LGBTQ+ Names to Know: Rach Pike

RACH PIKE (she/they/daddy)
Co-founder of as you are. bar

Words to live by
The safest place on the planet is a vulnerable heart. I also love LOVE! Often, when I’m having a tough time thinking clearly or getting quiet I will ask myself, “What is the most loving thing I can do right now?”

Your impact on the District
My impact on the District professionally is very personal. I have been honored to work in securing safe spaces for the LGBTQIA+ community for the last four years, and it is my passion. My objective is to support and prioritize marginalized people in industry spaces, the LGBTQIA+ community and the D.C. community at large.

How D.C. supports the LGBTQ+ community
D.C. is a welcoming city for LGBTQIA+ because the community is making it such. We are taking up space as queers, we are creating leagues by and for queers, we are opening up spaces by and for queers, and we are just out living our lives. The world can adjust because we are here. 

What the city can improve upon
The city has work to do and we have work to do within the LGBTQIA+ community as well. It is my wish — and my efforts are focused on — true anti-oppression versus just being anti-my-oppression. In a nutshell, I believe that is where the opportunity lives. Too often, people fight against their own oppression and stick their head in the sand when they see others oppressed differently. We need to keep pressing on to tear down the systems built to oppress and build systems — at every level— that are anti-oppressive for all.

What you’re looking forward to most this summer
Opening as you are bar with Jo McDaniel and this community! We are so excited to open this space and team up with the LGBTQIA+ community it serves to create it for all of us. We know we are only two people in this community and our representation is limited, so we are working diligently to develop this space with the voices and perspectives of many, especially the communities of people the two of us do not represent.

@asyouarebar on Instagram + TikTok // @theycallmecoach25 on Instagram // www.asyouarebar.com + www.fb.com/asyouarebarevents

Read the rest of our LGBTQ+ names to know below:
Marcelle G Afram | KC B. Yoncé | Chord Bezerra | Charity Blackwell | Allister Chang | Esther Ciammachilli | Cassidy DuHon| Lana Duran | Michael Edmonson | Clarence Fluker | Cey Cey Green | Anthony Hesselius | Joseph Ireland | Andra “AJ” Johnson | DJ Lemz | Arvind Manocha | Dusty Martinez | Chloe Mcinnis | Kyle Meeks | Brixton Millner | DJ Mim | Mykie Moll | Peter Morgan | Aaron Myers | Monika Nemeth | Eric North | Brendan Padgett | Carl Parker III | Rach Pike | Brittany Rheault | Shady Rose | Bianca Russo | Ella Schiralli | Sloane Spencer | Mane Squeeze | Bobbi Strang | Alli Vega | Whit Washington | Dr. Imani Woody

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