Benita Ramsey Oral History
Item
Title
Benita Ramsey Oral History
Identifier
2024.005.002
Type
Oral History
Description
Benita Ramsey has served the Inland Empire as an activist for over 30 years, working with organizations including the Rainbow Pride Youth Alliance, Divine Truth Unity Fellowship Church, and TruEvolution. She begins by discussing the Unity Fellowship Church movement, a faith based movement dedicated to supporting individuals with HIV/AIDS from the 1980s to today, and her involvement in its Riverside chapter. Ramsey then details the role of HIV/AIDS activism today in the Inland Empire, in which supporting an aging population as well as youth is central. She outlines the beginnings of TruEvolution, which she was an original board member of, that grew out of the Inland and Desert AIDS Projects. Ramsey also remembers the AIDS Quilt Project as well as several key figures in LGBTQ+ Riverside history including Kay Smith and Jeffrey Owens. She discusses the need for and formation of Rainbow Pride Youth Alliance, an organization that was the first of its kind in focusing on the needs of LGBTQ+ youth in the I.E.. Ramsey ends the interview by reflecting on the current state of I.E. LGBTQ+ organizing during a time of rampant anti-LGBTQ+ hate and anti-trans legislation, noting that organizations such as Rainbow Pride Youth Alliance, TruEvolution, and Divine Truth Unity Fellowship Church will continue to support and uplift the I.E.’s LGBTQ+ community, preach love, and overcome hate.
Subject
LGBTQ
LGBTQ Community
LGBTQ History
AIDS epidemic
African American history
Religion
Religious history
Homophobia
Activism
COVID-19
Transgender rights
Spatial Coverage
San Bernardino (Calif.)
Riverside (Calif.)
Temporal Coverage
1980s-present
Creator
Benita Ramsey
Jill Surdzial
Date
May 3, 2023
Contributor
A People's History of the I.E.
Format
Audio
Language
English
Rights
Duration
01:32:44