Category: Stories From the Network

The Holocaust and Genocide Memorial and Education Commission has a new member: Public Allies Cincinnati 2005 alum Sarah Weiss. Having served as CEO of Cincinnati’s Nancy & David Wolf Holocaust & Humanity Center since 2007, Sarah uses lessons of the past to make change in the present and future. Her work centers around education about Read More

If you think you’ve had a hectic year, talk to Eric Salcedo. He’s had four jobs since January 2020—all national, public-facing roles (even amidst the global COVID-19 pandemic), and most recently with a little-known organization called the Democratic National Committee. That’s life in politics! Growing up in the relatively homogenous town of Summit, New Jersey Read More

This Pride Month, we celebrate our Public Allies AmeriCorps members and partner organizations working daily for LGBTQ+ equality and well-being: Mileena Muhammad (Chicago) partners with the Broadway Youth Center to make life healthier and happier for young people who identify as LGBTQ+, and especially young people who do not have stable housing. “As Youth Development Specialist, Read More

By Xesenia Maurice PRIDE means LOVE Maybe it’s cliché to say A phrase so simple That can run so deep Like the currents in our body As we navigate how to exist, live, and be in this world. A phrase so many have fought for And continue to fight for. A phrase that has seen Read More

By Betrice Coleman-Sweet In 2008, Bea and I had been in our committed relationship for 4 years. We had our official wedding ceremony in May of 2005 and about 2 months later we obtained our domestic partnership. Through our tribe, we were introduced to someone who in turn introduced us to some amazing people at Read More

By V. Châu Ham Chơi is the craving for play a feeling akin to the delight of a child  around a sprinkler on a hot summer’s day But Ham Chơi isn’t so simply childlike joy; there is subtext; a steep price. Ham Chơi is an accusation of pretense; A desire to put on a show. Ham Read More

By Marquise Williams When I was making this Pride In Me Photo Mood Board, I thought about what Pride means to me and how I feel when asked to explain who I am. I thought about all the layers of my identity and the ways in which I have both hide and pealed them back. Read More

By Elle Halo   I am a strong, black, woman of trans experience . Every single time I say it, I feel so much better. —Britney Griner  Pride in the movement is power That we built up for ourselves instead  of the power stolen from us  Stolen from the land  And built upon our backs  Read More

By Rachel Zanoni My high school was rather queer. It was a small private school, where the dominant sexualities at play seemed to be straight (of course), bisexual, and pansexual. We were Tumblr-taught and as inclusive as our identity-focused education allowed. The first time I had heard of asexual was in a classroom discussion during Read More

By Clay Horton My hands are shaking as usual as I grip onto the cold bathroom sink; water drips down my face, mixing with tears as I whisper to myself. I suffocate on the cotton candy scented soap that I’ve covered myself in. Clouds of doubt and self-hate swirl around me as I try to Read More