In Orlando, there are a handful of places that enlist a kind of freedom and safety which includes Southern Nights, Pulse and Parliament House — much fewer than a handful, actually. Unfortunately, one of those safe places, as you know, was ripped from our hands a few years ago and now another is being removed as well.
This has left us with fewer safe places to celebrate birthdays, marriages, divorces and anything that you could imagine. These places give us room to exist and our worth be valued among one another. Living in your truth is the greatest power you could ever discover and these places give you the chance to.
After the Pulse tragedy the community was left heartbroken and left me terrified to leave the house. Our safe place of few was ripped from our hearts and celebrations that happened that day will forever be replaced with tragedy. I say these things to put in perspective when a regular club experiences tragedy there is another one available to celebrate. But when ours is taken we don’t get many options, and due to the lack of options we do our best to hold on to what we are given.
We as a community are healing, will be for many years, but this does not stop our safe places from being taken. Parliament House was refuge to enjoy life, love, laughter and music until you couldn’t feel your feet anymore. We must go through another heartbreak and be okay with the lack of space society allows us to be free. Unfair is a word too small to express years of not being accepted by society. The walls of these safe spaces in Orlando will bare joy no matter how much tragedy is brought to our feet.
Safe places have been a central point in the freedom of expression within the LGBTQ+ community since the 1960s. These places kept us away from the violence and discrimination of the time period and unfortunately the same goes for present day. Those who cultivate these spaces, who I revere as saints, believe the freedom of being who you are is important to existence. When you’re a part of a marginalized group it’s vital to have a place to feel safe and honored. Our rights as a community get placed under a microscope by those who are not us.
My experience in these spaces happened at 22 years old and I never felt so welcomed. It helped for the location to be New York City and the club/bar was packed by 12 a.m. We sang and danced until 4 a.m., basking in a room full of joy. I met people hailing from all over the United States and the world just looking for a piece of freedom. I would occasionally walk outside and take a breath, allowing by body to be filled with euphoria and hope for better days. Despite the dashes of fear sprinkled on my evening, before that night I never felt so welcomed in a room full of strangers. That feeling is what these spaces give you, a home where you can be who you are with no restrictions.
Removing our beacons of togetherness greatly affects the lives of LGBTQ+ people because it feels like a step back from all we have fought for. More importantly, it’s erasing the 40+ year history Parliament House made in Orlando, and for our community. This home away from home will only be understood by those who experienced what that place emitted.
We are at a point in history that is slowly making more space, but not fast enough. During COVID, places of freedom have taken to Zoom and other services to bring inclusivity to homes and rooms that may not foster it. Seeing your identity reflected in our people gives you an unexplainable amount of nirvana. This has not ended even though the walls encasing one’s pride is their own. The power is in our hands and our allies for the space to stop being narrowed. Our road is being paved and will be arduous but will not be established in vain. We are creators and greatness personified.
Getting our power back will happen over time, but the hurt will always remain. I could only hope the future holds more spaces and more celebrations. As always, the secret to remaining whole in the unbridled image the world tries to paint of our community is love, we are all love.
Below is a poem that speaks to the aforementioned closet we seek to walk out of. Enjoy this small contribution I’m making to this incredible community.
I took needles,
sowed societal norms,
on my body
My blood rejected.
It would no longer
accept that,
my gayness
be living in a closet.
While cis white men,
make they’re
closeted deposits.
The community
is only a commodity
when straights deem.
There are allies though
that let us know,
there is no longer
a need to sow.
