February 17, 2025 | Michail Takach

Tyrone Creech: we will not be quiet

As a fifth-generation Madison leader, taking care of the community is part of Tyrone's family legacy.

Tyrone Creech

“Somebody’s got to be that watchdog. And I have the energy, the time, and the commitment to be that watchdog.”

Tyrone Creech is a fifth-generation Madisonian, whose mother comes from one of the oldest Black families in Madison, and whose father came from Alabama. He grew up with five aunties, all of whom had a tremendous influence on him growing up. His family has always been committed to volunteering, nonprofit work, and giving back to the community.

“It’s in our DNA,” he laughs. “And that’s what led me to where I am today.”

Since summer 2024, Tyrone has served as the executive director of GSAFE, a nonprofit organization striving to create socially just Wisconsin schools for LGBTQ students. GSAFE achieves its mission through youth leadership development, supporting Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs,) training educators, advancing educational justice, and deepening racial, gender, trans and social justice.

Finding his voice

At a young age, Tyrone remembers being inspired by the Black Power Ranger from Mighty Mighty Power Rangers.

“He was the original Black Power for me,” said Tyrone. “It was the first representation I saw of myself. This black man, playing this black superhero, kicking ass, standing up for people, using his voice – it was my first conscious moment of activism. When I look back on it now, I remember thinking I can do that. I can be that. That can be me. I’ve had a lot of heroes since then, but that was the one that sits with me the most and the longest.”

Growing up hyperactive, Tyrone could never sit still in his classes at Carl Sandburg Elementary School. His mother enrolled him soccer as a way to burn his limitless energy. In no time, he became the best soccer player in the school – but he continued to struggle in the classroom.

“I struggled with reading comprehension, with math, with putting things together,” said Tyrone. “I wasn’t just hyperactive. I had very real learning disabilities. I found myself in special education classes, without any explanation why I was in these classes. While I certainly needed help, this approach was harmful in the long run. Sending me to a separate class made me feel segregated, isolated, punished… I was removed from all the things my classmates were doing.”

“That experience inspired my whole line of work today,” said Tyrone. “It sparked my passion for correcting the mistakes of the education system.”

Later, Tyrone attended Sherman Middle School and East High School, where he really started figuring out who he was and what he wanted to be.

“I was one of the big jocks on campus,” said Tyrone, “and here I was, trying to sort myself out as a person. No one ever told me that it was OK to be an open and proud gay athlete. I never had any mentors I could confide in. I couldn’t talk to my coaches or classmates about how I felt.”

“I could have been a pioneer for my school, and maybe make it easier for others, because I’ve always been a very vocal activist. But I just didn’t understand what I could safely do or even say while I was still in high school. If I’d just had one person I knew would listen, one person who might understand. But I didn’t – and that’s a big reason I do the work I do today.”

After high school, Tyrone attended University of Wisconsin-Plattevile. He originally wanted to become a gym teacher, but then pursued criminal justice before finally discovering his calling in secondary education. That decision still influences his work decades later.

Connecting with his calling

When Ali Muldrow asked Tyrone to be an adult mentor for the 2015 GSAFE Leadership Training Institute (LTI,) he really connected with his own purpose and passion.

“She said, ‘hey, do you want to work on this?’ and I answered with two questions ‘how much does it pay and is there food?’ laughed Tyrone. “We laughed about it, because I’ve known Ali my whole life, and even she didn’t expect those answers. She saw the potential in me and invited me to jump right in. I was open to trying something new, but I wasn’t expecting to find my calling.”

The Leadership Training Institute had a profound effect on Tyrone.

“I loved everything about it,” he said. “LTI is a 4-day, 3-night camp for high school students to learn essential leadership skills. It was remarkable to see all the youth grow in that four-day span. Seeing them blossom into their own true authentic selves, because they felt safe, comfortable, seen, loved, cared for, and protected. It was a magical thing to witness.”

“I wasn’t really sure where my path was going to lead, or what I was going to do next, so I decided to travel,” said Tyrone. “I played rugby in the U.K. and Australia, I played soccer in different countries, and I lived in Australia for three years. That was very eye-opening for me, because I got involved with the local queer community. Australia was legalizing marriage equality, and then the Pulse nightclub shooting happened. It was all so motivating and inspiring.”

With his spirits sky-high, Tyrone knew he’d found something special. While still living in Australia, Tyrone returned to Madison in summer 2016 to support the next Leadership Training Institute class.

“Was it cheap? No, it was actually very expensive. Was it easy? No, it was a very long journey."

"But it was absolutely worth it, and I would do it again."

With his visa expiring, and LTI still on his mind, Tyrone made a hard choice.

“I kept thinking, I love Australia as my second home, but it’s not where I am meant to be right now. I kept thinking about how I could make an impact in Madison, Wisconsin, and the United States. How could I impact educators and students in a positive way? How could I get people to understand we’re all fighting to keep kids alive, have a healthy education, live health lives, and find protection when they need it? How do we deal with adults telling kids they don’t have a right to share space with their kids because they’re different?”

Rising above the noise

After being promoted to Associate Diversity Director, Tyrone was promoted again in 2024 to the role of GSAFE Executive Director. Even as a rapidly rising Wisconsin leader, he sometimes faces challenges based on racial stereotypes.

“Being an openly gay, big Black man, I had to change my approach when dealing with some white students’ families, because I need to get the job done."

