25 Years Ago Today, I Was Graduated from College. Here’s What I Learned

My alma mater is Marymount University in Arlington, Virginia (1988-1992.) I studied Political Science with a minor in Philosophy/Religion. Marymount is a very small Catholic affiliated private university. I went there because it wasn’t in Pittsburgh and they offered me a full academic scholarship. That’s about all of the thought I put into it while […]

May Day in Manchester

I have a vague memory from childhood of weaving a little basket from strips of paperboard into a square, but it wasn’t Easter. It was closer to summertime and it had something to do with our Catholic Church. I also remember helping to construct a quasi-Maypole and the girls took turns with the streamers. Was […]

Pgh Organizes ‘Bey-B’ Shower for Black and Brown Pregnant Folks

The Black Femme Excellence Co is organizing a community-wide baby shower centering black and brown pregnant folks in this region who are expecting or recently gave birth. This is part of the nationwide movement to organize ‘Bey-B’ showers to celebrate the wonders of black parents, including LGBTQ parents.  It is also a tangible way to […]

Lora, 33, Talks About Coming Out, Family Support, & LGBTQ Narratives #AMPLIFY

Are there issues impacting your LGBTQ neighbors that aren’t visible or part of the local dialogue?

I think everyone is affected by our education system. We need to be taught compassion and understanding for marginalized communities. So often the narratives of people of color and people in the LGBTQ community are either not told or not given the equal space of white narratives. It is easy to see people that are seemingly different from you as “others” when you are not exposed to their stories, their kindness, their humanity while growing up and come to the realization that their narrative is our collective human narrative.

Trans Woman Chay Reed Shot & Killed in Miami

Chay Reed

28-year-old Chay Reed was shot to death Friday in the West Little River neighborhood of Miami-Dade. She is the 9th trans woman of color to be murdered in the US during 2017. Neighbors provided home surveillance footage to the police, telling the media that they saw several people on the sidewalk before 5 AM. One […]

Fish Fry Friday: 2017 Wrap-Up, Best Winners Announced

The end of another year of #FishFryFriday reviews of local fish fries in the Pittsburgh area. We missed one week, but we did include a Shrove Tuesday event so that events out. Here are this years reviews Shrove Tuesday February 28 – Shrove Tuesday Pancake Dinner Calvary United Methodist Church (Northside) Friday, March 3 – Fish […]

The Season of Depression Has Sprung

I’ve been depressed. For months. Long months, wearing down my mind and my soul and my heart. Months where I continued to take my prescribed medication and see my therapist and do all of the things. Sometimes I show up to do public things, sometimes I do not. If you wonder where, I’ve been – […]