A Letter To Our Community On Accountability and Our Future as an Anti-Racist Queer Organization

OutFront Minnesota's mission has been to “create a state where lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people are free to be who they are, love who they love, and live without fear of violence, harassment or discrimination”. While we are proud of the work we have done to advance LGBTQ equity, we must acknowledge that we have fallen short, both externally and internally, in our work toward liberation--in part because OutFront Minnesota has been complicit in and continues to benefit from white supremacy.

White supremacy upholds a dominant and oppressive worldview that supports and affirms a racial caste system in this country. Decentralizing white supremacy—and unlearning internalized racism, transphobia and xenophobia—will require all of us to challenge our paradigms and processes, and grow in self-awareness. 

This moment demands that OutFront publicly reckons with the harm our organization has caused, and publicly recommit to undoing the systems and policies within our organization that uphold and maintain white supremacy culture. As an organization, we have systematically replicated habits of white supremacy culture on a collective and individual scale. Historically, OutFront has used the stories and experiences of LGBTQ+ Minnesotans—particularly Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), as well as Trans and Nonbinary Minnesotans—to advance policies and legislation without properly caring for and compensating those same people. We have harmed BIPOC members of our community—particularly Queer and Trans BIPOC members of our community—by centering white voices, tokenizing the stories of marginalized people, and failing to take full accountability for our actions and inactions. That was wrong and is not how we want to engage in liberation work moving forward. Rightfully, community members have called on OutFront to account for past behavior.

To Black members of the OutFront community:

We understand that the root of racism is anti-Blackness and that addressing racism means rooting out anti-Blackness. We recognize and acknowledge the trauma and exhaustion that comes from enduring anti-Black racism in all its forms: structural, systemic, and individual. We affirm that the work for queer liberation is rooted in the historic efforts and sacrifices of Black queer and trans women and people. OutFront Minnesota is committed to centering Black voices and the demands of Black people in our work. We commit to ongoing communication with our community about specific actions they can take to dismantle anti-Black racism and white supremacy. We will remain open to ideas, feedback and new calls to action.

Last year, OutFront staff embarked on the journey of forming a union to help address systemic problems within our organization and within the nonprofit community as a whole. These efforts were mostly led by our staff of color, who have seen how OutFront has harmed communities of color within and outside of the organization over the years. As we work to center Black and Indigenous community members, we must acknowledge the depth and breadth of white supremacy, and recognize that it cannot be undone overnight. That said, we know that OutFront has not served all members of our communities equitably or with the same vigor. That must change and it will.

Here is what we’re doing:

1. Finding and working with an anti-racist consultant to audit our internal policies to remove barriers which limit our ability to achieve a more equitable organization. Auditing our internal policies to remove barriers that limit our ability to achieve a more equitable organization. We know this change work doesn't happen overnight and will work with a consultant to keep this transformative work at the center of our work.
2. Developing a plan to have regular and repeated opportunities for engagement, feedback, and/or accountability with community members to ensure OutFront is a more community centered organization.
3. Training staff and board on racial equity, power, privilege and intersectionality.
4. Restructuring how OutFront operates to address white supremacy so that we can truly be an anti-racist queer organization.
5. Proactively corresponding with our community about the steps we are taking to repair the harm that we have done internally and externally.

As OutFront staff and leadership, including our Executive Director and Board of Directors, we explicitly condemn the anti-Black racism that this country was built on. We remain committed to our mission of advancing not just queer equity, but queer liberation. And that means we must center the voices and demands of Black people. It begins with our own internal work to decentralize white supremacy from within, and transform OutFront Minnesota to become an organization that is actively anti-racist. We are committed to doing the hard work that contributes to creating the equitable society we envision. We are moving from intention to action. And we are inviting our community to join us in action.

The steps listed above are only the first of many in our efforts to truly be the liberatory organization that Minnesota deserves and needs. We are working to make OutFront what our community needs and ensure that the voices and needs of BIPOC and Trans Minnesotans are not only front and center in our work, but that they are compensated and protected within this work for liberation. This work is ongoing and only the first of many steps we need to take in order to fully name our harm and earn the trust and respect of our community.

In Solidarity, 

OutFront Minnesota 

Authors: 

Bethany Bobo (she/her), Digital Organizer  

Erin Maye Quade (she/her), Board Chair of OutFront Minnesota’s 501(c)3 Board

Letter Writing Committee:

Alfred Walking Bull (he/him), Co-Chair of OutFront Minnesota’s 501(c)4 Board

Audra Cowin (she/they), Anti-Violence Program Director

Jacob Thomas (he/him), Communications & Brand Manager

Logan Casey (he/him), Board Member

Monica Meyer, (she/any), Executive Director

Ophir Gilad (they/she), Youth Advocate

Staff and Board:

Alyssa Olson (she/they), Community Access Specialist

Andrea Smith (she/her), Co-Chair of OutFront Minnesota’s 501(c)4 Board

Angela Tona (she/her), Policy & Organizing Coordinator

Anne Hodson (she/her), Board Member

Anthony Diaz (he/him), Board Member

Amy Marty (she/her), Board Member

Ashley Harp (they/she),  Anti-Violence Associate Director

Beth Fraser (she/her), Chair of OutFront Minnesota’s Political Action Committee

James Collins (he/him), Board Member

James Darville (he/him), Policy & Organizing Coordinator

Nat Marineau Begej (they/them), Board Member

Sami Heller (she/her), Development & Communications Associate

Skye Vang (they/them), Trans Organizing Coordinator

Tommy Elton (he/him), Board Member