Last week was incredibly eventful with Equality Ohio. I had the wonderful opportunity of attending Allies for Equality in Cincinnati, where we honored the inclusion of The Cincinnati Contemporary Arts Center. I got to travel down with my whole team which made for plenty of bonding time, mostly over great music. It was at this event that I met a personal hero of mine, Jim Obergefell. Most know him to be the face of the marriage equality Supreme Court ruling, Obergefell v. Hodges. People like him have paved the way for LGBTQ+ people and make all the work that I’m currently doing at Equality Ohio incredibly empowering.

Some may not enjoy working during the weekend, but I definitely did. This weekend I canvassed with Equality Ohio at Columbus Community Pride. This event was hosted by BQIC (Black Queer & Intersectional Columbus) and it truly captured what Pride is suppose to be about; uplifting people instead of corporations. I spent my time there informing people about HB 160 (Ohio Fairness Act) and collecting signatures of support. HB 160 would prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity or expression. For those who are not aware, there are still places in Ohio without adequate protections for LGBTQ+ people in the workplace or housing market. As you can imagine, everyone at Pride was more than happy to sign in support of HB 160!

Aside from the events I have been attending with Equality Ohio, I have also been working on some projects for them. Fundraising is currently my biggest focus and I am hoping to host two big events during my time here, with one of them being in Worthington. As I mentioned last week, I am also working on our curriculum that we provide employers with to improve their treatment of LGBTQ+ employees.

It is very rewarding at the end of the day to know that my efforts are going towards a community that I am a part of, to bridge the gap of struggles that I have faced so that others do not have to, and to uplift the voices of those who have not had the opportunity to be heard. If you had told me at the age of twelve that I would be working for an organization that works to protect and improve the lives of LGBTQ+ individuals, I would have never believed such a thing even existed. I continue to be grateful for my time here as I work alongside such brilliant minds, and I’m so excited to see what I do next!