Nine LGBT people will be honored by the White House on Monday for being “Champions of Change.”
The individuals were handpicked by the White House’s Champions of Change program, which features “individuals doing extraordinary things to empower and inspire members of their communities.” In particular, it was their advocacy for the LGBT community that ensured their recognition.
They have been selected from across the country, representing a wide background of experiences, employment and advocacy. They are:
Marco Castro-Bojorquez — Community Educator for Lambda Legal’s Western Regional Office in L.A. As well as coordinating Lambda’s educational and advocacy efforts, he’s also an award-winning filmmaker, including documentary Tres Gotas de Agua, about Latina immigrant mothers exploring the multigenerational impact of their children’s coming out.
Fiona Dawson — Dawson established TransMilitary, dedicated to promoting trans equality by creating media that “educates, entertains and inspires.” She co-directed and produced the New York Times‘ documentary Transgender, at War and in Love. Dawson was also the Female Grand Marshal for Houston Pride in 2010, has worked for the HRC, and currently sits on the board of directors for the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association.
Jess Dugan — The Missouri resident is an artist whose works explore gender, sexuality, identity, and community. A photographer, Dugan has captured the LGBT community for the past decade, with her works being exhibited internationally — some are even housed within permanent collections at several major museums. Her current project, To Survive on this Shore, explores the complexities of aging as a transgender person in America.
Joanna Hoffman — A slam poetry veteran, Hoffman’s poetry book Running for Trap Doors was nominated for a Lambda Literary Award and was recommended by the American Library Association as essential LGBT reading. She conducts poetry workshops with youth at LGBTQ centers, performance venues, high schools and colleges, while her one-woman show The Person is Political dealt with homophobia, bullying, racism and mental health.
AJ King — King is well known to District residents as the founder of Breaking Ground — formerly known as “Brother 2 Brother.” The program specifically targets men and trans youth of color in D.C. to use musical theater to tell their life stories and identify non-violent conflict resolution. It incorporates social justice training, leadership development, and a safe space for the participants to open up about their lives and then present those stories onstage.
Pidgeon Pagonis — An intersex activist, Pagonis is the former Communications & Operations Manager and Youth Leadership Coordinator for Inter/Act, an intersex youth project, at Advocates for Informed Choice — an organization that fights for the legal rights of intersex children and their families. For almost a decade, Pagonis has held workshops and presentations around the world to expand the visibility of intersex issues.
Lee Levingstone Perine — Perine is the founder of Makers Lab, which supports queer communities in D.C. by creating spaces that celebrate life, art and queer culture. In just a few months — it launched in August of this year — the Lab has produced 35 cultural events. Perine previously ran a boutique event planning company that specialized in LGBTQ weddings.
LJ Roberts — Renown for large-scale knitted art installations, detailed embroideries, screen prints and collages, Roberts’ work investigates the overlaps between queer and trans politics and activism. For an upcoming project, they are collaborating with Visual AIDS the create a sex-positive woman-centered safe sex kit, part of a show at The Brooklyn Museum.
Steven Romeo — The Change Project is an arts and storytelling project in Birmingham, Alabama, that aims to change discrimination against LGBTQ people. As the founder, director and chief artist, Romeo hopes that through photography, social media campaigns, educational resources and outside partnerships, he can help transform society’s views of LGBTQ people.
The event will be held Monday, November 23, at the White House and will involve screenings of Amazon’s Transparent (read our review here) and upcoming film The Danish Girl, both of which feature transgender protagonists — an important symbol of recognition given today, November 20, is Transgender Day of Remembrance. The program will also feature emarks by Senior Advisor to the President Valerie Jarrett and Secretary for the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development Julián Castro.
When Martha Nell Smith was a child, she was given a book called The Golden Treasury of Poetry. "I was a nerdy kid, I liked to read," the 72-year-old academic says, adding, "I also liked to play. I was a very sporty kid too. I was a tomboy."
The book contained several poems by Emily Dickinson. "I thought these look so simple, but when you think about it, they are really weird," she says. "But you could say that about almost any Dickinson poem."
Smith recounts the long and winding path that led her to become one of the foremost experts on Emily Dickinson, with a particular focus on the poet's secretly romance-laden letters to her sister-in-law, Susan Dickinson.
In late November, the University of Oklahoma placed Mel Curth on administrative leave after the transgender graduate teaching assistant gave a student a zero on an essay about gender roles.
The essay cited the Bible to defend traditional gender roles and described transgender people as "demonic." Curth and the course's instructor, Megan Waldron, said the paper failed to meet basic academic standards due to a lack of empirical evidence. Both noted that the paper cited no scholarly sources and failed to offer an evidence-based critique of the assigned article, which argued that children who do not conform to rigid gender stereotypes are more likely to face bullying and negative mental health outcomes.
Tyler Getchell of Jacksonville, Florida, has been charged with attempted murder after allegedly shooting and partially paralyzing his neighbor, Kyle McFarlane, during an argument over what Getchell believed was trespassing.
McFarlane told police he was gathering discarded furniture for a bonfire on November 22 when Getchell and his girlfriend came outside and yelled at him to get off their property, First Coast News reported.
According to the police report, video footage shows McFarlane standing on a property easement -- not on his neighbors' land -- just before the shooting.
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
You must be logged in to post a comment.