Senta Scarborough, a journalist, academic, and now filmmaker, tackles the project of telling NLGJA’s story.
Last year, East Tennessee State University assistant professor Senta Scarborough was asked by their department chair to begin conducting academic research within their field, and they began thinking of NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists. A lifetime member of the organization and a former board member, Scarborough knew they needed to tell this story, noting that “one of the things we just don’t do well in our world… is tell our own stories as journalists”. The job of a journalist entails uplifting the voices of their subjects. With their latest project, Scarborough asks: what happens when journalists turn the spotlight on themselves?
As Scarborough thought further, they realized: “I don’t think anybody’s told NLGJA’s story, and that seems like a pretty big thing to do.”
The Film Process
After deciding on their subject, Scarborough reached out to the NLGJA and began building their team. The crew is made up of Scarborough’s ETSU students, as well as Scarborough’s right hand man, Matt Rossetti, who serves as both cinematographer and co-producer on the documentary. Scarborough couldn’t have more nice things to say about their team, saying “I am blessed with the most talented, hard working, full hearted people that you could ever, ever imagine. I laugh and I say, ‘The gay Gods keep shining upon us’!”
Once the team was assembled, they began crisscrossing the country to speak with important figures from NLGJA’s history. Senta and their team sat down for conversations with the founders and early members of NLGJA, NLGJA staff, and other notable figures like the first gay prince of India. Their interviews with NLGJA’s founders left the film team in awe as they began understanding the bravery and dedication necessary to start the association during a time of so much struggle in the queer community The association was founded in the midst of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and the days of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” when many believed that marriage equality would never come. Scarborough described the scene: “Some of the experiences we’ve had interviewing the founders and other people— honestly there wasn’t a dry eye, I look around and everyone is in tears.” In these moments, Scarborough and their team knew this film was a huge responsibility.
From their vantage point in 2026, both the founders and the filmmaking team found themselves grappling with what often seems like an unwinding of so many of the community’s wins. Still, the founders and their generation have given the community a blueprint for the continuing fight. Scarborough said that during their interviews with the founders, “you could see them wrestling with where things are today, but…having the hope for tomorrow, and knowing that what they built is a model for what we can do now.”
NLGJA at 35 Years
When asked where NLGJA has arrived in 2026, Scarborough says, “We are still doing the same role. We are there to be a professional organization, help other professionals, and amplify our stories.” They also emphasized the importance of NLGJA’s work in combatting the rising tide of misinformation: “the way that people take in their news is so splintered and I think that we are able to help guide journalists to get through that.” Rapidly shifting technology was also acknowledged as a major factor shaping our current information environment, and one that Scarborough believes NLGJA must address by “stay[ing] true to our values, but also continuing to evolve with what’s happening.” They emphasized the continued importance of the association’s mission, especially in the midst of the “anti-LGBTQ+, anti-trans, anti-journalist” backlash. “NLGJA stays fresh, it stays here in the moment, and allows us to do these things for different people at different times, and I am pretty proud that it’s been able to do it. Watching it grow and change and adapt is so refreshing to see.”
With their work in academia, Scarborough also picks up the mantle of another crucial NLGJA figure: founder Leroy Aarons. Aarons, who passed away in 2004, was known throughout the industry not only as a powerful editor and advocate, but a pioneering educator as well. He built and shepherded university programs that introduced students to the principles of covering the LGBTQ+ community with fairness and accuracy, creating the first college-level journalism course on LGBT media issues at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication. Scarborough sees this documentary as another opportunity to educate today’s students on the importance of diverse representation in journalism, as well as “the work both Roy and NLGJA has done, and continues to do, for student education, student mentorship, and training.”
What Comes Next
With filming largely wrapped, Scarborough and their team are now deep in the edit and promotional phase of the project. A short teaser of the film is now available, and the team is working to complete a 30 minute short edit to be released at this year’s NLGJA Convention. There will also be a full-length feature film produced for all to see in the near future. The team recently celebrated the 35th anniversary of NLGJA’s presence at the 1992 San Francisco Lesbian and Gay Freedom Day Parade with newly-obtained CNN footage of Aarons and others marching, proudly displaying their new association’s unofficial motto: “We’re here, we’re queer, and we’re on deadline.”
For Scarborough, the film is only the beginning. They are already planning a book on NLGJA’s history and developing curriculum for universities and high schools, carrying forward the educational legacy of Leroy Aarons in a new form. Taken together, it is a body of work built for a moment Scarborough knows all too well: one that demands LGBTQ+ journalists understand where they came from, and why the fight isn’t over. The story of NLGJA, it turns out, is still being written. Scarborough intends to make sure it gets told.
Written by Alexandra Miller, Summer 2026 Communications Intern