LGBTQ Impact held a grassroots community meeting Feb. 22 at Mary's Attic to discuss electoral outreach and the importance of intersectionality.
Featured panelists Jhonmar Castillo, Rowkeena Ellis, Rick Garcia, Gretchen Rachel Hammond ( who also writes for this publication ) and Richard Streetman addressed a packed house of about 75 people on a variety of progressive issues and ways the community can move the ball forward.
Event organizer John Zmuda introduced the panel ahead of their remarks.
Streetman encouraged attendees to publicize the event via social media and then spoke about the history of the LGBTQ movement over the past 50 years.
"We've gained a measure of equality over the years and we aren't going back to 1969, before we had those rights," said Streetman.
Garcia noted how thrilled he was at the large number of attendees that evening. He explained that LGBTQ Impact is a grassroots organization not tied to bigger local or national LGBTQ organizations or elected officials.
"We have to stand up, get together and organize … we have to go where the rubber hits the road," said Garcia. "This means helping people register to vote and coming out to rallies. It also means helping with the fight for healthcare access, women's rights, immigration and #BlackLivesMatter, because it isn't just about LGBTQ issues, it's about all of us. Because LGBTQ people are Black, white, Latinx and Asian, and also either Muslim, Christian, Jewish or atheist, and each and every one of us is entitled to be treated fairly and equitably under the law."
Garcia explained that in the past two months there have been two anti-LGBTQ bills introduced in the Illinois state legislature, so the community's work isn't done in Illinois. He said people in the Chicagoland area are extremely lucky to live in a liberal bubble that values LGBTQ equality. Garcia noted that the reason why LGBTQ equality is the law of the land in Illinois is because of the tenacity of a number of individuals who lobbied elected officials to make that happen.
"I know there is someone here that should run for office who could stand up for all of us," said Garcia.
Ellis began her remarks with an Audre Lorde quote—"There is no such thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live single-issue lives."
"I'm here to speak about intersectionality," said Ellis. "Intersectionality was coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw, a leading scholar in critical race theory. The term describes how different forms of discrimination can interact and overlap. I am a Black, gay, able-bodied woman. These things make up the fabric of me. We are all comprised of different fabrics that come together to create our human existence."
Ellis explained that "45" ( her name for Donald Trump ) has been in office for less than 100 days, and that, as a result, the progress that was made has instead regressed due to various executive orders and an inexperienced cabinet that is the least diverse since the Reagan era. She said that now is the time to come together to fight.
"An injustice for one is an injustice for all," said Ellis. "It's not us vs. them, it's all of us. I am my immigrant brother and sister. I am my Muslim brother and sister. I am my Black brother and sister. I am my transgender brother and sister. I am my non-able-bodied brother and sister. … I will fight because I believe in humanity."
Hammond's focus was on transgender people and issues. She noted the recent murder of Keke Collier ( who also went by the name Tiara Richmond ), the fourth transgender person of color murdered in Chicago since 2012, and asked for a moment of silence. Hammond explained that the rhetoric used to demonize transgender people is at an all-time high. She said there is a chasm between transgender people of color and white transgender people that needs to be addressed.
"An attack on transgender people is an attack on all of you, because you can remember those moments when you were bullied or attacked because of who you are," said Hammond. "We have to realize we have commonalities … this is the greatest enemy [Trump and his administration] we've faced as a community and as a country. As an immigrant myself [she grew up in Manchester, United Kingdom], I find the current situation sobering, but we can win this fight if we organize and get out there with our message beyond the Chicago bubble."
Castillo spoke about a recent visit to one of the state legislators and the question they posed to him about why the LGBTQ community only goes to them when they need their specific issues addressed. He said that conversation was the catalyst for starting LGBTQ Impact to address a wider set of intersectional progressive issues, not just LGBTQ specific ordinances and legislation.
"Digital outreach is extremely important and that's where my expertise comes into play," said Castillo. "We need to be on the ground and online because we can make a lot of noise … but we also need to make sure we have a strategy that makes us effective wherever our message appears."
Panelists called on attendees to sign-up as a potential candidate for office, lobby legislators on intersectional progressive issues, attend rallies, register folks to vote and/or amplify LGBTQ Impact's message via social media.
A Q&A and strategy session followed the panelists' remarks.
The group will meet Wed., March 8, at 7 p.m. at Mary's Attic to talk about the next steps as well as plan for the Pride March on Washington in June.
See LGBTQImpact.com/ and www.facebook.com/lgbtqimpact/ for more information.
