Diversity, inclusion and community involvement were the hot-button topics at Philadelphia’s first-ever LGBT State of the Union, hosted by the Mayor’s Office of LGBT Affairs at the Kimmel Center.
The SOTU brought together the executive directors of 10 organizations to address the public with TED Talk-style presentations. Those organizations included the William Way LGBT Community Center, The Attic Youth Center, Mazzoni Center, COLOURS Organization, Galaei, Philly Pride, Philly Black Pride, Independence Business Alliance, Delaware Valley Legacy Fund and LGBT Elder Initiative.
The nonprofit leaders delivered seven-minute presentations on the achievements of the past fiscal year and future goals Amber Hikes, executive director of the Office of LGBT Affairs, said she organized the event to bring her “Community Conversations” initiative to a larger audience.
“This community conversation is an opportunity to highlight the incredible work of our organizations while LGBTQ Philadelphians have the opportunity to share their ideas and their concerns while working collaboratively to find solutions,” Hikes said.
Mayor Jim Kenney opened the SOTU by addressing the historic nature of the event.
“It is a privilege to witness such a historic event that has brought together a multitude of organizations that serve and advocate for the greater LGBTQ community,” Kenney said. “A number of these groups have been operating for 20 years or more, which is a testament to Philadelphia’s story of LGBTQ history.”
The presentations also served as an opportunity for the executive directors to address any major organizational changes. Galaei, the queer Latinx social-justice organization, addressed a funding cut to its Trans Equity Project. Francisco Cortes, interim executive director, said the board was aware of the 50 percent budget cut in January due to a change in scope from the primary funder of the Trans Equity Project. The board’s fundraising efforts were not enough to cover the reduction, Cortes said.
Breakout sessions after the presentations brought the directors face to face with community members to answer questions that participants anonymously submitted. In almost all of these sessions, the questions were about diversity on their boards of directors and staff. Queries about funding were targeted at COLOURS and Galaei, which has been the target of budget rumors. Chris Bartlett, William Way’s director, answered questions about volunteering efforts. The Mazzoni session invited participants to direct concerns to Lydia Gonzalez Sciarrino, Mazzoni’s newly appointed executive director.
Emmett Binkowski, a member of the public who sat in during the SOTU, attended the Mazzoni breakout session and asked Sciarrino about its diversity efforts beyond the facility’s frontline staff. Binkowski said he didn’t get a clear answer, but it was a good opportunity to hear more from the new director.
“I think this is important for the transparency of the community. There was a really good variety of organizations and I valued hearing about what a lot of them do. This is the first time I’ve seen some of the directors’ faces,” he added.
Leona Thomas, a William Way board member, used the breakout session to learn more about the other organizations.
“I went to the COLOURS session because I wanted to see what they were about. You spend years in this community and sometimes you don’t know much about the people that are serving alongside of you,” Thomas said.