The Bilerico Project | Daily experiments in LGBTQ

Earlier this month, I was in Denver for Creating Change, the annual activist conference sponsored by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. The event was packed with LGBT folk of every description, from all over the country. I reconnected with many dear friends and colleagues whom I have had the pleasure of getting to know in my twenty or so years in this movement.

Just as importantly, I met many people for the first time. Seeing so many new faces and feeling a major buzz the entire weekend was both energizing and exhilarating; I could feel progress in the air. While we all still feel that sting of the ballot measure losses in California, Arkansas, Arizona and Florida--an ache that I fear will not subside quickly--the main vibe in Denver was a mixture of hope, optimism and bad-ass insistence that we will not be defeated. Combined with an appreciation of how hard the road ahead might be was a steely resolve that we will--we must--move forward.

As we plan and carry out our work, we do so wiser for the lessons learned, and with a deep commitment to be even more strategic. In any given conference session and in the hotel lobby at any time--especially around midnight--you could find old lesbians, young boyz, radical feminists, business-attired professionals, and post-movement gender queers all talking together with lots of laughter, hugs all around and ambitious plans for the future.

I love my people, because of exactly who we are: a people who are creative and strong and brave and free. We will, ultimately, prevail.