Building a more cohesive LGBT community was the theme as over 50 individuals celebrated Men of All Colors Together Philadelphia’s 28th anniversary May 1-3 in conjunction with the city’s Equality Forum.
MACT’s weekend of events included an opening reception at 12th Air Command’s Sky Deck Lounge last Friday, a banquet and awards ceremony at the OIC Culinary Arts Institute on Saturday evening and a closing brunch at Reading Terminal Market on Sunday. Additionally, a workshop on racism and homophobia, presented as part of the chapter’s Theatre of Understanding series, was held at Temple University’s Center City campus on Saturday afternoon.
“We covered a lot of ground,” said chapter membership chair Stevie Martin-Chester, who founded the Theatre of Understanding series in the mid-1990s. “We talked about the community, about groups, about how [MACT] chapters are different yet the same because you all have to work in your community. For example, we’re Philadelphia, Pa.; it’s considered a conservative community. How do you have a group like this in a conservative community? That’s our challenge.”
MACT Philadelphia is a gay, multiracial, multicultural organization dedicated to fostering supportive environments and racial, social and cultural equality. As the local chapter of the National Association of Black and White Men Together, it will hold the national convention, “A Blueprint for Change: Yes, We Can, Together,” in Philadelphia from July 29-Aug. 1.
At the banquet, the group presented awards to several Philadelphia LGBT community leaders, including Zane Booker, who received the community service award for founding and directing the Smoke, Lilies and Jade Arts Initiative, a socially conscious multimedia dance theater company promoting HIV/AIDS awareness.
The Gerald L. Mallon Resisting Racism Award, named in honor of the chapter’s founder, was presented to Soda Nobuhle for her work as a People of Color Coalition board member, an organizer in the women’s and lesbian movements and a member of the 2009 NABWMT convention planning committee.
Longtime chapter members Ken Haughton and Steve Gilmore received the Founder’s Award for their service to the MACT Philadelphia steering committee, as well as for opening their home for chapter social events.
Haughton described himself as “speechless” upon receiving the award. “I really was surprised,” he said, adding that he had not been as active in the group in recent years. “This chapter has a lot of potential — the potential for greatness in creating a more cohesive LGBT community.”
MACT Philadelphia also elected officers to its steering committee Saturday night, including new chapter co-chairs Corbett Klein of Trenton, N.J., and John Barefield. Also elected were Chuck McLean as treasurer, Ron Cropper as recording secretary and John Orandosh as corresponding secretary. Stevie and Art Martin-Chester were voted national representatives to NABWMT.
“I am looking forward to serving as MACT Philadelphia co-chair for a second year with John Barefield,” Klein said. “I appreciate the fellowship offered by MACT and their focus on serving a racially diverse community. I also like that the group is both social and activist so you can choose which activities and events to participate in.
“Personally, in my next year as co-chair, I would like to build bridges between MACT Philadelphia and the other LGBT organizations in the city,” Klein added. “I feel that to achieve diversity acceptance in the world, we need to assure that we respect and nurture diversity within our own LGBT community.”
Klein also noted he is planning a workshop on diversity in the LGBT community for the national convention.
Also at the banquet, members lit a memorial candle to recognize the more than 35 members of the chapter who died from HIV/AIDS and other causes. A special presentation on the 2009 NABWMT convention was also held.
“I thought the weekend was wonderful, very uplifting, but tiring because there was so much work for three days, but it was worth it,” Stevie Martin-Chester said. “Now that it’s over, everything’s about the convention — and that’s going to be another triumph.”