Converge Media taps Deaunte Damper to lead LGBTQIA Programming
Damper to launch a new show as well as curate programming relevant to Seattle’s Black LGBTQIA community
SEATTLE, WA - Converge Media announced today that longtime community activist and advocate Deaunte Damper will join the company as not only the head of LGBTQ+ programming but will also host a bi-weekly show, We Live in Color with Deaunte Damper, which will premiere across all Converge Media platforms next Wednesday.
Damper, who has focused much of his career work on HIV awareness in the Black community, has been an outspoken advocate for access and education. Damper brings a track record of leadership and development as he previously served as the NAACP’s first LGBTQIA Chair. Well respected in the larger Black community as a whole for his work with several organizations such as Brothers United In Leadership Development (BUILD), the Washington Therapy Fund, and Vocal Washington, Damper will undoubtedly attract viewers to the Converge Platform well beyond the LGBTQIA community.
Damper is no stranger to the Black Media Matter Studios appearing on the Morning Update Show on several occasions over the past two years.
“Uplifting and amplifying the voices of Seattle LGBTQIA communities has always been an important part of Converge,” said Alaia D'Alessandro, Chief Programming Officer at Converge Media “However, with Deaunte now on board, we can place intentional focus on the curation and production of consistent, culturally relevant content that will inform, educate, and entertain not only the LGBTQIA community but our larger Converge community as a whole,” added D’Alessandro.
For Damper, teaming up with Converge Media is an opportunity to create a safe space through media for those in the LGBTQIA community to both listen and be heard.
“When we have conversations about “the diaspora of the black community” we in Black Queer are only included if we ask, or when the grant funding comes in, or when pride comes. Now it’s time We the people have a respected and safe platform in our community to share our stories and calls to action,” said Deaunte Damper.
As a programmer and content curator, Damper will ensure that Converge Media’s resources are being leveraged to maximize coverage of news as well as to create produced segments that clearly focus on important issues as well as create robust programming to serve the Emerald City’s LGBTQIA Black community.
We Live In Color with Deaunte Damper premieres on Wednesday, May 25th at 8 pm, and is a 30 min show designed to highlight topics and issues that are of importance to those in Seattle’s LGBTQIA community including health and wellness, policy and advocacy, events, and opportunities. “The LGBTQIA community needs other community members to start seeing how we live in color,” said Damper
About Deaunte
Born in Seattle, WA, Damper has focused his work on bringing HIV awareness and LGBTQ-affirming education to marginalized communities throughout the City of Seattle. In April 2019, Damper made History as the NAACP'S first LGBTQIA Chair, the first in 110 years of the organization. Damper began as a Peer Mentor for POCAAN .In 2019 Damper worked as a Transitional Specialist at the Washington State Department of Corrections.. Damper is now the Community Organizer for Vocal Washington and a part of the Leadership Team for BUILD 206.
