Grand Rapids, MI – The social hall at Fountain Street Church in the heart of downtown was packed to capacity with up to 300 people, February 1. While the folks inside listened intently to the dozen organizers speaking, over 200 people were outside in the freezing weather, patiently waiting to march.

Reverend Nathan Dannison began by telling the audience how excited the church was to be fulfilling its role as a progressive space to host events like these, stating, “the attendance is astonishing.” Fountain Street Church has a long history of being a hub and sanctuary for organizers in the city. Legendary leaders in the Black Liberation movement, like Angela Davis and Malcolm X, have spoken and held rallies at the church. 

The rally organizers, the Grand Rapids Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, stated their goal was to build coalitions and relationships with organizers throughout the city. Speakers from these organizations included Planned Parenthood, GR Climate Coalition, Grand Rapids Pride Center, GVSU Progressive Student Union, Grand Rapids School Board, GR Rapid Response to ICE, and others.

Sam Tunningley, an organizer of the event and member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, stated, “Trans rights and 2S-LGBTQ rights are extremely personal to me. My closest friends are queer, my sibling is trans, so Trump and his attacks are extremely personal, and we’re going to fight this on the front lines of every struggle!”

Eduardo Montiel, the chair of the Grand Rapids Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, stated, “I’m optimistic because I know the people, the working-class people who aren’t under risk of deportation, alongside immigrants will come together and stand up to Trump's racist and reactionary agenda. Together a better world is possible and that’s what everyone in this room is here to do right now. To come together and say enough is enough.”

An organizer of the Grand Rapids Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, said, “You who showed up for Patrick Lyoya, Samuel Sterling and Riley Doggett, for George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, we call on you to join us in our demand, community control of the police now!” In 2024 the GRPD officers killed Samuel Sterling, Riley Doggett, and many more community members. Justice is still yet to come for the family of Patrick Lyoya, who was killed by GRPD Officer Christopher Schurr in April of 2022.

Anthony Hegarty, a member of Palestine Solidarity Grand Rapids, stated, “The ceasefire came at a great cost and it's already being used as a political football by the ruling class in this country, first Trump takes credit, then Biden takes credit. It makes no difference; the Palestinians are ones who deserve credit!” 

The majority of speeches were also translated into Spanish, either by a volunteer translator or by speakers who were already fluent. The event continued into the streets of downtown Grand Rapids as over 500 community members marched for nearly an hour in the blistering cold, waving flags of Mexico and other Latin American countries, and chanting to drown out the sound of GRPD sirens and arrest warnings.

#GrandRapidsMI #GRAARPR #GRPD #GVSUPSU #GRClimateCoalition #PlannedParenthood #Trump #LGBTQRights #FreePalestine #ImmigrantRights

Allendale, MI – On January 29, Grand Valley State University's Progressive Student Union (PSU) led a speak-out against the new Trump administration. People held signs relating to healthcare, immigration, LGBTQ rights and other causes. The mood was casual, and people joined the students in protest throughout the event.

PSU organizer Owen Frassetto said, “Trump and his administration are now waging attacks against all sorts of people in this country. We need to unite the organizations of these different groups to stand together against attacks on immigrants, on trans people, on public education, and so much more. Our work is cut out for us, but people are ready to stand together and act.”

Another organizer, Elisa Skinner, said, “If you think the direction the country is heading in is the best it can be, I invite you to take a look around and stand in someone else's shoes. We have families being ripped apart, laws and standards violated, and billionaires such as Elon Musk giving Nazi salutes and attending far-right rallies.”

Donald Trump's election has brought with it uncertainty in regard to civil rights and the future of oppressed people. As anew student organization, PSU is trying to unite all forces that can be united against Donald Trump on Grand Valley's campus.

The Progressive Student Union holds weekly meetings which are announced on their Instagram, @psugvsu

#AllendaleMI #GVSU #PSU #PSUGVSU #Trump #LGBTQ #LGBTQrights #Healthcare #Immigration

Organizers announced that they will be launching an all-out campaign to force the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) to drop their anti-trans policy and to restore the ability of Floridians to change the gender markers on their IDs to reflect who they are.

More than a dozen community organizations including HOPE Community Center, Orlando for Gender Equality and Dream Defenders were united behind a banner which read, “DeSantis DMV. Drop the policy. IDs for all.” Florida Representative Anna Eskamani also attended and pledged solidarity with the growing campaign. As reporters gathered to hear the announcement outside the prominent LGBTQ health center, activists chanted “We won’t go back. Not one step back!” and “We will not go back in time, being trans is not a crime.”

Jacob Muldoon, lead organizer with Orlando for Gender Equality spoke first and outlined the context for DeSantis’ latest attack on the LGBTQ community. He explained that community groups organized and mobilized in great numbers during the past legislative session. Through actions like protests, letter-writings, die-ins, and more, activists defeated 21 out of 22 anti-LGBTQ bills attempting to move through the Florida legislature. But now, facing defeat, the GOP is pivoting to an undemocratic, administrative rule change.

Muldoon went on to say, “These political moves by DeSantis and the GOP are unconstitutional and follow a trend of Florida violating federal laws like Real ID and Title IX. DeSantis and the GOP are rogue actors, dead set on their unpopular and hate-filled agenda. We must defend Orlando from Tallahassee.”

Well-known community organizer Shea Cutliff delivered a powerful speech, stating, “As someone who transitioned very early, my ID was like a black American Express card. It was a ticket to so many things. It put a stop to being discriminated against before I even had the chance to interview for a job. It was my chance to stand up for myself in a place as simple as a grocery store by presenting my ID with the proper gender marker reflected on it.”

Joey Knoll, founder and president of SPEKTRUM Health also spoke out against DeSantis’ attempts to erase Florida’s trans population from public life. Knoll rebuked the right-wing governor, “regardless of what Ron DeSantis says, thinks or does: trans people have existed, trans people exist now, and trans people will continue to exist long into the future. Nobody is asking for his permission.”

The coalition ended the conference with a call to action, promising to mobilize and protest at DMVs around the state of Florida in the coming weeks.

