Inclusivity is My Jam
As a half-black, half-Jewish lesbian, I thought I had a pretty clear understanding of what it’s like to be a minority in America. Then an uprising started and knocked me off of my high horse. Each of my identities comes with its own challenge. In 2011, my wife and I got married in Chicago and traveled to Iowa to make it legal. The irony was that Iowa was the one place where I most felt unwelcome.
My first job out of college was at KCCI in Des Moines. At the time, Iowans were voting on a constitutional amendment to ban marriage equality. The news station seemed to be promoting the ban, refusing to interview the local LGBT center for comments. My white lesbian boss was adopting a mixed race baby and had a lot of questions about my identity. Another manager casually mentioned that slavery should have never been abolished, while listening to Sean Hannity while riding back from an assignment. A co-worker asked me to explain why black people were so poor. The black students in the nearby college town made fun of me for not being black enough. My one mixed-race friend got upset with me for outting her as black in public. I was in a physically abusive relationship at the time.
This is just a sliver of my experience with intersectionality. I rarely share these experiences. I’m not interested in being a Debbie Downer. I thought I was handling my intersectionality like a pro. I spend my days helping to elevate marginalized voices in the TV industry. I work hard to achieve my dream of getting staffed as a TV comedy writer. I serve as the senior minister for Spirit Uncensored, an incredibly diverse spiritual community. Today, I realized that I wasn’t doing enough.
I was inspired to host an event for BIPOC (Black Identified People of Color). The idea made me uncomfortable. Inclusivity is my jam. All of us are being affected by what’s happening right now. I don’t want to be a person who leaves anyone out of this conversation. I’m all for unity, harmony and equality. Karebear is my nickname! But still, I’ve decided to develop an event, specifically for BIPOC.
Hosting this event is one of the many steps I’m taking to help create a space for unity. I believe that the black community needs safe spaces to process as heal and I feel a responsibility to the community to provide it. If you disagree with my actions, I understand. Two months prior, I would have disagreed with my actions too. But these are not normal times. All of us are stepping outside of our comfort zones differently. This is one way that I’m stepping outside of mine. Stay tuned for updates!
