Members of the Black queer community in Alabama are uniting to fight for basic rights, and a new short documentary is highlighting their efforts, according to People.
The film project, called “Devoted to the Dream,” features interviews and testimonials from members of The Knights and Orchids Society (TKO), an organization run by Black trans and LGBTQ people and offers healthcare services, a food pantry, community groups, housing support and other resources to communities in need in Alabama and other Southern states.
“TKO was like the first time I felt like true community,” Peyton, a TKO faith program assistant, said in “Devoted to the Dream,” according to People. Peyton praised the organization, saying it “took me in like I was like one of their own. Especially in a time where I really needed it.”
In 2017, TKO became the first AIDS Service Organization and STD/STI clinic in Alabama, per the organization’s website. The group’s goal is to “help more Black trans, same-gender-loving, and Black queer folks access high-quality primary care and endocrinology services.”
Black trans filmmaker Tourmaline directed “Devoted to the Dream” as part of Unilever’s “United We Stand” (UWS) campaign, which aims to improve living conditions for LGBTQ people in areas identified by the Human Rights Campaign as severely non-inclusive for queer people.
Reeves also leads the strategy for the UWS campaign. The initiative supports communities in Rapid City, South Dakota; Jonesboro, Arkansas; Monroe, Louisiana; Moore, Oklahoma; Clemson, South Carolina; and Cape Girardeau, Missouri, according to People.
“The move to incorporate its LGBTQ+ work through the company, including sites that are in areas where there are few protections or services for LGBTQ+ people, continues to break new ground in the way corporations can work with our community” to bring about change, Rana Reeves said about Unilever. Reeves is CEO of RanaVerse, the creative agency that produced the “Devoted to the Dream” documentary.
“Seeing four of the program’s initial partner cities move up the HRC [Municipality Equality] Index was a great satisfaction, as it shows that change can happen if corporations are consistent and intentional in their support,” Reeves said.
Reeves noted that Unilever’s alignment with the LGBTQ community highlights what “equity in action looks like.”
“Based on the improvements we’ve seen in the majority of our UWS partner cities, we know that this program supports creating meaningful and measurable change in the lives of local LGBTQIA+ communities,” Unilever USA president Esi Eggleston Bracey said, according to People.
The full documentary can be seen below.
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