WEBVTT - Keeping Pride Local 0:00:11.720 --> 0:00:14.640 Good morning, Keeps, and welcome to wok F Daily with 0:00:14.800 --> 0:00:19.520 me your Girl, Danielle Moody, recording from the Home Bunker. Folks, 0:00:19.920 --> 0:00:23.200 it is the first full week of Pride and we 0:00:23.239 --> 0:00:26.520 are continuing our Pride coverage here on wok F all 0:00:26.600 --> 0:00:30.680 month long, bringing you really important conversations on the issues 0:00:30.800 --> 0:00:35.000 that are facing the LGBTQ plus community as well as 0:00:35.120 --> 0:00:37.960 you know how we're staying joyful at a time of 0:00:39.120 --> 0:00:43.480 so many, so many horrendous attacks. And today I'm really 0:00:43.520 --> 0:00:47.920 excited to bring a conversation more local. Right. We have 0:00:48.000 --> 0:00:52.680 a lot of headline national conversations on WOKF, and every 0:00:52.720 --> 0:00:54.960 once in a while, I really want to bring in 0:00:55.040 --> 0:01:00.960 a community perspective, a localized perspective on what we're facing right, 0:01:01.480 --> 0:01:06.000 and the reality is I've brought in two guests today, 0:01:06.080 --> 0:01:11.280 Peter Yacabelli and Steve Arrington, both of whom head up 0:01:11.280 --> 0:01:16.759 respective prides in their states. Peter is the executive director 0:01:17.120 --> 0:01:22.320 of Out Montclair in Montclair, New Jersey, and Steve Arrington 0:01:22.640 --> 0:01:25.000 is the head of Black Pride as well as the 0:01:25.040 --> 0:01:31.200 executive director of the Bayard Rustin LGBTQ Center in Akron, Ohio. 0:01:31.959 --> 0:01:34.680 And just being able to speak with both of these 0:01:34.920 --> 0:01:38.080 men about the work that they are doing and about 0:01:38.160 --> 0:01:41.960 the issues you know that they are facing, from funding 0:01:42.080 --> 0:01:45.840 to recognition, to how to stay hopeful, to how to 0:01:46.480 --> 0:01:53.160 continue to intertwine education, and you know, and understanding both 0:01:53.480 --> 0:01:57.920 within the LGBTQ community, how we understand ourselves during this 0:01:58.040 --> 0:02:01.800 month of Pride, but all year long, and really understanding 0:02:01.800 --> 0:02:04.400 the history of how we got to a place where 0:02:04.400 --> 0:02:07.640 we were having pride in the first place, and to 0:02:07.680 --> 0:02:12.400 continue to intertwine both our present day reality with our 0:02:12.480 --> 0:02:16.320 ancestors that helped to get us to this place. So 0:02:16.440 --> 0:02:19.760 that conversation is a really good one and I hope 0:02:19.760 --> 0:02:23.519 that you all enjoy it. But before we had there, 0:02:24.320 --> 0:02:26.480 you know, I do want to say this with regard 0:02:26.639 --> 0:02:31.120 to just, you know, the news of all of these Republicans, 0:02:31.240 --> 0:02:34.960 you know, announcing their presidency and Nikki Haley, you know, 0:02:35.200 --> 0:02:39.359 using her time with the failing network CNN in her 0:02:39.520 --> 0:02:43.920 presidential town hall to attack the transgender community, particularly to 0:02:44.000 --> 0:02:49.040 attack trans girls. There is no moderate within that bunch. 0:02:49.520 --> 0:02:52.280 They are telling you exactly who they are, exactly what 0:02:52.360 --> 0:02:54.840 they stand for. And when you have someone like Nicki 0:02:54.880 --> 0:02:58.560 Haley use a mainstream media outlet to spread outright lies 0:02:59.160 --> 0:03:03.239 that increase violence towards the most marginalized among us. I 0:03:03.280 --> 0:03:05.760 don't know how the fucking mainstream media gets away with 0:03:05.880 --> 0:03:07.919 referring to her as moderate. 