June is not just any month to the LGBTQ community. It is our high holiday season. We honor the history and heroism of those who came before us, we recognize the current struggles that we are still facing, and we celebrate the beauty and fierceness of our diverse community. Being an activist, I love the politics. Being queer, I love the glitter and the boom-boom beat of the dance floats. And being bisexual, I don’t have to choose which one I like more. ;-)
This year, Pride is particularly meaningful to me because I have the honor of being one of the pride marshals to ride at the head of Boston’s 45th Pride Parade. I was nominated for my work as president of the Bisexual Resource Center (BRC) for ten years and the efforts I’ve put into raising awareness of bisexuality in both the LGBTQ and straight communities. I will be riding in a car alongside Woody Glenn, one of the co-founders of the BRC, so we are the bookends of the 30-year history of the organization.This is historic as it will be the first time that out bisexual leaders have been elected as pride marshals in Boston. Within the bi community this is a huge occasion as it is very rare for bi people to be chosen to represent the LGBTQ community at this level. One recent example comes to mind from just last year when New York City’s Pride organizers very publicly patted themselves on the back for being so inclusive by having a gay, a lesbian, and a transgender marshal—somehow forgetting to include a bisexual marshal.
I feel honored to be representing the bisexual community as a Pride Marshal, and to be joining other bi activists from Pride history such as Brenda Howard (photo at left), who helped to organize the first commemorative march in New York. Often nicknamed “Mother of Pride,” Howard planned the Christopher Street Liberation Day March a month after the Stonewall Riots of June 28, 1969. On the one-year anniversary of Stonewall, Howard again helped organize a march that would be considered the first Pride march of its kind in 1970.My personal pride is certainly partly due to my work in the bi community, but it is and always has been tied to feeling connected to the larger LGBTQ family as well. The work of SpeakOUT, for example, is enhanced by having individuals from various identities and intersections speak in the schools, colleges, religious classes, and corporate settings to tell the truths of their lives. We strive to have people from every letter in our community’s acronym to feel empowered to tell their stories and to help open minds and change attitudes in the spaces in which we speak.On Pride Day in Boston, a few hundred thousand people will be out on the streets keeping this tradition of activism and celebration alive. As one of the oldest LGBTQ organizations in Boston, SpeakOUT will again be there to be a part of the festivities and to spread our mission of creating a world free of homo-bi-transphobia. Having been the Executive Director of SpeakOUT for a year now, I feel so lucky to be working with a team of such talented and committed volunteers. Stop by our booth and meet our team to find out more about what’s kept us going for 43 years and counting. We hope to see you there! Happy Pride!Ellyn Ruthstrom, Executive Director
Speaking Out: Queer Youth in Focus
I believe there is strength in numbers, power in words, and freedom in art and I strive to raise awareness with this book.
-Rachelle Lee Smith
On Thursday, June 4th, 2015, SpeakOUT Boston and BAGLY will be co-hosting a book event with author Rachelle Lee Smith for the release of her book Speaking OUT: Queer Youth in Focus. Smith's book is a photographic essay that explores a wide spectrum of experiences told from the perspective of a diverse group of young people, ages 14 to 24, identifying as queer. With more than 65 portraits photographed over a period of ten years, Speaking OUT provides rare insight into the passions, confusions, prejudices, joys, and sorrows felt by queer youth. The collaboration of image and first-person narrative serves to provide an outlet, show support, create dialogue, and help those who struggle.SpeakOUT interviewed Rachelle Lee Smith in anticipation of the event.What inspired you to make Speaking OUT: Queer Youth in Focus?I was very fortunate and had a great "coming out" experience. I was supported and accepted by family and friends. I know that I was lucky, but did not quite realize how lucky until I went to college and met people with dramatically different experiences than my own. It was hearing the, often, tragic stories from friends that inspired me to do something... to tell our stories!I wanted to create a place where people could learn about other experiences and share their own. My hope was to create a place for dialogue, inspiration, and hope. Photography was my means for storytelling and an outlet for creative expression. I thought the faces and handwritten text would be a powerful combination of real-life, present-day, for-youth/by-youth experiences.
Why do you think it is important to provide spaces for LGBTQ people to express themselves?I think it is important for everyone to have a means of a cathartic, creative or expressive outlet, but LGBTQ people in particular because we are often an under-represented group of people. Personal or group expression allows us to learn, grow, heal, teach, and challenge ourselves.Bottling up emotions is not healthy, and neither is closing off from the world. By having spaces for LGBTQ people to express themselves it allows us to open up within ourselves and also helps open the minds of others. Conversation and dialogue are enormous educators and any form of expression incites discussion.What kind of response have you gotten from queer youth and from adults in the LGBTQ community?I have received an overwhelming amount of support and positive feedback for capturing these snapshots in time and also for creating a body of work that spans over a decade and really shows the change over time within our community.People have told me how they relate, draw inspiration from, or learn from the words that these people have written. My goal is to show people that they are not alone, that there is a variety of experiences and so much diversity within the LGBTQ community. I hope this work accurately represents that for the community.What did you learn through your process of making the book?This was my first endeavor in the publishing world and I learned a great deal about that process from start to finish. But I also had the opportunity to review and read and re-read the words from these brave young people who put their words and lives out there for the world to see. It allowed me to see how far we have come in the last decade. The book also allowed for a unique opportunity to reach out to those who were photographed over the last decade and include a follow up from them. People reflected on what they wrote 5-12 years ago, how they have changed, and how the climate has changed. I am constantly learning through the experiences of those in the book and the people I meet along the way.Rachelle Lee Smith is an award-winning photographer based in Philadelphia. Rachelle's work in Speaking OUT: Queer Youth in Focus combines her passions for activism and photography.
Join SpeakOUT and BAGLY at First Parish in Harvard Square in Cambridge on Thursday, June 4 from 6:00-8:00pm to kick-off Pride season in Boston and support the work of SpeakOUT and BAGLY in our community.