News 4 Jax. >> Coverage that won’t waste >> Good morning and welcome
back on a hot summer night in
1969 police raided the
stonewall Inn a New York City
bar serving as a haven for the
city’s lesbians and transgender
community. Riots
broke out sparking in a prize
that would launch a new era of
resistance and revolution.
We to this day commemorate
those riots. The month of June
has been dedicated as pride
month for the lgbt community.
It’s a chance to celebrate
individual anatomy autonomy
excuse me and the freedom to
pursue a happy life according
to one’s own terms. Unlike most
other minorities being clear
is a profoundly individual and
often isolating experience
here to talk more about the
importance of pride month is
Mike batter he’s a story coach
for the coming out monologues
project and for those Mike,
thank you first of all for
joining us, thank you for
having me appreciate it, but
for those of us who don’t know
about these monologues what are
they. So the coming a monologue
and this is our 8th year do the
show and it’s a fundraiser for
a jasmine P flag
there to local nonprofit to L G
B T Q families in our in our
area. We’ve raised
over $70,000 for the 2
organizations over the past 8
years. And if basically of
activism education for
storytelling so people can
share their coming out story,
you we never really stopped
coming out. We come out to our
family to our friends we have
to come up to co-workers every
time we take the job we moved
to a new community with to come
out again.
>> So these are those stories
I’ve been a part of the show
for almost the entire
and then Teran who’s performing
later has been a part of the
show for a long time as well.
And we share our stories kind
of in awe
in chapters, you know like
there’s no one story so
when you’re I shared about
coming out of high school the
euro should about coming up my
family and tear and the spoken
word
poetry so she’s going to be
performing today, she’s an
amazing performer. But yet it’s
basically a fundraiser for the
community I’ve always found the
most beautiful thing about
these monologues although it
can unite people and everyone
has a similar story, everyone
story is just a little
different. Yeah that’s
absolutely true that I came
out, I was 16 years old and I’m
I think
if I you know we’re living in
if I were you know 16 in this
era I probably would have come
out to a lot more people up
time. You know every generation
has a lot more tolerant than a
lot more accepting than the
previous generation. So a life
does get easier, but you know
we never stop being
discriminated against you know,
not only were the stonewall
riots of 50 years ago this
40 years ago upstairs lounge in
New Orleans an arsonist killed
32 people just 3 years ago at
the pulse nightclub in Orlando.
You 49 people were killed.
So we have marriage equality we
have a lot of workplace
protections. Jackson will
finally pass thro
but we are still discriminated
against and we’re kind
of a we’re a hidden community
because we fall into every
category of life. You know we
are all races were all ages
were all genders and so it’s
it’s really hard kind of
pinpoint us we kind of
flow and every group so still a
lot of work has to
be done absolutely absolutely a
lot more work has to be done
you know, I’m a 20 almost 20
years ago, President Clinton
designated June as pride month,
about 10 years ago president
obama redesignated as lgbt
pride month. You know when
people say all the time we have
marriage equality know what you
need now.
We need full equality, you know
that of these stories do they
educate the community and also
raise money for 2
wonderful causes and the
stories are for everyone really
when you think about yeah
absolutely because you know
every year we always hear about
people in the audience who come
to the show and they say you
know, wow this touch me in this
way and you know this is a
wonderful story you shared
we had one dad come up to a
cast member a few years ago, he
said my son came out to me and
I did not do a great job with
my response tell me what you
wish your dad it said to you so
I can go back to my son and
tell him. So it’s a it’s a
beautiful thing it’s a great
experience to be a part of you
can take something away for
sure absolutely will touch
everyone in that audience with
our words and make sure that
everyone gets a lesson that we
need to
share okay we’re about to do a
little snippet I
understand that yet hair aka
love rains that first 08:00AM
has been spoken word and
a beat poet in Jacksonville for
a long long time and show she’s
been a cast member for I think
5 years.
>> How do you appropriately navigate this world being who I am.
I’m a black woman.
Each label has come with its own set of obstacles and foolishness yet I probably
dress myself in each layer.
Daily.
Temporarily for getting their
weight in my bag is a forced
smile.
Attempts for a moment to put yourself in my shoes. I walk into a room and
automatically have 3 strikes
aiming at my head I’m in my car
and see lights in my rear view
and in my rear view. I’m
reminded of the time that I was
scared. Officers at
each window.
Guns drawn. 3 more patrol cars
pulling up.
I’m reminded that I’m not fully comfortable around men by myself
I suppose one so many force
actions have caused me to be
that way. Woman.
You are way too beautiful to
be. And yes you are taking
advantage of but your pregnancy
is a blessing
because maybe maybe God was
trying to tell you something
lesbians. Embedded in
my memory. His every word of
every prayer. Every attempt to
no longer be here to someone
have directions because
sometimes I feel like my GPS is
a little off being black being
a woman being a less be in the
truth is I have I in public
spaces. I no longer wish to be
the other.
The only black person.
Yes change
is imminent. And I see it
happening slowly. Every day.
But when you live in the truth
of un get a bit closer to
understanding who she really is
it’s amazing. How the truth of
them comes out as well.
>> I’m very well said if you
like to see more of these types
of monologues the show
is Friday June 21th at 07:00PM
June 20 C
second. At noon and the final