0:03:08.160 --> 0:03:08.680 She is not. 0:03:09.160 --> 0:03:11.840 She is a liar, and she is just as hateful 0:03:11.880 --> 0:03:16.639 as Donald Trump. Just because what she wears traditional feminine 0:03:16.680 --> 0:03:19.920 clothing and wears makeup, we think that what she's not 0:03:20.040 --> 0:03:23.320 as vile and disgusting. I mean, thankfully, you know, what 0:03:23.440 --> 0:03:26.040 Nikki Haley is really doing, like many of the people 0:03:26.040 --> 0:03:28.280 that are in the field right now, is auditioning for 0:03:28.360 --> 0:03:32.560 Donald Trump, who remains the heavyweight front runner right now. 0:03:32.560 --> 0:03:35.760 But when you look at even who is in second place, 0:03:35.840 --> 0:03:40.200 which is Aron DeSantis, and the hateful measures and policies 0:03:40.360 --> 0:03:43.360 and climate that he is enacting in Florida, you have 0:03:43.360 --> 0:03:45.920 to think to yourself, is this what we want nationalized? 0:03:46.200 --> 0:03:52.240 Do we want to mainstream homophobia and transphobia, misogyny, racism 0:03:52.560 --> 0:03:54.880 right in our country? Is that what we want? We 0:03:54.920 --> 0:03:56.840 want to go back to the days where these people 0:03:56.880 --> 0:04:00.240 who were forced out onto the margins for their racism, 0:04:00.360 --> 0:04:04.280 for their Islamophobia, for their homophobia and transphobia are now 0:04:04.800 --> 0:04:08.800 just credited with being, you know, just having differing opinions. 0:04:09.720 --> 0:04:12.280 I don't fucking think so, and so I think that 0:04:12.320 --> 0:04:17.120 it's important, as you know, we are watching the mainstream 0:04:17.160 --> 0:04:20.640 media make the same mistakes that they made in twenty fifteen, 0:04:20.720 --> 0:04:23.680 make them all over again because it's quote unquote good 0:04:23.680 --> 0:04:26.000 for ratings, or as CNN is trying to do, just 0:04:26.120 --> 0:04:29.520 both sides everyone to fucking death. It's really important to 0:04:29.600 --> 0:04:34.720 recognize what is happening, and it is to normalize hey 0:04:35.480 --> 0:04:38.479 right to say, oh, you're okay, it's it's fine. You know, 0:04:38.600 --> 0:04:40.760 you don't know a trans person, So let me tell 0:04:40.800 --> 0:04:43.800 you about this boogie person that I'm trying to create. 0:04:43.880 --> 0:04:46.080 Let me make up a story and create this monster 0:04:46.240 --> 0:04:50.320 and then have you, you know, rely on the fact 0:04:50.760 --> 0:04:54.120 that I can just spread lies because we refuse to 0:04:54.240 --> 0:04:57.159 actually leave our communities and get to know each other 0:04:57.520 --> 0:04:59.640 and the person down the street, which makes it so 0:04:59.720 --> 0:05:02.960 easy right for the right wing to be able to 0:05:03.000 --> 0:05:06.000 spread the kind of bullshit that they do. So it 0:05:06.120 --> 0:05:09.359 is really important that we go back to community, that 0:05:09.400 --> 0:05:12.279 we stop looking so far outside of ourselves for the 0:05:12.320 --> 0:05:15.520 solutions to the problems that we're facing. And I think 0:05:15.520 --> 0:05:19.839 that this conversation today with both Steve and Peter and 0:05:19.920 --> 0:05:24.680 the localization of pride and local solutions and community solutions 0:05:24.720 --> 0:05:30.600 is exactly where we need to be, Folks. I am 0:05:30.760 --> 0:05:34.760 very excited to welcome to ook F Daily for the 0:05:34.880 --> 0:05:39.880 very first time. We're doing a duo for our interview 0:05:39.960 --> 0:05:45.000 today during the month of Pride. I'm excited to welcome 0:05:45.440 --> 0:05:49.640 the executive director of the Bayard Rustin lgbt Q Center, 0:05:49.800 --> 0:05:55.000 Steve Arrington, as well as the executive director of Out 0:05:55.080 --> 0:06:00.440 Montclair and Montclair Pride, Peter Yacobellis. Thank you to the 0:06:00.480 --> 0:06:03.640 both of you to making the time to join WOKF. 0:06:04.360 --> 0:06:09.000 And I'll start and I'll direct the first question to you, Steve, 0:06:10.720 --> 0:06:18.000 what does pride mean to you this month of June 0:06:18.040 --> 0:06:23.719 but also under kind of the cloud of attacks that 0:06:23.800 --> 0:06:28.440 the LGBTQ community has been facing over the last year. 0:06:29.440 --> 0:06:31.960 Thank you for that question, and it's a good question. 