The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) has always been on the front lines of Civil Rights since its inception, and this time is no different.

The Queering Racial Justice Institute is the perfect space to learn and engage around the pressing issues of our time.

Set to take place on Saturday, September 10, 2016, at the Philadelphia African-American Museum, the daylong training will focus on analyzing the intersection of identities and the ways these intersections should inform our work.

Register here to take part in the Queering Racial Justice Institute.

This institute will allow also for people from all walks of life to create safe space to move our country forward. The NAACP Pennsylvania (PA) Youth and College Division will be present to utilize our platform, and resources to empower attendees, and also to learn ways we can be even more strategic and inclusive with our partners in this work.

During the Queering Racial Justice Institute, the NAACP PA Youth and College Division will host two workshops that we hope will spark thought-provoking conversations around the epidemic of urban gun violence, and the impacts of social media on contemporary organizing.

All across the America, we cannot escape the rising numbers of deaths in local communities nationwide due to gun violence.

The PA Youth and College will provide the data to paint a picture for our attendees, discuss tangible solutions and strategies on creating inclusive advocacy efforts focused on common sense gun legislation.

The desire is for this space to underscore the importance on why gun violence prevention advocacy groups should adopt an all-encompassing platform to effectively address all forms of gun violence. As we continue resolve to moving the needle, in addition to discussing the ongoing mass shootings, we must also strategize to end the alarming homicide rates targeting young people of color.

Moreover, we’ll also explore how the cycle of poverty and lack of vital resources contribute to gun violence. We believe these issues are critical components to the work of Queering Racial Justice as it reinforces how we all have to keep advocating for those who are often marginalized and left out of the major public discourse.

Our second workshop will focus on examining the ways social media content, images and language, have influenced public consciousness.

The NAACP PA Youth and College Division wants to highlight how social media has transformed the way people consume information, how they mobilize around an issue, and even how they find community in the use of hashtag and creating a collective narrative. We will take time to discuss the #BlackLivesMatter movement and the impact it has had on how individuals utilize social media to reaffirm identity.

The presentation will also acknowledge the ways social media has heightened the awareness of the injustices experienced by marginalized communities and how it has served as a catalyst for social change. Furthermore, we want to analyze the ways these platforms simultaneously disseminate negative imagery of marginalized communities and what impact that has on the public psyche.

Overall, the NAACP PA Youth and College Division wants to equip attendees with the ability to use social media when organizing and encourage understanding of the nuances that exist with the consumption of new media.

The NAACP PA Youth and College Division is most excited to learn more about the advocacy of our allies and using this institute as a way to form even more meaningful partnerships.

Register here to take part in the Queering Racial Justice Institute in Philadelphia on Saturday, September 10.

Originally published by the National LGBTQ Task Force; Photo by the National LGBTQ Task Force