WEBVTT - Pride is a Riot 0:00:11.840 --> 0:00:14.920 Good morning, peeps, and welcome to woka F Daily with 0:00:15.040 --> 0:00:19.760 Meet your Girl Danielle Moody recording from the Fucking Toe 0:00:19.880 --> 0:00:25.520 reconstruction Zone and the Brooklyn Bunker. Happy Pride, folks, it 0:00:25.640 --> 0:00:28.920 is officially June. I myself cannot believe that we have 0:00:29.040 --> 0:00:32.519 made it here as a country as a group, but 0:00:32.600 --> 0:00:36.600 we are here and for this pride on woke F. 0:00:37.680 --> 0:00:42.839 We are conjuring up the spirits of our LGBTQ ancestors 0:00:43.520 --> 0:00:47.319 and leaders, and we're going back to what the core 0:00:47.440 --> 0:00:51.080 of pride has been and was born out of, which 0:00:51.120 --> 0:00:54.680 is a riot. For many of you who listen to 0:00:54.720 --> 0:00:57.480 me on a regular basis and have been listening to 0:00:57.760 --> 0:01:00.480 and been a part of the woke a F community nation, 0:01:01.520 --> 0:01:06.840 I want you to understand that when pride originated, as 0:01:07.240 --> 0:01:11.120 some folks know, came out of the Stonewall riots. And 0:01:11.319 --> 0:01:16.240 Stonewall is a bar located in New York City, in Manhattan, 0:01:17.040 --> 0:01:22.840 in Chelsea, an area that during the time was very 0:01:22.920 --> 0:01:30.360 much frequented by LGBTQ plus people. And what we have 0:01:30.440 --> 0:01:34.720 always known is that the queer community has never been 0:01:34.760 --> 0:01:41.520 accepted and embraced. It has always been the ire of police, politicians. 0:01:42.760 --> 0:01:48.160 You name it, and how pride began was out of 0:01:48.200 --> 0:01:54.720 a sense of exhaustion, out of a sense of you know, folks, 0:01:55.080 --> 0:02:02.000 particularly black, queer, black trans women saying, like Marsha P. Johnson, 0:02:02.120 --> 0:02:05.920 I've had enough. We've had a fucking enough of cops 0:02:05.960 --> 0:02:09.480 coming into this bar, hustling us from money, you know, 0:02:09.600 --> 0:02:14.240 beating us, and we do nothing because we are forced 0:02:14.280 --> 0:02:19.919 to live in the shadows, in the margins. And what 0:02:19.960 --> 0:02:23.760 the Stonewall riots did was bring to the consciousness the 0:02:23.800 --> 0:02:28.639 forefront of the New York City community, of the state 0:02:28.720 --> 0:02:35.160 of the city, how dismally, how poorly, how disgustingly the 0:02:35.320 --> 0:02:41.720 LGBTQ plus community has been treated, and from their pride 0:02:42.000 --> 0:02:45.800 birth itself into not so much of a riot, but 0:02:45.919 --> 0:02:51.200 instead of celebration, an unapologetic celebration of who we are, 0:02:51.360 --> 0:02:54.440 who we love, how we exist in a world that 0:02:54.639 --> 0:02:59.519 believes in boxes. And if you can't fit into said box, 0:02:59.600 --> 0:03:03.640 then you were cast aside, you were ostracized, you were 0:03:03.680 --> 0:03:09.320 made to feel small and insignificant and worse, violated in 0:03:09.440 --> 0:03:14.359 ways that no one, no person should experience. There have 0:03:14.440 --> 0:03:17.560 been so many markers of violence, and there continue to 0:03:17.600 --> 0:03:22.799 be markers of violence. Black trans women are killed at 0:03:22.840 --> 0:03:29.680 an alarming rate, their identities, their existence thrown literally and 0:03:29.960 --> 0:03:37.680 figuratively in the trash. It is through our quest for 0:03:37.800 --> 0:03:43.800 liberation that isn't about assimilation into what it means to 0:03:43.840 --> 0:03:48.720 exist in the heteronormative confines. And funny enough, I've been 0:03:48.760 --> 0:03:51.440 having a lot of this conversation as a person who 0:03:51.600 --> 0:03:57.160 is still relatively newly divorced but really operated inside of 0:03:57.200 --> 0:04:03.680 this assimilation model. We'd us like you, right, is you 0:04:03.720 --> 0:04:07.680 know what the queer community was forced to say in 0:04:07.800 --> 0:04:11.320 order to be able to access the same rights and 0:04:11.400 --> 0:04:16.960 privileges that our straight neighbors and friends and colleagues have, 0:04:18.080 --> 0:04:23.599 is that to bring down the level of hysteria and 0:04:23.760 --> 0:04:28.279 threat that our opposition has made it seem as if 0:04:28.360 --> 0:04:34.560 we are in society a threat, something to be locked away, 0:04:35.160 --> 0:04:38.520 to never be spoken of, to be beaten into submission, 0:04:39.320 --> 0:04:43.559 to be jailed, to be prosecuted. Is that we made 0:04:43.560 --> 0:04:47.320 a campaign out of saying we're just like you. We 0:04:47.360 --> 0:04:49.840 want to get married, we want to have kids, we 0:04:49.880 --> 0:04:53.640 want to live full and complete lives. But the reality 0:04:53.760 --> 0:04:56.440 is is that, yeah, I want to live a full 0:04:56.480 --> 0:04:59.440 and complete life, but what I deem as full and 0:04:59.480 --> 0:05:02.800 complete may not be what full and complete looks like 0:05:02.920 --> 0:05:05.839 for you. I don't have to want to get married 0:05:06.240 --> 0:05:09.560 in order to be seen as a full and complete 0:05:09.600 --> 0:05:13.440 citizen of these United States. I don't have to conform 0:05:14.640 --> 0:05:17.800 right and fold myself in order to fit into what 0:05:18.120 --> 0:05:23.440 other people's beliefs and desires are. And I have only recently, 0:05:24.240 --> 0:05:27.599 recently truly been able to really understand that because I 0:05:27.720 --> 0:05:33.280 spent a large part of my career in politics, in 0:05:33.440 --> 0:05:41.280 movement work, particularly around LGBTQ politics, with trying to fit in. 0:05:42.480 --> 0:05:46.400 I became one of the voices for marriage equality back 0:05:46.400 --> 0:05:49.680 in the early two thousands because who was speaking out 0:05:49.680 --> 0:05:55.880 at that time were white gay men, double income, no kids. 0:05:56.000 --> 0:06:02.240 That's where that saying came from. White men. As we know, 0:06:02.760 --> 0:06:08.359 right outside of orientation, our gender identity are the oppressor, 0:06:09.360 --> 0:06:13.120 right hold all the mechanisms of power. So when you 0:06:13.279 --> 0:06:15.920 had white gay men in the beginning of the two 0:06:15.960 --> 0:06:19.520 thousands talking about their rights and what they're being denied, 0:06:19.600 --> 0:06:22.120 you think that that was invoking empathy. It's surely the 0:06:22.120 --> 0:06:27.719 fuck was not. So enter the voices of black queer 0:06:27.760 --> 0:06:32.479 people like myself, who at the time were getting married 0:06:33.120 --> 0:06:36.440 or were married, and so we were able to insert 0:06:36.560 --> 0:06:40.960 a different perspective into the conversation about what discriminatory policies 0:06:41.520 --> 0:06:47.040 due to already marginalized communities. But as I have moved 0:06:47.200 --> 0:06:52.720 through life and my own understanding of my identity how 0:06:52.760 --> 0:06:55.040 I want to show up in the world, I realize 0:06:55.680 --> 0:07:00.239 that assimilation is honestly what has been beat into us 0:07:00.240 --> 0:07:04.160 since the beginning. When I talk about our public education 0:07:04.279 --> 0:07:08.039 system being a product or a tool of white supremacy, 0:07:08.080 --> 0:07:10.480 I mean that, and I mean that in all senses. 