Back in October, Centre LGBTQA Support Network hosted a screening at The State Theatre of the film ‘Pride,’ which explores the unlikely alliance between gay and lesbian groups and striking miners in Wales in the 1980s. That got network members talking about what kind of alliances could be formed in the local community.
Following the general election in November, Centre LGBTQA recognized that a number of groups had concerns about the impact President-elect Donald Trump’s administration could have on them.
‘We were thinking that rather than go at it alone and narrowly focus on our agenda, a good idea would be to bring the community together, bring all these groups together and start a dialogue to see whether there are ways we can support one another and bring our voices together,’ said Tamar London, Centre LGBTQA co-chair.
The network will host a public forum, ‘Moving Forward with Inclusion,’ from 7-9 p.m. today in the auditorium at Foxdale Village, 500 E. Marylyn Ave. A wide range of panelists will answer questions about individuals and groups that feel they could be vulnerable in the current political climate, London said. She expects the forum will address how to work together on concerns for racial and religious minorities, the LGBT community, women’s rights, immigrants’ rights and the environment.
London stressed that it is not a partisan event, but rather an opportunity to bring together a caring community.
‘There are a lot of Donald Trump supporters that are very caring people and voted for him perhaps based on his economic policy,’ London said. ‘They still care about the LGBT community, they still care about religious minorities. I don’t believe that everyone who voted for Trump is a racist. I would say if you are a Donald Trump supporter and still care about minorities, and still want to make sure minorities’ rights are still in existence, this is definitely a forum for you as well.
‘We are really trying to be inclusive and simply focusing on the legitimate concerns a lot of minorities have at the moment.’
Panelists for the forum include: Amy Cohen of Showing Up for Racial Justice; Moses Davis, director of the Multicultural Resource Center at Penn State; Borja Gutiérrez, Penn State Commission on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Equity; Cricket Eccleston Hunter, program director for Interfaith Power and Light; Zakariya Khayat, member of the Muslim Student Association at Penn State; Tom King, State College Borough Assistant Manager for Public Safety; Sarah Malone, of Interfaith Initiative Centre County; Rabbi David Ostrich, Congregation Brit Shalom; Michael Pipe, Centre County Commissioner; Michelle Saylor, superintendent of the Bellefonte Area School District; Andrew Shubin, civil rights attorney; Kathleen Stehouwer, assistant executive Centre County Women’s Resource Cente; and Joanne Tosti-Vasey, of the Centre County Advisory Council to PA Human Relations Commission.
The forum will begin with a moderated question and answer session and questions can be sent in advance to info@centrelgbtqa.org.
London said that members of the Unitarian Universal Fellowship of Centre County have been independently organizing focused action groups, and time will be allotted for attendees to learn more about groups and join.
She added that the rise of empowerment of white supremacist groups around the nation and in Pennsylvania is a significant concern.
‘For the people who voted for Trump and don’t want to see that happen, this is an opportunity to come and be supportive of these minority groups,’ London said.
