LGBT military members and veterans, as well as their family, friends and supporters, are invited to march in this weekend’s Philadelphia Veterans Parade.
The parade, which started last year, kicks off at noon Nov. 6 from 16th Street and John F. Kennedy Boulevard. Participants will march down Market Street and conclude at Sixth Street.
The LGBT contingent will carry a banner, and participants are encouraged to wear military-pride clothing. The group will gather starting at 11 a.m.
For more information on the event, visit https://www.facebook.com/events/1817588778517672/.
The effort is being organized by local veterans Dante Austin and Greg Seaney-Ariano. The pair connected at Philadelphia Pride this year and began a conversation about the need for increased awareness about the contributions of LGBT servicemembers and veterans.
“We’ve been making major progress, and I think everybody — not just LGBT populations — needs to know what our LGBT servicemembers have sacrificed, especially people who went in before ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ was repealed,” said Austin, referring to the military’s ban on openly gay servicemembers. That policy was officially lifted in 2011.
Austin served from 2009-15 in the Army’s 56th Stryker Brigade, a military-intelligence company.
Seaney-Ariano spent eight years with the VR-64 Condors in the Navy. He came out to his captain in his exit interview.
“I did my job to the best of my ability and I think that’s what garners respect,” said Seaney-Ariano, who added he’s “easy to clock” as a gay man, but that his fellow servicemembers judged him by his work. “Whether or not someone thought I was gay, I think they looked at how I functioned under high stress and whether or not I got the job done.”
Austin, who is now the LGBT liaison for the Philadelphia Sheriff’s Office, enlisted shortly after he came out to his family and friends, at age 17.
“When I was at the Military Entrance Processing Station where you sign your enlistment contract, there was a document that said, ‘I will not engage in homosexual conduct,’” Austin said. “I was willing to sign it but I don’t think I realized exactly what it meant until I got in. As soon as I came out of the closet, I was shoved back into it when I left for basic training.”
The undercurrents of homophobia, Austin said, were hardest to deal with.
“If you look at the numbers, although there weren’t a bunch of discharges in the years leading up to the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,’ that being in place fostered an environment where homophobia could breed,” he said. “People thought it was OK to say certain things because there was an understanding that we don’t have openly gay servicemenbers, so say what you want. For me, it was hard.”
Austin and Seaney-Ariano agreed that the military has made considerable advancements toward LGBT inclusion in recent years. “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was lifted five years ago, the military began permitting open service by transgender members earlier this year and, also this year, Eric Fanning was confirmed as Secretary of the Army, making him the first openly gay leader of a U.S. military branch.
“I’ve seen major progress from when I went in,” Austin said. “The equal-employment policy now covers sexual orientation and they’re trying to implement things to help LGBT servicemembers. There are some things happening that was just amazing, astonishing, but also some things that still need correction.”
“There are still things people are trying to figure out, like how to do diversity training and cultural competency,” Seaney-Ariano added. “Since a lot of that isn’t written, it’s a lot of grassroots growth.”
It was in that spirit that the pair pursued adding the LGBT contingent to the Veterans Parade.
They said they received full support from the Veterans Advisory Commission, which organizes the parade.
Apart from raising awareness about LGBT servicemembers and veterans, Seaney-Ariano also noted that the new parade contingent will help create needed networking opportunities.
He urged people to join “OutServe – SLDN Delaware Valley,” an informal networking group on Facebook for LGBT servicemembers, veterans and supporters.
“I have some veteran friends who you can see are going through some issues and they can’t necessarily be out or be part of a support group,” he said. “There’s a lot of growth that needs to happen with LGBT veterans networking.”