{"@context":"http://iiif.io/api/presentation/3/context.json","id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/iiif/5t3fx75g4b/manifest","type":"Manifest","label":{"en":["Cristian Recinos, July 15, 2024"]},"logo":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/organizations/logo_images/000/000/255/original/Aviary_TRL_Header.png?1704389184","metadata":[{"label":{"en":["Description"]},"value":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eCristian, the Executive Director of United Lynn Pride, is a lifelong Lynner.  Their mother was born in Mexico and moved to Los Angeles, California, during elementary school.  She and Cristian’s father, originally from Guatemala, each moved to Lynn during their teenage years.  Cristian grew up in Lynn’s Ward Two around a large extended family of aunts, uncles, and cousins.  As the first-born male in his family, he was showered with love and attention that came with responsibilities and pressure to succeed.  They attended Ingalls Elementary School, Thurgood Marshall Middle School, Lynn English, and Northshore Community College.  A natural introvert, Cristian emerged from his shell when discovering drama at Lynn Classica.  He would join the school’s Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) and become a member of the North Shore Alliance of Gay and Lesbian Youth (NAGLY) as well as the Boston counterpart (BAGLY).  Several of Cristian’s family members are queer, allowing him greater ease in coming out.  They are a 2018 graduate of Salem State University, majoring in Sociology, and were part of the activist groups The Alliance and Black, Brown, and Proud.   They serve in several non-profit organizations throughout the City of Lynn and have significant experience with multiple LGBTQ+ organizations across Massachusetts.\u003c/p\u003e"]}}],"summary":{"en":["\u003cp\u003eCristian, the Executive Director of United Lynn Pride, is a lifelong Lynner. \u0026nbsp;Their mother was born in Mexico and moved to Los Angeles, California, during elementary school. \u0026nbsp;She and Cristian\u0026rsquo;s father, originally from Guatemala, each moved to Lynn during their teenage years. \u0026nbsp;Cristian grew up in Lynn\u0026rsquo;s Ward Two around a large extended family of aunts, uncles, and cousins. \u0026nbsp;As the first-born male in his family, he was showered with love and attention that came with responsibilities and pressure to succeed. \u0026nbsp;They attended Ingalls Elementary School, Thurgood Marshall Middle School, Lynn English, and Northshore Community College. \u0026nbsp;A natural introvert, Cristian emerged from his shell when discovering drama at Lynn Classica. \u0026nbsp;He would join the school\u0026rsquo;s Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) and become a member of the North Shore Alliance of Gay and Lesbian Youth (NAGLY) as well as the Boston counterpart (BAGLY). \u0026nbsp;Several of Cristian\u0026rsquo;s family members are queer, allowing him greater ease in coming out. \u0026nbsp;They are a 2018 graduate of Salem State University, majoring in Sociology, and were part of the activist groups The Alliance and Black, Brown, and Proud. \u0026nbsp; They serve in several non-profit organizations throughout the City of Lynn and have significant experience with multiple LGBTQ+ organizations across Massachusetts.\u003c/p\u003e"]},"provider":[{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/aboutus","type":"Agent","label":{"en":["Through A Rainbow Lens"]},"homepage":[{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/","type":"Text","label":{"en":["Through A Rainbow Lens"]},"format":"text/html"}],"logo":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/organizations/logo_images/000/000/255/original/Aviary_TRL_Header.png?1704389184","type":"Image"}]}],"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/collection_resource_files/thumbnails/000/247/300/small/open-uri20240801-480-9srwv8_1722522941.jpg?1722508545","type":"Image","format":"image/jpeg"}],"items":[{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300","type":"Canvas","label":{"en":["Media File 1 of 1 - open-uri20240801-480-9srwv8.mp4"]},"duration":4274.24,"width":640,"height":360,"thumbnail":[{"id":"https://d9jk7wjtjpu5g.cloudfront.net/collection_resource_files/thumbnails/000/247/300/small/open-uri20240801-480-9srwv8_1722522941.jpg?1722508545","type":"Image","format":"image/jpeg"}],"items":[{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/content/1","type":"AnnotationPage","items":[{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/content/1/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"painting","body":{"id":"https://aviary-p-unitedlynnpride.s3.wasabisys.com/collection_resource_files/resource_files/000/247/300/original/open-uri20240801-480-9srwv8.mp4?1722508523","type":"Video","format":"video/mp4","duration":4274.24,"width":640,"height":360},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300","metadata":[]}]}],"annotations":[{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576","type":"AnnotationPage","label":{"en":["Cristian Recinos transcript [Transcript]"]},"items":[{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/1","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Andrew Darien\n\nToday's date is July 15th, 2024. My name is Andrew Darien, I'm a professor of history at Salem State University, and I'm conducting this interview as part of the Mass Humanities-funded project, \"Through a Rainbow Lens: A Reflection on Lynn's LGBTQ+ History.\" I have the honor of being joined today by Christian Recinos, a lifelong resident of Lynn, and also the Executive Director of United Lynn Pride. Thanks for joining me today, and I just want to confirm that I have your permission to record our conversation?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=2.0,39.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/2","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Cristian Recinos\n\nYes, permission to record.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=39.0,43.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/3","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Andrew Darien\n\nThanks. I thought that maybe we would begin by acknowledging that this interview is a little bit different for a few reasons. The first is the simple fact that you are the Executive Director of United Lynn Pride, on whose behalf I am conducting this interview. You and I have been working on this project as part of a team for more than a year now, and so we already know one another fairly well. You're obviously familiar with some of the questions that I've asked some of our previous interviewees, and I guess the other thing that makes your story a little bit unique is that unlike the majority of our interviewees, you grew up in a family with several gay role models, and I believe were largely accepted and supported in your sexual and gender identity. So I'm actually pretty appreciative that we have your story, which I believe is mostly positive, to counterbalance some of these other stories of rejection, pain, and trauma. And if it's okay with you, I thought maybe we could begin by talking about your folks. Your mother, I believe, was born in Mexico and raised in Los Angeles, and then later Lynn, whereas your father came to Lynn from Guatemala when he was a teenager. What can you tell me about their journeys to the United States and Lynn?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=43.0,150.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/4","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Cristian Recinos\n\nYeah. So my mom, you're correct, she was born in Mexico City, and then she immigrated to the United States when she was fairly young. I would even say......I don't know exactly [how old she was when she moved], but definitely elementary [school] aged, because she attended some elementary school in California. And then eventually, I think she must have been a teenager when they came to Massachusetts, because she's also a graduate of Lynn Classical High School, so she came over to Massachusetts in her teens. I feel at one point [that] I did ask my mom, I was like, \"Why did you guys come to Massachusetts?\" Because there's not a huge Mexican population here, and I think if I'm recalling correctly, she had just said that my grandfather had known somebody or was just moving over here for work. or some reason like that. But that's how she wound up over here. My father, I probably don't know as well, but I know he came over here as a teenager. He came from Guatemala just by himself, like at that high school age. My grandmother wasn't with him. None of my other relatives that are now here were with him. He was sorta the first person of my family members from Guatemala to come here to Lynn, and why he came to Lynn, I don't know. Maybe [it was because,] at that time, the Guatemalan population was already growing, so at least there was some familiarity there. But yeah, he was the first person to come over. Then I think in the following couple of years, the next person to come over was my grandmother, and then eventually, now I've got a number of aunts and uncles that are all here in the area.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=150.0,257.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/5","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Andrew Darien\n\nSo at this point, you have a fairly large extended family that's in Lynn as well. And specifically, which neighborhood did you grow up in?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=257.0,271.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/6","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Cristian Recinos\n\nOh, I've grown up on the same street my whole life! So I've always been Ward two. Somewhat, I guess, downtown-ish? I'm like right off of Essex Street. It's like a ten, fifteen minute walk, I think, to the museum from my house. Yeah, I've always been in that area. Really tiny, little street at the base of the Highlands. Yeah.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=271.0,301.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/7","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Andrew Darien\n\nAnd how would you describe the city of Lynn to someone who had never been there before, hadn't heard anything about it?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=301.0,313.