0:07:10.520 --> 0:07:14.160 I also mean it in terms of patriarchy and how 0:07:14.200 --> 0:07:17.400 we come to understand who is supposed to be raising 0:07:17.440 --> 0:07:20.119 their hand and who is supposed to sit quietly, who 0:07:20.160 --> 0:07:22.520 was supposed to be playing with dolls and who's supposed 0:07:22.560 --> 0:07:25.280 to be playing with trucks. Who can be the aggressor 0:07:25.280 --> 0:07:29.600 and situation and who has to be the submissive. You 0:07:29.880 --> 0:07:35.360 learn all of these roles through societal standards, and where 0:07:35.400 --> 0:07:43.000 do we learn society standards through school? So it makes 0:07:43.040 --> 0:07:50.000 sense then that the opposition, the Republican cult, would turn 0:07:50.160 --> 0:07:53.720 once again to our education system as a way to 0:07:54.160 --> 0:08:01.040 pose their will on already marginalized and oppressed peoples. The 0:08:01.200 --> 0:08:06.520 don't say gay bills, the bathroom bills, they're all directed 0:08:06.640 --> 0:08:13.120 at queer youth at a time when you are young 0:08:13.240 --> 0:08:15.800 and trying to understand who you are in the world 0:08:15.840 --> 0:08:20.160 outside of your parents, gays, and outside of society's desires. 0:08:21.960 --> 0:08:24.840 So how are we setting up our young people, whether 0:08:24.880 --> 0:08:27.640 they are queer or not, to be able to be 0:08:27.920 --> 0:08:32.640 critical thinkers, global citizens to feel safe in their own skin, 0:08:32.720 --> 0:08:34.840 which means that if you are safe in your own skin, 0:08:34.960 --> 0:08:38.760 then you are able to tackle some of society and 0:08:38.880 --> 0:08:42.760 the world's biggest problems. But if I'm so busy looking 0:08:42.800 --> 0:08:45.720 over my shoulder, how can I see into the future, 0:08:45.800 --> 0:08:49.120 How can I offer myself as a way of being 0:08:49.120 --> 0:08:57.160 of service. So I've been thinking a lot as a 0:08:57.200 --> 0:09:00.959 person who has come from Even though I am black, 0:09:01.040 --> 0:09:03.160 I am a woman, i am queer, I'm a child 0:09:03.200 --> 0:09:06.480 of immigrants, I'm all of these things. I still have 0:09:06.760 --> 0:09:10.760 points of privilege. I still grew up in a suburban 0:09:11.000 --> 0:09:15.400 tree line street neighborhoods where I could walk to school 0:09:15.480 --> 0:09:18.319 and go to the pizza place and get a slice 0:09:18.320 --> 0:09:23.119 after school, where I played sports, where I had series 0:09:23.200 --> 0:09:26.960 upon series of microaggressions but at the time didn't realize them. 0:09:27.000 --> 0:09:32.440 It was upon reflection, but my orientation into the world 0:09:33.160 --> 0:09:36.480 was important, which is why I feel like the way 0:09:36.520 --> 0:09:39.120 that we treat our youth and how they show up 0:09:39.160 --> 0:09:43.280 and how they are able to succeed is about our 0:09:43.400 --> 0:09:48.240 own success as a country, as a people, and if 0:09:48.240 --> 0:09:52.480 we're not nurturing our young people, whether they are queer 0:09:52.600 --> 0:09:58.000 or straight, or non binary or somewhere on the spectrum, 0:09:59.120 --> 0:10:04.440 that is about nurturing our own success. So this month, 0:10:04.640 --> 0:10:08.839 during Pride Month, which also encapsulates June teenth, we were 0:10:09.080 --> 0:10:11.840 going to tackle some of the biggest issues that are 0:10:11.880 --> 0:10:16.360 facing the LGBTQ plus community, which are entwined with all 0:10:16.440 --> 0:10:19.280 of the issues that we are all facing. But