June is Pride month! It is a time to celebrate the LGBTQ + community and a time to create an inclusive culture where all people can be welcomed, valued and feel a sense of belonging. A culture where you are not bullied, chastised assaulted or sometimes killed for expressing your gender identify and expressing love for who you love. Pride is so important to celebrate.
During Pride month there are many celebrations and one of the more popular celebrations is the Pride Parade in downtown Minneapolis. The parade is the who’s who of businesses, community groups, healthcare and government institutions, schools, and politicians. The parade is also a showcase for the LGBTQ community to come out and show pride in who they are and who they love. The streets and Loring Park are filled with people who want to Be Who they are and be loved and valued. Pride is a big deal.
For LGBTQ allies like myself, Pride is a time to demonstrate my allyship by being present and walking in the parade. I have walked in the parade for almost the last ten years. I walked with Minneapolis Public Schools when I led equity and inclusion work there. Today I walked with Children’s Minnesota – The Kid Experts, where I am honored to lead equity and inclusion, community engagement and advocacy for one of the best kid hospitals in the world. Walking in Pride is in my dna and sometimes it becomes an automatic act to demonstrate my support. However, this year was different. Let me tell you why.
The day before the Pride parade you can find me shouting from the rooftop,, I am walking in the parade tomorrow. I shout it in a deep passionate voice. I say it with my chest out and head high. I say it with pride because I am a good ally. I am proud to be a part of Pride! This year a friend asked me, “Why are you walking in the Pride parade?“. At first I was surprised. I thought what do you mean why? Cause I’m supposed to walk in it. Cause I want LGBTQ people to be a part of equity and inclusion. Cause it’s the right thing to do. Then I listened to myself in my head and thought, JB, why are you walking in the Pride parade? Then I thought about my why and answered the question again.
I walk in the Pride parade because as a young person I was homophobic. I walk because I was a bully towards young kids who I thought were gay. I walk because as an athlete, the way in which you criticized someone for not doing well was to call them a derogatory word for being gay. I walk because if someone I thought was gay touched me, I would say mean things about them and run away. I walk because I once believed being gay was a choice and that you could opt out of it if you believed you were being treated badly. I walk so others can walk and be who they are.l
While leading equity and inclusion work in Minneapolis Public Schools, and before I started my walk as a LGBTQ ally, I learned that my department’s work did not include our Out 4 Good program that addressed equity for LGBTQ students. I learned that this program was instead housed as part of our social and emotional learning program and was part of our mental health work for students. Imagine being told that who you are is not really about equity or your inclusion, but instead being a part of mental health and social emotional learning. My walk made it easy for me to make this work apart of our equity and inclusion work at MPS hand support these students as we would protect students against racism and sexism. All students need to be valued, cared for, loved and included. I walk because LGBTQ inclusion is equity and inclusion.
Today’s Pride walk felt different. I arrived at our gathering site in downtown Minneapolis and met with my Children’s Minnesota team. We greeted each other and got a chance to get ready to walk. I met many young kids who are the children of my colleagues and they were excited to walk and give out gifts during the parade. I saw several politicians and heard from many that they were appreciative of how Children’s Minnesota shows up for trans kids and families at the legislature and how important that is for all kids. I saw others from other companies show up and have a presence. I heard my own CEO, Dr. Marc Gorelick showed up and spoke with employees before him lining up with his Freedom Band members who he played with in the parade. I felt different as we walked today. My why started to show up in a new way.
As we walked the parade, you could see the numerous kids and families who cheered loudly as Children’s Minnesota walked by. Some screamed, some cried and others clapped. Some ran up and gave hugs. Others told stories about how we showed up for their kid’s and families in our gender equity clinic where other healthcare institutions had failed to be present. As we stopped in front of the Saloon where the announcers shouted out companies that passed by, the crowd demonstrated the love and appreciation for Children’s Minnesota. I even got a personal shout out from the announcers. I must admit that felt good. 🙂
The parade ended with many signs and cheers. One sign that stood out for me said, “I am a proud parent of a gay son.” As I teared up and walked by that sign, I added a few words to the sign. A gay son that is not bullied. A gay son that is not assaulted. A gay son that is valued and respected. A gay son that receives quality and inclusive healthcare. A gay son that is celebrated not only in June, but every day of the year. A gay son that knows his why and can be who he wants to be and love who he/she/they want to love.
Today I felt my why for marching in the Pride parade and my why felt good.
JB
JB’s Corner 