0:06:32.800 --> 0:06:35.560 Pride means to me something totally different, I think than 0:06:35.600 --> 0:06:41.159 what it is to the mainstream white gay pride community. Being 0:06:41.160 --> 0:06:44.599 African American openly gay man, it's always been a struggle 0:06:45.200 --> 0:06:49.800 and so we have never been involved or one embraced 0:06:49.800 --> 0:06:53.080 by white gay prides. So when we decide to do 0:06:53.600 --> 0:06:57.279 African American black family pride. We're bringing in our culture. 0:06:57.600 --> 0:07:01.720 We're bringing in things that make us rifle. Mostly black 0:07:01.760 --> 0:07:04.200 gay men and lesbian women are in the church choirs. 0:07:04.480 --> 0:07:06.720 We bring it in our food, We're bringing in our house, 0:07:06.800 --> 0:07:09.560 our ball dancers. It's more of a cultural event for 0:07:09.680 --> 0:07:12.280 us than just a party in the park or a 0:07:12.280 --> 0:07:15.560 party on the street. We celebrate our struggles that we 0:07:15.640 --> 0:07:20.760 have as black LGBTQ plus people. We celebrate the good times, 0:07:20.800 --> 0:07:24.480 the bad times. We celebrate our ancestors, and we celebrate 0:07:24.520 --> 0:07:29.720 the term on the principles of Kwansa with is self determination. 0:07:30.280 --> 0:07:32.920 So my pride that I'm celebrating this year is the 0:07:32.960 --> 0:07:36.920 self determination to move forward. And in doing that, and 0:07:37.040 --> 0:07:40.440 during that self determination, we take an assessment of what 0:07:40.560 --> 0:07:43.480 is needed in our community, what are the struggles, what 0:07:43.520 --> 0:07:46.560 are some barriers that we can address. In our pride. 0:07:46.880 --> 0:07:49.880 For the last seven years, we've always gave scholarships away, 0:07:50.120 --> 0:07:52.160 and so this year it'll be ten thousand dollars in 0:07:52.200 --> 0:07:54.800 scholarship so far that we've gave away to some people 0:07:54.840 --> 0:07:57.640 in our community that are trying to struggle to go 0:07:57.680 --> 0:08:01.000 to college. That's a pride event, and we just don't 0:08:01.040 --> 0:08:05.080 have one event. We do three major events across the sections. 0:08:05.400 --> 0:08:08.120 We're going to have a house Mecha Valley, a ball night, 0:08:08.640 --> 0:08:11.680 We're going to have our scholarship luncheon, and we got 0:08:11.720 --> 0:08:14.760 our stone so picnic in the park and it brings 0:08:14.800 --> 0:08:18.520 together through different genres of people across our community. 0:08:21.120 --> 0:08:24.760 Wonderful Steve, thank you so much. And Peter, similar question 0:08:24.920 --> 0:08:29.600 to you with being the executive director of aut Montclair. 0:08:30.200 --> 0:08:36.000 You know, what does pride mean to you, particularly during 0:08:36.080 --> 0:08:39.960 this obviously what is often a celebratory month of June, 0:08:40.360 --> 0:08:45.840 but again under this cloud of consistent attacks that we've 0:08:45.880 --> 0:08:49.240 seen against the community across the country. 0:08:50.280 --> 0:08:53.040 Yeah, so it ebbs and flows, you know, like at 0:08:53.080 --> 0:08:58.280 some points in my journey, I've been you know, rioting 0:08:58.360 --> 0:09:02.760 and for pride and advocating and and other points celebratory. 0:09:02.840 --> 0:09:05.600 We've had a lot of change over the last two decades, 0:09:06.480 --> 0:09:09.160 and unfortunately we're in one of these cycles now where 0:09:10.000 --> 0:09:13.080 certain elements in our country are deciding to circle around 0:09:13.160 --> 0:09:15.480 and come on the attack again and try and strip 0:09:15.559 --> 0:09:17.840 us of rights and trying to e raise us from 0:09:18.240 --> 0:09:22.120 curriculum and library books and all of that. And it's 0:09:22.160 --> 0:09:24.520 really quite scary because I think the people who are 0:09:24.520 --> 0:09:27.000 doing it know better, and they're doing it anyway, and 0:09:27.040 --> 0:09:30.760 they're doing it to divide. So Pride for me this 0:09:30.880 --> 0:09:34.559 year is about being a contrast and setting up something 0:09:34.600 --> 0:09:38.360 like Montclair Pride is about contrasting places all over the 0:09:38.360 --> 0:09:42.120 country that are marginalizing and targeting people for discrimination, and 0:09:42.160 --> 0:09:44.760 we want to be the anecdote for that. We want 0:09:44.760 --> 0:09:48.040 people to be welcome here, to be themselves. Our tagline 0:09:48.120 --> 0:09:51.560 is be you be Heard. You're a family friendly event. 