 HBCU Dutchess welcome back privilege to be joined by a good friend of the show Bowie State University and Howard University graduate Leslie Hall, director of HBCU programs for the human rights campaign here to talk today about The second annual HBCU out loud day, which was actually last week but as we know LGBTQIA outreach and Traditions are welcome on HBCU campuses every day of the year. So brother hall Always an honor to have you on my man. It's good. It's good to be back. It's good to be back I actually just ran across that email from you a year ago and we did that. Um, that podcast kind of We've been talking since you were a student at Bowie, man. Yeah, yeah, right Something good that's gonna happen every time you so every time you show up man It's always an honor Out loud day. So this is the second annual installment of this nationwide campaign to to get historically black campuses talking about acting on Loving on brothers and sisters in our LGBTQIA communities Tell us about this year's event What separated from the inaugural event and are there some campuses that you Had a chance to work with or brothers and sisters on campuses that you've had a chance to work with that really stood out For this year's programming even in the midst of the COVID-19 response Right, right. So thank you again. It's always a good good to to be with you. Um, so this year So HBCU out loud day is a is a day of Of of LGBTQ awareness for the HBCU community. Um, and we started it last year because Coming out day Didn't quite cut it for the for the HBCU community as it relates to celebrating All that is LGBTQ on campus. And so We wanted to create a day where HBCUs would be able to celebrate the successes that they were having with diversity milestones We wanted them to be able to create a day to celebrate their their LGBTQ alumni in various ways But we also wanted to create an opportunity for these institutions to To set goals and to set plans and to share Share some maybe some some some challenges that they are having and and so it can also Provide an opportunity for shared learning and best practices. And so Last year was the first year we we had it. Um, and last year it was phenomenal. Um, we Had several institutions participate by by tweeting. It's a largely a social media um driven type of event and you know last year we we had uh several institutions tweet out about it several students um and administrators participated in it and what we do is we create several call to actions and Uh, we create a uh a sheet so students can write in, you know, why they are living out loud or administrators can talk about uh living out loud and and they posted on social media and that's how we get a lot of the traction traction going with hashtags and whatnot last year we had a briefing on camp on uh On Capitol Hill, excuse me, and we partnered with the hbcu congressional caucus that Alma Adams Congresswoman Alma Adams started and we also partnered with the equality caucus of of congress and They hosted us on on on Capitol Hill and we had a wonderful briefing just on what can our legislators do nationally to support hbcu's in their quest for um for for better inclusion. And so, uh, you know, that always comes with funding It's not that a lot of times that our hbc's don't have the will It's just that they don't always have the financial resources to put uh into play. And so this year Because of covet we couldn't do, uh, we personally couldn't host Many in-person events. Um, so we just kind of beat up our social presence a bit But you know, luckily and to to our surprise we had several institutions. Um that are back on campus that you know, uh decided to um To host events on campus socially distanced most of them were outside Several of them were virtual, uh, but they hosted their standalone events for hbcu out loud day Um, and and it was wonderful. And so what we did on our end was we created some hbcu out loud boxes where where we put mass, um hand sanitizers all sorts of of things that students would need in order to participate Safely in those events and we shipped them out to many institutions and that's why you saw folks with shirts on with the with our masks on and Hand sanitizers and whatnot. So it was it was a really fabulous day. And um, we had a lot of participation from alumni administrators and students on last wednesday Do you think that there is a a benefit from being able to Be forced into a lot of virtual meeting and a lot of digital engagement? Um, because I know that you know Travel is always a constraint for some institutions and it's a barrier Um, large institutions can afford to do it small ones cannot um Is the virtual part of this something that helps or do you think it's a hindrance because it's it's just harder to To get people to say i'm all in and i'm all in to talk about these things because There's no there's no vacation in it to put it out So I kind of like a two prong feeling whatever relates to to this virtual environment on one hand It does allow us to engage more folks um, and it allows us to uh, that you know, like the simplicity of it all like you really don't have to leave your house to participate But I think on the other end Some things just don't have that same like zest Or it's real rather that that it once had and you know, I was a proponent very early on in this pandemic I was like, let's not just recreate everything virtually just because we did it last year some things is just going to have to wait until We could do it in person again because uh, you don't want to cheapen the experience you don't and you don't want to just do anything um, but For and and that works for some things, but but hbc a loud day in particular. I feel uh, since it's really largely, uh A social media driven day anyway It it it didn't really matter but for for some other events that we had we certainly have seen a shift in interest and a shift in You know the experience that folks that folks are having One of the remarkable things that the hrc does um, not only with engagement and and discussing cultural and infrastructure issues related to lgbt qi um inclusion on campus Is the the the training and the monitoring that goes along with how do we become more