“We Need To Protect LGBTQ+ People”: Alexis D. Henninger on Catalyzing Safe Spaces at HBCUs
Student-activist Alexis D. Henninger. Photo courtesy of Alexis D. Henninger.
By Jaimee A. Swift
Alexis D. Henninger (uses all pronouns) believes all HBCUs should explicitly be committed in creating safe and inclusive campuses for LGBTQ+ students.
Alexis D. Henninger’s ’s interview is a part of ‘Voices in Movement’ February 2020 theme, #MakingBlackQueerHistory: Black LGBTQ+ Women and Non-Binary Student Activism at HBCUs. To read the descriptor, please click here.
Alexis Henninger believes historically Black colleges and universities should make it their explicit mission to create and catalyze safe campuses for LGBTQ+ students. A junior forensic science major with a concentration in biology and a minor in material science and criminal justice, Henninger, who is from Bladenboro, North Carolina, is a member of of SPECTRUM, Fayetteville State’s premier LGBTQ+ student organization on campus. Henninger is affectionately known as the “veteran of SPECTRUM” because of their extensive activism, participation, and leadership.
Henninger shared with me their experience of being pansexual at an HBCU; why SPECTRUM is like a home to them; and what a Black Woman Radical means to them.
As a pansexual student at Fayetteville State University, what are the benefits and difficulties of your experience?
Alexis D. Henninger (ADH): “I was still kind of closeted before I came to college. I had came out as bisexual but I didn’t know what I really was until I came to Fayetteville State. I met so many people here like me. I am mixed and I felt as if White people in my family were a little bit more open to me and who I am than my Black side. Here at Fayetteville State, it is a pretty open thing about sexualities. If people don’t know, they will ask questions but some of them are kind of rude about it. Some of the disadvantages are is if people don’t understand you, they will look at you weird or say ‘that’s disgusting’ or threaten to tell my family about my identity but I have already told my family.”
Do you feel you have found a home and community in SPECTRUM?
ADH: “Most definitely. There is always someone I can relate to or talk to in the organization. I never truly feel alone––even when I feel different.”
“There needs to be more accessibility and more comfortability for LGBTQ+ students on campus.”
What do you think Fayetteville State University can do better to ensure LGBTQ+ student rights and justice are recognized and affirmed on campus?
ADH: “I think they should work on getting Lavender Housing (gender neutral housing) because there are trans people, people who are genderqueer and non-binary, who would feel more comfortable in certain housing arrangements than the ones that are typically offered. I feel they can do better with gender neutral bathrooms. We have about four gender neutral bathrooms. There needs to be more accessibility and more comfortability for LGBTQ+ students on campus. With all these trans hate crimes, we need to protect LGBTQ+ people because we are targeted.”
In your opinion, why do you think LGBTQ+ student representation and justice is important at HBCUs?
ADH: “I think it is important because sometimes some folks in the Black community do not know a lot about the LGBTQ+ community. Many have been told that being gay is wrong, disgusting, and other very negative things. At HBCUs, we need to have more support and for them to reinforce that being LGBTQ+ is normal, reinforce our safety, and reinforce community. We have to have each other’s backs, especially when the government and everyone else does not.
What activities have you’ve done within SPECTRUM to make sure other LGBTQ+ students on campus are included and feel comfortable?
ADH: “We always have meetings. We also have a group chat, so if anyone needs anything from us, we are there. I am usually in the Safe Zone. That is where folks come to talk to me or get counsel because sometimes people feel like others don’t understand them or their families don’t understand them and they need encouragement. We also have this initiative we are working on that focuses on ally training. I am always there for people. People are always saying, ‘I got your number from so and so’ and ‘ I don’t know what to do in this situation’ and I am always like, ‘I got you. I am here. What’s poppin?”
What can professors, staff, and administration do to make LGBTQ+ students feel safe and comfortable?
ADH: “Asking pronouns and prefered names. Asking them their pronouns and names will make students––especially transgender students––feel more comfortable.”
What are your hopes for the future of SPECTRUM?
ADH: “I want to see it get bigger! I would love for it to be bigger and to do more community stuff. I would like to see Lavender Housing. I just want it to expand. I would love for SPECTRUM to expand not only at Fayetteville State but to other schools who don’t have one and especially at HBCUs because I have not heard about other LGBTQ+ student organizations at HBCUs.”
What does a ‘Black Woman Radical’ mean to you?
ADH: “A Black woman is someone who is strong and who has been through more than anyone could ever imagine. They are someone who stands up for what they believe in and they are not scared to speak their mind. They are a strong and independent person. Their confidence and strength can be absorbed by other people because of how strong they are.”
Who are Black women you admire?
ADH: “Michelle Obama. Our advisor, Miss Victoria Martin––we call her Ms. V––is amazing. I love everything about her. I want to be more like her because I am actually still shy when it comes to some things. She is amazing. She is always there for us.”
You can follow SPECTRUM on Facebook.