Images: Rommel Demano for BFA
Last month, The Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative (SIGBI) hosted its inaugural Stonewall Inn Brick Awards Gala’ in New York City. The group, which is the charitable arm of the historic queer bar, celebrated SIGBI's Safe Spaces Initiative and showcased queer leaders from around the globe.
Among those honored were Pose’s Dominique Jackson (Icon Award), Human Rights Activist Dr. Frank Mugisha (Global Activist Award), The GenderCool Project (Youth Courage Award), Stoli’s LGBTQ Ambassador Patrik Gallineaux (Safe Spaces Champion Award), and ACLU’s Amber Hikes (Community Activist Award).
“It lets me know that I’m seen,” Jackson said. “It shows me that my visibility is recognized and my voice is heard.”
During her speech, she said that embracing her trans identity would hopefully show her trans siblings "that we can have great lives, but we will have to try hard to get it."
Jackson explained that she found safe spaces that help her be who she is — the first space that felt truly safe to her was in ballroom culture in her first House with Shakira Revlon, Tiffany Revlon, and Miss Marty.
“That was a safe space that set the tone because I was homeless. I was fresh, I was confused. I knew nothing about the world,” the actress said. “Shakira and Tiffany took me in, they didn’t care where I was from. All they knew was that I was a human being that they thought was beautiful and they wanted me to feel secure.”
She added: “That was a space where I felt so happy. Because even if there was 4, 5, 6 of us sleeping on a mattress, once we closed those doors, we knew we were safe because we had each other.”
The night was emceed by the iconic drag star Peppermint and featured performances from The Dragon Sisters and Jackie Beat, and a DJ set from Lady Bunny. Other guests in attendance included actor Nico Tortorella, former professional soccer player Ali Krieger, performers Lorna Luft and J. Harrison Ghee, comedians Murray Hill & Jeff Hiller, drag queen Yuhua Hamasaki, content creator Ian Paget, SIGBI CEO and The Stonewall Inn Co-Owner Stacy Lentz, SIGBI Co-Founder and The Stonewall Inn Co-Owner Kurt Kelly, among others.
Check out pics from the night below. Images are by Rommel Demano for BFA.
Image: Rommel Demano for BFA
Image: Rommel Demano for BFA
Image: Rommel Demano for BFA
Image: Rommel Demano for BFA
Image: Rommel Demano for BFA
Image: Rommel Demano for BFA
Image: Rommel Demano for BFA
Image: Rommel Demano for BFA
Image: Rommel Demano for BFA
Image: Rommel Demano for BFA
Image: Rommel Demano for BFA
Image: Rommel Demano for BFA
Image: Rommel Demano for BFA
Image: Rommel Demano for BFA
Image: Rommel Demano for BFA
Image: Rommel Demano for BFA
Image: Rommel Demano for BFA
Image: Rommel Demano for BFA
Image: Rommel Demano for BFA
Image: Rommel Demano for BFA
Image: Rommel Demano for BFA
Image: Rommel Demano for BFA
Image: Rommel Demano for BFA
Image: Rommel Demano for BFA
Image: Rommel Demano for BFA
Image: Rommel Demano for BFA
Image: Rommel Demano for BFA
Image: Rommel Demano for BFA
Image: Rommel Demano for BFA
Image: Rommel Demano for BFA
Image: Rommel Demano for BFA
Image: Rommel Demano for BFA
Image: Rommel Demano for BFA
Image: Rommel Demano for BFA
Image: Rommel Demano for BFA
Image: Rommel Demano for BFA
Image: Rommel Demano for BFA
Image: Rommel Demano for BFA
Image: Rommel Demano for BFA
Image: Rommel Demano for BFA
Image: Rommel Demano for BFA
Image: Rommel Demano for BFA
Image: Rommel Demano for BFA
Image: Rommel Demano for BFA
Image: Rommel Demano for BFA
Image: Rommel Demano for BFA
Image: Rommel Demano for BFA
Image: Rommel Demano for BFA
Image: Rommel Demano for BFA
Image: Rommel Demano for BFA
Image: Rommel Demano for BFA
Image: Rommel Demano for BFA
Image: Rommel Demano for BFA
Image: Rommel Demano for BFA
Image: Rommel Demano for BFA
Image: Rommel Demano for BFA
Image: Rommel Demano for BFA
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