what 0:10:19.360 --> 0:10:22.720 does it mean to face issues of voter suppression, of 0:10:23.400 --> 0:10:27.560 living in a time of a police state right where 0:10:28.360 --> 0:10:32.080 you can be shot dead because you are black, because 0:10:32.120 --> 0:10:36.559 you were queer, because you exist at these overlapping intersections 0:10:36.559 --> 0:10:41.480 of identity. So we're going to go throughout the weeks 0:10:41.520 --> 0:10:44.640 of this month and talk to some of my friends, 0:10:45.240 --> 0:10:49.240 some of my colleagues, people that I admire, whose work 0:10:49.360 --> 0:10:53.000 that I cherish, to really get a better perspective of 0:10:53.200 --> 0:10:58.000 who America is in this moment. For me, Pride over 0:10:58.040 --> 0:11:01.640 the last decades plus has always been a celebration it's 0:11:01.679 --> 0:11:04.080 when you get to dress up and go to the 0:11:04.120 --> 0:11:08.000 marches and the parades and see old friends and dance 0:11:08.120 --> 0:11:13.520 and literally be gay, be merry. But in the climate 0:11:13.559 --> 0:11:16.440 that we are living in right now, I don't feel 0:11:17.000 --> 0:11:21.040 that level of joy. I know that it is important, however, 0:11:21.120 --> 0:11:24.560 I know that it is necessary. It is necessary now 0:11:24.640 --> 0:11:27.520 for us to be unapologetic in the streets with our 0:11:27.600 --> 0:11:33.560 glitter and our rainbows and our you know, bearing our 0:11:33.679 --> 0:11:36.840 vulnerabilities to the world and saying you don't get to 0:11:37.200 --> 0:11:41.640 box me, you don't get to judge me, you don't 0:11:41.760 --> 0:11:47.760 get to define me. I get to define myself. And 0:11:47.840 --> 0:11:51.800 so for us here on Woke f this month, Pride 0:11:52.400 --> 0:11:56.080 is a riot. It has always been a riot. And 0:11:56.160 --> 0:12:00.600 what are riots? They are the voices of the unheard, 0:12:01.000 --> 0:12:08.120 those that have been invisibilized. Right, And so this month, 0:12:08.400 --> 0:12:12.240 during this time, we are going to paint the picture 0:12:12.480 --> 0:12:17.320 of who this community is, who I am, what we 0:12:17.400 --> 0:12:21.360 are up against, but also what we are looking forward to. 0:12:21.679 --> 0:12:27.320 It isn't all bad, right, but there are a lot 0:12:27.360 --> 0:12:29.920 of bad things on the horizon and a lot of 0:12:30.000 --> 0:12:33.839 evils that we need to push back against. Coming up 0:12:34.480 --> 0:12:37.960 in our first Pride conversation, is my friend, and you've 0:12:38.000 --> 0:12:42.960 heard from him before, Preston Mitcham, who is the director 0:12:43.040 --> 0:12:46.679 of Policy and government Affairs for the Trevor Project. The 0:12:46.720 --> 0:12:51.040 Trevor Project is a national organization that works to prevent 0:12:52.160 --> 0:12:57.400 LGBTQ suicides. You will hear in this conversation with my 0:12:57.480 --> 0:13:03.439 dear friend Preston about how the suicide rates among LGBTQ 0:13:03.679 --> 0:13:09.320 people and LGBTQ youth specifically are up. If you've listened 0:13:09.360 --> 0:13:11.600 to the show over the past couple of months. I 0:13:11.720 --> 0:13:15.320 also iterated that after I watched a special on sixty 0:13:15.360 --> 0:13:19.800 Minutes which was just about youth across the board and 0:13:20.040 --> 0:13:25.480 how youth are attempting suicides at higher rates than we 0:13:25.520 --> 0:13:30.080 have ever seen and why is that? Because we are 0:13:30.160 --> 0:13:37.920 all living in compounded trauma, living through compounded trauma. So, 0:13:37.960 --> 0:13:42.120 if we're all struggling with