Audio
Episode 7: Gina Mallisham, Marketing Manager at BCRI, on her LGBTQ+ Advocacy Work
Transcript
Welcome to We Will Rise: National Parks in Civil Rights. Close your eyes and imagine a national park. Are you picturing waterfalls and mountains? Or do you think of Dr. King's childhood home? Japanese internment camps at a school that became a battleground for racial integration? National parks aren't just wilderness. They are spaces of remembrance, founded to preserve the stories of who we are and how we came to be. National parks inspire us to do better, be better, to climb mountains both physical and figurative. Join park rangers, researchers, authors, and activists as we discuss with liberty and justice for all means on our public land. And we are recording.
Ranger: Hello, everybody. My name is Kat, and I'm a park ranger at Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument. And today I am so excited to be with Gina Mallisham. She is a Tuscaloosa native who works as the marketing manager at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, and she also serves as secretary of the Central Alabama Pride Board of Directors and one of the founding members of Mayor Randall Woodfin's LGBTQ+ Advisory Board. She is also part of the year round staff at Sidewalk and Film Center, where she works as the Shout LGBTQ+ Outreach Coordinator. So I don't know what you don't do, Ms. Gina, but it's always a joy to work with you, and I really appreciate you taking some time out of your schedule to be here to have this conversation with me.
Gina Mallisham: Thank you for having me. I'm excited to do this.
Ranger: Yeah. So I'll start with my first question. So, Birmingham, Alabama, isn't often one of the first places that come to people's minds when they think of queer-friendly spaces. Yet, when we were first emailing about this interview, you shared a number of things about the Magic City that sounded quite remarkable in terms of how this place shows up for LGBTQ+ folks. So I'd love you to talk about what you feel is commendable, about how Birmingham serves and welcomes its LGBTQ+ population, and then also what advances still need to be made.
Mallisham: Yeah, definitely. Birmingham is a very, very welcoming community for all different kinds of people, and that includes transgender individuals and gender diverse youth. And the Magic City has seen so many seasons of progress and perseverance. Our queer community has shown, even in difficult times, that we're capable of becoming better and emerging stronger every single time. And our city has proudly achieved its highest ever total raw score of 108 on the Human Rights Campaign Municipal Equality Index, which we call the MEI. And we also earned an All Star for the MEI, and that's a status for our perfect score, despite Alabama status as a state without any nondiscrimination statutes that expressly protect LGBTQ people. And this 10th edition of the MEI actually examines how inclusive municipal laws and policies and services are of LGBTQ people who live and work there. And so that's just one of many, I can go on and on and on about how affirming the city of Birmingham is.
Ranger: Wow. I'm not familiar with the MEI. Could you repeat that one more time? What does that stand for?
Mallisham: Yeah. That is the Human Rights Campaign's Municipal Equality Index, or the MEI.
Ranger: Oh, that's so amazing. So, Birmingham’s score you said was 108.
Mallisham: That's right. Out of it, we got up to 108. Having come from a score so low, I won't even mention it ahead of our current mayor.
Ranger: Oh, wow. Is there like a maximum score or is it just like the more points you get, the better? Like in a basketball game. Okay.
Mallisham: Right. The more points you get, the better. And then we also have got world class medical care here and human rights activism that's driven by some of the most ambitious social justice leaders. All of them are leading not just for the City of Birmingham, but setting an example for other states, particularly Southern states. We're home to one of the nation's oldest pride organizations, Central Alabama Pride is the state's largest pride organization and we're a nonprofit group of unpaid board members. And we're committed to spreading the message of equality every year with the production of our queer Pride events. And we bring together people from all over Alabama, really the Southeast. Most recently, we clocked over 25,000 attendees at our twelve days of Pride in 2022.
Ranger: Wow.
Mallisham: We are just showing continued growth every year. And another thing I'm proud of is the New South Softball League. It's based right here in Birmingham and it started in 1982. It's even older than me. And it's a member of NAGAAA, which is the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance. And NAGAAA is a nonprofit international organization and it's made up of folks that are dedicated to promoting amateur athletics for the queer community. And our new south teams compete in tournaments all over the country and they do really well. And I'm not sure if it's the longest, but it's one of the longest running queer sports organizations in the nation.
