Making the Connection Between LGBTQ+ Liberation, Racial Justice, and Economic Power

Making the Connection Between LGBTQ+ Liberation, Racial Justice, and Economic Power

By: Ida Eskamani, SiX's Senior Director, Legislative Affairs

The Economic Power Project (EPP) is SiX's national economic justice initiative, organizing legislators committed to building economies that empower people and advance justice. For Pride Month, originating from the Stonewall Uprising of June 28, 1969, we’re highlighting the intersection of LGBTQ+ liberation, racial justice, and economic power.

As a legislator advocating for the LGBTQ+ residents in your state, it is imperative to work in collaboration with our state-based LGBTQ+ organizations and organizers. Need help getting connected? SiX can help. Contact SiX’s Ida V. Eskamani, Senior Director, Legislative Affairs, ida@stateinnovation.org.

Pride in Understanding the Opposition

The so-called “culture wars'' are directly tied to economic justice – designed to both divide communities and deny economic opportunity to LGBTQ+ working people. And because racism is entrenched in our economic system, it is Black queer working people most impacted. Solidarity is also essential in our work: the same coordinated network of extremist billionaires, think tanks, and corporations pushing anti-LGBTQ+ laws also aims to privatize education, weaken unions, and repeal child labor protections. Billionaires like the DeVos, Uline, and Koch families, along with think tanks such as the Foundation for Government Accountability, The Heritage Foundation, and groups like the Alliance Defending Freedom and American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), are key players in this effort to undermine our collective progress, and centralize control of our economy and democracy among the elite.

Pride in Equal Pay

June 13 marked LGBTQ+ Equal Pay Awareness Day. Organizers in state capitols across the country have long-advocated for equal pay for all – our fight for equal pay takes an intersectional approach, acknowledging that the wage gap is magnified for LGBTQ+ people, especially Black trans woman. The National Women’s Law Center broke down emerging pay gap data for full time LGBTQ+ workers here. Spread awareness of the LGBTQ+ pay gap with this social media toolkit!

Pride in Paid Family Medical & Leave

By embracing inclusive definitions of family, our laws can better support the diverse structures of all families, including chosen family members, crucial for LGBTQ+ workers. States like Minnesota and Maine are at the forefront, implementing comprehensive paid leave programs that include all families.

Pride in Public Schools

The Washington Post recently ran a major story on the billions of taxpayer dollars that have been spent to subsidize private religious schools through voucher plans. School vouchers further anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination and are rooted in segregation-era policies. Strengthening public schools is directly linked to LGBTQ+ justice. AFT’s Real Solutions for Kids and Communities offers solutions. States can protect LGBTQ+ students; as well as introduce inclusive curricular standards.

Pride in Housing Justice

From family rejection leading to LGBTQ+ youth experiencing homelessness, to LGBTQ+ elders facing new forms of discrimination in retirement, and every stage of life in between; housing and LGBTQ+ justice are connected. Tenant organizers across the country are working with legislators to advance this agenda, via just cause eviction, rent hike caps, and opportunity to purchase; as well as regulating corporate landlord AI-rent setting and private equity buyouts.

Pride in Criminal Legal System Reform

Criminalization in itself is a profit-driven agenda: incarceration is a multi-billionaire dollar industry that we all subsidize with tax dollars. The Stonewall Uprising of 1969 was in response to police brutality and criminalization targeting queer communities, and queer people have always been over-criminalized and over-incarcerated. According to the Sentencing Project, LGBTQ+ adults are incarcerated at three times the rate of the general population. Among trans people, 1 in 6 report being incarcerated at any point in their lives, and nearly half of those are Black trans people. From queer youth to adulthood, criminalization sits on the intersection of LGBTQ+ identities, racism, and classism. This brief by the Sentencing Project examines the criminalization and over-incarceration of LGBTQ+ people in the United States, highlighting the drivers of overrepresentation and presenting recommendations for reform.

Pride in Our Irresistible Futures

When we dismantle the structural barriers LGBTQ+ people face, we are all more free. We hope you can join us and 600 state legislators and partners as we build an irresistible future, where all people have power and agency over our lives at SiX's 2024 National Conference in Atlanta, Georgia from December 11-13. Early Bird Registration is now open.

