What you may not know is that HBO is also dedicated to leveraging the power of storytelling as a means to build understanding and change. HBO’s programs provide a stage for members of the LGBTQ community to share stories and make others feel what they feel. From groundbreaking series like Six Feet Under to documentaries like The Out List, HBO pushes the envelope on real, authentic storytelling.

Fittingly, storytelling was the theme of last week’s Behind the Scenes program at HBO, where LGBTQ and allied teens from gay-straight alliance clubs across NYC met a diverse group of out professionals. Ranging from software developers to social media managers, HBO’s employees had a variety of personal and professional experiences to share. And by sharing their stories and advice for success, HBO employees broadened students’ minds to the world of possibilities outside high school.

Here are five pieces of advice from HBO’s openly LGBTQ employees for the next generation:

1. Be yourself. As LGBTQ people, just by being our authentic selves we are contributing to change as part of the greater movement towards equality. Sharing your story can have a ripple effect that causes a shift in attitudes in the community.
2. Don’t limit your options based on your LGBTQ identity. Stick to your vision and don’t let fear define your future self. At the same time, don’t feel pressured to come out right away in the workplace. Coming out is always a very individual choice, and it will happen naturally when the time is right.
3. Surround yourself with supportive people. When you graduate high school, you will have more control than ever before over who you choose to spend your time with. Choose wisely — don’t waste time with people who don’t let you be yourself.
4. Work hard. As long as you are confident and at at the top of your game, it won’t matter to employers whether you’re LGBTQ. It’s also helpful to know your story and express yourself clearly to give employers a picture of how you got where you are today. They will respect you for the initiative you took to create change in your own life.
5. Be proud to be LGBTQ! HBO employees described the many reasons they are proud to be part of the LGBTQ community: they feel empowers them to not care so much about what others think; they’re connected to a rich community of artists and activists; it enables them to meet a diverse range of people they wouldn’t otherwise have been exposed to; the list goes on!

Thank you to members of HBO Out for hosting an inspiring Behind the Scenes program, and especially for being role models for LGBTQ youth!

div { padding-top: 50px; float: left; clear: both; }

February is Black History Month – a time to celebrate, learn, and teach the black community’s rich history.

For GSAs, this is also an important time to recognize the contributions that African-Americans have made for the LGBTQ community.

We hope these resources and role models inspire fruitful discussions and help your GSA take action. Check back for more updates. Email us at info@www.liveoutloud.info to let us know what you’ve been up to!

RESOURCES

• Black History Month: 23 Prominent Black LGBT Icons (Huffington Post)
• Resources for GSAs at GSANetwork.org
• 100 Black LGBTQ Women You Should Know: The Epic Black History Month Megapost

ROLE MODELS

Kye Allums is the first openly transgender athlete to play NCAA Division I college basketball. Allums was a star shooting guard on the George Washington University (GWU) women’s basketball team.

“I had to come out because it was too hard not being myself.”

James Baldwin (1924-1987) was a writer whose works, such as Go Tell It on the Mountain and Giovanni’s Room depict the inner struggles of African-Americans as well as gay and bisexual men. He was also a key figure of the Civil Rights Movement.

“I’ve always believed that you can think positive just as well as you can think negative.”

Jason Collins is an American professional basketball player who made headlines in 2013 when he publicly came out as gay. He became the first active male professional athlete to be open about his sexuality. Most recently, Collins played for the Washington Wizards and was one of the first inductees into the National Gay & Lesbian Sports Hall of Fame.

“The most you can do is stand up for what you believe in. I’m much happier since coming out to my friends and family. Being genuine and honest makes me happy.”

Laverne Cox made history when she became the first African American transgender woman to appear on an American reality television program. She has also made history as the first openly transgender person nominated for an Emmy Award, and the first transgender person on the cover of Time magazine. Cox currently appears on Netflix’s smash-hit Orange Is the New Black playing Sophia, a trans identifying woman. In addition to acting, Cox is an outspoken transgender activist who advocates for greater inclusion of transgender people in the lesbian, gay, and bisexual civil rights movement.

“I have struggled and continue to struggle to not only have dignity and to carve out a place in the world for myself but to treat myself as if my life matters. My life matters. Transgender lives matter.”

