For those in our community with an activist spirit, attending a two-day symposium on LGBTQ Health might seem like the least likely response to all that troubles our people and society.
The airwaves fill with the racist machinations of a presidential candidate. Social media reminds us daily of unbridled police terror claiming the lives of innocent Black men. And gun violence continues to climb across Chicago.
Meanwhile, conservatives everywhere fret about the public washrooms transgender people should and shouldn't ( or can and can't ) use, all the while murders among transgender people go largely ignored.
Where does a health symposium fit in the middle of a culture war?
For LGBTQ peopleespecially people of colorthe war is corporal, spiritual, generational, and all too real. A world where our health and safety is threatened at every turn exacts a heavy toll on the mind, body and spirit.
LGBTQ liberation demands that our people enjoy longevity, vitality, wellness and good health so we may thrive and achieve our full potential. Without health and wellness, we cannot truly be free.
To alleviate illness, promote health and safety, and create security for our people are radical acts of resistance against an increasingly violent and homophobic world.
These are the ideals motivating the second annual Midwest LGBTQ Health Symposium, hosted by Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center ( AIMMC ) and Howard Brown Health, Oct. 6-7 at AIMMC.
Geared toward activists, social service providers and healthcare practitioners, the two-day forum will share best practices in LGBTQ and HIV-related healthcare with an emphasis on trans and gender-affirming healthcare, including hormone replacement therapy. The aims of the symposium are to raise awareness of persistent LGBTQ health disparities and empower concerned activists and providers to champion health equity as an urgent social justice issue.
This year, the symposium will open with a keynote address from JoAnne Keatley, former director for the Center for Excellence for Transgender Health at the University of California San Francisco ( UCSF ). The Oct. 7 plenary session will include an address by Sgt. Shane Ortega, a Marine and Army veteran, who will discuss navigating military and civilian healthcare systems for gender transition care in the midst of a changing legal landscape.
The fight to thrive in a violent, oppressive world is complex for all of us in the LGBTQ community. By leading the healthcare field to a more inclusive and affirming approach, we take our people out of isolation and towards a path of support and safety.
Advocates for equity in healthcare will find this two-day symposium a valuable educational offering. Join the more than 200 practitioners to learn from local and national experts. Registration and additional information is posted at midwestlgbtqhealthsymposium.eventbrite.com .
Our very existence is resistance. Our health is grounded in resilience.
David Ernesto Munar is president and CEO of Howard Brown Health, the Midwest's largest LGBTQ health organization.