ABOVE: Bros in Convo Executive Director Daniel Downer (R) leads the organization’s outreach efforts. (Photo courtesy Daniel Downer)
ORLANDO | A Black, LGBTQ-led organization in Central Florida is directing its advocacy toward uplifting members of the Black and LGBTQ communities.
The Bros in Convo Initiative is dedicated to building community while protecting the wellbeing of people of color. It is fiscally sponsored by Miracle of Love, Central Florida’s community-based HIV/AIDS organization.
The initiative is one of the co-facilitators for the installment of a Black Lives Matter mural in the Sanford community of Goldsboro. They were approached to get involved in the spirit of inclusivity.
The mural was designed by a collective of local Black artists. Its installation was originally scheduled for July 4 but was postponed due to weather and COVID-19, Bros in Convo Initiative Executive Director Daniel Downer explains.
He believes that the emotional resonance of art and its capacity to convey meaning make it an effective tool in bolstering social commentary. “Art does not just grab your attention,” he says. “It makes a statement, resonates and sends a message. The power of art is that it moves individuals emotionally with the strategic planning of activism to bring about social change.”
Downer hopes that the efforts of the Black Lives Matter movement culminate in a community-wide empowerment of Black, LGBTQ individuals that promotes social equality for all members of the Black community.
He seeks to “cultivate a communal network that allows us the capacity to lead and learn, to foster a queer affirming network and to intentionally embody and practice justice, liberation and peace for all Black lives.”
The initiative also recently launched a program to ensure the survival of Central Florida’s Black, trans women. It supplies them with tasers so that they can protect themselves from violence.
“Transgender individuals today face an epidemic of anti-trans violence,” Downer explains. He adds that many members of the trans community feel uncomfortable relying on law enforcement for protection, a reality reflected in the response that the organization received from the efforts.
“We ordered 22 tasers last month and based on the demand ordered 30 this month,” he says. “We will continue to order them to provide our Black, trans siblings with the protection they need.”
Downer says that the visibility of the Black, LGBTQ community during this time is “extremely vital” because it allows for more inclusive representation, which can lead to an increased understanding from non-Black, non-LGBTQ individuals, as well as reinforce the identities of Black, LGBTQ people.
“When people can see something represented, they are better able to understand and grasp who those people are, and this creates an important shift in the social consciousness to include people from a range of different backgrounds,” Downer explains.
“It also fosters a great sense of affirmation of our own identities,” he continues. “Feeling affirmed with one’s sense of self can boost positive feelings of self-worth, which is quite different than feeling as if you are wrong or bad for being who you are.”
The Bros in Convo Initiative is open 8:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Monday-Friday at the Stafford House, Miracle of Love’s LGBTQ facility. For more information about the organization, its programs and services, visit BrosInConvo.org.
