At John Jay College, we actively aim to create an environment that promotes inclusivity, celebrates differences, and fosters fairness and equality for all. In honor of Pride Month, we’re applauding the strength, talent, and unity of John Jay’s LGBTQ+ community by featuring some of its proudest members.

Alumna Kiona Barnes ’21, a Staten Island, New York native and former Q’onnections mentor, knows the value of representation and inclusivity. “Growing up, I didn’t know much about the LGBTQ+ community because there weren’t many LGBTQ+ people on television and film, the national news stage, or in music. If there’s no representation of who you are in these public spaces, it’s very easy to feel like you’re an outsider,” says Barnes, who hopes to one day be a social worker that helps LGBTQ+ youth. “This year, for Pride, I want to help normalize and destigmatize the queer identity. During Pride Month, my friends and I are going around the city, introducing ourselves to strangers who are dressed in one of the Pride flag colors, and we’re talking positively about Pride and the LGBTQ+ community. The goal is to show others that people in the LGBTQ+ community are human beings who deserve to be seen and heard. They are worthy of love and respect.” We chatted with Barnes to learn more about their plans for Pride Month and how they hope to help LGBTQ+ youth in the future.

What does Pride Month mean to you?
To me Pride Month means being social, open to exploration, and connecting with the LGBTQ+ community. It means being accepting of others, listening to their story with an open mind and open heart, and learning about their experiences.

How have you celebrated Pride Month so far?
Since we’re still in a pandemic, many of the Pride Month celebrations have been online, but I have gone out and created my own mini Pride celebrations. I’ve gone to restaurants and parks in the City with my friends to celebrate. We have a little game, an “I Spy” kind of game, where we pick a Pride color and for the rest of the day, we look for that color throughout the City. So, let’s say the color is red, we’ll go up to a person who is wearing red and just strike up a conversation with them.

What are these conversations like and in what ways do they connect to Pride?
The conversations are just normal, everyday conversations. We ask them how they’re doing, what kind of day they’re having. Our goal is to be friendly and show what accepting others looks like. If they’re receptive and cool, we’ll tell them about our game and ask them for their pronouns, how they came into their pronouns, and how they realized who they truly are. Then we invite them to join us in the game for the rest of day. It’s a great way of meeting new people and humanizing queer identity, because together you’re celebrating the LGBTQ+ community.

Why is it important for our country to celebrate and acknowledge Pride Month?
While Pride might seem like a month filled with only fun parties and events, it’s also a moment for our community to reflect on the experiences the LGBTQ+ community has gone through and continue to go through. We’re still being discriminated against; we’re still being harassed and abused. We need to thank those who fought for our rights and remember those who have been lost. Our community has overcome so much, and we still have more to fight for. When we celebrate Pride Month and uplift our LGBTQ+ community, we’re letting the world know we exist, that we matter, and we deserve to be respected.

What do you hope that celebrating Pride Month gets accomplished?
I hope that this celebration of Pride helps expand who gets recognition within the LGBTQ+ community. I rarely hear about transgender and non-binary people in the community—we need to recognize their struggles and what they face. Also, I hope celebrating Pride helps destigmatize what being queer means. If it becomes part of the norm, we won’t need such a thing like coming out, we can simply just be.

What do you hope to see in the future for the LGBTQ+ community?
I want to see more representation of the LGBTQ+ community in every space—media, on our televisions, in our government, community leadership, and in our classroom. I would also love to see more racial and ethnic diversity represented in the LGBTQ+ community. Historically, the LGBTQ+ community has been represented by white people, but I never see indigenous people represented, I rarely see Hispanic people represented, and every now and then you see a few Black people representing the community.

What can people outside of the LGBTQ+ community do to be a true ally?
Do your research, whether it’s picking up books or watching a documentary or film, learn about the struggles faced by the LGBTQ+ community, try to understand and respect the culture, and then go out and support LGBTQ+ artists and businesses.

On a personal and immediate level, one of the things you can do is diversify your friend group so that it includes a member of the LGBTQ+ community. Once they’re in your circle, listen to this person, learn from them, and defend them when you see they’re being disrespected. For instance, let’s say you hear someone use the wrong gender pronoun when calling on your friend, calmly let them know that they’ve used the wrong pronoun. Or if you’re part of a team and you see a teammate being bullied because they happen to be LGBTQ+, stand up to the bully and call them out—having a peer stand up for you helps so much.

You mentioned wanting to be a social worker that helps LGBTQ+ youth. Can you tell us a bit about that and why it’s an important goal for you?
I feel like at the moment, the social work field isn’t very queer-friendly. I want to change that. I want to give members of the community, especially the youth, a safe space where they can be honest about their experiences and about what they’re feeling. I want them to know they are accepted and that they matter.

What would you like to say to John Jay’s LGBTQ+ community?
You should feel pride in your identity, not just this month but for the whole year. This is who you are. Love yourself. And if you don’t right now, it’s okay, because we love you, and we know that in time, you’ll learn to accept and love yourself.