inclusive? um With hbc's having fewer students on campus fewer faculty If they are on campus at all Do you think that there there is momentum loss? Especially in the in the things that you've done over the last two years where you've had presidents come in You've had students With the congressional black caucus so many positive things happening and even at the same time there were a lot of stories about Mis-treatment of brothers and sisters on campuses over the last two years Do you think that you you lose a step or are you kind of maintaining? Because we can't physically be together and the the the engagement is different from a reporting standpoint Right, right. So I think you're on to something when the when the pandemic first started I'm in march and they were sending students home in the middle of march and and after spring break One of the things that we did was that we reached out to our institution partners and we asked them to remember lgbtq students You know, we understand the pandemic and we understand the the the risks that are related to that But we also don't want to force lgbtq students back in homes That and in communities, you know, essentially that are just unsafe and so many lgbtq students stayed on campus um in and you know, the these institutions put in Various protocols and policies in place so that they can remain on campus and and many of them remain on campus throughout Uh the semester and honestly the campus was a safer option for them. Um And so now, you know, and we did that for a number of reasons one because we certainly wanted to Uh keep keep looking out for for students But two we wanted to keep this on the forefront of their minds and so you're absolutely right when uh, that was one of my worries and in uh, you like to go on in the middle of the summer when we would normally do a good bulk Of our programming with administrators and staff um, I was concerned that these institutions were going to be so consumed with COVID and and you know, this new environment that lgbtq issues would Kind of go on the back burner and in many cases, uh, we've experienced that in the past without COVID So we can you know, you one could only assume that with this new Global health crisis that's happening right now Folks are not really trying to listen to what's happening with Some stuff that that you know, they really not that's really not in their faces. And so We created several different, um, innovative Opportunities to engage with administrators. We had a fire stock chat with dr. Kimbro From dillard and our president Afonso david, which had a significant amount of views particularly from hbcu presidents and that kept some of the best practice talk going um, and uh, we we sent uh them some care packages, particularly administrators. We sent many hbcu presidents care packages with our logo and information and some some uh, Pamphlets in there just to talk about, you know, how to support lgbtq students in the midst of covid um And again, just reminding them that as you begin to make plans to either go back to campus or Do a virtual that, you know, we should always consider a third option for students who just really have Extenuating circumstances and and you know, I don't have to tell you this but for you know, hbcu's really are The last resort in many of our communities and that's just not with housing. That's that's with meals That's with a lot of things and so um many hbcu stepped up um and and supported students in the midst of this and and we've and we've gotten favorable reviews from it and so today I don't feel like You know, we have been necessarily left on the wayside in terms of the type of work that I do But it is something that i'm consistently, uh Not worried worried about it, but it is on the on the top of my mind because I don't want Yeah, I don't want I don't want the progress that we've made to be lost. Um, Because of the because of the pandemic Do you think that you will have um if and when we get back together whether that's in a year whether that's in a You mentioned earlier innovation Do you do you foresee that engagement and programming looks different when we return to campus? Or is it let's maintain what we were doing because we were making a lot of positive steps before this thing kicked off Yeah, I don't want to sound like trump, but I want to get back to where we were like, you know um, we we were doing some good stuff and some things Really need to be in person. You know, I think that in the age of manipulating, uh, you know all this type of technological manipulation Uh, a lot of the conversations that we would have with faculty and staff and administrators With very sensitive conversations and these conversations while we can you know do it Uh, virtually, uh, it's not the same experience from when uh when folks can sit in a room with an expert Uh, or someone of a shared lived experience and and be able to have those conversations without fear of being recorded Or or or taking something out of context and and so on and so forth And so one of the things that I always share when we're doing uh leadership trainings at these campuses And we have staff in the room administrators room and I say now tell them this is probably going to be the first time And the last time you ever get to ask Anything you want related to this topic and it not end up on CNN And you know and because you know a lot of folks are afraid to to really get down into the nitty gritty of of this work and We create we we provide them a space and an opportunity To ask those hard questions to talk about the identity of the institution and what it means to embrace LGBT students and if is that really in conflict? We we talk about that. Um, and I you know, I can't say that I'm comfortable doing that over zoom, you know And so some things, um, I think we we we will need to return back to in-person Convenience, but some things, you know, we can certainly deepen, you know, like hbc allowed they that was wonderful You know, there was several virtual events that were that were widely attended And so I think we may you know embrace some virtual Um opportunities in that regard but uh a lot of our in-person stuff and our regional summits and the campus because