One of the most popular workshops at SisterSpace (coming up soon, but more on that later) is a workshop where elders and young women get together and talk. It’s insightful and inspiring and educational. I’ve been lucky that I’ve had a lot of people of all ages who I regularly associate with and am able to call friends. One of those is a young woman who I met at the Pride event in June. I was handing out postcards announcing The Women’s Film Festival — which, by the way, continues through Aug. 25 with our program of queer shorts screening on Aug. 24 at 6 p.m. — and met Sabrina Henry, who asked if she could volunteer. She quickly became an integral part of the team and her enthusiasm and technical know-how has helped the team grow. I took time this weekend to learn a little more about her and how her generation of queer youth navigate the world. Some responses have been edited for length or clarity.
Let’s start with a little about you. Were you born in Philadelphia?
No, I was born in Brooklyn, NY.
How long did you live there?
I think until I was about 3 years old.
Do you have any memories of being in New York?
My mother tells stories of me as a baby. Apparently, I was a little aggressive. I would bite people and cry a lot! I’d be good during the day but then at night, I’d cry and then my sister, who was only a year older, would start to cry too. I’d start a whole thing. I have a random baby picture of me on the bathroom floor in NY. Like what was I doing?
Did the family move to Philadelphia from New York or did you move somewhere else first?
We came directly to Philly and lived in a house off of Broad Street and then we moved to the house we still live in now in the Northeast. We’ve been there for over 20 years.
Were your parents involved in the arts?
Both of my parents are from Haiti. My mom used to dance with a troop or something like that when she lived in Haiti. I wasn’t very close to my father, but he just passed away not long ago and when I was going through some pictures that I was given to do a kind of memorial I came across a picture of him with a movie camera. It turns out that he wanted to be a cinematographer or something, which I never knew. I wish I had because I went to school for film and it would have been nice to have had that connection. Unfortunately, when they came to the United States, they both had to take jobs that they weren’t necessarily passionate about just to pay the bills.
So both parents were from Haiti, can you mimic their accents?
No! But I can speak a little Creole.
What kinds of things were you into as a kid?
I liked math and art. I liked painting especially. I loved school and those were my strong suits. I really wanted to be an architect but I didn’t pursue it. I’m thinking of going back to school to pursue a masters in architecture. We’ll see.
Were you in any clubs?
I was in the robotics club.
So you really are a full-on nerd!
[Laughing] I am! Honestly, “Star Wars” and everything! So yeah, I was in the robotics club, I was in the math club for a while. I also played softball and I was a part of “Student Run Philly Style,” which teaches kids how to do long-distance running. It’s a way for high-school students to help young kids learn how to stay active and healthy. We train them to run a marathon.
I’m impressed. I was never a runner, more of a sit-and-watch or hand-out-water-bottles type of gal.
No, I ran three half marathons. I stopped, but I should really get back into it because I have asthma and it really helped me with it, but after not running for a while, it’s back. I also want to learn how to swim! We showed two films in the festival, one about a young woman who was a surfer and the other about a woman who does free diving. She came all the way from New Zealand to be here for the festival and after talking to her, I’m like, “Dang, I want to learn how to swim now.”
The films are inspiring! So, what position did you play in softball?
I was in left field. And I would bat too. Well, I guess everyone does that! I wasn’t all that good at it, but at our school, there was the varsity team and the junior varsity team and for that, pretty much if you showed up for practice, you were on the junior team. [Laughing] Because I went and was consistent, they let me on the team despite the fact that my catching was just OK.
I was on a lesbian softball team for a while. I assumed with my lack of sports background that I would naturally become the cheerleader for the team and give out high fives, but to my horror, they made me the catcher! It actually wasn’t too bad, and gave me my one moment of being a jock.
That’s awesome! I did catch a few fly balls, so I wasn’t too bad, but for the most part, I would watch to see where it was going to drop! I wasn’t exactly going to be on the varsity team.
What was your best moment in robotics?
Oh! I loved the competitions. We had regular robotics and water robotics. Both were about trying to get the robots to do certain tasks, like move blocks into a certain area or pick something up, and bring it somewhere else and deposit it. Nothing fancy, just simple commands. The water events are about the same but floating in the water and I think they had to swim on their own. I don’t know. I’d try to focus on our competition, but we’d be in new places and I’d find myself saying, “Guys you’ve got this” and just wandering around. Like, “Wow, a whole gymnasium filled with robots! What’s on the other side?” Being at school and doing it is one thing, but being at a competition and seeing everyone else’s robots was super cool.
Are you a Comic-Con person as well?
I’ve never been! I’ve always wanted to. I’m into Marvel comics, the DC comics, and there’s a lot of stuff on Amazon, which is superhero-related, that I enjoy.
What superhero would you be?
That’s hard. Hmm, oh! Ironheart. I’m looking at the comic book right now! She’s a newer character. She’s as smart as Tony Stark and is an engineering student who goes to MIT. At 15, she reverse engineered one of Iron Man’s armored suits to wear herself. In “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” she’s played by Dominique Thorne. I low-key wanted to be an actor and in my head, I sometimes wish I’d gone out for that part!
Where did you go to college and what did you study?
I went to Penn State. I started out undecided. I didn’t know if I wanted to do theater, math, architecture or what, and ended up just doing film and video production.
[Laughing] Just!?! Ours is a noble profession! What was it like moving from the city to the town of State College?
