Boston Pride Hosts Community Forum on Intersectionality

On Tuesday, March 22, 2016, more than 80 attended a public Community Forum hosted by Boston Pride on Intersectionality with a focus on the challenges faced by trans* people of color in the community at BCYF Blackstone Community Center. The goal of the forum was to provide a platform for the community to come together to openly discuss some of the key issues facing the POC community, more specifically the trans* POC community. The panel included Dr. Van Bailey, Director of BGLTQ at Harvard University and social justice educator; Hope Freeman, Community Advocate and Activist; Josiane Martinez, Principal Archipelago Strategies Group (ASG); Marco Torres, Program Supervisor at BCYF Blackstone Community Center; and Michelle Tat, PhD, Research Psychologist and was moderated by Ayanna Pressley, Boston City Councilor at Large. The forum touched upon intersectionality and how it refers to the overlapping of social identities and how discrimination against one ultimately represents discrimination against all.

(Left to right): Charlene Charles, Dr. Van Bailey, Hope Freeman, Josiane Martinez, Sylvain Bruni, Michelle Tat, Ayanna Pressley and Marco Torres