Ranger: I love that. And Hannah and I have been talking about this. Hannah is one of the interns that's been working with us this summer and just the role and importance of play and sports as a means of building relationships and bridging differences between people. And I had never heard of the Athletic League that you mentioned in your email and just now before, but I just love that that's a part of the movement here in Birmingham as opportunities for joy and levity and play.
Mallisham: That's right. Yeah. On top of the things that are really important for us, the things that we wake up and forget our actual privileges for us. Our LGBTQ Advisory Board here in the city is constantly working to develop healthy, thriving, queer, inclusive community for the residents so that we can live openly and freely across all segments of our society, free of forms of discrimination and oppression. And we're really focused on continually improving the climate, the civic climate for queer residents and their allies through education and advocacy for inclusive policies. Most recently, we championed gender neutral restrooms and all of the city-owned facilities with single-occupancy stalls. And we're working on reducing the queer homeless youth population in Birmingham. It's a problem not just in our city, but in cities all across the world. And so we've got a really strategic focus on queer and trans people of color. And we're doing this by advocating for organizations like AIDS Alabama's Way Station, which is a project that exists to serve queer and trans people of color, specifically. And we're always looking for collaborations and ways to elevate the needs of the community on the advisory board. The Civil Rights Institute and the Invisible Histories Project are currently working to elevate the stories and issues facing marginalized groups within the queer community with an upcoming gallery project that we just can't wait to present to the world next year. Yes, I want to tell you more about it, but it's a surprise.
Ranger: Okay. I'll have to wait.
Mallisham: Stay tuned.
Ranger: I’ll have to be patient.
Mallisham: Follow @BhamCivilRights to learn more about that.
Ranger: Okay, cool.
Mallisham: Yeah. And then, of course, there's a carefully cultivated network of affirming healthcare professionals and prevention specialists, and we're working to reduce health disparities among Birmingham's queer residents. We organize our efforts to combat rising rates of...new rates of COVID, STIs, STDs, HIV infections in Birmingham. And we are home to a lot of organizations that offer affirming addiction and rehab care, hormone replacement therapy, mental health services that can better quantify and respond to the health needs of our community, which are really specific. And folks from all over the Southeast travel to Birmingham to get their affirming healthcare.
Ranger: Wow. I did not know that. And why do you think that Birmingham has become that kind of a space in the south?
Mallisham: Right. Well, of course, we can look to our municipal support, for sure. We can look to the fact that we have a high population here, and any place with a high population is going to have a high queer population. But, we're home to Alabama's first LGBTQ primary care facility. We're home to the University of Alabama at Birmingham, which is just world class health care. And the research centers that we have here in Birmingham lead to an awareness of the need and an answering of the need, which is something that the Magic City has always done, is seeing a need and filled it.
Ranger: Wow, so beautiful.
Mallisham: I'm very proud.
Ranger: Yeah, I can see it. You've got this big smile on your face and, like, what a cool...I mean, you already do so much in your work at the Institute, but I imagine that in addition to the very fulfilling work that you do here, that is also something that is incredibly fulfilling and as you mentioned, a huge need. Yeah. Thank you for doing that work.
Mallisham: I love doing it.
Ranger: So, taking a pivot to civil rights education. We of course know each other through collaborating on civil rights history education, specifically the story of the 1950s and the movement led by the African American community here in Birmingham and the rest of the south. What to you are the similarities and differences between the pursuit of civil rights for African Americans and the pursuit of civil rights for the queer community?