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/8","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Cristian Recinos\n\nI would say it's full of characters. I think there are so many interesting people in Lynn, and I would say that's one of probably the most endearing qualities to me growing up here. You meet all sorts of different types of people. My classrooms growing up were full of diversity and different cultures, and you meet a lot of eccentric people just walking around the city, as well. So that's how I would tell someone [about Lynn]: it's full of characters.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=313.0,346.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/9","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Andrew Darien\n\nIt has a reputation as a gateway city, as a working class city. Do you think those are accurate labels?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=346.0,358.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/10","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Cristian Recinos\n\nOh, yeah. Oh, yeah. I mean, of course, there's a huge immigrant population contemporarily. But even that working class background, even historically, those were also immigrant populations. So yeah, I definitely think that those are accurate descriptions.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=358.0,374.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/11","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Andrew Darien\n\nAnd was yours a bilingual household?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=374.0,380.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/12","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Cristian Recinos\n\nSomewhat. My Spanish is not as good as my English because I think my family intentionally tried to focus more on speaking English growing up. But I would say somewhat, maybe like a 25-75% split with the 75% being English and maybe like 25% Spanish. I mean, my grandparents and my parents would always speak together in Spanish. But my parents, I think, speaking with me and my siblings, it was mostly predominantly in English, with different Spanish sprinkled within it.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=380.0,415.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/13","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Andrew Darien\n\nWell, the really important question is whether your Spanish proficiency was good enough that you didn't have to take a foreign language at Salem State.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=415.0,424.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/14","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Andrew Darien\n\nYeah, I didn't need to take any foreign language at Salem State. Although, I think growing up, I still would just take, even at high school, I would just take like Spanish anyways, because, you know, I'm already familiar with it! Why challenge myself with something like French or Latin? Although Although my sisters, my sisters did take Latin, but I always did Spanish in high school as the elective language.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=424.0,446.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/15","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Andrew Darien\n\nAnd was, were Mexican or Guatemalan cultural traditions important in your family growing up?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=446.0,456.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/16","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Cristian Recinos\n\nYeah, up? Yeah, definitely. I think, you know.....I guess when I think about traditional things, the cuisine is what comes to mind. First thing! We were always eating traditional Latin American food. But I'm trying to think, I guess I was trying to think about holidays. We never celebrated like Cinco de Mayo or anything like that, because it's much more of of an Americanized celebration. But yeah, breaking pinatas at festivities. Just that close, familial, tight knit feeling. Yeah. The number one thing when I think about Latin American culture is the cuisine, and we definitely ate a lot of the cuisine! As a younger person, as an elementary aged person, I was very round and less trim and tall as I am now!","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=456.0,521.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/17","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Andrew Darien\n\nWell, it just took you a while to grow into your weight, that's all! And are you the oldest of your three siblings?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=521.0,534.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/18","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Cristian Recinos\n\nYes, I'm the oldest of my siblings in my direct household, and then I'm like the oldest, and the only male....—well, actually, I'm the oldest and the only male member on my mother's side. On my father's side, I'm the oldest male as well, but I have a lot of younger male cousins. But pretty much on my mother's side, I grew up just with predominantly women, extended family because all my cousins were girls, sisters. I guess that's another part too, that I'll mention, just bouncing to the last question slightly is, you know, being the first born male in a Latin household, I think also just kind of comes with a lot of like, one expectations, but then two, there's also a lot of fawning over the males, unfortunately. I think, you know, for me, it's like, \"Oh, that's great!I love getting all this attention.\" But at the same time, I understand now that that's like unfair to the women in my life, also.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=534.0,598.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/19","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Andrew Darien\n\nHmm. So certain privileges and benefits, but also expectations or responsibilities. Can you tell me a little bit about what those expectations are of the oldest child?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=598.0,615.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/20","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Cristian Recinos\n\nI think it's just a lot more of taking on tasks, always. I remember growing up, I always had to at one time or another, watch my sisters, watch my cousins. As the oldest male, I can remember my grandfather always being like, \"Oh, well, you have to take care of your sisters. Growing up, you [have to] be there as a protector,\" —those types of things. But even thinking about my lifestyle growing up too, I think that was sort of like a shard, necessarily bad thing, but the idea of collective helping one another was a certain type of thing. It was always like, you know, if my grandmother was cooking, my mom would be doing something. And then even the kids were always delegated. It's like, \"Oh, well, peel these potatoes, or cut that, or can you carry that dish over to that table?\" So people always had tasks or stuff to do growing up.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=615.0,681.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/21","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Andrew Darien\n\nWere those gendered tasks?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=681.0,685.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/22","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Cristian Recinos\n\nProbably. I think I remember. Probably. I think that they would oftentimes ask me a lot more to like move a pot or something somewhere, as opposed to my sisters, maybe doing more things like peeling potatoes, cutting something. Yeah, Yeah. But, I remember at times myself also cutting things, so somewhat, but not all the time.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=685.0,708.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/23","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Andrew Darien\n\nAnd was your family very religious?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=708.0,712.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/24","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Cristian Recinos\n\nYou know, when I was very young, we did go to church. I think we went to St. Joseph's. There's this church on Union Street that I remember we went to for a while. From what my parents tell me, we also went to another church at one point, but I don't think it was long lived. I think my grandmother on my Mexican side, and my entirety of my Guatemalan side are definitely still very religious and will go to church, but growing up, aside from those elementary years, not really. I have very faint memories of the church. I remember always being tired, falling asleep in the church. I remember that they had this elementary [aged] church school that was in the basement of one of the churches, and kind of just dissociating there because it was always a bunch of people screaming and shouting. But in terms....—also the church was entirely in Spanish, so I think I don't really remember, or even know, half of what they were saying at that age. So growing up, somewhat? But I don't think religion has had a huge impact on my life growing up.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=712.0,797.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/25","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Andrew Darien\n\nSo, it certainly doesn't sound like it played a strong role. On the other hand, you were kind of talking earlier about your family inculcating you with values of responsibility and community and taking care of one another. Do you think those are the most important things that you learned in your family, or are there other values that you think you grew up with?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=797.0,831.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/26","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Cristian Recinos\n\nI think that those are probably the strongest ones I can think of growing up. Community, taking care of one another, always helping with different labor tasks, even aside from the kitchen, and watching my cousins. I remember my father, at any time he was doing some kind of odd job around the house, like building— he never built a fence, but he was a painter for a while, so I remember helping him paint, and I remember he would fix stuff on a roof, and I would go up there and help him on the roof. So hard work, community. There was a big emphasis on education. My parents, they always wanted me to do well in school, and for the most part, I did do very well in school. I think me and all my sisters did very well in school. Yeah. My mom, she always used to read to us growing up. I think she always wanted the best for us in terms of achieving things through education.