"We each have expectations from our communities and our families, and we each have to navigate the multiple roles we play," Swayne said in an interview after his address. "Being gay and being of color are not antithetical. Both [groups] seek to have their voices heard in the larger community. Both wrestle with being misrepresented."
The event, "Invisible Identities: Exploring Race and Sexuality," was a collaborative effort among the Office of Black Student Advising, the Afro-American Society and the organizers of PRIDE week.
"Sexuality -- in particular GLBT issues -- is not discussed in certain communities of color," Samantha Ivery, assistant dean of student life and adviser to black students, said in an interview. Ivery was also one the event coordinators.
Swayne, an ordained minister, said his religion helped him reconcile his race and sexuality.
"The gospel breaks down barriers, but this means we all erect barriers," he said.
During his address, Swayne described an influential passage from the Acts of the Apostles, a book in the Bible, in which "linguistic, socioeconomic and gender barriers are broken by the spirit."
Because the Bible both condemns and praises acceptance of homosexuality in different passages, many people in the black religious community are upset by any discussion of GLBT issues, he said.
"The professor talked about all the right things," Amanda Hall '11, who attended the event, said. "I know I have friends who didn't even want to come because of their religion."
Swayne concluded by calling for both black and gay communities to try and understand each other's positions, especially at Dartmouth -- "a place with freedom of expression where I can express myself as a gay man, a black man and a religious man," he said.
"Invisible Identities" is one of the final events of PRIDE week, a program aimed at examining sexuality in society and within the Dartmouth community. On Wednesday night, PRIDE organizers held TransForm, an androgyny-themed fashion show aimed at challenging gender roles, and the Drag Ball.
Victoria Stockman '10, who helped plan TransForm, wore stereotypical men's clothing during the show.
"We want to deconstruct gender and societal norms," she said. "We ask the models to chose their gender identity, and then we let them be creative."
Timothy Duggan, assistant director of the Collis Center and Student Activities, praised the events as "particularly interesting, because I think the old Drag Ball is dated. Women dressing like men and vice versa is too much of a classic dichotomy."
Raymond Rodriguez '09, another coordinator of PRIDE week, said PRIDE has served to make "visible a community that has been marginalized in the past."
PRIDE week concludes on Saturday with a dance party hosted by Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity.
