Bernenda Marc

And there's like a relish or like kind of like a garnish called picles.

Which the best way to eat it is to put this relish or picles on top of it.

It's kind of spicy, a little bit of a kick, but not too bad to the point that, you know, you're trying to gasp for air and get water.

And fried plantains.

Smashed.

And that's probably one of my favorite dishes.

If you ever go to a Haitian restaurant, ask them for grill and they'll hook you up.

Okay, perfect.

Yes.

And the culture is primarily, religion is primarily like Catholicism.

I grew up as Baptist, Haitian Baptist Church.

So very strict rules and very strict culture and not very sadly open to the LGBTQ plus community.

And that's where things got a little hairy for me.

It was both.

I would hear stories from either like maybe relatives or even my dad or my mom would say it, you know, to the point where if somebody did come out or were figured out to be a part of the community, it would end up where either that person is shunned out of the community or

to the point where they're even killed.

So progressing in that way, I would say is a flaw, but it's something that I believe that our community could work better on because we're very adaptable people.

And it's just a shame that that is the reason why your life can be taken.

It felt like I was in denial about it.

And it kind of put me in the back of the closet even more and just piled things on so that I'm not just discoverable.