Tickets to Food For Thought’s annual gala and auction, Our Long Table, are on sale now! Take advantage of our Early Bird discounted rate of $225 per ticket. Hurry though, the special rate only lasts until April 21, 2024.
Last month, he told the BBC that the incident had made him feel that “homophobia is still an issue in this country”.
“I have been out since but even walking from the bar to the taxi I was really on edge. You always think ‘it won’t happen to me’,” he added.
The exterior of the Irish Bar, Seamus O’Donnells – the alleged attack took place outside (Google)
“It was just a regular night, the pub had a drag event on and they were handing out paper pride flags.
“My boyfriend was given one and we went outside when we were approached by someone who ripped the flag out of his hand and started stamping on it.
“They were trying to get a reaction out of us, calling us homophobic slurs.”
He told the BBC that his boyfriend was also attacked during the violent incident, which he said “blindsided” him and left him with “horrific” bruising.
One man has already come forward in connection with the attack, however police are still trying to identify the other two men. A CCTV image of the pair was re-shared on X/Twitter on March 29 in an attempt to move the investigation forward.
Chief Inspector Vicks Hayward-Melen said: “Our investigation into this concerning incident is progressing and we now want to identify the three men in the CCTV image released, as we believe they can help us with our enquiries. If this is you, or if you know who any of the men are, please call us.
“We will be keeping the victim, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and the owners of the Seamus O’Donnell’s bar updated on the latest developments.”
Speaking to the BBC in February about the alleged hate crime, the man said he was “worried” that those responsible had not been found.
He said: “I do worry that I’d be recognised if I’m out in Bristol and it is hard to enjoy yourself when that’s on your mind. I am Bristolian, I have lived here all my life, and I have always felt safe here and accepted.
“For me to experience something like this in my home city is really upsetting.”
A drag queen in the Philippines has spoken out following their arrest for performing as Jesus.
Vega, real name Amadeus Fernando Pagente, was first arrested in October after performing “Ama Namin”, a rock version of The Lord’s Prayer, while dressed as Christ.
They were released after three days, when fellow drag artists raised enough money to secure bail.
The performer was charged under article 201 of the South East Asian country’s criminal code, which prohibits “indecent or immoral plays, scenes, acts or shows” that “offend any race or religion”.
“I was released on bail today. I got to learn about my cellmates, their stories and much more,” Vega wrote. “Because of what is happening and through the support and explanations of my lawyers, I now feel comfortable using legal jargon in every-day life.”
Vega added that they were grateful to who those who “have supported and defended me”, along with the hashtag #DragisArt and #DragIsNotACrime.
The Philippines is a staunchly religious country, with more than 86 per cent of the population identifying as Roman Catholic, according to not-for-profit group the Asia Society.
Vega’s political performances have resulted in them being declared an “unwelcome person” by several cities in the Philippines.
Their previous legal woes began when an online video revealed the rock performance, prompting a religious group to complain to prosecutors in the capital, Manila.
Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries, an organization founded by Marsha P. Johnson & Sylvia Rivera during the Queer & Trans Liberation Movement of the 60’s/70/s to be refounded in response to anti-trans/ queer/ non-binary sentiment growing across the U.S.
In response to rising tide of anti-trans/queer/non-binary sentiment in the U.S. Minneapolis, MN organizer Sam Martinez announces the refounding of STAR on the eve of the 2024 International Transgender Day of Visibility & the 2024 elections in the United States.
Martinez, lead organizer of STAR National and Star Minneapolis, declared, “We are told that Marsha & Syliva are dead, and that we should settle for what we got. However, with the refounding of STAR we as BIPOC Trans, Non-Binary, and queer people declare, ‘OUT OF THE CLOSETS AND INTO THE STREETS! TRANS, NON-BINARY, AND QUEER LIBERATION NOW!’ We; specifically BIPOC Trans, Non-binary, queer people, cannot wait for someone else to save us, we have the power! People power, Trans, Non-Binary, Queer power! Black, Brown, Red, Yellow power to unite our peoples! To liberate our peoples! We must come out of the shadows of the people’s movements! Along with the National Liberation, labor, and many other movements we shall overcome all obstacles to our liberation and freedom!”
