Breakthrough Conversations is a statewide coalition project. A Breakthrough Conversation is a conversation that lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender people or straight allies have with non-LGBT people in their lives (e.g., a family member, friend, neighbor, colleague). We believe that having conversations with the people in our lives will spread awareness, tolerance, and acceptance. In
July has been a very active and engaging month for ASPIRE and API Equality Northern California about immigration reform. Since the beginning of the collaboration between the two organizations, we have collected more than 450 postcards in support of improving immigration reform. We are also on our way to collecting some truly great stories of
The Dreaded question: What is your preferred gender pronoun? I remember the very first time I was asked what my preferred gender pronoun was. A group of us who identified as either genderqueer or trans were sitting in a circle and went around “checking in” before we began our self-defense class. The truth was, I
Two Pink Elephant Project participants share their experience after our first gathering: the orientation. “How would you feel if you were in a place that felt safe? How would you feel if you were in a place where you felt accepted? How would you feel if you were in a place where you didn’t feel
I’m Tracy, API Equality – Northern California’s Community Organizer. Three summers ago, I was a part of the first intern class. As a queer Vietnamese woman, this leadership development opportunity meant I got to envision for myself what it would be like to live in a world where I was my true self. Everyday, I
MARY LUONG is an artist and an Oakland native. They first encountered API Equality – Northern California when attending a barbecue from our community partners, the Asian Pacific Islander Queer Women & Transgender Community (APIQWTC). Mary’s involvement continued when they attended our community meeting, “Your Two Cents,” and their volunteerism continued beyond that at events
At this year’s National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance’s (NQAPIA) Leadership Summit in Honolulu, HI, we learned organizing skills and gained more perspective on Pacific Islander needs and issues. API Equality – Northern California was also able to share our own best practices and knowledge by leading sessions on storytelling, one-on-one relationship building, and radical
