“When Kevin Hawkins was 16 and living in an area of Maryland still struggling to accept queer people, his mother disowned him. Down in South Carolina, Kesha Garner, who now lives in Washington, D.C., remembers growing up without adequate resources for LGBTQ+ people.
“Every time I drive the nine hours home, I worry about stopping to use the restroom.”
And even though D.C. is comparatively very progressive, Kesha knows the city, like every city across the country, is still home to an uncomfortable level of discrimination in public spaces. So they’re trying to do something about it.
Their new website, Queer Review, launched on Monday to give LGBTQ+ people around the world the opportunity to share their experiences in a variety of places, like restaurants, bars, hair salons, and movie theaters.”
Read the full Huffington Post article written by SSH Board Member Patrick McNeil.
Kevin and Kesha put the website together in three months and threw an awesome party last night at DC9 Nightclub in Washington, DC to celebrate its launch. I was honored to speak about the harassment LGBQT+ people face and why a tool like this is so important. The founder of Casa Ruby LGBT Community Center spoke about discrimination against LGBT people and the shelters they run for youth and adults. All of the shelters have 30+ people on waiting lists. (Donate to support their important work!)
The event had a really welcoming vibe and had stations where people could write what a safe space means to them, make note of gender-neutral bathrooms in the DC-area, and write business reviews at a laptop station.
Take a moment to write a review and also, use the reviews to choose where to go. Take your business to places that ARE welcoming and safe. Maybe if they lose customers, other businesses that are not will want to change.