STAR is to be founded as a Trans/Non-Binary/Queer, working-class, multi-National AKA BIPOC, (Black Indigenous People of Color) organization which will water the roots of the past with the spirit of the present to refound and rejuvenate the U.S. Trans/Queer liberation movement. Currently, the National organization shall handle larger matters. While the first local chapter in Minneapolis, Minnesota shall handle local organizing.
Sam Martinez is a Chicano@ non-binary, trans person who uses they/them pronouns. Martinez started as a student organizer/president of a local Chican@/Latin@ student organization. In November of 2015, while being a local-leader in their AFSCME union Martinez joined the highway protest to demand Justice for Jamar Clark who was killed by Minneapolis Police Department officers Ringgenberg & Schwarze. After joining and becoming a lead organizer of the Twin Cities Coalition for Justice for Jamar and Minneapolis for Community Control of the police, they became a National leader in the struggle against police terror when they were pivotal in defeating Mike Freeman, the sitting Hennepin County Attorney. They won the “No More Grand Juries” policy, witnessed Freeman’s trivialization of police murder in comparison to Justine Damond, and his ultimate defeat: retirement after trivializing the murder of George Floyd.
Martinez worked on many of the cases of police shootings in Minnesota and Nationally such as Marcus Golden, Phil Quinn, Thruman Blevins, Hardel Sherell, Cordale Handy, Terrance Franklin, Sarah Lee Circle Bear, Paul Castaway, Philando Castile, Adam Toledo, Vanessa Marquez, Jesse Romero, Andres Guardado, Antonio Zambrano-Montes, Korryn Gaines, Sandra Bland, Breanna Taylor and too many others.
Martinez took time to breath and reflect on the lessons of the local, national, and international uprising in the struggle for justice for George Floyd. Now they are taking their knowledge of leading the Labor and National Liberation movements and applying it to the struggle for Trans, Non-Binary, and Queer liberation and freedom by refounding STAR!
A group called Love Lives in Seekonk (LLIS) sought to educate their small Massachusetts town about LGBTQ+ issues while building support for queer youth in schools. But soon after the group formed, another resident established a similarly named group to mock them. That resident has since accused LLIS and its supporters of being pedophiles and suggested that violence awaits them if they continue their advocacy.
Some residents of Seekonk, Massachusetts (population 15,700), were angered in late March 2023 when Mildred H. Aitken Elementary School advertised its annual Boy’s Choice mother-son dance with an ad welcoming all boys, students who identify as boys, and non-binary students.
Related:
After right-wingers shared the ad’s wording on social media accounts, the school district received phone calls and online messages threatening protests and violence. One post featured a picture of a bullet and the caption “PEDOCILLIN,” a combination of the word pedophilia and the medication penicillin. The district canceled the $1,500 event hours before it was about to begin and canceled its scheduled Girl’s Choice dance that following April since its flier used similar wording about trans and non-binary students.
Upset by the cancellation, local parent Joe Novinson spoke passionately at a school board meeting, calling out the violence directed against children and the right of queer families to exist without being shot. After hearing his speech, a group of LGBTQ+ supportive parents, called Love Lives in Seekonk (LLIS), recruited Novinson to join their board. He did.
The group, started by local parent Kris Lyons and Pam Godsoe, decided to help raise the $1,500 that the school’s parent-teacher organization (PTO) lost by canceling the dance. So they began selling yard signs and bumper stickers colored like the progress Pride flag with the group’s name printed on them. The group raised nearly the full amount by April 11, 2023 and presented the amount to the PTO in an oversized check.