The Economic Power Project is an effort spearheaded by SiX’s Legislative Affairs team.
Contact SiX’s Ida V. Eskamani, Senior Director, Legislative Affairs, ida@stateinnovation.org.

Fighting Back Against Anti-Trans Legislation

Anti-transgender lawmakers set records this year with their harmful and hateful legislations: thirty-three states introduced more than 100 anti-transgender rights bills across the country.

SiX convened a panel with Colorado Rep. Brianna Titone, Dominique Morgan (Black & Pink), and Corinne Green (Equality Federation) to discuss how state legislators can fight differently and fight better against anti-trans legislation.

Q&A: Fight Better Against Anti-Trans Bills

Can you give us an overview of what's been going on across the country?

Corinne Green: The largest attacks have come in the form of medical care bans and athlete bans. As broader attacks on the LGBT community start to find less purchase in statehouses around the country, we've seen our opponents hone in on trans youth—the most vulnerable segment of our population. They've found that taking advantage of people's lack of education around trans people, and their wiring to care about children has worked really well.

The number of anti-trans bills is double what we saw just five years ago. These bills are designed to ban transgender kids—specifically transgender women—from participating in school sports, and then also make it very difficult for transgender children to access gender-affirming care.

Unfortunately, these aren't the only kinds of bills we're seeing. There are still efforts to prevent trans people from using the correct restrooms. One of the most egregious bills we saw this session is the Tennessee bill requiring a specific warning sign be placed outside any bathroom that a trans person is allowed to use; it's supposed to be 6x8", use scary red lettering, etc.

We've also seen:

attempts to increase penalties for trans people who are perceived to be in the wrong restroom
limits on people's ability to update their identity documents
limits around including trans healthcare in insurance plans in various states
targeted attacks to exclude trans women from women's shelters when they're on the streets and need a place to stay

So while the moneymakers for our opposition tend to be the athlete bans and the medical care bans, it's still a broad attack.

We're also finding that they're rolling our issues into the intersectional issues that our community has always dealt with. Bills that attempt to limit teaching around racism in America often also have a component limiting teaching around gender identity and sexual identity. And so there's abroad pushback that we need to respond to as a coalition of marginalized people.

Corinne Green is the policy and legislative strategist at Equality Federation. In this role, she tracks all LGBTQ related legislation across the country and provides policy analysis and support to Equality Federation members. Corinne is a harm reduction and queer rights activist from New Orleans, Louisiana. Prior to joining the Equality Federation, she worked for Transgender Law Center, where she oversaw the passage and implementation of California’s Gender Recognition Act, the country's largest expansion of access to non-binary gender markers, and created the Protect Trans Health campaign to defend gender identity protections and the Affordable Care Act.

What tools have you used to combat anti-trans legislation? And what else might you need to be helpful on the ground?

Anti-trans legislation happens all the time. And sometimes, it's not blatant. Sometimes it is hidden.

So, when I was debating bills on the floor, one of the bills said "pregnant people" right in the title. And one of my colleagues came up and said, "We're going to change that to biological women." I heard that and I was like, "Oh, no, no, no, they did not just do that." And I walked down to the well to defend trans people because they were trying to erase us.

So I told them, "You need to understand that biological women are not the only people who can get pregnant. Trans men can also get pregnant, people with uteruses can get pregnant." And I said, "We're not erasing trans people today."

I really put myself out there for my colleagues to understand who I am. And why what they do or say is hurtful to me. And I have to defend myself often.

Not every legislature has a trans person or non-binary person there. So you know, we're relying on allies to stand up for us. And that's really important when we can't be there to defend ourselves in person.

When it comes to legislation in general, especially in committees, I've found that personal stories are important. It's super important to communicate that we're people and we're your constituents.

Representative Brianna Titone was elected in 2018 as the first openly transgender legislator in the Colorado General Assembly. She serves as the Vice Chair of the Joint Technology Committee and serves on the Health and Insurance Committee and Energy and Environment committees. Additionally, she serves as the chair of the House Democrats LGBTQ caucus and is dedicated to eliminating gaps in consumer protections, health care and LGBTQ rights in Colorado.

