LGBT Health Awareness week highlights challenges faced by LGBT youth, offers insight on how they thrive, & enhances the awareness among physicians, policy makers, etc. about the existing disparities in order to provide competent care. Download the social media toolkit here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1bcI03GQ1-iApi3UgTOvQtQnbNlI6ZYQM
Sylvester James, who performed as “Sylvester,” is an extraordinary figure in LGBTQ history. He became the first, and perhaps only, gay “disco diva.”
In the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, he was an unapologetically queer presence in an era not very warm to LGBTQ voices, an artist who embraced the gender spectrum decades before ‘gender queer’ became part of the national conversation.
At the age of 41 #Sylvester died of AIDS-related complication but his voice, videos, and songs continue to inspire us all to dream, sing, and dance as free as we can. For instance, he attained particular recognition in San Francisco, where he was awarded the key to the city. In 2005, he was posthumously inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame, while his life has been recorded in a biography and made the subject of both a documentary and a musical.
In December 2016, #Billboard magazine ranked him as the 59th most successful dance artist of all-time.
Andrea Jenkins made history in November 2017 by becoming the first openly transgender black woman elected to public office in the U.S., according to LGBTQ advocacy groups and researchers. Jenkins, a Democrat, was one of two openly trans people to win a seat on the Minneapolis City Council last year. Jenkins is also a published poet and an oral historian at the University of Minnesota. Jenkins won about 73 percent of the vote in Minneapolis’s Eighth Ward, where she is known for addressing youth violence and improving the south-central ward’s neighborhoods.
Happy National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
I am Black
I am HIV+
I am Young
& I am Living.
Gregory Meredith
He/Him/His
Washington, DC
#NoNameCallingWeek brings awareness to the unkind names that many people within the LGBTQ+ community may face during their time in school. It also brings focus to the power of names and the different meanings that words can have for people. I came to terms with my sexuality in high school. During that time, it was very common for people to use the word “gay” as an insult or a joke. Calling something “gay” was somehow seen as funny. At the time, I knew this was something that was harmful for the LGBT+ community. However, I don’t think I fully grasped how much power a word can truly hold. The word “gay” should not be associated with shame or be seen as a joke. Now that I am 20 years old and have fully accepted my sexuality and gender identity, I am proud. I am proud to be a queer trans man and I know and understand the power that words, names, and labels can hold.
Cody Drew Clayton
He/Him
Malden, Massachusetts
Reggie Bullock of the Detroit Pistons was the first active player to ride on the NBA Pride’s float. He rode on the float to honor the life of his sister Mia, a trans woman who was murdered in Baltimore at the age of 26. In the fourth episode of #KikisWithLouie, Reggie sits down to talk family, loss, and his journey to becoming an LGBTQ ally. All athletes should have the same access to the sport they love. Watch the full video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xquh-WtmfqM&t=5s
we are proud to support the #BlackTransPrayerBook’s social media campaign #TransphobiaIsASin
you too can support this effort. make/draw/write your own signs, take a picture & share them with the hashtag #TransphobiaIsASin in support of the revolutionary work of #BlackTransPrayerBook project.
On the 30th Anniversary of World AIDS Day we amplified the voices of young people living with HIV. Activist Marnina Miller discussed her experiences as a Black woman committed to ending HIV stigma and discrimination in her community.
To continue its mission of championing ALL young people’s sexual and reproductive health and rights, Advocates for Youth is launching ECHO (Engaging Communities around HIV Organizing), a first-of-its kind council of youth activists living with HIV who are actively organizing online and in their communities.
Council members are participating in in-person and digital actions across the country this week to raise awareness and mobilize people to support youth living with HIV. Each day, the campaign will highlight a different theme and integral issue.
For tips and information on how you can help to end HIV stigma, text YouthHIV to 877877
ameera, wisconsin, muslim youth leadership councilmember (she/her)
never enough.
Not masculine enough for my family or for what society thinks I should be,
not feminine enough for how a faggot or tranny is usually seen,
not talented enough to be a master of one trade,
not skilled in enough to be a jack of all,
not Muslim or religious enough to feel at home in a masjid,
not queer enough to feel at home with gays,
not quiet enough to enjoy the company of nerds,
not talkative enough to be a socialite,
not skinny enough,
not active enough,
not cultured enough,
not selfless enough,
not selfish enough,
not thoughtful enough,
not practical enough,
not thorough enough,
not nice enough,
not tough enough,
not considerate enough,
not successful enough,
not rich enough,
Not white enough,
not black enough,
Never good enough. never happy.
Never able to please others, never able to please ourselves.
Never good enough.
We are the misfits. And we are ok with ourselves.
We are ok.
We are perfect not despite, but because of our imperfections.
We are. Never enough.
And that means we are enough.