"Same Struggle, Different Difference" - Opportunities for Togetherness

Ed. note: This is cross-posted on the U.S. Department of Labor blog. See the original post here.

ODEP Chief of Staff Dylan Orr speaks at the Labor Department's Institute on HIV/AIDS and Employment.

Each June, the LGBTQ+ community and allies commemorate Pride Month, promoting self-affirmation, dignity, visibility, inclusion and diversity within the community. In July, the disability community and allies commemorate the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, promoting the same principles in response to a similar history of exclusion and discrimination.

These periods of commemoration are clearly connected by a matter of days on the calendar, but as communities we don’t always make the connections around our common experiences and goals. I believe the disability and LGBTQ+ communities can find strength in working together. In fact, it is these commonalities and the opportunities they present that led me to serve as chief of staff in the Office of Disability Employment Policy.

From my earliest thoughts, I knew I was different. I knew because the outside world told me so. When my mom was pregnant with me she thought she was carrying a boy and chose the name Dallas. When I was born with the external indications that I was a girl, she instead named me Lily − as I like to joke, “the most effeminate name in the book.”

As I grew I didn’t feel like a girl or what that seemed to represent. I also thought there was something wrong with me. I felt shame about what I decided would be my little (or big) secret for the rest of my life. I was teased on the playground and questioned by adults as to “what I was,” and essentially told that I did not look or act the way I was “meant” to. And, I felt camaraderie with individuals with disabilities who, like me, were excluded or made fun of for how they looked or acted. So I stuck up for them and befriended them.

It would not be for many years that I would first hear the word transgender and eventually embrace that identity, and find love, community, support and pride. Along the way, I have come to recognize the multiple intersections within our communities – from being labeled by society as “other” or somehow different from what is “normal” mentally or physically, to negotiating disclosure, to facing barriers and disparities in critical areas of life like public accommodations, housing, education, employment, the legal system and medical care. These intersections have influenced me along my academic and professional path, and the disability community has become my community.

This week I was honored to participate in the Forum on LGBT and Disability Issues at the White House, and proud to share how ODEP is building bridges between the disability community and other marginalized populations.

One of the initiatives we are working on is called Add Us In, designed to identify and develop strategies to increase employment within the small businesses for individuals with disabilities, with an emphasis on ethnic minorities, the LGBTQ+ community, women and veterans. ODEP is also working to support the National HIV/AIDS Strategy by improving employment and economic opportunities for people living with HIV, a covered disability under the ADA, which disproportionately impacts the gay, transgender, African American and Latino communities.

Through my work, I am constantly reminded that, although much remains to be done, significant progress has occurred in just the last generation, for both the LGBTQ+ and the disability communities. Going forward, we must draw strength from each other’s lessons − and remind ourselves that when one person or group is marginalized or discriminated against, we all are.

I hope to one day live in a world that truly celebrates the wide variation of the human form, condition and experience. To get there, we all have a part to play. Change does not arise from pity, shame, exclusion or low expectations. It arises from empowerment, celebration of difference, and a willingness to take risks as individuals and communities − to take pride in who we are.

Dylan Orr is chief of staff for the Office of Disability Employment Policy.

Celebrate Pride Month by Making Your Workplace LGBT-Inclusive; SBA Sponsoring Events for LGBT Business Owners and Allies

Ed. note: This is cross-posted on the U.S. Small Business Administration website. See the original post here.

In honor of LGBT Pride Month, the SBA is teaming up with the Human Rights Campaign, America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) equality, and the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce to provide free trainings for small business owners.

A schedule and instructions on how to sign up are below:

Webinar: Making Your Small Business Workplace LGBT-Inclusive

• Wednesday, June 25 at 2:00 PM ET
• SBA is teaming up with the Human Rights Campaign to present a free training for small business owners on making your workplace inclusive for LGBT employees. Attendees will learn:
  • Why fostering an inclusive workplace can make employees more productive,
  • How to provide safeguards for you and your employees by creating a non-discrimination policy, and
  • Where to find the latest information about changing laws and regulations.

