2. mission
A group Latino/a
LGBTQQ community
members united in
working for social and
political change. Our
goals are to promote
education, provide
leadership development,
and to increase Latino/a
LGBTQQ awareness
within communities.
3. formation
National Latino/a Gay Bisexual Transgender Organization (LLEGO)
Closed 08/2004
Sigmos Adelante Conference Creating Change Sigmos Adelante Chicago
10/2004 11/2004 03/2005
Due to the closing of LLEGO, the 2004 Encuentro was cancelled.
Entre Hermanos, the hosting organization in Seattle, Washington,
sponsored the Sigmos Adelante Conference to discuss the
implications of LLEGO closing and the Latin@ LGBTQQ
community’s next steps.
4. formation
Five Chicago Activists Attended
Sigamos Adelante Chicago El Foro Orgullo en Accion
The original five activists organized to create a group to
work on social and political issues impacting Latina/o
LGBTQQ communities locally within Chicago, before
trying to rebuild a national organization.
5. Evolution
Participated in Call for Action campaigns, promoted
Latin@ LGBTQQ community mobilization to respond
to important political and social issues impacting
LGBTQQ Latin@s in local, regional, and national
levels.
Created strong and united Latin@ LGBTQQ
contingents in multiple marches and demonstrations
(LGBTQ rights, immigrant rights, workers rights, anti-
war, etc).
Created strong collaborations with local, regional, and
national grassroots groups, collectives, and community
based organizations.
6. WHAT MAKES OEA UNIQUE?
(In the context of a segregated city such as Chicago) OEA
attempts to bring LGBTQQ Latin@s (from various gender,
sexual, and cultural identities) together at the same table to
discuss, create, and implement action steps and plans to organize
around important political and social issues impacting LGBTQQ
Latin@s within the Chicago land and abroad.
Created the first Chicago Latin@ LGBTQQ Pride event, which
has evolved to OEA’s Annual Signature Event to celebrate our
multiple identities, cultures, families, intergenerational
community members, and to increase Latin@ LGBTQQ
awareness.
OEA hosted Chicago’s 1st Latino/a LGBTQQ Leadership Summit
(2006). Topics included: Latino LGBT history, Fundraising,
Grant Writing, Agency Longevity, Polices & Procedures,
Adoption, Marriage, Immigration, Deportation, and Lobbying &
Legislation. Speakers conducted these educational and
leadership-development forums in an attempt to inspire and
foster Latin@ LGBTQQ leaders of future generations to come.
8. How did you come to participate in
this work?
Itwas a new group that Introduction by a
included a bit more participating board
diversification than other member.
groups. Envisioned stronger
OEA is about taking solidarity within Latina/o
social & political actions LGBTQQ communities
and creating movements around social and
for all LGBTQQ Latin@s political issues.
communities which is Activist
very unique and
revolutionary.
Co-founder
9. CHALLENGES
To demonstrate OEA’s name, vision, and presence as a
new grassroots collective/group emerging within the
context of many already-established organizations.
Recruitment of Board Members and low retention.
OEA membership, involvement, and development.
Limited collaboration from other LGBTQQ
Organizations around the planning of Latin@ pride.
Predominantly LGBTQQ resources located in the north
side.
Lack of LGBTQQ awareness in some neighborhoods
and communities of Chicago.
10. Challenges
Organizing Latin@ LGBTQQ community members to
volunteer and participate in community demonstrations
and events.
Narrow communication deliveries- need to be diversified
(not just by email or postings in the same communities).
OEA board members experience high levels of burn-out,
(unable to be present in numerous LGBTQQ events)
which created a sense of OEA not being present or
supportive of community efforts.
11. COMMUNITY RESPONSES
LGBTQQ communities had to get to know OEA’s
mission, and see the organization’s follow-through and
accountability in our work.
Same people respond and there is not a lot of action
taken.
For numerous community members, OEA Latina/o
LGBTQQ Pride Picnic was a positive and significant
event in their lives and for our communities. However,
to some it was not seen as a necessary event for Latina/o
communities. Overall lack of community support in
helping to create or sustain the event.
12. Community changes since OEA
LGBTQQ Latin@s (and OEA , Amigas Latinas, &
LGBTQQ people of color) CLIA (to name a few) have
have begun organizing added transgender people to
together to discuss and address their mission statement and are
issues of immigration and how attempting to be more
they are impacting our inclusive in their services and
communities. programs.
LGBTQQ awareness has
increased in certain
neighborhoods and
There has been more
communities. LGBTQQ youth involvement
around volunteering and
Creation of safe places where participating in events and
LGBTQQ families are demonstrations.
welcomed.
