The Freedom Fighter
Fighting for equality is hard work. As someone who has dedicated their career and volunteer time towards causes that enable equity and opportunity, it seems like a constant battle, always trying to achieve parity in the world for people who are marginalized. For example, having equal access to basic services such as healthcare or the same rights and protections as majority communities receive.
For LGBTQ+ people, the stakes have never been greater. Despite many advancements made over the past 15 years, especially during the Obama administration (i.e., securing marriage equality, overturning of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell), there is an organized assault underway, working to strip LGBTQ+ people of their basic human and civil rights.
Speaking from experience, it can be emotionally exhausting when you are on the front lines of this effort, whether as an activist, volunteer, donor, consultant, or board member of an organization like CAMP Rehoboth. Managing your mental health at times like these can make the difference between life and death—literally.
When I begin to lose hope and staying-in-bed-and-pulling-the-covers-over-my-head is my coping strategy, shifting my perspective towards what I can control not only lowers my blood pressure but focuses my energy on making impact through purpose.
Another way I recharge my social justice battery is watching a news story that features others in the world who are doing what they can to make the world a better place. One of my favorite sources is CBS Sunday Morning and correspondent Steve Hartman’s “On the Road” segment, featuring everyday people doing ordinary things to help others in need. It truly warms my heart each time.
YouTube provides endless opportunities to find inspiration—Brené Brown’s TED talks and Delaware State Senator Sarah McBride are two that come to mind. Hearing people’s personal stories helps each of us better understand what it’s like to walk in someone else’s shoes. Attending panel discussions or listening to a keynote speaker at a conference or on Zoom was my go-to place to find positive encouragement for many years.
Having said that, there are moments in life when events or situations remind us of the importance of this work. One of those arrived recently when Executive Director Kim Leisey and I attended the memorial service for LGBTQ+ rights champion and political strategist David Mixner, who passed away at his home on March 11 at the age of 77.
I first became aware of David in the early 90s while serving on the Human Rights Campaign’s Board of Governors. This was the same time Bill Clinton was running for president, and he called on his long-time friend, Mixner, to help drum up support from the LGBTQ+ community. With David’s guidance, Clinton made a personal appeal in September 1992 before a gathering of LGBTQ+ people in Los Angeles, pledging to allocate federal funds to HIV/AIDS research and to also end the ban on gays serving openly in the military.
Hearing a presidential candidate openly say LGBTQ+ people are important to his vision of a better tomorrow—following the devastating inaction from Ronald Reagan on gay issues—gave me hope that our lives would improve under his presidency. To say his election was a highlight of my life is an understatement, but being asked to serve as a co-chair of the first Gay and Lesbian Inaugural Gala was an honor and privilege.
Less than a year later, when Clinton signed “don’t ask don’t tell,” barring LGBTQ+ people from serving openly in the military, David risked ending his close relationship with the president through a public act of defiance: he got arrested for chaining himself to the White House fence.
At the memorial service, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy summed it up, saying that David never compromised his values when speaking up for injustice. That was who he was and one of the ways he will most be remembered.
When community member Danny Sebright told me David was going to be in Rehoboth over the 2023 Labor Day weekend, he said David wanted to do what he could to raise money for CAMP Rehoboth. The result was a fundraiser at Danny’s house with proceeds benefitting the David Mixner LGBTQ+ Scholarship Fund, an annual endowed fund offering paid internships for LGBTQ+ youth at CAMP Rehoboth.
Looking back on the service, the creation of this scholarship fund is a living legacy and one way CAMP Rehoboth can continue David’s work in the years to come. I had the honor of speaking with David a few weeks before he passed away and asked this question: What would you like the CAMP Rehoboth community to best remember you by? His reply: “I walked through fear to fight for the freedom of others.”
Being surrounded by so many others who were impacted by David’s life recharged my battery and then some. ▼
Wesley Combs is CAMP Rehoboth Board President.