Pride Month in June allows us, as a community, not just time to celebrate being ourselves and those in our lives that are members of the LGBTQ community, but also the chance to learn and grow. In doing our due diligence on learning and engaging with those involved and supportive of the LGBTQ community, and as part of that celebration, we spoke to one of The Mighty Oak’s most engaged fans, Ann Arbor sitting councilperson Travis Radina, about his story and some thoughts and history of Pride.
Radina may not be from Ann Arbor, but he quickly knew it would be his eventual home. From Frankenmuth, Radina noted how loving and accepting his family was, but also how the community itself was a bit more sheltered and lacked diversity. He would attend the University of Michigan from 2004-08, and would fall in love with the city. He took a quick detour to Lansing to work for Mark Schauer’s campaign and eventually ended up as Kate Segal’s legislative director, but he would return to work as an alumni director for the university that he simply couldn’t pass up.
Radina’s advocacy stemmed back to his time as a student, but it only continued to grow upon his return to the city. Encouragement from friends took him to the Jim Toy Center where he was elected secretary within a year, and president a year after that.
During his time at Jim Toy Center as its president, Radina would also eventually become the LGBTQ Liasion to Mayor Christopher Taylor, eventually giving up that position to run, and ultimately gain election to, Ann Arbor’s city council. However, it was always that communal spirit that drove him to the position of elected official, saying, “I have always had a love of politics, but honestly it was through my local advocacy and working with folks on some of the issues I cared most about that I realized I could have a broader impact.”
Of his time at Jim Toy Center, Radina spoke glowingly. Its helping in establishing an official Ann Arbor Pride along with its other work in the community make it an excellent safe space for members of the LGBTQ community, and Radina also made sure to emphasize the work done by Toy himself, who remains beloved amongst the Ann Arbor community as a whole. Radina noted that the naming of the center after Toy was well-warranted for someone who has made a tremendous impact on so many lives.
Radina also discussed Ann Arbor Pride, held not in June, but rather the first weekend of August. There is a logical reason for that, Radina noted, and one targeted on including as many people as possible, as he said, “One of the things that we thought was really important was not trying to cannibalize the attendees or the sponsorship dollars of other prides in the area.” He would add, “Why should we be limited to one month when we’ve got an entire summer to celebrate.
Initially held in October as OUTfest, to correspond with National Coming Out Day on October 11, Radina noted that the typical Michigan weather in October combined with the incorporation of the smaller Washtenaw County Pride Picnic under the Jim Toy Center banner called for one more unified organized gathering. The new event marks an end to a two-month-long calendar full of Pride events that traditionally starts on the first weekend of June with Ypsilanti Pride and ends in Ann Arbor.
There is, of course, much more to Pride than just celebrations, and Radina is very aware of this. Many of the city’s issues relate directly to the LGBTQ community, and, as Radina put it, “It doesn’t have to have the words LGBTQ or pride in it to impact the community.” He cited homelessness and housing as a whole as a key issue that disproportionately affects LGBTQ people.
For people that do not identify as LGBTQ, being an ally is vitally important for the continued protection of LGBTQ rights everywhere. But how one acts as an ally is significantly more important than just considering one’s self to be one. Radina acknowledges this not just in the context of the constant struggle for LGBTQ civil rights but also in any social issue, saying, “Allyship, in general, is just about continuing to center and lift up those folks who are marginalized. I’m a member of the LGBTQ community but I still recognize that I have pretty significant privilege as a cisgender white guy living in relative financial comfort.”
Key to allyship is the idea that those with privilege need to lift up those voices that may not come from those who have the same privilege as us so that they can be heard.
Where does soccer fit into Radina’s life? All his life, he says, Radina has loved the sport. Attending games is a highlight of the summer, but Radina notes that that isn’t what makes him proud to be a supporter. “The work through The Mighty Oak Youth Project or this new partnership with MBK, all of that work [and] the civil rights and social justice work that the club does to make sure that it is showing as much support for its fans and its community that the community does for it. I think that’s what really makes me love AFC Ann Arbor.”
We appreciate what Travis Radina has done for LGBTQ rights here and Ann Arbor and continues to do as an elected official. We remain committed to doing the same and listening to those whose stories need to be told, and assisting those whose voices in our communities need raising.