Honoring the life and legacy of Tyrone Smith, longtime community leader and champion for the Black LGBTQ+ Community in Philadelphia.

Honoring the life and legacy of Tyrone Smith, longtime community leader and champion for the Black LGBTQ+ Community in Philadelphia. WHEREAS, Tyrone Smith was born in Kingston, North Carolina in 1942. His family later moved to Philadelphia. He graduated from Benjamin Franklin High School in 1968, and subsequently worked for Keebler Baking Company and served as a lab technician for thirteen years; and WHEREAS, Tyrone left Keebler in the early 1980’s around the time the AIDS and HIV had begun to devastate the lives of Black gay men in Philadelphia. Tyrone joined the Philadelphia AIDS Task Force, where he began to advocate for the health of Black gay men, when there were no other champions for education and support to protect Black gay men from AIDS and HIV; and WHEREAS, Tyrone established U nity, Inc., the City’s first organization e stablished by and for Black gay men. Tyrone served as executive director of Unity for thirteen years, during which time he ushered in some of the most progressive policies and programs for Black gay men in the City’s history ; and WHEREAS, Tyrone Smith co-founded Philadelphia’s Black Gay Men’s Leadership Council in 2005. The Black Gay Men’s Leadership Council mission is to cultivate education, advocacy, and community collaborations to further empower Philadelphia’s diverse communities of Black gay men. The primary focus is to nurture their political and social advancements, wellness needs, and health to better help their development and transition …