1/28/21: Annual Black Institute to Kick Off Creating Change

WASHINGTON, DC -- The National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC) is announcing this year's annual Black Institute, which will take place on Thursday, January 28, 2021. The Black Institute is a part of the National LGBTQ Task Force's 33rd annual Creating Change Conference. It is the largest LGBTQ+ activist conference that brings together leaders from across the nation to strengthen their commitment to freedom, justice and equity for all LGBTQ+ people. The Black Institute will also see the introduction of NBJC's National Policy Agenda. NBJC is the nation's only civil rights organization focused at the intersection of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and same gender loving (LGBTQ+/SGL) rights and racial equality.

The Black Institute focuses on Black LGBTQ+/SGL community needs while strengthening Black LGBTQ+/SGL community leaders' and activists' capacity to undertake meaningful, sustained political and civic engagement during the coming legislative session and beyond.

This year's theme is "New Ideas for a New Era," which reflects the opportunities presented by a new presidential administration and a host of new, diverse political leaders and elected officials.

"Too often the legislative process does not consider those with intersectional identities. This institute provides the opportunity for activists to tell their personal stories and use their lived experience and brilliance to come up with and recommend positive policy changes," said NBJC Executive Director David J. Johns.

NBJC will facilitate virtual interactive sessions where attendees can talk about current issues and the broader community, while promoting solutions. The event will also include a look at Black LGBTQ+/SGL leadership, a discussion about our community's top legislative priorities for new White House and Congressional leaders, and words of advice from Black LGBTQ+/SGL elected officials who will discuss their own advocacy experiences and what led them to run for office.

The themes guiding the event mirror NBJC's policy themes for the next two years: Ensuring that All Black Lives Matter, The Right to Thrive, and Reconciliation and Reparations. Issues impacting the Black LGBTQ+/SGL community that will be discussed during the Black Institute include: criminal justice and health care reform, the violence currently facing Black transgender and nonbinary communities, economic and educational inequity, and civil rights inclusion and expansion.

The National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC) is America's leading civil rights organization dedicated to the empowerment of Black lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and same gender loving (LGBTQ/SGL) people, including people living with HIV.