Raising the banner for LGBTQ+ rights at UDC
Raising the banner for LGBTQ+ rights at UDC
Recent graduate Shabre West (she/her/hers) is committed to eliciting change for LGBTQ+ students. Raised by her grandmother after losing her mother to breast cancer when she was eight years old, West is determined to make her family proud and continue her advocacy efforts for an inclusive, respectful and welcoming community for all LGBTQ+ undergraduate and graduate students.
In May, West earned a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education and is the first to receive a college degree in her immediate family. “My grandmother steered me in the right direction and gave me that extra push when I wanted to give up,” she said. “She wants me to get my master’s, and I plan to do it.”
In addition to her grandmother, West credits Trinice McNally, founding director of the UDC Center for Diversity, Inclusion & Multicultural Affairs (CDIMA), as another role model.
“My grandmother helped me be wise and strong, and Ms. McNally changed my life and inspired me to get involved in social justice activities,” she said.
As a transfer student, West said she found her calling to fight on behalf of the LGBTQ+ and marginalized communities once she got to UDC.
She served as president of The Alliance Group (T.A.G) as an undergraduate. T.A.G. is a student organization that promotes acceptance and builds community for UDC’s LGBTQ+ student population. As a graduate, she will continue to serve as an ad hoc member of the LGBT+ Advisory Council and assist with T.A.G.
West served as the T.A.G representative of the CDIMA Cultural Organization Council, which consists of student organizations leaders coming together to share culture, build awareness and develop community toward shared experiences.
She has worked to find resources for LGBTQ+ youth of color to help them navigate high school and college and has focused on changing the culture at UDC by making sure all students, regardless of sexual orientation, feel valued.
“T.A.G. plays an important role because it gives students a sense of community,” West said. “They know this is a group where they can be themselves and live in their authentic truth, be proud, and celebrate who they are.”
She does revel in work done by T.A.G., which includes a successful campaign for all-gender restrooms, encouraging campus use of gender pronouns in email signatures, and improving overall support for LGBT students. West has been involved in hosting awareness days, developing LGBTQ+ inclusive policy recommendations and organizing students of all backgrounds.
During the last LGBTQ+ History Month, she launched the LGTBQ+ Advisory Council and the Inaugural Essex Hemphill Pride Scholarship.
West was selected by the National HIV/AIDS Awareness Day committee to serve as an ambassador for Advocates for Youth. She was also accepted to Youth Resource, a year-long development and leadership program designed by and for LGBTQ+ youth of color, including face-to-face training/webinars. In 2020, she served on the board of directors for Advocates for Youth.
What keeps West going is knowing that she is making a difference. She takes inspiration from a quote from Audre Lorde, the African American writer, feminist, and civil rights activist who dedicated her life and creative talent to confronting injustices of racism and sexism, classism, and homophobia.
“There is no such thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not lead single-issue lives.”
Learn more about CDIMA, UDC’s Center for Diversity, Inclusion, and Multicultural Affairs.
