Out About Class

ABSTRACT

Lesbian activist Léonie Walker traces the evolution of her involvement in social change philanthropy and her work to bring together activists of diverse class and racial backgrounds. She shows how she was trained as an activist, discusses conscious and socially responsible ways to steward wealth, and gives voice to the seldom-heard experiences of LGBT people with inherited wealth. The co-founder of the Women Managing Wealth program at the Ms. Foundation and a board member of Astraea Lesbian Action Foundation, she has also developed and facilitated numerous Dismantling Classism workshops. In this article, she discusses the importance of, and ways of implementing, cross-class, cross-race dialogue that can further understanding among activists of different backgrounds.

Key Words:

• Lesbian
• lesbian activism
• fundraising