As the group’s membership grew, it pledged to hold community and educational events for LGBTQ+ youth and their families. LLIS held a September event to paint rocks for the local library’s Kindness Rock Garden, a November Lovesgiving fundraiser, and a February 2024 trivia night. The group, which became a non-profit in August 2023, donated $300 to Seekonk High School’s gay-straight alliance. LLIS also uses its Facebook page to educate residents about LGBTQ+ issues like pronouns, banned books, trans athletes, anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination, coming out, queer crisis hotlines, and other topics.
“[The events were] really just about bringing the community together,” Novinson told LGBTQ Nation. “There was a lot of pushback initially to our group and people accused us of being online only, that we didn’t have much more than a digital footprint. So we wanted to counter that by holding events in real life. And we’re making our presence here felt, and we’re telling [those who disapproved of us that] we’re not going anywhere.”
image provided by Joe Novinson Joe Novinson (at left) and other members of Love Lives in Seekonk
Around fall 2023, the group also began publishing letters to the editor in the monthly local news magazine, The Seekonk Reporter. Since the magazine often reprints long letters to the editor and gets delivered to each local resident’s mailbox, LLIS thought it’d be a good way to reach older populations who didn’t engage with the group’s Facebook or Instagram pages.
In October 2023, the Reporter published Lyons’ letter introducing LLIS to the community. In November 2023, the news magazine published a letter written by Joe Novinson’s husband and fellow LLIS member Michael about how visible attempts at LGBTQ+ inclusivity aren’t a form of discrimination against Christians or Republicans.
“Just because something makes you as a parent uncomfortable doesn’t mean it’s discriminatory in nature,” Michael Novinson’s letter said. “Schools should be opening children’s minds to the world outside of our own family, not building protective bubbles around children to keep new ideas and people you consider undesirable out.”
That’s when the trouble started. A local resident named Kanessa Lynn sent a letter to the Reporter claiming to represent a similarly named group called Luv Lives in Seekonk.
In one letter, Lynn wrote, “Luv Lives in Seekonk had its first ever LuvsGiving fundraiser on November 8th…. All proceeds are going to myself.” She claimed her group sold yard signs and bumper stickers and held a rock painting event, claims that others in the town doubted, considering her letter made it sound like she was just writing a satirical article mocking Love Lives in Seekonk. “I seen how gullible people are,” her letter continued, “and I’m excited to come up with more merchandise to scam, I mean sell to the community!”
Lynn reposted the article in Seekonk Residents, a right-wing Facebook group that reposts screenshots from anti-LGBTQ+ activist Chaya Raichik’s Libs of TikTok X account, the transphobic right-wing group Gays Against Groomers, and videos of far-right activist Charlie Kirk. The group also features various posts opposing transgender athletes, immigrants, DEI efforts, “the war on whites,” and the “COVID vaccine hoax.”
After complaints about Lynn’s letters, The Seekonk Reporter removed LLIS’ and Lynn’s letters from their website.
On October 26, 2023, Michael Novinson said he had a phone conversation with Barbara Georgia, co-owner of The Reporter. According to him, Georgia said the publication reprinted Lynn’s letters so that it wouldn’t be seen as “taking sides.” Georgia also reportedly said that the Reporter didn’t fact-check Lynn’s claims because “Those are her words, not ours” and that the publication had the right to refuse any submissions.
“We have given space to both groups in the past and due to the fact that it has escalated so much in nature we have decided to remain neutral and no longer print either side,” Georgia wrote to Michael Novinson in a January 4, 2024 text message exchange.
Novinson explained to Georgia that, unlike Lynn, his group was created to improve the lives of local queer kids, not “to get in a tit-for-tat with” Lynn or her sham group. “Silencing our voice will only serve to hurt LGBTQ+ youth,” Novinson wrote. Georgia and her husband have previously made donations to Republican candidates and the 2020 re-election campaign of President Donald Trump, according to data from the Federal Election Campaign.