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=831.0,892.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/27","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Andrew Darien\n\nHow do you think your folks would have described you as a child?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=892.0,899.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/28","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Cristian Recinos\n\nHmm. I'm sure my mom would say anything like, you know, \"Oh, he was so cute!\" Anything like that. Probably would have [said I] ate a lot. I don't know! [I] ate a lot. How would they describe me? I don't think I could do wrong by my parents. I think my parents will probably say that I was great, a good student, loved reading, loved animals. Yeah, and loved eating. I loved eating as a kid! Yeah, that's how I figured they would describe me. Some other things....—but if I were to also just throw in a self-descriptor, I think I was pretty reserved as a young person, and I think I'm still kind of a bit more of an introvert-leaning person to this day.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=899.0,951.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/29","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Andrew Darien\n\nAnd is that pretty much what you were like in high school at Lynn English? Or did you come out of your shell a bit?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=951.0,961.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/30","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Cristian Recinos\n\nIn high school, I definitely think I probably came out of my shell a bit more than I was through elementary and middle school. In part, I think that's really due to one of my cousins that went to the same school, because she's much more extroverted than me. I think she kind of like forced me to come out of it. She was joining swim team, and she was forced me and my sister, when they got to high school, to all join swim team. So, I think that's probably something that got me out of my shell, and talking to more people. Y'know, it's not necessarily that I'm not good at socializing with folks, I think I'm a pretty good person at socializing with folks. It's just not my preference of what I want to do. I'm much more like...I'd rather be reading a book or sitting by myself. But I don't know, anytime I have been in like social situations, people are like, \"Oh, you're so funny. Oh, you're so interesting,\" —stuff like that, but it's just not my preference. Yeah, in high school, I did a number of different things. I did swim team. I was I was in GSA [Gay Straight Alliance] I was.....what else was I doing there? I was in anime club for a little bit, and then there was one other club that I was in for a while.....Oh! Drama club, of course. How could I forget drama club? Drama club was such an interesting part of my high school life as well. I think I was pretty social, actually, when I think about drama club, but it was a little bit of a different socialization, because it wasn't really talking. Again, it was kind of like collective, like, doing stuff. I didn't do acting. I think I've mentioned this in the past. I could not stand the actors. The actors, I did not know. But I did the stage crew portion, so I think just that it was good to connect with people through a collective path, or a collective job of like, you know: \"Alright, we've got to build these steps because the opening night's going to be like this Friday, and we've only got three days. And we're only allowed to be in the auditorium from these hours to these hours.\" So, it [was] just like, sweating, power tools, and things that I thought were a little bit more interesting.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=961.0,1107.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/31","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Andrew Darien\n\nYou had mentioned earlier in the interview that when you were younger, you were a little pudgy, and then you had mentioned several times really liking to eat, and that your folks were observed that you like to eat. When you joined the swim team, did your body change? Were you coming into yourself physically at that time? What, if anything, do you remember about your body image in high school?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=1107.0,1136.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/32","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Cristian Recinos\n\nOh, you know, first, it's so funny about loving to eat because a story that my mom will always say is, like, even as a baby, I'd be in the high chair and I'd be eating something. But then I'd fall asleep in the middle of eating as a baby. Then she said, I would wake up and then just continue to eat and finish whatever it was that they had served before me. That was tangential. But yeah, in high school, when I joined the swim team, I definitely slimmed down. Yeah, quite a bit. It melted off of me. In terms of my body image in high school. I mean, I don't think I've ever struggled with how I look. I always think I've looked good. I remember I did wear a lot of sweaters all the time in high school, but it wasn't necessarily because I felt self-conscious about my body. But, they are really sticklers at Lynn English for like, \"Oh, you've got to tuck in your shirt, tuck in your shirt.\" And the only way I remember I could get around that was [to] just wear a sweater, or a hoodie, or something, because they're not going to force me to tuck in your sweater or your hoodie. It was always just so uncomfortable for me to tuck in my shirt. I remember, I think, when I was a freshman, that I just refused to do it, and I got detention one time for that. But no, I think I've always felt pretty decent about how I looked.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=1136.0,1222.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/33","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Andrew Darien\n\nAnd did you join NAGLY [North Shore Alliance for Gay and Lesbian Youth] or BAGLY [Boston Alliance for Gay and Lesbian Youth] before or after you joined the GSA?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=1222.0,1232.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/34","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Cristian Recinos\n\nHmm, they probably happened around the same time. I probably actually......I think I joined the GSA, I was part of the GSA before I attended NAGLY or BAGLY.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=1232.0,1245.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/35","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Andrew Darien\n\nAnd what brought you into the GSA for the first time?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=1245.0,1252.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/36","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Cristian Recinos\n\nHmm, why did I go to the GSA for the first time? You know, I think it was just one of those things it was like [they] would have one of those events where they were talking about all of the different extracurriculars, and it just appealed to me, you know? I was like, \"Oh, let me go to this.\" Yeah, I don't think anyone dragged me there. I was trying to think and see, like, did anybody drag me there? But no, I think I just went out of my own self-interest, and just as the meetings continued, I just stayed attending it.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=1252.0,1290.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/37","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Andrew Darien\n\nAnd did you go consciously thinking of yourself as a gay person, or was that something that was evolving?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=1290.0,1301.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/38","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Cristian Recinos\n\nYeah, at a point during high school, I think I had soft-launched a sexual identity of like, \"Oh, well, I'm bisexual,\" —at that point. Yeah, I definitely think [that I] probably went to it because I probably was unconsciously or consciously looking to meet other people, or just explore this identity further. Something like that.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=1301.0,1332.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/39","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Andrew Darien\n\nAnd you already had gay members in your family. Can you talk about them and how that maybe made this process a bit easier for you?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=1332.0,1343.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/40","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Cristian Recinos\n\nYou know, it's so funny, because even though I did have gay members in my family, I think there's still always that apprehension and anxiousness of acceptance or rejection. But yeah, so my uncle, he's gay. And then my aunt, who was at that launching, I don't know specifically how she identifies currently, but at one point, she was dating a man. Now, currently, I think she exclusively dates women. One of my cousins is a lesbian. She's actually getting married in Brazil next year to her partner. Yeah, Yeah. And even one of my sisters identifies as pansexual. I'm pretty sure one of my other sisters identifies as bisexual. Well, those are currently. But I guess if you're asking about people who are older than me, my uncle was gay, that aunt [was] a lesbian. It's interesting because in Mexico, I had a great.......no, not great. He's a grand uncle, and he lives in like this Mexican village, like way up in the mountains called Matamita. But his sexual identity, they don't say that he's gay, He's obviously he's experimented [with] dating members of the same sex, but they just don't call it gay. That's just him. And it's funny, because he lived in L.A. [Los Angeles] for a while, too. So yeah, there's a huge diversity of different people in my family with different sexual identities. What I will note, actually, though, in saying that, too, that's all on the Mexican half of my family. On the Guatemalan side of my family, there's nobody to my knowledge.