the other thing and I'll you notice the other thing about the in-person stuff was It it allowed the campuses to own this work Right, you know our offices are in dc In nice little plush liberal dc where everything's gay and great, you know, the laws are supportive and all that This work needs to be in these areas where You know, it needs to be in their face. Does the campus need to have institutional buy-in Uh to what's happening and so, um, you know, that's the other thing We want the campuses to begin to embrace this work and own this work and you can't do that on a zoom call I was gonna ask you, but is it the right time? First of all, it's always the right time for tolerance Right, right one of the things that you you have talked about you you've taught me you taught thousands of other people throughout the sector Is we want we want safety and equity you want safety in these conversations and given everything that's going on Do you feel like even now? With with so much partisan divide and so much social divide That wind brothers and sisters are courageously out there having these conversations that they will be safe And I don't mean just in a physical sense, but they won't be ostracized. They won't be Harassed they won't be bullied online and things like that for trying to get everybody to do the right thing Is that are we in a good place for that? Yeah, I think the ground the ground is ripe for those conversations today. Um, you know President Obama Has a mixed kind of history who has relates to hbcs But one thing that he did do that really helped the work that I do now Is he embraced lgb the lgbtq community 10 fold and I think that seeing a black man embrace Um, my community and our issues the way that he did Kind of forced a conversation to happen um, and since then Just the politics of the country Some the the unapologeticness of the student leaders on these campuses are really forcing us To to have these conversations with administrators now You know when students come to our leadership summit We prepare them to do a number of things. It's not just you know get out there and And make good trouble and make noise like of course we want to prepare you for that But we also want you to understand the realities of your community and your state Some places many places Uh, you can still be fired for for being out Um, many places you can be denied services for for being out And you know and in some communities it's still there can be physical harm particularly For our trans brothers and sisters in these areas and so you have to be smart And and you have to you know do what you can do and maybe Maybe your contribution to the work that we're doing is uplifting a tweet Or or sharing this video or you know, whatever the case is maybe that's your contribution because of where you are Today, but uh, we certainly want to prepare folks to to get out there because that is how visibility Um is is is part of the game and that and you know, I tell administrators all the time presidents When they are trying to diversify their faculty and administrators I tell them students can't be what they can't see And if you know when I was on campus, uh, I don't remember an out LGBTQ person in administration Um, I don't remember an out LGBTQ person on the faculty, you know, like uh, and I'm sure that would have gotten around if if if he or she or they were out and so You know, it's it's a conversation That just given the the climate that we're in. Um, I don't think we can afford not to have it One of those conversations is coming up next month. Um, tell us a little bit more about that convening And what the the hbc community should expect? Um, how we can participate and contribute to that certainly so, uh, you know, for the last 15 years, we've been hosting An annual leadership summit where we bring LGBTQ students from all over HBC is from all over the country to dc for a week long leadership development experience and and uh identity development experience. Well this year, fortunately, we were unable Excuse me to do that So instead we're going to host a one day symposium Uh, and it's going to be public lectures networking opportunities um and panel discussions from from Renowned wonderful, um presenters on these very conversations. We're going to talk about Student protests and the history of student protests at hbc use. We're going to talk about, uh, The discontent of lgbtq students on campus and why It's so important for us to to have these conversations. And so it's going to be a full day of events. Um, we're just finishing up the We're just finishing up the the flyers and everything to go out really soon. And so Most most every mostly everything will be Via stream yard. Um, so you could watch it on facebook live youtube Live, um, there are going to be some sessions because of the conversation that will be um That will be uh in a in a separate kind of breakout room And there's a way for you to register for that as well But all of our keynote, um all of our keynotes and And public lectures will be via stream yard and it's going to be a wonderful opportunity and then we're going to end the day with a With a with a panel Discussion from, uh, i'm not sure if you if you've watched this but on hbco max There was a show called legendary and it's on the house in the ballroom And so we have the winners of that Of that of that show to do a panel to talk about A ballroom and the lgbtq community and hbcu's and how it all intersects and and so it's going to be a good day Um, and it's going to be a full day of opportunities to engage and to learn and have discussions I thought you were going to say you had free from polls coming through. I was about this No We did we had full from polls in 2019 Leslie whole hrc, um human rights campaign my brother. We appreciate you all the time. We thank you For the work that you're doing on behalf of brothers and sisters. Um, not just in the sector, but worldwide We appreciate you my man. Thank you for coming on and sharing with us today No worries and I appreciate you for for never having an issue with lifting up the work that we're doing And so, uh, you know, it can always count on hbcu digest and jared to make it happen. Thank you so much You