Lynn cheered Georgia’s decision in a January 18 Facebook post in the Seekonk Residents Facebook group, writing, “To them it was a setback, but for all of us in Seekonk it was a victory!!! Now we don’t have to read their useless articles filled with lies.”
In other posts in the same group, she arranged four progressive Pride rainbow flags in the shape of a swastika, misgendered reposted screenshots of the full names of all the members of the LLIS Facebook group, and posted images of her car with two signs on it: one reading, “Love Lives in Seekonk are GROOMERS,” and another reading, “LEAVE THE KIDS ALONE!”
Facebook screenshot A post from Kanessa Lynn in the “Seekonk Residents” Facebook group
At the January 8 meeting of the Seekonk School Committee, Lynn said the LLIS’s members and supporters are “groomers.” She referenced the community upset at the aforementioned “PEDOCILLIN” social media post, saying that it meant that “pedophiles should get a bullet.”
“If you’re not a pedophile or a group that grooms children,” she continued, “then the meme shouldn’t even have affected you.” She then asked if the library or school board if either would be able to handle a neo-Nazi protest if either organization ever held a community drag event at LLIS’s request.
“You might wanna take that to Rehoboth or Attleboro because it’s not going to happen in Seekonk,” she said. “We’re not going to have grown, mentally ill men dressed as women coming to read to little kids in Seekonk — it’s not going to happen, I promise you that…. Leave the kids alone, leave the schools alone… You have a sick obsession with children.”
As proof of LLIS’s obsession, she noted an LLIS Facebook post in which Michael Novinson opposed a proposal to make the school district’s sex education classes opt-in and to let parents opt their child out of any curriculum that contradicts their religious beliefs. In his post, Novinson worried that the policy would reduce the number of students learning about human sexuality and “lead to more STIs and unwanted pregnancies for teenagers in town.”
Beyond the censorship, accusations, and threats, Seekonk is gearing up for the upcoming April 1 townwide elections. Lynn and other town residents are supporting conservative school board candidates who could push school policies banning LGBTQ+ books, curriculum, and trans-inclusive policies. Meanwhile, LLIS’s members continue to speak out at board meetings and inform its Facebook followers members about why LGBTQ+ kids need community support.
“Folks running from the right are making things like gender ideology and critical race theory central components of their campaign,” Michael Novinson said. “In that way, Seekonk mirrors national patterns and a push on the right to make this a culture war.”
Lyons, one of the straight co-founders of LLIS, said she wants to encourage more residents in her town and in neighboring towns to “feel more emboldened to step up and be loud” in support of LGBTQ+ people.
“Two straight moms from Seekonk got together with a bunch of people to take a stand, and you can too.”
As the use of solitary confinement in immigration detention centers increases under the Biden administration, according to the federal data, some Democratic-aligned lawmakers are demanding an end to the practice — or at least the creation of rules that would limit it — accusing the federal government in a letter of being “in clear violation of international norms.”
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement “has isolated individuals in its facilities for months and even years, used solitary as punishment for minor infractions, and placed in solitary vulnerable individuals, including those with mental health conditions,” Massachusetts Sens. Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren, and Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin wrote in a letter Friday to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and ICE acting Deputy Director Patrick Lechleitner.
“ICE has failed to follow its own guidelines that limit both the punitive use of solitary confinement and the imposition of additional forms of punishment in solitary confinement,” added the lawmakers, who were joined by eight other Democratic senators and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.
ICE statistics show the agency detains more than 38,000 people each day, an increase of about 15,000 since President Joe Biden took office in 2021.
The senators cited a study released last month that found 1,106 uses of “segregation” — informally known as solitary confinement — in the third quarter of 2023, up 61% from a year prior. Researchers at Harvard University and the nonprofit group Physicians for Human Rights based the analysis on ICE’s own data, and also established the agency placed people in solitary confinement over 14,000 times in the past five years with an average duration of 27 days — “well exceeding the 15-day threshold that United Nations human rights experts have found constitutes torture.”
