Pride Comes to Chillicothe

Remember when the only conceivable way to find support as a gay person was to hit up the big city, which is one of the reasons why Ohio cities like Cincinnati, Columbus or Cleveland have been havens for the small town gay, bursting to express themselves? That was then. Even though the world has become smaller with the advancement of the Internet, there are still pockets of our country that does not celebrate or embrace the gay community. So you can imagine how tough it is to be gay in a small town, but there is one young man who is bucking the trend. In doing so, he found that he wasn't alone and that there is a whole gay world in his small Ohio town.

I was able to sit down with Northern Kentucky native, Travis Brown. Though born in Covington, KY, he has lived most of his life in the small Ohio town of Chillicothe. He is attempting to continue his city's efforts to bring equality to the heartland of America. KA: Tell me about your efforts to bring a PRIDE celebration to Chillicothe. TB: Pride isn’t about going to a metropolitan city where there will be more gays and more stuff to do. To me, PRIDE is about providing a sense of community to those who may feel outcast by advocating political and social causes such as love and acceptance in places where its needed, such as Chillicothe. Instead of being another person in a crowd, I would rather be one of the first to contribute to make a difference and start something in hopes that one day Chillicothe PRIDE could provide for this community so that no one flees to bigger places because they do not feel accepted. Chillicothe PRIDE has been a small gathering of about 50 people for the past 3 years in the form of a PRIDE walk that began after I graduated from Union-Scioto High School in 2012. Now, I attend Ohio University-Chillicothe and am the president of my school’s LGBTQ student organization (United) and had great feedback when I announced that I would be hosting this year’s PRIDE.

KA: Who would you say was the most influential person in your life while you were growing up? TB: My mom has been the most influential person in my life by far. She would and has always supported me with any decision I have made in my life. If I wanted to continue to play soccer, even though we were the worst team in the league, she would sign me up and watch me play (miserably) year after year. If I wanted to try new styles and be in with each new trend, she’d be there through all of the good and bad phases I went through. To even today, when she walked beside her shirtless rainbowed-out son, parading the streets with nothing to hide. She has influenced me to be proud of who I am, no matter what it may be or entail, and that I should love myself and be the best person I can. KA: When you were growing up, do you recall hearing stories or jokes about homosexuals? TB: During middle school, I attended a Catholic school in Covington, Ky where they preached that homosexuality is an abomination. At a young age, this can be detrimental to the development of figuring out who you are and can have a tremendous negative impact on one’s entire outlook on life.

KA: Have you experienced discrimination for being gay? TB: Growing up in a smaller town (Chillicothe), you could experience discrimination often. I’ve endured several accounts of bullying however; nothing has kept me from growing stronger. Coming out at a younger age, which was in 8th grade, I started figuring out who I was in this world and quickly became aware of who I was not. I didn’t want to be their stereotype and I fought for many years against it. I was determined to not be labeled as “the gay guy” but to be only known as me, all of me. I wanted to be Travis Brown, the guy that was always on the honor roll, that played varsity sports, that was voted prom king, that was friendly to everyone, and who just so happened to be gay. I didn’t want that to be my identifier, just another trait to me. KA: What do you think are some challenges facing gay people where you live? TB: Challenges facing LGBTQ persons could be acceptance and tolerance. Many find themselves absent of this in this rural area and flee to bigger cities such as Columbus and Cincinnati in search of this. *Photographs provided by Jackie Pierce of Jaxx Photography