SpeakOUT: What's Next for LGBTQ and the Humanities?

Your silence will not protect you (Audre Lorde, 1977).

What does the future hold for Intersections between LGBTQ identity and the Humanities? If SpeakOUT's goal is to enrich individual conversations, what insights do past dialogues on the Arts, Literature, Law and Mass Media offer? Is fact-based information and personal visibility more or less important amidst ongoing social changes? How can trustworthy resources be identified and shared?

These and other questions will be explored in depth by humanities scholars, content experts – and YOU if you join SpeakOUT in-person or online via Zoom.

Speakers include Gloria Muñoz, Nathan Bruemmer and Moderator Paul Raker.

Gloria Muñoz, MFA, is a Colombian-American writer and advocate for multilingual literacy. She is St. Petersburg’s first Latina poet laureate; her book DANZIRLY won the Academy of American Poets 2019 Ambroggio Prize and the Gold Medal Florida Book Award. Other honors include a Hedgebrook Residency, Highlights Foundation’s 2022 Diverse Verse Fellowship and a St. Pete Arts Alliance Muse Award.

Nathan Bruemmer, J.D., is a Florida native who has served as a classroom teacher, non-profit leader, and Florida's former LGBTQ+ Consumer Advocate. He serves on the American Bar Association Commission on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) and as co-chair of the ABA’s Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice SOGI Committee.

Paul Raker is a lifelong nonprofit professional who began as a volunteer with the YMCA in high school. Currently, Paul serves as the Vice President of the OUT Foundation and as the volunteer Board President of OUT Arts & Culture. Past roles include Executive Director of the YMCA of Southwest Florida and Associate Executive Director of the YMCA of Metropolitan Washington.

SpeakOUT is a free program, created by OUT Arts & Culture and partially funded by Florida Humanities. American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation will be available for each dialogue session.

Free parking and light refreshments will be offered.

Host or Publisher LGBTQ Resource Center of the Gulfport (Florida) Public Library