Ricardo Almodovar, January 10, 2022

Ricardo Almodovar, January 10, 2022

Ricardo Almodovar describes his early life, activist work, the creation of Amor y Rabia, and his multitude of passions.

Muhlenberg College Special Collections and College Archives

Muhlenberg College Special Collections and College Archives

2022-01-10

Copyright remains with the interview subject and their heirs.

video

LGBT-25

Mary Foltz

Ricardo Almodovar

01:20:13

5.4 January 10, 2022 Ricardo Almodovar, January 10, 2022 LGBT-25 1:22:12 LVLGBT-2022 Stories of Lehigh Valley LGBTQ+ Community Members (2022 - ) Muhlenberg College: Trexler Library Oral History Repository Support for the collection of this interview was provided by the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS). trexlerlibrarymuhlenberg Ricardo Almodovar Mary Foltz video/mp4 Almodovar, Ricardo_2-10-22_1080HD.mp4 1.0:|19(9)|54(5)|71(7)|90(2)|115(4)|136(3)|155(17)|182(2)|203(5)|224(16)|249(4)|274(3)|297(6)|314(11)|333(8)|350(10)|369(9)|390(2)|407(5)|420(14)|443(5)|466(3)|487(12)|508(7)|529(2)|548(8)|569(8)|588(3)|611(5)|628(3)|645(10)|666(10)|687(14)|708(9)|731(10)|748(4)|765(12)|784(4)|803(11)|828(7)|851(11)|874(6)|897(2)|918(11)|941(4)|960(3)|985(11)|1008(14)|1031(4)|1052(10)|1073(12)|1098(11)|1123(6)|1142(3)|1159(13)|1180(15)|1201(7)|1222(12)|1243(11)|1264(15)|1283(11)|1306(6)|1327(4)|1350(2)|1367(6)|1386(5)|1405(11)|1426(8)|1445(6)|1468(9)|1487(11)|1510(15)|1531(3)|1554(4)|1575(9)|1600(6)|1623(3)|1642(9)|1667(5)|1690(9)|1697(10) 0 https://youtu.be/KgBfv3rMj90 YouTube video English 0 Interview Introductions &#13 ; MARY FOLTZ: I am going to hit record. My name is Mary Foltz, and I’m here with Ricardo Almodovar about his life and experience in LGBTQ organizations in the Lehigh Valley and beyond. This interview is a part of the Lehigh Valley LGBT Community Oral History Project. Our project has funding currently from ACLS, and we are meeting today at Trexler Library at Muhlenberg College on February 10, 2022. So Ricardo, thank you so much for being here with me today.&#13 ; &#13 ; RICARDO ALMODOVAR: Thanks for having me. 0 120 Early Childhood / Family Life MF: Great. Okay, we’ve got the business out of the way, so I’m going to start our interview with this question. Will you tell me a little bit about your childhood?&#13 ; &#13 ; RA: Yeah, sure. So I come from a relatively big family, with a Puerto Rican background. My parents moved to Lancaster in the mid-80s. I was born and raised in Lancaster, and I have four brothers. So my mom was in charge of taking care of the household and, at the time, four rambunctious boys. And so I grew up in the city, and it was more of an urban POC working-class community. 0 408 Time at Millersville / Impact of Music&#13 ; RA: So after I graduated high school, I actually took two years off and started to work. Built some work experience, made some connections, but then after two years and the lack of upward social mobility and living paycheck to paycheck, I was like, “I need to go back to school. I need to do something with my life.” And so I started off at Harrisburg Area Community College, where I earned my associate degree in social science. I continued and transferred to Millersville University and earned my bachelor’s degree as a dual major in international studies and Spanish language. 0 657 Working with Make the Road PA RA: So after college, after graduating from Millersville University in 2016, I moved to the Lehigh Valley. I obtained my first job fresh out of college, and I worked for Make the Road Pennsylvania. I was able to start their base with our director and several other folks, and we finally opened an office in the Lehigh Valley, in August of 2017, I believe. But we were sharing offices with SCIU prior to that, which is one of our strongest partners. SCIU is Service Employees International Union. Healthcare PA. 0 938 Other Activism RA: And I’ve learned throughout the years that systemic oppression requires systemic change, and we want to organize and mobilize community members to talk to their legislators to push for policies that will benefit us all, particularly around immigration. Particularly around, you know, environmental justice. And, you know, events, for instance -- and that’s evidence that some of the events that we’ve organized -- I remember, and I’ve been arrested a few times, I remember the first time I got arrested was right after the 2020 elections, right before Trump was inaugurated, we wanted to push Tom Wolf to close down Berks Detention Center, which incarcerates families, including children -- immigrant families, including children, and in Leesport, our neighboring county, in Berks, right, and so we took over the intersection, literally in front of the Capitol Building in Harrisburg. 0 1511 Creation of Amor y Rabìa RA: And so almost everyone we talked to were on board, and so within an hour, hour and a half, we were able to collect contact information for about 80 people with a team of about nine or ten of us, simply just having conversations with folks at a gay bar. (laughs) And so then as the organizer, I followed up with every single one of them using our Google forms, which is an important tool that we use, and we collected their phone number, and I was able to -- and their email, and I was able to make phone calls and texts and sent out emails and inviting them to our very first committee in 2018 I believe it was. And so at our first committee, we didn’t even have the name of it, for Make the Road, or the name of the -- we didn’t have an official title for the committee itself under Make the Road. 0 1917 Working with CASA Pennsylvania RA: So in 2019 I came across an opportunity to work for CASA Pennsylvania, and both CASA Pennsylvania and Make the Road Pennsylvania are partner organizations, and they do a lot of social justice work and Latinx immigrant and Spanish-speaking communities in Allentown, Reading, Philadelphia -- or, rather, make the Road is in Allentown, Reading, and Philadelphia, whereas CASA Pennsylvania is based in Harrisburg, Lancaster, York, Lebanon, and Chester Counties. Another thing that CASA does in addition to community organizing and social justice work, because they provide services like green card renewals, DACA renewals, civic engagement work, and even tax prep. 0 2161 Democratic National Committee Fellowship / Organizing for the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center RA: And so after community organizing for years and years, through Make the Road Pennsylvania and CASA Pennsylvania, I felt I needed a break. And so I took a few months to just breathe, to recoup, and I decided -- or, rather, an opportunity came up to continue my organizing work digitally, and so the Democratic National Committee was recruiting digital organizing fellows for about a five- or six-month fellowship program. I was like, you know what, that seems interesting. I don’t have to be there permanently, and who knows who I might be able to meet, and so I was able to spread the word regarding government and politics through the Democratic Party and working with the state Democratic Party and the county and the city of Lancaster, and meeting some of the political operatives in Lancaster and throughout the state. 0 2731 Campus Vote Project RA: And I started up, or I completed my contract with PBPC in July of 2021, and so at this point, what, six, seven months ago, and I started my new role as the Pennsylvania state coordinator for the Campus Vote Project in August. And if you’re unfamiliar with the Campus Vote Project, it was created in 2012, actually we’re celebrating our ten-year anniversary literally last week. And it’s under the Fair Elections Center. And the Fair Elections Center is a national network of legal experts focused on litigation, voting reform, and advocacy. 0 3148 Nonprofit Work RA: So my background is community organizing, civic engagement, and public policy work. So by day, as I mentioned, I am the Pennsylvania state coordinator for the Campus Vote Project, and we work to remove barriers to voting on campuses in Pennsylvania and across the country. And at night, I serve on a number of nonprofit boards. &#13 ; 0 3520 LGBTQIA Activism MF: You talked a lot about all of the organizing work you’ve done. Organizing around immigration policy. Organizing in Allentown and Lancaster for LGBTQ+ communities. All the boards that you’re on. I’m wondering about a kind of personal history question, which is, when did you want to become active on behalf of the LGBTQ+ community? Did that start in college, did it start in high school? When did you decide that was something that you wanted to do, was organizing? 