We’re taking the month of March to reintroduce ourselves to you, highlighting efforts you might not have heard about yet.

In this political climate, the leadership of people of color is vital. At Equality Federation we believe that a commitment to racial justice is fundamental. That’s why we integrate it into every single level of our programming.

We design our New Executive Director Boot Camp around a framework called “choice points.” This lens incorporates racial justice into all the decisions of their organization, from hiring to legislative strategy.

At our Regional Summits and Leadership Conference, we concentrate on cross-cutting issues and real-world applications of racial justice in our movement. We believe a deliberate focus on this work will lead toward equity for all of our community members.

Last year at our Leadership Conference, we held a breakout session for staff of color to talk about the realities of working in a mostly white-led movement. The success of this session confirmed our belief that in order to fully serve the entire LGBTQ movement, we needed to make sure our leaders looked like the community – diverse in every aspect.

Like many leaders of color in this movement, I got my start as a field organizer, so I am especially proud of one of our new programs: Field Flight School.

The majority of the participants in this training and mentoring program are queer people of color. Over the years, we have become keenly aware that the executive levels of leadership in the LGBTQ movement are mostly white, and mostly men. We built this program to deepen the bench of skilled leaders and operatives in communities of color. And, by the end of this year, there will be several new, highly skilled Field Directors ready to take our movement to the next level in a way that represents who we truly are.

Focusing on racial justice in the LGBTQ movement is not about replacing people at the decision making table. It is about making the table bigger.

Won’t you help us achieve this goal by supporting our efforts?