Born in New York City to West Indian parents, Audre Lorde was an outspoken activist from a young age. As a young poet, her first poem appeared in Seventeen magazine while she was still in high school. As a black lesbian, many of Lorde’s poems included insight into both of her identities and how they often crossed paths.

“In our work and in our living, we must recognize that difference is a reason for celebration and growth, rather than a reason for destruction.”

Bayard Rustin was an openly gay activist during the very homophobic landscape of the 1950’s and 60’s. Inspired by Ghandi, Rustin advocated for nonviolent and peaceful protest and served as Martin Luther King Jr’s advisor and mentor. Rustin was key in organizing the 1963 March on Washington.

“The proof that one truly believes is in action.”

Michael Sam made history in becoming the first openly gay football player to be drafted by an NFL team.

At a press conference, his message to LGBTQ youth was: “If someone disowns you, be part of my family.”

In November of 2014, the Live Out Loud team attended a panel discussion called Transgender Perspective: In and Out of the Workplace in which transgender women from various walks of life shared their stories and experiences. After an insightful and inspiring evening, one of the panelists, make-up artist Ally Castillo, left our team particularly moved. Her openness, perseverance and vulnerability made her the exact type of role model Live Out Loud wants to connect to the students in our school programs.

Last week, Ally accompanied me to the GSA at Eleanor Roosevelt High School. The topic at hand was Living Authentically. Ally, only having decided to fully transition to living a fully expressed life as a woman in the last year, was the perfect person to speak to students about the choices, the gains, and the challenges that accompany living authentically.

Roosevelt students had no trouble weighing in on what authenticity means to them. “You get the satisfaction of being who you truly are,” one student said. “I’ve seen teachers try to be some type of way they clearly aren’t comfortable with being,” another student added, “And it looks exhausting.”

I also asked students what challenges one might encounter in the face of choosing authenticity. We wouldn’t be talking about it if it was easy, I told them. One student offered a particularly provocative response. “One of the challenges of living authentically is that you’re faced with the reality of who you are, and that can be scary.”

This was a perfect segue for Ally to share her experiences with the students. Like many of us, Ally has spent a great deal of her life placing the needs of others before her own need to be authentic. Sometimes, she says, it’s about sacrifice. There were other times, however, when she found herself asking others for permission to be herself. This, she has learned through the guidance of her sister and confidant, is unacceptable. “You don’t ask them for permission,” she shared, “You just show up and be who you are.” As a speaker, Ally can’t help but to be the sensitive and vibrant woman she is, and as I gazed around the group, it was clear that that energy was being reflected on the faces of the students.

A final thought shared by Mr. Cacioppo, the GSA advisor, was that being authentic is also the pathway toward having authentic relationships with others. As students navigate high school and the scary adventure that lies just beyond it, this is such an important lesson for them to carry with them. The daily choice to be authentic is one that permeates every other aspect of a person’s life and, in the long run, will allow them to live a life that they can be proud of.

Visiting Johnson & Johnson makes you realize how much one company can make up so much our everyday lives. With global brands like Tylenol, Benedryl, and Neutrogena, it’s no wonder that this company has such a large and diverse staff in the tri-state area alone. Last week, Live Out Loud gave LGBTQ and ally students from across NYC the opportunity to meet the people who market and develop these products, as they talked about being openly LGBTQ or Allied in the workplace. As it turns out, the employees of Johnson & Johnson are really just as caring as their marketing suggests.

From my perspective, the panel discussion was truly the heart of the program. The panelists were a group diverse in sexual orientation, gender identity, race, as well as professions. As a result, students were privy to many different sides of the story. The six panelists shared their authentic selves through candid stories, and students were captivated and moved by every one.

Panelists began by sharing what it’s like being out in the workplace. Jenna, a transwoman, shared the strong support she found at J&J and the groundbreaking steps they are taking to develop a corporate guide to transitioning in the workplace. Because there were no official corporate policies to follow, J&J decided to create them. Panelists also shared their best advice to students for coming out, and the consensus was to follow your gut, but more importantly wait until it is safe. The chair of J&J’s LGBT affinity group, David, shared how he decided not to come out to his parents until he was financially independent. When he finally came out they were the last to know, and while they were hurt by this fact, he explained that he wanted to wait until they were ready to give him the emotional support he needed. I thought this was a really important story for the students to hear, especially in a culture that places such an urgency on coming out.