Philip Torrey, an assistant clinical professor at Harvard Law School and researcher on the study, said that given the findings, they would like to see ICE “end the use of segregation and at the very least begin a phase out process to discontinue its use.”
The Democratic lawmakers agreed, writing in their letter that “at a minimum, DHS and ICE must issue binding rules limiting its use of solitary confinement and follow them.”
The senators said they are especially concerned about detainees in the most vulnerable populations, including LGBTQ people and those with mental health and chronic medical conditions.
Medical and mental health remain the largest reasons why immigration detainees are placed in segregation, according to ICE data on its website, followed by disciplinary and protective custody issues.
Markey said he felt obligated to urge DHS and ICE to “phase out” solitary confinement after reports of its use on detainees for even minor infractions or as retaliation for conducting a hunger strike.
“Solitary confinement is unfair and cruel, and it’s time for our government to stop using it,” Markey told NBC News.
The senators asked Mayorkas and Lechleitner for answers to several questions, including what steps have been taken to limit solitary confinement, what is the breakdown of time spent in it and by vulnerable population, and what is the agency doing to respond to recommendations from government accountability and oversight offices to ensure clear and consistent policies for segregation.
DHS and ICE did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the senators’ letter or the study they cited.
In 2013, ICE issued a directive that the use of segregated housing must be carefully weighed.
“Placement in segregation should occur only when necessary and in compliance with applicable detention standards,” the agency said at the time. “In particular, placement in administrative segregation due to a special vulnerability should be used only as a last resort and when no other viable housing options exist.”
The agency also agreed to protect transgender people in a 2015 memorandum.
Immigration advocacy groups remain dismayed over the use of solitary confinement and say the issue is taking greater importance ahead of an upcoming election that is on course to see a rematch between Biden and former President Donald Trump.
In 2019, an NBC News investigation in partnership with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and other news organizations found a widespread use of solitary confinement for immigrant detainees in ICE custody under both the Obama and Trump administrations.
Concerns continue in detention centers under the Biden administration, with detainees in Louisiana last year telling NBC News about the threat and use of solitary confinement as punishment. The president has been criticized during his tenure about the increased use of so-called restrictive housing in federal prisons as well, despite a campaign pledge to end solitary confinement except for “very limited” reasons. Bills were introduced last year in the U.S. Senate and the House by Democrats to largely ban the practice on federal inmates and detainees.
Jesse Franzblau, a senior policy analyst at the National Immigrant Justice Center, which offers legal representation for detainees, said he believes what has been happening in federal facilities must change because it is “arbitrary.”
“There’s already weak standards in terms of human rights and basic humanity, and there’s not a lot of oversight and accountability from staff just throwing people into solitary and them not having the opportunity to get out,” Franzblau said. “This is how it plays out on the ground when members of Congress say the government is violating its own policies.”
In the pivotal Georgia election interference case against former President Donald Trump, Deputy District Attorney Will Wooten, who joined the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office in January 2021, has been central in addressing complex legal issues.
Wooten, notable not only for his prosecutorial skills but also for his identity as an out gay man and his advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights, focused on key aspects of the case Thursday morning, specifically jurisdictional issues and the involvement of fake electors.
Who is Will Wooten?
Wooten worked both as a prosecutor and a public defender, according to his bio on the Fulton County website. The attorney previously served as a prosecutor in the Clayton County District Attorney’s Office and the Gwinnett County Solicitor-General’s Office. While at Clayton County, Wooten prosecuted major felony offenses including murder, rape, child molestation, and drug trafficking. During his time in Knoxville, Tenn., Wooten was a public defender for several years. He also has taught at the Emory University School of Law.
Wooten earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Miami and a law degree from Emory.
“In each of his roles, Will has helped coordinate training for new attorneys and interns; introducing them to the criminal justice system and helping them develop courtroom skills,” the website states. “In his spare time, he enjoys Miami Hurricanes football and hiking Georgia’s beautiful mountains and trails,”
How has he been involved in the case against Trump?
