Philly activists, supporters and journalists discuss education, mental health issues and the problems impacting the LGBTQIA+ community at WHYY News’ Pride Brunch event

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Activists, journalists, advocates and supporters of the LGBTQIA+ community came together for the WHYY News Pride Brunch at P.J. Clarke’s yesterday to encourage more dialogue between the media and the communities they serve. The intimate setting enabled attendees to have deeper conversations and network with those on the frontlines of the fight for equality.

LGBTQIA+ community members shared they’d like to see the media cover topics that impact the LGBTQIA+ community in more depth – trans issues, workplace acceptance, housing, employment, sex education and victim support services.

Valentina Rosario is a transgender community activist who advocates for trans and queer individuals who live with substance abuse. She expressed the need for more stories and understanding of the trans community.

“Since I was 14 years old, being a trans person from Kensington, kind of pushed me into this work, because I was like, not only am I trans and disproportionately impacted, but I’m poor, and a person of color. All of the factors pushed me into advocacy work,” said Rosario.

Rosario hopes to bring light to the lack of resources for transgender people and substance abuse along with the challenges they face with their mental health, which she said often gets ignored. “A lot of times our voices go unheard in Philadelphia, specifically our Latinx voices go unheard.”

Sandy Smith is Philadelphia magazine’s Home and Real Estate editor and Co-President of the Philadelphia chapter of NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists.

Smith said journalists must inform and hold people accountable, and he suggested another mission to make sure everyone is heard.

“The LGBTQ press has sort of a third role, which is advocating for the interests of the queer community,” said Smith.

Smith also said it is important to hear from those fighting on the frontlines for equality so that the media can share the message of what they experience firsthand. “One of the roles of journalists is getting the messaging out, especially listening to some of the issues that people talked about (today).”

Smith connected with Rosario at the brunch and, through their conversation, discussed the shared work to amplify the voice of transgender people of color in the media.

“I think there is not enough understanding of transgender issues within the queer community as well beyond it. It may well be we need transgender journalists to tell those stories. You see this in the broader society too, they are the most vulnerable attacked from outside among all of us,” said Smith.

Nhakia Outland is the founder and executive Director of Prevention Meets Fashion, a local grassroots nonprofit in Philadelphia. Outland said they use a fashion-based approach to educate about the unique sexual and reproductive health needs of queer and Black communities.

Outland is a Black woman who identifies as queer and also is an adjunct professor at local colleges. She said though she tries to inspire students like her, many of her queer students are unable to complete their education due to the challenges they face.

“Because they do have a history of homelessness or substance use or, you know, sex work or all these other things that delayed their education. So, you know, being able to talk to LGBTQIA+ or queer individuals about how higher education is possible for them because a lot of these spaces they don’t feel seen and heard,” said Outland.

Photographer and activist Kelly Burkhardt has captured the LGBTQIA+ community in imagery for decades and currently works as an LGBTQIA+ liaison victim advocate for the District Attorney’s office. Burkhardt said the DA’s office ensures that crime victims can have someone from their community to be a part of the conversation when incidents happen and that they are there to make sure victims of crimes feel comfortable and are not ignored. Yet, Burkhardt also sees firsthand the challenges some youth of color face in the inner city, including grooming young gay men.

Burkhardt believes it’s important for these groups to come together.

“It’s great to see different people in the spaces that you would normally see, Oh my God, you know, and it’s just that this is all about connecting people who don’t normally get to connect with each other in places and giving their opinions because they’re not usually asked,” said Burkhardt.

The Pride Brunch was produced by WHYY News and the Community and Engagement Team. This event was powered by Boost Truth. Tamara “POC” Russell gave a presentation on her Boost Truth reporting project that included bringing senior citizens together for a film screening and a subsequent news story on health and vaccination awareness.