Many national trans rights organizations are white-led. As a black trans woman leading the largest prison abolitionist organization in the country, how do you hold the importance of visibility in this moment?

Dominique Morgan: I've driven three hours to be heard for two minutes. I've tried to show the world the deepest, darkest parts of how I've been harmed, [all] to sit in front of three or four legislators in Nebraska who acted like I was reading them my grocery list.

I don't want us to keep pushing people to be exposed and go through trauma to prove that they should be treated as human beings. And I don't think [political] positions are the be-all-end-all. But I think it's a step. If you were to look at the queer and trans people in power in our community, you would think that Black and brown trans people don't exist. You would think that our existence is predicated on Pose and sex work. And for many of us, that is our truth. But we also have girls out here who are in tech. There's a spectrum of our experience, right? And I think that's what's really important.

We're talking about amplification; we're talking about a centered experience for trans Black folks. And we're talking about challenging and calling in white, trans and gender non-conforming folks to get comfortable with being de-centered. To be de-centered with love.

Now, I don't know how y'all did in y'all households, but if an elder walks in, did y'all just sit there and look at that elder stand there, or did you get up and give that chair up? You got up and gave them the chair. "Get up, your Auntie need to sit down." "Get up your grandmother's coming in the house." Because you understood what that person went through that day; your body hadn't gone through the same thing. So they needed that seat. I need white folks who are within our queer community to have that sort of grace.

Dominique Morgan Black and Pink Credit JoshuaFoo

Dominique Morgan is an award-winning artist, activist, and TEDx speaker. As the executive director of Black and Pink, the largest prison abolitionist organization in the United States. She works to dismantle the systems that perpetuate violence on LGBTQ and gender non-conforming people and individuals living with HIV and AIDS, partnering her lived experience of being impacted by mass incarceration, including 18 months in solitary confinement, with a decade of change making artistry, advocacy, and background in public health. She continues to work in spaces of sex education, radical self-care, and transformative youth development with intentions of dismantling the prison industrial complex, and its impact on our communities.

LGBTQ State Legislators Talk About Pride

This Q&A is from a State Innovation Exchange tweet chat featuring state legislators from across the country. Answers have been edited for length and clarity.

Who is the first out LGBTQ politician you remember?

FL Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith: Orlando Commissioner Patty Sheehan is the first out LGBTQ politician I remember! She was the first out LGBTQ elected official in central Florida 20 years ago, helped us through @pulseorlando, and has been a role model for queer people everywhere. Thank you, Patty!

NC Rep. Allison Dahle: The first that I remember was Rep. Barney Frank.

CO Rep. Leslie Herod: Colorado State Senator Jennifer Veiga. It took a lot for me to gather the courage to run, but watching her serve (I was an aide at the Capitol when she came out publicly) was a true inspiration.

IN Sen. J.D. Ford: I know choosing Milk is kinda the easy answer but I’ve always admired him.

MI Rep. Laurie Pohutsky: I obviously wasn’t alive to actually “remember” him, but the first LGBTQ+ politician I ever learned about was Harvey Milk, and that wasn’t until I was part of the GSA in college, unfortunately.

MA Rep. Jack Lewis: @carlsciortino was the first out elected that I consciously remember meeting. He graciously visited one of @outmetrowest’s youth programs, inspiring both the teens and myself. Now I am grateful to know out electeds from around the world because of the @VictoryInst.

NE Sen. Megan Hunt: I didn’t know of or meet any out LGBTQ+ people in politics until I was in my late 20s. Now I have the dubious honor of being the first out person in the Nebraska Legislature, which shows what a long way we have to go for equality in representation.

ME Sen. Justin Chenette: I learned about Harvey Milk back in high school from the 2008 film Milk written by @DLanceBlack and it was inspiring to see someone not only living their truth but speaking truth to power in fighting for #equalrights.

Harvey Milk sitting in front of Castro Camera on Castro Street, San Francisco 1977 sign reads, "Don't Let It Happen Here" - Register to Vote" — Harvey Milk sitting in front of Castro Camera on Castro Street, San Francisco, 1977.

Why does LGBTQ representation matter?

