgender community.

“We’ve always led in uplifting trans voices, which is one of the reasons I actually work here,” she said. “From the general session stage, there’s a tremendous amount of trans representation — whether it’s the speakers or the entertainment. Bringing Alok is going to be incredibly powerful. They are one of the most high-profile nonbinary voices in the world right now.”

Those general sessions are not just available for conference attendees this year’s— Creating Change will livestream them for all on their website.

“Dominique Jackson is coming — talk about a revered Black trans advocate and actress,” Renna added, listing just some of the trans advocates who will be in attendance.

When asked about the history of the event, Renna pointed to Washington’s role in helping the National LGBTQ Task Force create a space for the community to grow and learn.

“The first Creating Change was held in Washington right after the 1987 March on Washington, because hundreds of thousands of people came, went home energized, and were told to get to work — but they needed the tools, the training, and the infrastructure to do that.”

Given the current national LGBTQ political landscape — from transgender rights being debated at the Supreme Court to the widespread purge of federal workers that some have called a “Lavender Scare 2.0” — Renna acknowledged that the nation’s capital may not be the first place LGBTQ people want to visit. Still, she emphasized that speaking up loudly for LGBTQ rights is part of the community’s history.

“Having us convene several thousand LGBTQ and allied advocates in Washington as we begin the second year of the Trump administration — and plan for what is going to be another challenging, potentially even more challenging year than last — is critical for the movement,” she said.

There is no official National LGBTQ Task Force protest planned in response to the Trump-Vance administration’s recent actions — many of which have stripped LGBTQ people of their rights — but Renna offered a witty response when asked about the possibility.

“The thing that we always say a little bit tongue-in-cheek is, when you train people to organize, sometimes they do it right in front of you,” said the former GLAAD national news media director. “But in terms of an actual organized protest, something might happen spontaneously, but for us, the focus is having folks in the space to do the work.”

While fostering community is a major part of the conference, Renna emphasized that attendee safety is a top priority.

“For security reasons, we’re being a little bit more withholding about some of the more public information, because we don’t want to be targeted.”

One way the conference is doing that is by only providing locations and detailed schedules to people who have officially registered, via the PheedLoop Go app.

The event — and the opportunities it provides to build community — is not just a political necessity, Renna said, but a matter of queer survival.

“We’re living in a political and cultural climate that is increasingly less affirming — and even dangerous. When our community is under great challenge, being together in this kind of space is so affirming.”

In hoping to make the event affirming to more local residents— and for fans of the more social events, this year there is a “Weekend Party Pass” that provides access to Friday and Saturday evening events. This ticket does not include the entire conference events though.

“Creating Change has always been a beloved space, but during moments of crisis, it becomes essential.”

For more information on Creating Change and the other work that the Task Force does, you can visit their website at www.thetaskforce.org.

Former President Joe Biden received the Chris Abele Impact Award on Friday at the JW Marriott in downtown Washington, honored by the LGBTQ+ Victory Institute for his decades-long commitment to advancing LGBTQ rights, workers, and policies.

The ceremony was held during the Victory Institute’s 41st annual International LGBTQ+ Leaders Conference, which brought together LGBTQ elected and appointed officials, staff, media, and supporters from across the world.

Biden — often described as the most pro-equality president in American history — used the moment to trace his own evolution on LGBTQ equality, acknowledging both early missteps and later milestones. As a young senator, he said, his understanding was limited. He voted for the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996, which federally defined marriage as between a man and a woman, and once publicly echoed beliefs he now rejects.

“My gut reaction is that they [homosexuals] are security risks,” Biden said in 1973, according to the Morning News, a Delaware newspaper. “But I must admit I haven’t given this much thought.”

After serving 36 years in the U.S. Senate and becoming Delaware’s longest-serving senator, Biden joined Barack Obama’s presidential ticket. It was during those years, he said, that he began reevaluating LGBTQ issues more deeply — culminating in a defining moment that altered the national conversation.

In 2012, Biden stunned the political world when he endorsed same-sex marriage during an appearance on Meet the Press, publicly staking out a position ahead of Obama.

“Back in 2012 I went on Meet the Press and got myself in a bit of trouble, but good trouble,” Biden joked. “I told the truth. I expressed my support for gay marriage.” His comments are now widely seen as a watershed moment in the national movement toward marriage equality.

That shift, Biden said, emerged from countless small interactions with LGBTQ Americans — many of them deeply personal. He described one in particular that stayed with him.

“I was speaking a few weeks earlier to a group of LGBTQ leaders in a private home,” he said. “During the Q and A period a gentleman stood up and said, ‘Mr. Vice President … How do you feel about us?’ I turned to the gay couple who owned the house. I looked at both of them. I said, ‘What did I do first, when I walked in the door to your home?’ They both said, ‘You walked right up to our two children.’”

It was in that moment, he said, that he understood at a visceral level what equality meant. “I wish every American could have seen the loving eyes of these two young boys for their dads. If they did see that, they’d never have any doubt what this is all about.”

With marriage equality legalized nationwide in 2015, Biden continued to speak forcefully for LGBTQ rights — even amid criticism from conservatives. That commitment only deepened, he said, as he encountered more LGBTQ people and gained a better understanding of their lives.

When he entered the White House in 2020, Biden said his goal was clear: build an administration that reflected the nation it served.

