What an Amazing Day…

by Margie

Yesterday was a very special day for me Muffins.

Not only did I watch in wonder as we swore in our first Black President, but I was able to then spend time in the evening with a diverse and dedicated group of individuals all connected by a common thread.

The event I attended was one sponsored by the Rainbow Health Initiative and PFund and was hosted by Marnita’s Table. I encourage you to click on the links for each of those organizations to learn more.

Let me simply say in this posting that the conversation was centered around what it takes to build strong, healthy individuals and a strong LGBT community. People of all different ethnicity, ages and orientations gathered around a single task – to define what health is and what it looks like in our own lives and in our community. The contributions each person made were insightful and congruent with the task.

The event could not have happened on a better day. I will say that I was able to first hand experience the change this is at our feet. Change that could not happen at a better time since we now face so many community wide challenges. Through the conversation stimulated by this diverse group coming together, I was able to visualize how real change may occur. There is nothing we cannot handle if we simply gather together to work as a community on the problems. We also need to celebrate our successes and share them with others. Eating a meal together with people who are not like you, be that race or opinion or orientation or difference, is a great way to break down barriers in order to start building new foundations!

Opportunities exist for each of us to do this. One such opportunity is a photo contest depicting a healthy LGBT community so we can begin to combat a frequently promoted yet grossly inaccurate picture of the LGBT community as somehow flawed or less than healthy.

That is why I took time out a few days ago to interview Loretta Worthington, Executive Director for Rainbow Health Initiative about a project they are doing in conjunction with Lavender Smoke Free Communities.

Listen to the show

The project is a photo contest depicting a healthy LGBT community. The interview is up on the podcast site and I encourage you to listen to it. I also encourage you to go to the website and learn about the contest. You can go directly to the the contest info by clicking on the image below.