Stuck in the closet

Hey readers,
Welcome back to Tuesday's Takeaways!
because National Coming Out Day is this week, this week our Top Quotes are about some of the experiences LGBTQ+ individuals face while being in the closet. 

• ​Takeaway trivia this week: ​​What is the intention of National Coming Out Day (NCOD)?

​Meanwhile...

Though America has made big strides in its acknowledgement and treatment of LGBTQ+ individuals, there is still a lot more to be done before we can say there is fair and equal treatment for all.

By many people and many governments, LGBTQ+ individuals are seen as: 
"a people so silenced
so disregarded
they are believed not to exist."
-Oriya Abed, Whose Silence?
 
These larger groups still discriminate, harass, silence and murder members of the community. 

Many facing such discrimination begin to develop a sense of hopelessness: 
"I dream for many things
Love, acceptance, bliss
I can never attain these 
Why do I dream" 
-Avery Lieberman, Why Do I Dream? 

 Forced to hide their identities, being told that they are "sin" or some kind of "evil darkness"... They have been pushed into what is known as the "closet".
"Telling me this place is safe
And that my shadows are
Hiding somewhere in the darkness as well."
-Wyatt Nox, My Dark Knight

Activists who have witnessed the time-and-time-again failure of pro-LGBTQ legislation say: 
"How long must we scream?
The diadem of a dream that’s long since gone under
Is all we have left to cry about"
-Bethany Friedmann, Silence

nevertheless, they are resilient, proclaiming: 
"We dance in your shadows
We persevere and try our best to win the fight"
-Lawra Gourgue, Your Home, Not Ours

We hope that in the coming years, no longer will LGBTQ+ identities be shunned, 
"Kept there within the silence
Riding on the atmosphere
Until it hangs low
Like a heavy blanket
Weighed down on the shoulders of its occupants."
-Shionodo,  A Quiet Room...

Instead, intersectional activism will have attained equal and equitable treatment of all, the bigotry left in the dust of the past. 
"Through the slits in the door, some rays of lights come in
Making me believe that there is some hope when I come out"
-Stephanie Calderon Vasquez, Is it Okay?

And now...
NCOD was founded in 1988 in the U.S. based on the feminist liberation idea of "the personal being political". A basic form of activism was coming out to family and friends. The foundational belief that  homophobia thrives in an atmosphere of silence was elucidated by a famous quote of Robert Eichberg's, one of the founders of National Coming out Day. 

"Most people think they don't know anyone gay or lesbian, and in fact, everybody does. It is imperative that we come out and let people know who we are and disabuse them of their fears and stereotypes."

Additionally, on Thursday, October 10th, the LGBTQ Center on Brooklyn College's campus is hosting a day-long event for LGBTQ+ identifying people as well as allies, so be sure to come by the Penthouse of the Student Center this Thursday at any point from 11 am to 9:30 pm! 
​
Stay tuned for our post next week! <3
-Mic and Gina