“While it is not always easy, to stand in your truth and be kind to yourself is the most joyous thing anyone can do,” Tatenda Ngwaru tells GO. “Be yourself. Seek no validation, and the rest of the world will catch up.” It’s a philosophy that’s shaped Ngwaru’s work as an actress, public speaker, intersex activist, and international human rights champion. As an immigrant and refugee, Ngwaru has promoted community awareness of intersex issues in three different countries, and advocates for the dignity, rights, and well-being of underrepresented communities. She’s also the subject of “She’s Not a Boy,” a short film that was officially selected at the Boston LGBT Film Festival in 2019. But what Ngwaru most enjoys is making a real difference in peoples’ lives. She has spent this month contemplating what Pride means to her, and she’s realized just how much her work has “inspired listeners to look beyond the black and white when it comes to sex, gender, and sexuality and to find the beauty between,” she says. The most rewarding aspect of her work would be “the connections I have built with thousands of people who reach out to me after seeing my work or hearing me talk,” Ngwaru tells GO. “Every soul I touch is a definition of my existence.” —IL
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