For Immediate Release: February 23, 2023
Contact: Ciora Thomas, ciora.thomas@sisterspgh.org, 412-297-0548
As we return home from the Creating Change 2023 Conference, held in San Francisco and organized by the National LGBTQ Task Force, there is a lot for our board and our community to reflect on moving forward.
SisTers PGH Founder and Director Ciora Thomas joined a group of trans, nonbinary and intersex activists, who dubbed themselves the CC23 Trans Collective, in a direct action during the conference’s closing plenary to voice concerns over the heavily white and cis-centered event.
We first want to thank Angelica Ross, who moderated the plenary, for using her platform to uplift our community and passing the mic to the Collective to speak publicly about the lack of resources and concern for Black, brown and Indigenous trans and gender-nonconforming attendees and non-attendees.
It was invigorating and inspiring to take action and make history by coming together and fighting for what we deserve, which is dignity and respect.
Though we acknowledge that the new director of the National LGBTQ Task Force is doing all they can to improve the white and cis-dominated politics of the organization, we also acknowledge that more can be done, especially when it comes to making the annual conference more accessible and inclusive.
Trans masculine people were erased at this year’s conference, and the day-long Trans Institute was forced to be held in a small meeting space. Despite that barrier, the workshop overflowed with participants, showcasing just how much our community needs and values these gatherings.
This is why the CC23 Trans Collective has published a list of demands for Creating Change, including, but not limited to:
The LGBTQ Task Force will invest in a Trans, Nonbinary and Gender Expansive conference led by and for TGNCNB (Trans, Gender-Nonconforming and Nonbinary) communities
Reimbursement for all TGNC people:
Registration
Transportation
Hotels
Food stipends
The collective will continue meeting to structure our trajectory in order to continue being a body that will create change around the nation.
All of this is why we at SisTers do the work that we do and continue to push for change at all levels. When we say, “There is no Pride without us,” this is precisely what we mean.
The voices and lives of trans and nonbinary people cannot, and will not, be ignored. Let’s all keep this in mind as we move forward in our activism and community work.
SisTers PGH is a Black- and Trans-led 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that serves Trans, queer and nonbinary BIPOC (Black Indigenous People of Color) within southwestern Pennsylvania. Learn more at www.sisterspgh.org.
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