Erin Drinkwater
We have a lot to celebrate in the fight for marriage equality, but that isn´t our only battle. Erin Drinkwater, executive director of the Brooklyn Community Pride Center, reminds us about the other challenges we face. ″Violence against transgender women of color, the high rate of runaway and homeless LGBTQ youth, police violence, increasing HIV rates, major health disparities, economic insecurity-these issues need our focus as well.″ She should know; she´s been deeply embedded in progressive politics and social justice campaigns for more than a decade. She´s served in leadership roles with Empire State Pride Agenda and Lambda Independent Democrats; as Congressman Jerrold L. Nadler´s Manhattan Community Representative and LGBT Liaison; and as Sean Patrick Maloney´s Policy Director in his 2006 Attorney General bid. More recently, she worked on the two Obama for America campaigns and was chosen as a delegate to the 2012 DNC Convention. Now, she´s bringing her experience to her home borough. With her guidance, the BCPC has expanded its programs to serve Brooklyn´s LGBTQ community, including those that nurture the thriving arts scene. ″There are incredible things happening by and for LGBTQ artists, which is one of the many reasons the BCPC hosts art shows, screenings and readings-and we want to do even more to support and nourish our community´s vibrancy, to always maintain a space for all our communities,″ she adds. -KL
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