By Autumn Rendall
Each and every year, the Houston LGBT Pride Celebration feels like a homecoming for the city’s queer community—a fantastic celebration of individuality, a validation of identity, and a reminder of the power of our community. To be named Grand Marshal of this annual event is a high honor, bestowed only upon those who are true role models and bring significant kindness, charity, and change to LGBTQ Houston.
This year, Pride Houston is expanding its mission of inclusivity ahead of its celebration, themed “Summer of ’69,” by adding a “Gender Non-binary” Grand Marshal category alongside its traditional “Male” and “Female” classifications. Lo Roberts, board president of Pride Houston, notes that this change marks the beginning of an ongoing dialogue to move away from gender-related options. “We’re trying to take the organization back to the people, back into the community,” Roberts says.
Because of these changes, Pride Houston will host an open and public dialogue to review these categories and to create consensus among the greater LGBTQ community. This conversation will occur at Pride Houston’s first annual Town Hall, which will be held in honor of longtime Houston LGBTQ activist Ray Hill who passed away in November 2018. The event will take place on Saturday, February 23 at the Montrose Center, and will be modelled after Hill’s series Town Hall meetings, which aimed to provide a safe space for all to gather and contribute to Houston’s welcoming and inclusive identity. “You’re not going to get any change by seeing the same thing over and over again,” says Radu Barbuceanu, Pride Houston PR director. “I think going to the community on a regular basis with the intent of really reflecting on those recommendations is key.”
“The purpose of Ray Hill’s Town Hall meetings was that there needed to be more LGBTQ organizations in Houston,” Barbuceanu adds. “As [the community] was growing, he wanted to create a space for people to have representation.”
Pride Houston’s Town Hall mirrors the mission of Hill’s meetings over 40 years ago—to unite and actively hear the voices of the city’s LGBTQ individuals for the betterment of the community. “Why not continue his legacy, continue the honor, and honor him in an even bigger way?” Roberts says of the motivation behind Pride Houston’s event.
The nominees for Gender Non-binary Grand Marshal, which were announced in late January, are making Houston history. But for each of them, making waves and paving paths is nothing new. We’re honored to introduce you to these Pride trailblazers:
Non-binary Grand Marshal nominee Julien Gomez. Photo by Dani Benoit.
Julien Gomez
As the communications and marketing specialist for the Montrose Center, Julien Gomez has a passion for improving diversity within the LGBTQ community. Even when they’re off the clock, Gomez continues their advocacy as co-host of Spectrum South’s Veer Queer podcast, which centers the voices of queer and transgender people of color across the South. “Change and progress have to start somewhere, even if it’s little things,” Gomez says. “I want more queer and trans people of color to be empowered, to have their voices heard.”
Gomez says they feel especially honored to be part of an all–people–of–color group of nominees for the “Gender Non-binary” Grand Marshal category. “I would like to see the community take a step back and see how they can be there for queer and trans people of color,” Gomez says.
Non-binary Grand Marshal nominee Becca Keo-Meier. Photo by Nadia Hakim.
Becca Keo-Meier
Becca Keo-Meier has devoted their life to activism surrounding gender and sexual diversity. As a PhD student in the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work, they are currently working on their dissertation, which focuses on non-binary and genderqueer experiences. “I hope that having the non-binary [Grand Marshal] category will raise a collective consciousness around genders that transcend the false idea that there are only two,” Keo-Meier says.
Keo-Meier is also a co-founder of Gender Infinity, an annual conference that aims to create affirming spaces for gender diverse youth, their families, providers, learners, and community advocates. Keo-Meier says their goal is to “work in collaboration with the community, sharing information” in order to help spread awareness and validation of gender diversity.
Keo-Meier notes that their social work practice is both guided by the community and community-centered, and that they constantly look forward to following the pulse of activism and advancing the dialogue surrounding gender justice and inclusion.
Non-binary Grand Marshal nominee Mike Webb. Photo by Pride Portraits/Eric Edward Schell.
Mike Webb
Between their role as the newly re-elected president of the Houston GLBT Political Caucus and their full-time community engagement work with Harris County, Mike Webb stays pretty busy. Webb shares that, ever since their elementary school days, they’ve had a sense of justice instilled in them—one that only grew stronger when they were diagnosed with HIV in 2010. “My mission in life was not to be another statistic,” Webb says. “And so I became very committed to helping create a world where that doesn’t have to happen to someone else.”
With their history-making nomination, Webb looks forward to representing greater intersectionality between people of color and queer communities. “It means the world to me that I can help amplify some of the issues we’ve been fighting for, or against, over the last several years,” Webb says.
All are welcome to attend the Town Hall, which will be held on Saturday, February 23, 2019, from 2:30–5:00 p.m. at The Montrose Center (401 Branard St.).
Pride Houston will also be hosting an LGBTQIA+ Volunteer Fair—where attendees have the opportunity to meet with many of Houston’s top LGBTQIA+ nonprofits and organizations seeking new volunteers—on Saturday, February 23, 2019, from 11:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m. at the Montrose Center.