#OrlandoFL #LGBTQrights #TransRights #TransLiberation #GayRights #RealID #TitleIX #Desantis #

Orlando, FL – Activists left a rainbow of messages against HB 1639 on the front door of Florida Representative Doug Bankson’s office in Apopka on Friday afternoon, January 26. It was part of an action called by Orlando for Gender Equality to fight back against the wave of anti-LGBTQ bills being proposed by Florida’s right-wing legislature.

Rep. Bankson’s HB 1639 is the worst of the bunch. It tries to erase the legal existence of trans people in Florida by requiring them to use sex assigned at birth instead of gender on their driver’s licenses and ID cards. The bill is also trying to revive the backwards and discredited practice of “conversion therapy” by requiring healthcare plans to cover it.

The ACLU of Florida recently warned that if this bill passes, trans people without access to valid driver’s licenses could be further criminalized for simply “driving while trans.”

Lead organizer with Orlando for Gender Equality Jacob Muldoon spoke at the protest and explained, “Bills like HB 1639 are trying to make queer people second class citizens in the state of Florida. They are trying to take away identification documents, they are trying to take away healthcare, they are trying to take away our flags, but we will not let them! These oppressive bills are a piece in a larger project to remove trans people from public life.”

Protesters lined the street outside the Republican politician’s office and held signs that read, “Stand for trans rights,” “Kill the bill” and “Not one step back.” Their presence was welcomed by pedestrians and motorists who stopped to join in or honked in approval. The loudest chants from the crowd were: “When trans rights are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!” and “We will not go back in time, being queer is not a crime!”

Madalyn Propst, from Florida High School Democrats, summed up the situation in her speech. “When I came out, my bullies were in the classroom. Now, the bullies are the politicians in Tallahassee.”

Orlando for Gender Equality plans to continue the campaign against HB 1639 with a follow-up webinar on February 3, where they will discuss updates on the progress of the anti-LGBT bills through the legislature as well other ways to take action and fight back.

#OrlandoFL #HB1639 #OrlandoForGenderEquality #TransRights #LGBTQRights

Milwaukee, WI – Nearly 30 protesters with the Coalition to March on the RNC 2024 massed outside the Pfister Hotel in downtown Milwaukee on the evening of August 22 to protest Riley Gaines, a former collegiate swimmer turned right-wing anti-trans personality. Protesters chanted “Transphobic, anti-gay, Riley Gaines, go away!” “Can’t swim Riley” and “Sore loser Riley” as they picketed outside the hotel. They carried a large banner that read “Stop trans genocide” and received a great deal of support from passing cars and people walking by.

Gaines originally gained notoriety in March 2022 for protesting the fact that she lost to transgender swimmer Lia Thomas in a NCAA 500-yard freestyle championship swim meet. She parlayed this loss – which included a fifth place tie with Thomas during the same meet in the 200-yard freestyle category – into her current grift. She’s now the director of the Riley Gaines Center at the Leadership Institute, has her own podcast, and is set for her own show on Fox News. She endorsed Florida governor Ron DeSantis for president.

Chrisley Carpio, a resident of Tampa, Florida who is facing ten years in prison and who is up against the type of political repression that Ron DeSantis personifies, was a special guest speaker at the event. She talked briefly about the Tampa 5, a group of young women activists that includes herself who were assaulted by police during a rally opposing cuts to DEI at the University of South Florida. She used this talking point to set up a broader message about the attacks on trans people in her state being championed by DeSantis.

“In Florida, we've seen more than half a dozen bills passed lately that deny the most basic things to trans people – and DeSantis started with the youth – from gender affirming healthcare, to gender expression in schools, to bathrooms, even to loving parents,” Carpio said. “We shouldn't wait for these attacks to spread from state to state, nor for Governor DeSantis to increase them as president. We should build a movement now, stomp out these transphobic policies, and sink DeSantis' presidential campaign before it takes off!”

Ahead of the first Republican primary debate, the nationally-recognized hate group Moms for Liberty, together with the Leadership Institute, held a couple of events on August 22. They would have had a third – a town hall with several of the Republican candidates for president – but two separate venues canceled the reservation as a result of community pressure.

With the Republican National Convention coming to Milwaukee in July of next year, many right-wing groups and personalities will be descending on the city over the coming months. Progressive forces are also getting organized to fight back against the racist and reactionary agenda of the Republicans, primarily through the Coalition to March on the RNC. The coalition has vowed to protest the Republicans and their surrogates at every turn whenever they come to Milwaukee.

#MilwaukeeWI #LGBTQRights #CoalitionToMarchOnTheRNC #sports #Tampa5 #RileyGaines

Dallas, TX – On Saturday, April 1, over 50 members of the LGBTQ community and their allies gathered at Dallas City Hall to protest transphobic and anti-drag legislation currently being passed by the Texas state government. Four of those bills are Senate Bill 14 which takes away trans youth's right to transition; Senate Bill 15, which bans trans athletes from participating in college sports, and Senate Bills 12 and 1601, which greatly restrict the freedom to perform in drag.

The rally called for the city of Dallas to refuse to prosecute anyone for these anti-LGBTQ laws.

The rally was called by the Freedom Road Socialist Organization, and emcee Jo Hargis of FRSO-Dallas, gave a speech mentioning the extreme unpopularity of the transphobic bills and condemned the transphobic justification of “trying to protect children.”

“During public comment for SB 14, 97% of the people who came to comment did not support the bill taking away trans children’s right to healthcare. Texans don’t want these bills. Our legislature is wasting our time bringing in people from out of state to push junk science to prop up garbage laws. We need to come together to reject these bills because once they’re done with our community, they’ll be coming for yours,” stated Hargis, adding, “If Texas wanted to protect children, they would fund CPS and ban child marriage.”

Cassandra Swart, a local trans activist, gave a speech denouncing the queerphobic bills as well as condemning the far-right's scapegoating of the trans community in the aftermath of the March 27 school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee. Swart also noted that the far-right's attacks on oppressed people's rights will not end with trans rights, noting that all LGBTQ rights and democratic rights for African-Americans are next on the far-right's chopping block.