I was also happy that allied students were able to hear from someone who can speak to the importance of standing up for others. Liz, a straight ally, shared how much she gets out of participating in Johnson & Johnson’s LGBT employee resource group. She encouraged students to view being an ally as an opportunity to educate others who might be too shy to directly ask LGBTQ people questions. Another panelist, Jenny, told a story of when she overheard an employee say “that’s gay”. To her surprise, someone stopped them and pointed out the offensiveness of what they said. I can imagine how inspiring this would be to a high schooler, for whom hearing derogatory phrases can be an everyday occurrence. In their shoes, hearing about co-workers standing up for one another like that would have inspired me to dream about my own future workplaces.

Behind the Scenes at Johnson & Johnson was a chance for LGBTQ and ally students to relate to successful adults who still confront similar issues and are still on their own personal journeys. From coming out to friends, to dealing with micro-aggressions, both generations were able to find common ground. J&J’s employees gave the younger students hope that they’ll be able to overcome their present struggles, and confidence to look past high school to the possibilities the future will bring.

After a month of “introductory” visits to schools in and around New York City, in many ways, this week’s visit to Eleanor Roosevelt High School felt like my first.

Matt Martin, a Senior Manager at HBO, was ready and excited to share his story with Roosevelt students. I was excited because this was the first school visit of the 2014/2015 school year in which I would be introducing students to one of our role models. Though Matt has been on Live Out Loud’s radar for the past couple of years having attended some of our events including a ‘Behind the Scenes’ at HBO, this was his first visit to a school as a role model.

I met with Matt a few days before the school visit and discussed with him what the program would look like. The theme of the program was celebrating identity and students would have opportunity to explore and reflect on aspects of their identity. Matt and I agreed that the best way to approach this visit was as co-facilitators. Matt would do more than simply share his story; he and I would both be participant and leader throughout the session.

This was my second visit to Roosevelt and even though attendance was lower, there were still over a dozen students present. We began with an activity called Four Corners in which students responded to different prompts by moving to a specific corner in the room. For example, one prompt asked students to choose which character trait they valued the most: honesty, respect, hard work or patience. Students then chose the trait they most valued by moving to the corner of the room assigned to that trait. What was great about this activity was that it filled the room with both action and dialogue.  Matt and I took turns reading the different prompts. Whenever students chose a corner, I asked them to speak with others who made the same choice to understand their reasoning for being there. After speaking with each other in their smaller groups, students shared why they made their choice with the entire room. After the activity, students shared their observations about what had just happened. One student observed the diversity of perspectives that was present in the room. She noticed that every time a new prompt was given, she found herself surrounded by a new combination of people. Another student shared that she found it difficult to choose from only four options—a challenge she responded to by often standing in the middle of the room.

Next, I wrote the word ‘identity’ on a dry-erase board and circled it. I asked students to think of as many words, phrases or images as possible that come to mind when they see the word identity. While Matt collected responses, I recorded them on the white board. Matt did a really wonderful job of helping students articulate their ideas by constantly reframing the different ways we interact with identity. At one point when students seemed to run out of ideas, he asked, “What are the things that influence our identity?” Every time we reframed the concept like this, the students offered more. They spoke of the internal versus the external, mental health, self-worth and fluidity. They brought up pain, family, and the life experiences that can shape our identities. “Looking at this list, what statements can we make about identity,” I asked the group. “There are more than four options,” one student said jokingly. Then, Tony, the GSA advisor proposed that the concept of identity was extremely broad. I also asked students to look at the list and share what words or ideas resonated with them the most. One student pointed to the word “health” and said that what resonated with her was that she didn’t understand what the word had to do with identity. Instead of answering the question myself, I asked for a volunteer from the group to share their thoughts on why the word was there. One student raised their hand and shared that health and especially our mental health, was more than just a state of being; it was something we carry with us, which makes it an aspect of our identity.

It was now time for Matt to share his story with the group. After having taken a lot of time unpicking the concept of identity with the students, he felt empowered by the list and decided to use to guide his sharing. He pointed at the word ‘conformity’. He spoke of growing up in Southern California knowing he was “different” and subsequently learning how to conform to what it meant to be a heterosexual man. He did all the things a man was supposed to do: sports, dating and even monitoring the way he spoke. At a particularly emotional point in his sharing, he told students that he felt weird being referred to as a role model. He said that it was they who were the role models because they were making the choice to be part of the GSA. He reflected on what things could have been made possible for him had he had access to a similar group as a young person.

