The Policy Nexus: Analytics & Equity

  By Eric Anthony Devezin, M.P.A. On June 17, 2026, I had the privilege of serving as a featured panel speaker for the ASPA LGBT Advocacy Alliance webinar, "Still Walking in Our Truth: Queer Backlash in the 21st Century." The panel brought together a distinguished group of public administration scholars, practitioners, and advocates to explore the political, social, and administrative dimensions of modern queer backlash. Below is the text and framework from my presentation. At the recent ASPA LGBT Advocacy Alliance panel, I was asked how my personal journey navigating 1970s Los Angeles informs my response to the contemporary queer backlash we are witnessing today . The answer lies in understanding that bureaucratic retaliation is not a new invention; it is an administrative tradition . The Socio-Historical Baseline: Weaponizing the Bureaucracy If we are going to deconstruct how socio-political backlash functions today, we have to remember the levels of operation established...