a global health pandemic with 0:13:42.200 --> 0:13:47.280 the rise of white supremacy, fascism, violence, and you are 0:13:47.320 --> 0:13:50.840 also a queer youth, and you live in a state 0:13:50.880 --> 0:13:55.840 where you're a you're governor like Rhonda Santis, Greg Abbott 0:13:55.880 --> 0:13:59.360 and others are telling you that you are unworthy, that 0:13:59.480 --> 0:14:06.080 your family should be criminalized for caring for you. How 0:14:06.080 --> 0:14:09.960 are you seeing yourself? Years ago in the early aughts, 0:14:11.040 --> 0:14:14.120 it was a campaign that was started called it Gets 0:14:14.160 --> 0:14:17.400 Better because if you remember, in the early two thousands, 0:14:17.400 --> 0:14:22.880 there were a rash of suicides ten year olds, twelve 0:14:22.920 --> 0:14:27.479 year olds, thirteen year olds who had been bullied relentlessly 0:14:29.280 --> 0:14:32.480 and took their own lives because they couldn't envision a future. 0:14:33.600 --> 0:14:36.480 We know that Republicans are trying to create an environment 0:14:36.480 --> 0:14:41.760 where we don't see past our present misery, which is 0:14:41.760 --> 0:14:44.880 why pride as a riot and pride as joy is 0:14:45.040 --> 0:14:50.320 so incredibly important now more than ever, because the lives 0:14:50.400 --> 0:14:55.040 of our youth, of our community is at stake. So 0:14:55.160 --> 0:14:58.480 Preston will discuss with us the latest numbers, the latest 0:14:58.560 --> 0:15:03.040 data points from the Trevor Project offer us opportunities to 0:15:03.080 --> 0:15:06.480 engage and then talk about what we can each do 0:15:06.680 --> 0:15:12.240 for our own self care. That conversation, dear friends, is 0:15:12.280 --> 0:15:16.520 coming up next. Hey, I'm David. Plots of Slights Political Gabfest. 0:15:17.040 --> 0:15:21.120 As another election season accelerates, it can be tricky to 0:15:21.160 --> 0:15:24.120 sort through all the noise and the news. Each week 0:15:24.160 --> 0:15:27.200 on the Gapfest, John Dickerson, Emily Bathlon and I decipher 0:15:27.240 --> 0:15:29.720 the headlines, break down the races, and tell you what 0:15:29.800 --> 0:15:34.320 issues really matter. 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The Damage Report is your life raft, 0:16:10.480 --> 0:16:13.280 helping you navigate the day's news and understand the damage 0:16:13.320 --> 0:16:17.640 caused by the corrupt establishment, politicians, corporations, and everything in between. 0:16:18.040 --> 0:16:21.600 Join the Damage Reports notorious fan club, the Dragon Squad, 0:16:21.760 --> 0:16:24.800 where you become part of the fantastic community of progressives, 0:16:25.080 --> 0:16:28.400 create a fun dragon nickname that fits your personality, collaborate 0:16:28.440 --> 0:16:32.000 and participate in fun activities like voting for the Garbage 0:16:32.000 --> 0:16:34.520 Person of the Week, and much more. Listen to The 0:16:34.600 --> 0:16:38.080 Damage Report on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get 0:16:38.120 --> 0:16:40.640 your podcasts. If you like what you hear, be sure 0:16:40.680 --> 0:16:47.720 to subscribe so you never miss an episode. Folks I 0:16:47.760 --> 0:16:51.240 am very excited to welcome back to Woke f Daily, 0:16:51.840 --> 0:16:55.440 our friend, my friend over so many years. My god, 0:16:55.480 --> 0:16:57.320 we won't even tell the kids. We just have good 0:16:57.360 --> 0:17:02.320 skincare Preston Mitcham, who is the director of Advocacy and 0:17:02.400 --> 0:17:07.200 Government Affairs at the Trevor Project. You know, the Trevor Project. 