Karen Ocamb: BOLD Gathering Motivates LGBT People of Color

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http://pamshouseblend.firedoglake.com/2011/12/06/karen-ocamb-bold-gathering-motivates-lgbt-people-of-color/

You’d think that there would be more reporting on this major gathering of LGBT people of color mobilizing to advance the visibility of a slice of our movement that is often rendered invisible to much of the larger public, but in some ways it isn’t surprising. I applaud Journalist Karen Ocamb of LGBT POV for this piece; she has graciously shared it here as a guest report. — Pam

The BOLD Gathering in Minneapolis, Minnesota over the Dec. 2-4 weekend was designed to empower LGBT leaders of color to meet this “movement moment” when LGBT communities of color profoundly intersect with the economic crisis and the right wing response to such issues as immigration – and the opportunities offered by communication through new technologies and social media. Jumping off from the fact that people of color are becoming the majority in the US, the conference asked questions such as: “Are we, as QTPOC (Queer & Trans People of Color), a strong arm of a bigger movement (such as the mainstream gay movement) or are we leading a movement of our own? How can we, as QTPOC people, affect the creation and direction of a movement that brings about the change for which we dream and work? What do we need to know?”

Ari Gutierrez, a member of the BOLD Planning Committee and co-Founder of the Los Angeles-based Latino Equality Alliance (funded by the LA-based Liberty Hill Foundation) sent in notes and photos from the event. Please note that the BOLD Gathering has posted four teleconference calls on their website on organizational models.

Of the conference, Gutierrez said:

'This was an important event in the trajectory of the LGBT movement. Not just for the empowerment opportunity for our people of color leaders but more so because it provided a unique opportunity for the funders to learn more about us. Specifically, there has been a disconnect between funders that require funding proposals with the same program designs and process expectations they are accustomed to with other organizations. However, we know that the work in our ethnic communities requires cultural sensitivity on many levels and may look different on paper and in action in ways that are unfamiliar to funders. The setting of the BOLD! Gathering provided a window to our challenges and our approach to equality work as we know it. Allowing the funders to participate in the convening as we addressed these challenges and having them experience first hand our collective intelligence, creativity, experience and commitment will sharply increase the confidence funders have in our organizations and the “equality” work as it needs to be done in our communities of color. AND the better they can communicate those differences to the people that give money to the funders.'

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