After one year as the head of Philadelphia Black Gay Pride, Jeremy Taylor has stepped down, and last month, PBGP voted in its new president and vice president.
Le Thomas, 39, will take the helm as president while D’Ontace Keyes, 22, will be PBGP’s youngest-ever vice president. Both Thomas and Keyes have been extensively involved with PBGP and said they are ready to enhance the agency’s influence and reach in advance of its 15th anniversary.
Le Thomas Thomas has been a member of PBGP for six years, volunteering for one year before he became a member of the general board and then treasurer for the last two years. Thomas, a Philadelphia resident who grew up in Chester, earned his bachelor’s degree in fashion merchandising from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He said he was eager to get involved in the local LGBT community, and that PBGP was a natural fit. “Growing up, I have always been active in various things. I didn’t come out until I was 20-21, so I wasn’t active in the community because I wasn’t out of the closet, but I’ve always been active in school activities,” he said. “As an adult, I was working and going out here and there but I was missing that part of my life that I was always dedicating myself to. It felt weird not being a part of something. I reached out to PBGP and attended some general meetings and I started volunteering my time and services to them.” Thomas said the decision to step up as president took a lot of consideration. “Although I was involved in a lot of organizations, I never really had a position of authority, but I just felt it was time to step into something and offer some of the things that have made me the person I am today,” he said. Thomas hopes to bring more youth into the organization as well as new minority voices. “We’re approaching our 15-year anniversary, so that is a big milestone year for us,” he said. “Since I have been a part of PBGP, I have seen so many faces come in. I just want to continue to grow the organization and have it be a voice for everyone that faces the challenges as we do in the LGBT community. I want to reach out to the youth a little more. We always say youth are the future but we don’t invest our time with them and we need future leaders for organizations to continue to grow and strive.” Thomas said Taylor left a good foundation for him to build upon. “He just had other interests and he wanted to give those a try so he stepped out and asked us for our blessing and we said yes,” Thomas said. “We are happy and proud that he is moving forward in a direction that is best for him as we continue to move the organization forward with some things he set up for us.”
D’Ontace Keyes Keyes hails from Chicago but has lived in Philadelphia for five years after pursuing both his undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of the Arts. The openly gay project assistant for Youth Health Empowerment Project, a program of Philadelphia FIGHT, has long supported bringing youth to a more visible level — a goal that motivated him to join PBGP at age 18. “They had this gap and that gap was youth and doing youth programming, so I was approached by them,” he said. “I was already involved with nonprofits and doing community work with Philadelphia FIGHT’s Youth Health Empowerment Project and wanted to reach out to the youth. It motivated me to keep going and make sure [youth] are included and visible in programming.” Keyes helped start PBGP’s youth scholarship, which provides funding for an LGBTQ-identified student who has the goal of obtaining a degree from a higher-education institute. Keyes said it has been a rewarding experience to create a positive atmosphere for youth at PBGP at such a young age himself. “Being able to be a trailblazer for so many young people has been amazing and being the youngest individual on the board and the youngest-ever vice president is a big role but I think I have worked towards it,” he said. “Being 22 and being partially in charge of a gay black organization in Philly is very rewarding.” Keyes hopes to expand and diversify PBGP programming. “I want to bring in more innovative programming that is attractive and inclusive of different social groups so we can engage them. I want to bring a young fresh voice to Pride and have productive activities to keep community engagement going and stronger,” he said. “We have done wonderful things with the community and it is time for us to give back a little bit and build ties and work with partners better and strengthen those relationships.”
For more information on PBGP, visit www.phillyblackpride.org.