BOSTON, MA — Following the success of the organization’s second annual Youth Empowerment Conference and launch of a GSA at the Burke High School in Boston, the Hispanic Black Gay Coalition (HBGC) is continuing its commitment to cultivating the next generation of LGBTQ leaders of color with an innovative new program for LGBTQ youth.
The New Leaders Institute is a free leadership development program that empowers Black, Latin@ and Hispanic LGBTQ youth age 18 to 25 to create social change in their communities through organizing and activism. Through a series of trainings, workshops and seminars, LGBTQ youth will learn essential skills and concepts for leading their communities in addressing and removing barriers to equality.
The nine month program will culminate in community-based campaigns and projects, spearheaded by the youth, that will demonstrate the new leaders’ ability to use their skills, knowledge and dedication to social justice to advocate and mobilize to create responses to issues of inequality, like racism, youth homelessness and violence, that affect LGBTQ people of color and their allies throughout Greater Boston.
New Leaders Institute programming kicks off with Leaders of the New School: Our Role in the Future of Equality, a panel discussion featuring young Hispanic, Latin@ and Black LGBTQ leaders whose work for organizations and community groups is helping to achieve equity and justice for LGBTQ communities of color, including Van Bailey, Director of the Office of BGLTQ Student Life at Harvard University; Alyssa Green, founder of ButchBoi Life; Maurice Jackson, Queer Peers Director at Boston College; Gabriel Maldonado, CEO & Founder of TruEvolution, and Nelisa Rash, Research Assistant of Lifeskills at Fenway Health. The panel will be moderated by Amir Dixon, a filmmaker and activist who is also HBGC’s youngest board member.
Panelists will discuss the characteristics and challenges of being a young leader of color, the needs of young leaders of color and how to address them, and how younger leaders of color can make their voices heard. The event will also include a question and answer session and information about local initiatives for creating change led by LGBTQ people of color.
The panel takes place Saturday, February 2, 2013 from 1 to 3 p.m. at HBGC’s new South End location, 485 Columbus Avenue, Boston, MA. The event is free and open to LGBTQ youth and allies.
Information on how to enroll and a list of the trainings that will be offered during the program will be shared at the panel and posted online at www.hbgc-boston.org following the event. Youth interested in applying to participate in the New Leaders Institute can contact Quincey Roberts, Youth Program Coordinator, at qroberts@hbgc-boston.org. This event is sponsored by The Rainbow Times.
Hispanic Black Gay Coalition (HBGC) is one of few non-profit organizations in Boston dedicated to the unique and complex needs of the Black, Hispanic and Latin@ LGBTQ community. Founded in 2009, we work to inspire and empower Latin@, Hispanic and Black LGBTQ identified individuals to improve their livelihood through activism, education, community outreach, and counseling.
Hispanic Black Gay Coalition (HBGC) es una organización en Boston dedicada a servir y a unir a la comunidad LGBQ/T Afro Americana y Latina. Trabajamos para inspirar y fortalecer individuos de la comunidad, LGBQ/T Afro Americana y Latina, para mejorar sus vidas a través del activismo, educación, y consejería.
[From a News Release]
