This weekend I will be immersed in LGBT journalism and surrounded by the best-of-the-best of those who dedicate their talents and passion to reporting on issues important to our community as I attend the Sixth Annual LGBT Media Journalists Convening in Philadelphia.
At this invitation-only confab there will be 60 LGBT journalists from 22 states and Washington D.C., represented. The weekend kicks off on Friday with a reception keynote address from Rev. William Barber, who founded the Moral Monday movement in North Carolina. The Moral Monday movement came to Georgia last year.
On Saturday we will spend the day in back-to-back sessions covering such topics as the “religious freedom” bills popping up across the country, including Georgia, as well as a panels on reporting on HIV issues, bisexuality, and what to write about after marriage equality becomes legal everywhere.
What I look forward to most about this conference is the diversity it presents. Ensuring voices from all areas of our community are represented at the conference is of utmost importance to its organizer, Bil Browning of the Bilerico Project. He talks about the dedication to diversity in this great story by Matt Comer of Q Notes, the LGBT newspaper in Charlotte, N.C.
The weekend is sponsored by the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association and funded by the Evelyn & Walter Haas Jr. Fund, a fund dedicated to building community and promoting equal rights with an emphasis on the LGBT community and immigrants.
And while you may not be there, you can follow the hashtag #LGBTMedia15 on social media and also check out the Facebook page of the convening to find out what’s happening.