It was a culture shock. It’s very rural and was very different for me. I’m used to Philly and there it was like, “Oh my gosh, there are a lot of Caucasian people!” At first, I was like, “Oh no! Where’s the diversity!” There were different groups on campus for different people of color and different minority groups but I didn’t want to have to join a group to find friends. I just wanted it to happen naturally during my day-to-day life on campus. It was also during the first Trump election and there were a LOT of Trump Republicans. I mean I know Republicans here but there it was like, “Oh geez, how many people are voting for this guy? What’s going on?”
Hard to fathom. What was your first job?
I worked at the Penn State Berkey Creamery ice-cream shop when I was going to PSU. It’s really popular. Everyone goes there. It was very tiring, you had to scrape the ice-cream and sometimes it was practically frozen so you really had to use some muscle!
That wax on, wax off exercise. So let’s talk a little more about the fam. You have three sisters?
Yes, two of them are from the same parents as me and one of them is a half sister. But we’re all just sisters. I’m the youngest.
I don’t have any sisters. What’s the best thing about it?
Honestly, just having someone to talk to. And having choices because I go to different sisters for different things. I might get advice about one topic from one sister and then go to another sister just to talk, and then hang out with the third. Or maybe ask two of them the same question because they’ll both give me different advice or responses. [Laughing] Or maybe I don’t want advice on certain topics from one of them! It’s like having three mentors.
Or therapists!
Yes, it’s like having three therapists with different points of view.
Any family traditions or favorite memories?
When we were little, we used to go to Canada every year. We went a lot and it was fun. A favorite memory was going to Jamaica. It was cool. It was like, “Oh my God, I’m leaving the country!” [Laughing] No, that’s not right, Canada is another country! We’ve just gone so much it feels like we’re still in the states.
Have you been to Haiti?
No! And I was supposed to be going next month. We’re going on a cruise and Haiti was one of the stops but because of the political situation there, they decided to go to a different island. I’m so bummed!
Unfortunately, Haiti is also not the most welcoming when it comes to the LGBTQ+ community.
No, they definitely aren’t.
I met you at Pride. Tell me about your journey in the LGBTQ community.
I think I’m still trying to figure it out. I’m not quite sure where I fit. Since I was a kid, I knew I liked girls and guys but I didn’t know what that meant or how to explain it. When I was in middle school, I was part of the gay straight alliance. I remember my mother saying, “Why would you join that?” and responding, “Um, I’m part of the alliance part, the ally.” But as I got older, in college I joined Opulence, which was a queer drag group at Penn State. I didn’t do drag, but I was part of the group. I think my family still thinks I’m an ally instead of part of the community. My friends know though.
When I was a budding lesbian, there were plenty of places to go out and find your tribe: Sneakers, Newport Club, the Rainbow Room, Mamzelle’s and later Hepburns and Sisters. Sadly, there isn’t a single dedicated lesbian bar or restaurant where you can go any night of the week and be with your people. I always wonder how young folks find community today. Ha! Just using the word folks shows what an old head I am!
I just try to find it wherever I go. I do things like working the Pride booth for Otherworld, the company I work for and just trying to make connections with people. I try to find and gravitate to people I meet at work, whether it’s my current job or the creamery or any other jobs, and find the queer people there.
It’s got to be hard until you start to learn to navigate the community and find places like The Attic, William Way or SisterSpace. There are places out there, but I think young people don’t always know about or take advantage of them. And it seems like a lot are aimed at either teens or older adults.
Yes, we also use the internet to connect.
True, but that can be tricky. Have you started any relationships that way?
I’ve actually never been in a relationship with anyone. I’ve done a little dating, but never had a relationship. I’m still waiting for my person I guess.
Well, you’ll probably meet more people after this! OK, let’s do some random questions. Ever have any pets?
[Laughing] I had a pet rock! His name was Rocky. My mom didn’t want any live pets, so I had Rocky. I actually had a number of rocks. I used to collect them. Whenever we would travel, I would find a rock to bring home. I had a big rock collection until it got to the point that my mom said, “No, you can’t have all these rocks in your room!” It was getting a little out of control, so she was right. I got rid of them but I still have one stone that has the inscription, “Faith, Hope and Grace” on it, so it’s decoration now, not just a rock sitting there.
What’s the most dangerous stunt you’ve done?
Dangerous? I don’t do anything dangerous at all. I’m very risk averse. My anxiety is too high for me to do anything dangerous! I was supposed to go skydiving in May and I chickened out.
Best concert experience?
OH MY GOSH! Billie Eilish! I love Billie Eilish so much! I went to see her when she performed in State College on Feb. 10, 2022. She was playing in Philly too but I wanted to see her there so I went back to State College. I’m so glad I did. At one point, she shouted out, “We are!” and the whole audience yelled, “Penn State!” which is something we do. She was like, “Woah, I didn’t think you guys were going to respond like that!” Of course we were!
You win the lottery. What’s the first thing you buy?
After houses for my family, a plane ticket to London. I like the city. Well, I’ve never been there, but I like the accents. They’re super cool and a lot of the YouTubers that I watch are from London. I just want to go to London and find them, and be like, “We can be friends!”
[Laughing] There are stalker laws against that! Favorite gift?
There are probably other gifts, but the first thing that came to mind was from my sister. I love sloths and my sister gave me a stuffed sloth for graduation. It’s even wearing a cap and gown. It also took me five years to graduate, so the sloth is appropriate! It took me a while, but in the end, I did it!
