October is LGBT History Month, and the Memphis Gay & Lesbian Community Center (MGLCC) is dedicating the month to creating safer spaces for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people. Although gay teen suicide is nothing new, the recent media attention focused on at least six gay youth who have taken their lives in response to anti-gay bullying points to the need for a more open and accepting community.
“We make ourselves safer by rejecting the fear and shame that others would have us feel for being who we are. We make our community safer by continuing to work for full equality for all until our goal is achieved,” says Will Batts, executive director of MGLCC.
The center is asking people to help out in several ways:
1) Donate money to the nonprofit MGLCC to fund programs aimed at creating safer spaces
2) Donate skills – The center needs volunteer design specialists, project managers, strategists and fundraisers
3) Donate time – Show up at rallies, gatherings, and other LGBT-focused events
4) Donate passion- Talk to friends, co-workers, and others about the need for safer spaces.
Looking for a way to donate time? Join the March for Gay Rights on Monday, October 11th. It kicks off at 3:30 p.m. at the National Civil Rights Museum (450 Mulberry) and heads to City Hall (125 N. Main). A rally will commence at City Hall at 5:30 p.m.