0 3758 Political Motivations MF: Do you have a sense of why you’ve been so interested in political organizing, both for LGBTQ communities, but also organizing for greater access to voting, to strengthen our democracy, to get people to participate in democracy, to be aware of immigration policy that’s impacting our communities? Do you know where that drive comes from? Were politics a big thing in your family? Were politics just something that you thought, this is where I want to put my energy for social change? 0 4048 Cultural Motivations/Passions MF: You’ve talked a lot about politics and your organizing work in both Lancaster and Allentown. I think people that listen to our oral history project in the future might be interested also about the culture. &#13 ; 0 4366 Connection to Religion MF: You just mentioned two topics I wanted to follow up on. You know, healing and faith communities, and conversations with our families about who we are and our authentic selves. Have you personally had challenges within a faith community, or personally you had stories about coming out to family members that you wanted to share today? 0 4718 Closing Remarks MF: We’re about towards the end of our time, but before we conclude, I just want to give you some space. Is there anything you wanted to share today that you didn’t get a chance to share? Anything that you think, oh, I wish I would have talked about this? 0 MovingImage Ricardo Almodovar describes his early life, activist work, the creation of Amor y Rabia, and his multitude of passions. MARY FOLTZ: I am going to hit record. My name is Mary Foltz, and I'm here with Ricardo Almodovar about his life and experience in LGBTQ organizations in the Lehigh Valley and beyond. This interview is a part of the Lehigh Valley LGBT Community Oral History Project. Our project has funding currently from ACLS, and we are meeting today at Trexler Library at Muhlenberg College on February 10, 2022. So Ricardo, thank you so much for being here with me today. RICARDO ALMODOVAR: Thanks for having me. MF: And I want to start by asking you, could you please state your full name and spell it for me? RA: Yeah. My name is Ricardo Almodovar, R-I-C-A-R-D-O A-L-M-O-D-O-V-A-R. MF: Thank you. And will you please share your birthdate? RA: Yeah. My birthday is November 15, 1989. MF: And before we started this interview, you signed a consent form, but I just want to review the consent questions. Do you consent to this interview today? RA: Yes. MF: Do you consent to having this interview transcribed, digitized, and made publicly available online in searchable format? RA: Yes. MF: Do you consent to the LGBT Archive using your interview for educational purposes in other formats? That could be websites, articles, films, presentations? RA: Yes. MF: And do you understand that you will have 30 days after the electronic delivery of the transcript to review the interview, to identify parts that you want to delete, or you could withdraw the full interview from the project. RA: Yes. MF: Great. Okay, we've got the business out of the way, so I'm going to start our interview with this question. Will you tell me a little bit about your childhood? RA: Yeah, sure. So I come from a relatively big family, with a Puerto Rican background. My parents moved to Lancaster in the mid-80s. I was born and raised in Lancaster, and I have four brothers. So my mom was in charge of taking care of the household and, at the time, four rambunctious boys. And so I grew up in the city, and it was more of an urban POC working-class community. I was always, you know, curious -- a curious child. And I first came into contact with, I guess, the outside world, or with people that think differently than me when I joined our concert band. And so I built a strong relationship with our director and learned to play not just one but several instruments, but I initially started out with the trombone. And so that's what kind of started my, I guess, engagement in community beyond just my academic life, and beyond what I had to deal with at home. So yeah, I joined the concert band in elementary school in fourth grade. I picked up the trombone and my director, or the band director, was confident that I would, you know, be a great performer, so she signed me up to play my first solo ever, and I did. And that really impacted my life in a way that I never thought would. And so it made me want to dig deeper into the music field and, granted, I'm no musician. I still perform to this day, interestingly enough, and I'll talk about that a little later. But it's what opened me up to meet more people, gain different perspectives in life, and open my eyes to a whole different world. Music, if you think about it, is almost like a whole other language, and being able to exercise that part of my brain and that part of my mind and making these connections helped me further on in my life. So I come from very humble beginnings. My parents moved, like I said, to Puerto Rico in the mid-80s, and we bounced around from apartment to house and back again. My very first year of life, actually lived in a shelter, and I'm a product of the social services and public school system in Lancaster. Who knows where I would be or where my family would be were those services not provided or that support system not present. And so I always keep that in the back of my mind when I'm doing this work or when I'm doing any work, really, in general. And I share that because you never know what's going to happen in your life, and despite some hardship, that there are ways to move forward in your life. And so I went to multiple middle schools, multiple elementary schools, in my early life, and that's how I was able to make connections and meet people, and I still have some of those connections to this day. And I come from a very close-knit family as well. We still have strong relationships, not just with my siblings, not just with my brothers, but also with our greater extended family -- aunts, uncles, my dad has 14 siblings, my mom has four. So my family, most of them live in Lancaster. Some of them live on the island, but we have family members from all over the U.S. But after graduation, or rather, continuing my studies in the school district of Lancaster, I felt like I needed to do something with my life. I knew college was calling me, but I didn't know how that would look like. So after I graduated high school, I actually took two years off and started to work. Built some work experience, made some connections, but then after two years and the lack of upward social mobility and living paycheck to paycheck, I was like, "I need to go back to school. I need to do something with my life." And so I started off at Harrisburg Area Community College, where I earned my associate degree in social science. I continued and transferred to Millersville University and earned my bachelor's degree as a dual major in international studies and Spanish language. But throughout my college career, I joined so many organizations, from the environmental science club, the student government organization, CALOR which is our Latinx student group on campus. But all of that, I guess, originated from my involvement even in, you know, elementary school, middle school, and high school, being part of so many music groups. Anything band-related, you name it, I did it, I'm a band geek. A proud band geek. I played in the concert band, jazz band, wind ensemble, pit orchestra, county band. But I think what impacted me the most, or what I enjoyed the most, is our marching band. And so I enjoy marching down parades. I enjoy halftime shows during football games. And sadly, you know, marching band in college was too much of a commitment for me at the time, working two, sometimes three jobs just to support myself. I decided I wanted to continue my music ambition, and so instead of joining Millersville's marching band, I joined the New York City's Lesbian and Gay Big Apple Corps Marching Band. And we performed for gay pride parades all over the east coast, and I made so many connections with folks, not just in New York City, but the general area. We performed for Capital Pride in D.C., Providence Pride in Rhode Island, which is the only one at night. We have neon lights and glow lights and all of the things. It's so much fun. But I think, you know, music has played a huge part in my life, and in my career, and I'm glad that I'm still able to continue that, even, you know, despite my busy schedule. Pride month, as you all know, is June, right? [laughs] So June is a very busy month for me. So I could dedicate maybe half of May and all of June to perform for all of these different gay events through the gay band, and then every now and then maybe go to a football game at Millersville University. But I'm a huge music supporter. The arts are so important to student life