0:09:52.120 --> 0:09:55.280 We are a majority people of color event. We're really 0:09:55.320 --> 0:09:57.440 really proud of what we've been able to create here 0:09:57.480 --> 0:10:00.960 in Montclair and like to serve as a contrast related 0:10:00.960 --> 0:10:02.840 to what's going on in so many other places around 0:10:02.880 --> 0:10:03.199 the world. 0:10:04.080 --> 0:10:07.160 You know, the thing that I think is most important, 0:10:07.200 --> 0:10:10.040 you know, for those people that actually are outside of 0:10:10.080 --> 0:10:14.120 the LGBTQ community, you know, they have often seen Pride 0:10:14.120 --> 0:10:17.240 as you know, an event with glitter and floats and music, 0:10:18.640 --> 0:10:23.640 and don't really understand necessarily the origins of Pride Pride 0:10:23.679 --> 0:10:27.960 being as Peter you alluded to, initially a riot right 0:10:28.080 --> 0:10:33.640 in nineteen sixty nine outside of Stonewall in in New York, 0:10:33.960 --> 0:10:39.160 where I am located, and the importance of the LGBTQ 0:10:39.280 --> 0:10:43.720 community led by black trans women at that time, pushing 0:10:43.760 --> 0:10:48.400 back against police brutality, pushing back against you know, the 0:10:48.440 --> 0:10:52.079 forces that sought to oppress them, and so can the 0:10:52.160 --> 0:10:54.640 both of you speak to and Peter, I'll start with 0:10:54.679 --> 0:10:59.640 you with this one. You know why the his understanding 0:10:59.640 --> 0:11:03.200 the history of pride is important and how you work 0:11:03.320 --> 0:11:09.800 to interweave that with joy and celebration in your locality. 0:11:10.840 --> 0:11:13.360 Well, for me, you know, the symbol and the flag 0:11:13.440 --> 0:11:17.040 has obviously evolved over the years, but the Pride flag 0:11:17.480 --> 0:11:23.079 was a literal signal for safety, especially when I was younger. 0:11:23.520 --> 0:11:26.120 Finding the place in New York City that had the 0:11:26.160 --> 0:11:28.160 flag meant that I could be who I was and 0:11:28.200 --> 0:11:31.240 I would be safe there. And that's really the space 0:11:31.280 --> 0:11:32.920 that I think a lot of us try to create 0:11:32.960 --> 0:11:35.439 with our festivals and our events, is this is a 0:11:35.480 --> 0:11:37.960 place where you can come be your authentic self and 0:11:38.040 --> 0:11:42.320 you will be safe. If you are a cisgender white, 0:11:42.760 --> 0:11:45.920 you know, straight male in America, you really probably never 0:11:46.120 --> 0:11:50.480 have felt unsafe as a result of your identity. Right, So, 0:11:50.520 --> 0:11:53.480 when we see the pushback on pride, people saying well, 0:11:53.520 --> 0:11:56.160 why don't we have straight pride? I do try to 0:11:56.200 --> 0:11:58.920 have a conversation with people around that. I see that 0:11:58.960 --> 0:12:02.120 as an opportunity because I try to assume positive intent 0:12:02.200 --> 0:12:07.040 and assume misunderstanding before something more malicious. And often when 0:12:07.040 --> 0:12:10.000 I do have that conversation with individuals, they don't realize 0:12:10.440 --> 0:12:14.240 that it is about safety, that it is about overcoming struggle, 0:12:14.320 --> 0:12:19.160 that it's about overcoming discrimination and marginalization that we've all 0:12:19.200 --> 0:12:21.880 experienced in our lives. And so I think it's so 0:12:21.920 --> 0:12:25.280 important that we keep things like this going because there 0:12:25.320 --> 0:12:28.760 are constantly, obviously new people who are coming out and 0:12:28.800 --> 0:12:31.319 figuring out who they are, and we need to make 0:12:31.360 --> 0:12:33.760 sure that they have safe spaces to be themselves. 