“We also must acknowledge that trans rights aren't the only rights at stake in this fight. When they are done getting rid of any right for trans people to exist, they will come for gay rights, they will come for lesbian rights, they will come for civil rights for African-Americans. They've already started coming after reproductive rights with the overturn of Roe v. Wade. We are all in this fight together!” Swart declared.

Xavi Velasquez of local immigrant rights group Los Frontera Los Cruzo gave a speech criticizing American right-wing Christianity and called for an end to the influence of the Christian Right over politics.

“For widely supporting homophobic, anti-trans legislation and supporting the states control of what we can and can't do with our bodies, let the christofascist church be dismantled brick by brick,” stated Velasquez.

After the speeches, protesters marched around downtown Dallas and then back to Dallas City Hall. Chants included, “Gay! Trans! Black! White! Same struggle! Same fight!” and “It’s our history don’t deny it! Stonewall was a trans riot!” Protesters also sang a spoof Deep in the Heart of Texas that called for LGBTQ rights.

#DallasTX #LGBTQRights

Orlando, FL – On Saturday, March 11, multiple organizations rallied together in support of LGBTQ rights outside the Orlando City Hall. The event responded to the growing attacks that LGBTQ people face every day and the recent anti-trans legislation moving through the Florida legislature. The rally was attended by around 250 people.

This rally and its speakers singled out specific bills. This includes Florida Senate Bill 254, which allows the state to take away children seeking gender-affirming care and to ban health care providers from giving gender-affirming care to minors. It also includes Florida House Bill 1223, which prohibits the use of preferred pronouns in schools and prohibits teaching of sexual orientation and gender identity in public schools.

The event began with the crowd chanting, “Fuck DeSantis!” and “When trans rights are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!”

“Even during our most devastating time, during the Pulse massacre, the business owners were looking for donations to museums rather than support for the victims and their families. We must not rely on the system that has put us in this situation to get us out. We can only rely on ourselves,” said Alex Marulanda from Orlando Liberation Initiative.

Jamila Nicole from No More Dead Sisters said, “What made any community control of the police pass was mass struggle based in Black liberation. Tying together the fight for LGBTQ rights and the struggle for Black liberation is important as it brings to light the connection of all fights against oppression and unites us all against a common enemy: monopoly capitalism. We keep us safe!”

Jacob Muldoon, a member of the Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) Orlando, said, “This is just part of a larger attack on all oppressed people. Politicians have not fulfilled their promises, and we need to take the struggle into our own hands. We need working-class leadership to guarantee our social, economic and political needs, like healthcare, housing and employment.”

FRSO Orlando is continuing the fight for trans rights by mobilizing to the Orlando city council meeting on March 20 at 2 p.m. They are demanding that the city of Orlando stand with the trans community and investigate steps they could take to protect trans rights in the city.

#OrlandoFL #LGBTQRights #liberation

The discussion began with the chant “How do you spell rapist? N-O-P-D!”

The New Orleans Police Department recently declared sexual assaults to be “non-emergencies” while claiming to have made great progress on gender discrimination. Officer Gerry Paul of the 5th Precinct is an alleged rapist and still on the force. His accuser describes him using a police hold to pin her arms, while keeping his gun on the nightstand. Even though he would be fired from most jobs for this revelation, he’s only on desk duty. Paul still has his badge and his gun.

Jonny Frayle, a participant in the town hall, commented: “They say they don’t have enough officers, but what they really mean is so many cops are on administrative leave for misconduct.”

Participants agreed that civilians could respond more to mental health crises or domestic violence. The group also recognized that the city should have more services to address gender-based violence, such by providing rape crisis centers, housing for survivors and counseling for abusers.

People in attendance also debated the question of whether or not to jail Gerry Paul. Some were concerned that he could harm others in prison.

“I’m not afraid to say he should go in solitary,” said Toni Duplechain-Jones of New Orleans for Community Oversight of Police. The group generally agreed on the need for community control of the NOPD to hold officers like Paul accountable.

The discussion finally raised the issue of Louisiana’s complete abortion ban, with no exception for rape. Taken together, this ban and the NOPD give abusers a green light and completely eliminate the right to body autonomy.

The town hall resolved to build the fight for NOPD accountability and services for survivors. Real Name Campaign, the host organization, will hold an open meeting on Sunday November 13 at 3 p.m., at the Broadmoor Improvement Association.

#NewOrleansLA #PoliceBrutality #LGBTQRights #NewOrleansPoliceDepartment

Austin, TX – On Thursday evening, October 29, a group of around ten students gathered on the University of Texas at Austin campus to rally for women’s and LGBTQ rights. Led by the Austin Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), the rally focused on student demands of the UT Austin administration, calling on the university to provide free menstrual products and contraceptives in all campus bathrooms. Students are also demanding the university declare itself a sanctuary campus for trans youth in light of legislative attacks earlier this year against trans youth receiving gender-affirming care.

The protest included the call and response chant: “Abortion is? Healthcare! Contraceptives are? Healthcare! Gender-affirming care is? Healthcare!”

Fawn-Rose Brown from the organization OSTEM (Out in STEM) spoke first: “Everyone deserves bodily autonomy,” they said. “The state of Texas as well as many other states are barring us from these rights. While the city of Austin has decriminalized abortion, the last time I checked most abortion providers in Austin are still bound by the state and aren’t operating. How are folks who can get pregnant supposed to get an abortion if none of the clinics are operating?”

Ashley Awad spoke for SDS: “UT has the second largest endowment in the country second only to Harvard. President Hartzell makes $1.25 million a year. That’s ridiculous, don’t you agree? So we must demand a chop from the top! Cut the pay of top administrators by even a little bit, and they could easily use the funds to provide free and well-stocked menstrual products and contraceptives in every building on campus.”

Student speakers pointed out the fact that UT at Arlington has already committed to providing free menstrual products in campus bathrooms as a direct result of pressure from the Progressive Student Union.

