Article by Abigail Garner

A few days after Election Day, I joined nearly 2,500 GLBT activists from all 50 states and several other countries. We were in Atlanta for Creating Change, the annual conference of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF).

The energy and commitment at the conference invigorated and challenged me. This experience was the complete opposite of the week prior when I presented to a college audience that reacted to me as if I were the biggest radical they had ever heard. At that point, I wondered if I had been pushing the envelope too much.

Same activist. Different contexts.

This was the first Creating Change conference I have attended. I left with a mix of emotions. I felt inspired, knowing that so many people feel as passionately about these issues as I do. But I also felt disappointed by the number of discussions that came from places of pain, only to end in stalemate. I already knew there are many emotionally wounded people in the GLBT community. What I realized, however, after witnessing a number of hostile confrontations during the workshop sessions, is that many of these wounds are inflicted - often unintentionally - because of misunderstandings within our own community.

Exclusion seemed to be the recurring theme. Numerous groups attending the conference expressed concerns about getting their views acknowledged and incorporated into this movement of social change. Transgender people pushed for more visibility. People with disabilities advocated for better access. Bisexuals lobbied for inclusion. Polyamorists challenged the limitations of gay marriage activism. People of color questioned the ethics of multi-racial adoption. Women over sixty walked the halls of the conference telling youth, “Don’t forget the old folks.” And youth were frustrated because they felt their voices weren’t heard.

As in any large gathering of the GLBT community, Creating Change attracts a broad cross section. It shows that members of our community come from a wide variety of experiences and perspectives. There are activists pulling their weight not only in metropolitan areas, but also in rural and suburban areas. We differ in race, class, family makeup, physical abilities, sexual orientations and gender identities. And of course, we differ in opinions.

Along with this diversity, tensions and conflicts are bound to arise. While these conflicts are often difficult to address, they are indicators of our progress. If all activists within the GLBT community were of one mind, we would be doing something wrong. Effective and responsible social change is not a particularly comfortable process.

Diversity in and of itself is not problematic, but adverse reactions to it can be. Our challenge is to continue to educate one another — and listen to each other — in order to avoid inflicting unintentional wounds. Facing our differences with a commitment to compassion will help us stay focused on what unites us in the first place: a vision of justice and equality.

Originally published in Lavender Magazine.

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