Milwaukeean Becomes the Intersection of #BLM and Pride

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Photo courtesy of Montell Ross

Montell Ross organized a March with Pride for #BlackLivesMatter in Milwaukee on Sunday, June 7, 2020, which would have been the last day of PrideFest.

Between protests erupting in every state and conversations surrounding systemic racism coming to the forefront of nightly news, the country is witnessing the height of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. Meanwhile, it is still Pride month which marks the anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall Riots. Both Black Lives Matter and gay rights movements reflect a need for social, political and economic change in America for these marginalized communities.

As a way to intersect these two movements, Montell Ross organized a March with Pride for #BlackLivesMatter in Milwaukee on June 7. Off the Cuff caught up with Ross to ask a few questions about his activism.

When did your activism for the LGTBQ+ and Black community begin?

My activism for the Black LGBTQ+ began in the early 2000s. I was part of a black gay men's organization by the name of “The House of Infiniti/ Infiniti Inc.” Infiniti Inc. was a 501c3 non-profit organization geared towards the education/prevention and awareness of HIV/STIs with the black gay, bisexual, and trans community. We were gay black men here in Milwaukee that all carried a passion for helping the community in anyway that would move the needle of progression forward for us. We started with doing outreach events with a condom distribution component added into us receiving funding from the city of Milwaukee and the state HIV/AIDS program to conduct outreach events, group level interventions and one-on-one counseling. I always say those men “saved me"”in a sense so it was my duty to keep “saving"”others.

Why was organizing the March with Pride for #BlackLivesMatter in Milwaukee important for you to do?

Making sure that I played a key role in organizing the "March with Pride for #blacklivesmatter" here in Milwaukee was solely off frustration. I didn’t see any acknowledgment, efforts or movement being done on behalf of our PrideFest committee, board or president. I knew it was going to be PridefestMKE weekend originally but with COVID-19 we knew our PrideFest was canceled for this year. I wanted to see where the committee or the organization was going to step up and coordinate something in solidarity of what was going on across the nation. Well, that never happened, and I saw a post on Facebook that fueled me to say to myself, “well, if they’re not going to do it, you have to.” I then went on Facebook live with a “plea” asking the community to join me and walk with Pride for Black Lives Matter. I thought that was the only way to see if folks were feeling the same way I was.

Well, come to find out, many were waiting for something like this to be coordinated by Pridefest but didn’t know what route to take to making it happen. I then was reached out to by a gentleman (who’s now a great friend) named Angel Vega. He had been walking and protesting with all the protest that had been happening in the city. He had a team of volunteers that were all wanting to make my frustration into a reality. We met. We talked. We organized, we got more people involved, and the rest is now something I feel will be historic for the queer community of Milwaukee.

How successful was the march? Were you satisfied with the outcome? 

The march was extremely successful. We had several organizations and businesses involved with support and donations. We had speakers, both community leaders and LGBTQ+ politicians, we had former senators in attendance, we had the current Sheriff of Milwaukee in attendance and providing any assistance needed. The community came out in MASS numbers to where we had over 2000 community members, supporters and allies all in attendance. I couldn’t have asked for a better turn out than what occurred on that Sunday. 

What is the next step for you in your activism?

What's next for me in my activism is continuing with the education of important matters that evoke change. I want to continue pushing the conversations of systematic racism and oppression, and how structural change is needed in order for us to see a difference. I want to continue with evoking conversations amongst groups that normally wouldn’t converse. I plan to take this activism to a new level within my life by becoming even more of a community leader, not just in the LGBTQ+ community, but also in our Black community. I don’t know why but there’s a calling that is steadily telling me, “Montell, something is bigger for you out there and you have to be willing to walk thru the fire to see it.” Well, I’m ready for that journey.

What can people do to support the Black Lives Matter movement and LGTBQ+ communities in Milwaukee?

What I feel people can do to support the Black Lives Matter movement and the LGBTQ+ communities in Milwaukee is start having those hard-to-have convos on racism, systematic racism, cultural appropriation and sensitivity, and being open to what you don’t know. Many of us have been so “programmed” in many different manners, whether it’s from family tradition, to values, from school, learning from others or just not being knowledgeable at all within that realm. It’s time we “reprogram” ourselves as people and learn where the gaps have failed us and learn to fill those gaps with knowledge, power and perseverance.

For more of our coverage of the protests occurring across Milwaukee, click here.

To read more stories from our Off the Cuff series, click here.

To read more stories by Christina McAlister, click here.