I grew up on the island of St. Croix and faced much name calling in elementary and high school years. Much of these memories have been painful. While those years are long gone, I returned in 2005 to run the Virgin Islands Community AIDS Resource & Education, Inc. (VICARE). I was not surprised to see that much had not changed since my early days on St. Croix.
While it took me until 1990 (at the age of 28) before I finally came out publicly, I have had opportunities to work with several students and people in their coming out process. The lack of support services and agencies on St. Croix for our lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) youth is scary. The homophobia in the islands has rendered many LGBTQ Virgin Islanders silent. We need organizations and services that support the LGBTQ community on St. Croix.
Liberty Place is growing and I hope that everyone in the Virgin Islands will support its development. They just launched a new website and already have a page on Facebook. Liberty Place is also leading the Petition Against the Hate Crime of Jamal Richardson. For all of us in the LGBTQ community, we thank you and applaud your grassroot efforts in affecting change in the Virgin Islands.
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