State-Of-Black-Oregon-2015

CASE STUDY 7INFORMAL SUPPORTS HELP ELTONCODY WRITE HIS OWN STORY60Elton Cody has spent his life dealingwith challenges. Both of his parentsdied from AIDS complications beforehis 11th birthday. He missed full years ofschool as he moved in and out of foster care,group homes and juvenile hall.Elton often felt alone in his fights. Through allthis, he struggled to embrace his identity as agay Black male, living in environments where hewas surrounded by homophobia and/or racism.Elton is an emerging rap artist who performsunder the stage name Elton Cray. He’s also builta reputation as an outspoken voice for theLGBTQ community. While his strong will and hissister’s support helped him navigate growing upin Los Angeles, informal supports in Portland ledhim to come out and take his next step in life.As he was growing up, elders in Elton’scommunity shamed LGBTQ people. To this day,he still struggles with self-condemning voicesin his head. After high school, he moved toPortland to attend Warner Pacific College andrun track. The mostly White, often homophobicenvironment left him with few people to talkto about his sexuality. He then transferred toPortland State University (PSU), where hesought out sexuality counselors. Elton saysthose candid sessions gave him the tools tomove forward. “The conversations we hadwere very informal. They weren’t structured.Everything was organic. We used slang.I don’t really like organizations that are tooprofessional. It’s too formal. And these types ofproblems are informal. You can’t simulate them.You can’t simulate life—life just happens.”After more soul-searching, Elton came out inJune 2013. He was surprised to find racismprevalent in Portland’s LGBTQ community.Members of a PSU gay student associationdidn’t welcome Elton unless it was to hit on him.A White man even called him the n-word at agay nightclub. He says, “In the gay community,there’s a big divide between Blacks and Whitesthat nobody chooses to acknowledge.”He maintains a small support circle and for themost part relies on this diverse group of friends.However, he recently joined PFLAG, PortlandBlack Chaptor, an organization that servesPortland’s Black LGBTQ community. “Essentially,I’ve created my own category. I’m able to blendin with anybody while still being me.”Elton hopes to help others find peace ofmind. He especially takes pride in inspiringyoung people. One White LGBTQ youth evenmessaged him, saying Elton’s music stoppedhim from committing suicide.Elton says, “The first words you hear whenyou’re born aren’t ‘don’t’ and ‘no.’ You don’tcome into this world with restrictions. You comeinto this world with abundance. You come intothis world being free.”