and professional and personal development, and it's played a huge part in my life. So music has helped open so many doors for me, and helped me develop the many skills and abilities I have to connect with people. And so that's how I got involved with so many student groups, and why I wanted to meet so many people and build relationships, not just with all of the different student groups on the different campuses that I'm involved with, but with also, you know, professors and administrators. I always tell folks, "You never know who you're going to rub elbows with, right, you never know who's going to be your next coworker, your next supervisor, your next boss, even," so I always try to be nice, I always try to be kind, and I always try to at least build some type of relationship and keep in touch with folks, even though we may not be in, you know, a direct -- even though I might not be in their direct vicinity. So after college, after graduating from Millersville University in 2016, I moved to the Lehigh Valley. I obtained my first job fresh out of college, and I worked for Make the Road Pennsylvania. I was able to start their base with our director and several other folks, and we finally opened an office in the Lehigh Valley, in August of 2017, I believe. But we were sharing offices with SCIU prior to that, which is one of our strongest partners. SCIU is Service Employees International Union. Healthcare PA. I've learned fairly quickly that we can't do this work in isolation, and that we rely on partnerships and on relationships. And as I emphasized earlier, we need to make sure we build those relationships because you never know what help or support you may need down the road. And so some of these folks at SCIU have actually met throughout my college career. With the different events that we've helped organize and the different conferences and summits that I was able to participate, and so at Make the Road, that first year we were doing a ton of civic engagement work. We led weekly action committee meetings where we not just provided civic education opportunities, we would share an article or a video on what's going on in this country, particularly in Latinx and immigrant communities, but we were able to open up a discussion to talk about how people feel about what's going on in this country, and then close off by how we can take action. And during that meeting, we'd also share a meal. We'd also sing songs, and it's very community-focused. And we wanted to build community through food, through music, and through community organizing. And we were successful in doing so in the Lehigh Valley and in Allentown, being the third-largest city in the state. There's so much potential in this area, and we saw it, and we saw potential in our people. And we were confident that we would be able to do big things in Allentown and beyond. And so like I said, in 2017, we opened up our office in what people would call, "The Hood," where a large number of folks are POC, or people of color. We were very intentional about where we wanted to base our headquarters here in Allentown, and so we were on Eighth Street, right outside of the downtown area, and that's where we not just met for these meetings but we also were able to onboard several canvassers during different campaigns. And so I'm proud to say that, in 2018, during the midterm elections, we had a Make the Road action, the largest canvassing operation of the year, and we knocked on over 200,000 doors and we were able to sway the votes significantly. Granted, our candidate didn't win, but we were able to build relationships with folks, not just in Allentown, but in the general Lehigh Valley and make those connections beyond that campaign. And let folks know that we have the power to change the political landscape in Pennsylvania, and it just takes time. It takes effort. And we may not always win everything, but if we don't try, then we've already lost. And our work basically is us extending that invitation to folks to join in their own movement, to join in their own liberation. And how we did that is through community organizing, through door knocking, through canvassing, through text banking, and generally building relationships with folks. If people don't trust you, it's so hard to bring them on board, it's so hard to get them involved. And it makes it that much harder to implement campaigns or to push for certain policies that benefit all of us. And I've learned throughout the years that systemic oppression requires systemic change, and we want to organize and mobilize community members to talk to their legislators to push for policies that will benefit us all, particularly around immigration. Particularly around, you know, environmental justice. And, you know, events, for instance -- and that's evidence that some of the events that we've organized -- I remember, and I've been arrested a few times, I remember the first time I got arrested was right after the 2020 elections, right before Trump was inaugurated, we wanted to push Tom Wolf to close down Berks Detention Center, which incarcerates families, including children -- immigrant families, including children, and in Leesport, our neighboring county, in Berks, right, and so we took over the intersection, literally in front of the Capitol Building in Harrisburg. And so we had a number of us that represented the different families incarcerated in Berks Detention Center. And we locked arms and they chained us, and we had a sit down, and we demanded that Wolf close down the detention center. And we were successful in that we pushed the administration to revoke their license, the Berks Detention Center license, but during the appeal process, they were still able to function, sadly. And so I remember it was a cold winter, because it was in December, literally right after the November elections, and despite the cold, we had folks that were passionate about creating change and supporting immigrants, undocumented or not, to the point where, you know, we decided to put our lives and our safety on the line, and so that was the first time I -- what is the term? That was the first time I engaged in an act of civil disobedience. And then the second time was for DACA. So the day after the Trump Administration rescinded DACA, a number of us decided that, you know, we need to disrupt business as usual, because 200,000 lives were disrupted because of -- because we don't have those protections for DACA. The folks that are unfamiliar with DACA, it's the Deferred Actions for Childhood Arrivals that protects undocumented youth from deportation, and it allows young folks to work, to drive, and go to school in this country without that fear, and gives folks that piece of mind. And so after it was rescinded, those 200,000 folks were now at risk. And so we went to several Congressional offices and we occupied them. We said, "Y'all are representing us and we want immigrants to be protected." And so after hours of, you know, pleading to the administrators, to their staff, and requesting a meeting with, at the time, a Congressperson -- his name escapes me. We decided to just occupy, and so there were four of us in the Lehigh Valley, and there were actions throughout the state, and we just sang songs. And songs were like, you know -- oh. "We shall not/We shall not be moved," and then we just kept singing that over and over again. And then, "El pueblo/unido/jamás será vencido," or in English, "The people/United/Will never be divided," or some people would say, "Defeated," but that's another conversation. And so after occupying the Congressional office, you know, the police came in and took us away in handcuffs. But despite that, I feel making the -- or spreading the word in regards to DACA, after it being rescinded and getting folks involved and it being livestreamed and, you know, I would continue putting my life on the line if it meant that folks would be protected, if it meant that we could make this world a better place. And so those are just a few examples of some of the actions that we organized through Make the Road and through some of the work that we've been doing over the last few years, but it seems like there are constant attacks, not just against the LGBT community or the immigrant community, but just, you know, the working class communities. Folks in general, you know, they were stripping away healthcare from millions of people, and one of my first actions even before my first arrest in Harrisburg was a 24-hour occupation of Pat Toomey's office, because 24 million people were at risk of losing their healthcare back then, and that's why we were there for 24 hours, to represent each of those folks. And so spreading the word on these issues, you know, we had to come