“As a culture, there’s a lot of pride, a lot of authenticity — It brought awareness to my level of fluidity in love.” Beyond celebrating LGBTQIA+ stories this month for PRIDE, did you know that June is ALSO Caribbean-American Heritage Month? What does it mean to identify as Caribbean-American or LGBTQIA+? What impact do these monthly celebrations have on cultural representation? Since we didn’t have the answers, we asked FrieMMds of the Pod Arianne Hunter and Mercedes Dean to talk about their Carribbean and Queer intersections. In a conversation about heritage, authenticity, and pride - hear how family impacts perspectives, falling in love reveals things you never knew existed, and the fluidity of personal identity. LEARN ABOUT ARIANE: Ariane is a Queer, Black Caribbean American woman living in Brooklyn with her partner. She is a corporate worker turned entrepreneur as a career coach, strategist, and advisor for Black women taking the leap at work and beyond. arianehunter.com instagram.com/arianehunter // twitter.com/ArianeHunter LEARN ABOUT MERCEDES: Mercedes’ passion is to uncover strategic insight, inspire creative angles, innovate across all social platforms, and create content to ignite social conversations. With over 11+ years of experience as a full-stack digital marketer, storyteller, and leader in brand and influencer marketing, she continuously challenges herself to push creative strategies to the next level. instagram.com/mercedeslenay // instagram.com/mattecreative MENTIONS TV: Legendary - imdb.com/title/tt11048090/ TV: Pose -imdb.com/title/tt7562112 PERSON: Kerry Washington - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerry_Washington PERSON: Rihanna - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rihanna Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices