Join us for a space of community, conversation, resource-sharing and visioning together around our shared work in and for LGBTQIA+ communities in Harlem.

This event will include a breakfast (beginning at 9:30 am), a guest speaker, and shared networking and conversation space where a collective of representatives from Harlem-area organizations, institutions and community groups will lift up the work we do, the needs we meet and what we hope to build for LGBTQIA+ community in the neighborhood.

It will be a space to dream together and imagine the ways we can support each other's work and partner together into the future. We will close with lunch from 12-1:00 pm.

We hope you will join us for an event with representatives from across the fields serving LGBTQIA+ folks in mental/emotional, medical/embodied, spiritual care and beyond.

The Keynote Speaker: Betty Pierre

Betty Pierre, LMSW is a Haitian American Social Worker, Poet and Activist who lives, writes, and performs poetry in New York and Florida. She is the author of a poetry collection Babel 2007 (Infinity Publishing). Multilingual, she weaves Creole, French and Spanish into her poems reaching broad audiences with the scope of her pieces. She has published in community newspapers and received an Editor’s Choice Award from the International Library of Poetry (2006). She is a recognized Writer’s Digest International book award poet. She received a World of Poetry merit certificate for her poem Once the Bountiful. Her powerful poem Who is Jane? was published in the International Women’s Writers Guild Black History Month journal (2021). Her landmark poem, Who will Save the Children addressed the issues of child abuse. She is currently working on finalizing her second poetry collection, Nothing in Isolation. She is a member of the Bronx Council of the Arts, The National Writers Union, and the International Women’s Writer’s Guild.

She merges social activism and art to raise awareness about Domestic Violence, Human Trafficking, Sexual Assault and Runaway Homeless Youth. As a social work leader, she implemented many initiatives to improve child wellbeing for children in adolescents in foster care, and the critical need to provide secondary education to foster care youth. She organized Child Commercial and Sex Trafficking Prevention, and Domestic Violence conference for hundreds of attendees. She designed several group curriculums for working with parenting Spanish families, adolescents, and young children (6-12 years of age). She developed protocols for inter-county jurisdictional agreements, child fatality prevention, training and is currently working on initiatives to combat institutional racism.

Opening Ceremony Facilitator: Imani Rashid

Imani Rashid is a respected educator, community organizer, writer, activist, Yoruba Priest, motivational speaker, mentor, event curator and institution builder. Born in New York City, she was given the name Betty Bullen and later adopted the name Imani Rashid that was given to her by her partner Naema in 1975. Naema thought her name should be more meaningful. Imani Rashid means, "rightly guided", "true faith" and "the high one".

Imani managed to complete her undergraduate education at NYU as a member of AKA sorority despite suffering from undiagnosed narcolepsy. As a graduate student she studied Education and Human Development with Dr. Jeanne L. Noble; a renowned educator, author, activist and first African American woman to be made full professor at NYU. An activist was born, when Dr. Noble chose her to be part of the 1960's team who travelled throughout the states integrating schools. She had a front-row seat to observe the dichotomy, the disparity and the disappointment that segregation brought.

Imani Rashid has been a Harlem resident for decades and presently helps to lead senior citizen workshops in Tai Chi and Qi Gong. She believes intergenerational networking is the only way to move forward. As a black queer elder Imani is truly grateful for all the queer and trans youth for whom she has become a mentor and spiritual guide. Her trans men mentee's remind her of her bestie, lesbian activist Maua Flowers, who founded Salsa Soul Sisters, one of the oldest black lesbian organizations in the USA.

"I am truly living a sacred life of reciprocity, whatever I impart is given back and more."