up with different tactics, whether it's an occupation, right, a Congressional occupation or a sit-in or a march or a rally or a protest. You know, these aren't just things we think of out of the blue, it's caused by, you know -- or, rather, it's a strategic escalation on how we can create that change, you know. Sometimes we'll start off with a petition or we'll start off with, you know a meeting with a legislator. But then it goes up and up until, at some point, they need to hear what we have to say, not just in terms of, like, immigration, but in terms of like policy and legislation. And so after a year of organizing with Make the Road Pennsylvania, I was able to we realized that, you know, there are other communities that are being attacked. And that first year, during Trump's administration, it seemed like they were targeting LGBTQ+ folks across the country. They took down the LGBT content from the White House website. They tried to ban trans folks from serving in the military. They tried to take away protections from LGBTQ+ folks in the workplace. Almost every month there was something, and so after having the conversation with our director at the time and several other folks who were like, "Maybe we should open up and start a LGBT committee," and so we went to work. And so some of our colleagues and allies and accomplices, we met and we were like, "How can we get the queer community together?" And so we had to meet people where they were, right? And so we were like, "Well, where are they?" Allentown is a huge city, right? Where can we meet the most amount of queer folks, who are LGBTQ+ people. I mean, we have the Pride event that happens once a year, but then we also have the gay bar. We have Stonewall right up the street from where the office was. And so we organized a group of about ten of us to go to Stonewall, and we created a Google form to keep track of folks, and so we simply went around, at the gay bar, before it was like drunk o'clock, before folks started to get really inebriated, and went out of our way to talk to people, and we simply asked, "Hey, how do you feel about the trans ban in the military?" And then we would have a conversation, and then we would follow up with, "How would you feel about having a LGBT committee or an LGBT group to fight against hate in Allentown and the Lehigh Valley?" And so almost everyone we talked to were on board, and so within an hour, hour and a half, we were able to collect contact information for about 80 people with a team of about nine or ten of us, simply just having conversations with folks at a gay bar. [laughs] And so then as the organizer, I followed up with every single one of them using our Google forms, which is an important tool that we use, and we collected their phone number, and I was able to -- and their email, and I was able to make phone calls and texts and sent out emails and inviting them to our very first committee in 2018 I believe it was. And so at our first committee, we didn't even have the name of it, for Make the Road, or the name of the -- we didn't have an official title for the committee itself under Make the Road. So at that first committee is when we decided, let's think of a few terms. Let's think of a few titles, and so Amor y Rabia came up and people liked it. We voted on it and we were like, sure, that works. Amor Y Rabia in Spanish means, "Love and hate," and that's exactly what we felt like expressed the meaning of the committee, because in the LGBTQ+ committee, we have a ton of love for each other and ourselves and our communities, but there's also -- I'm sorry. Not love and hate. Rabia means, "Anger." So a lot of us are angry because the system is against us, and a lot of us suffer so much because of homophobia, transphobia, and overall hate in this country. And so Amor Y Rabia came about, and we met regularly, Saturday afternoons at our organizing center here in Allentown, and that's where we were able to bring some of those components from our action committee, like civic education and even food and music and we were able to organize different events. And we wanted it to be also community-focused and to also share and express our cultures, and the diversity of our membership. And so we organized different events from open mic nights. We hosted drag shows. We've hosted even a rainbow Zumba night where we just danced the night away and worked out some of the stress that we had to deal with on a regular basis. And then, you know, those were ways to, you know, alleviate stress, just to come together and organize those events, and also develop community leadership. You know, as the community organizer, I didn't feel that I should be the main face or the spotlight for these events, so we were very intentional on building other folks up and giving them an opportunity to, you know, be the MC for the event, or to perform at this event. Or to create a flier or to spread the word, and to really pass on the lessons that we learned as an organization to regular community members, and, you know, I've always learned, we want to organize ourselves out of a job, right? We want other folks to become organizers and provide those tools and resources so they can rise up as well. And so some of those folks are still active to this day and are still working with Make the Road Pennsylvania. Some of them have moved on. Some of them are continuing their education, and some of those folks I still stay in touch with. But at the core of it is to, you know, organize and mobilize LGBTQ+ folks of color in Allentown and the Lehigh Valley, and to combat homophobia, bigotry, and overall hate. And we did that by, you know, simply existing and organizing and mobilizing, and when there was an attack against our community, whether it's the trans ban in the military or other issues, we were able to stand up and organize events. For instance, we had one of the largest LGBTQ+ rallies or marches in Allentown's history right after the Trump trans ban, and we met up at our organizing center here in Allentown, and we were able to recruit speakers to talk about the importance of the LGBTQ+ folks or the LGBTQ+ community. And, you know, raise awareness on queer justice and queer history and we can't sit idly by when they're trying to -- when certain folks are trying to erase us out of existence. When they don't want us to, you know, serve in the military, and if they don't want us to, you know, survive, you know, I learned throughout my organizing career, it seems like there are certain folks that don't want certain communities, particularly marginalized communities, to exist or, you know, they want to enslave us, or they want us gone. You know, so Make the Road gave us that space, that safe and brave space, to have those conversations, to learn and to grow, but to also bring in other folks to participate in their own liberation and their own movement. And so after being at Make the Road for a number of years, and passing the torch onto the next community organizer, and he's still there to this day, Armando Jimenez, and I decided, or rather, an opportunity came up to do this work in my hometown. There's no place like home, like Dorothy says, right? So in 2019 I came across an opportunity to work for CASA Pennsylvania, and both CASA Pennsylvania and Make the Road Pennsylvania are partner organizations, and they do a lot of social justice work and Latinx immigrant and Spanish-speaking communities in Allentown, Reading, Philadelphia -- or, rather, make the Road is in Allentown, Reading, and Philadelphia, whereas CASA Pennsylvania is based in Harrisburg, Lancaster, York, Lebanon, and Chester Counties. Another thing that CASA does in addition to community organizing and social justice work, because they provide services like green card renewals, DACA renewals, civic engagement work, and even tax prep. So working with CASA and some of the AmeriCorps VISTAs that provided those services helped with organizing community members in Lancaster. And with having strong roots in the Red Rose City, I was able to start the base, and not only was I able to open up the office in Allentown for Make the Road years prior, but I was also able to help open up the office for CASA Pennsylvania in Lancaster in 2019 my first year working for them. And so very similar to Make the Road, we organized regular meetings. We had, you know, popular education opportunities, where we would share resources or articles or videos on what's going on in government or in politics. And we were also able to coordinate efforts with some of our other partner organizations, including Make the Road, and we were able to mobilize for different events and for different reasons. And so what's great about community organizing or what's great about