JASMYN's 6th Annual Coming Out Day Breakfast

On Wednesday, October 10, 2012, The Jacksonville Area Sexual Minority Youth Network (JASMYN) celebrated their 6thannual Coming Out Day Breakfast. JASMYN, currently in its 18th year, has been and will continue to be a champion for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) youth ages 13-23. The Coming Out Day Breakfast brought together the business, educational and professional communities that actively supported JASMYN and LGBT equality in 2012.

This being my first breakfast, I was excited about networking and mingling with peers and meeting new faces. I was invited to the breakfast by one of my mentors and dearest humans, Tina Vaughn (one of the producers of the Jacksonville Coming Out Monologues, COMJAX). Quite honestly, that morning was rough for me and I’d considered not attending. As fate would have it, Tina would not let that happen. I wiped my tears and asked her not to embrace me because I would cry again. She gave me a nudge, smiled and said “hey my favorite” and into the breakfast we went. As we walked in, I immediately spotted familiar faces and tried my best to disguise the fact that I was balling my eyes out only minutes prior. As Tina and I made our rounds, we grabbed some coffee and patiently waited for the breakfast to begin.

Maybe a day or so before the breakfast, I received a message from Kimberley McCleod, Director of Communications for the National Black Justice Coalition, asking if I was attending because the keynote speaker, Sharon Lettman-Hicks, was going to touch on the HRO 296 (Jacksonville’s Anti LGBT -discrimination bill) that the Jacksonville City Council recently denied . A few months ago she blessed me with the honor of being featured on her website, Elixher.com and from there I reached out to her and others about the issues we were facing as a LGBTQ community in Jacksonville. I reached out because I wanted to bring light to the bigotry and outright hate being displayed in my own city. When HRO 296 was denied, my heart was broken and my spirit crushed. I felt lost and confused, ashamed, angry, pissed off…broken. I was more than interested to hear what Mrs. Lettman-Hicks had to say about this debacle. I had never had the privilege of hearing her speak and was assured by friends that I, we were in for a treat.

After awards and recognition were given to some attendees, it was now time for Sharon Lettman-Hicks, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the National Black Justice Coalition to take the stage. From the moment she opened her mouth, I knew that something magical was about to happen. She started off by stating that she would step on some toes, which based on the “oohs” and “ahhs” throughout her speech, I am sure she did. Honestly, I believe that this was exactly what we needed. She motivated and charged us to stop saying that we are pissed off and do something about it. Everything she spoke on were topics I’m sure many have wanted to bring up and were too afraid to. At one point she asked how could a room of 300+ allies and LGBTQ people let a City Council comprised of 19 dictate what Jacksonville did and did not need. Her speech was heart wrenching, tough to swallow at times but most definitely right on time. One of my favorite ouch moments was when she asked the corporate officers how they felt knowing that their big corporate checks, that went towards supporting Jacksonville’s first black Mayor, Alvin Brown, have bounced. After a blind poll, she noticed that over 75% of the room voted for Mayor Brown but less than 25% have written and/or visited his office to ask why he has taken a backseat on HRO 296 and why he didn’t have the audacity to even show up to any of the council meetings. Mrs. Lettman-Hicks reproached us as a community charging us with the responsibility of not sitting down, not rolling over, not giving up. Her words still echo in my ear and I’m sure the same is true for many other attendees. Her approach was direct, insightful and unapologetic. Three characteristics we all need to maintain as we continue to fight and bring Jacksonville out of the dark ages. Her closing words, packed with power and emotion, but simply stated were “Jacksonville, take your city back.”