Welcome back from summer. What did you miss?
Let’s see Marvel announced another LGBT character, scientists say there’s no one single gay gene, rather a combination of genetic factors, and it was announced that the TV show you should be watching, “Pose” was renewed for a third season.
Then, there is the s–t show that is Trump, but hey, we all agree that no matter who the Democratic nominee eventually is, we all are committed to voting for him or her.
If not, you are part of the problem as any Democrat is light years ahead of what we currently have, and sitting this out is not acceptable.
But for my home base of Philadelphia, there’s another issue. In the last couple of years, there’s been some unrest at several of our community nonprofit organizations. Many LGBTQ institutions have had their issues — in the realms of healthcare, youth services and politics. When this happens, there are various ways to look at it.
For me, I’ve learned over the last 50 years that this can be a time for renewal. Discover what the issues are and work to improve the organization. We don’t have to take the time to reinvent the wheel, and that does take time. We’re a young community, and many of these organizations were the first of their kind and most likely their original group of leaders learned their jobs…on the job.
The changes and the political climate for our community have been great and nonprofits have had to change to stay competitive. From fundraising to building a professional staff to building a solid group of volunteers and working with governments to secure funding and grants for new programs. There is a learning curve, and it’s a tall order since these nonprofits continue to provide community services and do the community’s bidding, while trying to stay on that curve.
My message is: Let’s make this fall a time for renewal. Work together to ensure professionalization. Don’t just speak out negatively, speak out and find common ground.
There is an important battle coming, and we need to be a united community to help save our brothers and sisters from harm to our rights, primarily trans rights that are being destroyed by the current administration. You think it’s bad now, what if all of the program support and funding these organizations currently receive disappears? Time to unite!