What Does Being An Effective Ally Really Mean?
With PRIDE Month in full swing across California and The Nation, I thought it might be helpful to have my friend Johnathan Cook back on The Hometown Morning Show to talk about how our communities can draw closer together. Jonathan is The Executive Director of The Solano Pride Center, a local organization that’s been providing services and advocacy to the LGBTQ+ population in and around Solano County for 25 years. Among other accomplishments, Jonathan and his team have helped ensure counseling services are readily available, Senior resources and activities are plentiful, and PRIDE proclamations have been instituted in all seven cities throughout Solano County. KUIC has lent its local and corporate support to the LGBTQ+ community at least as long as I’ve been with the station, so I asked Jonathan what he thinks constitutes an effective ally…how can we all be better advocates for the rights, freedoms and safety of others? His response bears repeating: “The more we see, hear, and interact with people from different walks of life, the more we see how much we have in common, rather than how different we are from each other. Our differences are important, and they should be celebrated, but our commonalities as community members should be recognized as well.” Sometimes the best work we can do as allies is to stick up for our neighbors who have been historically marginalized. To learn more about The Solano PRIDE Center, including volunteer opportunities, connect with them at www.solanopride.org 🙂