partnerships is you can make things much larger, right? And so in some of those events, like, you know, Shut Down Berks or fighting against the trans ban in the military, you know, we were able to communicate with each other. And so oftentimes, if there was an event that impacted folks in the Lehigh Valley or folks that were affected -- particularly around what Make the Road was doing or like what CASA was doing, and if we needed to go to Harrisburg, for instance, to lobby, or if there was a statewide action, we would coordinate efforts. But then if there were any national or federal-level public policy work that we wanted to engage in, then we would also coordinate efforts and we would take buses to go to Washington, D.C., for instance. And as I mentioned, you know, in order to do this work, we have to have strong people-focused relationships, and so with CASA and Make the Road being part of the Center of Popular Democracy, which is a national network that focuses on social justice work and providing those resources and those connections, you know, has helped with pushing for immigration reform, has helped with mobilizing folks and registering voters and getting them out to the polls and providing translation for voter guides or for ballots or many other items that were necessary for non-English speakers. And so after community organizing for years and years, through Make the Road Pennsylvania and CASA Pennsylvania, I felt I needed a break. And so I took a few months to just breathe, to recoup, and I decided -- or, rather, an opportunity came up to continue my organizing work digitally, and so the Democratic National Committee was recruiting digital organizing fellows for about a five- or six-month fellowship program. I was like, you know what, that seems interesting. I don't have to be there permanently, and who knows who I might be able to meet, and so I was able to spread the word regarding government and politics through the Democratic Party and working with the state Democratic Party and the county and the city of Lancaster, and meeting some of the political operatives in Lancaster and throughout the state. And mind you, most of the work that I've been doing is nonpartisan, but if you really dig deep into this country and in our lives, everything about us is political. From the schools we go to the roads we drive on, to the homes we live in, to the type of education we receive, everything about our lives is political. And as a, I would say, political operative myself working with the DNC, I'm also a strong critic of the Democratic Party. It just so happens that one party decides to, you know -- or, rather, let me rephrase that. It just so happens that certain political parties support certain things over others. It's only -- how would I word it? Not to sound political or anything. [laughs] There's a fine line, right? At the end of the day, you know, we want to fight for full justice, you know? I always look at Maslow's hierarchy of needs, right? And, you know, how can we -- or, rather, people shouldn't just survive, you know, the lowest rung, right? Food, clothing, housing, you know, if all of those things were guaranteed to us, how much folks could do in their lives? We want folks to not just survive but we want folks to thrive. And I always think about that when I'm doing this work, and so after my short fellowship with the Democratic National Committee, I came across an opportunity to work for the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center as an organizing associate. And so they offered me a six-month contract, and after working for them for six months, they extended it to a full year. And during my year at PBPC, I worked specifically under the We the People Pennsylvania campaign, which was created in 2018 to make state government work for all of us. And through We the People Pennsylvania, it's essentially -- or, rather, We the People Pennsylvania is essentially three initiatives. Number one, it's a coalition of state legislators. Number two, it's a coalition of nonprofit, nonpartisan partners. And number three, it's an actual campaign. So it's a roadmap for Pennsylvania to move forward for fair housing, fair funding for education, clean air, clean water, and all of those folks, the legislators and the community organizations and community members alike, helped draft that roadmap or helped draft that campaign. And through our statewide coalition, and some of those partners were my former employees, including Make the Road and CASA Pennsylvania, I'm still able to continue our working relationship with them. But, you know, also work through other initiatives, which include language access in Pennsylvania. And so I was able to meet with several issue-based advocacy groups, like the Pennsylvania Immigration and Citizenship Coalition, and some of their partners, and we worked to develop a language access plan at the state level. And I continue some of that language access work to this day. And so our hope, through the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, is to organize a campaign launch or a budget summit in multiple languages. And we were successful in bringing all of our partners together, and one of our largest events, where we had 500 folks in a Zoom room, I believe, right before Tom Wolf's budget proposal, to talk about, what is it that we want the administration to invest in? We want Tom Wolf's -- or we want our state government to invest in our roads, in our schools, in clean air and clean water. And through the We the People Pennsylvania campaign, working with legislators in the Pennsylvania General Assembly, in the House and in the Senate, and through the roadmap we were able to coordinate all those efforts and get hundreds of people rallied together to talk about public policy, to talk about the state budget, and how we can all take action to make this world a better place. And I'm proud to say that we were able to successfully meet regularly with all of these folks and create change. One of the things that stands out in my work through the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center and working with my direct supervisor at the time, was Kadida Kenner, and she's the director of campaigns for the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, and she is the chair for Why Courts Matter Pennsylvania, and talking about the judiciary and the state courts, right? If we learned anything over the last couple years, it's that courts matter. And, for instance, when the last administration tried to contest the election results, where did they go? With Commonwealth Courts of Pennsylvania. We focus so much energy and time on the legislative and executive branches of our government. What about our three co-equal arm, right? What about the judiciary? There are many more MDJs -- magisterial district judges -- in Pennsylvania than there are state legislators. There are 253 Members in the House and the State Senate, whereas in the lowest court, the magisterial district judge, courts -- the lower courts, there are well over 450 judges, not to mention we have the Court of Common Pleas, we have the appellate courts, and so working with Kadida Kenner, my former supervisor, working with Why Courts Matter Pennsylvania, which is a campaign of the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy center, in addition to We the People Pennsylvania, and then separately. But indirectly, working with the 99 Percent, which is also part of the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy -- which is more a federal issue-based advocacy. And Jeff Garris, who runs that campaign and focuses on the American Rescue Plan funding and how we want to use those billions of dollars for things that we need the most. Sadly, you know, there are certain legislators that want to use that funding for a rainy day, and they want to pay back debt that our state government has incurred. But I don't know what other time it's raining more than a global pandemic. And so through the 99 Percent and through the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center, we're able to work at the federal level and at the state level to make sure that those billions of dollars, through the American Rescue plan, is able to be used adequately for our communities. And so after completing my year contract with the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center and working with We the People Pennsylvania and all of our partners, I applied for a position to be the Pennsylvania state coordinator for the campus vote project. And I got it. And I started up, or I completed my contract with PBPC in July of 2021, and so at this point, what, six, seven months ago, and I started my new role as the Pennsylvania state