In reference to this, Awad concluded: “I think we can all agree that it is inexcusable for UT Austin not to do the same thing. Considering the position of power and influence UT is in, I think that it’s time for these things to change, don’t you?!” Awad’s question was met with cheers from all the other students at the rally.

#AustinTX #LGBTQRights #UniversityOfTexasAustin

The Real Name Campaign celebrates Cuba’s passage of the new Families Code by popular referendum on September 25. The Families Code legalizes same-gender marriage and adoption, but it also goes far beyond that. With this new code, Cuba leads the world in LGBTQ, women’s, disability, children and elders’ rights.

The code recognizes and protects four kinds of households. Besides single-person and nuclear families, the code protects extended families with different caring relationships that include grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, or partners. It also recognizes compound households where more than one nuclear family lives together. The title “Families Code” intentionally respects that the working class has many different kinds of families.

The law recognizes the value of homes for the economy and society. It requires families to share housework between partners, and it strengthens existing protections against domestic violence. This follows Cuba’s long tradition of promoting the rights of women and other gender-oppressed people. Abortions are legal and freely accessible on demand.

The new code also recognizes care as a right, with profound implications for disabled and elderly citizens. The law recognizes that a person is not disabled because their bodies are wrong, but because their environments present them with barriers that society needs to break down. Anyone who requires the support of a caretaker has the right to choose who supports them, as well as establish safeguards deadlines for legal review of the care. The law also does due diligence to protect the rights of caretakers and honor their role.

In the area of children’s rights, Cuba replaced “parental authority” with “parental responsibility.” This gives children more say in these decisions based on their maturity – a concept known as “progressive autonomy.” For example, children in many cases have the right to raise a concern to the local family ombudsman without a parent or guardian. The code also affirms the duties of children, including respecting family members and carrying out chores in accordance with their age but irrespective of their gender.

Passing the code was a thoroughly democratic process. The National Assembly redrafted it 25 times after many discussions in town halls, workplaces, universities, and neighborhood meetings. The people’s feedback amended almost half of the code’s articles. After the Assembly passed the code unanimously, a popular referendum ratified it. The Cuban people won this victory against “machismo.”

The U.S., on the other hand, empowers bigots to take our rights everywhere from state legislatures to the Supreme Court. Following Cuba’s example, we will only secure dignity for women, LGBTQ people, disabled people, seniors, and students by winning over the broad masses to the struggle.

#NewOrleansLA #Cuba #LGBTQRights

Arlington, TX – On March 24, an email went out to senators of the University of Texas at Arlington student government detailing screenshots from the Turning Point USA discord server that revealed the student government President Caitlyn Burge-Surles and student government Chief of Staff Alyssa Spencer engaging in racist, transphobic and generally bigoted rhetoric.

Some examples of these messages include a screenshot of Caitlyn at the Conservative Political Action Conference in 2021 with the caption “twins, but one of us is a woman!” Burge-Surles and Spencer spouting off about the racist conspiracy theory that George Floyd was killed by fentanyl and not Derrick Chauvin, saying that Africans had just as much complicity in chattel slavery as America, and Burge-Surles saying that in order to solve the problems of the Middle East Iran had to be bombed as a “one and done.”

These screenshots sent shockwaves both throughout student government and the larger student body. A document was created compiling the screenshots and accusations. Organizations from the NAACP, Black Student Association, African Student Association, the Progressive Student Union and the Gender & Sexuality Alliance all released statements condemning the bigotry, demanding that the school take action. At protest that following Monday, on March 28, over 50 people gathered from the various organizations to say, “No bigots on our campus!”

The protesters moved inside the building, down where the student governance office is, and re-issued the demands to the university officials. They called for the hiring of a diversity, equity, and inclusivity staff person, the impeachment and resignations of the student government officers, an investigation into the conduct of Turning Point USA, an investigation into the advisor of student government, and a statement to condemn all the bigoted statements made by Burge-Surles and Spencer.

Progressive Student Union held a week long call-in to bring these matters to the attention of the student government advisor, and the office of student conduct. As of this writing neither have officially condemned the rhetoric or begun investigations.

Right now Burge-Surles and Spencer have been impeached by the student senate and will be facing trial on Monday and Tuesday respectively. Another student government official, Thomason Clayton who is the vice president, has also been impeached regarding chauvinistic and misogynistic conduct towards women while in office.

Students across campus at the University of Texas at Arlington let it be known that bigots should not have a seat at student government.

#ArlingtonTX #LGBTQ #AntiRacism #LGBTQRights #TurningPointUSATPUSA

Arlington, TX – On March 23, Progressive Student Union at the University of Texas at Arlington held a protest condemning the transphobic attacks that Governor Greg Abbott and Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick have imposed on Texan families. Both men attempted to direct the state Department of Family and Protective Custody to consider gender reaffirming therapeutics, such as puberty blockers, hormonal treatment and other aspects of trans healthcare, to be classified as “child abuse,” thereby making both families that support their trans youth and licensed professionals who are either aware of or support said youths getting the necessary healthcare liable to charges of “child abuse” or “abetting child abuse.”

The demonstration had 20 participants, and several Progressive Student Union (PSU) members gave speeches regarding defending trans youth and condemning the agenda of Abbott’s administration. PSU’s Ren Butter stated, “We have to stand up against transphobia, because we see that they’re going to continually attack us for trying to live.”

Jay Rodriguez and Rick Majumdar spoke on the fact these attacks are happening as part of a national campaign to roll back the hard-fought civil liberties that the LGBTQ+ community has won over the years.

Mark Napieralski, chief organizer of PSU, brought the focus back to the University of Texas at Arlington as he said, “There are many lacking things regarding LGBTQ+ support on campus, despite the claims that they support diversity,” and he announced that PSU has five demands.

Then five members of PSU each spoke about the five-point demands that the organization was issuing to UTA: To have gender neutral housing units in every single dorm; have dispensers for menstrual healthcare products in every single gender neutral bathroom on campus; hiring more counselors who specialize in gender dysphoria and mental health issues related to the LGBTQ+ community; that President Teik C Lim and future president write a statement condemning transphobia and setting up policies to oppose transphobia on campus; and that UTA follow the city of Austin’s example and declare itself a sanctuary campus for the LGBTQ+ community.

