Southerners On New Ground
Southerners on New Ground (commonly referred to as SONG) is a social justice, advocacy and capacity building organization serving and supporting queer and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, uniquely focusing its work in the southern United States through community organizing for economic and racial justice. The organization is unique, as most of the places it does work in do not have an LGBTQ organization like it. Mission SONG values the sharing of knowledge and group work over individual work. The work that SONG does is based on history and the value of resiliency. The organization focuses on the South, especially as a place and space for LGBTQ people. Their focus is on a dream of a movement that brings people of different identities, including age, race, gender, ability, and sexuality, together. SONG strives to put LGBTQ people in places of leadership, and they act on this by connecting LGBTQ people with each other. SONG believes in honoring each person and supporting activists to become their best selves. History SONG was founded at the National LGBTQ Task Force's 1993 Creating Change conference with the goal of building progressive movements across the American South by six women, including Mandy Carter