“The Fourth of July is a celebration of freedom — not a celebration of the hope of freedom, not the promise of freedom, and certainly not the illusion of freedom.”

“On June 28, 1969, the police raided The Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village. It wasn’t the first time they had done this, but that night, the patrons stood up determined to make it the last.”

“The danger to transgender people in this country is real, and the need to stand up and fight alongside us is urgent. We are a small group. We need our allies.”

This is the first in a profile and interview series from the perspective of News columnist Iden Crockett that aims to highlight people who work in the arts in the Miami Valley, with a focus on those who create space for women, BIPOC and queer creatives.

“No election will fix this for us. It is no longer an option to put our heads down and wait out the next four years. There will always be some sly carnival barker waiting to exploit people’s ignorance.”

“People are complicated. We laugh, we love, we hope but, we also cry. We bleed, we despair. We scream. All of that is beautiful.”

“Now, I think about warmth because I know cold. Now, I think about quiet because I know noise. That is waking. That is living.”

The tone of debate in our country seems to lean ever further toward pettiness and argument. It is more  important than ever that we continue to lean in the opposite  direction and facilitate open, honest and respectful conversation.

“Friendships, romances, careers, children, writing and creating all take effort, and when you are depressed, that energy isn’t there, and that effort just doesn’t feel worth it.”

“What would it be like to watch yourself die? To be at the bedside, holding your own hand for your final breath?”