Racial Justice and Racial Equity for the queer community is a fundamental priority of the New Haven Pride Center.
As part of this ongoing work, our 2nd Day of Action for 2022 is dedicated to racial justice work. Join us as we explore, as a community, how we can do the work needed to ensure that our community is a place free of racism, white supremacy, and anti-Blackness. The day’s events will include workshops, discussion spaces, and a keynote address.
Thank You to Our Sponsors & Partners
Schedule of Events
Welcome & Reading by Andrea Jenkins
June 12 | 10:30a (EST)
To set the tone for the second Day of Action for 2022, we kick-off the day’s programming with a special artistic presentation by transgender poet and political leader Andrea Jenkins. The full day will be focused on racial justice, combating racism, and confronting demons within our own community contributing to anti-blackness and anti-immigrant sentiment, so the goal of this program is to center the audience in art as we prepare to tackle serious conversations.
Closing the Generational Wealth Gap: How do we Empower Queer BIPOC Entrepreneurs?
June 12 | 11:00a (EST)
Queer entrepreneurship is on the rise as our state and country solidify laws of protection and equality for LGBTQ+ people. Similar to the straight community however, the generational wealth gap is still a reality for BIPOC queer folks, one that is often also impacted by other factors such as structural racism. In this panel, we ask: how do we as a community uplift and empower our BIPOC entrepreneurs and ensure that they have not just the support but also the resources for success?
Pushing Back Against Invisibility: Queer Asian Representation
June 12 | 12:30p (EST)
Similar to the straight community, Asian representation within the Queer Community is nearly nonexistent. We must do better as a community of uplifting our Queer Asian siblings. In this panel we will discuss and explore the idea of representation within the community, talk about the ways in which we could do better, and explore the stigmas and racism faced by Queer Asians, including anti-Asian racism and the fetishization of Queer Asians’ sexualities and bodies.
Workshop: Healing through Movement
June 12 | 2:00p (EST)
Join us for a 45-minute movement and sound healing workshop. This workshop was created to be accessible for all bodies.
Black Brown and Queer folks’ bodies are politicalized whether we want them to be or not. We are facing a constant onslaught of intersectional oppressions, and if we don’t work to let go of how these constant assaults sit in and on our bodies, it manifests itself as blocks–blocks to our self love, to intimacy, to self-worth, and to our awareness. Join us in a homage to intentional healing and movement. Beginners and experts are welcome. We will tap into and invigorate our 7 core chakras. We will also honor our bodies in all their splendor. Dress comfortably!
This workshop will be led by ala ochumare.
Workshop for White Folks: How to Get Out of the Way & into the Work
June 12 | 2:30p (EST)
What is my role in the fight for racial justice as a white person? How do I begin or deepen my support of black and brown queer and trans folks? What kind of ancestor do I want to be?
This workshop is a space to ask questions and reflect about how white people can act for racial justice. We will raise awareness of some ways that white folks disconnect and cause harm in multiracial justice spaces, assess how we have been contributing to or hindering collective liberation, and identify ways to do better.
This workshop will be co-facilitated by Katie Jones and Joy Meikle, co-founders of Reclaiming Our Whole Selves, a white affinity racial healing series.
Keynote: Health Equity & the Queer Racial Justice Movement
June 12 | 5:30p (EST)
Dr. Justin B. Terry-Smith, DrPH is an Air Force disabled veteran and a recognized HIV/AIDS activist and public health expert. He is also a proud Black LGBTQ+ Jewish man. In this conversation, Dr. Terry-Smith sits down with local health equity and racial justice advocate ala ochumare to talk about Health Equity and Public Health through the lens of being a black queer person. How do these combined identities effect access to healthcare and services. How does racism impact public health? How can we successfully advocate for better healthcare for our queer BIPOC siblings?
Meet Our Speakers
Andrea Jenkins (she/her)
Andrea Jenkins (she/her) is a writer, performance artist, poet, and transgender activist. She is the first African American openly trans woman to be elected to office in the United States. Jenkins moved to Minnesota to attend the University of Minnesota in 1979. She worked as a Vocational Counselor for Hennepin County government for a decade. Jenkins worked as a staff member on the Minneapolis City Council for 12 years before beginning work as curator of the Transgender Oral History Project at the University of Minnesota’s Jean-Nickolaus Tretter Collection in Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies.
She holds a Masters Degree in Community Development from Southern New Hampshire University, an MFA in Creative Writing from Hamline University, and a Bachelors Degree in Human Services from Metropolitan State University. She is a nationally and internationally recognized writer and artist, a 2011 Bush Fellow to advance the work of transgender inclusion, and the recipient of numerous awards and fellowships. In 2018, she completed the Senior Executives in State and Local Government at Harvard University.
Anthony Buell (he/him)
Varun Khattar Sharma (they/he)
Varun is a Brown Queer first-generation Punjabi American facilitator, writer, and organizer based on occupied Tunxis, Saukiog, and Wangunk land also known as Hartford, Connecticut. They work for the undocumented youth-led organization CT Students for a Dream coordinating educator professional development and school partnerships. They are a co-founder of the CT UndocuFund, raising and distributing over a quarter of a million in COVID-relief for immigrant families. Prior to that, they taught high school social sciences and ethnic studies and served as a volunteer call taker with DeQH, a peer support helpline for LGBTQ+ South Asians.
Kamora Le'Ella Harrington (she/her)
Kamora Le’Ella Herrington is a mother first, in all of the ways that a mother is. She is the founder and visionary of Kamora’s Cultural Corner, a Black Queer Afrocentric organization dedicated to creating Brave Spaces necessary and is active in the field of cultural humility. Through the years, she has worked with numerous organizations and groups committed to marginalized communities and has a proven track record of “creating spaces where families are free to love their children.”
Kamora is a member of the National Black Justice Coalition’s (NBJC) Leadership Advisory Council, a founding member of CT Black Women, and a current board member of Pride in the Hills.
“I’ve lived a life that has placed me in positions where I could either uphold the status quo, or share truths that may not be pleasant, but are necessary. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for: humans willing to step in when necessary and step out when it’s time.”
Dr. Justin B. Terry-Smith, DPH (he/him)
Dr. Justin B. Terry-Smith (DrPH) an Air Force disabled veteran who was honorably discharged with awards and decorations in 2003. He is known for his writing, activism, and speaking appearances. He writes and has written for many publications including Black AIDS Institute, thebody.com, GBMNews.com, Baltimore Gay Life, POZIAM Radio, Plus and Swerve Magazine, etc.
He also has been interviewed by Fox 5 News, NBC 4, WUSA News 9, BBC, the Logo Network, GLO TV, Washington Blade, and other news video and radio outlets. Justin created ‘Justin’s HIV Journal’ on Youtube.com to advocate for HIV/AIDS education, prevention, and awareness. In his journal, he tells people about the trials and tribulations when it comes to living with HIV/AIDS. He created the HIV Campaign called, “Write A Letter to HIV Campaign,” which can be found on thebody.com/youtube.com.
He is an actor and producer and is the author of the HIV themed children’s book called I Have A Secret, which is a story about a young boy living with HIV, Just*in Time: A Compilation of a Public Health Advice (2012-2019), and Factors Influencing Use of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis: Among Men Who Have Sex With Men.
Justin has his doctorate in Public Health with a concentration in Infectious Disease. He currently is a professor at Anne Arundel Community College. Justin resides in Maryland & New Mexico with his husband Dr. Philip B. Terry-Smith. They have two children. He is proud to identify as a Black LGBTQ Jewish man.