[supporting Black lgbgtq+ communities - resources]

Coming Out: Living Authentically as Black LGBTQ People

For those who identify as Black LGBTQ people, the coming out process can be complex to navigate. Coming Out: Living Authentically as Black LGBTQ People is designed for those embarking on their own coming out journey at the intersections of LGBTQ and Black identities. This guide aims to recognize the unique experiences Black LGBTQ people have in coming out, while understanding that coming out is a personal choice and the lifelong coming out experience is different for everyone.

Download page for this 68-page guide: https://www.hrc.org/resources/coming-out-living-authentically-as-black-lgbtq-people

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Black & LGBTQ: Approaching Intersectional Conversations

If you’re considering engaging (as a Black queer person) with people who identify as non-Black in your life about your identities, it’s important to remember that the process of having difficult conversations does not begin or end with the discussion itself. It is essential to consider your well-being and safety at each step in the journey. Here are some approaches to consider before, during, and after a difficult conversation to make sure the dialogue — and your mental health — stays safe.

Direct download: https://www.thetrevorproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/intersectional-conversations-1.pdf

[braves wear braids documentary]

 If you are a TEACHER, this is a must-watch video!

Direct link to video

The Braves Wear Braids documentary looks at the spiritual meaning of braids, and the struggles faced by Indigenous youth to keep this important piece of the culture alive through interviews with Ethan Bear, Elders, and other Indigenous men who speak to their own personal experiences with their braids. (from video description)

So... hopefully by now most of us know not to touch other people's hair! Much of what I've seen on that topic has been about Black people having their hair touched by strangers. 

While of course I wasn't going around touching anyone's hair, this video gave me a better understanding of the important role of hair in Indigenous culture. Note the important role that parents, along with teachers and principals, have in educating others and in addressing and preventing bullying, in the context of Indigenous male youth with long hair and braids.

sil #2: Indigenizing the academy (part 1: concepts)

[core topic]

This is part of an ongoing series 
on strategically inclusive leadership. 
Read the introduction here.

Before COVID, I went to MacEwan University on several different occasions to attend seminars and symposia. Outside, they fly the Treaty 6 flag. On the way in, I noted that each entrance has a land acknowledgement posted in both English and Cree, on a formal plaque.

There is a wonderful Indigenous Student Center with several staff, a resident Elder, cultural ceremonies, tutoring and other educational supports. There are introductory Indigenous awareness courses.

Allard Hall, the university's new Arts and Culture Building, has an atrium named after Elder Jerry Woods, who served as an elder for MacEwan and other institutions for many years. A display on the second level of the atrium commemorates him and his legacy at the school. It has a plaque with his picture and a statement in the middle, with a picture on one side and a framed ribbon shirt on the other. MacEwan also commissioned Christi Belcourt and Isaac Murdoch to create a mural for the university.

Today, these kinds of things tend to be fairly common for many post-secondary educational institutions in Canada. Thirty years ago, were educational institutions doing anything of the sort that I shared about MacEwan?

Not in the slightest…

The foundation of education institutions here in Canada, whether at an elementary or high school level or post secondary, is a Western colonial cisgender heterosexual patriarchal one. Did I miss anything in that description? This includes a denial of what happened to indigenous peoples in Indian Residential Schools, and an insistence on conformity to the dominant culture. This education acts as if Indigenous people were from long long ago and ignores their present reality.

We are going to look at some important concepts  of indigenization and the academy related to the above example. Then we will see how these concepts could apply in a roughly parallel way to other organizations and businesses. Finally, a few comments on what we as strategically inclusive leaders can - and cannot - readily do about this, as people involved in ERGs or community organizations.

my thoughts on "‘radical inclusion’ for L.G.B.T. people, women and others in the Catholic Church" by Cardinal McElroy

On January 24, 2023, an article titled Cardinal McElroy on ‘radical inclusion’ for L.G.B.T. people, women and others in the Catholic Church, written by Cardinal Robert W. McElroy, was posted at America Magazine. I am sharing some key quotes from that article here, along with the link, for two reasons:

1. Cardinal McElroy speaks frankly about the topic of radical inclusion in regard to the Roman Catholic Church, including references to patterns of racism or how church marginalizes victims of clergy sexual abuse.
2. The quotes and surrounding text resonate with some of the themes that are a key part of my thinking these days, particularly related to strategically inclusive leadership.

The five quotes and some brief comments by me (I encourage you to read the six-page article to get the full context):

Quote 1:

“Many of these challenges arise from the reality that a church that is calling all women and men to find a home in the Catholic community contains structures and cultures of exclusion that alienate all too many from the church or make their journey in the Catholic faith tremendously burdensome.”

• My comment: That’s a pretty bold statement for a Cardinal to make in the second paragraph of this article. Read on for more…

Quote 2:

“A culture of synodality is the most promising pathway available today to lead us out of this polarization in our church. Such a culture can help to relativize these divisions and ideological prisms by emphasizing the call of God to seek first and foremost the pathway that we are being called to in unity and grace. A synodal culture demands listening, a listening that seeks not to convince but to understand the experiences and values of others that have led them to this moment. A synodal culture of true encounter demands that we see in our sisters and brothers common pilgrims on the journey of life, not opponents. We must move from Babel to Pentecost.”

• It seems so common sense to me to see others as comrades in the journey, but somehow it isn’t obvious for everyone. Or we decide that certain people are not our brothers and sisters but are instead children of the devil, so that we can be justified in casting them out, oppressing them, treating them as enemies….