During a court hearing before Judge Scott McAfee this week, Wooten tackled several aspects of the defense’s motions to dismiss charges, arguing that the question of whether the governor’s office and the Georgia secretary of state’s office had jurisdiction over matters associated with presidential electors was indeed an issue of fact. Wooten emphasized the need for evidence and testimony to clarify the duties, authority, and actions of various entities involved in the election process, thereby establishing their relevance and jurisdiction concerning the allegations against Trump.
Furthermore, Wooten addressed the actions allegedly undertaken by Trump and his associates, including submitting false elector certificates. The prosecution argued against the defense’s other assertion that many of the actions charged as crimes were protected political speech.
Wooten is an out and proud queer lawyer
Wooten spearheaded the creation of the department’s LGBTQ+ Advisory Committee at the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office, the Georgia Voicereported. This initiative started in 2022. It aims to address and improve the legal system’s approach to cases involving LGBTQ+ people. The committee’s establishment was a landmark effort to ensure that hate crimes and other legal issues affecting the LGBTQ+ community in Fulton County are handled with the sensitivity and recognition they require.
He is a member of the Stonewall Bar Association, which is a group of legal workers supporting LGBTQ+ rights.
In June 2021, Wooten took a prominent stand for LGBTQ+ rights and recognition with a speech delivered at Piedmont Park in Atlanta, marking the celebration of LGBTQ+ Pride. In his address, Wooten highlighted the significant contributions of the drag community to the LGBTQ+ rights movement, acknowledging their pivotal role in the fight for equality. Reflecting on his journey and the broader struggle for LGBTQ+ rights, Wooten shared his experiences of having to conceal his sexual orientation in previous work environments and expressed gratitude for the progress that has allowed him to advocate for LGBTQ+ rights today openly under Fulton County DA Fani Willis.
A federal lawsuit has been filed in Wisconsin against the Milwaukee Board of School Directors and Kasongo Kalumbula, a principal in the Milwaukee Public Schools system, over claims of verbal and physical abuse targeted at a student because his parents are gay.
The legal action, brought forth last Thursday by parents on behalf of their minor child, identified only as G.L., alleges a distressing pattern of discrimination that spans several years, starting when G.L. was in first grade.
According to the complaint filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, Kalumbula, who served as an assistant principal at the time, is accused of using homophobic slurs, locking the child in a dark room, and threatening his life if he disclosed the punishments. The lawsuit details an incident where Kalumbula allegedly told G.L. that his parents would “burn in hell” and referred to them using derogatory terms.
According to his parents, the impact of these actions has been profound on G.L., necessitating ongoing psychiatric treatment for trauma and anxiety, the lawsuit claims. The parents’ repeated attempts to seek intervention from the school and district officials reportedly led to no substantive action. Instead, the lawsuit accuses MPS of promoting Kalumbula despite being aware of the complaints.
Seeking compensatory and punitive damages, the lawsuit stresses violations of the constitutional rights of G.L. and his parents, including their right to equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment and protection against retaliatory actions for their complaints under the First Amendment. The case also raises allegations of excessive force and unreasonable seizure against G.L., pointing to a disturbing misuse of authority by Kalumbula.
The lawsuit implicates MPS policies, alleging that the district’s failure to address and prevent discriminatory behavior by its staff contributed to the environment that allowed the alleged abuse to occur.
Milwaukee Public Schools has not commented on the ongoing litigation, citing policies against discussing individual student and personnel matters, CBS affiliate WDJT reports. Attempts by the outlet to reach Kalumbula for comment have been unsuccessful.
While “Don’t Say Gay” laws continue to prevent LGBTQ+-inclusive education, these 7 states are actively ensuring that their schools stay queer-friendly.
