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| Photo by the Community of Giving Legacy Initiative who sponsor MAP's youth employees to attend the UB Distinguished Speaker Series. |
By Caleb G
Maybe you've heard of the UB Speaker Series? It's when the University of Buffalo brings in these influential people from all walks of life. From transgender entertainer LaVerne Cox, who so far has been by favorite speaker to Eric Holder the former Attorney General.
This time around a woman known as Roxane Gay came and read a sample of her new book. Now the auditorium was so huge I could not see her, but I could definitely hear her as she read different mini-stories from her book. Roxane is so witty and comfortable in her own skin - she was oozing female empowerment. The number one topic she spoke about during her time at UB was:
just because she is a person of color who also identifies in the LGBT community, does not mean she knows how to solve the worlds problems, and being a part of an issue does not mean you have to shoulder all the responsibilities of the solution.Roxane Gay was vulgar gross, masculine, witty and blunt, but most of all she is a woman redefining what that means. Seeing a woman so successful and full of life brings a sense of hope for the girl next to me. My close female friend - who identifies as a queer woman of color - has the same chance of success and happiness.
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