0:12:35.280 --> 0:12:38.640 Thank you for that And see for you, you know again, 0:12:38.720 --> 0:12:43.120 being in in Ohio, being in you know, the Midwest 0:12:43.240 --> 0:12:47.560 region of the of the country. For you, what does 0:12:47.960 --> 0:12:52.800 pride at this at this local level, and black pride specifically, 0:12:53.240 --> 0:12:57.400 you know mean? And why is it important to interweave 0:12:57.440 --> 0:13:01.839 the history right into the content of understanding how pride 0:13:01.880 --> 0:13:04.560 has evolved over the course of time. 0:13:05.000 --> 0:13:08.720 It is very important to weave the history from which 0:13:08.760 --> 0:13:11.600 we came a lot of the young people that we 0:13:11.640 --> 0:13:14.559 see at our drop in center know very little about 0:13:14.640 --> 0:13:18.079 black gay history. In our facility, we got posters hanging 0:13:18.120 --> 0:13:22.040 all through the facility of famous people who are African 0:13:22.080 --> 0:13:26.040 American that came before us and that were LGBTQ. Audrey 0:13:26.080 --> 0:13:28.920 Lord with a story about who she is, and we 0:13:29.040 --> 0:13:32.320 share that knowledge on an ongoing basis as we talk 0:13:32.400 --> 0:13:35.880 about Stonewall. I'm always sharing with our youth that Stonewall 0:13:36.320 --> 0:13:39.400 was a people of color issue. Stonewall was where we 0:13:39.559 --> 0:13:43.200 stood up to be accounted for. Stonewall is our beginning 0:13:43.240 --> 0:13:47.120 and our pride. Well, they go to visit Stonewall. Now 0:13:47.160 --> 0:13:51.360 it's been regenrified to a white, gay, upscale community. But 0:13:51.640 --> 0:13:55.760 that's our pride, and so our pride is identify as 0:13:55.840 --> 0:13:59.280 Peter said, to struggle and celebrate the struggle. And if 0:13:59.320 --> 0:14:02.360 we don't knowledge the struggle that we have and even 0:14:02.400 --> 0:14:06.360 still going half today and educate the young people behind me, 0:14:06.800 --> 0:14:09.600 they wouldn't know nothing about it because it's not taught. 0:14:09.640 --> 0:14:12.520 Being here in Ohio, being black and gay is more 0:14:12.559 --> 0:14:16.120 than a nocean. I mean to get us to point 0:14:16.120 --> 0:14:18.480 where we got black gay pride and this is our 0:14:18.520 --> 0:14:23.160 seventh year was not embraced at all, and it was like, oh, 0:14:23.200 --> 0:14:25.240 you don't need that. We all together, No, we're none. 0:14:25.560 --> 0:14:27.760 Because when I tell you about my culture that I 0:14:27.800 --> 0:14:30.320 need to bring to the table being part of his pride. 0:14:30.480 --> 0:14:34.120 You tell me that's not pride. So that's my pride. 0:14:34.200 --> 0:14:37.080 It wasn't your pride, and it wasn't accepted, it wasn't embraced. 0:14:37.560 --> 0:14:40.640 So now after seven years, they're coming around and say, oh, well, 0:14:40.680 --> 0:14:42.760 we want to fund you to help you give us 0:14:42.760 --> 0:14:47.360 some money. And I use this analogy when the mainstream 0:14:47.440 --> 0:14:51.880 Pride can raise over two hundred thousand dollars for a 0:14:52.120 --> 0:14:57.760 six hour event, a party in the street for six hours, 0:14:58.280 --> 0:15:01.600 and we have not even raised over twenty thousand dollars 0:15:02.000 --> 0:15:07.000 for a three day event, including scholarships, including Keno speakers, 0:15:07.320 --> 0:15:11.520 including an educational component, and we've never received that kind 0:15:11.520 --> 0:15:13.960 of money. So it tells you right there that there 0:15:14.040 --> 0:15:17.120 is a divide because we go out and solicit funds 0:15:17.120 --> 0:15:20.240 to sponsor our pride just as well as mainstream Pride, 0:15:20.320 --> 0:15:22.800 and we don't get it. We might have an institution 0:15:22.960 --> 0:15:25.440 that would give us five hundred dollars while they gave 0:15:25.480 --> 0:15:28.880 mainstream Pride five thousand dollars, And we see that and 0:15:28.920 --> 0:15:31.040 we keep track of that because it lets us know 0:15:31.080 --> 0:15:35.200 that our struggle is still still relevant at this time. 0:15:35.760 --> 0:15:38.240 So when I hear the joy of pride. What is 0:15:38.280 --> 0:15:41.520 my joy right now? My joy is that we're sustaining 0:15:41.920 --> 0:15:44.440 and we're able to pull off the seventh year. That 0:15:44.640 --> 0:15:47.920 is my big joy, that we're here. It hasn't folded up. 0:15:48.240 --> 0:15:50.760 And I'm hoping that when you know, I'm not a 0:15:50.800 --> 0:15:53.440 young a no more. So, I'm hoping when I leave here, 0:15:53.840 --> 0:15:56.560 that someone steps up behind me and say, let's carry 0:15:56.560 --> 0:15:58.640 this on. Who's going to do the next exect director? 