transgender

May 22 2013

Harvey Milk Champions of Change

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Sen. Ricardo Lara, D-Long Beach, and Redondo Beach Mayor Michael A. Gin will be among 10 openly lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender elected or appointed officials who will be honored at the White House today as Harvey Milk Champions of Change for their commitment to equality and public service.

Lara became the first openly gay person of color to be elected to the California Senate in 2012. He was elected to the Assembly in 2010 and became the first LGBT chair of the Latino Legislative Caucus.

Nov 7 2012

Hurtful comments can cause great harm

Suicide is the fate met by many youth across the country who feel unwanted in their communities and schools due to their sexuality.

They go day to day hearing comments about how being gay/lesbian or any deviation from heterosexual is unnatural and wrong. They are particularly vulnerable to suicide, and more susceptible to depression, substance abuse, and homelessness than other youth.

Brittney M. Walker  |   OW Staff Writer
Aug 25 2011

Children forced to learn LGBT history

Some sectors of the religious community have been in an uproar since Gov. Jerry Brown approved SB 48, otherwise known as the California Fair, Accurate, Inclusive and Respectful (FAIR) Education Act.

The new law, which was passed on July 14 this year, amends “the Education Code to include social sciences instruction on the contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people.”

The bill was originally proposed by Mark Leno of San Francisco, an openly gay Democratic senator.

Jul 21 2011

Gov. Jerry Brown signs SB 48

With Senate Bill 48 signed into law, the state’s schoolchildren are the ones getting their bells rung.

The Protect Kids Foundation, which opposed the new law, said it “would change the teaching of core academic subjects into a ‘celebration’ of gay, lesbian, transgender and bisexual lifestyles. This profound change in the basic education of children would be mandatory, without involvement or opt-out rights of parents.”

Jul 7 2011

Suicide too often becomes an option

Dissolved R&B group Xscape’s famous song contemplatively asks, “Who can I run to, when I need love?”

Thousands, if not millions, of LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) youth in this country are asking themselves that very question, and are being met with the antithesis of love: hate.

The loss of one child due to suicide is senseless, but the loss of nine young people to suicide, because of bullying they experienced as a result of, or being perceived as gay—what sense could it make?

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.
 

Alabama
Freeman A. Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, will address the annual African American Business Council luncheon on June 28. Hrabowski, who is chairman of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Commission on Education Excellence for African Americans, has a national reputation for his work studying the performance of minority students in math and science. Hrabowski, named one of the 10 best college presidents in the country by Time magazine, was a child leader in the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham in the 1960s.
 

Arkansas
The Liberty Counsel filed a motion and a brief in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas seeking to intervene on behalf of a Concepts of Life crisis pregnancy center to defend against a suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Reproductive Rights. The groups seek to impose a permanent injunction before the Human Heartbeat Protection Act goes into effect July 18. Liberty Counsel also filed a brief opposing the ACLU’s request for an injunction. The “Heartbeat” bill states that when a woman seeks an abortion at or after the 12th week, doctors must test for a fetal heartbeat before an abortion is performed and inform the pregnant mother that the child in her womb has a heartbeat. If a heartbeat is detected, a woman cannot have an abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, and if a mother’s life is in danger. “As we promised when the legislation was introduced, Liberty Counsel will defend this law without reservation for the people of Arkansas, born and pre-born,” said Matt Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel. “No right is more foundational than the right to life. Without life, all other rights are irrelevant,” concluded Staver.