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| Jumel Howard |
So, check out this resume: MD
Democratic Party LGBTQ Leadership Council Director, Vice President of PFLAG
Columbia-Howard County, Membership Chair of PFLAG Columbia Howard County, HoCo
Young Dems Sexual and Gender Minority Caucus Chair, 2nd Vice Chair
of the Community Advisory Council of the Howard County Public School System, Member
of the Board of Directors of The Pride Center of Maryland, Chair of the Howard
County Sexual and Gender Minority Community Center Planning Committee, and
Board Member of The Helping Hands Fund (Maryland Legal Aid).
It’s quite an impressive catalog
of community involvement and activism for anybody who may be middle aged or
older. But this resume belongs to Jumel Howard, who is just 23 years-old. Oh, and by the way, Jumel is also the HoCo
Pride Planning Committee Chair.
In taking on that role, which he
did over two years ago when the planning began for the first ever LGBTQ Pride
in Howard County, Jumel had to figure out how to manage his increasingly busy
schedule.
“This is definitely a work in
progress,” Jumel explains. “I have a lot to learn in this sphere of life. At
this point I just take my work everywhere. When I’m at brunch I’m checking
emails, when I’m with friends just hanging out I’m updating budgets and reading
various policy revisions. Bottom line I just work till I fall asleep,” he says
half-jokingly.
Jumel Howard has a paying job on
top of all these volunteer positions as a Paralegal for Maryland Legal Aid—a legal
services organization for low income individuals and families in Maryland. He understands
that prioritizing his work is, well, a priority.
“Anything I know that has a timeframe
of a week or less comes next and finally anything that has more than myself
working on it comes last. I’m pretty good at knowing when I need to take a step
back to breathe so I don’t burn out but again it is all a learning process for
me.”
Right now, the big project on
Jumel’s docket is HoCo Pride, which is slated for June 29 at Centennial Park
from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is being
co-hosted by Howard County Executive Calvin Ball and the Howard County chapter
of PFLAG.
Lanky and soft-spoken Jumel
Howard is leading a group of dedicated volunteers on the HoCo Pride Planning
Committee in an effort to make this premiere event a success. Members of the committee
who have worked with and have been guided by Jumel these past two years note
the talents and determination that he brings to the table. He ardently seeks
results while maintaining a calm demeanor.
"This is my home and it is high time we showed our Pride."
“Jumel is the driving force
behind HoCo Pride, and his ambition has been matched by his ability to lead and
inspire,” says Christopher Hefty, the Sponsorship Coordinator who also
coordinates with vendors, and for good measure he is overseeing the event’s
entertainment.
“His love for the LGBTQ+
community is so genuine. The most notable point of mention about Jumel is how
he calls out hate and injustice in all forms. Whether it’s the racial divide in
the LGBTQ+ community or anti-transgender hate, he snuffs it out with a
vengeance. He is a man I have come to respect very much. With his energy I feel
that HoCo Pride will be something truly special, and above all else, a uniquely
HoCo event!”
Hefty, who works at Eastern
Coral in the Columbia Mall, designs and creates an array of Pride scarves and
jewelry that can be purchased on the HoCo Pride website with the profits benefiting HoCo Pride.
“Jumel, is, in a word, a dynamo,”
says Akbi Kahn, a progressive activist and local blogger who is also on the Planning Committee. “After
I first met him in his role as a Vice President of Howard County PFLAG, we
became fast friends. He has also included me in several other projects aimed at
LGBTQ+ rights advancement in HoCo, which I think shows how he lives the ideal
of inclusivity.”
Adds Bob Ford, another volunteer
on the Planning Committee and who is Chair of the Howard County Human Rights
Commission, “There is a bunch of talented and motivated folks on the Planning
Committee. I can say that I have been especially impressed by Jumel’s
leadership and his vision for what he sees as a great outcome for HoCo Pride. His attention to detail is amazing.”
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| Jumel Howard being flanked by then Councilwoman Jen Terrasa now MD State Delegate and then Councilman Dr. Calvin Ball now County Executive at the HoCo Pride launch party June 28, 2018. Photo: Andrew Howard |
Jumel grew up in the Oakland
Mills Village of Columbia, Md. but his contributions to the success of
organizations have extended beyond Howard County. He is a member of Board of
Directors of the Pride Center of Maryland, formerly called the GLCCB, and his
colleagues have also taken notice of his character and abilities.
Says Merrick Moses, venerable
community activist and Board President, “Mr. Howard is a tenacious member of
our board. He has a true heart for our community and works hard to create a
better reality for the neediest among us.”
The logistics, volunteer coordination,
community listening sessions, creative fundraisers, and the partnership with
Howard County government are all coming together for this much anticipated event a month away.
“This is a completely
grassroots, all volunteer-led effort,” Jumel explains. “We have been planning
for two years and our kick-off event last June 28 was a resounding success that
gives us good feelings about what the turnout for the inaugural festival will
be!”
With the theme of
Remember/Resist/Rejoice, the celebration will mark the 50th
anniversary of the Stonewall uprising.
As County Executive Dr. Calvin Ball put it, “At the 2019 Pride Festival,
we will Remember those who fought for justice. We will Resist those who would
turn back the clock on equal rights, and we will Rejoice because of the LGBTQ+
love we have in our community.”
Noting that Howard County has
been in the forefront of LGBTQ advances in the state, Jumel asserts that the
time is right for the county to celebrate LGBTQ Pride.
“It has been 50 years since Stonewall, why are we waiting?
Jumel asks. “We are supposed to be a community of acceptance and inclusion. Not
everyone wants to have to go to a big city to celebrate and see their existence
acknowledged. This is my home and it is high time we showed our Pride.”
Jumel is pleased that HoCo Pride
is different from many other similar celebrations in that there have been to
this point no corporate sponsorships. “This event has been completely funded by
individual donations and contributions from small business, government
agencies, and organizations that are all local,” he points out.
“I will measure the success of
this event by the smiles on people’s faces. I don't care if we get 2 people
and make $6 in profit. As long as those people come and feel a sense of love,
acceptance, and community I will count it as a win,” he says.
Based on what Jumel Howard has
accomplished in his young life, he has already won.
1 comment:
Jumel is an amazing young man and a force to be reckoned with by anyone who stands in his way of moving Howard County forward and making the world a better place for members of the LGBTQ community. Jumel, thanks for all you do!!
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