Mallisham: Well, I tell you, that is a very good question. It is also a very controversial question. So first we have to recognize that a lot of folks reject the notion that the queer struggle and Black American struggle can't even be compared. The concept really angers some Black Americans who view it as an attempt by a privileged white community to claim a type of victimhood that is distinct from the Black experience in America, even while others view such brave dialogue very favorably. And I would say that I'm of the latter. And so for the sake of courageous conversation, we can note that Black Americans and gays have been targeted because of who they are. And both African Americans and gays have been denied equal access to rights, responsibilities and protections that the Constitution provides. And I think immediately to civil rights icon Julian Bond who was asked about this same connection between the Black civil rights movement and its gay counterpart a couple of years ago. And he told PBS that it was the, quote, immutable characteristics of the individuals that mattered. He said that it's not that these movements are taking from us because the Black movement took from other movements before it. We took from the labor movement and he never heard of anybody from the labor movement complaining about it. And we ought to be proud of this and say, look what we did. We created a model that other people have followed. And that's very much what we do here at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute is examine these blueprints for transformation in societies so that we can apply them in a contemporary way to make life better for us as we move forward.
Ranger: I love that and I think that really gets at the strategy behind the movement. I think something that I've observed that's often lacking, especially in elementary education in regards to the movement is things are framed in sort of this spontaneous way. Rosa Parks got tired one day and didn't want to give up her seat. No, she was part of the movement. She was part of the NAACP. She and her husband were organizers. There was a lot of strategy. And same thing with even just looking at selective buying campaigns in Birmingham. The language that was used, instead of saying boycott, which was illegal in the state of Alabama at the time, calling it a selective buying campaign, demonstrating all the strategy, all the planning that went into it. And by studying the planning, we do get a blueprint for how social justice reform can occur in other sectors of society. And that is one of the wonderful legacies and gifts of the civil rights movement is there is this incredible blueprint of success of this amazing nonviolent movement.
Mallisham: Yeah, that's right. And one other thing I'll note in comparison of both movements is that the messaging is the most important. And I don't just say that as a comms professional, but when you organize your party, be it a political party or a social justice group, if you can organize and really narrow in on what that narrative should be, that is the most crucial part. And you can be so strategic that people don't really recognize that strategy. It gets so nuanced that all we remember is the change that came. But we really do have to focus on what made that change come.
Ranger: Amazing. So question about intersectionality. What does intersectionality mean in the context of civil rights? And how can an understanding of intersectionality help us to empathize more deeply with the most marginalized among us?
Mallisham: Well, first I have to say that I feel like you picked my brain when you picked this question because intersectionality, you can ask anyone who's ever had a conversation like this with me is very important to me because I live in several intersections as a Black woman, as a woman, a woman in the south, a religious woman, a queer-identified woman. There's a lot of intersections just within Gina. And so this is definitely a topic that moves me on a regular basis. I think immediately to Bayard Rustin's humanitarian contributions that are just so much far deep and queer equality, or even equality for Black Americans. He was the chief organizer of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. And so few people know about his accomplishments because in the sixties he was considered to be a liability. He was considered to be a gay ex-communist, but he was so much more. And most of us, even those of us within the queer community, live with some type of privilege, whether it's racial, class, education, being cisgendered or able-bodied or straight. And I think that the interconnected nature of these social categorizations are always going to overlap and therefore they're always going to create interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage. And we're all just existing in a human experience and maintaining a compassionate perception of privilege and intersectionality could really benefit everybody, not just marginalized people. And I think that empathy comes easily when we reject myths and stereotypes and fight to remove marginalization and social exclusions like homophobia, racism, sexism, anti Semitism and ableism. I think that's really where the buck stops when it comes to understanding intersectionality and making every single one of ourselves better.
Ranger: So well said. Thank you. Yeah. Empathy is just the core of so many advances in our society and yet it's something that is so lacking, it seems, in our public discourse today and the way that folks interact.
Mallisham: That's right. And it's essential for allyship. And without allyship, no movement can survive without allyship.
Ranger: Great. So now we'll get to talk about a topic that I love, and that is the arts. So much of your work outside of the Institute seems to focus around the arts and giving voice to queer communities. What is your personal background in the arts? We'll start there. I've got a couple of questions.
Mallisham: Okay. Well, I have always aimed for a nonprofit career, much to the chagrin of my mom, but there's really no denying that my love really involves the arts. My first job was actually on AM radio in my hometown.
