“This is the time to build solidarity, work together, collaborate, and celebrate trans identities — especially Black trans women and people of color,” said Amber Barnes, executive director of LGBT Center of Central PA, which is hosting the region’s first BIPOC-led LGBTQ+ conference on Sept. 26.

The event was on her to-do list for about a year. Her colleague, TL, the site director of GLO Harrisburg — a community and resource center for LGBTQ+ youth and young adults of color that centers the experiences and needs of LGBTQ+ men and trans women — pitched the idea last fall. But the center didn’t feel ready to take it on yet.

After watching some of the early actions by the Trump administration unfold — many targeting trans people and people of color, her team felt that the conference would be

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