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=1343.0,1457.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/41","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Andrew Darien\n\nThat's interesting. You mentioned that your, I believe what you said was that your aunt was at your 'soft-launch', that was a formal event? Or did you sit down with your family and come out as bisexual? Or am I misunderstanding what you said?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=1457.0,1474.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/42","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Cristian Recinos\n\nYou're misunderstanding. So my aunt, she was at the launch of our exhibit for \"Through a Rainbow Lens.\"","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=1474.0,1484.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/43","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Andrew Darien\n\nOhhhh...Okay! When you first started talking about a soft launch, I didn't think it was a formal event, and then you used the word again. I didn't realize it was about our exhibit, so that makes perfect sense. Do you remember your first crush?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=1484.0,1502.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/44","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Cristian Recinos\n\nOh, my gosh, my first crush. That's crazy! My first crush.....well, you know, I don't think I even realized........I don't think I ever thought about myself as like a sexual being until middle school, and in middle school, I remember the first thing. Well, actually, never mind, let me not go into that! But there definitely was a cute boy in middle school that I remember, who I think may have been like a soft crush was, I want to say his name was Miguel or something, but he was this pretty boy, Dominican. He was just very friendly with everybody in middle school. I think he was well-liked. Yeah, maybe I had a soft crush on him.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=1502.0,1558.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/45","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Andrew Darien\n\nAnd do you remember anything about your thought process at the time? Like, \"Oh, I might be gay?\" Or did you not really even think in terms of that because who you loved was so normalized in your family?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=1558.0,1579.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/46","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Cristian Recinos\n\nWell, the first thing, the first time that I thought about different sexualities or liking men was actually a different instance in middle school, which I wasn't going to go into. But, I remember there was a fight in the front yard of Thurgood Marshall Middle School. and it was just these two peers of mine, like rolling around. That's the first instinct when I would like, \"there's something about that. That attracts me.\" And I think that's the first instance in which I kind of thought about my sexuality a little bit more. But I don't think I really identified it as liking men at that point. I think I just had these feelings, and I was questioning them. I think it was fairly offensive to going from middle school and questioning, to high school and feeling out the waters by coming out. I came out sort of like in waves, because I came out to a few people at a time. I think the first people who I told in high school that I was bisexual, I was walking home or walking to Lynn English. I think I had first said that to one of my sisters and her friends, because we were just all walking together. I don't think I came out as gay until like....it probably wasn't even until at least sophomore year or later sophomore year. I must have, I think I must have been out to the entirety of the school before I was out to my family members.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=1579.0,1679.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/47","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Andrew Darien\n\n—With the exception of your sister.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=1679.0,1681.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/48","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Cristian Recinos\n\nRight, yeah! With the exception of my sisters. And actually, my sisters, all of them are, I probably told all of them at first, before I even told my parents.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=1681.0,1692.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/49","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Andrew Darien\n\nDo you remember what their reactions were?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=1692.0,1694.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/50","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Cristian Recinos\n\nI think they all said like, \"Oh, it's fine. That's cool. We still love you.\" At least that's how I remember it. I think if it was like something drastic or confusion or anything like that, I probably would have remembered it. No, it's fine. And they're like, \"Oh, we won't tell anyone!\" —because I think they knew I was like not telling everyone at that point. And eventually I told my mom, then I probably told.....or I didn't really tell them, but what it was is that I used to wear this like rubber rainbow bracelet all the time, And I think I just was like, \"Well, let me just keep wearing this bracelet and maybe I don't really need to tell anybody.\" And at one point at like a family gathering for the Mexican side of my family, they were like, \"Oh, I see you're wearing this bracelet.\" And they were blahblahblah, and I was like, \"Oh, yeah, yeah, I am.\" So, it was fine. I think it was still a little bit of an emotional moment because.....—an emotional moment for myself, because it was kind of like a relief. Like I said, it's [a] fearful [event]. \"Am I going to be accepted? Am I'm going to be rejected. Who knows?\" And then I didn't tell my father. I didn't tell my father for a long time. It was a little bit termulous because my mother and my father, they have an estranged relationship. Currently, they're divorced. But growing up, they were very estranged. Estranged and termulous, and a lot of fighting back and forth. But, I don't think I told my father until......I had gone on— It was the first boy I was dating, and we went to the movies, and my father was picking me up. I don't know what it was that compelled me to tell him at this point. It's like, you know, \"Well, now I'm actually dating somebody, and I don't know how long I can continue to keep it secret.\" So I told him as he was driving me back from the movie theater, and who knows what I had told him. —If it was just I was hanging out with people or whatever. And my father, he was not that accepting at the time. I don't think, I don't know if he really like explicitly was himself anti-gay or anything like that. But I think his excuse at the time was like, \"Well, that's not what God says you should be doing. The Bible says that's bad.\" —So there was some rejection there. But my relationship with my father is also a little bit complicated. At this point right now, I have a really great relationship with my father. But growing up, it was a little bit more complex.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=1694.0,1880.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/51","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Andrew Darien\n\nAnd tell me about your GSA.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=1880.0,1884.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/52","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Cristian Recinos\n\nGSA. As an attendee, the GSA, it was so cute. But at the same time, it was a little bit sporadically attended. I think it was just myself and a handful of other folks. I'm trying to think [about] who was there. There was this girl named Holly, who her and her girlfriend were always roaming the school. They were always making out, or like smoking underneath the stairwell at Lynn Egnlsih. Then there was Matt Martin, who he was really cool. He was.....I think he was a little bit more socially awkward, but he had some good ideas. There was Mia, who, well, let me not get into Mia, because who knows. And I think those were the handful of people. I remember Jisool would come to the GSA at times, but sometimes I was always trying..... you know, most of the gays were at the drama department and didn't come to the GSA to actually talk about educational things. And I remember when I was at stage crew, I was always trying to tell them, I was like, \"Well, you guys should come to the GSA meetings so we can talk about issues and things like that.\" Sometimes they would come, sometimes they wouldn't. It was kind of like hit or miss. But yeah, I have fond memories about the GSA. I remember talking about like, you know, what did we want to do? Marching at Pride, which was sort of like a legacy kind of event because when I wasn't the president, the former president, we would march as a youth group over there. Getting the Pride flag hung up at Lynn English. I think like we were the first ones to do that because in Lynn English's cafeteria, because in Linn English's cafeteria, they have all the flags of the different nationalities. And I was like, \"Well, why can't we also put the Pride flag up over there?\" So that was one initiative. And I remember that the principal at the time was very much against it. Well, I remember the meeting. I had the meeting with the principal for two different things. One was to get the Pride flag hung up, and then the other thing was that one of our members, Matt Martin, he was like, \"We should advocate to get to get contraceptives available in the nurse's office.\" So I had a meeting with him for those two different initiatives, and he was very much against it. I mean, I think he was kind of close-minded, but at the same time in his position, I get it. Whatever. You probably don't wanna stir the pot any even more so than you need to. For the contraceptive thing, he was completely like, \"No, we're not gonna do that. No contraceptives in the nurse's office.