PSU will be continuing to agitate and demand equity for the trans community on campus.

#ArlingtonTX #LGBTQRights #UniversityOfTexasArlington #antiLGBTQLegislation #Abbott #PSU #transphobia

New Orleans, LA – Around 250 community members gathered at New Orleans City Hall, March 25, to forcefully voice their opposition to a string of legislation introduced by Louisiana Republicans in recent weeks. This includes bills that would restrict trans minors’ access to healthcare, their ability to participate in school sports, and could criminalize LGBTQ+ students and educators for being “out” in Louisiana schools.

The demonstration was attended mostly by students from three New Orleans high schools who have taken the initiative in organizing bold actions both on and off their campuses. Earlier in the day students at Benjamin Franklin High School held a walkout where hundreds of their classmates marched to the front of the school chanting “We say gay!”

Other students came to the event after another rally organized at a nearby high school. Christie Holliday from Queer Students and Allies of Louisiana said, “We will travel to Baton Rouge to confront the old white men who want to control our lives. We will fight back against our oppressors.”

Community members of all ages and from all walks of life proudly stood alongside the students. They acknowledged that the right-wing push to repress LGBTQ+ youth opens the door to other reactionary attacks like erasing reproductive rights.

Speakers from two immigrant rights organizations emphasized their solidarity with LGBTQ+ people. Mohamed of New Orleans Immigrants’ Rights Action said, “If anyone knows what it’s like to face a nationally coordinated Republican attack, it’s immigrants. So we will fight alongside you until all of us are free.”

Across the South, educators are pointing out that so-called “Don’t say gay” bills will have a terrible impact on students and teachers alike. Lauren Jewett spoke at the rally for United Teachers of New Orleans. She stated LGBTQ+ students could face further social alienation and repression from school administration and parents, and LGBTQ+ teachers could face reprisals for even mentioning their spouses or partners.

These bills could exacerbate the nationwide plague of teen suicides in the LGBTQ+ population, which is already four times more likely to attempt suicide than its peers. Additionally, all students would suffer from an already gutted sex education curriculum becoming even more narrow and anti-science.

After the energetic rally, the protesters carried their outrage to the streets. Under clear skies, they marched through busy downtown rush-hour traffic to show their collective strength. Serena Sojic-Borne of the Real Name Campaign said, “We won’t hesitate to disrupt business-as-usual to defend trans youth from these attacks. If shutting down rush-hour traffic seems like an inconvenience, imagine the inconvenience we face when our democratic rights are used as a punching bag by politicians who don’t care about our lives.”

The Real Name Campaign announced a call to action at the end of the march. They encouraged the demonstrators to flood the phone lines of Democrat Governor John Bel Edwards, to demand he promise that he will veto any bigoted legislation that ends up on his desk. Organizers emphasized that this is only the beginning of their struggle and that everyone must stay involved to ensure all three bills are defeated.

#NewOrleansLA #PeoplesStruggles #LGBTQRights #Louisiana #antiLGBTQLegislation

Tampa, FL – On October 7 and 8, Tampa Bay Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) rallied against the lack of federal job protections for LGBT workers. On October 8, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) began discussions on three cases that relate to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which protects against job discrimination on the basis of “race, color, religion, sex, or national origin,” in order to decide whether sexual orientation and gender identity are also protected under Title VII. Tampa Bay SDS held two rallies in response to this, as a part of a National SDS call to action. SDS demanded that the Supreme Court rule in favor of federal job protections for LGBT workers.

The first event was held in front of the Sam M. Gibbons Federal Courthouse where, just days earlier, a city-wide ban on conversion therapy was lifted. Conversion therapy is a pseudoscientific practice that purports to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. But it is a torturous practice that mainly targets LGBTQ youth and increases the chance of suicide for those who endure it. Several members of Tampa Bay’s police department tried to quiet the pro-LGBTQ chants. This is the same police department that has ignored attacks on Tampa’s LGBT community and even misgendered murder victim India Clarke in 2015.

The second event was held at the University of South Florida campus, which discriminated against LGBTQ workers and students during the Lavender Scare and the tenure of the Florida Legislative Investigation Committee, also known as the “John’s Committee.” There is even a building on campus named after notorious homophobe C. W. Bill Young, who worked on the John’s Committee to target and persecute LGBTQ teachers and students – causing numerous people to be ostracized, fired and one to attempt suicide. The administration at the university has ignored students’ calls to change the name of the building since 2015.

These rallies revealed that the fight for LGBTQ rights is not over. The mayor of the city of Tampa is a member of the LGBT community and on campus at the University of South Florida there are many references to diversity and inclusion. Yet, despite these superficialities, the LGBTQ community on campus, in the city, and across the country continues to be attacked. Tampa Bay SDS galvanized members of the community and students to take to the streets to defend the LGBTQ community from these attacks.

“It’s not identities or morality that make progressive political change, it’s the power of the people fighting back, in unity, for better conditions. And it is only through continuous struggle that we can maintain what we win,” said Tampa Bay SDS member, Elizabeth Kramer.

#TampaFL #PeoplesStruggles #LGBTQRights #SupremeCourt

Tenia, who wrote about the attack on social media said, “Before providing my address he was well aware of me being transgender. This man never gave me any inclination that his intentions were to kill.”

Tenia touched upon a deadly stereotype about trans women — that they are tricking men into sleeping with them.

The idea that trans women deserve to be harmed because they won't immediately reveal that they are transgender is absolutely wrong. This excuse is just another way to oppress women and shift the responsibility from abusers onto victims.

This has been infamously used in ‘trans panic defense’ cases. Which is defined by the National LGBT Bar Association as, “a legal strategy which asks a jury to find that a victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity is to blame for the defendant’s violent reaction, including murder.”

For example, in 2013 African American woman Islan Nettles was beaten to death in New York City. The defendant, James Dixon, who had a history of fetishizing trans women, argued he murdered Islan because he was in a “blind fury” after finding out Nettles was transgender. Dixon was only sentenced to 12 years, a lenient sentence for murder.