coordinator for the Campus Vote Project in August. And if you're unfamiliar with the Campus Vote Project, it was created in 2012, actually we're celebrating our ten-year anniversary literally last week. And it's under the Fair Elections Center. And the Fair Elections Center is a national network of legal experts focused on litigation, voting reform, and advocacy. And so I always jokingly tell folks, a lot of my colleagues, a lot of the lawyers that we work with at the Fair Election Center are sitting behind their desks just itching to sue somebody, because democracy is always under attack, and sadly, voter suppression is a real thing in this country. And so we're working diligently to remove barriers to voting, and through the Campus Vote Project we're able to do that work on campuses in Pennsylvania and across the country. So we work in 41 states, 280 campuses, with 3.4 million students enrolled in those institutions. That's a huge electorate that we're trying to take advantage of -- or that we're trying to get involved and creating change takes a village. And so we want students, we want administrators, we want faculty, to talk about democracy work, to talk about the elections, to talk about what's on the ballot, and that's exactly what we do at the Campus Vote Project. And I basically run three initiatives through CVP. Number one is our democracy fellowship, which is similar to an internship. I supervise 30 college students in Pennsylvania doing just that. And they work about ten hours a week learning about the system, learning and informing and teaching their peers, their faculty and staff, what's on the ballot and general democracy work. And so we have 30 in Pennsylvania and hundreds of democracy fellows and graduates throughout the country. And there are ten -- there are currently ten of me, well, ten state coordinators across the country, so here in Pennsylvania it's myself, and then Ohio, Wisconsin, and Michigan, and in the south we have Florida, Georgia, Virginia, North Carolina, Texas, and Arizona. And so we meet with all of our state coordinators on a weekly basis to discuss best practices. To just, you know, vent sometimes, and some of my colleagues are experts in their field. Some of them have master's or even doctoral degrees, and I hope some of that rubs off on me. [laughs] And the second initiative that I'm particularly involved with at the Campus Vote Project as the Pennsylvania state coordinator is our voter-friendly campus program. And this is a national designation that campuses declare to remove barriers to voting. And so campuses have to submit a statement of interest. They have to develop an action plan or a campus plan. And it also allows us to work directly with those campuses. And this is also in partnership with NASPA, the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators. And we're able to work more closely with these campuses through the VFC process. And campuses have to provide elections materials regardless, through the Higher Education Act. At the Campus Vote Project, we're able to provide resources, training, and best practices from across the country. And that's why we're on campuses. And the third initiative that I'm involved with is our Pennsylvania Youth Voting Summit, which is the largest in the Commonwealth, where we not only bring college students together but also high school students involved in our democracy. We bring in prominent speakers from the Commonwealth. Last semester, we had it in October, and we had our Secretary of State, [Veronica] Degraffenreid share on what our state government is doing. She talked about her story, and the importance of the youth vote. And so we have a very strong relationship with the Department of State, and in fact, we organized that Pennsylvania Youth Voting Summit with them in conjunction with Pennsylvania Youth Vote. We also work with the Andrew Goodman Foundation. We also work with All In Campus Democracy Challenge. And several other nonpartisan groups that focus in organizing youth. And so that's a basic snapshot on some of the work that I've been doing at the Campus Vote Project and the Fair Elections Center. And through my life and through my career, I want to bring some of those connections and hopefully inspire some of my students to do some of this work and continue not just their education but also to, you know, I always tell folks, Why are you in school? You're there to learn, to grow, but also to build relationships, to network. And I always emphasize -- and I can't say it enough to my students. You never know who's going to be your next coworker or your next supervisor, so use these opportunities to meet people that are doing this work. And so not only do we have our statewide cohort of 30 democracy fellows, and we meet regularly, but we also have a number of professional development opportunities at the national level. We have a national research and curriculum manager that works diligently to bring the most up-to-date materials on redistricting, on community organizing, on voter registration, and so we have discussion blocks where folks can meet democracy fellows from across the country. So we have so many opportunities for folks to meet here in Pennsylvania, but then we also want to open up the doors for folks to meet folks from all over the country. So that's really what stands us out at the Campus Vote Project, and I'm so excited to continue this work and use my background and my experience to essentially inspire young folks to do the same. So my background is community organizing, civic engagement, and public policy work. So by day, as I mentioned, I am the Pennsylvania state coordinator for the Campus Vote Project, and we work to remove barriers to voting on campuses in Pennsylvania and across the country. And at night, I serve on a number of nonprofit boards. I've been part of the Lancaster LGBTQ+ Coalition for about two years now, and so we work with DEI initiatives -- diversity, equity, and inclusion -- trainings and workshops, and so we've facilitated a number of discussions for different businesses and organizations in Lancaster County. One particular is with Two Dudes Painting Company. So imagine a room full of about 50 or 70 middle-aged, mostly straight white men talking about rainbows, butterflies, and glitter. So we broke down what LGBTQ+ means. And the importance of being respectful and mindful for LGBTQ+ folks, especially as clients, or especially since they're going to be potentially working with us. And the other board that I'm involved with is Lancaster Pride. So Lancaster Pride is a little different from the coalition, although we do regularly partner. Lancaster Pride's focus is more of an event planning organization. So we organize our annual Lancaster Pride festival, and our most recent one, for the first time ever, was our Lancaster Pride Fall Fest in October. And we had strict COVID restrictions. Sadly, we had to turn a few folks away. But despite all of that, we had well over 3,000 people join us in a one-day long gay festival. We took over the Clipper Magazine Stadium. We had about 140 vendors join in, business, nonprofit partners, to share the work that they're doing. Through tabling, and we had drag shows on site. And it was just a great day to just be authentic, to be open, and to just be in the community. And so in Lancaster, we have two LGBTQ+ nonprofits at Lancaster Pride, and then the Lancaster LGBTQ+ Coalition. And I just so happened to be on both of their boards, and my goal is to bring them a little closer together, to build relationships, and to make sure that, you know, we know what each other is doing. So we're not stepping on each other's toes. Another board that I'm involved with is the Keystone Business Alliance, which is central Pennsylvania's LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce. And so they support businesses, not just in Lancaster but also in Harrisburg and Lebanon and York. Even as far as Gettysburg. And it's membership-based, and we organize monthly mixers, where we get a bunch of the queer businesses together, and we provide support. It seems like I'm on a lot of boards, but we only meet once a month on different days, so that's why I say during the day I do my office hours, 9 to 5, right, and then in the evening I'm able to jump in on these board meetings. And then the other gay thing I do, and I do a lot of gay things, but I'm proud to say that I was an appointed commissioner for the Governor's Advisory Commission on LGBTQ+ affairs. This commission we don't meet monthly. We rather meet four times a year. And we are the direct line to the governor's office on anything LGBTQ+ related. So we work with the administration at the state level on public policy, on event planning, and