A local pioneer is among a group of activists honored at the 2024 Creating Change conference held in New Orleans from January 16-24.
The confab – led by the National LGBTQ Task Force – is the largest annual gathering of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer political activists in the country. During the conference, Kenneth J. Mitchell was bestowed with the Carmen Vázquez SAGE Award for Excellence in Leadership on Aging “after five decades of fighting for the rights of Louisiana’s LGBTQ and Black communities,” according to a statement announcing the award.
Fifty years ago, a deadly arson attack at a French Quarter bar ignited an already smoldering movement in New Orleans, and across the country, for equal rights. Thirty-two people were burned or trampled to death in late June of 1973 at one of the city’s few racially integrated gay bars – the UpStairs Lounge. […]
Click here to read to the full piece. This story was originally published by Louisiana Weekly on February 19, 2024.
