Bronx LGBT Expo Pays Tribute to Jose Ramon
BY TAT BELLAMY-WALKER
Pride Month continued in
the Bronx on June 17 when
the community joined together
for the annual Bronx
LGBT Expo, which brought
attention to a wide range of
LGBTQ issues, from HIV/
AIDS to substance use and
mental health.
The borough-wide expo,
held at 2134 Barnes Ave., in
the Bronx, followed the death
of Bronx LGBT Expo and
White Shirt Project founder
Jose Ramon, who passed away
earlier this year after a battle
with ALS. His long-time best
friend, Connie Pacheco, was
tapped to continue the advocate’s
work through the Bronx
LGBT Expo, and this year’s
event helped raise awareness
about that cause.
Pacheco, who donned a
rainbow jumpsuit and colorful
eyeliner, organized this
year’s event and said she is
honored to keep Ramon’s mission
alive.
“I’m doing this in memory
and tribute to his life and legacy
and to the work that he
did,” Pacheco said. “’I loved
Joey.’ Who didn’t love Joey?
He took people from different
walks of life, different socioeconomic
backgrounds, different
involvements within
the community, and created a
whole family of individuals.”
Dozens upon dozens of
Bronx residents, including
several community agencies
and queer businesses, were
in attendance during the evening
portion of a two-part
LGBT Expo that started in the
afternoon. The event space
was transformed within minutes
from a stage for panelists
to a dance floor and a ballroom
runway. The event was hosted
by HIV/AIDS advocate Jomil
Luna of the AIDS Healthcare
Foundation and legendary
“comedy queen” Harmonica
Sunbeam.
Ramon started the Bronx
LGBT Expo in 2019 following
the White Shirt Project,
which called attention to mental
health issues and stigma.
The Bronx LGBT Expo helps
connect LGBTQ individuals
to community organizations
and provides them a safe
space to gather during Pride
Month. However, Pacheco had
said Bronx LGBTQ residents
are not always in the know
about the local resources for
mental health.
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, J 8 UNE 25-JULY 1, 2021 BTR
Sean Coleman, the founder
and executive director of the
Bronx LGBTQ center Destination
Tomorrow, which sponsored
the event space, said
LGBTQ individuals are still
struggling to access mental
health services because of the
pandemic.
“Mental health is not prioritized
within Black and
Brown communities, and COVID
exacerbated that problem,”
Coleman said. “We need
more mental health providers
that understand transgender,
gender-non-conforming, and
non-binary folk.”
Tenecia Williams, a
38-year-old transgender man
of the Bronx who attended
the Bronx LGBT Expo, knows
this issue all too well. Since
the pandemic started, he has
faced several backlogged mental
health clinics.
“I started my transition
and needed therapy for that,
and the process was extremely
excruciating to even connect
with anyone,” he said. “It was
a lot of back and forth phone
tag. I know it’s not deliberate.
It’s just an overwhelming sea
of a need for mental health
right now, and it’s not a lot of
hands-on.”
Even as he made efforts to
connect to care, barriers stood
in the way.
“It took me two to three
months to find the right mental
health assistance for me,”
he said. “Due to the pandemic,
not going in-person, the Zoom,
the Wifi messing up, the phone
calls back and forth, the cry
for more help, and the understaffing.”
Despite these challenges,
Williams said coming to the
Bronx LGBT Expo gave him
hope.
“I felt connected, and I
felt a source of family…it’s
a beautiful thing when you
know you’re not alone,” Williams
said. “We got together
to do this — there are so many
things in the future. Let me
press forward — I have something
to look forward to.”
- courtesy of Gay City News
Harmonica Sunbeam hosted the Bronx LGBT Expo on June 17.
Photo Tat Bellamy-Walker