\" And then for the Pride flag, he's like, \"Oh, well, no, we can't do that.\" I think he also shut me down on the Pride flag immediately, explicitly at first too. But I was a little bit more [of a] behemoth on that one. I was like, \"Well, if you don't approve it, then I'm going to write a letter to the superintendent.\" And then I think when he heard that, he was like a little bit more like, \"Okay, this kid's gonna be annoying.\"","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=1884.0,2071.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/53","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Andrew Darien\n\nAnd did your political instincts evolve on their own or or did you have any mentor who was helping you and giving you ideas?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=2071.0,2087.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/54","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Cristian Recinos\n\nI can't recall anybody really guiding me in terms of thinking about strategy like that. I just think, like I said, I think me and my sisters have always been pretty academically ahead. So I think just logical reasoning is kind of like.....—who knows? Maybe at that time, I had access to the internet. Maybe I was like, \"What to do if your principal shuts you down for something.\" But I can't recall anybody explicitly advising me about it. Once I brought up the superintendent, he was still kind of against the idea. He was like, \"Alright, well, even if we wanted to put up this Pride flag, we don't have one. And where would you go?\" And I was like, \"Oh, well, I can get us a Pride flag.\" Because at that time I was attending NAGLY, and I know that they just had a bunch of flags. I remember I got the Pride flag for Lynn English from one of the adult staff at NAGLY Yeah, and then I brought it back, and then they had the janitor put it up and then yeah, it was up. I don't think....—I didn't hear any backlash from the student population at the time. I don't know if he got any flak from anybody else, but yeah, and that was the GSA. And even though the GSA was a big part about the LGBT community, at that time in that space, there were a lot of other gay and lesbian and trans individuals at the school who didn't really go to that space. I know a member of our project, Rachel Devaro, who sparked controversy with her, \"All the Cool Girls are Lesbians\" t-shirt. She was [at Lynn English] at the time, [but] she was never at the GSA. But, she still had that moment of controversy at the school. And then I can think about a couple of different trans students. One trans student, I really love them. Oh my gosh, their name was Kevi. And I don't know if they still go by Kevi, but they were very open. They would always be wearing feminine clothing. They were MTF [Male-to-Female], so they were always wearing feminine clothing. I think they moved to Florida, and now I think they're fully transitioned. But I used to love Kevi. We went to...—and it's so funny because I went to all the Lynn Public Schools, people you'd see in elementary school, you'd still see going to the high school. So Kevi, I actually knew when I went to Ingalls, which was the elementary school. And yeah. I think we went to the same middle school, and we went to the same high school. Yeah, so I love Kevi. They were so great. I remember we used to hang out a lot in elementary school, too. But yeah, Kevi, then there was Victor Benet, who originally was not Victor Benet, who was the child of one of the teachers at Lynn English, who transitioned at that time. There was this kid, Jeremy Harris, who like did ROTC [Reserve Officer's Training Corps] and stuff. Yeah, and then there was Yisuel, and then there was Cameron, and Tony, and who was that other kid? Dylan? Was it Dylan? No, it wasn't Dylan. What's his....—oh, Danny! Danny was so annoying. I couldn't stand Danny. And me, really like all the gays hung out at the drama department because all of those people I just listed, like half of them were actors in the drama department. Cameron and Danny, and Andres. and Yisuel. and Adonis. They were also annoying. But yeah, so there's, it was, you know, that's how I knew, I think that there's a huge gay population in Lynn, is that even at my high school, there was a number of gays and lesbians and trans people all around the place.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=2087.0,2325.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/55","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Andrew Darien\n\nAnd were they pretty comfortable and safe being out, or did they ever face harassment or intimidation?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=2325.0,2338.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/56","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Cristian Recinos\n\nNot that I noticed, and not that I can think of. I mean, aside from Rachel, obviously, but that wasn't from a student. That wasn't from a peer. That was from the administration that was telling her she couldn't wear that shirt. But amongst our peers, amongst our classmates, I don't really think that I can think of any explicit moment of bullying or hazing— at least not on the basis of their LGBTQ identity. Some people might not have liked you because they just thought you were weird in general, or even in Rachel DeMauro, my sister was in the same grade as her, she was like, \"She's so annoying!\" But not because she was a lesbian, just because there were other reasons that they disliked them. That's something I would even say [extends] to the character of Lynn in general. I don't think I notice a lot of like frequent, discrimination of different sexualities or races really, unless you're like somebody who's clearly there's something else going on in your life. But for the most part, I think there's really a collective solidarity amongst predominantly being working class people, or class people or people from working class backgrounds in the city, that kind of insulates or prevents that type of discrimination. I mean, it does exist, obviously, like in every major city, but I feel like I experienced it less so than in neighboring communities. You know, it's so crazy because the one time that I did get like harassed for being a gay or queer person was in Salem. I remember I was walking with my boyfriend to Salem Willows, and somebody like drove by and was like, \"You F-slurs,\" or something. And I was like, \"That's crazy.\" Because I also, one time I was walking in— I always think of this funny contrast between that event, and then there was also a time I was walking around in Lynn with my boyfriend, and holding hands, and there was another gay man who was sitting on the curb and was just like, \"You guys are so cute!\" So, funny contrast in those two events.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=2338.0,2477.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/57","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Andrew Darien\n\nI think you were probably not yet legal age to drink by the time that Fran's closed in 2016, or maybe you were just turning twenty-one. Did you know about Fran's Place or have friends who went there?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=2477.0,2494.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/58","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Andrew Darien\n\nOh yeah, I knew about Fran's Place, and I probably could have gone to Fran's Place Yeah, I probably definitely [could], 'cause at 2013, I graduated high school. So, there was a number of years when it was still open while I...—cause I attended North Shore Community College before I went to Salem State, and the place was open there. So in my college years, I probably could have gone there. But nightlife has never appealed to me. I've never been interested in nightlife. Even the few times I have gone out to nightlife, that's also just the case of people dragging me out there to hang out with people, and get drunk, and whatever. But yeah, I was aware of Fran's Place. I knew it was there. I knew a couple of different people that did go there, and I think I remember when I did get invited there. I remember at one point I asked my uncle about it, and he was like, \"Oh yeah, I always used to go there. It's a fun time,\" but nightlife has just never really appealed to me that strongly, and that's really the only reason I never went.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=2494.0,2561.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/59","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Andrew Darien\n\nSo you're not a big partier, I imagine you also probably worked while you were both at North Shore and at Salem State?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=2561.0,2574.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/60","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Cristian Recinos\n\nOh yeah, I worked, I think, Yeah. All the time. At one point, when I was attending both North Shore and Salem State, I think I was working two jobs. I remember a couple of times I was working two jobs. Working two jobs, taking the bus. It was crazy. Taking the 455, 459 from Lynn to Salem, and then I had to take the Salem bus, and figure out how to get to North Shore Mall —because most of my jobs in retail have been at North Shore Mall, which kind of made it easy to have two jobs. I remember I used to work at......I worked at Bath and Body Works, and I was working at Macy's, at the same time, and they both had dress codes. Because [when] I was in Macy's, I was working at the men's furnishing, and you always have to have like a tie and a black shirt, or something like that. But at the Bath and Body Works, you had to wear a white shirt and they had to be blue jeans. So I think I remember times where like, I was leaving Salem State, and I had my backpack with all my school stuff, then I also had like a change or two changes of outfits in there, jeans, and then also the dress clothes. Then I would either go to Macy's and start working there for a couple of hours, wearing the furnishings— the formal attire. And then when I had to leave there to go to my other job, I would go into the restroom and just change out of that outfit, and change into the other ones. and go to Bath and Body Works, or vice versa. But yeah, I was always working, also while going to school. Sometimes I remember taking the bus home from the mall. It was the last bus. And oh my gosh, I always used to fall asleep on the bus. I think the bus is like one of the most comfortable places to sleep, or I don't know if it's really the most comfortable? But I think that a lot of the best sleep I've gotten has been taking the public MBTA. I don't know if maybe that's just, I was so tired that it's like, do you wanna fall asleep on the bus? Or if it's the sort of bumpiness that rocks you a little bit. But yeah, I remember I used to fall asleep on the bus a lot. Oh my goodness. And I remember one time, I think I was like writing an essay on my laptop on the bus, on the way to Salem State on the 455, and I was like, \"Oh gosh, I hope my laptop doesn't run out of battery. I need to save this Word document!