“When I took office, I promised to have an administration that looked like America … You all worked on issues that went far beyond equality for the LGBTQ community,” he said. “With your help, we accomplished much — not just for this community, but across the board to create opportunity for everybody.”

He highlighted the Respect for Marriage Act — signed in December 2022 — as one of the most meaningful achievements of his presidency.

“Next week marks three years since many of us stood on a crisp day on the South Lawn of the White House where I signed Respect for Marriage,” he said. “The moment had an air of celebration, but also, quite frankly, for me and many of you, an air of relief … the momentous battle was finally won. Finally, finally, finally.”

But Biden warned that much of this progress is now under threat under the Trump-Vance administration, which he accused of targeting LGBTQ communities by slashing funding for organizations, healthcare, and HIV/AIDS programs.

“Today, though, we know much more work to do, and the challenges ahead can feel daunting, particularly in the face of everything we’re seeing coming out of this reactionary White House.”

He placed responsibility squarely on President Donald Trump and Republican leaders.

“Donald Trump and many Republicans distort and derail our fight for equality,” he said. “They’re trying to turn it into something scary, something sinister. But at its core, it’s about making every American be treated with basic decency, dignity, and respect.”

“This administration is trying to use those issues as a wedge to further divide the country,” he continued. “But there’s nothing more American than the notion of equality. Nothing, nothing, nothing.”

Biden said the consequences of such attacks are especially harmful to LGBTQ youth. “Right now, no small number of young people are sitting alone at home, scrolling through social media, staring at the ceiling, wondering whether they’ll ever be loved … My message to young people is this: just be you. You are loved. You belong.”

He connected LGBTQ equality to a broader national ideal, one that has pushed America forward.

“We are an idea stronger and more powerful than any dictator or army — that in America, we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all are created equal and all deserve to be treated with dignity. We’ve never lived up to that idea, but we’ve never walked away from it.”

Biden’s record — through both the Obama and Biden administrations — on LGBTQ issues is extensive. He played a key role in the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” allowing gay and lesbian service members to serve openly. As president, he signed sweeping executive orders banning discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation across federal agencies, healthcare, housing, and education. He reversed the ban on transgender military service and, in 2024, issued categorical pardons for service members previously convicted under the military’s historic ban on consensual gay sex.

He oversaw passage of the Respect for Marriage Act, appointed a historic number of LGBTQ federal officials — including Pete Buttigieg and Dr. Rachel Levine — and pushed for expanded nondiscrimination protections in healthcare and education. Abroad, he directed U.S. agencies to prioritize LGBTQ rights in foreign policy. He also hosted the largest Pride celebration in White House history and became the first president to issue a proclamation for Transgender Day of Visibility. And he continues to urge Congress to pass the Equality Act.

In “Promise Me, Dad,” his memoir published shortly after his son Beau’s death, Biden reflected on his own evolution and the country’s. It took time, he wrote, for many Americans to understand “the simple and obvious truth” about gay men and women: that they are “overwhelmingly good, decent, honorable people who want and deserve the same rights as anyone else.”

He closed his remarks Friday with a call to persist despite political headwinds.

“Friends, we are one of the only countries in the world that time and again has come out of every crisis stronger than we entered it. I still believe we can emerge from the many crises caused by this administration stronger, wiser, and more resilient than before. We just have to get up … and remember who we are.”

Chastity Bowick is the new incoming executive director of the Marsha P. Johnson Institute.

Current executive director Elle Moxley is stepping down after six years.. She founded the organization in 2019 as a national nonprofit dedicated to the protection of Black transgender people.

“Marsha lit the path, and Elle carried that fire by building an institute rooted in truth, survival, and joy. I step into this role not to replace that legacy, but to carry it forward as part of one continuous story,” Bowick said.

Bowick is a trans activist, consultant, and model. She is the former executive director of the Transgender Emergency Fund of Massachusetts, a crisis agency for the state’s trans community.

The AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts awarded Bowick the 2016 Belynda Dunn Award for Bowick’s leadership in providing transgender health programming at AIDS Project Worcester. She also served on the board of the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition for four years.

Bowick is currently the CEO of Chastity Bowick Consulting and Talent Group, which provides services and programs meant to empower trans women of color to advocate for and with the trans community.

Moxley told the Washington Blade in 2022 that her decision to launch the Marsha P. Johnson Institute “was in response to the consistent murders that were being reported of Black trans women across the country.”

Based in Columbus, Ohio, the group offers advocacy and artistic fellowships alongside state-specific resources, including a trans bill of rights toolkit. 

“The Marsha P. Johnson Institute was never mine alone; it has always belonged to the community. Marsha inspired this institute through her unapologetic fight for freedom and her human rights, and I carried that legacy forward by building an organization rooted in those same values,” Moxley said.

Bowick stated she aims to both uphold Marsha P. Johnson’s legacy and Moxley’s foundational work “as part of one continuous story.”

“To the extremists and lawmakers who legislate against our humanity: we are still here, our voices will not be silenced, and we are not going anywhere. Together, we will honor the foundation and build higher,” Bowick said.

The Marsha P. Johnson Institute is partnered with a variety of companies and other groups that share similar values, ranging from H&M to Planned Parenthood, according to the organization’s website. Singer Lizzo also previously donated $50,000.

Learn more about the Marsha P. Johnson Institute at its website.