Ranger: Really? AM radio?
Mallisham: Yeah. I played a couple of instruments in a band, and I really loved photography. So yearbook and newspaper were really my favorite outlets through my early twenty’s. And I worked at the Cannonball House and the Hay House in the Harriet Tubman Historical Museums while I was studying Comms at Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia. And I was lucky enough to earn an internship at Disney World before I moved to Birmingham to start my nonprofit career.
Ranger: Okay, press pause for a second. What instruments did you play in the band?
Mallisham: Well, actually, I started with bassoon.
Ranger: The sexiest of all the instruments.
Mallisham: Right. That double read was really expensive and I broke them often, so I switched to clarinet. Okay. And then I got in high school and saw really almost immediately that a lot of the kids graduating with scholarships not just to HBCUs from marching band, but just everywhere, they played brass. So I switched to baritone. And sharing a mouthpiece, also trombone. And that's what I played into college.
Ranger: Wow, that's so cool.
Mallisham: I love music.
Ranger: Do you still play?
Mallisham: I should, but I don't.
Ranger: Do you have an instrument?
Mallisham: I do. I still have a baritone. I can't remember the last time I made time to play it. I also can't imagine, you know, where I would enjoy it in this very compact city without everyone around being like, whoa, you got to stop.
Ranger: I've been amazed by how many music jams there are in the city.
Mallisham: Yes.
Ranger: So we should talk after about this because my husband is a musician and he's found a number -
Mallisham: We have a thriving music scene in Birmingham.
Ranger: Yeah. And you said you were doing an internship at Disney World. What was that about?
Mallisham: Well, I worked in Fantasyland, which is the space behind the castle in Magic Kingdom, on attractions, which was really fun. And so I really got more into the science of arts than anything while I was at Disney because I was lucky enough to work in spaces with the 4D experiences and seeing what happens to an audience when they not only see a film, but when they can smell it and feel it, too. It was emotional for me to watch those people enjoying that all summer. So that was beautiful. I really loved working at Disney.
Ranger: How did you like...the smells? Can you tell me about how that happened?
Mallisham: Yeah. So, for instance, Mickey’s PhilharMagic takes you into a 4D theater where you're not just listening to Be Our Guest, but you're watching on an IMAX screen, Be Our Guest, and you can smell the pies flying at you, and you can feel a spray from the champagne bottles as they pop open. And as you're listening to “A Whole New World,” from Aladdin, it feels like you're flying around in the Middle East. So it really does transport you to another place. And immersive experiences are my favorite. So I loved every bit of working at Disney World.
Ranger: That's amazing. And there's also an accessibility component to that, too. I had the great fortune to work in Argentina for a year, and I attended a play at a theater for the blind, and everything was dark, and it was all about auditory, olfactory and touch sensation, and it was just amazing. And it was so mind opening for me that I could have this experience of a play without even needing to use my eyes at all. And that just kind of....
Mallisham: That’s going on my bucket list.
Ranger: Yeah, I’ll tell you more about that later. It was really cool. I hope it's still there. Okay, so I cut you off. You were talking about Disney World and your internship.
Mallisham: Yeah, I mean, it was really cool. And I think that cultural heritage of every person is really what makes us human and most complete as people. It's the arts. And I've tried to champion free access to education in the arts because I think that it's a fundamental part of development and an integral part of a successful society, to be completely honest. Back in 2017, I worked with Sidewalk Film Festival to start a program where we made educational opportunities involving films and filmmaking more accessible to local queer youth. It's called shout about youth and it's really just fine arts like film deliver some nonacademic benefits, like promoting self-esteem, motivation, aesthetic awareness, cultural exposure, creativity, improved emotional expression, which is one of my favorites, and social harmony and appreciation of diversity that we really don't get anywhere else like we do in the arts. And filmmakers and film writers, they tell stories that take us to different places and show us different cultures. And great art even lets us see ourselves and our own community through a different lens than we're used to seeing ourselves. And it's one that's not really often granted to queer adolescents, and particularly in the south. So we're really proud of that. And I think that we got, like I mentioned, a really great, thriving music life here in Birmingham, and we have some amazing historical sites. Theater is amazing here. We have so many theaters. So I think we need more programs like that that invite young people in at no cost and make our cultural richness more accessible to them.
