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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 21, 2001)
decomber 21. 2001 ' J n t MUJ jy I Mi! ¡ i n v i 4-1 m e w s A s a teen-ager, Des Anderson probably never thought she would be serving Portlands sex ual minorities community in a leadership role. Today, the 25-year-old activist works as youth and schools organizer for Love Makes a Family. She also coordinates a new Queer Youth of Cblor support group along with Stephan Her rera of Brother to Brother. Although she boasts a heritage that includes 11 nationalities, growing up in Des Moines, Iowa, she was “pretty much whitewashed” and remembers her mother stopped making rice dishes in an effort to fit in. Anderson, seeking a way to grab onto the heritage her family was rejecting, turned to art for self-expression. She says she led a relatively average life into her teens, entering the U .S. Army after high school. She was drawn to the military because it gave her a place to bond and connect with others. Meanwhile, the family that had seemed so solid was falling apart. Her parents divorced, and her mother “cut all her former ties and started over with (a) new marriage.” In the military, Anderson found companion ship and, eventually, a husband. She was mar ried for about two years to a Texan whose goal was a career in police work. “The Army is very pro-family,” she says. “Mil itary programming attempts to break you down while you try to keep part of yourself intact.” Anderson laughs lightly. “He was a great friend,” she says, “but I couldn’t see myself living life with a Baptist cop in Houston, Texas.” After leaving the Army in 1996, she stayed in Hawaii for a while. She lived there until 1998, when “ island fever” struck and she Young activist turns her life around by P atricia L . M acA o dh a headed to Boston because she wanted to “hang out on the East C oast.” With her parents divorced and her grandpar ents deceased, neither marriage nor the military had fulfilled Anderson’s needs. The price for companionship had been her sense of self.* When she came to Portland, things began to change. Here, she found a new identity and a new community waiting for her. Anderson left behind life as a soldier and a cop’s wife to become an outspoken activist. She now works to maintain the Portland Public Schools ban on military recruiters and fights law enforcement abuse as part of the Police Accountability Campaign. Through Love Makes a Family, she has become a champion for sexual minority youth. She also has discovered new skills to help her in the advocacy work. Anderson has been effective in her efforts, winning the confidence of the youth she serves. She facilitates groups and meetings, writes for and edits a newsletter, coordinates programs and conducts fund raising— which has proven to he a constant struggle. Until last summer she was a paid staff mem ber of Rainbow Youth, which was discontinued when it lost the support of its sponsoring agency. She is concerned because “the need for survival is interfering with the work we [Love Makes a Family] are trying to do.” Anderson recently helped launch the Queer Youth of Color support group and was pleased with the turnout at its first meeting in Novem ber. But if funding for her work goes away, she has other plans in mind. “1 haven’t gone to college yet,” she says. “I hope to do that.” Anderson plans to major in something cre ative: technical theater, performance, move ment and mime around issues such as racism and the needs of youth, music and, of course, art. She would like to develop skills in all of these areas, using them for her community, especially youth. She worries about people who won’t change and who get too comfortable being isolated. “There are all the people we need to reach,” she says, “sitting in front of their TVs.” Anderson encourages the sexual minorities community to move toward addressing the issues that exclude people and urges more delib erate awareness. She sees a desperate need for involvement and unity. She wants the community to get over the petty things that separate them and become more inclusive. She envisions an end to the “number ing and the tokenism” and hopes people will take the steps forward without fear and “be happy we’re figuring things out and going to deeper levels.” O n e thing is certain: D es A nderson will continue to work politically for the co m munity she loves. “ I care about this work,” she says, and even if the funding doesn ’t From Portland take Hwy. 30 west for about 20-30 minutes. To reach downtown and the historic riverfront area head east on Columbia Boulevard. Welcoming merchants Invite you to stroll, shop, eat and browse ‘ t T Í ?ii¡nL r W ir fl fl*** H 1 P olls A nd /R uch W ore D em daco B ack sp lash T h y m es C ra b tre e & Evelyn F or that special g ift G ift ce rtific a te s available 503/397-3199 2017 Columbia Blvd • St. Helens, OR 97051 ....... . 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