\"","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=2574.0,2709.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/61","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Andrew Darien\n\nDid you ever miss your stop?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=2709.0,2713.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/62","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Cristian Recinos\n\nNo. Well, not when I was in college. But there was one point that I remember I did miss a stop, when I was in high school, and I was coming back from NAGLY and it was the same bus line. I think it was the 455, 459. And I remember I was coming back from NAGLY, and I don't know if that was a night that like.....—because sometimes after the NAGLY meetings, a lot of the youth would go hang out elsewhere, and just like do whatever and be like, I don't know, mischievous gay people around the city of Salem. A lot of times they would go to uhm.....and now it's closed, but there was a Denny's in Danvers where this like hotel also was like right next to it, and all the time they would go there and be crazy. But that's a tangential thing. On the story about me missing the bus stop, one time I was coming back from Salem, and I think I had like fallen asleep and I missed my stop that I usually get off on. I wound up like halfway on the other side of Lynn. And at that time I wasn't driving and they didn't have Uber or Lyft, or anything like that. So I just ended up having to walk home like this half place, and then I would have to go to Lynn English tomorrow and wake up, but it was fine. I mean, it was whatever. I was always, in my adolescence, I was always walking around all over the city.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=2713.0,2803.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/63","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Andrew Darien\n\nSo you're working, you're going to school. Did that leave much time for clubs or any political activism on campus?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=2803.0,2815.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/64","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Cristian Recinos\n\nDuring those years, because I think towards my junior and senior year, I was only working one job then. But I think my freshman and sophomore must have been when I was doing the jobs. But yeah, I participated in a number of extracurriculars at Salem State as well. I was part of the Alliance, and I would sporadically attend their meetings. I was part of, I was like semi part of LASO [Latin American Student Organization]. I didn't attend all of LASO's meetings. I don't know if the name has changed since then, but before that was the Latin American Student Association thing. Then I think my junior and senior year, there was also the Sociology Club, which I was the vice president of the Sociology Club. I wasn't necessarily a member of the women's group on campus, the Florence Luscombe. At that time, it was the Florence Luscombe. I don't know if it's changed since then either. But I would hang out in that office and Ellison Center a lot as well, and I actually went to a conference with them. Maybe that was my senior year, where we went to DC, and we went to Elizabeth Warren's office or something like that. Black, Brown \u0026 Proud, when that was active on campus, when that first got started on campus, I was involved with them because, oh my gosh, it was outrageous. Well, thinking about it, I'm like, that was outrageous what was what was going on at Salem State at that time.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=2815.0,2914.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/65","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Andrew Darien\n\nDo you want to say a little bit about that?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=2914.0,2918.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/66","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Cristian Recinos\n\nYeah. So at that time, what was it? There was just a number of different incidents that had happened on campus. I remember, I think, like Salem State, like Twitter account got hacked and somebody had posted all of these like racially volatile statements. There was a frequency of tagging on the benches like around the campus with negative things. Yeah. And then I think like the one that really sparked fire and like a lot of the students got together was [when] the art department had hung up this portrait of the Ku Klux Klan in that small gallery in Ellison Center. Yeah. And I remember it at the arts department, I think at the time just...—and I'm sure there was nuance to it, but really I don't think it was the best move on the arts department part. All of the black and brown students were very upset by it. I remember I was the secretary of that group for a while, organizing and taking part of the demonstration on the quad of North Campus. Yeah. I still have a video. I think it was covered by one of the local news stations. I think I still even have pictures of the thing of the tweet when the account got hacked. So yeah, all I can say, I was very involved on campus. Oh yeah. And I remember I used to go to different events that were there. Well, at that time too...y'know when you're like a poor college student, and you're like starving, like :I'm gonna go to these free events because there's food here, there's candy here,\" or something like that. Especially if [you're] a commuting student because I didn't stay on campus. Although, at times, I would stay in in my friend's dorms. But yeah, I'm very busy.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=2918.0,3032.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/67","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Andrew Darien\n\nDo you think those racial incidents were ones that were reflective of a larger problem where black and brown students weren't as welcome?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=3032.0,3050.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/68","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Cristian Recinos\n\nWell, I think they were definitely indicative of it. I think they were probably indicative of some of the individuals in that area. But you know, that's obviously not everybody. But even if I think about even larger than just Salem State, even the state of Massachusetts, Boston had the reputation... Boston had the reputation of being the most racist city. A lot of people are always looking to Boston as a reflection for the larger Massachusetts world view. And I would say as a person of color, I definitely feel it. And it's not as explicit as you would think in other different states. But this summer weather, I think it's kind of like a perfect like analogy for it is that this humidity, when sometimes you feel like you're swimming through soup, like, you know, you don't see it, but there's a tension there. That's at the larger part. On those incidents at Salem State, it definitely didn't help the situation. But you know, that hacking situation, that could have been a lone individual. Those tagging on the benches things is probably a lone individual. But I think really that incident with the arts department, and the controversial painting, probably definitely kind of set them off. Because not only then is it like where maybe it was some random ne'er-do-well, but this is the institution, or a part of the institution, telling you that, \"Well, we appreciate your concern, but we're not going to [remove the painting],\" or at least that it wasn't adequate to the students' wishes because they did take some action at that time. I feel like they put a curtain or something over it, but I know a lot of the members of the group Black / Brown Crowd were very behemoth and like, \"It should come down!\" So, yeah.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=3050.0,3176.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/69","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Andrew Darien\n\nWhen you first came to campus from Lynn, did it feel like a diverse campus or did it feel like a white campus?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=3176.0,3188.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/70","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Cristian Recinos\n\nHmm. When I first went to Salem State from Lynn.....on the freshman orientation day, I don't know if I was really consciously thinking about that. If I'm reflecting on it now, probably at first glance, no. I didn't really think [that it was] a white campus, I think, because I know....I mean, I was hanging out with a couple of different people. I thought it was fine. But definitely, I think over the four years, it was definitely much more of a PWI [Predominantly White Institution] in my mind by the end of it, even though the diversity there is apparent. But I don't think it's just in terms of the populations at these institutions or these settings, but it is also the atmosphere. And I don't know if I always felt like it was a culturally inclusive atmosphere outside of those those affinity groups. Yeah. But, those were years ago. I don't, I can't speak to whatever you guys are doing over there today.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=3188.0,3255.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/71","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Andrew Darien\n\nAnd remind me, what year did you graduate?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=3255.0,3259.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/72","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Cristian Recinos\n\n[When] I graduated, it was 2018, I think.