Celebrate who you are: Louisville Pride Center officially opens on National Coming Out Day – Courier Journal
Come celebrate who you are.
Oct. 11 is National Coming Out Day and the recently opened Louisville Pride Center at 1244 South Third St. wants to use the day as a reminder to the community of its mission to value diversity, encourage inclusivity and support the LGBTQ+ community.
“Our goal is to bridge the gaps between existing providers and organizations, and to provide support for new groups so that they can get off the ground faster,” said Mike Slaton, executive director of the Louisville Pride Center. “The Center is officially opening on Oct. 11, but has been partially open for about six months.”
The center provides resources for the LGBTQ+ community including things like mental health counseling, name-change clinics, and HIV testing. Here’s what to know about the newly opened center and National Coming Out Day.
What is National Coming Out Day?
National Coming Out Day was first observed in the 1980s, long before social media existed, but Slaton believes social media has given it fresh life and relevance.
“The actual phrase ‘coming out’ goes back at least to the 1920s,” Slaton said, who has worked for the Louisville Pride Foundation for four years. “And it was originally seen as a person came out into the social world, much like a debutantes’ ‘coming out ball.'”
The nonprofit, which sits on the second and third floors of the Crane House, the city’s Asian cultural center, hopes to foster a link between LGBTQ+ individuals and straight allies.
“Someone close to you is almost certainly a member of the LGBTQ community, or has loved ones that are,” Slaton said. “Your co-worker may be straight but has a transgender child or same-sex parents. Remember that when you speak or stay quiet about LGBTQ issues and people.”
Background of community center:A dedicated LGBTQ community center is opening in Louisville this year. Here’s what to know
Why are LGBTQ+ community centers important?
New York City-based travel writer Mark Chesnut is thrilled to know LGBTQ+ individuals in Louisville now have a safe space to obtain resources and services.
“I’m very excited about Louisville’s new Pride Center,” Chesnut,whose mother is from Louisville, said. “It’s so important to have facilities like this, to provide support, a safe space for people and groups who often are underrepresented and don’t always have easy access to support. As in other cities that have community centers, the Louisville Pride Center will serve as a true hub for the local LGBTQ community, a place where individuals and organizations can meet to learn, network, socialize and find help and education.”
Chesnut will be in Derby City to speak at the Louisville Book Festival on Oct. 28-29, at the Kentucky International Convention Center. Kentucky is the setting for a large portion of Chesnut’s new memoir, “Prepare for Departure: Notes on a Single Mother, a Misfit Son, Inevitable Mortality and the Enduring Allure of Frequent Flyer Miles,” which examines topics like coming out and LGBTQ+ identity in addition to aging parents and parent-child relationships.
“Lack of access to information and support can be a big problem in LGBTQ communities around the country,” he added. “And the new center will certainly be a big step forward for Jefferson County and the surrounding region.”
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What to consider if you’re thinking about ‘coming out’
Slaton and Chesnut agree that individuals who are thinking about coming out shouldn’t feel compelled to do so before they are ready. Humans operate on their own schedules, so what could seem like the correct time for one person might not be the right time for another.
They also suggest not telling everyone you know at the same time. Some individuals find it’s simpler to begin gradually by coming out to a small group or one individual at a time.
“Overall I think it’s difficult to live a full life without acknowledging who you are to the people you love,” Chesnut said. “The long-term rewards of coming out are great. But it’s crucial to find support — either from friends, family or support organizations — before starting to take that big step. I came out in stages when I was in college. I started with my college roommates and a few close friends who I was pretty sure would be accepting, and they were. They served as my backup emotional support team when I moved on to come out to my sister and brother-in-law, and then my mother. Coming out to my mother was the biggest challenge, and I put it off for many months.”
Chesnut, 58, said there were very few positive depictions of LGBTQ+ people in the media and few resources for knowledge, education, and support when he was growing up, something the new Pride Center will change for many LGBTQ+ youths. But despite those improvements, there is still work to be done.
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While Louisville has received a perfect score from the Human Rights Campaign every year since 2015, a 2021 study completed by SafeHome.org reports that Kentucky ties with Mississippi and Montana as 45th in the nation for LGBTQ+ safety, the Courier Journal previously reported.
According to Gallup/Williams data from 2019, about 3.4% of adult Kentuckians identify as LGBTQ+. Just 31% of Kentucky counties prohibit discrimination for sexual orientation, and only two Kentucky counties — Jefferson County and Fayette County — have ordinances prohibiting conversion therapy for minors, according to the Courier Journal’s previous reporting.
What is LGBTQ+ History Month?
October is also LGBTQ+ History Month, a month-long observance of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender history, and the history of the gay rights and related civil rights movements. It was founded in 1994 by Missouri high-school history teacher Rodney Wilson. The center picked National Coming Out, which falls in October, as the day to formally open its facility.
“Coming out is both a profoundly individual experience, but also one that almost everyone in our community has gone through. People don’t just ‘come out of the closet,’ they come out, into a community that will embrace and support them,” Slaton said. “… And while we are not defined solely by our sexual orientation and gender identity, it is extremely difficult to live a fulfilling life if you are not being honest about who you are with the people around you.”
Culture and Diversity Reporter Jason Gonzalez can be reached at jgonzalez1@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @JayGon15NYC