Hello Everyone,

So...I am here with my dear AFY Angel William and just wanted to take a few minutes to update everyone on today's activities are Creating Change. I don't have my notebook on me so more reflection of the workshops will have to wait to later but for now, lets talk about some thoughts that are flowing in my head.

First thing...

• This was an idea that was brought to us by a collegue here in a conference in response to our conversation about yesterdays White Supremacy Session. The notion that to be REAL Wold Changers, we as activist, we as people need to be prepared to give up and risk the privilege we have. That is to say, that as activtist and people who work in this field, whenever we are working for a cause or a movement, the privilege we bring as educated, talented, and fierce activist must be put on the line in order to gain success!

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Hey Everyone,

I wanted to write a brief re cap of my day here in Dallas Texas. The morning started a little later than what I wanted just to be honest  with you all. I started the day off in a informative yet not as productive space entitled Working with Low Income LGBT people. The conversation was very open and wide spread and allowed all ppl in the space to express their concerns as well as to give advice for particular situations. We discussed things like privledge as well as the way we reach out to low income communities. The realization that some strategies we use to outreach and spread messages are not inclusive of all communities. As well as the fact that there has been NO  conversation on how to bring low income people in around the National LGBT Movement by the Task Force. It was also brought to our attention that within the National LGBT Movement there is not discussion about the hardships low income LGBT people face and how to help allivate those hardships.

Next, I had lunch with some friends from DC then went to the State of the Movement Address, where Rea Carey ED of the Task Force gave an amazing opeing speech and set the agenda for this years action items for the Task Force. The telecast was on CSPAN live which was pretty amazing.

I then went to a session named The Black Church and Homophbia. This was an amazing session were we spoke on the issues of homophobia in the black church and what we can do to change that mind set. The issues of sexual health were brought up by a number of people and how that was also a big issue that continued to lead to the homophobic nature of the black church. The discussion in that space was very much needed for the people who attend church on a regular basis and allowed them to feel safe and to be able to express themselves with out fear of being shamed, hurt, bullied or made fun of.

Overall Day 2 was AMAZING and I am looking forward to the finally 2 days here at CC 2010.

Cheers,
W.

With some time between activities, I wanted to take the time to reflect on a couple of things.

So yesterday's Institute was a very interesting one. Titled "Challenging and Transforming White Supremacy in Our Work: Our Vision, Our Roles," the conference program listed it as this:

This Institute will focus on white folks working in building liberation movements. What are the systems and analysis we need to do this work? How are we reflecting individually and collective on our work with other white folks and with folks of color? How are we working and sharing tools to build anti-racism and anti-imperialist work as white LGBTQ activist across lines of ability, race, class, culture, gender, sexuality, and all other identities?

So I decided alongside my two partners in crime Daniel and William to attend this workshop because we felt that as young poc's who are working in this very field, we could see, hear and learn from the perspective of white folks who are working on this issue and who are trying to grow in their knowledge of and understanding of poc's.

For me personally, coming to conferences like this is always exciting in a sense that we often get to hear about some of the great work people are doing in the very fields that we are working on. Yet at the same time, coming to conferences like this can sometimes be so...boring...because you often times just go from workshop to workshop listening to folks talk about the work you are already doing, the facts ands stats you already know and tell you things you have heard a million times over. In essence, it becomes a great old exercise of "you are great, we are great, thing are wonderful, let's keep working on it with passion and see you next year!!" So, in order to avoid having those instances, I try to attend workshops where I challenge myself to look at this from a perspective I don’t have or just to hear and learn about something I don’t know.

Well.... after attending this workshop, let's just say, I should maybe follow dear Durryle’s advice and stick to what I know. I mean, this institute was for lack of a better word “wack.” Every single possible thing you are NOT supposed to do was done at this training. One hour for introductions! 15 minutes group discussion on a single question! No set agenda! No set goal! The whole thing was tragic from beginning to end. What most bothered us about this workshop was the fact during the entire course of the workshop, there was no discussion of concrete tools which folks can utilize. No discussion of how folks can approach their work with poc’s. Nothing! Nothing at all! There was a lot of reflection, there was a lot of self-analysis but absolutely no concrete tools! I just don’t understand how you can have a workshop on transforming white supremacy without actually talking about specific things we can do.

So…lets just say day one was disappointed workshop wise. Yet at the same time, I am so excited to be here! Even more excited to start to reconnect with some wonderful folks I have met over the years. So for now, we will continue to learn, continue to grow, and continue to make change at Creating Change...

In the mean time, enjoy our quick reflection of the day's event below:

Hey Everyone,

So this is a video of Daniel and me right after we landed and met in the Super Shuttle to pick up our fabulous Program Manager Durryle!!!

Hello Everyone,

So by now I hope you are all well aware of the fact that Advocates for Youth & Youth Resource are representing at this year's Creating Change Conference in the great state of Texas! We have all been working and learning and growing in our knowledge of Queer issues.

Today's Institute on Best Practices for Queer Youth Work had some great discussion on youth empowerment and equitable partnerships between adults and youth. As someone who works in the youth development field, I found the discussion to be quite exciting. I think what we have come to realize is that a lot of work still needs to be done in this area and it's especially difficult to achieve equatiable relationships in youth work within organizations that have been long established. Nontheless, we do need to come to a greater understanding and embrace the idea that youth development IS community organizing! That idea right there was my "AHA" moment of the workshop!