0:15:58.760 --> 0:16:03.960 Be pride, create an institution here in the LGBTT black community, 0:16:04.240 --> 0:16:06.320 something that they can be proud of. I mean our 0:16:06.400 --> 0:16:08.720 dropping center last year, we had five hundred and one 0:16:08.720 --> 0:16:12.240 people just dropped through here. And these eighteen to twenty 0:16:12.240 --> 0:16:15.640 four year olds homeless, subs abuse, and a whole lot 0:16:15.640 --> 0:16:18.360 of mental health issues. So when you see eighteen year 0:16:18.360 --> 0:16:20.920 old people sleeping on your front porch of your building 0:16:20.960 --> 0:16:24.560 facility because they have nowhere to go, there's still a struggle. 0:16:25.600 --> 0:16:29.960 It's still a struggle and there's very limited resources for them. 0:16:30.320 --> 0:16:33.960 So you know, our focus and our agendas are different. 0:16:34.360 --> 0:16:36.560 And as you say, as he said, a white male 0:16:36.680 --> 0:16:40.760 or white female don't even know, don't even know the 0:16:40.800 --> 0:16:44.480 burden that we have to carry so I always amazed 0:16:44.520 --> 0:16:47.960 at that word joy. What does joy mean? If I 0:16:48.200 --> 0:16:50.560 was back in the church, I would say joy, joy, 0:16:50.640 --> 0:16:53.320 deep down in my heart. Oh yeah, it's in my heart. 0:16:53.560 --> 0:16:55.240 But what is that joy? When I leave that church? 0:16:55.320 --> 0:16:58.320 They have to face the reality of racism as each 0:16:58.360 --> 0:17:00.600 and every day when I wake up, you know, I 0:17:00.720 --> 0:17:02.440 go to bed feeling good, and I wake up and 0:17:02.480 --> 0:17:06.280 get back in this work, and somebody is out there 0:17:06.680 --> 0:17:08.760 that is not going to embrace us. So when they 0:17:08.800 --> 0:17:13.080 talk about the overall attitude of anti gayness in Ohio, 0:17:13.359 --> 0:17:15.640 and we got a lot, we got four bills going 0:17:15.680 --> 0:17:19.520 on Ohio now against gays, well you know we have 0:17:19.680 --> 0:17:22.199 those four bills. But I wake up as a black man. 0:17:22.280 --> 0:17:26.800 There's anti blackness every day, So not just for gay issues, 0:17:26.880 --> 0:17:30.200 but every day. And so I do believe that the 0:17:30.320 --> 0:17:33.400 term joy is more of a mental state of mind, 0:17:33.520 --> 0:17:37.359 that we're existing, that we're alive, and that we're well 0:17:37.840 --> 0:17:41.320 and we're celebrating our life. And my young guys work here, 0:17:41.400 --> 0:17:43.320 when I told them about the joy pride, they all 0:17:43.400 --> 0:17:47.119 said today, what joy? After of course they asked me, 0:17:47.840 --> 0:17:50.680 what are you talking about joy? What do you mean? 0:17:51.320 --> 0:17:53.639 Because everybody want to know what's the Joy. It's a 0:17:53.640 --> 0:17:55.920 struggle for us to raise money to put these events on. 0:17:57.000 --> 0:18:01.800 It's a struggle to maintain Wars open. So you know, 0:18:01.840 --> 0:18:04.800 we didn't raise two hundred thousand dollars in six months 0:18:04.840 --> 0:18:06.000 for six Hour Party. 0:18:07.119 --> 0:18:10.400 Yeah, I think that that's I mean, that's an important 0:18:10.680 --> 0:18:15.280 differentiation to make, which is, you know, there has long 0:18:16.280 --> 0:18:21.800 been an issue around the commercialization of pride, right, the 0:18:21.920 --> 0:18:26.760 corporatization of pride in many ways, but that money being 0:18:27.000 --> 0:18:33.120 used to rainbow wash companies who are doing dirt against 0:18:33.280 --> 0:18:36.760 our communities during you know, at night, but taking the 0:18:36.880 --> 0:18:41.600 money by day. What does it mean to you know, 0:18:41.880 --> 0:18:49.360 have these corporations give to the quote unquote