• Register now

Overcoming Discrimination and Adversity: A Nation Honors Puerto Rico’s Veterans

President Barack Obama leads an ovation for the Borinqueneers after he signed H.R. 1726 to award a Congressional Gold Medal to the 65th Infantry Regiment, known as the Borinqueneers, in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building South Court Auditorium, June 10, 2014. (Official White House Photo by Amanda Lucidon)

President Barack Obama signed into law a bill to award the Congressional Gold Medal to the United States Army’s 65th Infantry Regiment; an Army unit composed mostly of soldiers from the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico called the “Borinqueneers.” They are nicknamed after the native Taino indian name for the island of Puerto Rico - Borinquen. The signing ceremony reminds us all that U.S. citizens from Puerto Rico have built a rich and distinguished record of military service to our country. 

As President Obama highlighted for us:

“Shortly after Puerto Rico became part of the United States in 1898, a regiment of Puerto Rican soldiers was formed, and they served our nation bravely ever since.  In World War I, they defended the homeland and patrolled the Panama Canal Zone.  In World War II, they fought in Europe.  In Korea, they fought in mud and snow.  They are the 65th Infantry Regime, U.S. Army.  They are also known as Borinqueneers”.

The Regiment made its mark for its outstanding combat duty in the Korean War. As one of our nation’s last segregated Army units, it also battled the racially bitter attitudes toward ethnic minorities prevalent in our nation at the time. It wasn’t too long ago in our country that the nation as a whole and the U.S. military in particular, had very different attitudes toward racial and ethnic minorities. The “Borinqueneers” fought the enemy abroad with courage and skill, but also endured and overcame racial discrimination and negative stereotypes at home. This dichotomy- serving proudly while in a segregated Army unit, was the legacy that many soldiers including my Dad and “tío Jose” (uncle Joe) had to bare.

Both Dad and “tío Jose” served in the 65th during World War II.  As a kid, my sister, Dad and I visited “tío Jose” in his home in Bethlehem, PA where after the war, he went to work in the steel mills and settle down. The two brothers would often sit around the kitchen table swapping adventurous, raucous stories about their colorful adventures with the unit and their deployment to Panama and the Philippines. They talked about the endless hours of marching and guard duty in sweltering heat and humidity. And they served and endured proudly.

One of the most poignant anecdotes they shared reflects the social and political realities of a segregated nation at the time. While both brothers enlisted on nearly the same day they were soon to be dissimilarly marked. The way Dad told it, when they shipped out of Puerto Rico for basic training the military did not have a designation for Latino/Hispanic, only colored or white. As it worked out, one brother was designated “colored” while the other was designated “white.” The irony is punctuated by the fact that they resembled each other in a number of ways, nearly identical. 

Dad passed away in the loving hands of the hospice care unit of the Bronx, Veterans Administration Hospital on the Fourth of July, 2013 – knowing dad, he planned it that way.  Dad was a humble man except for two things – his service and his family. 

The Congressional Gold Medal is the highest form of recognition that Congress can bestow on an individual or group for outstanding achievement. Joining the President in the White House were several surviving Borinqueneers, many in their late 80’s and 90’s, and their families but also the Congressional leaders that fought to bestow this high honor to these brave veterans. The Bill, authored by Puerto Rico’s Congressional representative Pedro Pierluisi was shepherded through Congress by a bipartisan effort led by Representative Bill Posey of Florida, a Republican, and Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, a Democrats. Governor Alejandro García Padilla and several members of the legislative leadership were on hand to congratulate the award recipients.

It was a historic, emotional and uplifting day on so many levels. Seeing our Commander in Chief, flanked by several Borinqueneers in their twilight years, in the White House gathered to sign into law a bill honoring these stalwart heroes was remarkable.  They represented the spirit of tens of thousands of their brothers-in-arms, including my dad and “tío Jose” who have fought for over a century on the battlefields so far from home. 

James Albino is the Executive Director of the President’s Task Force on Puerto Rico