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Talk About It Tuesday: A Black LGBTQ+ Focus on Mental Health & Identity
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About This Program
Join our discussion on the impact of implicit bias on the mental health of Black Charlotteans in the LGBTQ+ community.
For this week's program, we invite some of Charlotte's most invested members of the Black LGBTQ+ community to provide depth to the conversation of mental health among Black people. How have mental health problems been exacerbated within this particular community? We delve into the unique intersectionality of race and sexual orientation, with questions surrounding self-esteem and identity within an often unaccepting society.
We uncover the sources of increased risk of mental health issues among the LGBTQ+ community in an African American context, such as anxiety, depression, and PTSD - issues that fester from lack of safe spaces, fear of expressing one's identity, and the overall societal pathologization of LGBTQ+ people, specifically within the Black Community.
The evening's conversation will be led by Charlotte Black Pride Chair Shann Fulton, joined by Youth Housing Specialist at Time Out Youth Center Shakira Clarke, licensed therapist Erin Steele, and creative & entrepreneur Jermaine Nakia Lee.
The discussion will be streamed via the Gantt Center's YouTube live channel at 7 pm on Tuesday, June 2.
How To Participate
Viewing this program is free and open to the public. To chat during the program and contribute your perspective, you will need a YouTube account with a Gmail email address prior to the program. If you do not have a YouTube account, click here for a step-by-step tutorial on creating a YouTube account.
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About The Panelists
Shann Fulton (Moderator) is the Charlotte Black Pride Chair. Born in Savannah, GA, her family is a huge motivator for her. Shann loves all sports and is a HUGE Carolina Panthers fan. She is passionate about community, community building, and any type of philanthropic work.
Shakira Clarke is a native Canadian who has dedicated her life and career to ending homelessness among LGBTQ youth/young adults. She currently serves as the Youth Housing Specialist at Time Out Youth Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. Shakira runs and oversees the Housing Program at the Center. Shakira also works at Roof Above, as the Youth Housing Specialist. Shakira graduated from Johnson C. Smith University with a bachelor's and master's in Social Work. Shakira's passions include youth services, building innovative community partnerships, and helping youth find safe and affordable housing. Shakira was a member of the 2009 Johnson C. Smith CIAA Women’s Basketball Championship team and was a member of the Trinidad and Tobago National Women’s Basketball team. Shakira has presented at the national conference-Forty To None on LGBTQ homelessness and at the NCCADV 2016 Biennial Conference for Domestic Violence on teen dating violence prevention in the LGBTQ community. Shakira was featured in Qnotes, a lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender newspaper, as one of the leading women trailblazers in Charlotte. Shakira also was a lead researcher for data collection on LGBTQ homeless youth in North/South Carolina. Shakira is passionate about helping LGBTQ homeless youth, mental health, loves sports, and enjoys spending time with family and friends.
Erin Steele is a bilingual licensed marriage and family therapist who specializes in working with clients who have suffered traumatic experiences. Her primary focus is to support people as they transition from one experience to the next. She is based out of Charlotte, NC.
Jermaine Nakia Lee is a songwriter, director, producer, arts educator and published playwright whose musicals For The Love of Harlem and A Walk in My Shoes have enjoyed critical acclaim.
For 8 years, Lee was program manager for a 501c3, federally-funded community center for LGBTQ & allied youth/young adults of color in Charlotte called the Powerhouse Project. Mr. Lee is the former Education Director for OnQ Performing Arts, Inc.—Charlotte's first professional African-American repertory theatre, Co-Founder of Charlotte Black Pride, South Carolina Black Pride and Triangle Black Pride - all of which are still in existence.
He is the 2014 recipient of the Johnson C. Smith University S.A.F.E. PRIDE Hero Award for his efforts in supporting the university's first straight/gay alliance organization and LGBT Pride celebration. He is also the 2015 recipient of the city of Charlotte's Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Medallion Award for Community Service and Achievement in the Arts and is the first & only openly gay individual to ever receive this honor. Mr. Lee is the owner/operator of NoDa@28th Creative Arts Studios located in the lively North Davidson Arts District and is the founder & director of Poor No More (PNM) - a grassroots community service organization that serves to empower Charlotte’s poor & working poor. PNM provides a Community Free Store, Food Bank and Emergency Assistance Fund. Since its establishment January 2019, PNM has served over 1,500 of Charlotte’s most economically challenged residents.
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