mainstream organizations 0:18:49.720 --> 0:18:56.199 while really denying the work of localized organizations that are 0:18:56.280 --> 0:19:00.000 working with whether it's the black queer community, the Lacks, 0:19:00.040 --> 0:19:03.680 the next queer community, what have you. I think is 0:19:03.960 --> 0:19:07.200 a really important distinction to make. I ask about Joy 0:19:07.840 --> 0:19:13.720 because I find, you know, particularly as we see the 0:19:13.880 --> 0:19:17.520 silencing and the erasure that is happening at a national level, 0:19:18.280 --> 0:19:23.840 I have a lot of concern for LGBTQ youth. I 0:19:23.960 --> 0:19:26.080 have a lot of concern and it goes back to 0:19:26.359 --> 0:19:29.000 you know, the beginning of the two thousands, when you've 0:19:29.080 --> 0:19:33.080 heard you know, the campaigns around it gets better, right, 0:19:33.840 --> 0:19:38.199 and this idea that you know, just keep moving, keep pushing, 0:19:38.359 --> 0:19:43.480 have faith right that each generation's responsibility is too better, 0:19:43.800 --> 0:19:48.280 you know, is to better society than the way that 0:19:48.400 --> 0:19:51.040 we found it. And so Peter, I'll start with you 0:19:51.480 --> 0:19:55.040 with this question, which is, you know, what are your 0:19:55.440 --> 0:20:01.120 both your hopes and your fear for lgbtqu at this time, 0:20:02.800 --> 0:20:07.120 and what kind of support do you see that they need. 0:20:08.560 --> 0:20:13.000 Well, I think we're seeing now more comfort with authenticity 0:20:13.800 --> 0:20:16.840 than ever before, and I think that is what is 0:20:16.960 --> 0:20:20.760 scaring the right wing to these crazy reactions that we're 0:20:20.760 --> 0:20:25.200 seeing around the country in terms of just targeting youth 0:20:25.320 --> 0:20:32.199 and their families for discrimination, criminalizing trans healthcare, banning library books, 0:20:32.560 --> 0:20:35.399 banning drag shows. I mean, there is a lot of 0:20:35.520 --> 0:20:40.000 fear that's coming up against I think a lot of authenticity. 0:20:40.640 --> 0:20:44.280 So I do remain hopeful just given everything I'm seeing. 0:20:44.760 --> 0:20:46.760 I was at a show last night for an artist 0:20:46.920 --> 0:20:49.359 named Declan McKenna, who I've never heard of before, but 0:20:49.440 --> 0:20:54.240 who's very popular with the young generation, and most of 0:20:54.280 --> 0:20:57.240 the audience was young, queer people of all colors, and 0:20:58.680 --> 0:21:01.040 it was beautiful to see, and I couldn't believe just 0:21:01.320 --> 0:21:03.280 the way they were a dressed and how free they were. 0:21:03.440 --> 0:21:06.560 And I'd never seen such an assemblance of young people 0:21:06.720 --> 0:21:09.480 like that outside of my and this was just a concert. 0:21:10.280 --> 0:21:11.320 So I have a lot of hope, But at the 0:21:11.359 --> 0:21:14.280 same time, I'm concerned in places like Florida where you 0:21:14.320 --> 0:21:19.040 can't even teach anything LGBTQ related now through twelfth grade. 0:21:19.200 --> 0:21:21.320 I mean, we're not even talking about the Don't Say 0:21:21.359 --> 0:21:23.399 Gay bill through third grade that was passed over a 0:21:23.480 --> 0:21:25.400 year ago, and now we're talking about you can't talk 0:21:25.400 --> 0:21:32.240 about it through high school. That's scary, right. Luckily streaming content, television, 0:21:32.440 --> 0:21:36.880 all those stuff, you know, but what's next, Right, That's 0:21:37.000 --> 0:21:41.600 my concern is this kind of censorship and shaming and 0:21:41.720 --> 0:21:44.359 if the people pushing it get even more power than 0:21:44.400 --> 0:21:48.040 they already have. And the consolidation of media assets in 0:21:48.080 --> 0:21:52.480 the country, you know, with media markets being consolidated in papers, 0:21:52.560 --> 0:21:55.240 and television stations and radio stations all being owned by 0:21:55.560 --> 0:21:58.840 two or three companies, is very, very very concerning to 0:21:58.960 --> 0:22:03.040 me what the goal there? And I think most alarming 0:22:03.800 --> 