To kick off Pride Month, we spoke with a local advocate who told us what this month means to them.
A professional counselor, consultant, and supporter is using this month to celebrate and recognize the LGBTQ community.
We asked them to define pride month and what it really means to them.
“Pride is so much more than parades and celebrations as far as festivities, Pride is really about honoring a whole person, their lived experience, the struggles, our history, our roots. It’s about seeing us in our full radiant self,” answered Dr. Tyler Titus, founder & board chair of Compton’s Table.
Tyler Titus is the founder and board chair of Compton’s Table, an organization that strives to create a thriving queer community.
They connect peers and empowering queer youth and young adults to be agents of sustainable change.
Titus told us that although acceptance has come a long way over the years, this pride month feels like more LGBTQ rights are under attack.
“This year alone we’ve seen over 500 anti-trans pieces of legislation introduced across the country and so many of us are feeling a tightening in our chest as we enter this pride month,” Titus said.
Titus is queer, non- binary, and trans and said that one of the biggest issues they’ve seen in anti-trans legislation is not including that community in sports.
“What we need to dive into when we start taking trans people and making it harder for us to exist in public spaces, so it beyond playing in sports, when we start banning people from using public restrooms,” Titus explained.
The founder explained that acts like this are an attempt to erase the trans community from existence.
Titus has advice for those who are questioning their identities and don’t feel it’s safe to speak out.
“It’s okay. It’s okay to not have all the answers, it’s okay not know and sometimes it really isn’t safe to express who you are but we’re ready. We’re here to welcome you with open arms when you have found it within yourself that it’s time for you to step inside of your truth.” Titus went on to say.
For more information about Compton’s Table, you can visit their website here.