In 2022, Florida became the first state to sign into effect a HB 1557, commonly known as the “Don’t Say Gay” law. The law, signed by Gov. Ron De Santis, prohibits instruction around sexual orientation and gender identity by school personnel or third parties. However, due to the vagueness of the law, it became pervasive, causing harm to LGBTQ+ students and their families. In addition to book bans across the the U.S., more “Don’t Say Gay” laws popped up around the country.
Now, 7 states are fighting back.
California, New Jersey, Colorado, Oregon, Nevada, Illinois, and Washington state have implemented legislation mandating the incorporation of LGBTQ+-inclusive curricula within the public schools, as reported by the Movement Advancement Project (MAP). Washington is the most recent to move forward with this legislation, where Senate Bill 5462 was signed into effect Gov. Jay Inslee, mandating Washington school districts adopts of curricula that’s “culturally and experientially diverse as possible” by the 2025-26 school year. This mandate will strive not only provide LGBTQ+ education, but will focus on the histories of people of color and people with disabilities.
Join the frontline of change
Be informed, be inspired, and be part of the conversation that’s shaping a queerer world with our twice-a-week newsletter.
“I’ve seen firsthand how important an inclusive curriculum can be and how life-changing it can be to help a student see themselves in the curriculum instead of some old dead white guys from the 1700s,” Kristie Bennett, a Washington state high school and leader of her school’s gender-sexuality alliance organization.
While these 7 states have implemented protections for LGBTQ+-inclusive curricula, according to MAP, 7 others states (Iowa, North Carolina, Florida, Arkansas, Kentucky, Indiana, and Alabama) have enacted laws to restrict education around gender and sexuality. Additionally, MAP reported that 5 states (Arizona, Montana, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Florida) required “advance parental notification of any LGBTQ-related curricula and allows parents to opt their children out (or requires opt-in)” and 4 other states (Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Mississippi) restricted “how schools can discuss ‘homosexuality’ in specific curricula.”
And that doesn’t include the 28 states, 5 territories, and Washington, D.C., of which do not have an LGBTQ+ curricular protections. Still, these 7 states are blazing the trail for LGBTQ+-inclusive education within the U.S.
On March 1st, 2024, as the sun spent the day hiding and rain washed over the city of Atlanta, a quiet but important moment took place at Liberty Plaza outside the Capitol Building. Despite the horrendous wet and cold, the air was charged with a heady trifecta of anticipation, passion, and determination as activists, advocates, and supporters gathered for a rally and march.
Among them all stood a woman commonly described as both a “rallying point” and a “catalyst.” Damita Bishop, a formidable force in the fight for criminal, social, and economic justice reform, is now poised to make her political mark on Georgia and the United States.
No stranger to adversity, Bishop is a fairly well-known organizer, community educator, and advocate in the Atlanta area. She has dedicated herself to exposing the injustices of the criminal, legal, and prison systems, with a keen focus on the underpinned social and economic justice issues at the corroded heart of the system. A Black woman with a gay son, she has tussled against poverty and social issues in her communities for years. With numerous loved ones behind bars, Bishop understands the importance of intersectionality in the struggle for justice.
“I believe in the power of unity and solidarity,” Bishop told LGBTQ Nation. “We cannot address systemic injustice without recognizing the interconnectedness of oppression for all people.”
The U.S. criminal legal system has a lengthy history of disproportionate representation of LGBTQ+ folks on its court dockets and within its jails and prisons. The numbers skew even higher when focused specifically on the incarceration of LGBTQ+ people of color.
The Sentencing Project states that LGBTQ+ adults are incarcerated at a rate of three times the general population. Their data suggests that 1 in 6 trans people report having experienced incarceration at some point in their lives. Approximately half of those are Black trans people.
Additionally, the National Inmate Survey reports that 1,882 per 100,000 lesbian, gay, and bisexual people are incarcerated. In stark contrast, only 612 per 100,000 non-LGBTQ+ U.S. residents aged 18 and older are incarcerated. In simple math, if you’re LGBTQ+ in the “land of the free,” you’re twice as likely as your non-LGBTQ neighbors to wind up behind bars.