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=3259.0,3268.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/73","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Andrew Darien\n\nDo you feel like the Trump presidency heightened some of those racial divisions on campus?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=3268.0,3283.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/74","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Cristian Recinos\n\nProbably. I didn't want to mention it because because I didn't want to think maybe I was misremembering, but I had also thought that one of one of the other incidents might have been that somebody had like a Trump flag in their windows or something like that, too. But don't quote me on that because I can't remember exactly. But, if I'm remembering correctly, probably? I mean, hey, you know, look at the tension we're in right now. Probably definitely did not help anything.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=3283.0,3312.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/75","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Andrew Darien\n\nSo I know you were a sociology major and you've spoken quite positively about your academic experience here. What do you think were the most important things that you learned here, and how do you think that informs your work as a community organizer?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=3312.0,3343.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/76","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Cristian Recinos\n\nI think that probably the most important thing I've taken away from that level of education is a lot of the complexity in academics to see how they operate at the community level. I'm not sure if I'm really explaining that, as well, because I sort of have a love-hate relationship with academia, because I think with my coursework in sociology over there is [that] I love learning about theory and I love like looking at all the case studies, and looking at the statistics, and the data. But then I remember I was always grappling with like, \"Well, how do you take these complex ideas and make them into solutions, or translate them to people who are not in academia, who are not in college, the people that don't have the privilege to attend those things?\" So that's probably where my love-hate was. But I think that that academic knowledge and that academic background is probably the greatest thing that I've taken away [from Salem State]. I remember one thing because I think I remember.......—well, and again, I love the sociology department, shout out to them! Dr. Chenault and Dr. Leong, Dr. Delgado at the time. Now I don't think Dr. Delgado was there anymore. Sarah Moore. Was it Paul Green? I think he was at the end of his tenure over there. He was a little bit of a controversial figure, too, with with a couple of the students at that time, but I always thought he was a good educator. Then there were a couple of other people in the department, but I didn't have classes with them. I remember one quote from Dr. Delgado— because I was always frequenting the sociology department, like just spottering them, chit-chatting with them —is that I think he was saying, \"Well, complex ideas have complex explanations.\" I think that really stuck with me because sometimes it isn't really that easy. Otherwise, I'm sure if it was, we wouldn't be still dealing with them as of today. So, definitely that higher level, critical thinking at looking at things, and the history portion as well, because the social sciences, they overlap. Even though I was in the sociology department, there was a lot of history that also informs you about those social issues that happen contemporarily. But yeah, it's a little bit more about....—and I appreciated, asides from just the academic things, a lot of the opportunities, I think that the department also gave me because I attended, I think like three different conferences for them? One of them was local, at Boston College or Boston University —or no, it's UMass Boston. At UMass Boston, I remember attending at that time, they had theeee......oh, why am I blanking on the name? They would kill me! But they had a sociological conference at UMass Boston, and then I remember I went to the Eastern Sociological Society conference for them two times. The first time I just went as an attendee, and they funded me to attend it in Philadelphia. That must have been my junior year or something. And then my senior year, I remember I went to it again in Baltimore. And at that one, I actually presented, at a round table discussion, a project that I was working on. Yeah. Those experiences, those were great because even those, I think were like exposure to so much more crazy complex things that people are studying and researching. Over there, I remember there were so many things on the program that it was like.....I remember they had racism and technology and studying all these weird communities. [It was] just that experience and broadening of ideas.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=3343.0,3610.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/77","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Andrew Darien\n\nSo take me from theory to practice. How did United Lynn Pride come about, and how did you come to be the director?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=3610.0,3619.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/78","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Cristian Recinos\n\nSo United Lynn Pride is still fairly recent, but the brief history is.....let's see, I think I was before the pandemic, or right at the start of the pandemic, I think that my time at NAGLY had ended. I had invested a lot of time there, but at that time, I think I just had outgr[own] organization and with everything else happening in the world, it was a good time to step away. Then during the pandemic years, I was just working. And then I think with the murder of George Floyd, that really sparked me to get more involved in my local community and things happened. Because all growing up, I've always involved myself in different leadership, and organizations, and stuff like that. Until really that point, I wasn't doing too much in my own municipality. But after that, I was like, \"I've got to do more things in my community. I've really got to like...\", \"Things have got to shape up.\" And at that time, I was joining a bunch of different things. One of which was this group Queer Lynn Scene which I don't even remember how I like had figured out about it. I think maybe like it was on Facebook somewhere and somebody shared the post with it for me. Queer Lynn Scene, though, was started by Ana, Ana Massacote, who we also interviewed, and at that time, at first, I think it was just a project for her. And then it sort of evolved into a community group-esque thing, and I wanted to be part of it. It aligned with my interests and things I'd done in the past, and it was in my own community. So, it all just sort of lined up, and we were doing that. Then one of the following years, we got involved with the pride celebrations, and then I think the next year after that, it became a little bit more of a collective kind of thing, organizing pride again. And then, at that time, we were calling it United Lynn Pride, switching from Queer Lynn Scene, but not yet incorporated. And then I think following that pride event, we were talking with a lawyer, and we actually got incorporated, and now we're here now! I think going on the third year of incorporation, like two and a half to three years? Well, it'll be three! I've done at least two tax years already, so it'll be the third year this next summer coming up. And yeah, that's just sort of how it manifested. I think I decided to take up the responsibility of actually doing it because I feel like it's something that the city of Lynn could really benefit from, and I think that the LGBTQ+ community of the city would really enjoy [it] because I know at least for myself and for my peers growing up in high school, it was always you either had to go to Salem or you had to go to Boston. It could be, like I said, like, you know, taking the bus and coming back late and missing your bus stop, or taking the train in the Boston, and then coming back and missing or whatever. It's just not as convenient as being able to be in your own community for those spaces. And also just accessibility wise, because for folks who don't have cars, anything like that, just, yeah. Yeah, That's pretty much why I decided to do it, and also, just, I think there's a unique flavor to Lynn that isn't Boston, that isn't Salem, that people in Lynn might benefit from, as we continue to grow and congregate and know one another, hopefully.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=3619.0,3865.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/79","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Andrew Darien\n\nLGBTQ+ is a pretty large umbrella organization. For you, how does that umbrella create solidarity and strength and numbers, on the one hand? And how do you guard against it [without] maybe overwhelming any one of those individual identities?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=3865.0,3892.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/80","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Cristian Recinos\n\nHmm. Well, you know, that hasn't really been an issue too much as of yet. But going forward, I'm sure it could potentially be an issue where some folks as though they're getting enough recognition. But I think I just try to be mindful about intersectionality, and also taking those times to acknowledge each group, because group because you're correct, even at the insemination of the Gay Liberation Movements, even at that time, they were just going by 'gay', and there have been individual groups like, Sisters of Bilitis and the Mattachine Society, which were explicitly like, \"This is just for the gay men. This is just for the lesbian women.