GREENSBORO, N.C. -- While the Greensboro Pride Festivals' purpose is to celebrate the LGBTQ community and its achievements, some say there is still much to be done.

Shane Lukas is a member of a new organization called Power Beyond Pride. He and its members are trying to broaden the conversation about the problems the community faces. 

"We really want to facilitate the conversation in the queer community about how it's an intersection with areas that often times don't get a lot of articulation," Lukas explained. 

The grassroots organization is only a few months old, but is already starting to get the ball rolling. Lukas said the LGBTQ community needs to be having conversations and raising awareness about issues like incarceration, poverty and increased risks of HIV transmission.

"We still have a long way to get full equity but also something we want to celebrate in the community is all the values that we bring to the table as queer people," Lukas said.

Others that attended Greensboro's Pride Festival, like Natalie Robinson, agree that something needs to be done beyond the celebration.

"This is a lifestyle, this is what people deal with everyday, just not on a particular day or particular month," Robinson said.

When the festival wraps up for the day, Lukas said their pride does not go away. He explained their group is made up of volunteers that are spending their own time because they care about these issues, and they want others to be involved too. 

"What does the future look like for all of us? It needs to include all of us, it needs to include those across the racial spectrum, across the gender spectrum, across the economic spectrum," Lukas said.

Power Beyond Pride will start its public meetings in November, and will continue to have conversations, once a month. Everyone is encouraged to attend.