TNT (The Next Thing)

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Oral History Quotes

[Speaking about her first encounter with TNT] They were definitely represented at TWTP, Third World Transition Program, which is the kind of pre-orientation before main orientation at the start of the school year. (...) So during TWTP, there were several workshops that address the different isms, you know, sexism, homophobia.  And for the homophobia workshop, the co chairs of TNT were there as the main facilitators. The MPCs [Minority Peer Counselors] were also there helping out. But they facilitated this workshop that really impacted me to come out, essentially (...) So we’re all in the middle of the space and all of the MPCs are around us standing, and they all go around and they come out [as gay], right? After they had all come out, the two chairs of TNT, Chitra Ganesh and Jeffrey Mingo, who is no longer with us, invited anyone else, any of the first years- they invited us to come out. So, you know, we got up there, and that was my coming out. Thanks to TNT and to the MPCs, you know, most of whom were allies (...) That was my introduction to TNT, and my coming out story at Brown, and in my life.

-Gigi Otálvaro-Hormillosa speaking about attending the Third World Transition Program as a freshman, and how it contributed towards her coming out on campus 

I think I told you all about the rally that we had organized after a queer student had all of these hate messages taped to her dorm room. So, you know, we had all organized, it was like the larger LGBTA group. You know, it was a pretty big group (...) I remember a big meeting where we all got together, And we really just did kind of grassroots organizing as far as committing to organizing this anti-homophobia rally. So that was our way of getting our voices out there. But as far as the Office of Student Affairs went [their response to the homophobic incident from] I mean, we were doing as much as we could to bring these issues to light. Whether it was organizing rallies against homophobia, or putting on dances to celebrate queerness. And the rally was successful in that, you know, we made it on the front page of the Providence newspaper, and we were in the news as well. And we started at Wriston Quad, where all the frats were located. That was intentional. And we made our way through the Quad, and we had our first moments on the steps of the Ratty, then made our way to the main Quad. And the footage from the rally was what appeared in the local news that evening, and also the pictures in the newspapers. So, we were doing what we could to make sure we were heard.

-Gigi Otálvaro-Hormillosa speaking about a collaborative rally between TNT and the LGBTA, in response to a homophobic incident that occurred on campus. 

TNT was such a huge part of my experience at Brown that has significantly impacted my work as an artist, activist, scholar (…) And here I am, you know, my first book [Erotic Resistance: A Struggle for the Soul of San Francisco] that just came out is really centering the experiences of queer and trans women of color working in the sex industry. So really, queer of color critique has basically just kind of stayed with me in different ways and through different projects over the years.

-Gigi Otálvaro-Hormillosa speaking about how her membership in TNT has made way for her current career as an artist, activist and scholar in queer of color critique

Oral History Quotes 

[Speaking about the structure of typical TNT meetings] We would have an opening check-in, then we would have a discussion on a predetermined topic. And I think we would give people the heads-up about what we were going to talk about that day… And then sometimes afterwards, some of us would go out to the Gate, which was a little eatery on Pembroke's campus, on the ground floor of Alumni Hall. Or, you know, we might go somewhere afterwards. So yeah, I just remember the conversations being very frank, people just like sharing a lot personally, which made it a unique space on campus. There were conversations we had there that were hard to have elsewhere.

-Ed Brockenbrough reflects on what typical TNT meetings were like, including where the group would go afterwards to socialize

TNT is where I found and developed my voice as a co-chair (…) I came out at the gospel choir concert at the end of my spring of my freshman year, but I was still a baby gay. I was coming out to bigger and bigger audiences. And then, somehow, September rolled around, and I was co-chairing this group, taking on the logistical organizational things that one has to do when you're running a student group, and also very quickly becoming an elder, because I was one of the people who had the confidence to be out. So, a number of folks ended up kind of latching on to me and relying on me. I also then had to be the person who would participate in the Black community forums on whatever issue, representing TNT. I had to be the spokesperson. I had to be the one to articulate our concerns in different spaces, in student forums, with administrators, when we were raising hell about the chaplain’s situation. Through all of that, I learned how to be a Black queer person in public. Not just out to my friends, but somebody who can be in the public spotlight and actually articulate our concerns, our agenda. 

-Ed Brockenbrough reflects on his leadership role in TNT, and how being a spokesperson for LGBTQ issues at Brown impacted his life moving forward 

[Speaking about what he remembers of the relationship between TNT and LGBTA] [The LGBTA] was more publicly facing, and we didn't really talk about that much. I think honestly, the people in TNT looked at the Third World Center as more of a resource for them than the LGBTA. Because we all came out of the TWTP [Third World Transition Program], like I said, which I'm glad I brought that up because you didn’t seem to know about it, but I think that's an important component. And we all had MPCs [Minority Peer Counselors], so, I think if anything, we would have been looking at the Third World Center as a second sort of resource. But just to point out, we didn't meet at the Third World Center because I think the Sarah Doyle Center was considered more discreet for purposes of privacy.

-Christian Rutherford speaking about TNT’s connection to the Third World Center as their main resource, as opposed to the LGBTA office. 

Ellen (Curator): Was there any sort of record keeping of what happened at meetings? Like a journal? 

Christian: I mean, I think it was intentionally supposed to be confidential because there were people - not everybody in the group that attended was out. So there was an expectation of confidentiality and privacy. 

-Christian Rutherford speaking about the groups’ commitment towards confidentiality for their members, leading to a lack of records from the time

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