Even in death, trans women face humiliation and degradation. They are frequently misgendered by the police and media.

In the state of Florida this year alone, four Black trans women have been killed, with the killers still on the loose. Three of those murders happened in Jacksonville. The man who stabbed, choked and beat Tenia was arrested in Missouri and charged with first-degree domestic violence with serious physical injury.

#TallahasseeFL #PeoplesStruggles #LGBTQRights #Florida #Antiracism #TransLivesMatter

Chelsea Manning is a hero of mine. Not because she’s Trans but because she sacrificed her freedom and exposed the uglier sides of the war on terror. She was deeply in the closet but very aware of her transness and despite this she exposed the crimes of the U.S. war machine knowing she could be arrested and imprisoned for the rest of her life in a men’s prison.

And when we talk about Chelsea Manning and her struggles I have to reflect on the wider dynamics of mental health issues in the LGBT communities and in the Trans community in gender non-conforming communities in particular.

In my own life, I've known four women who killed themselves three of them were Trans. Two years ago, when a prominent Trans activist, friend and former coworker took her own life I felt myself going into a deep depression. I was drinking to numb myself. I was eating to forget.

Nearing 50 years old I realized I had no higher education. I'm a climbing guide and part-time day laborer on a construction site. Being a climbing guide is cool but I'm hardly an exceptional one. I started climbing when I was 38 years old. Far past any kind of peak that your average climbers going to have. And the lack of testosterone in my body means I often find myself taking a long time to recover from injuries. I often times have a lower level of energy than I think I should at my age.

I now work two, sometimes three jobs, often six or seven days a week. I work three jobs to keep myself busy, keep myself distracted but also because I almost lost my apartment due to failure to pay taxes. The state threatened to seize my apartment and start foreclosure procedures unless I signed a contract that requires me to work day after day in heat and cold, through injury and exhaustion to pay my bills. I am not alone.

The threat of foreclosure. Suicides in my community. My taste for self-destructive behaviors nearly dragged me down to a place with no return. I thought, no one’s really going to miss me. I’ve tried my best; I’ve been out for nearly 30 years and I am bone tired. Maybe I can be done and just rest now. And I feel such shame that I struggle to hold my shit together. That I can’t take care of my basic needs. That because of past abuse, transphobia, violence trauma and PTSD I am still a fucking hot mess.

I came out in 1989. My coming out was layered. I came out as dyke. I came out as a woman of Trans experience and I came out as leftist. These identities were and are intertwined within me. The AIDS crisis. Attacks on abortion clinics. Homophobia and transphobia in my home and community. The racist murder of Black men like Yusef Hawkins in Bensonhurst Brooklyn. These weren’t abstract struggles that I latched onto as I adopted the identity of a Trans social justice warrior. I felt this was a vision of a new me as I expressed my corner gender identity.

It was hard. It was so scary and I felt so alone. I had lost my community. The blue collar south Brooklyn Irish Italian stoops and street corners family-owned bars and broken down parks I grew up in were gone for me. I was effectively homeless at times – without job skills, without an education.

I remember being at Brooklyn College's library in early 1990s trying to learn about the French Revolution, feminism and Trans stuff for the first time ever, and honestly, this was also the first time I was trying to read – like really read (which says some stuff about my class education background).

And that’s when I learned about transphobia in feminism and it was this new pain and sadness. Another weight dragging me down. Then coming out and meeting a young stone butch who'd already been to some regional East Coast lesbian folk events that barred Trans women. Then trying to find out if it was okay for me to go to Lesbian Avengers meetings or WHAM (Women's Health Action Mobilization) meetings or bookstores and parties and social events. In sum I didn’t know if I was allowed to go anywhere in a community I desperately wanted to be a part of.

So when we talk about TERFs [trans-exclusionary radical feminists] today we need understand how transphobia was and is woven into our legacies. We need to understand the role of transphobia in Second Wave feminism, in much of the new left, in much of the lesbian and gay community.

But it was also such an important time in our community’s struggles. In particular AIDS. And in 1991 there was an AIDS forum held in New York where there were doctors, intellectuals, political operatives, and members of the gay community who would come together to discuss the state of the AIDS crisis. We were ten years into the crisis and 150,000 gay men – well side note here, they weren't all gay men, many of them, tens of thousands of them were Trans women – died. This is undocumented, this is not in the history books, but this is a fact 150,000 had died, and hundreds of thousands more were affected.

And the president of the U.S. refused to utter the word AIDS in public. We were year 12 into the third presidential term of right-wing Christian fascist Republicans running the government. And we were deep in the AIDS crisis.

At this meeting people spoke with absolute seriousness about fundraising strategies, medical developments and voting the Republicans out of office. For sure. But despite the urgency that everyone in the room felt it wasn't until Larry Kramer, the founder of the Gay Men's Health Crisis and the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP), spoke that I think it was clarified what was truly happening in America. Larry Kramer was the last speaker. After they announced his name he took a long pause, perhaps thinking of the 18 of his closest friends who had already died of AIDS.

And then he said, “Plague. We are in the middle of a fucking plague, 40 million infected people is a fucking plague, and nobody acts as if it is. Nobody in this hospital, nobody in this city, nobody in this world. 40 million people is a fucking plague. Nobody knows what to do next. Nobody knows what to do next.”

It's without a doubt that if it wasn't for the sacrifices of a generation of gay men who died of the AIDS crisis that we wouldn't be all sitting in this room today. It is without a doubt that if it wasn’t for the Trans women, cis women and men and Trans men who shut down Saint Patrick’s cathedral, broke into the FDA building and stole vital incriminating files, got arrested, protested, and staged die-ins that I would be here today.

All of the political activism that emerged in the 1990s and in the 2000s are rooted in the second wave of our modern Civil Rights Movement and that movement is fundamentally linked to our sexual liberation or need for healthcare and our willingness to put our bodies on the line and do whatever it takes direct up and to fight AIDS.

Today, in the first six months of 2018, more than ten Trans women have been murdered. Each year we mourn our dead in November on the Trans Day Of Remembrance. And it feels insufficient. Nobody knows what to do except mourn the dead.

