2018 Publication Round Up

“Millennials don’t need a guilt-trip. We are already politically active, and we’re acting out of an understanding that older people should heed: It takes more than voting to change an oppressive system.

Queer and trans people know this truth deeply. At times when neither party fought for our interests, queer and trans people created new ways to effect change. We “zapped” politicians, held die-ins, built underground networks and took care of each other. These tactics are just as important today as they have been in the past.”

Read the whole thing here!

Rainbow Rant: Incarceration is an LGBT issue and now is the time to act

September 10, 2018September 10, 2018Leave a comment

Big announcement! I am writing an opinion column for Columbus Alive newspaper. I’ll be writing about LGBT topics twice a month. My first column is about the National Prison Strike.

Striking prisoners are demanding an end to prison slavery, which is legal under the 13th amendment; increased access to rehabilitation services; the reinstatement of Pell grants; an end to racial disparities in sentencing; the reinstatement of voting rights for former prisoners with felony convictions; the redress of grievances local to individual institutions, and more. These demands are not only reasonable; they address some of the most pressing forms of racism in our country.

Read the rest here.

New writing: Tomatoes – Heritage or Hate

September 8, 2018Leave a comment

I just published a new essay on Ruminate. It’s about racism, family, and gardening.

“We eat the stalks, not the leaves,” he said, explaining that those big green leaves were poisonous. I was surprised that part of something could be good, full of vitamins and tasty enough to sit beside strawberries nestled underneath Grandma’s handmade pie crusts, while another part can kill. I have no better metaphor for being raised white in America.“

I hope you’ll check it out!

Friday Feminist Faves: #NoCopAcademy

June 1, 2018Leave a comment

I’m not gonna lie, I’ve been a little discouraged over this last week. That why for this week’s recommendation, I picked a movement that gives me a lot of hope: #NoCopAcademy. #NoCopAcademy opposes the construction of a $95 million dollar police academy on Chicago’s Southside. This campaign is being waged by savvy, courageous organizers, led by young Black people. I think it can win and that you should get involved. Here’s how:

Learn more about the campaign.

The #NoCopAcademy campaign is an effort supported by community organizations across Chicago, that want to see $95 million invested in our communities rather than police training grounds. From the statement of opposition:

Chicago already spends $1.5 billion on police every year—that’s $4 million every single day. We spend 300% more on the CPD as a city than we do on the Departments of Public Health, family and support services, transportation, and planning and development (which handles affordable housing). This plan is being praised as a development opportunity to help local residents around the proposed site, but when Rahm closed 50 schools in 2013, six were in this neighborhood. The message is clear: Rahm supports schools and resources for cops, not for Black and Brown kids.

We demand a redirecting of this $95 million into Chicago’s most marginalized communities instead. Real community safety comes from fully-funded schools and mental health centers, robust after-school and job- training programs, and social and economic justice. We want investment in our communities, not expanded resources for police.

You can read more at their website.

Listen to young Black people explain why they oppose the cop academy

Check out one of their amazing protests

Contact your alderman and tell them that want investment in education, not policing. You can get their contact information here.

Get caught up with the latest news about the campaign. You can read about what went down at City Hall recently and hear from one of the lawyers associated with the campaign.

Follow #NoCopAcademy on social media, so you’re ready to act when they ask for your support.