Organizer Spotlight [[link removed]]
Hi there –
October is LGBT+ History Month and we wanted to take a moment to spotlight some of our organizer friends who are members of the LGBT+ community! These incredible folks are working hard to make a difference in their communities, and they’re exactly the kinds of organizers who we at Groundwork Project are proud to support.
I’m thrilled by the work these organizers are doing. Lasting change starts at the local level, and we’re committed to supporting the leaders paving the way for the future. At Groundwork, we have provided critical funding for LGBT+ programs and campaigns and have no plan to stop!
LGBT+ liberation begins with coming together in community to envision a brighter future – and collectively fighting to make that future a reality. I am grateful for our community elders who paved the way, I am in awe of the LGBT+ organizers making change each day, and I dream of a tomorrow where we can all be truly free.
Take a moment to meet these amazing movers and shakers below!! Also, if you haven’t already, be sure to follow Groundwork on Instagram. [[link removed]] We regularly share organizer spotlights and stories there.
Aspen
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Aspen Christian (they/them)
Digital Director
Groundwork Project
[link removed] [[link removed]]How and where did you get your start in organizing?
In middle school. There wasn’t a Black history program (at a predominately white school), and I advocated to have one. I was 14 years old. That pushed me to join the student government in high school. But the biggest organizing highlight was starting a petition to help a student bring her girlfriend to prom. I got in trouble because it was a very conservative Christian space, but I didn’t care. I knew I was right.
What is the most important advice you would give young LGBT+ organizers, based on your experience?
Rest. You have to rest. So many young queer & trans organizers are becoming martyrs for movements that can’t move without them. They’re burned out before they’re thirty because no one showed them how to step away and/or rest.
What is your favorite thing about doing this work?
My people. I get to love, work, and build with my people. I get to dream and create the world we need with folks who get how important it is to dream and create the things we need. That’s power.
Read T.C.’s full interview here. [[link removed]]
READ IT HERE [[link removed]]
⚡ T.C.’s Lightning Round ⚡
⁂ Your ultimate LGBT+ role model(s) ⁂
Quentin Bell, Raquel Willis, Alvin Ailey
⁂ The song you’re currently playing on repeat ⁂
Move by Beyoncé
⁂ The self-care practice you can’t do this work without ⁂
Journaling/writing
⁂ The person you most hope to see run for President in your lifetime ⁂
I wouldn’t wish that on anyone
⁂ Your hopes & dreams for 2023 in five words or less ⁂
Liberation and rest
[link removed] [[link removed]]How and where did you get your start in organizing?
My organizing journey began in North Carolina at the intersection of Queer and Immigrant Rights. I had the privilege of learning from rural, Black and brown leaders in the South who were countering police violence and surveillance, homophobia, transphobia, and racism.
What is the most important advice you would give young LGBT+ organizers, based on your experience?
Don’t try to be the smartest person in the room. Instead, aim to be the one with the most to learn. There is such an incredible variety of ways to dismantle these compounding oppressions that it is impossible to find “the right way.” Instead, search for the “best way” you can achieve with the knowledge, community, and resources you have at that moment. Be patient, but remain relentless. Be kind, but don’t take shit. Know your worth, but don’t put yourself on a pedestal. It was never about you – it was always about “us.”
What is your favorite thing about doing this work?
I’ma keep it simple: my people.
Read Gabriel’s full interview here. [[link removed]]
read it here [[link removed]]
⚡ Gabriel’s Lightning Round ⚡
⁂ Your ultimate LGBT+ role model(s) ⁂
One is queer and the other is not (as far as I know). Sylvia Rivera and Jose Albizu Campos are incredible Puerto Rican revolutionaries I admire and hope to be like one day.
⁂ The song you’re currently playing on repeat ⁂
Cozy – Beyoncé; Renaissance (2022)
⁂ The self-care practice you can’t do this work without ⁂
They’re several: Video games (I cried when I finished Outer Wilds), reading (making my way through the Ender’s Shadow series) and running (trying to get myself back to 6 miles)
⁂ The person you most hope to see run for President in your lifetime ⁂
These questions are hard! I’d love to see my friends Celi Soto, Shanté Wolfe or Jilisa Milton in the President’s seat.
⁂ Your hopes & dreams for 2023 in five words or less ⁂
Deepen friendships; work less
[link removed] [[link removed]]How and where did you get your start in organizing?
I started doing organizing as a young queer person. I recognized in high school, before I even realized I was queer, that systems were not equitable towards those who didn’t fit into the boxes of dominant culture. I’ve done some sort of 2SLGBTQ+ advocacy work since!
What is the most important advice you would give young LGBT+ organizers, based on your experience?
Remember that if you don’t prioritize your own care and health in the movement, you won’t be here for the change that is to come. It is valid to take breaks, to center yourself, to heal; it’s all part of making this world a better place for everyone.
What is your favorite thing about doing this work?
Connection. Getting to connect people to the work, to each other, to collaborate with different people within our communities on issues that impact all of us. Seeing how we do this work together, and seeing what we all bring to the table to affect change.
Read Taylor’s full interview here. [[link removed]]
READ IT HERE [[link removed]]
⚡ Taylor’s Lightning Round ⚡
⁂ Your ultimate LGBT+ role model(s) ⁂
I am blessed to have people in my everyday life that I look up to – probably the people I most admire are the individuals in the Two Spirit Collective created by GSA Network. Without them, I would feel a lot less connected to my culture, and they are always inspiring me to find new ways to engage Native communities in 2SLGBTQ+ organizing.
⁂ The song you’re currently playing on repeat ⁂
ICYMI by Daya, it gets me pumped and makes me think about what I would say to people who aren’t ok with who I am as a 2SLGBTQ+ person.
⁂ The self-care practice you can’t do this work without ⁂
Letterboxing – I love to find the LBs and carve stamps. I like making them as much as finding them, plus it gets me back out into nature to reconnect.
⁂ Your hopes & dreams for 2023 in five words or less ⁂
More local civic engagement!
> Founded by Joe Kennedy III, Groundwork Project invests in year-round, local community organizing in places Democrats have gotten used to writing off. With a focus on Appalachia, the Deep South, and the Plains, we support local advocates and activists working to build durable political infrastructure and secure power for those historically excluded.
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