It feels like we are still under siege and we are one Craig’s List date away from being dead. We are one Tinder date away from being dead. One paycheck away from being homeless. We are one more heartbreak away from breaking. Each year we lose so many to suicide, drug and alcohol abuse, depression and feeling lost and without love. I know these feelingss they often nip at me at night after I turn off the lights before I fall asleep.

After Chelsea Manning announced on Twitter that she was thinking of taking her own life, the Maryland police went to her home to do an alleged ‘wellness check.’ Four cops broke into her apartment, with their guns unholstered, in Bethesda, Maryland. Four cops. Guns drawn. Three of them were female officers. It’s on video. You can watch it. It is without a doubt that they were looking to kill her. Her freedom is a spit in the eye to imperialism and you can draw your own conclusions about the motivations of four Maryland police officers who are called to do a wellness check. What their values and morality are. Likely, it’s the same values as ICE separating families and disappearing immigrants. It’s the same ICE that killed Roxana Hernández, a Honduran Trans woman who died after five days in U.S. custody in facilities notorious for their freezing temperatures. Like the morality of the Supreme Court who side with the bigoted baker in Colorado. Let’s be clear – even Caitlyn Jenner now understands the stakes. But what do we do next?

And there is a through line of transphobia in our communities that needs to be understood. It leaves Trans women particularly, Trans women of color vulnerable to violence, unemployment, depression and drug addiction. And suicide. The LGBTQ communities are stratified by race and class. It’s not simply that cops and corporations march at Pride. It’s that across the U.S., in small towns and cities, our Trans communities are being left to fend for ourselves without any support save charity. Without any struggle except lighting a candle at a Trans Day of Remembreace event in November and without any love but a “you look fabulous” when we pass each other on the street. We need more. We need material support and survival institutions. We desperately need access to mental health care that is gender affirming. We need jobs and job training. And we need fighting organizations.

Our responses are going to be varied. There needs to be some trial and error. We need to stand together and we need to ready ourselves for what may be coming but we cannot throw out empathy and love for the entire LGBTQ community. We’ve been through so much. We have to take care of each other. Some of us are going to go all in on the midterm elections. Some may want to consider building the next ACT UP. I'm long past the point of suggesting that I know the answers to any of this but I really want to argue the fact that we need a multi-tactical approach to dealing with the crisis that we are facing today. And having a multi-tactical approach means not having all our eggs in one basket.

I don’t want to lose any more of my community. Thank you.

This article is a modified version of a speech given at the “State of Trans 2018” Kingston LGBTQ Center in Kingston, NY in early June.

#NewYork #NewYorkNY #LGBTQ #Editorials #queerLiberation #LGBTQRights #transgender #workingPoor

Hundreds gathered at Hemming Park directly outside City Hall on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, awaiting news of whether Jacksonville's city council would pass an expanded Human Rights Ordinance (HRO) protecting LGBTQ community members from discrimination. Speakers, musicians, and DJs led the crowd in chants, songs and speeches as the city council debated inside on amendments to the bill.

Councilman Bill Gulliford, the most prominent opponent of the bill, proposed to take the bill to a referendum of voters in hopes that local, statewide, and national anti-LGBTQ organizations could pour money into Jacksonville to defeat it. This amendment, along with many others, was soundly defeated in a quick vote. Around 6:45 p.m., attendees grew silent as the final vote came in. 12 for and 6 against. The crowd erupted into a deafening cheer as supporters inside and outside celebrated a victory many years in the making.

Jacksonville is one of the last major cities in the U.S. to pass laws explicitly banning discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Because there is no federal law containing these protections, many states and cities have passed laws of their own, including all other major cities in Florida.

Jacksonville's latecoming is not due to a lack of struggle for these rights. After years of relentless work, an HRO bill was presented to the city council in 2012 and voted down 10 to 9. A subsequent bill was proposed in 2016, but was withdrawn when it became clear the votes were not there. Rather, Jacksonville's city council approved this bill so much later than other cities because of the resistance of an especially reactionary section of local ruling elites opposed to any changes in the “good 'ole boy” system. This is the same local ruling class that posed such a threat during the civil rights era that it was deemed too dangerous for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to enter the city. This group manifests itself in large public establishments like the massive First Baptist Church, but is primarily made up of old wealthy Jacksonville families and large landowners.

Despite this resistance, local organizations struggling for an expanded HRO, most prominently the Jacksonville Coalition for Equality, were able to force the city council to pass the measure on 2-1 margin.

Volunteer Evelyn Brogden explains what went into making this possible, “It took five years of intense effort from many wonderful and hard-working individuals, staff organizers and recruited volunteers alike. This included reaching out to the community and having phone conversations, face-to-face conversations, and petition signing with local residents, businesses, and faith leaders on the necessity of updating the current HRO to include gay and transgender folks and protections for gender-identity. These amazing individuals also worked tirelessly to effectively prove how gay and transgender folks are in need of protections from discrimination to city council members and those holding political positions in our city over these past five years.”

While supporters built community support, opponents of the bill attempted to make a farce of the proceedings. The city of Jacksonville hosted several public panels on whether to expand the HRO and local opponents insisted that a certain pastor named Kenneth Atkins sit on the final panel as a prominent religious opponent to the bill. Atkins' most infamous act was tweeting two days after the massacre at a gay nightclub, Pulse, in nearby Orlando by a heavily armed bigot that “been through so much with these Jacksonville homosexuals that I don’t see none of them as victims. I see them as getting what they deserve!!” Atkins had long been one of the most public figures opposed to the bill and consistently trotted out the familiar false right-wing talking point of LGBTQ rights being a gateway for child molestation in bathrooms. In a tragic irony, Atkins was himself subsequently arrested on Aug. 26, 2016 on charges of child molestation.

The HRO that passed in Jacksonville contains protections in the fields of housing, employment, and services for the LGBTQ community, but some provisions were added to water down the effectiveness of the measure. First, there is still a large religious exemption that allows not only churches, but also religiously affiliated organizations to continue to legally discriminate on this basis. Additionally, the penalty for violating the measure was reduced from possible jail time and a fine to only a fine. Finally, small businesses are still exempt from portions of the bill.

