Illustration by Mikey Fuller
With “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repealed and LGBTQ service members able to serve openly in the military, veterans, their spouses, children and allies are coming together to share their stories. It’s all part of the first-ever Pride! LGBTQ+ Military Family Social. Set for Saturday, Sept. 1, from 7 to 9 p.m. at DJ’s Rajun Cajun in Petersburg, it kicks off a month of Pride celebrations and events in Petersburg and Richmond including the Petersburg Out & Proud 2018 festival Sept. 16 and VA PrideFest Sept. 22.
The Pride! LGBTQ+ Military Family Social is a family-friendly event that includes speakers, live entertainment, readings, food, drinks and an open-mic session. The open-mic session is open to the public, and everyone is encouraged to share an LGBTQ+ military family-related story. The stories are limited to two minutes and must be PG-rated.
Lora Beldon, founder of the Military Kid Art Project and the artist in residence at the Museum of the American Military Family, spearheaded the event after working on “SHOUT! Sharing Our Truth,” an LGBTQ military family anthology featuring candid stories.
“Because of what I do for a living and what a few of my other peers do for a living, [this event] has to do with the military, and because we’re LGBTQ, we just got together and said, this hasn’t been done in the area before, it’s been done in a few places, but not too many,” says Beldon, adding that, with “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repealed, LGBTQ members of the military can come out of the shadows. “That was the beginning of LGBTQ members of the military being able to come out and being more comfortable.”
Multiple organizations have come together to organize the event, including the Museum of the American Military Family, Military Kid Art Project, Trans Veteran Society of Virginia, TheatreLAB, and the Petersburg Out & Proud Committee.
Veteran Yessica Gonzalez-Hernandez, a victim advocate with Army Logistics University’s Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention (SHARP) program, and a Petersburg Pride committee member, understands personally the importance of having an event such as the Pride! LGBTQ+ Military Family Social. “I am a veteran and am a part of the LGBTQ community, and I wanted a way to bring visibility and conversation to our community.”
According to Beldon, the event is intended to recognize LGBTQ members of the military, veterans and their families and offers a platform for them to share stories, poems or writings. It mirrors the offerings of the Military Kid Art Project, which gives children from all military families the opportunity to create and mingle with other military children. Being in a military family often places added emotional stresses on children and often requires multiple relocations, making it difficult for kids to maintain friendships. Beldon is based in Richmond, but she travels wherever the Military Kid Art Project is needed, usually visiting other organizations such as Boys & Girls Clubs and YMCA locations when there is a large military deployment.
Beldon is a “military brat” herself. Her father served two tours in Vietnam and suffered from post-traumatic stress. Her brother was deployed overseas following 9/11, and she was concerned for his two children while he was away. “I thought, all I can do is what I do best, and that is create art … not thinking that it would be of interest to anyone else, but I started getting a lot of interest.” She is able to relate to what these kids face and understand the need for a safe space where they can relate with those around them. Having a safe space to talk and come together is the goal of the Pride Family Social.
“[This event was created] basically to recognize who we are as [LGBTQ] individuals as well as organizations and to offer social and emotional support, because within the military establishment there are laws that were only just recently passed. … People had to be much more careful in the past about revealing who they were, and now people are willing to just come forward,” Beldon says.
Gonzalez-Hernandez seconds that sentiment. “Hopefully, it’s a time for all of us to get together and celebrate the people serving currently, their family and all the allies. To come and say, ‘Hey, we see you, and we thank you for your service,’ because for a long time we served in the shadows, and we still do. My personal goal is to break down barriers to promote inclusion. I work in the [SHARP program], and I know how dangerous it is to have to be in the shadows for people, so even that alone is an underlying passion for the work that I do.”
Both Beldon and Gonzalez-Hernandez agree that this event is meant to bring the entire community together. “I hope people come away with pride and empowerment, and maybe even awareness for some,” Gonzalez-Hernandez says. “And I really am hoping for community support altogether from all, so that’s really at the heart of it.”
The Pride! LGBTQ+ Military Family Social will be held this Saturday, Sept. 1, from 7 to 9 p.m. at DJ’s Rajun Cajun, 309 N. Sycamore St., in Petersburg. To sign up for a spot to share a story, email Lora Beldon at lkbeldon@hotmail.com.
