Posts Tagged ‘Bullying’
Why Black Men Must Show Up For Trans-Women Of Color
This past Tuesday I was given the honor and challenge to speak on the behalf of cis-black men for #TransLiberationTuesday. This day was created as space where communities all across the nation could collectively mourn and speak out against the extreme violence black trans-women and gender non-conforming femmes face on a daily basis. This day…
Read MoreA Word Of Advice For Non-Affirming Christians
I wonder what life would have been like if I never had to hesitate when I crossed my legs. I get a feeling sometimes that my aunt will come out of nowhere and say, “Boys don’t cross their legs.” I wonder what life would have been like if I was allowed to clutch my shirt…
Read MoreFeeling Heard: Meeting The LGBTQ Community In Cuba
“But when did you feel heard by the majority?” pleaded a Cuban and would-be LGBT activist, unknowingly socking me in the gut with a question for which my talking points would fall short in a room full of eager Cuban citizens, watchful Cuban government officials, and gay American singers visiting Havana. In the humid and unassuming mid-morning…
Read MoreI Will Not Be Bullied By My Church
“F**got!”- the big boys yelled across the school yard. You try to avoid eye contact, mindful that you’re about to burst into tears. You get home and run up to your room to hide your bruises and drown your broken heart with loud music. You shut out your parents, who might not call you names,…
Read MoreA Christian Calling For Transgender Day Of Remembrance
Trigger warning: discussions of transphobia, violence, and suicide. Last week, a friend sent me a news report about an attack on transgender activist Candice Rose Milligan, who lives in Toledo, Ohio. She has been released from the hospital following two surgeries, including one to wire her jaw closed until it heals. It was broken as…
Read MoreSpirit Day 2014: How We Can Prevent Bullying
Four years ago, beginning in October of 2010, we in the United States saw a rash of gay teenager suicides—Asher Brown, age 13, in Houston; Seth Walsh, also 13, in California; Billy Lucas and Justin Aaberg, both 15, from Indiana and Minnesota; and Tyler Clementi, age 18, a freshman just beginning his studies at Rutgers…
Read MoreChristian Parents Reject Their Gay Son: What Can We Do?
A video making its way through the internet depicts one of the worst coming out experiences one can have. In it, we hear a mother start with “I love you,” and move quickly to kicking her son out of her home, then to attacking and beating him. The video is painful to watch (listen to, actually,…
Read MoreThe Stigma Of Black Suicide Is Killing Us
When the first news reports of Robin Williams’ death hit the media, few questioned the report that the country’s most beloved comedian had committed suicide. This reaction stands in stark contrast to the reaction to the 2012 news of the death of “Soul Train” creator Don Cornelius. Cornelius was found dead in his home after…
Read MoreBeing Gay In A Post-Matthew Shepard Wyoming
We as human beings are constantly seeking our life story while sometimes comparing ours to others. This is my story. I speak on my own behalf, not for all the LGBT people in my state. I live in the big open space called Wyoming, from the small town of Lander. The youngest and only girl…
Read MoreKeeping My Church A Safe Place For The LGBTQ Community
My church, First Church Congregational in Rochester NH, has been “Open and Affirming” (a designation of the United Church of Christ) since 2002. The designation means that we make a specific commitment to welcome the LGBTQ community, to recognize the hurt that had been done to that community by the institutional church, and to work…
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