L to R: La’Tasha, Kelly, Lois
Kelly: If you come to my house and I’m having a “family” gathering, 99.9% of the people there are not related to me by blood. They’re related to me by common bonds, they’re related to me by commitment, they’re related to me by love. These two women have been willing to be a part of that family for a lot of years, even though we’ve had differences of opinions, we’ve had misunderstandings. They are the people in my life who I know have my back. They are people who are committed to making sure that the lives of my granddaughters and my grandsons are better than they were when they were born.
La’Tasha: It’s been many years since I came out to my mother, but you’ve got to keep coming out. You’ve got to go deeper with it and have conversations. My mom wanted to know “Why?” “What happened,” “What did I do?” And I’m like, this is who I am. It’s not a reflection on you, it’s not about you. I think not being able to be yourself puts distance between you and people in your family if you’re not out to them. Because you’re ducking and dodging – “Where are you going?” “Where have you been?” “Who are you going with?” “Who are you talking to?” You know, these very basic things. It’s just so freeing when you can be yourself.
Lois: I had a cousin who was in New York and she came down to a family reunion and she brought a friend with her, who was definitely butch. And after that, we didn’t see her anymore at any events. Nobody said anything, but knowing that my cousin was coming down two to three times per year, and then after that one time not seeing her anymore it’s just like, wait a minute here. That’s just wrong. It doesn’t matter to me who a person is or what they do because we all are humans. If you come from a place of heartfelt love anybody has the opportunity to be in your life.