Teneshia Washington wanted to change the world from an early age. A native of West Philadelphia, she wondered how she could make a positive impact on other people’s lives.
“How do you change the world with what you have?” she asked.
Washington helped to organize and host the first-ever “In Living Color” LGBTQ Expo on April 30 at The Friends Center in Center City. The expo was free and open to the public and included vendors from the arts, health, family, technology, media, travel and nonprofit sectors. The event was one among many during the 17th Annual Philadelphia Black Pride/Penn Relays Celebration that took place April 28-May 1. According to Pride organizers, the four-day celebration gave an “opportunity for Black LGBTQ+ communities and allies to celebrate, network and build awareness.”
Prisoner Visitation and Support, a nonprofit organization where Washington works as an administrative manager, sponsored the expo. The organization describes itself as “a nationwide network of volunteer visitors to prisoners in federal and military prisons throughout the United States.” Their goal is to give prisoners the opportunity to have conversations with volunteers, so that both parties can learn from each other. The hope is also that these conversations will help prisoners to have a successful re-entry to society.
The expo featured an eclectic mix of vendors and included musical and spoken-word performances by numerous local artists. Among the vendors was Tamaya Magruder, the CEO and Makeup Chef of Beat Sweets, a makeup and cupcake bar that Magruder started last year.
“This [expo] can become something so much greater,” she said. “I would just love to continue to be a part of it and aid in however [Washington] may need me.” She added that her company is based around Philadelphia because she was born here, but she has plans to grow it nationwide.
Growth and love were common themes echoed not only by Magruder, but also by Ethan Tha-Barber, a vendor at the expo and self-taught barber born and raised in Philadelphia.
“Recently, I just started doing a new project called The Faded Four Project,” he said. “As a community barber, I go around to different areas where I might see homeless people or kids who are LGBT that may be homeless and just give out free cuts, you know, just to show love to build confidence and build their self-esteem.”
Not all the vendors at the expo were small-business owners. Alicia Boykins is the director of Human Resources for the National LGBTQ Task Force in Washington, D.C.
“The National LGBTQ Task Force advances full freedom, justice and equality for LGBTQ people,” she said. “We’re building a future where everyone is free to be themselves in every aspect of their lives.”
She added that the Task Force was at the expo to support Philadelphia Black Pride, and also to let people know about the organization’s Creating Change conference, the nation’s largest annual LGBT conference. The next Creating Change will take place in Philadelphia from Jan. 17-22, 2017.
Washington touched upon her goals for the future of the expo, which included the work that is done by the Task Force.
“It would be a nice opportunity to continue to diversify [the Creating Change Conference], to have more vendors, to have more people,” she said. “I just hope that it would remain, you know, to understand that there is an underserved community of individuals. They need something that can give them a positive energy for them to be able to make their footprint.”
She added that people who are eager to change the world should start by using the resources at their disposal.
“People seem to believe that because they live in certain areas, or because of the color of their skin, that their resources are limited,” she said. “I want Philly Black Pride to be a platform to let them know that these organizations and nonprofits exist within the city. They’re always looking for volunteers. They’re always looking to make an impact. No matter what you look like — the color of your skin, your background, your means or how you identify yourself, any of those things — they don’t matter. Ultimately, all these organizations are trying to change the world. You can, from where you are, change the world.”