S.O.N.G.

INTRODUCTION
After about a half of year’s work, Southerners on New Ground is proud to present the Southern LGBT Map Directory, a collection of 24 organizations, groups, and collectives in the South that are doing progressive LGBT organizing. These groups are working around everything from gay and lesbian rights to anti-bullying to reproductive justice to anti-violence to trans prison support. Although not all of the organizations are explicitly queer, they all share a commitment to social justice and intersectional organizing. We have learned that although queer-led social justice organizations in the South may be few in number, they are doing amazing work with limited resources. We created this directory to counter the isolation and burnout that organizers experience all too often in the South and hope that it will help bring people together to strategize, share resources, and support each other.

As we interviewed people for this project, some common themes emerged: people feel isolated, they often work for organizations that are the only ones in their state doing intersectional work, they have trouble moving LGBTQ organizations to be anti-racist and vice versa, they have limited resources, and yet they are hopeful, believe in intersectional organizing, have faith in youth organizers, and have seen people change as a result of their organizations. We have seen that doing this work in the South is often difficult and frustrating, but the people doing it are resilient, and hold onto a vision of a better world.

Check it out!
Southern LGBT Directory