Above: Billie McBride O'Neel prepares to perform at the Be Here! Be YOU! charity event. Photo by Janet Liu
By Ed Rabinowitz
Billie McBride O’Neel circled the ice and smiled, reflecting the faces of skaters young and old standing along the boards.
“This is part of the power and comfort of being with others like you,” O’Neel said of performing at the fifth annual “Be Here! Be YOU!” charity event on April 12 at the Tenley E. Albright Performance Center at The Skating Club of Boston. “I was in a place of love and inclusion.”
O’Neel, a trans female skater and LGBTQ+ rights activist, wore a trans-colored flag for her costume and carried an umbrella in trans colors over her head with rain coming down, as she skated to “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” famously sung by Jerry Lewis for years at the end of his Muscular Dystrophy Telethon. As the song neared its conclusion, O’Neel performed a scratch spin, gradually revealing a large red-and-white bull’s-eye on her back. As the spin and music stopped, O’Neel dramatically ripped the bull’s-eye off her back, tossing it to the ice, as the sound of lightning crashed in the background.
O’Neel said for her and other trans skaters in the sport, the message is clear: “We have had enough.
“My program is poignant because it talks about the trans situation in real terms. When you walk through a storm keep your head held high. This is what’s going on now. It’s a storm, and it’s temporary.”
One by one, those in attendance, including silver and bronze Olympic medalist Nancy Kerrigan, told O’Neel how much they were moved by her program.
“As a skater, as a trans woman, and as the activist I have become, this was a chance to skate before my peers and skating family as my complete self,” O’Neel said. “That’s why it’s important to me. I don’t have a lot of opportunities left in skating. I’m in the twilight of my time on the ice. So, this was literally a swan song.”
Elin Schran, founder of Joy Skate Productions, hosted the event, which raised more than $20,000 in its first four years. The Skating Club of Boston donates the ice and all the skate rentals, as well as the force of its events team to prepare the rink for the event.
Schran said the goals of “Be Here! Be YOU!” are an extension of those embraced by Joy Skate Productions.
“Diversity, equity and inclusion are incredibly important to me, and to us as an organization,” she said. “Whether you’re gay, straight or whatever, ‘Be Here! Be YOU!’ is a place to come and be yourself, knowing you’re in a safe place.”
The event also honored Curtis Santos and Eilakeisha Spencer, cofounders of Boston LesBiGay Urban Foundation. Proceeds from each year’s event are donated to the honoree’s choice of organization. This year, all funds raised went to Boston LesBiGay Urban Foundation.
Schran said the event has grown every year, particularly in terms of education — letting people know what resources and organizations are available in the community — and reach. This year, that “reach” included the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a global charitable, protest and street performance organization that fundraises for charity.
“Their mission is to spread joy and nonjudgmental love for people,” Schran said. “They reached out and said they had wanted to be part of this event for a while. They were here to greet people and help them feel the love they deserve.”
Mia Corsini Bailey, club director of The Skating Club of Boston, said the metric of success for “Be Here! Be YOU!” is simple. Did people come, have fun and feel welcome? If so, then the event was a success. Skating, she said, is for everyone, and should be accessible as such. Club members play a critical role in making that happen.
“We have a vibrant adult community at the club which we’re proud of, and many members are LGBTQ+, so they play an important role in providing information on how to stay involved,” Bailey said. “This isn’t just a one-off. The doors are open, and [skaters] do have a safe space here.”
Schran believes the “Be Here! Be YOU!” model works, and she has begun meeting with people in cities across the country to “spread joy through this type of event.” Bailey said The Skating Club of Boston would love to be part of that effort.
“I would argue that every ice rink in America, depending on their scheduling, can provide this type of opportunity,” Bailey said. “There are lots of ways this can be scaled, bigger or smaller. I love the potential for growth.”
