Sideline spectators who get exasperated by the issues, the actions of particular politicians or by election outcomes will have the opportunity next month to vent all that frustration and to become politically involved.

The Lesbian & Gay Rights Lobby of Texas is hosting an LGBT Power Summit in Austin Jan. 15-17. Based in Austin, LGRL lobbies the Texas legislature on behalf of gay men and lesbians to combat social, economic and legal discrimination in Texas.

Randall Ellis, executive director of LGRL, stresses that even under perfect conditions, it will be extremely difficult to fight the upcoming battles in the state legislature considering the hold that socially conservative organizations have over Texas politicians.

With the current state of organization found among lesbian and gay groups, he said, it may be virtually impossible.

The Power Summit is billed as an intensive training program for people who want to get involved for the first time or who want to make greater contributions in their organizations and in their cities and towns.

Organizers of the summit say they hope to equip gays and lesbians with the education and resources to build powerful campaigns, organizations, and coalitions from a grassroots level that will be more successful in affecting change locally and beyond.

“This event is ideal for new people,” said Phyllis Frye, a Houston based attorney for transgendered rights. Frye, who has been an activist for thirty years said, “I’ve been politicking for decades, and what we need is people who are fired up by this recent election where the right-wing just lied about us and made us into demonic people. People who have never been active before have to be worried and concerned and finally willing to fight for their rights as human beings.”

Frye will be organizing the Houston Conference for the Future along with local activists Ray Hill and Jack Valenski in the spring of 2005. While the Houston Conference is focusing on long-term goals for the gays, lesbians and transgendered persons in the city, the Power Summit is targeted at arming people with the tools to fight more urgent issues.

Anti-gay bills prompt summit
Two measures proposed in the Texas legislature up for vote next year will ban same-sex marriage or anything resembling marriage, severely undermining gay and lesbian civil rights.

“My principal role is to continue beating the drum and convince people who are fired-up to go to the conference in Austin,” Frye said.

LGRL leaders will facilitate the training, including field coordinator Colin Cunliff as well as Dan Hawes and Dave Fleischer from The Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

The Task Force has been instrumental in helping local organizations put on similar summits in states where there is an upcoming battle at the polls regarding gay and lesbian equality.

The mission of the Task Force is to invest and maintain the grassroots level infrastructure needed to make change. Running a campaign, fundraising and organization building are the three tracks available to participants at the Austin Power Summit.

The training program on how to run a campaign will be geared toward those who have been to previous summits. However, Ellis noted that the fundraising and organizational tracks are the most critical to building the infrastructure within local organizations that will allow them to be successful in campaigning against anti-gay measures and pushing proactive measures forward.

He warned, “Our current organizations as they’re built up right now can’t do it. We need more people doing the work that’s not necessarily sexy. The two that we’re stressing are the organizational capacity building and the fundraising capacity building.”

Those two components will arm participants with the skills needed for raising money, canvassing neighborhoods, talking to voters and recruiting volunteers - core strategies necessary in constructing a foundation for building political, organizational, and community influence.

The Power Summit will be conducted over the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend. Ellis wants people to know that the $100 fee should not be a deterrent to attending. Scholarships are available and he stressed to call LGRL to work out payment options. Housing is available on a limited basis.

“We will do everything that we can do to make sure that dedicated and hard-working people can come to this,” Ellis said, adding, “This is the time to get involved and let your voice be heard and help shape the direction of our movement.”

He added, “If we start now and we start building momentum, we can block these amendments to the constitution. We may not win at the polls, but we will win people’s hearts and we will contribute to the success of progressive Texas moving forward and influencing the outcome of future elections.”

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