0:22:06.879 is the effort by conservatives to take over school boards 0:22:08.040 --> 0:22:11.720 and affect and change curriculum because that we're seeing cuts 0:22:11.760 --> 0:22:15.520 across a lot of issues, trying to deny the Holocaust, 0:22:16.200 --> 0:22:19.400 talk about slavery and a completely different context and taking 0:22:19.480 --> 0:22:23.960 it completely out of context and erasing LGBTQ people. So 0:22:24.119 --> 0:22:28.040 I'm scared for all oppressed people because I think we 0:22:28.320 --> 0:22:31.160 just are going through this cycle like humanity doesn't seem 0:22:31.200 --> 0:22:33.960 to learn the lesson. Ever, you can go back one 0:22:34.040 --> 0:22:35.920 hundred years ago and look at the world and the 0:22:36.200 --> 0:22:39.840 debates and the conversations and the discrimination and targeting that 0:22:40.000 --> 0:22:42.440 was starting to happen one hundred years ago, and here 0:22:42.520 --> 0:22:45.560 we are again. Yeah, it's scary. So we all have 0:22:45.640 --> 0:22:47.960 to have each other's backs too. I think that's the 0:22:48.040 --> 0:22:50.080 most important thing, is that we're looking out for each other. 0:22:50.400 --> 0:22:52.720 We're trying to understand each other, where we're coming from 0:22:52.800 --> 0:22:56.480 each other's life experiences, and having each other's backs, because 0:22:56.640 --> 0:22:58.480 once they come for one of us, they're coming for 0:22:58.560 --> 0:22:59.159 the rest of us. 0:23:00.200 --> 0:23:00.320 Man. 0:23:00.600 --> 0:23:02.960 Yeah, that is one hundred percent true. 0:23:03.280 --> 0:23:04.240 And Steve for you. 0:23:04.760 --> 0:23:10.760 You know, again, with regard to the pressures and the 0:23:10.880 --> 0:23:15.800 reality that LGBTQ youth are up against, you know, how 0:23:15.880 --> 0:23:20.000 do you think those that are listening, you know, those 0:23:20.119 --> 0:23:24.399 that are able to attend, you know, and go to 0:23:24.480 --> 0:23:28.119 your center in Ohio. What what can people do to 0:23:28.240 --> 0:23:33.040 be of better allies, to be a better support to 0:23:33.240 --> 0:23:34.320 LGBTQ youth. 0:23:35.240 --> 0:23:38.440 Uh? You know, that's a good question. But before I 0:23:38.560 --> 0:23:40.480 talk about what they could do to be a better 0:23:40.560 --> 0:23:45.000 ally and support, I have to address my youth that 0:23:45.240 --> 0:23:51.240 come here. They lack knowledge, they lack awareness, and we're 0:23:51.320 --> 0:23:53.680 all we have a Wednesday dinner here every night and 0:23:53.960 --> 0:23:56.840 it's all about some subject on the table. One time 0:23:56.880 --> 0:23:59.520 we were talking about Rosa Parks and one of the 0:23:59.560 --> 0:24:01.400 guys said, well, you know, that wasn't real. That really 0:24:01.440 --> 0:24:05.080 didn't happen. And I said, it didn't know me, Steve, 0:24:05.200 --> 0:24:09.120 that didn't happen. And I'm like, well who told you that? Well, 0:24:09.160 --> 0:24:11.320 I learned that in school. I don't believe none of 0:24:11.359 --> 0:24:13.959 that kind of stuff. This is an openly gay man 0:24:14.200 --> 0:24:17.400 telling me that. As we explore things like that, there's 0:24:17.440 --> 0:24:20.360 a whole lack of knowledge that are young people coming 0:24:20.400 --> 0:24:24.560 here with even from voting resil to vote, to get involved, 0:24:25.160 --> 0:24:28.680 the knowledge level is not there. The identity about who 0:24:28.720 --> 0:24:31.399 they are in this struggle of being gaged during these 0:24:31.400 --> 0:24:35.439 suppressed times is not there. We have four House bills 0:24:35.480 --> 0:24:38.320 at state Senate now that is trying to erase us 0:24:38.720 --> 0:24:42.679 and to get them involved consciously to address those issues 0:24:42.880 --> 0:24:44.920 and say let's go to the state's capitol with the 0:24:45.000 --> 0:24:47.280 other people on the charter bus and protests. Is like 0:24:47.680 --> 0:24:53.440 why and I'm like, oh wow, So that there is 0:24:53.680 --> 0:24:57.080 where I'm focused on. They need to come and get involved. 0:24:57.359 --> 0:24:59.280