Ranger: And earlier, before we started recording, you shared a little bit about how the arts were, like, supported and emphasized as you grew up. Do you mind sharing a little bit about that?
Mallisham: Most definitely. My mom is, of all the many things that she is, she is a nurturer. And one of the things that she is, one of her gifts is being able to see what really drives you and what makes you excited to live and then nurturing that. And so for my sister, it was very much sports, and they saw so eye to eye on that that I almost felt excluded until she saw how much I love the arts. And she poured into me. She put me in band and gave me opportunities to express myself through art. I sang in a girl's choir for a few years, and if there was a camp or any other opportunity for me to visit a place that I might not otherwise, places that aren't included in the curriculum at my school, then she was there, she was signing me up for it and I was taking part. And I definitely learned an appreciation for cultural arts because of my mom.
Ranger: That's such a beautiful story.
Mallisham: Thank you, Mama Mallisham.
Ranger: We'll have to cut that segment out and send it to her. Yeah. I'm curious. I know that I'm sure you've worked with so many young people on various projects. Was there like, an individual that particularly touched you or that produced, like, a piece of art that particularly touched you?
Mallisham: Yeah, I think it was probably that, actually the first year of Shout About Youth. And we of course, as I mentioned before, we got a really strong network here in Birmingham. We realized that having really great queer services in one place only helps once in a person's life. But if we work together, then we can benefit the most number of people. So I was working closely with the Magic City Acceptance Center, and of course, they told all the kids that participate there about Shout About Youth. One of them was a student at UAB at the time, and they came to the festival through that program. And so we would every single day sit them down for a free lunch with filmmakers that were visiting because of sidewalk. And so one of the participants actually met a filmmaker and worked with them to complete a film project that they had in a class at UAB. And they came to me long after the festival was over and was like, Ms. Gina, I just wanted to let you know that I met somebody from California that worked for Logo and they really helped me, and I got an A, and I'm positive this is what I want to do now. And of course, I just started shedding tears. I was so excited that we gave them a networking opportunity. They took advantage of it, and now they have a thriving career in the arts that they might not have had otherwise. So that's probably the thing that touched me most. That and then seeing the parents reactions, because they're really hesitant at first to sign that waiver that says your child is going to be seeing unrated...many of them never-before-seen independent films that focus on queer identity and they're like, oh my gosh, what is my child going to come home having seen? But at the end of it, they're always so thankful and so yeah, that would have to be a close second in my favorite memories of sharing the arts.
Ranger: Oh, that's a really cool story.
Mallisham: Thanks.
Ranger: Well, this is my last question, and actually, after I ask the last question, I will maybe even open it up to see if Hannah has some questions to ask you. As I mentioned, Hannah Smith is the intern that's been working with us from Miles College this summer and she is an amazing artist. And we joke in the office that we're like getting to work with her before she becomes famous. Yeah, and she did a lot of art for the District, and one of the things that she did that I thought was amazing was a portrait of Bayard Rustin for Pride Month.
Mallisham: I did too. Congratulations on that.
Ranger: Yeah, it was really amazing. So my last question for you, Gina, is about national parks, and I'm curious what your favorite national park is, besides ours, of course, and if you have a memorable experience in the park and what made it significant to you.
