The accession (2009-0098) (9.6 lin. ft.; dated 1993-2004) includes administrative and financial records, programming materials, and organizational files, all stemming from retreats, training, workshops, and community events sponsored or promoted by SONG. The accession also includes SONG materials from the Bayard Rustin project, People of Color activities, Pride at Work, and the Highlander Economy Educational Institute, among others.
The accession (2015-0113) (2.9 lin. ft.; dated 2006-2015) was donated by Caitlin Breedlove, Co-Director of SONG from 2006-2015. It includes administrative and financial records, programming information, flyers and promotional materials and research related to campaign initiatives from her time in the SONG leadership. The accession also contains cards and artwork given to Caitlin by others, assorted photographs from events, two interview recordings, and many of her personal notebooks.
Southerners on New Ground (SONG) was established in 1994 following a 1993 National Gay and Lesbian Task Force conference that brought black and white lesbians together in an effort to unite LGBT communities with racial minorities, particularly African Americans, against discrimination by conservative, right-wing groups. SONG attempts to provide a regional infrastructure for LGBT organizing through retreats, training workshops, meetings, and other community outreach programs. The organization is based in Durham, North Carolina, with offices in Atlanta. It currently has a membership of about 600 primarily LGBT people.
Caitlin Breedlove was Co-Director of SONG from 2006-2015. She self-identifies as a white, queer, second-generation American woman of Central European descent. She has lived in the South consistently through adulhood. She is well-known within the LGBTQ community for her work as a leader, strategist, writer, and adcovte for racial and economic justice. During her time at SONG, she led a number of innovative intersectional movement building initiatives in the LGBTQ sector. She advanced numerous SONG campaigns, built new alliances, and trained a larger cohort of organizers. Under her co-leadership, SONG membership grew to over 3,000 individuals. She currently lives in Goldsboro, North Carolina with her partner and daughter.
