By Kevin Hogan, BRC Board of Directors
Work crews are still sweeping up from this past weekend’s Boston Pride March. Yet this evening, the same City Hall Plaza where the march concluded will serve as the gathering spot for a vigil to honor the 50 lives lost at Pulse, an Orlando LGBTQ nightclub, in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Many will write that words fail them, and to tell the truth, the words chosen here are far from perfect. But after this horrible act of domestic terrorism, the commitment of the Bisexual Resource Center’s Board of Directors to advocate for and assist the bi+ community, as well as our greater rainbow community and allies, is only reaffirmed all the more.
The hashtag #BostonStrong may sound like a distant memory to many Americans. But those of us who live, work, and go about exercising our daily freedoms in the very city that suffered and survived the marathon bombings that inspired the Florida gunman—we know a thing or two about resiliency, and not letting hate win!
So to all our brothers and sisters in Orlando: know you do not stand alone. WE are #OrlandoStrong. And by displaying love, compassion, and kindness to all members of our greater rainbow community who need it, we will always diffuse fear and hatred and leave them like rusting relics on an old battlefield—while we march on with PRIDE!
For years an inspiring high school English instructor, Kevin Hogan’s life irrevocably changed after an international news story branded him “The Porn Star Teacher.” Since then, he has founded the Healing Stigma program, served on the Board of Directors of the Bisexual Resource Center, and twice visited the White House to meet with officials on matters of bisexual health, inclusivity, and awareness. An author, poet, radio show host, Huffington Post blogger, speaker, consultant, and LGBTQ advocate, his breakout poetry collection My Ríastrad was recently named a 2016 Lambda Literary Award Finalist.
Kevin is currently co-authoring the book Healing Stigma: A Survivor’s Guide to Repairing Identity in the Internet Age with Dr. Galatzer-Levy.