Today marks the International Transgender Day of Remembrance, a time to honor the lives of those killed because of anti-transgender violence. I wish all of my trans friends and readers love and support on this day of mourning.
Last week, I reported that author Robin Stevenson said school officials cancelled a talk she was scheduled to give at an elementary school in Illinois because her latest book profiled Harvey Milk, among other famous activists. It seems a parent did complain about Milk—but the school was also concerned about the inclusion of Janet Mock, who is transgender.
Just days after author Robin Stevenson said she was uninvited from a recent school talk because her newest book discusses Harvey Milk, Lesléa Newman, author of the classic Heather Has Two Mommies, writes that she was uninvited from a visit to two different schools because of her LGBTQ-inclusive books.
Every social justice hero was once a child. Some became activists as children; others did so as adults because of things they experienced when they were young. A new middle-grade book from the prolific Robin Stevenson explores the childhoods of activists in the LGBTQ, racial, disability, labor, immigrant, and women’s civil rights’ movements, among other areas, offering young readers both information and inspiration.
In the past two years, the threat to LGBTQ individuals and families has grown, and the nonprofits supporting our families need our help more than ever. Please consider giving today, the seventh annual Give OUT Day, in order to increase the impact of your giving.
In a major reversal of policy, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has said that children of LGBT parents may now be blessed and baptized in the faith, and that same-sex couples in the LDS Church will no longer be considered “apostates.”
Who’s in your family? What’s going well for LGBTQ families where you live? Where would you like to see growth and progress? Family Equality Council and COLAGE have launched their annual Community Needs Survey, and they want to hear from you (and your kids)! (You could also win an Amazon gift card for participating.)
Today is Giving Tuesday, but I’m not going to ask you to give to any particular organizations. (They’re probably already bombarding your inbox.) Instead, I’ll ask you to think about the ways in which we instill giving habits into our kids.
Today marks the International Transgender Day of Remembrance, a time to memorialize those who were killed because of anti-transgender hatred or prejudice. One lost would be too many—and there are dozens.
This landscape is familiar, strewn with ash and blood. We’ve been here before, too often, seeking the living, counting our dead. I know the terrain, can pick my way stumbling over the bodies, the stench of fear and hatred lingering in the air; the thoughts and prayers; the headlines and statistics.
