National LGBTQ Task Force Convenes 2500+ LGBTQ and Allied Activists at Annual "Creating Change" Conference in New Orleans January 17-21

Speakers and Presenters Include Big Freedia, Raquel Willis, Imara Jones, Kierra Johnson, Mariah Moore, Jason Rodriquez; Over 150 Workshops and Meetings Address LGBTQ and Progressive Issues as 2024 Election Year Begins

New Orleans, LA - The National LGBTQ Task Force is holding the nation's foremost political, leadership, and skills-building conference for the LGBTQ+ movement at the Hilton Riverside in New Orleans from Wednesday, January 17 to Sunday, January 21, 2024. In its 36th year, the conference is a mix of Institutes, keynote presentations, annual awards, and more than 100 workshops and caucuses. For complete information and a full schedule see www.creatingchange.org

Creating Change was inaugurated in 1988, one year after the 1987 National March on Washington for "Lesbian and Gay" Rights and in response to LGBTQ+ activists' desire for a skills-building, mobilizing and planning space. And Creating Change addresses that need to this day - as a national organizing and training conference that organizers and activists could gather and teach each other - and build a stronger movement. The first conference was held in November 1988 in Washington, DC and soon began a journey that found the conference in dozens of cities around the country, this year in New Orleans, LA.

Special guests this year include:

• Conference Emcee Raquel Willis (she/her) Activist, Author, and Media Strategist: Raquel Willis is an award-winning activist, author, and media strategist dedicated to Black transgender liberation. She has held groundbreaking posts, including director of communications for Ms. Foundation for Women, executive editor of Out magazine, and national organizer for Transgender Law Center. Her debut memoir, The Risk It Takes to Bloom: On Life and Liberation, was released in November 2023 via St. Martin's Press.
• Jason Rodriguez (he/him) Dancer and Actor: Jason Anthony Rodriguez is a Dominican-American actor/dancer born and raised from Washington Heights in New York City. He went to SUNY Purchase where he received a BA in Arts Management with a focus in dance. He discovered voguing through Benny Ninja and began his training under him. He was a Series Regular in Ryan Murphy's Emmy® and Golden Globe®-nominated series Pose as "Lamar" for all 3 seasons. He was also the Movement Coach for all 3 seasons of Pose for visual and print marketing. He choreographed for season 2 as well.
• Big Freedia (she/her), Rapper and Activist: Known as the larger-than-life ambassador of New Orleans Bounce music, Big Freedia is a nationally recognized hip-hop artist, TV personality and cultural influencer. Most recently she made headline news for her feature on Beyoncé's Grammy-Award winning single, "Break My Soul," released in 2022.
• Marx Cassity (they/them): Psychotherapist and Songwriter (Osage/Kaw) :a Two-Spirit, Indigiqueer psychotherapist and songwriter specializing in Native American and LGBTQ+ health.
• Jean-Luc Pierite (he/him) Scholar, Advocate and Founder of InDigiFab (Tunica-Biloxi): is an MLK Visiting Scholar at MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning, president of the North American Indian Center of Boston, and the founder of InDigiFab
• Imara Jones (she/her), Founder and CEO of TransLash Media: Imara, whose work has won Emmy and Peabody Awards, is the creator of TransLash Media, a cross-platform, non-pro?t journalism and narrative organization, which produces content to shift the current culture of hostility towards transgender people in the US. She was named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 Most In?uential People on the planet in 2023.

This year highlights include:

• Plenaries focusing on trans advocacy across progressive issues and movements and democracy and Queering the Vote in 2024
• National LGBTQ Task Force Executive Director Kierra Johnson's annual "State of the Movement" speech
• Over 150 workshops and caucuses (for more details on workshops see here)
• Special events in including our annual House Ball
• Our "Many Paths Spiritual Gathering Space," a Wellness Hub, and Art Studio Space
• Gayme Room + Gayme Nights
• Exhibit hall with over 30 organizations and vendors, as well as a bookstore that will host signings and fireside chats with authors

The full schedule of plenaries, workshops, awards and special events can be found here:

https://www.thetaskforce.org/creating-change/schedule/

For additional information contact crenna@thetaskforce.org and also check out our social media updates @thetaskforce on Instagram and easily found on Facebook and LinkedIn.