[Music] I'm James Arnold you can call me Jimmy
and I use hitam pronouns I'm an activist punk rocker baby librarian writer book
lover and sister I grew up in Rochester and I've been coming to the Rochester
Public Libraries since I was very very small my like actual involvement with
the library in terms of programs started when I was about 13 and I put a
suggestion in the suggestion box that was like we start a writing group for
teens the teen librarian sent me an email cuz I left my email on the
suggestion and she actually thought I was like an adult person and she was
like well if you can find teenagers to come to this program we can have it and
I was like I'm 13 years old and I will bring all my friends she was like also
you should join the team library council so the rest is history
I did not have a community where I felt at home I was in a really dark place and
I was hurting a lot and I was so so lucky to find a community interaction
Public Library the only person for a long time that calming the name that I
wanted to be called before I like had the guts to come out to anybody else and
to say this is who I am this is what's going on was a library I think the most
important part of Rochester public libraries serving underserved
communities is its openness to work with them personally and to take advice and
to take feedback and to turn that into an even better more awesome library for
example when we noticed that there was an issue with queer kids being
underserved in the community we started a group and now we meet up every week
and it is not only helped me but a number of other people there are people
who will tell you including myself that being able to be a part of that save
their life as a creative person and as a creative person in a frequently
marginalized community having my voice in the world was really really important
to me not only for my own sake and sanity but for other people who might
need that one of the most powerful ways to reach somebody is to tell your story
and so after we started a writing group and we're like where can we take this
where can we put this and I was like I know a thing we can
some scenes and we've been making them every sever since it's like 30 or 50 or
something that we've put out so today at the Rochester Public Library
there is a nationwide walkout so kids are walking out of schools to protest
the sort of pervasive gun violence in our country but we do well here today I
would not have that opportunity without the library letting us use their space
and supplies to get our voice out there but I would like to continue to work
with queer teenagers who are maybe in the same place that I was I would like
to tell them yeah you are the person that you say you are you are a real
whole person and it's bookkeeping again and you have the right to exist you have
the right to be loved [Music]
you [Music]