"I had to come to them upbeat, smiling, and always approachable, because showing emotions could lead to me being judged as an ‘angry black man’ or some other blah blah blah. Once I learned how to navigate that system, I knew that code switching sometimes makes sense."

Tyrone Creech

"I’m committed to being an effective nonprofit leader, but I’ll be honest: this was an interesting lesson to learn.”GSAFE isn’t immune to misperception, either.

“After the Title IX complaints, we received a number of hateful letters, but none of them made any damn sense,” said Tyrone. “They were not mad about what GSAFE did or did not do. They don’t like us because we exist – but that’s nothing new. They are mad because queer people are being seen, being loud, and fighting for what’s right. They want us to sit down and shut up. And that’s not going to happen.”

“We’ve been accused of ‘grooming’ kids and telling them how to think or how to live, which is just not the case,” said Tyrone. “Our one and only agenda is keeping kids alive and helping them thrive. I don’t know how any human being could disagree with that agenda.”

“But I’ll be honest, I haven’t heard a lot of misconceptions about GSAFE, and that’s because I haven’t been listening that hard to people’s bullshit.”

In the year ahead, Tyrone hopes to expand GSAFE with more responsive programming.

“It’s no shocker that we’ve gotten a lot of calls and emails since the election,” said Tyrone. “Many of these have been fear-mongering, but we’re taking them seriously. Right now, we’re only a staff of seven.”

Keeping his torch lit

What inspired Tyrone’s activism – and what keeps him inspired?

“I remember watching my mother fight for a Metro position,” said Tyrone. “They hadn’t had a Black supervisor in 20-some years, and she was very much being discriminated against. Watching her go through that process was very, very hard.”

“Today, it’s my disappointment with the education system. School curriculums teach our kids nothing to help them survive high school. It’s my disappointment with how kids are mistreated by school systems and School Boards all over Wisconsin. I do this work, because I am a student who came from a really dysfunctional system. I do this work, because I was a student who struggled a lot and nobody helped me even when I was begging for it. All of these experiences have added up to keep me going.”

Tyrone Creech

Sokka

“Our students keep me motivated. They just keep on fighting. And it inspires me to see that conviction, at such a young age, to chase what’s right for them. I worry that they’re spending so much time fighting for their rights, they are missing out on their own childhoods, because the adults in their schools keep failing them."

"These students we work with are activists to the core. They love being at the Capitol. They love rallies and protests and hearings. They love to be seen and heard. I just hope they haven’t lost their childhoods because of the fight.”

“Just last night, we had our first trans parent group meeting,” said Tyrone. “Seeing these brave kids, being in this space with other families, connecting with each other, and not being scared to be who they truly are….. wow. Just wow. They refuel my cup. When we do a program, and see how we’re helping the community, it just recharges me completely. It keeps me going."

"The love, commitment and devotion my staff puts into their work – with such wholehearted caring and compassion – it’s intoxicating. And seeing our students grow up, and become the leaders they knew they could be, and earning scholarships and internships and degrees, stepping into who they are as adults."

"It makes all of the stress, all of the frustration, all of the anger, all worth it.”

Finding the joy

Tyrone lives in Madison with his partner and his German Shepherd mix, Sokka.

“Yes, Sokka was named after the character from Avatar: The Last Airbender,” said Tyrone.

In his free time, Tyrone likes to watch anime, build Legos, play video games, workout, travel, read, and socialize with friends to decompress.

His New Year’s resolution has been to remember to find the joy and celebrate the little things.

“I feel like that’s going to make a huge difference,” said Tyrone. “I’m working with a friend on a project to capture images of the queer joy all around us. When we are out and about, doing programming, we’ve been looking for that positive energy. We have to overcome the negativity of the world with good. And we have to remember to enjoy it.”

“Whenever you have some doom and gloom in your life, be sure to reset your happiness meter. You deserve happiness.”

Living with gratitude

In closing, Tyrone wants to thank the strong Black women in his life for inspiring his work.

“A big part of my activism, who I am and where I come from, is because of those women,” said Tyrone. “How I articulate things, where I stand on issues, how I treat people……it’s because I was raised right by women who cared. My mom’s side, including her sisters and extended family, are Black women who have always been vocal, always been there, always stood their ground, always fought for what’s right. That had a huge impact on who I am and why I did this work.”

“I want to thank my older sister, Elizabeth Creech, who has overcome so many trials and tribulations in her life. I’m so proud and honored to be her brother. I just want her to know how much I love her. I will always be in her corner, cheering her on, just as she’s done for me.”

“I also want to thank Ali Muldrow, one of my biggest supporters in this work. She’s a part of my family, too, so I’m just surrounded by all this big Black excellence in my life, and it’s allowed me to prosper as a person.”

Closing thoughts

“No matter what, we are going to continue what we do,” said Tyrone. “We will continue. We will keep building. We are not going away. We are not sitting down. We are not going to be quiet. We are not taking our foot off the gas. We’re going to keep going because we have to – for ourselves and for our people.”

“In a perfect world, nonprofits like ours would not be needed,” said Tyrone. “That the world I would love to live in."

"But even in a perfect world, there always needs to be a watchdog, because there’s always going to be someone who attacks someone else for who they are or what they’re doing.”

“Somebody’s got to be that watchdog. And I have the energy, the time, and the commitment to be that watchdog.”

Tyrone Creech and family