It is My Great Honor

I am pleased to accept the National Diversity Council & Tri-State Diversity Council's LGBTQ+ Leadership Award today.

This award honors leaders in corporate America and within the community who exemplify recognizable LGBTQ+ advocacy efforts, serve as role models within the LGBTQ+ community, champion LGBTQ+ protections in the community/workplace, and sustain a record of influencing positive change in the LGBTQ+ community.

I am honored to receive this award alongside my fellow honorees: Natalie Watson, Josh Gomez-Bruzas, and Vix Rian.

Part of my acceptance speech:

"As a queer person from Mississippi and Alabama, I know

firsthand the importance of representation. The most crucial part

of being a leader to the LGBTQ+ community is being visible. When

queer people see other queer people in positions of power and

doing the work, they realize their potential to do the same. As a

cisgender white gay male, I also believe being a leader in the

LGBTQ+ community requires one to acknowledge their privilege

and pass the mic to the rest of the LGBTQ+ community, as for far

too long, the LGBTQ+ community has centered whiteness,

cisgenderness and gayness, while also willfully embracing

heteronormativity."

#CONNECTINGPRIDE #EQUALITY #EQUALITYMATTERS #LOVEISLOVE #LGBTQ #DIVERSITY #INCLUSION #NATIONALDIVERSITYCOUNCIL #TRISTATEDIVERSITYCOUNCIL