By James Matheson

The Office of Multicultural Involvement & Community Advocacy and the LGBTQ+ Equity Center arranged for an activist and host to engage in intergenerational dialogue with a UMD student on Tuesday to celebrate Pride Month on Campus and Transgender Day of Visibility.

Rayceen Pendarvis, one of the first openly-gay Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners of Washington, D.C. and a lifelong Washingtonian, answered questions about trans visibility over time. Pendarvis gave advice to sophomore Leo Osei Jr. and the rest of the audience in the Grand Ballroom of the Adele H. Stamp Student Union during their conversation.

“For me to be here today, the doors were broken, the barriers were torn down, but the work still needs to be done. So I definitely think for you young people, live in your light, walk in your shoes, and never allow anyone to tell you that you’re not allowed,” said Pendarvis. 

The theme for this year’s Pride Month is “Love me Tender, Love me Queer.”

Wearing a pair of flashing purple LED shoes, Pendarvis sat on stage in a leather armchair across from a young member of the LGBTQ+ community. Acting as a role model and companion to  Osei Jr., she addressed topics such as rejection from family members, social media and older generations. 

Osei Jr. led the conversation and represented the voice of the room while surrounded by observing peers.

“Prepare for enemies that are going to come at you. Enemies that aren’t necessarily all enemy, but they’re loving enemies…like family, friends, schooling system,” said Osei Jr., while encouraging the audience to consider what they would tell a younger self about being seen as a member of the queer community. 

This concept of being able to prepare oneself in advance for the trials they face as a queer person was a recurring theme throughout the evening. Pendarvis assisted in the preparation by sharing her own experiences with negativity surrounding her sexuality. 

Pendarvis relieved the young queer audience that like her, they can form their own family of individuals who love and respect them. She emphasized the importance of ignoring social media discouragement by employing three simple steps: “delete, bock, report,” said Pendarvis.

When asked how heterosexual cisgender individuals can better assist their LGBTQ+ peers in their fight to be seen but not scrutinized, Pendarvis encouraged students to rely on universal human emotions like joy and pain to better empathize with one another. 

“​​I haven’t had much interaction with queer elders and just seeing the way the two of them interacted and just how special that connection was, it really, really touched me,” said Florence Miller, an English and women, gender, and sexuality studies double major.

Featured image: Osei Jr., left, facilitates a discussion with Pendarvis, right. Photo courtesy of Alex Mullen from the Office of Multicultural Involvement & Community Advocacy.