Reverend Irene Monroe, the acclaimed public theologian, preacher and columnist known for her fearless voice at the crossroads of faith, race, gender and LGBTQIA+ equality, will be honored this fall by the Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition (MBCC) at its 29th Annual Lesbians & Friends LGBTQIA+ Dance.
The celebration, themed “Halloween Bash for Breast Cancer Prevention,” will take place Saturday, October 24 from 6 to 11 p.m. at Boston’s Club Café.
“As a two-time breast cancer survivor, I am excited to receive this year’s MBCC award, especially as an African-American woman belonging to a demographic group that continues to bear a disproportionate burden of systematic inequities and barriers to quality health care,” Rev. Monroe told Boston Spirit.
“MBCC will help me shine a vital light on the importance of breast cancer awareness for all women, and in the Black community we are significantly more likely to delay or avoid mammograms because of past negative experiences with health care providers and legitimate concerns of discrimination. That makes this event and the honor I’m receiving even more meaningful.”
For MBCC, honoring Monroe feels like coming full circle. The organization traces its roots back to 1991, when it was founded by a group of lesbians who wanted to look beyond treatment and awareness and dig into the preventable, environmental causes of breast cancer. That founding spirit of activism lives on in MBCC’s enduring bond with the LGBTQIA+ community—and in the woman it’s chosen to celebrate this year.
“Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition’s connection to the LGBTQIA+ community has been at the heart of our organization since its founding,” reads the MBCC’s announcement, and “the same spirit of advocacy and dedication is embodied by this year’s honoree, our friend, Reverend Irene Monroe.”
Monroe has spent her career pushing faith communities to reckon with who they include and who they leave out. As one of the nation’s most recognized openly lesbian religious leaders, she’s built a body of work—through preaching, writing and broadcasting—that challenges long-held assumptions about belonging in the pews. She writes widely on religion, civil rights, feminism and LGBTQIA+ issues (frequently for Boston Spirit), and she co-hosts the podcast “All Rev’d Up” with Reverend Emmett G. Price III, continuing to spark conversation about faith, identity and social justice across the country.
Her conviction was on full display in a 2019 appearance on Amanpour & Co., where she said, “If to change an institution that you love, the only way to change it is to be in it and change it. . . . We need to stop using these texts of terror to denigrate and to demean and to damn people.”
That willingness to speak up — and to stay in the room and do the hard work of change—is exactly why MBCC chose her, according to the organization’s leadership. “We believe meaningful change begins with people who have the courage to speak up, challenge injustice and build community. Reverend Irene Monroe has done exactly that throughout her life,” says Cheryl Osimo, the MBCC’s executive director. “By honoring her, we celebrate the compassion and conviction our communities need now more than ever.”
Monroe is a longtime friend and volunteer of MBCC, and the coalition says her steady encouragement over the years has made this year’s recognition especially meaningful. At the dance party, MBCC Board of Directors Secretary Estelle Disch will present Monroe with the honoree award during the celebration.
As for the party itself, organizers are promising a lively night. Things kick off with a VIP Party from 6 to 8 p.m., featuring a beginner merengue lesson led by Liz Nania, founder and director of OUT to Dance, along with complimentary hors d’oeuvres. DJ Christina, visiting from San Francisco, will keep the music going all evening. The main event follows with an energetic dance floor and a costume contest complete with prizes—fitting for a Halloween-themed bash. n
More: mbcc.org/dance