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The thirteenth annual Leather Leadership Conference was hosted over the April 3-5th weekend in Atlanta, GA more than 200 people were welcomed to the Crowne Plaza Airport Hotel. Attendees to the long-awaited return of the Leather Leadership Conference to the Southeast came from 27 US States, Washington DC, Canada, Germany and the Netherlands. “Traditions! Where we’ve been.. Where we are.. Where we’re going” was the theme for the weekend, with attendees welcomed into the rooms of a traditional Southern home to learn more about the stepping stones of knowledge for leadership and growth.
The conference opened on Friday with remarks from Dr. Gloria Brame. Gloria gave a heartfelt and passionate keynote address – “"I wanted to emphasize three central messages with my speech. First, that the time is overdue for the BDSM/fetish/leather communities to take control of the public dialogue us. Second, that our own focus on play techniques is not enough: we need more and better Community-based education on the real-life challenges of being a BDSMer. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, that we need to become more relevant to the times we now live in, and can do so by fighting for changes in the laws that still deny us our sexual freedoms . By uniting across partisan lines, and building coalition with other sex-positive activists, BDSMers can bring an end to discriminatory sex laws and unfair representations of BDSM in media. "
The weekend was filled with more than 40 seminars, workshops and presentations on topics ranging from activism to events and volunteers to organizational development. Sunday wrapped up with more sessions and an emotional closing ceremony.
Ms. Angela gave the endnote address where she strongly encouraged all attendees to get involved in strengthening community ties by getting involved – putting our money and intentions where our needs as a community are so that we have the ability to succeed. She encouraged everyone to consider putting their talents and gifts to use, stressing that power was the ability to create change, and that as both individuals and as a community, we have the ability to be powerful and to create that change. Ms Angela ended with the thought “Lead, follow, but get out of my way.”
The conference concluded with the announcement that LLC-XIV will be hosted by the Great Lakes and Ontario Leather Communities in Detroit, MI over the April 9 - 11, 2010 weekend.. For more information about the Leather Leadership Conference, please visit www.leatherleadership.org, and join us in Detroit for The Journey Continues...
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