By Adam Johnson
HRC DFW Federal Club member
The HRC DFW Federal Club has a long history of educating and engaging the Dallas LGBTQ community in the spirit of ensuring basic rights for all LGBTQ people. That spirit is ever present at HRC Mondays—a free monthly speaker and cultural engagement series that seeks to shed light on political and social issues through an LGBTQ lens.
Held on the last Monday of every month, HRC Mondays cultivates community by inviting the public to learn more about our diverse experiences. Originally held as a social mixer, the event has since evolved into a speaker series and happy hour. Their host, Chino Chinatown in Trinity Groves, donates their space and gives part of their Equality Vodka sales back to the HRC DFW Federal Club.
Since its founding in 1987, “HRC DFW Federal Club has rooted itself within community engagement,” said Cozette Kosary, DFW HRC Marketing Committee Co-chair and the HRC Mondays coordinator. “We have a steering committee dedicated to finding and creating events that help to bridge gaps.” Our community can often feel self-segregated based on race, orientation and socio-economic class. By shedding light on the unique experiences within our community at large, the HRC DFW Federal Club is working to further unify us all.
In that pursuit, HRC Mondays has covered topics ranging from the SCOTUS Marriage Equality Anniversary and Transgender Civil Rights Awareness. August’s HRC Mondays focused on LGBTQ Youth Homelessness Awareness, and exhibited speakers from around Dallas who are working to end youth homelessness.
Join HRC Dallas next Monday, Sept. 25, at Chino Chinatown in Trinity Groves at 6:30 p.m. for the next HRC Mondays. This month’s event, Tales of DREAMers and DACA, will raise awareness about Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) with guest speakers Jose Manuel Santoyo and Jacqueline Espinal, who will be speaking on what it’s like to be DREAMers and their experiences with DACA.