Acceptance Journeys

Tim & Jeremy

I have known Jeremy since last year. I moved here from Pennsylvania and I have worked with him on the Obama campaign. I grew up in Philadelphia in a very Republican family. I was…

• Friends

Sarah Noble & Rodney

Trevin was my very close friend from the time I was eight years old. We all knew he was gay because we had gone all the way through school with him. When we were…

• Friends

Sandra & Denise

My daughter once asked me, “Mom, do we know every gay person in the world?” I told her, “No, it’s just that the gay people we do know are comfortable and are out of…

• Friends

Rashaad, Efrain, Sharnae, & Eli

We all went to high school together. At first in high school we hated each other. But in sophomore year, we became best friends. Eli is one of those people you can trust no matter…

• Friends

Rachel & Mia

From the very beginning, even as a young child, I had this habit of challenging things. I just never believed in this idea that you had to follow this set of rules in order…

• Friends

Mayor Barrett

Leonard Sobczak and I went to high school together. He was a couple years ahead of me, so like all of the younger students, I knew who the older kids were but I was…

• Friends
• Public Officials

MariCarmen & Elizabeth

I have worked in the Latino community for a long time. I began to work with LGBTQ people – especially transgender people – and realized that they really needed more safe places. I met…

• Friends

Pam & Demetrius

I have known Demetrius—Deme—for a long time. As a matter of fact, I hired him and we worked together at a women’s health clinic. He has such great customer service skills and professionalism. His…

• Friends

Lawrence & Kedem

I met Kedem through my recovery group. We are both recovering addicts. He’s funny, and my wife likes him because he compliments her a lot. I can say the same thing to her about…

• Billboards
• Friends

Julio Guerrero

I don’t think I was always an ally to LGBT people. I grew up in a very conservative Mexican church-going family. I embraced some of the “-isms” or stereotypes my family believed in. I…

• Friends

Julie Bock & Matt Burns

Matt: I grew up in a tiny town in Southeast Wisconsin, which is full of really conservative people who talk a lot about being really pro-family. But in the end a lot of them…

• Friends

Joann & Erick

I met Erick in January of 2008 when I started taking ballroom dance lessons. When I added a second instructor a few weeks into the program, I asked that it be Erick. He was…

• Friends

Jan, Gary, & Paul

When I first met my former husband’s brother, I was already aware he was gay, it was nothing strange or weird. I thought, “Oh.” It never felt like an awakening, it was just a…

• Family
• Friends

Dinorah, Maria Antoinetta, Raoul, & Zeferino

I’m an immigrant to this country. As a child I became used to being different and not highly accepted. I remember having gay friends since high school. Maybe the lack of acceptance was something…

• Friends

Cosey & Bree

I met Bree through a mutual friend. When we met, I was really into drugs. Bree took me in and let me live with him for a whole year. At first I just thought…

• Friends

Commissioner of Health Bevan K. Baker & Dr. Gary Hollander

When I was growing up, my mother did a lot of mission work. The work took her around the world, but she never forgot those close to home. In her small town in rural…

• Friends
• Public Officials

Becca & Kevon

I have been friends with Kevon for 11 years, so since the 7th grade. Back then we “dated,” which consisted of holding hands. We stayed good friends, and in the 10th grade he told me…

• Friends

Aretha, Glenda, & Kim

Aretha: Kim is just one of those people you just want to know. He came into The Black Health Coalition where I worked, and you just knew he was fun, he was cheerful, he…

• Family
• Friends