Rep. Leslie Herod: Every day legislative bodies make decisions that impact the lives of LGBTQ people. We must have several seats at the table.

Sen. J.D. Ford: In 2019, when Indiana was debating the hate crimes bill, I was the only Senator who could stand in the well of the Senate to speak to my lived experience as a gay man. And, even though I was representing the Community, I didn’t have the experience as a black or brown transgender Hoosier.

Sen. Megan Hunt: We have the capacity to offer a high quality of life and opportunity for all, but not until we expand diversity of representation across all intersections at the state and local level. The government doesn’t work for all the people until it reflects all the people.

Senator Justin Chenette: LGBTQ representation = our voices at the table & the next generation has positive examples of what’s possible. It normalizes our personal lives & moves us closer to equality. My husband & I made this film about growing up gay & finding love.

We have the capacity to offer a high quality of life and opportunity for all, but not until we expand diversity of representation across all intersections at the state and local level. The government doesn’t work for all the people until it reflects all the people.
Nebraska Sen. Megan Hunt
Tweet

What’s something you’re proud of from your time in office?

Sen. Megan Hunt: I am most proud of my work to modernize Nebraska’s building and energy codes for environmental sustainability, my efforts to demystify our system government for the public, and the deep friendships I have developed with colleagues of all political backgrounds. Truly a dream job.

Sen. Justin Chenette: This past session, I was proud to co-sponsor @RyanFecteau‘s bill that once and for all banned conversion therapy in Maine! We are protecting our LGBTQ youth from torture.

Rep. Laurie Pohutsky: I introduced a bill to close a loophole that allows for marital rape in cases where a spouse is drugged. It was co-sponsored by 61 of my colleagues and highlighted a serious oversight in MI law. Unfortunately, it’s still waiting on a hearing because… y’know… the GOP.

Sen. J.D. Ford: I am proud to be in the Indiana legislature. I’m living out my dream job and I get to help folx. Huge thanks to the voters of SD29 for sending me to the Indiana General Assembly to be their voice. I am proud to continue using my voice and platform to fight for commonsense measures.

Rep. Allison Dahle: I was proud of our success with HB 1169, the Bipartisan Voting Act of 2020, which will assist voters in safe voting during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rep. Jack Lewis: During my first House Budget debate, I worked with my colleagues to successfully restore an HIV/AIDS line item that our governor had cut. While there have been many reasons to celebrate, that first success will always have a special place in my heart.

Why are state legislatures important?

Sen. Megan Hunt:

My two obsessions?

✅ State and local government

✅ Progressive policy in red states

Any hope for the future rests at the state & local level. That’s why I put my energy into down-ballot candidates and local issues. Can’t even dream of fixing Congress until we build a bench!

Rep. Laurie Pohutsky: State legislatures produce laws that impact the day-to-day much more acutely than many federal policies. Additionally, state law can provide safety nets in some cases when federal law changes and strips away certain protections and rights.

Sen. J.D. Ford: I would argue that state and local politics is where folx should pay the most attention. It’s fun to follow the presidential election, but we make decisions that have a direct impact on you and your family.

Like what we are doing? Let’s us know! Don’t like what we are doing? Let us know! From LGBTQ policies to education policies, to how well we maintain our roads/bridges, these are areas we tackle. Don’t know who is your legislator? That’s ok! Just plug in your address.

Send them a note! I think the best way to engage your legislators is a face-to-face meeting, followed by town halls, phone calls, emails, and postcards.

Rep. Jack Lewis: As someone who has lived in red, purple & blue states, I can affirm that it is legislative policies that help shape a state’s culture. I urge everyone to get to know their state rep and senator, and if they don’t share your values, RUN for elected office!

Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith: State legislatures have more power over the daily lives of their residents than Congress in many ways. They fund (or defund) our public schools, implement Medicaid programs and protect (or fail to protect) LGBTQ people from discrimination through state civil rights laws.

Sen. Justin Chenette: State legislatures are where your voice can be amplified to have the biggest impact. If a state lawmaker receives a dozen calls, it’s an emergency. So get involved! Your voice could mean the difference between the passage or defeat of important legislation.