Mallisham: Yeah, well, that's a hard question. There are so many, and I would encourage every single one of your listeners to visit the National Park Service website and check them out. If you're going anywhere in America, you might as well go visit whatever national park is nearest because there's always something new to learn and experience. And while I absolutely love our Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in DC, I would have to say Independence National Park in Pennsylvania is my favorite. The staff here at the Civil Rights Institute traveled there for our staff retreat last September to reflect on heritage in the city of Brotherly Love. And I really enjoyed learning how the city of Philadelphia played such a central role in the story of the movement for civil rights. Because there's a whole ‘nother 20th century history of civil rights that proceeds and coincides and exists beyond the events that took place in the south of the late fifty’s and sixty’s. And for Black immigrants, Philadelphia wasn't just a place of employment opportunities that you couldn't get here in the south. It was also freedom from the daily humiliations of Jim Crow segregation. So examining that story of the Northern civil rights movement, really it made us see the problem of race in American society as a national one rather than just a Southern issue. And the park is just so full of history and stories of tragedy and triumph that inspired and renewed our team. And we came back here to Birmingham so ready for the work ahead. And as far as memorable experience, I think that my favorite memory of the space was when our team, we went on a tour and we visited some other historic sites within the city. And US Representative Jordan Harris, shout out to Jordan Harris because we were literally immersed in a history lesson on his tour, and he took us to sites like the home of Paul Robinson and Malcolm X Park and the Edwin Stanton School. And I really enjoyed every bit of it. I think my favorite was Mother Bethel Amy Church, which is the mother church of the nation's Black denomination. It was like, I will not forget about that experience, probably ever. And so, yeah, that's why Independence Park in Pennsylvania is my favorite.
Ranger: Wow, so cool. Well, thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview. It was pure joy to get a chance to chat with you more. And in a second, I'll pause and ask Hannah if she has any questions to ask of you as well.
Mallisham: Okay. Real pleasure.
Ranger: Yeah, thank you. Do you have any questions you want to ask?
Hannah Smith: Yeah. Okay. Hmm....
Mallisham: Don't forget to tell her listeners who you are.
Smith: Okay. I’m Hannah Smith, an intern at the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument. I feel as though I've had a good experience with not only just learning new things and learning more about the possibilities for my career, but just being African American and hearing about African American history. I feel like I learned an internship because it kind of hits close to home, where, you know, where your ancestors came from and what they've been through. So I'll say is just how you identify your race and a lot of things that make you you, is that a big part of your job? And, like, what keeps you going for the youth?
Mallisham: Very much. Very much a part of my job. I used to wake up every single morning and watch the news. And when I say used to, I mean up until around 2020, I woke up every morning and I watched the news, not just so that I could step into an awareness of what's happening to others all around the world, and not just because I'm obsessed with the weather, but because it helped me find my place. And since I started working here at the Civil Rights Institute, I feel like I find that here at work, and I don't need to find it on the news every morning. As a matter of fact, watching the news first thing in the morning is kind of depressing now, but yeah, definitely who I am as an individual and being proud of who I am as an individual, even as I'm sitting within the space at the Civil Rights Institute, among my coworkers, among our great visitors and our friends from the National Park Service. When I wake up every morning, a Black woman and come to work, a queer woman, get in my car and drive home, a Christian woman or a voting woman, I feel like I find myself a little bit more every day that we do this work. Of course, it's a benefit to be able to find yourself when you're constantly working in a place that champions brave conversations. And sometimes, I won't lie, it can be very exhausting because you never know what is going to come down in the news. But, yeah, to answer your question, I find my identity more, I think, because of where I work.
Smith: Thank you. I'm glad I got to make that connection with you because I feel like it's a big part of just, I feel like starting off in college, I feel like you kind of don't know who you are anymore, or I feel like a lot has changed since high school. So I do think with the internship and just working with all of the organizations down here in Birmingham, I don't know, I feel the spirit, the happy energy where it's like people that truly appreciate history and try to change it for the better for the kids coming up in the future.
Mallisham: I am too. I'm very glad that we got to relate on that because it's so often overdramatized as an existential crisis, but really it's just a self-awareness and an appreciation and a reverence for who we are. I definitely used to feel like things like white fragility didn't bother me as much, and I was even able to feel empathy towards homophobia. And so now the longer that I work in the space and the more that I speak to other academics within this space, the less empathetic I feel but more aware. Which is why we call it cultural humility and not cultural competency. Because I will never be competent in what it's like to be anybody other than me. But I definitely feel more competent in what it's like to be me as I'm in this space. I'm glad that you chose this field.
