As many of you already know –Lulú Martinez transitioned out of SONG at the end of the August, after the completion of an incredible and beautiful SC Organizing School and 1 year of groundbreaking field work and grassroots organizing in SC. You taught us so much Lulu with your fierceness – your grace – and your unwavering commitment to liberation. Thank you for all you made possible in South Carolina and at SONG.

Dear SONG Family,

This last year has been full of transformation, community building and lots of southern queer love. With only a few years of organizing in Chicago’s immigrant and queer communities under my belt, you welcomed me with patience and respect. I am blessed to have been able to work with such a dynamic, inspirational and often sassy and raunchy group of people. Our work together and the relationships we nurtured transformed the way I think about being an organizer, what it means to live in the south and what it means to build community.

I am moving to Washington, DC for a period of reflection before returning to school in Spring 2013. I hope to share the skills and experiences I have gained through our work together and continue learning how to exercise my hope muscle. It is because of the resilience of South Carolinian queers that I am encouraged to challenge myself as an organizer and as an individual.

I consider South Carolina to be my second home, so I will be back! And I am excited to come back to a South more beautiful than what it is now.

Although I will be in another state, I am accessible through my personal e-mail: lulutmartinez@gmail.com or you can add me on Facebook: Lulú Martínez.

Thank you for taking me in and giving me unconditional queer love.

¡La lucha sigue!

-Lulú