From the January-February 2021 issue of News & Letters

by Elise

In the year before Transgender Day of Remembrance 2020, 350 Trans and Gender Nonconforming people, mostly women of color, were reported murdered, up from 331 in 2019. Many more murders are never reported, due to lack of support from family, society and government.

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Classmates and other supporters of Transgender student Avril held a vigil for her. She committed suicide after she was verbally assaulted in public by her school guidance counselor for wearing a skirt and banned from Lycee Fenelon High School in Lille, France, until she would dress “appropriately.” The school administration and staff supported the counselor, going so far as to misgender Avril upon learning of her suicide. The incident raises the question of how Trans students are treated in schools across France.

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Brotherhood Inc. serves New Orleans’ underserved and at-risk communities, including LGBTQ+ people, and the homeless and poor living with HIV/AIDS. It includes Trinity House, a group home which provides housing stability for homeless people living with HIV/AIDS. Brotherhood provides HIV/AIDS education, counseling, testing, and referrals, prevention and education. Brotherhood’s board of directors is diverse in race and ethnicity, deliberately reflecting the diverse communities it serves. You can find this organization at brotherhoodinc.org.

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Trevor WIlkinson

After Gay teenager Trevor Wilkinson was handed an in-school suspension for wearing nail polish to school, the American Civil Liberties Union and tens of thousands of people expressed their support for him online. The suspension is in force until he removes the nail polish. More than 85,000 signatures were gathered on Trevor’s petition calling for Clyde High School in Texas to change its sexist policy prohibiting boys from wearing nail polish and makeup. Trevor is also protesting the school for violating his First Amendment right to freedom of expression.