Archive for the ‘Queer and Allies Summit’ Category

5th Annual MSSC Summit on LGBTQ Youth in Mississippi

Thursday, October 25th, 2012

group photoWe’re hosting our 5th annual Queer Youth & Allies Summit. Every year MSSC brings together youth and adults from across the state for a few days of activism, education and networking. This year we’re going to be running in conjunction with Jackson Black Pride, an annual event hosted by My Brother’s Keeper. Summit will provide leadership development for young folks around school-to-prison pipeline issues, student organizations and GSAs, as well as provide for the first time an address on the works of MSSC. We’re going into our 5th year and we want to celebrate our accomplishments with you.

20121024-194734.jpgJoin us November 16-18th at Safe Harbor Family Church. All ages are welcome. We will have topics targeted for students, educators, and community allies. Our focus this year is a continuation from last year, which aimed at creating more inclusive communities by working at the intersections of racial justice, educational justice, and queer justice.

The event is free and open to all ages
To register please visit www.mssafeschools.org/registration

Want to present at Summit or have a topic you’d want to learn more about?

MSSC is accepting workshop proposals and topic suggestions until November 3rd. If you or your organization would like to submit a workshop proposal or suggestion please visit http://goo.gl/73dx9

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MSSC’s 4th Annual Q&A Summit a Success!

Wednesday, October 26th, 2011

MSSC’s 4th Annual Q&A Summit was packed with a range of workshops facilitated by folks from the east coast, west coast and gulf coast. Topics included dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline, anti-racism, arts as a tool for activism, sex ed, and much more. If you came to the event, thanks for making it another successful event and if you missed it we’ll see you next year!

To read more about the summit from a presenter’s view, check out Geoffrey’s blog post on the GSANetwork page – https://www.gsanetwork.org/news/blog/mississippi-hotbed-gsa-activism/10/21/11

Posted in Queer and Allies Summit, Trainings/Workshops | No Comments »

Mississippi Safe Schools Coalition to host fourth summit for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth on October 15th

Saturday, October 8th, 2011

Q&A Youth Summit October 15, 2011 Workshops will include Anti-Racism, Transgender Inclusion in the Classroom, Dismantling the School-to-Prison Pipeline, LGBT Youth in Sport, Learn to Facilitate, Faculty Fishbowl, Climate Surveys & School Policies and more. Sign up at msscsummit.eventbrite.com. The event is free and open to all ages.Jackson, MS October 15, 2011 – The Mississippi Safe Schools Coalition will hosts its fourth annual Q&A Summit to address issues facing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth in Mississippi. The annual event will be held October 15 to celebrate “National Bullying Prevention and Awareness” month.

The Q&A Summit draws lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning and allied students and youth from across Mississippi for workshops and training on LGBTQ student rights and activism. Past workshops have included: creating inclusive anti-bullying policies, how to start and organize Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs), safe-sex education, and anti-racism and anti-oppression. Presenters have come from local organizations including My Brother’s Keeper, Inc. and The William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation. National organizations including Gay-Straight Alliance Network (GSAN), the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network (GLSEN), and the Washington Safe Schools Coalition have also participated in the summit.

This year’s workshops will focus on racial and economic justice, dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline, transgender inclusivity in the classroom, addressing the needs of faculty, and many more. Presenters will include Geoffrey Winder, GSA Network‘s Racial and Economic Justice Manager, Bryce Cellato, currently an intern with the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, and Mississippi-native Genesis Be, founder of Open Sky Artwork and Strive Till I Rise.

There is no cost to attend, but donations are appreciated and will help the MSSC continue to host the Summit in future years. The summit is open to students, teachers, parents, and community allies who wish to learn more about these topics. It is being held at the Jackson Hilton at 1001 East County Line Road, Jackson. To register for the event visit www.msscsummit.eventbrite.com. For more information contact Anna C. Davis at summit@mssafeschools.org.

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Registration for 4th Annual Q&A Summit is now open!

Wednesday, September 21st, 2011

Check back for more details about Q&A!

The Mississippi Safe Schools Coalition is pleased to announce that its 4th annual Queer Youth & Ally Summit will be held on October 15, 2011 from 9am until 6pm at the Hilton Jackson. Registration for summit is now open and attendees can reserve their spots by visiting http://msscsummit.eventbrite.com/.

The event is open to all of Mississippi’s youth and adult allies. All registrations include a boxed lunch. The event is free but donations are always welcome to ensure that we have this event every year.

If you have any questions about this event or would like to know more information about becoming a volunteer or to donate, please contact us  at summit@mssafeschools.org.

All attendees must print and sign the Attendance contract. If you are under 18, you must have a parent or guardian’s permission to attend summit. Please click below to download the registration packet.

*If you have never registered using eventbrite you will need to set up an account. If you have questions or concerns about using this service please contact us at summit@mssafeschools.org.

Check www.mssafeschools.org/summit for more details regarding workshops and presenters!

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Media Coverage of Queer & Ally Summit

Monday, November 8th, 2010

Along with the Mississippi Safe Schools Coalition Queer and Ally Youth Summit came a good bit of media attention. Here are a few of the stories that were produced from around the state.

WJTV, NewsChannel 12


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Students Take Home Valuable Insights from Queer & Ally Summit

Monday, November 8th, 2010

This weekend, the Mississippi Safe Schools Coalition held its third annual Queer and Ally Youth Conference in conjunction with the William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation.  The event has drawn larger crowds each year and reached a record 140 attendees. This year’s attendance featured a large mix of diversity, people came from all over the state.

Speakers from across the country were featured, including Alison Gill of GLSEN, Danielle Askini of the GSA Network, Gerald Gibson of My Brother’s Keeper, Bear Atwood of the Mississippi ACLU, Sir Jesse of the Georgia Safe Schools Coalition, Melody Frierson of the William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation and S.A.I.N.T.S. Topics of discussion included starting GSAs, Anti-Bullying, Gender, and Sex Education.

John Moore, an Architecture major of Northwest Mississippi Community College felt he had been re-educated on some matters.

“I’m really glad I came, I learned a whole lot of stuff that I thought I was educated on but really wasn’t.”

Kristopher Lilly, a Psychology major also of Northwest Mississippi Community College is looking forward to sharing what he learned.

“I’m really excited to take back [what I learned] and just kinda implement not only in our school but in other schools.”

The purpose of the Summit is to afford high school and college students, as well as adults the opportunity to learn about the challenges that continually face LGBT youth. Throughout the year MSSC seeks to create new opportunities such as this to educate the community about how bullying affects youth.

Posted in Queer and Allies Summit | 3 Comments »

MSSC Q&A Summit Flyer

Friday, October 29th, 2010

Want to have a copy of the flyer for the Third Annual Queer & Ally Youth Summit? Here it is! Feel free to put them up all around your community.

Summit Flyer

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Information about Queer & Ally Summit for Minors

Monday, October 25th, 2010

We are so excited that the Third Annual Queer & Ally Youth Summit is arround the corner. Just a week and a half away! The Mississippi Safe Schools Coalition is committed to the safety of all youth who attend this conference. In occordance with these values we are asking that students who attend the conference and are under the age of 18 sign a parental consent form. This ensures that your parents know where you are. You can download the parental consent form and email a scanned copy, or bring it with you to the conference.

Click Here to Download the Disclaimer

If you will be in the company of your parents or guardian, they can sign it there.

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