State legislatures have more power over the daily lives of their residents than Congress in many ways. They fund (or defund) our public schools, implement Medicaid programs and protect (or fail to protect) LGBTQ people from discrimination through state civil rights laws.
Florida Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith
Tweet

What does your state need to prioritize in order to advance LGBTQ equality for all?

Sen. J.D. Ford: For me, it’s very simple:

✅ Protect transgender Hoosiers (particularly BIPOC who are experiencing violence, sexual violence and/or death)

✅ Protect our LGBTQ+ youth

Rep. Jack Lewis: Our movement started when LGBTQ people of color, experiencing unimaginable police brutality, asserted their right to exist. Many in our community though have actively silenced their voices. We must re-center voices of color and those most harmed by societal oppression.

Sen. Justin Chenette: I still can’t give blood. While @US_FDA lifted the lifetime ban on gay/bi men from donating, the current deferral is still blatant discrimination. We want to help save lives, especially with the blood shortage. Let us. Use science & data, not outdated stigma.

Rep. Allison Dahle: Here in North Carolina, we need to listen to and uplift Black voices and then act upon their advice in order to work toward equality for all.

Sen. Megan Hunt: I would be happy to pass literally one law to support the LGBTQ+ community in Nebraska. I’ve introduced many. On the whole, I think the single BEST thing our state could do is expand Medicaid and include protections for LGBTQ+ patients. Start with basic health.

Peoosn holding printed orange paper that reads "Defend + Protect Queer Kids"

What’s your message to LGBTQ youth?

Rep. Allison Dahle: Please grow up and be involved in your state government. You can become a politician, an activist, or an advocate. Use your voice to make your state better. No matter how big or how small your voice is important!

Sen. Megan Hunt: There is no political party, race, or religion that gets to have the monopoly on happiness, morality, or freedom. You deserve to be happy because you are a human. If you have the strength and confidence to be who you are, that is the most powerful thing you can do.

Sen. Justin Chenette: Let your light shine bright. Be the best you, you can be. You are valued, worth it, and exactly who you’re supposed to be. As the only openly gay Senator in Maine, my road hasn’t been easy, but what has never let me down is being my most authentic self.

Sen. J.D. Ford: My message: No matter how hard it feels right now, you will find people who ❤️ you and value you not in spite of who you are but because of who you are. Everyone has hard days but try and stay 💪. We need your laughter, brilliance and love in this 🌍.

Rep. Jack Lewis: I wish I could tell my younger self that in the long run, everything will be okay. Years of my childhood were overshadowed by fear, confusion, and self-loathing. It is my wish that every young LGBTQ person knows that they deserve to be loved, affirmed, and supported.

Rep. Laurie Pohutsky: You are enough. In whatever way you’re worried you don’t measure up or count, you absolutely do. You are enough.

Fighting Back Against Anti-Transgender Legislation in the States

The bad news: Across the country, there's been a rise in hateful legislation that attacks the basic dignity and humanity of transgender youth.

The good news: These bills have already been stopped in states including South Dakota and Florida, and there are resources to help in every state!

The bottom line? Transgender young people know who they are and all of the data shows that when they are affirmed in their gender they have comparable outcomes to their peers. By contrast, when denied treatment and affirmation, transgender people experience high rates of suicidality and negative health outcomes. These bills are based on false and/or deliberately misleading notions of health care for transgender youth and on fear of trans inclusion in public life.

Please reach out if you would like support defeating these bills in your state.

Anti Trans Bill in the States: A Conversation

Jessie Ulibarri, SiX Co-Executive Director teamed up with Chase Strangio from the ACLU, Katrina Karkazis from Yale University and Florida State Rep. Carlos Smith for a conversation about these bills. Watch or listen below.

Audio: Anti Trans Bill in the States: A Conversation

Inspiration from South Dakota and Florida

Check out this video of FL Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith taking down the false claim that care for transgender youth is experimental or unproven:

As with any issue, stories are the most powerful messengers. If you have five minutes, check out this story from 17-year-old Quinncy Parke, one of the many heroes who helped stop South Dakota's #HB1057, which sought to ban transition-related care like puberty blockers and hormone replacement therapy for trans minors.