Small Town Pride x Big City Identities | Celebrating Our LGBTQ+44 Community

By Ashlee Davis

The opportunity to serve as a political appointee in the Obama-Biden Administration was a true privilege. The lesson that was reinforced in more ways than I would ever be able to count was that this opportunity was meaningful for the the seemingly invisible and marginalized segments of the LGBT community, who at times do not even dare to dream of one day calling the West Wing their office or the Commander-In-Chief their boss.

My identity is complicated only because there are still places in this world refusing to understand that my existence is not severable. I am a black, legally trained, masculine of center lesbian from the South. Which means that from churches, to community groups, small and big towns alike there are still venues where facets of me are warmly welcomed while requesting that I leave other parts of my identity outside. Severing your identities to please others brings about unspeakable trauma and it is because of that fact that I am so very thankful that I was welcomed for my talents and my voice from day one.

As the great great-granddaughter of southern farmers it was an immense privilege to bring my whole self to work during my time serving in the Administration both within the White House and at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, also known as “The People’s Department”. I was encouraged to think critically and make partnerships that would benefit the American people, and this led to the creation of The LGBT Rural Summit Series. For over two years, I traveled across the country with amazing partners pushing #RuralPride and connecting the LGBT rural community to housing, health, education and community engagement resources because this segment of our community does not get the spotlight, but they are indispensable threads of our community’s Pride quilt.

The opportunity to restore common sense and humanity to the governance leading our country isn’t a decision any of us can take for granted, but that is especially true for those of us who are too often left out of discussions and never invited to have a seat at the table. Our voice matters and isn’t negotiable.

As PRIDE month 🌈 draws to a close, we’re open to keep the spirit of the month going by hearing your Obama/Biden stories.

Submit your request here and we’ll post your LGBTQ+44 story through our Medium and Twitter accounts.