Queerburners

Radical Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity (R.I.D.E.)

by JRNexus, Member of the Board and Director of R.I.D.E. for Queerburners

We are committed to Radical Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity (R.I.D.E.) in our mission to cultivate community and develop leadership.

We believe this work is intersectional. And we are committed as a community to struggle against racism, sexism, ageism, queerphobia, transphobia, ableism, classism, misogyny, shame, brutality, colonization and all other harmful and toxic behavior. 

We acknowledge the identities that our board currently holds, particularly as a majority male, majority white, and majority cisgender leadership group. And the board is especially committed to doing the work to dismantle sexism, racism, and transphobia outside of and within our organization. As such we strive to make our spaces and events accountable ones for our community members and each other.

While Queer is in our name, our community is more than a word and more than an acronym. Queerburners is for Burners who identify as 2-Spirit, Transgender, Intersex, Asexual, Queer, Bisexual, Lesbian, Gay and more. Being aware of and intentional with the language and words we use is a critical element of that.

And so, while you will see that we use Queer and LGBTQIA, we want to acknowledge and reiterate that no word or acronym will ever be a comprehensive label in which the diversity of our community will be fully represented.

In the spirit of Communal Effort, Participation, and Radical Inclusion, we are open to your thoughts and suggestions regarding this and any other language we use on our site which may leave you feeling excluded. But we will also endeavor to be proactive in our own learning and growth to do the work, as individuals and an organization, so that you don’t have to.

	As a cis gay white, able bodied man. I have not always lived my life aware of my privilege, and know that for many of my years I took it for granted. In addition to the identities I hold, I have a Bachelor’s Degree from an art school and have traveled a lot of the world. These factors and more have often worked to my advantage. And so I want to acknowledge that my actions show and demonstrate that I, along with my fellow Queerburner board members and collaborators, are working towards creating accountable spaces, when it comes to not just prejudice and discrimination, but any way biases may manifest. I feel absolutely passionate about the idea of community, personal safety, and access for all, to spaces where we can convene and flourish with pride and celebration of life together. I know that patriarchy, racism, and other systems of oppression continue to permeate society today, even within our own organizations and events, despite our best intent. And as a culture, we must stride toward a better future for all of us. I have and continue to do my best to center the perspectives of community members I don’t share identities with, particularly those who are Black & brown, trans & nonbinary, and women & femme. I have been witness to those who have expressed varying degrees of concern for personal safety and understanding, even as the result of my own actions. And I am committed to work to be and do better any way I can, especially with the work of Queerburners. - Scott Kraske (Kay): Founder and Chair of Queerburners

As a cis gay white, able bodied man. I have not always lived my life aware of my privilege, and know that for many of my years I took it for granted. In addition to the identities I hold, I have a Bachelor’s Degree from an art school and have traveled a lot of the world. These factors and more have often worked to my advantage. And so I want to acknowledge that my actions show and demonstrate that I, along with my fellow Queerburner board members and collaborators, are working towards creating accountable spaces, when it comes to not just prejudice and discrimination, but any way biases may manifest.

I feel absolutely passionate about the idea of community, personal safety, and access for all, to spaces where we can convene and flourish with pride and celebration of life together. I know that patriarchy, racism, and other systems of oppression continue to permeate society today, even within our own organizations and events, despite our best intent. And as a culture, we must stride toward a better future for all of us.

I have and continue to do my best to center the perspectives of community members I don’t share identities with, particularly those who are Black & brown, trans & nonbinary, and women & femme. I have been witness to those who have expressed varying degrees of concern for personal safety and understanding, even as the result of my own actions. And I am committed to work to be and do better any way I can, especially with the work of Queerburners.

- Scott Kraske (Kay): Founder and Chair of Queerburners

Updated 2/6/2022