Local LGBT leader Robert Burns, executive director of The Colours Organization Inc. , died early Thursday morning. He was 36.
The cause of death is unknown at this time, although Burns had been hospitalized for the past few weeks and was surrounded by family and friends at the time of his passing at 4:30 a.m. Dec. 8.
“This is extremely significant for the community,” said Gloria Casarez, the city’s director of LGBT affairs. “We have not lost a sitting director of an AIDS organization in a very long time. He was clearly a mentor to so many young people and worked closely with so many different people in the community so people are really stunned right now. Everyone in the community knew Robert.”
Burns joined Colours as its executive director in 2010, after serving as deputy director and interim executive director.
The Colours board of directors issued a statement Thursday saying Burns was an “integral part of the development of HIV-prevention programs and research in Philadelphia for LGBT people of color, specifically African-American [men who have sex with men].”
Burns is a native of Cleveland, Ohio, and lived in Philadelphia since 2003.
Before coming to Colours, Burns worked for four years at The Collective, a joint HIV-prevention effort by Mazzoni Center, ASIAC and the Gay and Lesbian Latino AIDS Education Initiative.
When Burns took over as director of Colours, the organization had been going through a period of transition, but Casarez said he was prepared to take on any challenges.
“He was focused on getting the organization stabilized and preparing Colours for brighter days. He was really working in the trenches getting the organization back on its feet and bolstering its credibility,” Casarez said. “It would have been exceptionally challenging for any director, much less a first-time director and one of his age. But he knew the challenges he was stepping into and he knew he was coming in under a dark cloud and it speaks a lot to his character that he did that and shows how important this work was to him. It wasn’t an option for him to sit by because he felt he had a responsibility to lead.”
Burns additionally served as director of the House of Blahnik, working as deejay for many of the house’s balls all along the East Coast.
House of Blahnik last year lost its house mother, Stacey Blahnik, who was killed in Philadelphia.
“This house has been through a lot in the past year,” Casarez said. “The ripple here is going to be very, very deep. There will certainly be a lot of people who will be affected by this.”
Services have not yet been set.