By Esta Pratt-Kielley, originally published by NBC News' ParentToolkit.com
LGBTQ youth gathered in Washington DC at the first White House Summit for African American LGBTQ Youth on Friday, June 10. Tragically less than 48 hours later, an assailant killed 49 people at a gay club in Orlando, injuring at least 53 more.
“It shouldn’t be at the point of tragedy that we acknowledge that people are people,” said David Johns, Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans (WHIEEAA). “We do [the work we do] because it’s really important to provide individuals a space to talk and be at the center of the solutions but also because sometimes it’s not until something tragic happens that we have these conversations.”