Build It: The Rise of LGBTQ+ Organizing in the 1980s

As LGCAJ grew into its own in the 1980s, it became a powerful umbrella for a variety of grassroots initiatives. Groups like Out & About, Unity Leadership, Safe Schools Coalition, and the First Coast Chorus provided spaces where LGBTQ people could organize, express themselves, and advocate for systemic change. Jacksonville was no longer just following national trends—it was shaping them.

Through the arts, education, and peer-led programs, these organizations supported people who had long been left out of the mainstream. The Safe Schools Coalition focused on protecting LGBTQ youth in schools; the First Coast Chorus gave queer voices a literal stage; and Out & About gave visibility to stories that would have otherwise gone untold. These were the building blocks of modern LGBTQ Jacksonville, formed by people who believed in lifting each other up.