Dallas City Councilman Omar Narvaez, left, and state Rep. Venton Jones, left, present the Kirk Myers-Hill Pioneer in Pride Award to Abounding Prosperity Inc, CEO Tamara Stephney
KAMILA VARGAS-GONZALEZ. |. Dallas Voice Intern
editor@dallasvoice.com
Tamara Stephney smiles as she stands beside Ahmad Goree, posing for photos and holding the award she has just received from the city of Dallas recognizing her efforts over the last year to pick up and carry on the work of her former boss, Kirk Myers-Hill, and keeping alive his legacy of putting community first.
Dallas Southern Pride COO and Director Ahmad Goree
The City of Dallas 2024 Pride in Excellence Awards Reception, held June 5, recognized and celebrated LGBTQ leaders in Dallas. For Stephney, chief executive officer of Abounding Prosperity Inc., receiving the Kirk Myers-Hill Pioneer in Pride Award, named in honor of her former boss, was even more icing on an already very festive cake.
Applause filled the lobby at City Hall, spurred on by Goree, Stephney’s colleague and long-time collaborator as well as chief operations officer and director of engagement of Dallas Southern Pride. Myers-Hill, former president of Dallas Southern Pride and chief executive officer and founder of AP Inc., passed away unexpectedly early in the morning of April 4, 2023.
“The biggest challenge yet has been losing Kirk Myers and [then] take on that torch and move forward,” Stephney said. “We know we have the skills; we are capable and very competent within Ahmad and myself and our team.”
Since Myers-Hill’s death in 2023, Stephney has taken on the role of CEO for AP Inc., and Goree has taken on the leadership of Dallas Southern Pride. Over the last 15 months, the two of them have been at the forefront of celebrating the Black LGBTQ community while providing health, social and economic services at the Juneteenth Unity Festival.
As part of the effort to uplift the Black LGBTQ community, Dallas Southern Pride hosts an annual Juneteenth Unity Festival. This year’s festival was held June 13-16, featuring several different events at different locations, kicking off on June 13 with the Mr. and Miss Dallas Southern Pride Pageant. The weekend also included a welcome deception and “Houston Invades Dallas” party on June 14, along with a pool party featuring performances by Sukihana, Big Tuck, Lil Wil, Tum Tum, VickeeLo and HaSizzle on June 15. The weekend-long celebration wrapped up June 16 with the Trap Brunch and Dive event. I
“The [Juneteenth] Unity Festival weekend is not just about fun; it’s about social issues,” Goree said. “We have health screenings; we do voter registration; we have career opportunities. So, it’s a community aspect that’s bringing in not just the Black LGBT community, but also the Black families in and anybody that wants to celebrate Juneteenth and Pride.”
Stephney, Goree and their team spent the first half of Pride Month preparing for this year’s Testing for Tickets initiative, presented as part of the AP Inc./Dallas Southern Pride partnership. The initiative offers free tickets to Dallas Southern Pride’s Juneteenth Unity Festival to anyone who participates in AP Inc.’s free HIV rapid testing pop-ups, usually found at local Dallas clubs or bars.
“We tie in [a health disparity] that we’re fighting as well to try to promote and honor Juneteenth and Pride,” Stephney explained.
Testing for Tickets, Goree added, is a powerful partnership between the two organizations: On June 12, as people arrived to party at Marty’s LIVE, the AP Inc. team was also arriving in their large mobile unit, filled with everything from HIV rapid testing to Juneteenth Unity Festival tickets. Stephanie Jordan, AP Inc.’s testing and outreach coordinator, was there to get everything set up for the night.
“[I go] home every night knowing that … my community is having fun during [Pride] Month, but we’re also getting them tested, getting them to know their status and allowing them to have a new outlook to say, ‘There is PrEP for me,’ or ‘There’s still life after my diagnosis’,” Jordan said.
She and the rest of the team stayed at Marty’s LIVE past midnight offering testing for tickets. As busy as she and the team were, though, Jordan took the time to stop and acknowledge the work that Stephney and Goree have been doing.
“I would just like to thank Miss Tamara and Ahmad for allowing the community to have such a great [Juneteenth] weekend and an opportunity to connect with each other and continue to push the needle forward,” Jordan said.
AP Inc. offers free STI tests and treatment year-round as well as mental health services, educational workshops and programs and volunteer opportunities. “We want to not forget that it’s about a healthier tomorrow. It’s about a healthier community moving forward,” Stephney said.
For more information visit AboundingProsperity.org and DallasSouthernPride.com.