Connect. Empower. Inspire.
In 1981, forty years ago, Stonewall Union was known as the preeminent grassroots organization across the state fighting for tolerance and acceptance of the LGBTQ community in Columbus; during this time Stonewall has made great strides in education, awareness, and advocacy, helping to put Columbus on the map as one of the most LGBTQIA-friendly cities in the nation. As we live into our fortieth year, we continue to believe our organization has an abundance of opportunity in activating the new Stonewall building and evolving organization in efforts to continue the work of uplifting our community by creating stronger and intentional partnerships that aim to serve a wide variety of needs across the intersectional identities of our community.
Since Stonewall’s founding the city of Columbus has grown by roughly 325,000 people and Franklin County has grown by nearly 450,000 people—as our region has grown so has our LGBTQIA community’s needs grown more complex.
The representative image of our LGBTQIA community is far less cis and white; increasingly more BIPoc and Trans; comprises more same-gender loving families with kids; is decreasingly reliant on notions of binaries while reclaiming and creating queer as an affirming identity.
Over the last year my work at Stonewall, and in the community, has been driven by a desire to be collaborative—to find moments of connection. Each day I get to work alongside a dedicated group of some of the most amazing people trying to figure out how to best meet the varied needs of the LGBTQIA community across the region. External to the organization I am privileged to connect with talented, passionate, and brilliant people from all aspects of this fight for equity and equality.
I believe our diverse intersectional community wants the same thing, (to be seen, valued, and respected) but the processes by which we get there are things on which we seem not able to agree. And true to the society we’ve fostered our tendency to collaborate is far less practiced than our tendency to compete. I hope our community can find more ways and spaces to collaborate so that we have more of us working together in combined efforts towards similar outcomes.
Stonewall should exist as an organization which connects, empowers, and inspires.
Connects community to resources; empowers individuals to live their desired life; and inspires generations to live out proud.
The two most common questions I’ve received over the last year have been “What’s the future of Pride?” and “What’s the future of Stonewall?” My answer for both are the same: a future for Pride and Stonewall only exists if we center our intentions on people and collaboration.
Here’s to 40 more years of connecting, empowering, and inspiring while working to intentionally make space for people and collaboration!
With pride,
–Densil
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