13. Community changes since OEA
Center on Halsted opened the Ambiente del Paseo (LGBTQ)
doors to their new home on collective’s launch of the 2008
April 30th, 2007. "Más Color, Más Poder"
campaign against
homophobia / transphobia in
Launch and completion of our communities.
Amigas Latinas Proyecto
Latina Survey in 2007. LGBTQQ spiritual awareness
and services within our
communities Achurch4me.
LGBTQQ health workshops
and events focused on body
image, reproductive health,
and breast cancer awareness.
14. What are emerging needs that your
organization has observed?
Work to increase solidarity LGBTQQ reproductive
among LGBTQQ Latin@s health and comprehensive
(and LGBTQQ people of health care.
color) in the Chicagoland
area in order to create more Youth friendly events.
unified and powerful Transgender awareness and
responses to social and education in all communities.
political issues Inclusion of communities with
disproportionately impacting disabilities- collaboration with
our communities. Feminist Response In
Diversification of LGBTQQ Disability Activism
communities (working class, (F.R.I.D.A) and other groups
families, other to work on social and political
neighborhoods, issues.
accessibility).
15. What are emerging needs that your
organization has observed?
Spiritual awareness and access Family oriented events with
to LGBTQ-friendly services child care (during events).
(individual context or
description). Proyecto Latina Survey results
Increase in numbers of identified some of these issues
LGBTQQ homeless youth in as those most impacting LBTQ
Chicago Latinas: financial hardship,
Need access to more resources: relationship issues,
monetary, community, and discrimination, difficulty
volunteers. negotiating identity with
Language Barriers in family, and an overall lack of
outreaching to our LGBTQQ accessible services (health
families who work in the care, mental health services,
factories, who don't speak immigration services, etc.).
English and who have Amigas Latinas Project
children. Latina: Discovering All of Us.
2007
16. Based on your experiences, where do
you see the community going?
Most organizations target We hope to see LGBTQQ
and outreach within the Latin@s and LGBTQQ
same communities- it will people of color continue
remain the same, unless to work together to
we organize together as advocate for and address
organizations and issues that are
collectives to create disproportionately
change in all impacting our
communities. communities.
17. Based on your experiences, where do you
see the community going?
We hope to see LGBTQ OEA
organizations in Chicago
believes that one
expand their agendas person's oppression is
beyond issues of gay everyone's oppression,
marriage, to include and that no one is free
issues such as racism,
transphobia, sexism, until all are free. We
reproductive rights, the hope that LGBTQQ
prison industrial complex,
police brutality, organizations
immigration, workers nationwide will begin
rights, the economy, war, to understand and
etc, all of which are
issues impacting address the very
LGBTQQ communities interlocking nature of
(though not traditionally
thought of as such). our oppressions.
19. OEA partnerships/events
OEA has organized, marched, and participated in
protests for immigrant rights, workers rights, and
LGBTQQ rights, such as the Matthew Shepard March
with Gay Liberation Network, Dyke March and May 1
March (among others).
Conversation on Same-Sex Coupling: Black & Latino
Layers of Discrimination, A Special Evening to Discuss
LGBT Black &Latino Families.
Connect Yourself Chicago LGBTQ Immigrant Alliance
Community Forum.
“A Girl Like Me” film and discussion with Alejandra
Aranda and Sebastian Colon.
21. oea partnerships/events
October 11, 2007, The First Latin@ LGBTQ-A
Conference.
Ambiente del Paseo "Mas Color, Mas Poder”
Lambda Legal “Freedom to Marry”
Amigas Latinas, ALMA, Chicago Windy City Black
Pride, Howard Brown, Broadway Youth Center, Center
on Halsted, PRCC, Steamworks, Homofrecuencia Radio
Arte, National Museum of Mexican Art, and many more.
22. What do you see as the future of
your agency?
Comprehensive OEA Latina/o LGBTQQ Pride
Growth, community building and diversification of
outreach and education. Building solidarity with other
organizations beyond LGBTQQ orgs.
Orgullo En Accion hopes to effectively mobilize
members of various LGBTQQ communities (particularly
communities of color) to begin to advocate for and
address issues that are affecting our many communities.
23. What do you see as the future of
your agency?
We hope to aid in building a unified and powerful
movement of LGBTQQ Latin@s (together with our
allies) to begin to address and make a difference around
various social and political issues that are
disproportionately impacting our communities.
Create a unified LGBTQQ Latin@ national presence that
can accomplish some of the following: influence
important legislation or policy; help to create more
accessible and culturally competent services for
LGBTQQ Latin@s; and to respond effectively to various
issues affecting our communities.
36. Sources
Pictures from Ed Negron and Freddy Miranda
Amigas Latinas. Project Latina: Discovering All of Us.
2007
http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/LatinaPrideJuly2007/
http://www.chicagofreepress.com/node/54, photos by
Gary Barlow
www.orgulloenaccion.org