A shout-out is well deserved to the folks from The Boston Alliance of GLBT Youth and FIERCE for putting on a great discussion.

On a side note, all of us here (William, Daniel, Ernesto and myself) have jumped on the social networking bandwagon as a tool for social change and are Facebooking, Twittering, Youtubing, blogging and so forth while we are here in Texas. Keep up with all of us here on Amplify or through our videos on YouTube!

Until Laters World Changers!!

Ariel

Hey everyone,

This is an interview with Russell Roybal who is the Executive Deputy Director of External Relations for NGLTF. He tells us what Creating Change is and what it stands for. Enjoy!!

Starting the morning off at 9AM after a long night chatting with the NGLTF staff took its toll as I rushed to make my first workshop on time.

The Youth of Color Organizing Summit put on by FIERCE, was fierce. There were about 40 youth of color who come from so many different walks of life with just one goal. How to better organize ourselves and our peers. The amount of energy in that room was AMAZING. I love being surrounded by so many like-minded, brilliant, youth. They each shared so much about themselves and the work they day. It was great to have youth opening up so much about the folks they work with and the issues that they may be facing.

I was in a very small set of youth that work within organizations that practice equitable youth adult partnerships and authentic youth voice. Makes me love my city of PDX all that much more.

Topics covered included, systems of oppression, types of discrimination, building your (membership) base, organizational structuring and even got to learn a little more about FIERCE (an organization that was created for and by youth) that made me reflect back to my organizations at home. I felt at home with all of these youth and it was very easy to share what we do to deal with issues as they arise.

Near the end we split up into 4 groups to talk about specific issues youth were having in their organizations. Building membership base, including allies, youth adult partnerships, retention/aging out of members. These topics built off of the training we had taken earlier on scripting recruitment and starting a campaign. We used a lot of real life examples and how to strategically win a campaign lead by youth.

I think my biggest take home today revolved around the fact that most youth still don’t understand the power the hold in an organization. That by the mere fact that we are the service recipients we control the power and should advise our organizations about the needs we have. It is important to note that although we suffer many forms of oppression, we have a unique ability and power to overcome any obstacle we face.

Can’t wait for what day two will hold.

P.S. I started a Twitter Account recently and am having a hard time figuring out all the @ and #’s and where they go/what they do, so if you have advice please share.

Just a friendly reminder from our very own Sarah Audelo:

Check out this HUGE opportunity. The U.S Department of Health and Human Services is inviting youth to join a network of Regional Youth Sounding Boards. The goal here is to get young people's valuable input on prevention and education messages around sexual health. Applications for board membership are due this Friday, February 5th, so be sure to apply now!

Click here (Word document) to download the Youth Sounding Board application. For more info, please see this PDF flyer.

Turns out Paul Scott, Michigan State Representative who has just announced his candidacy for nomination for Secretary of State, is a little bit hung up on bathroom politics. My fellow queer activists might say "Aren't we all?" But, who'da thunk it, he's not on our side.

Scott stated in his top four policy priorities:

I will make it a priority to ensure transgender individuals will not be allowed to change the sex on their driver’s license in any circumstance.

When asked why this was such a priority for him, Scott said it was to "[prevent] people who are males genetically from dressing as a woman and going into female bathrooms."

With just this simple statement, Scott has taken power over the fear and emotions of women, and fed into stereotypes and negative imagery of the trans community. By presenting the trans community as predators, it perpetuates the myth of victimization of cisgendered people under the power of transgender individuals, as well as the mentality that the only thing keeping individuals with malicious intent from entering a particular bathroom is the sign on the door.

For more information about bathroom politics, check out the Transgender Law Center's toolkit "Peeing in Peace: A Resource Guide for Transgender Activists and Allies" here: http://www.transgenderlawcenter.org/pdf/PIP%20Resource%20Guide.pdf

Oh, and don't vote Paul Scott. Thanks.

Domestic abuse can happen to anyone, irrespective of their sexual orientation or their gender. Domestic violence can be physical, emotional, financial, and sexual.

• Physical abuse is often the easiest to recognize. If your partner hits you with their own  limbs or other objects, habitually, I would consider this physical abuse. You never have  a reason to hit someone that you “love.”  Do not ever think it was your fault if they hit you.
• Sexual abuse is a form of physical abuse. Forcing you to do sexual acts or hurting you while engaged in sexual acts is abuse. Demanding sexual acts is also abuse. Remember, if it makes you feel uncomfortable, request to stop. If your partner is unresponsive, this could be a sign of abuse. Consent given or not, sexual abuse can happen.
• Emotional abuse can be more subtle, but not always. Name calling, even joking, can have long lasting effects on someone’s personality. No one likes to be humiliated.
• Intimidation can either be physical or emotional abuse, or both. Intimidation can be manifested in threats, gestures, and actions that stimulate fear in a person. You should not be afraid of the person you are involved with.
• Financial abuse is controlling the finances and tracking what money is spent, only allowing the other person to spend a fixed amount of money.

Domestic violence is not always easy to see, especially if you are the victim. A warning sign might be if you notice that you are becoming more and more isolated from your family and friends and that your partner is becoming more and more possessive. Try bringing up needing to see your family, if your partner over reacts, you might want to evaluate your relationship.

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