Photo By Amy Perry | Virginia Lamneck, the program director of Equality Virginia, defines the terms...... read more read more
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FORT LEE, Va. (July 7, 2016) -- Assembled in a conference room at a Defense Contract Management Agency building in Chester, a small group of organization employees and leaders learned about the plight of those in the Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual and Transgender community during an observance June 30.
Virginia Lamneck, program director of Equality Virginia, presented information that helped the group define terms within the LGBT community; develop an understanding of the ‘coming out’ process with family, friends, coworkers and the community; and learn about the major issues within the community in Virginia, including bathroom access, surgery, workplace discrimination and school issues.
Equality Virginia – started as Virginians for Justice – has been around for more than 25 years and while it is based in Richmond, the organization works statewide, said Lamneck.
“We do education, advocacy and outreach work to create a landscape of inclusivity in Virginia,” she said.
The organization supports educational outreach initiatives and participates in lobbying legislative members to promote LGBT rights.
“We are able to talk to our delegates and senators about bills and legislation that is important to LGBT Virginians,” Lamneck said. “Last year, we saw more anti-LGBT bills introduced into the assembly than ever before. So, while we are seeing this arc for more inclusivity – through businesses, workplaces and schools – we’re seeing a lot more anti-LBGT legislation. That’s a trend we’re seeing not only in Virginia but also nationwide.”
Many think that just because marriage was legalized for all, the community has all the rights it needs, said Lamneck, and that’s just not true.
“They ask me why my organization needs to exist,” she said. “We need to exist because there’s a lot more work to be done. A lot of people don’t realize it’s still completely 100 percent legal in Virginia for public employees to be fired or not hired, to be denied housing or access to a restaurant, simply because they are gay or transgender. Many people believe those protections should be in place, so there’s some disconnect there.
“We’ve seen that most people – even nationwide – believe that everybody should be treated equally; that everybody should have access to the same quality of life as everyone else, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity,” Lamneck continued. “Gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgender people are our colleagues, friends, neighbors and family members – probably everybody in this room knows somebody who is LGBT.”
To show how it feels for many in the LGBT community to come out to their family, friends and co-workers, Lamneck had the group do the “Coming Out” Stars Activity. She handed out stars of several different colors to the participants and had them write down their best friend, group they belonged to, a family member, workplace and several dreams on each arm of the star.
The color of the star dictated what happened when the individual came out to that particular person or group. If the experience was positive, the arm remained untouched. If it was negative, the arm was folded down or ripped off. At the end of the activity, many were left with stars that saw family members that disowned them, employers that fired them or dreams lost because of lack of support.
One participant – George Braxton, DCMA’s special advisor for Diversity and Inclusion – said that as an ally – a term for one who supports LGBT rights – he often hears from others who are typically very pro-civil rights – but for minorities – is that being black or Hispanic is immutable.
“They say ‘When I walk into a room, I’m going to get the black treatment,’” said Braxton. “They say that for someone who is LGBT, they have a choice. They don’t have to let people know. (The LGBT community) doesn’t have to share these things, therefore, it’s not the same.
“I think something about this exercise really flies in the face of that,” he continued. “If you’re black or Hispanic, for example, you have a system and network of people who you are with that prepares you to deal with rest of the world. But if you come out, all of a sudden those very systems you counted so much on can just vanish. I had to tear off and fold back some of those very things I count so much on.”
The event – previously scheduled at the headquarters on the installation – was moved off post due to space and calendar conflicts, said Gregory Clark, DCMA Equal Employment Opportunity disability program manager and event coordinator.
“However, we always knew this would be a great event to have because it would inform the workforce of the latest changes in the LGBT communities,” he said. “Additionally, this topic has been in the news for the past few months, from the states changes to bathroom accommodation to the military making changes to the (inclusion) rules. It’s a good way to have an open dialogue with individuals wanted to talk about the uncertainty or the phobia of the LGBT communities. I thought Ms. Lamneck did an amazing job with the presentation. All of the attendees had positive feedback about how they were affected.”
| Date Taken: | 07.07.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 07.07.2016 14:59 |
| Story ID: | 203334 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 45 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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