Jason Howard Green

Jason Howard Green

Friday, April 17, 2009

Unforgettable Pride Moment Number Two

Every February we celebrate Black history month. And every February I attend numerous Black history month celebrations and brunches and award ceremonies. And sadly at none of these occassions do I hear about the contributions or successes of LGBT African-Americans. When we look at the accomplished works of phenomenal people like James Baldwin, Alvin Ailey, Langston Hughes or Octavia Butler, it's disappointing that they are not receiving the recgonition they deserve.

And then the In the Life Celebration was born. The brain child of phenomenal women Donna McHenry and the project of her organization Soul Purpose Arizona. The In the Life Celebration was created to honor those LGBT African-Americans in history that have helped change to world but are continuously overlooked in other Black history month celebrations. There is a display that showcases our role models. There are workshops that address issues relevent to the African-American LGBT community. And finally there is an awards ceremony that recognizes those members of the community that still live up to the standards put on us by Hughes, Ailey and Butler.

For me it was a please to be on the Soul Purpose committee and help plan this special event. One of the pleasures was working with some of the most intelligent and creative and charming black gay folks I've had the pleasure of knowing. Babe Caylor, William Clark, Mark NuChurch, Treasure, Angel, Jacqui and Sharicka were just the best group of people to work with. And I was very proud of the event we putting together. For this reason, creating and attening the In the Life Celebration makes for number two on my unforgettable pride moments list.

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