Hannah Smith: Thank you. I'm happy to be here. Thank you, Kat.
Mallisham: Thank you to Miles College.
Smith: Well, I can say a big part of the national park's goals and even the program I'm in with Greening Youth Foundation is just to bring more diversity to the National Park Service. I can say, with your experiences, with working with the National Park Service, what would you tell people would benefit them or just being around the people that you've met, what do you think they could gain from the experience and being able to work with organizations like BCRI and knowing you could help them?
Mallisham: Man, that list is so long. I will say on the top, though, as I visit different national parks all around the country, one of my favorite things to do is to step over to my friends in the brown hats. You tell me your story because I've read the plaques and I've read the programs and the brochures and what's online, but nothing sounds like and feels like what comes from the rangers, right. And same for the locals, the people that live in these spaces and really know their culture. And so with regard to becoming a park ranger or involving yourself with the National Park Service historic sites or other national parks, it's that you get a chance to develop the narrative that goes on from one generation to the next. What we know about these awesome spaces is almost entirely because of what someone else wrote down or shared. And so if you step into that space and you get to be a part of that history and it's so valuable, I don't know in other countries what's comparable to it. So I would say that about anybody interested in joining the Park Service or historic site.
Smith: Well, thank you. I definitely felt that one because I can say signing up for the internship, I didn't expect it to be this energetic.
Mallisham: And immersive.
Smith: Yeah, different people, different personalities and things I would learn. So I can say it definitely helped me out as far as not feeling like I just threw away a summer for a regular job or it's something that actually shows me what I love to do. And I can say, in a way, professionally and just me personally, it gave me a sense of more maturity, I can say on what I'm just focused on.
Mallisham: That's awesome.
Smith: Thank you all. I think that's all for my questions.
Mallisham: The only thing I can think of, of course, I have to include for your listeners a quick ask, and that's if they come to the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument or add it to their list of places to visit, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute sits right in the heart of this ground that peaceful protesters marched on to demand their civil rights. And when President Barack Obama created the monument in 2017, it was because he recognized that this is a sacred must-see destination for people who are on a pilgrimage to retrace the history of the civil rights movement. For three decades now, we've been here and visitors have been coming from all over the world to walk in the footsteps of the people who sacrificed their lives for social justice. Right here at the Institute and through our programming, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute provides a forum for dialogue and community engagement for all people. And in this current national climate that's intensely grappling with issues on race and justice, I think that the presence of BCRI is needed now more than ever to provide our leadership, training and engagement on racial justice, diversity, equity and inclusion, and, of course, education. And you can find out more about us at bcri.org.
Ranger: Thank you. I appreciate that plug. I have to say, as a park ranger, rarely do you get an opportunity to step into a space that's already so robust in terms of what's available, especially when the park is brand new, as is our park. And it's been one of the great honors and joys of this experience for me is that I have so many people who can help me learn and grow, not only as a ranger who is sharing the story, but as an ally. And the Institute is just so amazing for that. So I really appreciate all the work you guys do.
Mallisham: Thank you. It's an honor just working with these historians. As a comms person, I'm very used to learning about the programs when it's time to promote them and grow awareness, but they very much allow me to be a part of the program-building process here, which is really rewarding. But it's also extremely intimidating sometimes because these historians know their stuff and they're not afraid to speak it and share it, and it's become very empowering.
Ranger: Awesome. Well, thank you so much, Gina. I really enjoyed this interview and look forward to other opportunities to have future conversations as well.
Mallisham: Thank you. I'm thankful for you both and for the National Park Service. I'm so glad that you all are here in Birmingham.
Ranger: We're glad to be here, too. This is We Will Rise: National parks and Civil rights. Thanks to the Psalters for use of their song Turn Me Round. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to our series. Until next time.
[Music continues]
I'm keep on talking marching up to freedom, yeah.
Description
Listen in as Gina Mallisham, Marketing Manager at Birmingham Civil Rights Institute (BCRI) describes her advocacy work on behalf of the LGBTQ+ community in Birmingham.
Credit
NPS
Date Created
10/13/2022
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