general LGBTQ+ issues. So our commission is made up of about 45-ish people, lawyers, executive directors, nonprofit professionals, therapists, educators, and we meet to discuss, to talk, to vent, and to move the needle for LGBTQ+ liberation in Pennsylvania. We're the first and only of its kind in the country to do this work directly with the administration. So if you're unfamiliar, you know, or, rather, as you may know, the governor's administration has several commissions. We have a women's commission. An Africa-American commission. A Latino commission. And then as I mentioned, this is the first and only of its kind in the country we have an LGBTQ+ commission under the Governor's office. And so working with all of these LGBTQ+ organizations and learning what is going on, I'm able to, you know, build all these different relationships and also gain perspectives in life that I otherwise wouldn't have seen or noticed, and, you know, attending these events like Lancaster Pride, going to some of these mixers, meeting with the commission, really inspired me to do more. And I would say has helped me become who I am today, you know. I've always wanted to do something in the queer community. I don't know if I necessarily want to run my own nonprofit or business, but I can at least learn what is going on in Lancaster and throughout the state. MF: You talked a lot about all of the organizing work you've done. Organizing around immigration policy. Organizing in Allentown and Lancaster for LGBTQ+ communities. All the boards that you're on. I'm wondering about a kind of personal history question, which is, when did you want to become active on behalf of the LGBTQ+ community? Did that start in college, did it start in high school? When did you decide that was something that you wanted to do, was organizing? RA: And that's a good question. So I actually came out at the tender age of 16, but only to two of my very close friends. And then it wasn't until 18 that I really started to really come out to my family and more friends. And when I started to embrace my homosexuality. And I didn't know exactly back then how it would manifest itself in terms of like, you know, my career, community organizing, or trying to make this world a better place. But it wasn't until college that I -- or, rather, my first year in college, I realized we didn't have a queer space. But I found out that we used to, and that's when I decided to take action for the first time in my life and in my career to bring the queer community together. And so I got all of the basic requirements to re-found the allies group at Harrisburg Area Community College back in -- when was it? 2010 at this point. And I facilitated our meetings and I eventually became their president. And so we were able to host, you know, fundraisers and drag shows and coordinate efforts with the main campus in Harrisburg, and so that's when I began my, I suppose, organizing experience. And then that's where I met my -- in college I met my mentor, Adanjesús Marín, who eventually became my supervisor, who was the former state director for Make the Road Pennsylvania. So he really took me under his wing and he was part of the Human Relations Commission in Lancaster, and so I met him my first year in college, and he taught me more about queer history than anyone has in my life. And so I continued my educational career, and then we grew apart and then after college he was looking for an organizer, and he hired me on the spot, basically. Not that we grew apart, but life happens, right? And so, in college, I was involved with our allies group, and as I mentioned, our environmental science club. Some government association. And then continued that when I transferred to Millersville University, and I helped out with their GSA. And then I continued, you know, being involved with the gay band, the Lesbian and Gay Big Apple Corps Marching Band in New York City, and I started performing with them since 2014, and I've performed with them every single year since, other than these last two years with COVID. And so -- gosh. Wow. Looking back, I've been doing a lot of LGBTQ+ work way back since 2010, and it's 2022. MF: Do you have a sense of why you've been so interested in political organizing, both for LGBTQ communities, but also organizing for greater access to voting, to strengthen our democracy, to get people to participate in democracy, to be aware of immigration policy that's impacting our communities? Do you know where that drive comes from? Were politics a big thing in your family? Were politics just something that you thought, this is where I want to put my energy for social change? RA: That's a good question. My family has nothing to do with politics. Nothing to do even with music. I just, you know, things kind of, you know, I guess the puzzle kind of came together for me in my life, and as a curious young child, I, you know, took initiative. And in addition to that, you know, with my parents struggling to make ends meet, I didn't want to be a further burden in their lives, having to take care of our large family. So any excuse I had to, you know, be out of the house, I took, which is why I was so involved with band, and we had frequent concerts or after-school practice, and at some point I did do some sports, simply because my older brothers did. But it was never my passion. I always enjoyed music much more than football or wrestling or track or anything. Although I did enjoy it, but it was too much of a commitment for me to join in all of the things, so I had to choose one or the other, and I chose music. I chose concert band and marching band and all of the other music groups, and so that spark, I guess, was created over the years of being -- of having to hide myself for so long, and learning the harsh reality that a lot of folks go through this in Lancaster and Allentown and Pennsylvania in situations much worse than mine, and, you know, I always wanted folks to be their authentic selves, right, to live fully and, you know, I am lucky enough to -- rather, because of the support system I have beyond my family with some of my colleagues and my friends, I was fortunate enough to continue my studies, fortunate enough to be heavily involved in student groups, and meeting all of these folks, and it inspired me to learn more about government and politics and voting rights issues. And it allowed me to not just learn about it but also to share it out with folks, and I'm able to facilitate discussions around our political structure in Pennsylvania, and talk about the judiciary, and talk about all the different facets of our government, and organize lobbying efforts, even. Introduce folks to their legislators. Create opportunities to build bridges. And as I mentioned earlier, systemic oppression requires systemic change, and we need policies. We need laws. We need ordinances that protect all of us, and that we shouldn't just need to survive. We shouldn't hide. But we also want community members to thrive and move beyond their current circumstances. And so through politics, through government, and civic engagement, I'm able to express myself in a way that I feel will help others take action, since there's so much at stake, especially right now in Pennsylvania. 2022 is going to be a wild year with the U.S. Senate race and the gubernatorial race. We want to make sure that whoever takes those seats, for instance, in addition to the other elected positions, that they keep LGBTQ+ folks in mind, and they bring us to the forefront, because when we all rise, or when LGBTQ+ people rise, we all rise. MF: You've talked a lot about politics and your organizing work in both Lancaster and Allentown. I think people that listen to our oral history project in the future might be interested also about the culture. For Latinx community and LGBTQ communities and their overlapping communities, could you talk a little bit about the larger kind of cultural spaces of Allentown or Lancaster where you are refueled in community spaces when you're done working? Maybe you never are done working, because you are amazing. But where you do find joy and community and fun in either Allentown or Lancaster where you're living now? RA: I'm an extrovert, so I am recharged when I'm around people. I'm at my best when I'm with, you know, particularly in queer spaces, you know? I enjoy going to drag shows. I enjoy going to queer events. And I want to just be myself -- I don't want to feel like I'm hiding myself, so as an extrovert, COVID really hit me. Not too hard, thankfully, you know. Because I was still continuing my community organizing work, just in a different way. Just through Zoom and behind the camera, right? And so my passion comes from, you know, sharing the beauty