During Lesbian Visibility Week, the National Center for Lesbian Rights, National Center for Transgender Equality, and the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund honor the lives and experiences of transgender and non-binary lesbians. We affirm that trans women are women and that trans and non-binary lesbians are a valued part of the LGBTQ community. As politicians and policymakers seek to strip LGBTQ people, especially transgender people, of their freedoms, it is important for us to stand...
Today is Lesbian Day of Visibility, a day when we celebrate and uplift every lesbian, no matter where they live or how they identify. Today is a day of joy, yes, but this celebration goes much deeper. We are celebrating being out, proud, and seen – things that often don’t come without pain and sacrifice. To me, being out and visibly queer is a way to continue towards progress, as representation of the complex identities within the LGBTQ community is vital to the well-being of queer...
Today, April 22, marks Earth Day, a day when we celebrate the Earth and also rally around finding solutions to climate change and environmental injustice. Started in the 1970s partly in response to Silent Spring, a book written by lesbian author and marine biologist Rachel Carson, the day has been part of a movement that has grown more aptly in tune with today’s intersectional movements. At first glance, environmental injustice may not seem like an LGBTQ issue, but in fact, queer folks have a...
When Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson was confirmed last week as the first Black woman to serve on the United States Supreme Court, many of us rejoiced as we saw yet another crack in the symbolic glass ceiling that has historically kept women, especially Black women and women of color, from reaching our full potential. This week is Black Maternal Health Week, and while I am still elated for what Judge Jackson represents, I can’t help but feel disheartened by the barriers and inequities that still...
As a young, trans woman, I’m very honored to be able to share this message with you today on Transgender Day of Visibility. This year more than ever it is important that we use whatever voice and presence we can muster to lift up those who need the most help and support in our community. I am proud to recognize my trans and nonbinary siblings for standing up firmly against the wave of fearmongering and repression that is sweeping across so many states in the US. For example, just this past...
On March 30, 2022, NCLR, with our colleagues at Kaplan, Hecker & Fink LLP, filed a new lawsuit challenging Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay or Trans” legislation, which Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law on March 28. Along with several students, parents, and teachers, we represent Equality Florida, which has over 400,000 members, and Family Equality, the nation’s leading group for LGBTQ-parent families and their children. The new Florida law seeks to create a climate of fear,...
This week, NCLR announced our new Senior Youth Policy Counsel (he/she/they and prefix Mx.) and we could not be more excited that the person filling this role is our own Danielle (Danny) King! Since our founding 45 years ago, NCLR has been at the forefront of protecting and advocating on behalf of LGBTQ youth, a value we cemented with the historic and groundbreaking creation of our Youth project in 1993. Danny’s new role with NCLR will continue this legacy of supporting the most...
This past Saturday marked the 49th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the historic U.S. Supreme Court case recognizing the right to abortion as a fundamental right protected by the U.S. Constitution in all 50 states. Since that historic day in 1973, we have continued to see relentless attacks on abortion access that chip away at the fundamental right to reproductive autonomy. These attacks have escalated dramatically in the last few last years, most recently culminating in the passage of SB 8 in...
Today we honor the life and legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. His vision and courage defined the Civil Rights Movement and fundamentally shaped the fight for racial and economic justice. His vision continues to serve as a guide for all other social justice movements to this day. And, as far as we’ve come to Dr. King’s “beloved community,” even in 2022, there are still so many obvious ways that we continue to fall short. In 1964, Dr. King called poverty an “evil that plagues the...
In 2021, NCLR held a series of conversations about pressing issues in the LGBTQ movement with staff talking about what NCLR is doing to respond and what we see in the future. You can find out about those series of discussions (Forgotten LGBTQ Youth, 1st Amendment Rights vs. Anti-Discrimination, and The Modern Family) and watch full recordings of the conversations below. Forgotten LGBTQ YouthFirst Amendment Rights vs. Anti-DiscriminationModern Family PAST IN CONVERSATION DISCUSSIONS Forgotten...
