Show me the gay flag movie#
One of my first assignments as a reporter was to cover a protest at the only movie theater in Casper willing to show Brokeback Mountain, a 2005 film that depicted a love story between two men set in rural Wyoming. I think she knew how badly I needed a mother’s hug. She gave me a long hug at the end of the interview.
Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined getting a chance to interview Matthew’s mother, Judy, while I was reporting on the premiere of The Laramie Project, a play that examined how her son’s murder transformed the small town. The shocking news caused an international outcry-and a heavy pit in my stomach. I moved to a state where just eight years earlier, Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old openly gay University of Wyoming student was beaten, tortured and left to die on a split-rail fence in Laramie. I was happy to receive my first break but was immediately terrified.
Show me the gay flag tv#
In all facets of my life, I worked twice as hard to show that despite my sexuality, I could be taken seriously and was still worthy of having a seat at the table.īefore joining DHS, I spent most of my career as a TV news anchor and reporter, starting with my first job in Casper, Wyoming. It’s a hopeless feeling when you’re bullied, punished or have your life threatened for the one thing about yourself that you can’t change. Seeing this all play out on TV as a child-I knew I had to suppress this small part of me because that’s the only part the world seemed fixated on. The LGBTQ+ community faced rampant discrimination and homophobia during the HIV/AIDS crisis. Society was in a much different place when I was growing up in the 80s and 90s. These days, I’m in a peculiar place with myself trapped somewhere between the new more confident me and the younger me that is still healing. I admit, I’ve struggled with confidence and self-respect most of my life. Oxford English Dictionary defines pride as, “Confidence and self-respect as expressed by members of a group, typically one that has been socially marginalized, on the basis of their shared identity, culture and experience.” Please allow me to explain this struggle: How do you truly feel pride, when you’ve spent more than half of your life being forced to hide a part of who you are? That’s why people like me still need allies. And many who identify as LGBTQ+ are still fighting an internal struggle.
This month, we’ll see Pride celebrations across the country, global brands and companies proud to stand with the LGBTQ+ community-I can’t even begin to describe what a welcome change it is.Įven in today’s age where there is more acceptance, discrimination and hate crimes are still common. To see solidarity from within one of the highest branches of federal government feels liberating. This Pride Month, he continues the new tradition. Last year, Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, raised the LGBTQ+ Pride flag for the first time in DHS’ history.