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The Rev. Irene Monroe, a nationally syndicated queer religion columnist, discussed the importance of alliance building between different identities during her Friday night keynote address for QueerFest 2011.

Monroe, who has been featured in O, Oprah Magazine and CNN and is a contributor to The Huffington Post, also spoke about the definition of whiteness, oppression, gender inequality, and race.

Her appearance was sponsored by numerous campus groups and was one of several events held for QueerFest, which included a drag ball and various workshops, including one about the Put This on the Map campaign that looks to empower young people to act on queer rights issues.

Monroe encouraged students to push their boundaries and address difficult issues, including homosexuality and race. She shared personal stories of her struggle with her own identity, including the moment when she realized that she was homosexual.

“If you don’t own up to your own struggles, you can’t help others,” she said.

“Reverend Monroe did a great job interacting with her audience,” Ben Pollock ’11 said. “She encouraged students to engage with her and challenge their assumptions of gender and sexual identity.”

At one point Monroe surveyed the room and asked individuals two questions: How are you white and how white are you? She commented on the idea of “buying into whiteness,” demonstrating preconceived notions of whiteness as an identity.

“If you don’t know your heritage, you don’t know your history, and that makes you dangerous because you lose the ability to build alliances,” she said.

When issues of race and oppression were discussed, students and faculty seemed to find Monroe’s words truthful and encouraging, as seen through the loud applause she received throughout her lecture.

“Until we understand how crimes against humanity play into each others’ lives, only then can we form alliances,” she said.