The COLAGE Voices Raised! Leadership Summit is the first conference ever designed for people of color who have lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer parents. The weekend conference will focus on what are the intersections of our different identities, how those have shaped who we are, and how we use our voices to make change in the world. The summit will offer workshops on written story telling, using social media for organizing, our families in the media, and connecting with our peers across the country.

For information about scholarships/stipends please contact Carlos Uribe at carlos@colage.org or 415-861-5437.

Join COLAGE to celebrate the release of Let's Get This Straight: The Ultimate Handbook for Youth with LGBTQ Parents. Author Tina Fakhrid-Deen will be on hand to sign copies of the book and share stories about the process of creating this invaluable resource for our families.  This short but thorough book profiles forty-five diverse youth and young adults, all of whom voice their opinions and provide advice for other youth living in LGBTQ households. Let’s Get This Straight also includes probing questions, fun activities, engaging quizzes, and reflective journal sections for youth to share their feelings and experiences about having a gay parent.

Click here to learn more about Tina and the book.

Friday, May 27th, 6pm

Laurel Bookstore
4100 MacArthur Boulevard, Oakland

Sunday, May 29th, 3pm

Modern Times Book Store
New San Francisco Location TBA

You’re invited to a party! Join us to celebrate the Voices Raised! Leadership Summit and support all of the work COLAGE does to create world in which all families are treated with respect and equality.

Special guests and entertainment will be announced soon!

When: Sunday, May 29th, 7:00 - 9:00pm

Where: Oakland Marriott City Center, 1001 Broadway St., Oakland, CA

Sponsorship: Please click here to sponsor Voices Raised! Sponsors will be recognized throughout the weekend and at the party as well as in print and online materials.

Day One
Saturday will kick off  the Summit. We'll have a chance to meet other people with LGBTQ parents, find out why we’re coming together and why a conference specifically for people of color with LGBTQ parents is so important. The afternoon will have us exploring our different identities and how having an LGBTQ parent intersects with being a person of color.

Day Two
On Sunday we will learn about the different movements that impact our families and how they are connected. Participants will have a chance to learn different methods of communication for sharing our stories, owning our identities, and making change. We will also have a chance to party at Voices Raised in Celebration!

Day Three
Monday will bring the summit to a close with participants learning how to take what we’ve learned and discussed over the weekend and make change in our communities. We will talk about the next steps for COLAGE as an organization, and everyone will have a chance to share what they’re next steps are for creating change.

• The COLAGE Voices Raised! Leadership Summit is open to anyone ages 15 and up, with an LGBTQ parent, and who identify as a person of color. Adults welcome!
  
  
• The summit is a chance to connect with other POC COLAGErs, explore our identities, and leave with skills and knowledge of how to make change.
  
  
• The Voices Raised! Leadership Summit is part of the COLAGE Voices Raised program, which is designed to elevate the voices of people of color with LGBTQ parents.
  
  
• The summit will be an opportunity to explore who we are, what does it mean to have an LGBTQ parent and be a person of color? What are some of the challenges that we face because our families are treated differently?
  
  
• The summit will explore how the mainstream LGBTQ movement communicates, uses, or hides our families in different pursuits and how we can overcome those challenges to raise our voices.
  
  
• The COLAGE Voices Raised! Leadership Summit will feature different workshops that both serve to educate and inform about different organizing tactics, methods of communication, and others ways to engage and make change.