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Schools

LGBT Summit: Sharing Stories, Creating Awareness

About 50 area students attended the event Saturday for a day of learning and networking.

Everybody had his or her own story to tell on Saturday at the at .

Adults and students were invited to attend the semi-annual summit and about 50 people overall, mostly students, showed up to the daylong event, put on by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) in southeast Michigan

Not everyone shared their stories aloud, but many chose to write a bit of their personal story down and display it anonymously for everyone to see. After registering, attendees had the opportunity to share their personal stories of why they were attending the LGBT Summit or why they support organizations such as GLSEN or Gay Straight Alliances (GSA) as part of a "This is My Story" clothespin project.

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In the stories, many people chose to write about their family members, coming out or their wish to raise awareness of the struggles they face. After they were finished writing a shortened version of their story on a piece of paper, everyone posted it to a clothespin line in Groves’ commons area.

Some of the things attendees wrote:

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  • “My brother is gay and that’s okay.”
  • “Coming out has been the scariest experience ever but the most worthwhile.”
  • “On Spirit Day the GSA wore purple and helped spread awareness. I want to be part of that every day.”
  • “The time for change has come!”
  • “I’m ‘out’ to friends but not to my super conservative parents … I want to help other people to accept themselves and others, just as my friends helped me.”
  • “My son is handsome, smart, funny, loving and gay. And that’s ok!”
  • “Me: wrestler, boxer, cheerleader, bassist, photographer and panromantic. Their me: fag, butch, dyke, lesbo, homo, sick, gay.”

Shining a light on personal stories and hardships people face for being different, and how to overcome those obstacles and secure their rights, was the main point of the day. Students split off into a variety of workshops and learned leadership skills, how to start a GSA organization in their school, what their rights as individuals were and how to properly tell their stories to the media, among other things.

Providing adequate resources

Katie Lamb, a 23-year-old resident of Bloomfield Hills who was volunteering for the event, said the summit helps by bringing people together to network and work together for a cause. Likewise, senior Jackie Kelly, 17, who also was volunteering, said the summit was a great place to make new friends, and provided a "comfortable, welcoming environment."

Lamb also noted she was pleased with the balance of personal and advocacy issues addressed at the summit.

“There’s a really wide range of topics and the resources we have here is pretty great,” Lamb said.

Each attendee had his or her choice of workshop tracks to take throughout the day. There were three sessions and four options per session covering health, laws, awareness and personal issues. The workshop entitled “Know Your Rights” was the most popular with “Creating a Safe Space” and “Gaining Membership and Sustainability” drawing a strong audience as well.

“The students (helping create the event) came up with topics they thought were important – what they thought their peers needed to know,” said Jane Kelley, GLSEN Southeast Michigan co-chair.

Among the many experts providing information in the workshops and offering resources at tables set up in the commons area were the American Civil Liberties Union, GLESN and Haven. Kelley said the variety of resources weren’t available at the summit last spring and organizers were pleased to offer them this time.

“A huge wealth of knowledge is the experts,” said, a junior at Groves and youth coordinator for the GLSEN who helped organize the event. “Students come to define their own experiences but we want them to walk away educated no matter what.”

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