of humanity with others and letting them know that, you know, you might have gone through hardship, but it's not always going to be that way. And you can still, you know, make great connections with people, and you can still experience life to the fullest, but, you know, it's okay to not be okay right now, but just don't let it consume you, and we'll be here when you're ready. MF: Do you have favorite bars in Allentown and Lancaster? Favorite community spaces that are like, okay, I have a night off, this is where I'm going? I think people ten years from now will wonder, "Where did people go in 2022? Where were the hot spots?" RA: I don't know if I could say like I have a favorite, because anywhere you go, as long as you surround yourself in good company, would be a great space. [laughs] Interestingly enough, I was a much bigger drinker in my earlier 20s, more so than now in my early 30s, so although I do enjoy going to bars, a lot of the bars are no longer open. I used to frequent Stonewall. I lived walking distance from there when I lived in the Lehigh Valley. Tally-Ho in Lancaster closed down, which is the only gay bar out there. And so we're losing our queer spaces. But, you know, with being part of the Lancaster LGBTQ+ coalition, Lancaster Pride, the Keystone Business Alliance, I have all these different opportunities, all these different events to be in those queer spaces, so I don't necessarily need to go to a gay bar or a club to meet my, you know, needs or whatever, that I'm able to also be part of those events, and yeah, I don't have a favorite -- all that to say I don't have a favorite. And it's not just, like, the nightlife either, you know? I, you know, with some of the organizations I'm involved with, we want to make some of these events kid-friendly or make them sober, and for some of our more seasoned folks, you want to organize -- or some or our elders, we want to organize jazz events or jazz nights. And even with the faith community, organize an interfaith service or something like that. There's a lot of healing that needs to be done between the faith and the LGBTQ+ community, and we need to have those conversations. You know, we should have had these not just with the faith and LGBTQ+ community, but when it comes to being out, being authentic, and when it comes to social problems, we should have had a lot of these conversations like yesterday. The good thing is the next best time to do it is now. And so I hope that I inspire others to do that, to speak with their relatives, you know? During Thanksgiving dinner, have that conversation, or, you know, bring your partner to meet your family. And just, you know, participate in the fullness that is humanity. MF: You just mentioned two topics I wanted to follow up on. You know, healing and faith communities, and conversations with our families about who we are and our authentic selves. Have you personally had challenges within a faith community, or personally you had stories about coming out to family members that you wanted to share today? RA: I'm very lucky that I didn't have to go through much hardship coming out. I had some resistance from family members. My mom thought it was a phase that I would get over. But here I am, well over a decade later, I'm still hella gay. Some of my other relatives thought it was a phase, but I'm still hella gay. And so I didn't have too much trouble. I think the biggest issue I had is, you know, with the Church itself. I was raised Catholic, and so I've gone to -- or, rather, I've seen several people, and I've tried to ignore folks that have organized anti-gay rallies or marches, and the church I used to go to as a kid, or that I was raised in, ended up having an anti-gay protest in front of their church. Literally right before COVID, interestingly enough, and it just was disgusting for me to find out that the church that I was raised in, that I was baptized in, I had my first communion in is -- and I've known they were strongly anti-gay, but for them to be so clearly anti-gay and outspoken is just, you know, ridiculous to me. And so I actually, you know, called them out and, you know, they took down all the posts on social media, for instance, and they haven't done anything like that since. I think it was mostly new leadership. Their previous priest moved away, or something happened. But that doesn't justify what they did. [laughs] And that's not just in the Catholic Church, sadly. It's common in several churches across the country. And I've been working diligently to build relationships with pastors. In fact, a lot of my close friends are gay Black pastors that went to seminary. In Lancaster, we had the Lancaster Theological Seminary. And a lot of them, a lot of my friends are recent grads or have preached in local churches, and I've been learning a lot in regards to the faith community and some of the work that they're doing to combat homophobia, transphobia, and bigotry in the church. And I realize it, and they also realize, there's so much healing to do, but that takes time. And in fact, one of the things that I'm working to build in Lancaster is an advisory board for Lancaster Pride, and so we realized that not everyone can be a board member and meet every single month, but what this advisory board, they would meet four times a year to help Lancaster Pride in its mission, vision, and values, and one of those seats is one of faith. In addition to business economics, in addition to government relations, and so my official title for Lancaster Pride is their community liaison. To build relationships with other organizations and to bring people in to Lancaster Pride. And so with all of the connections that I've developed over the years, you know, and working with this advisory board, so this will be the first time we've ever had an advisory board for Lancaster Pride. We're working to continue our relationship, but also to more institutionalize some of these changes using some of our partners or with some of our partners and to spread the word that, you know, queer people exist in Lancaster and we're not going anywhere. And that there are different ways that people can do that, and working with the faith community and working with the LGBTQ+ community is one way that we can make this world a better place. MF: Have you found an inclusive religious community for yourself, or have you found a way to -- I guess just found inclusive community that can support your spiritual self, your full self? RA: So I would consider myself more spiritual than religious. [laughs] Sadly, religion really hasn't been my friend, or in some ways maybe, in other ways not so much. But, you know, I've attended several services for MCC denominations and for UCC, and they tend to be, you know, more inclusive and affirming. But those are really, you know, unless I'm going to like a baptism or a wedding where otherwise I wouldn't have a choice, I would much rather prefer an MCC or a UCC church. And we have so many, and I've been to the one in Lehigh Valley. Is Pastor Beth still here? MF: Yes, yes. RA: And there are a number in Lancaster as well. MF: We're about towards the end of our time, but before we conclude, I just want to give you some space. Is there anything you wanted to share today that you didn't get a chance to share? Anything that you think, oh, I wish I would have talked about this? RA: So if you're here listening to my story, yes, I'm hella involved. I strongly encourage you to be involved as well. But please don't compare yourself to others. Don't feel like you haven't done enough. I've had so many people say, "Wow, you're doing all of this, what am I doing with my life?" But it's okay. It's okay to take your time. It's okay to learn, to grow, and to be in your own space. I am just fortunate to have done this for well over a decade, and that I'm able to build strong relationships that I still keep to this day. And I really hope that some of my work inspires you to do the same. You know, whether you're ready or not, you know, we'll be here when you are. So, you know, thank you for listening and for, you know, being part of this story, and this process, and I hope that we can continue telling our stories and educating future generations on what we have been doing, not just here in the Lehigh Valley but beyond. MF: Thank you so much, Ricardo. I am inspired just sitting here with you. You are amazing. I'm a fan of yours and I'm grateful for all that you do. Thanks for being here today. RA: Oh, thank you. You're too kind. Thank you. Copyright for this oral history recording is held by the interview subject. video This oral history is made available with a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0). 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