On March 1st, amidst the chants and banners, Bishop made an important announcement, one that brought more than 100 people out into the freezing rain: She will be running as an underdog write-in candidate for the United States House of Representatives. She explained to the crowd how her decision is fueled by a deep-seated commitment to reforming the broken system from within.
“If elected, I will work tirelessly to hold the current system accountable,” Bishop declared before those in attendance. “We cannot afford to turn a blind eye to the injustices that plague our communities. I cannot promise that I will single-handedly, unilaterally change the system – that is an impossible feat. But I can promise to network and inspire others who think like you and I do, in order to have more candidates like myself running to represent the true interests of our communities. From that position, there is great power to enact real, positive change.”
I, myself, was supposed to be one of many speakers at the rally. I had planned to wax both poetic and philosophical, drawing on my own years of experience as a writer, organizer and advocate. However, due to the overwhelming number of people who wanted to speak on behalf of Bishop, I relinquished my spot in favor of a mother from Mississippi.
She conveyed through tears what Bishop had done for her family in the aftermath of her son’s death at the hands of the prison system. For more than 20 minutes, she recounted how Bishop suffered alongside her, became like her family, and buried herself in countless hours of emails, calls, and other advocacy work in attempt to get a straight answer from prison officials about how and why her son was brutally murdered in his prison cell.
Bishop’s candidacy is not without its challenges. She doesn’t have big political dogs backing her, and the money to finance her run is based solely on her own savings and donations. Bishop says other challenges include police harassment at her events and rallies, attempted sabotage of her events through supposed “bomb threats” and claims of concerns of “gang violence” by Capitol and police officials, and the fact that she is somewhat unknown outside of the local advocacy community.
Despite these obstacles, Bishop remains undeterred in her mission to bring about meaningful change.
She has spent more than 20 years working as a human rights advocate and says that about 5 or 6 years ago she realized that incarcerated people and those impacted by the criminal legal system needed to be a part of that conversation.
What drew her attention to the calamity of gross human rights violations within the prison industrial complex was the Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC).
The GDC has long been plagued by allegations of misconduct, including ever-increasing reports of assault and murder within its facilities. Staff misconduct and illegal activity are also at an all-time high; the situation within the state’s prison system is so terrible that in recent years, it prompted a second human and civil rights investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Earlier this year, for example, the Biden Administration filed a statement supporting a trans woman incarcerated in a men’s prison in the state who has accused the GDC of denying her access to gender-affirming care. The woman’s complaint states the lack of access to this care has led her to “suffer catastrophic gender dysphoria symptoms.”
“We cannot allow injustice to go unchecked,” Bishop emphasized to LGBTQ Nation.
“It is incumbent upon us to stand up and demand accountability. And so we do, today and every day; we demand accountability and transparency from the Georgia Department of Corrections, from this state’s county jails and detention centers, like Rice Street, and from the prisons, jails, and detention centers of each state within this nation. We demand accountability, transparency, and action from our state and federal lawmakers. And if they can’t give us that, then it is up to us to put ourselves in their chairs and give it to our communities ourselves.”
For Bishop and those who stand alongside her, the journey towards justice is both historic and heroic. Their courage and determination serve as a beacon of hope for marginalized communities across Georgia and beyond.
As the rally draws to a close and the march begins, the spirit of solidarity fills the air. With Bishop leading the way, you can see written on the faces of many that the path toward a more just and equitable future is a bit clearer, perhaps even a bit more achievable. In addition to Bishop’s speech, the stories of struggle, loss, frustration, and a desire for something new that actually helps rather than hurts seem to have renewed the strength and conviction of the people present.
As the rain continued to fall over Liberty Plaza, the echoes of Bishop’s words lingered in the air, a reminder of the power of resilience and determination in the face of injustice. “In the end,” she declared, “it is only through our collective voice that we will be propelled forward.”