For the final activity, students created a Life Map, an exercise that allowed them the chance to unpick aspects of their own identity. I placed the students in random pairs and told each of them to use the life map handout as a tool to interview their partner. The life map prompted students to think about their accomplishments, hopes, feelings, and networks of support.

After about 10 minutes of conversation and sharing, I asked students to share their thoughts about the activity. Because of the randomized pairs, it turned out that most students weren’t paired with someone they knew well. Because of this, what seemed to resonate most with them was the fact that they shared more authentically with a “stranger” than they felt they would have were they paired with a friend. For me this was an incredible opportunity for “a teachable moment.” A teachable moment is something comes up in a lesson that, despite not being part of the original lesson objectives, is too important not to explore more deeply. I asked them to think about what part they play in their personal relationships that would create interactions in which they couldn’t speak honestly about themselves. Tony also pointed out that our relationships are in a constant state of flux, and that just because you’ve been best friends with a person since the first grade, it doesn’t mean that relationship will not change. What can happen, he added, is that we sometimes conform to the idea of the person we used to be while hiding the person we currently are.

At this point, we were five minutes over and the students were still enthralled in the dialogue that was being shared. This is why, in many, this felt like my first school visit. Connecting role models to young people, and having them share their stories through engaging activities is what makes Live Out Loud unique. This program was the embodiment of that mission and I am excited to bring more LGBTQ role models to students throughout the NYC area.

THE 2015 APPLICATION CLOSED MARCH 4, 2015.

NOTE: Please read through all questions on the application first and allot the appropriate amount of time to complete it. If you browse to another page, you will NOT be able to save your answers. We suggest downloading the application, answering questions on a separate document, and copying and pasting answers below to ensure your work is not lost.

If you have any questions, please contact Cardozie Jones at cardozie@www.liveoutloud.info or (212) 651-4220.

Any information provided on this application is strictly confidential and will not be disseminated for any reason other than determining eligibility for the Live Out Loud Educational Scholarship or as required by state or federal agencies.

[contact-form-7]

When we consider the growing portrayal of the LGBTQ community in the media, one of the most important considerations is the impact this has on the next generation. This is why telling our stories in a genuine way is the heart of Live Out Loud’s programs. While the influx of LGBTQ stories in the media is important, we need to be aware of which stories are being told and how they’re portrayed.

Live Out Loud’s Manager of Youth Programming Cardozie Jones leads programs at gay-straight alliance (GSA) clubs at a variety of schools in all five boroughs of the NYC area. No matter what school he visits, LGBTQ students report feeling marginalized and crave genuine connections to the community at large.

In October, Cardozie led programs surrounding the idea of Fact vs. Story. Students were quick to see how the news stories that appear in the media shape the national conversation and influence which issues come to the forefront. In one activity, Cardozie began by asking students to identify a fact about the LGBTQ community. One student raised his hand and said, “The LGBT community is fighting for same-sex marriage.” He then asked students to identify if “students at this school are in the gay-straight alliance club” was a fact. Another student raised his hand and said that this “fact” doesn’t tell the whole story, because not all students at the school are in the club. This helped students to see that sometimes the conversation becomes all about same-sex marriage, while other issues facing the LGBTQ community, like homelessness and violence, are often swept under the rug.

Students also made the connection between how a story is told and the effect it can have on society. At a middle school that participates in Live Out Loud programs, one student talked about how negative stories lead to negative thinking, and ultimately negative actions.

Storytelling lies at the heart of Live Out Loud’s programs. LGBTQ youth need to hear the full story from those who’ve walked in their shoes, and get the support they need to lead empowered lives. When we bring a volunteer role model to speak to GSA students, these youth get to hear first-hand a true story of what it was like to leave high school and become a successful LGBTQ person. Role models don’t hold back, sharing their challenges as well as their successes. In this way, we give the next generation the tools to create realistic and empowering visions for their futures.

Share your story as a role model and help shape the conversation with LGBTQ youth – get involved today with the NYC-based High School Program, or return to your hometown high school through Live Out Loud’s Homecoming Project.