Campus Pride Summer Leadership Camp 2009: Reflecting on my experience as a “Happy Camper”

Do you know who Frank Kameny is? I didn’t — not until I met him last summer at Pride Camp, the only Summer Leadership Camp for LGBT and Ally college students. The five-day camp experience works to develop stronger undergraduate student leaders and safer, more LGBT-friendly colleges and universities. Participants have the opportunity to learn valuable campus organizing skills, coalition building and strategies for creating change at colleges and universities.

When I arrived at camp, I was greeted by students in bright, orange t-shirts that read “Happy Camper” and rainbow colored bandanas on their heads. I got to meet Frank Kameny, who I never heard about in school. Kameny is an 84-year-old veteran of the LGBT rights movement; in 1957 he was fired from a government job for being gay, which sparked him to spend the rest of his life fighting for equality. This year, Kameny finally received a formal government apology. When President Obama signed the memorandum granting partner benefits to federal workers, he handed his pen to Kameny. It was an opportunity of a life time to meet a man like Kameny.

I was embraced with open arms at camp and was proud to be a representative of my campus LGBT Resource Center. I was inspired by the speakers that were at camp. For example, Shane L. Windmeyer spoke about The Time is Now. Now is a critical time to be an LGBT and ally student leader, as public opinion is being shaped. The time we spend as a leader impacts who we are, who we love, how we choose to live, and how we can live in our communities. These moments are opportunities to create change to transform one’s life and those around us. It’s time to create change. On the last day of camp, Jessica Pettitt did a keynote, “Be the Change You Want to Be.” In order for one to make change, a person must realize what they are oblivious to and come to understand how this lack of consciousness guides his or her actions and assumptions. Collectively, we can begin to break down behaviors, actions, assumptions, and stereotypes that limit our organizations, friends and more importantly ourselves. I was empowered to create change on my campus. After her keynote, she asked us to create tangible goals and realistic action steps to be the change we wished to be. Jessica was my favorite speaker at camp. She was phenomenal!

We spent a lot of time talking about “privilege” at camp. I am both black and white and never really thought about privilege and how it affects me. I’ve experienced many things, but “white privilege” hasn’t been an issue for me. People of color might see me as a Black person, but white people might see me as a White person. I remember when I told a white person in my LGBT Studies class that I was a person of color and she replied with, “I never would have thought of you as a person of color.” This was when I realized that “white privilege” existed for me. At camp I gained a sense of my privilege, and along with it, a sense of responsibility. We did the privilege walk; similar to the one my Director does in Ally Training. I noticed a big difference from being in a group of mostly LGBT people versus a mix of LGBT people and straight people. When I did the Ally Training in 2007, I landed in the back of the room which made me feel that I didn’t have many privileges in this world. However, at camp I landed towards the front of the room which made me feel like I was privileged in the LGBT community and that I have the power and privilege to make a difference for all of us, not just most of us.

There was a very diverse group of people at camp which really benefited me as a person. I’m a very diverse person and like to learn from others who come from different walks of life and backgrounds unlike me. It gave me a chance to see others in the battle to create change on their campus and to learn from their individual development on their campus. Their drive and determination inspired me to do more on my campus and to realize that we are a “privileged” campus to even have a LGBT Resource Center. There was one student at camp who wanted to start an LGBT center on their campus. That in itself was empowering to hear.

I enjoyed being around other “Happy Campers.” Never before have I encountered so many leaders like me. I learned a lot about LGBT activism and it changed my perspective about LGBT issues. The resources shared were phenomenal. It was definitely worth my time and investment. I would recommend camp to anyone. I left camp with a deeper sense of empowerment, the LGBT movement, its challenges and my own role in it. I think that my generation has a vital role in the LGBT movement this time in history more than ever. Time is working in our favor. LGBT people are on the winning side of history as courts, legislatures, leaders and communities make strides to recognize our rights and humanity. The role we each play being visible, sharing our story, is vital in advocating for justice and equality.