Local GLBT graduate and undergraduate students of color are planning the fifth annual Queer People of Color Conference (QPOCC) to take place at the San Diego LGBT Community Center and San Diego State University on May 7-8.

Beginning at the University of California, Berkeley; and then moving to the University of California, Davis for its last two conferences; the QPOCC is a forum for GLBT people of color to come together and celebrate their cultural traditions and discuss issues/challenges impacting its diverse communities.

“As people of color, there are very limited forums, spaces to dialogue and opportunities to connect. This conference, we hope, will allow us to network with one another, as queer people of color, from various ethnic and sexual backgrounds so that people can feel a sense of community,” said QPOCC co-organizer Gibran Guido, a graduate student at SDSU. “It will also allow us to discuss issues of racism, sexism and classism within the LGBT community.”

Guido said that the community doesn’t talk about such inequalities.

“Because we don’t have these dialogues within the community that allow for the opportunity to critically discuss these issues, and they are rarely discussed in the media, we don’t talk about strategies in how to combat them,” Guido added. “This conference will allow us to do that.”

“We also want to make a statement, by bringing the conference down to San Diego, that queer people of color are everywhere,” said another QPOCC co-organizer Marco Flores, a graduate student at SDSU.

San Diego City Commissioner Stampp Corbin, who will be speaking at the conference, hopes that message will come across to African American attendees.

“The folks that will be attending this conference are key to helping educate the African American community that we exist, and help make that bridge between LGBT rights and African American civil rights,” Corbin said.

The conference’s theme is called, Building Visibility through our Traditions, Active Leadership and Pride.

“The theme is about making people conscious of the political power we have and doing it through active leadership, meaning getting people and allies in government and major organizations to fight for our rights and have queer people of color represented in them,” said QPOCC co-organizer Naomi Santacruz, who attends San Diego City College. “It’s also about the need to have pride in being queer and of color and to not forget our cultural traditions and heritage.”

Opening ceremonies will take place at The Center on May 7 and include a blessing, several speakers and entertainment. On the following day (May 8), three sessions of workshops will take place at SDSU. The workshops; based on the conferences theme of traditions, leadership and pride; will cover a range of topics including a history of bisexual people of color, success in higher education, how to become an ally to GLBT people of color and black GLBT people’s fight for visibility in the “gay rights movement.”

Guido said the conference’s two locations are strategic in that it attempts to link the community with higher education.

“Its so important because the LGBT community isn’t always in the ivory towers of the academy and the academy isn’t always connected to its community,” Guido said.

GLBT people of color from a variety of backgrounds will be speaking at the conference including Corbin, The Center’s Latino Services Coordinator Carolina Ramos, local transgender activist Isaac Gomez and author Rigoberto Gonzalez among others.

“I’m actually really excited because it’s time. It’s time we start mobilizing communities of color,” Ramos said. “I also think it’s important to support the younger generation, especially for me being a woman of color, and do what I can to be apart of this.”

As one of the conference’s speakers, Ramos said she will talk about the importance of GLBT people of color to mobilize as a group.

“It will be about the amazing things we can do when we come together,” Ramos said. “And I’m not just talking about communities of color mobilizing by themselves. It’s about coming together as a strong voice and becoming apart of the larger LGBT community, to be more visible as people of color.”

While the conference is specifically about GLBT people of color, both Guido and Santacruz encourage everyone to attend.

“We ask that all the community be present including our white GLBT and straight allies,” Guido said.

The conference is also intentionally free for low-income people to attend.

“You know some people wouldn’t be able to get in if we charged a fee. We want everyone in the community to attend and not keep them away because of class,” Santacruz said.

Once the conference has finished, organizers said they plan to create a foundation to help make sure that the annual event continues.

“We want to ensure that campuses who host this conference will have a point of reference to receive any help they may need,” Guido said.

So far 150 people have registered for the conference. Both Gibran and Santacruz want 150 more. To register for the conference or to obtain more information about it, visit http://qpocc5.webs.com/.