Many in the Jacksonville movement for LGBTQ rights vowed to continue fighting to fix these problems with the bill and also to resist any measures taken by the state legislature to overturn what they've accomplished so far. Republican state representative Randy Fine has proposed House Bill 17 which could overturn certain city regulations on businesses that have not been approved by the state. The law would take effect July 1 if passed.

As the celebratory dance party in Hemming Park picked up after the news of the victory, long-time organizers took solace that their years of struggle had forced the reactionary city council, kicking and screaming, to finally pass the expanded HRO.

Organizer Christina Kittle reflects, “I think it’s very important that during this campaign, minorities, poor people, queers and allies were all involved. The people who never felt these movements were accessible to them finally began to be involved despite having no resources or voices previously. A new generation of people are being heard and they are not accepting anything else, they’re not affiliated with the old groups and they don’t ‘play by the rules’ – they question and challenge the rules. I think one of the biggest factors was true grassroots organizing. Without large-scale funding and without a direct invitation to the table, we educated people, stayed vigilant and refused to accept a back seat during movements for our own liberation. People are taking on leadership roles and taking it seriously. They’re using their lived experiences as fuel. I think this new fire being added to the movement forward has been the missing ingredient all along.”

#JacksonvilleFL #PeoplesStruggles #LGBTQRights

Tampa, FL – Over 30 students gathered for a vigil, March 29, in remembrance of the LGBTQIA+ people murdered by U.S. militarism. The event was held in response to the University of South Florida (USF) administration’s defense of LGBT-phobic and militaristic C.W. “Bill” Young. Young was a senator and member of the Johns Committee in Florida, which persecuted hundreds of LGBTQIA+ people across the Florida university system.

Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) is currently waging a campaign to change the name of a building on campus that honors Bill Young. When SDS first confronted USF administrators about changing the name of the C.W. Bill Young Hall in late 2015, administrators refused SDS’s demand. They responded to SDS by saying, “Facilities may be named for an individual who has distinguished himself or herself through significant contributions to the university.” Administrators later elaborated in a meeting with SDS that Bill Young’s contributions were related to his support of U.S. military programs on campus.

Jared Austin of Tampa Bay SDS explained, “Bill Young’s active participation in the Johns Committee, which oversaw the outing and persecution of LGBTQIA+ people across the state of Florida, stands parallel to a military establishment which seeks to allow the persecution of LGBTQIA+ people to go unnoticed or mislabeled.”

Another student at the vigil stated, “Young’s support for the U.S. military is not worthy of praise.”

USF administrators stubbornly support Bill Young’s legacy on campus. The administration even acts similarly to the Johns Committee. “As student activists they actively try to silence us with threats of police intervention, but have no problem allowing preachers to harass students and spread their hateful messages of on our campus.” said Tori Stratis of Tampa SDS.

The vigil ended with an announcement by SDS, stating that the campaign to #ChangeTheName is shifting in a more militant direction. Jack Ling of Tampa SDS said, “USF administration has left SDS and the student body with no other route for change than direct action against admin’s complicity in homophobia. Students are tired of admin’s excuses, and we will have our voices heard.”

SDS’s first action to mark the changed character of this campaign will be a protest on April 19, 1:00 p.m., on the Marshall Student Center lawn.

#TampaFL #AntiwarMovement #StudentsForADemocraticSociety #LGBTQ #PeoplesStruggles #LGBTQRights

Yorek continued, “The upsurge of struggle that began with the Stonewall Rebellion has begun to bear fruit. This Pride weekend we should celebrate with all our hearts. On Monday we need to get back to work to defeat discrimination of all kinds, including employment discrimination, and redouble our efforts for transgender equality.”

#SanJoseCA #GayMarriage #PeoplesStruggles #LGBTQRights #SupremeCourt

The Transgender Liberation Front, as well as affiliate groups such as Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), waged a campaign against this bill. Activists attended every hearing on the bill and held press conferences, speak-outs and rallies to voice opposition against HB 583. Students and community members swiftly built a movement against the transphobic Republican politicians pushing the hateful bill.

The bill would be disastrous for transgender people in Florida. “We already face such high rates of unemployment, poverty and homelessness. We don’t need more trans people in prisons, we need liberation,” said Katherine Draken, president of Students for a Democratic Society in Tallahassee.

Despite growing opposition from groups across the state, such as Equality Florida, HB 583 managed to get through two subcommittees. First it passed the Civil Justice Subcommittee, and then the Government Operations Subcommittee. However, it failed to pass through the Judiciary Committee, which is necessary for it to pass through to the House of Representatives. The Senate’s version of the bill, SB 1464, was scheduled for the Criminal Justice committee but was never heard, ending the ‘Bathroom Bill’ threat.

“This isn't over,” said Naomi Bradley, one of the leading organizers of the Transgender Liberation Front. “While this bill may be dead, there's no reason to believe similar bills might not be on the way. Transmisogyny is a larger problem than just Frank Artiles and his virulent hate bill. Transmisogyny is a wide, all-encompassing problem that we must continue to stand against until transgender liberation is absolute.”

There is indeed a possibility that this bill or similar bills will be brought up again next year. All bills discussed during previous sessions will be archived and can be reintroduced next session. If the bill is brought up again, Transgender Liberation Front states it will fight this bill and any other transphobic bills that the Florida Legislature has in store. In the meanwhile TLF will continue to fight systematic transphobia.

“While we are glad to see that this transphobic bathroom bill is dead, we must realize Transgender liberation goes beyond our right to pee freely,” said Shivaani Ehsaan, with the Transgender Liberation Front.

Ehsaan continues, “We hope to take action and address issues of unemployment, discrimination, lack of access to critical medical care, as well as the rampant homelessness that plagues Transgender communities around the world. We want an end to brutal trans misogynistic murders that occur every 29 hours.”

#TallahasseeFL #PeoplesStruggles #LGBTQRights #transgender #Florida