last night, i was honored to accept the “HRC Visibility Award,” & share the stage with Andrea Jenkins, who accepted the “HRC Brian Coyle Award.” Andrea made history by becoming the first openly transgender black woman elected to public office in america. sharing the stage with her at the @HumanRightsCampaign Twin Cities Gala was beyond an honor. her commitment to bettering the world for her constituents inspires me.
in my “Visibility Award” acceptance speech, i spoke about how, “when our own future is uncertain, we look outside of ourselves for hints of what could be, based on what’s happened to others that were in our shoes before us. positive representation & visibility can help clear away the mysterious cloud that feels like a looming thunderstorm. and with social media, whether you have one follower or a million, everyone has the opportunity to be a possibility model. we have to use our visibility to show young closeted queer kids that life is worth sticking around for, that a good future is within reach, and that there’s an entire community ready to welcome them with open arms when they’re good & ready to live life as their most authentic selves.”
when i was backstage before accepting the award, i remembered 10 years ago, winning an HRC video contest about the importance of voting. never could have imagined that a decade later, i’d be here. after accepting my award, i met a table of young activists still in college. looking at them & hearing some of their stories, i felt so sure that the future is bright, & that with them in charge, we’ll be in good hands.
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