Mohamed Amin outlines progress, ongoing struggles of Caribbean LGBTQ+ community in NYC
NEW YORK -- Mohamed Q. Amin shared his story about being gay in his community with CBS2 on Monday.
"When I came out to them, I was scared. I thought I was going to lose my parents," Amin said.
To his surprise, his parents accepted his sexuality. It came after years of hiding it and overcoming dark days.
"There was a moment when I didn't think I could, and I didn't see myself coming out, and I saw the end," he said with tears in his eyes.
Now, the 40-year-old, who was born in Guyana, and lived in Richmond Hill, Queens, is an advocate for others in the Indo- and Afro-Caribbean communities. He founded the Caribbean Equality Project in 2015.
"We help community members access immigration services, with asylum. We have a food justice program going on for three years. We do civic engagement work, like Mash Up the Vote campaign. We register people to vote," he said.
Dr. Sue Varma is a board certified psychiatrist. She told CBS2 families with strong traditions and religious beliefs still have a hard time accepting it.
"Unfortunately, there's still a lot of stigma and misconception with being gay and being in the LGBTQ community and being Indian, West Indian, Afro-Caribbean background. A lot of younger people will say 'I want to come out to my parents, but I can't,'" she said.
Jade Munroe is a trans woman.
"I came home from work and I met all of my clothes on the street, and my grandma was like 'You can't live here. We don't want someone like you living here.' I was so devastated and heartbroken, and I cried," Munroe said.
She said that's why she left Guyana and moved to the United States in 2019. Since, the Caribbean Equality Project has helped her file for asylum, provided her with mental health services and assisted her with her transition.
"These days I feel amazing, I feel so inspired," Munroe said.
For the month of June, the LGBTQ+ community in Queens can take advantage of the Live Pridefully photo exhibition at Phil "Scooter" Rizzuto Park on 95th Avenue.
"It's the first public art exhibition of Caribbean LGBTQ people, and more specifically Afro- and Indo-Caribbean LGBTQ people. It represents people from Jamaica, Trinidad Guyana and Haiti," Amin said.
As his team takes part in Pride celebrations across New York City this June, Amin tells CBS2 he's proud of the progress but there's still lots of work too.
"I think afro- and Indo-Caribbean LGBTQ people are catching up to what's already happening in NYC," said Amin.