by MacArthur H. Flournoy
November 29, 2016
Arise 2.0 is an invitation, an aspiration – a prayer. Arise 2.0 is born out of an earnest desire to create a space for the collective voices of LGBT people of color and our allies. This is our time.
Since the founding of Arise, the print publication in the year 2000, our world has changed dramatically. However, what remains constant is the urgent need for us to tell our own stories, offer our distinct narratives – using our own voice. As the gospel lyricist writes “you can’t tell it – like I can tell it.” Arise 2.0 is our space “tell it.” Unapologetically.
Let’s decline any invitation to dumb down the magnitude and magnificence of our lives for the convenience or comfort of others.
Let’s lift our voices with authenticity, in the spirit of ferocious truth-telling, speaking to the complexity, beauty and expressed lived reality of our lives. In the wisdom expressed by Mordecai in the book of Esther I believe “we were born for such a time as this.” Life happens in every breath. Let’s breathe a fresh volume of voices into this moment in time.
Arise 2.0 will only be as strong as our ability to share our unique experiences from the youngest amongst us to the most seasoned, each culture, every ethnicity, every expressed sexual identity and gender expression. I personally invite you to summon the four corners of the earth and invite everyone you know to submit posts and articles to Arise 2.0.
In keeping in with the last sentence of the publishers editorial, in the inaugural edition I wrote sixteen years ago – Let’s proceed from “and so the the journey begins” to “and so the journey continues.” Join us. Arise. Arise 2.0!
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