\" Even today, you look to neighboring cities, there's Mass Trans Community Coalition or Mass Trans Political Coalition, which is explicitly to advocate for the rights of trans individuals, so I think it can be difficult, but as we haven't had that yet, I guess I'm going to have to figure it out as we go. But I think I'm hoping that that mitigates it, it is that just being mindful of being intersectional and recognizing everybody's identity. And also, it's just escaping my mind right now......I think there's also just sort of like, similar to how there's a unique flavor to the city of Lynn, I think there's also this unique quality to people who explore gender and sexuality identities that is connecting, because there's like a shared experience there. There's this shared experience of going against the norms of society, and also probably experiencing different similar experiences of either rejection, chosen family, and other items like that. So, yeah, so a little bit.....I think of like, I can't really speak to a specific example of one that's happened right now, but, you know, I'm hoping that those other things that I mentioned, we'll tackle that and it won't get overwhelming in the future, but who knows, maybe it will get overwhelming in the future.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=3892.0,4050.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/81","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Andrew Darien\n\nWell, it's certainly been my observation that Lynn is largely an oasis of positivity and sanity with regards to queer rights and respecting queer people. But as you've noted, it really feels like there's been, nationally, a bit of a backlash against LGBTQ+ people. And I'm wondering, as my last question, why do you think that that's happening now? And are you optimistic about the future?","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=4050.0,4098.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/82","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Cristian Recinos\n\nHmm. Why is it happening now? Whew! A heavy question! I'm not sure if I can speak to everything, but I think that right now ideologies overall— not just in terms of the LGBTQ+ community —are quite at odds with one another. We're very divided right now as a nation, because again, we're speaking in the context of the United States. I'm not sure if in other countries, [people] are facing the same issues, but I think it's just that right now we're at a boiling point where people are at odds with with each other. And I guess from the Massachusetts perspective, I'm not too concerned because we are so liberal. But I also need to just remind myself [that] we can't become complacent. I think that rights still need to be advocated for as they face these challenges. I think even here in Massachusetts, there there are a couple of different anti-trans legislation that were on the docket. That's just part of the reason, I think in general, that they're getting pushed back, is that overall in general, ideologies are in tension with one another right now. Am I hopeful for the future? Yeah, I would say I'm hopeful for the future. I think it just takes people to continue to do the good work, not just in terms of this demographic group, but across the board, labor rights, women's rights, racial justice, and that there is a solidarity amongst those different groups and advocating for things and going forward. Yeah. In a sense, if I'm not hopeful, what's the alternative? If I'm not hopeful, then I'm forced to languish in despair and I just can't do that, so I have to be hopeful, not just for the reason of having to be, but I also do believe that nothing is permanent and things will change, and hopefully for the better.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=4098.0,4250.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/83","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Andrew Darien\n\nWell, thank you for your positivity. Thank you for your advocacy and your leadership on behalf of United Lynn Pride. Thank you for being such a fine representative of Salem State University, and I really appreciate your time, Christian.","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=4250.0,4270.0"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/transcript/71576/annotation/84","type":"Annotation","motivation":"transcribing","body":{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Cristian Recinos\n\nThank you so much for speaking with me!","format":"text/plain"},"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=4270.0,4274.24"}]},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/index/84661","type":"AnnotationPage","label":{"en":["Cristian Recinos index [Index]"]},"items":[{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/index/84661/annotation/85","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"My family comes from Mexico and Guatemala.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=150.922,302.624"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/index/84661/annotation/86","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Lynn is full of characters.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=302.624,534.783"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/index/84661/annotation/87","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"I'm the oldest male child.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=534.783,713.647"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/index/84661/annotation/88","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Religion was not a big part of growing up.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=713.647,831.105"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/index/84661/annotation/89","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"My family valued taking care of one another.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=831.105,961.365"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/index/84661/annotation/90","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"In High School I joined GSA and drama club.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=961.365,1343.06"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/index/84661/annotation/91","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"There is a diversity of sexual identities in my family.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=1343.06,1502.246"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/index/84661/annotation/92","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"My first crush was a cute Dominican boy.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=1502.246,1579.745"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/index/84661/annotation/93","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"I came out to a few people at a time.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=1579.745,1692.226"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/index/84661/annotation/94","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"I was relieved that family acceptd me.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=1692.226,1884.864"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/index/84661/annotation/95","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"The Gay Straight Alliance was a small group.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=1884.864,1967.7"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/index/84661/annotation/96","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"We got the Pride flag to hang in the cafeteria.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=1967.7,2170.825"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/index/84661/annotation/97","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Many LGBTQ+ students did not attend GSA.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=2170.825,2325.242"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/index/84661/annotation/98","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"LGBTQ+ discrimination in school and neighborhood was minor.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=2325.242,2496.668"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/index/84661/annotation/99","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Nightlife has just never really appealed to me.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=2496.668,2574.585"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/index/84661/annotation/100","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"I worked while I went to college.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=2574.585,2803.085"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/index/84661/annotation/101","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"I was politically active on campus.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=2803.085,2919.26"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/index/84661/annotation/102","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"There were outrageous racial incidents on campus.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=2919.26,3190.143"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/index/84661/annotation/103","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Salem State University was not a culturally inclusive atmosphere.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=3190.143,3325.584"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/index/84661/annotation/104","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Salem State helped me become a community organizer.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=3325.584,3653.98"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/index/84661/annotation/105","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"George Floyd's murder sparked my community involvement.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=3653.98,3694.964"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/index/84661/annotation/106","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Queer Lynn Scene evolved into United Lynn Pride.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=3694.964,3871.88"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/index/84661/annotation/107","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"I'm mindful of LGBTQ+ intersectionality.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=3871.88,4099.38"},{"id":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300/index/84661/annotation/108","type":"Annotation","motivation":"supplementing","body":[{"type":"TextualBody","value":"Despite the anti-LGBTQ backlash, I am hopeful.","format":"text/plain","label":{"en":["Title"]}}],"target":"https://througharainbowlens.aviaryplatform.com/collections/2385/collection_resources/132527/file/247300#t=4099.38,4274.24"}]}]}]}