0:17:07.200 --> 0:17:10.280 But I want to give Preston an opportunity before we 0:17:10.320 --> 0:17:15.120 even jump into this important conversation this Pride Month, presdon 0:17:15.160 --> 0:17:18.679 tell folks, remind folks what the Trevor Project is and 0:17:18.800 --> 0:17:22.800 what the important work is that you all do. Yeah. 0:17:22.880 --> 0:17:25.600 So I'm really excited to be here friend, and you know, 0:17:25.640 --> 0:17:27.920 I'm really excited to represent the Trevor Project as well. 0:17:27.960 --> 0:17:31.200 And we are the world's largest suicide prevention and mental 0:17:31.200 --> 0:17:35.600 health organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer and 0:17:35.720 --> 0:17:38.800 questioning youth. And we know because of all of the 0:17:38.880 --> 0:17:41.639 unprecedented attacks, we know that we need organizations like the 0:17:41.640 --> 0:17:45.560 Trevor Project which really are life saving tools and providing 0:17:45.640 --> 0:17:49.480 resources and advocacy and education and public trainings to the 0:17:49.520 --> 0:17:53.000 general public, to schools, among others on how to save 0:17:53.160 --> 0:17:58.440 LGBTQ youth lives. So, Preston, I mean I will say this. 0:17:58.800 --> 0:18:01.640 You know, you, like my self, have been an LGBTQ 0:18:02.240 --> 0:18:06.440 plus advocate for ever at this at this point right 0:18:06.480 --> 0:18:09.359 like we have for our entire careers. I think we 0:18:09.400 --> 0:18:14.160 have made it a point to always put our community upfront. 0:18:14.960 --> 0:18:19.880 Have you ever, in the course of your career, not 0:18:19.920 --> 0:18:22.119 just with the Trevor Project, but just in your career 0:18:22.240 --> 0:18:27.600 in general, seen the types of unrelenting attacks against LGBTQ 0:18:27.720 --> 0:18:31.159 plus people that we have been seeing over the last 0:18:31.200 --> 0:18:36.200 two years. Have you seen this before? I certainly have not, 0:18:36.400 --> 0:18:39.200 and I think many others would agree with that. Of course, 0:18:39.280 --> 0:18:43.639 we've certainly seen state based attacks through bills at the 0:18:43.720 --> 0:18:47.359 state level, at the federal level as well, But right now, 0:18:47.400 --> 0:18:50.680 it's such an unprecedented number of attacks that are happening 0:18:50.720 --> 0:18:55.680 to LGBTQ people, especially LGBTQ young people. And not only 0:18:55.760 --> 0:18:59.560 is it unprecedented, it's coordinated. So there seems to be 0:18:59.640 --> 0:19:05.880 a nationwide coordinated campaign by anti LGBTQ organizations and elected 0:19:05.920 --> 0:19:11.400 officials seeking political gain admitted election year especially, and again, 0:19:11.520 --> 0:19:13.840 what they're once again doing or treating one of the 0:19:13.840 --> 0:19:17.200 most marginalized groups in our country, trans youth and non 0:19:17.200 --> 0:19:20.600 binary youth, especially as a political wedge issue when they 0:19:20.640 --> 0:19:26.280 are certainly not. You know it every week aside from 0:19:26.320 --> 0:19:31.639 us dealing with the gun violence and gun massacres that 0:19:31.880 --> 0:19:36.520 are many being done so at the hands of white 0:19:36.520 --> 0:19:42.840 supremacists right with manifestos that purport their ideology. And part 0:19:42.840 --> 0:19:48.040 of that ideology isn't just about their hatred towards black 0:19:48.040 --> 0:19:51.960 folks right or people of color by the bipop community, 0:19:52.040 --> 0:19:55.920 it is also queer people. And we have seen through 0:19:56.160 --> 0:20:00.320 Tucker Carlson's many, many segments on Fox News, through Ron 0:20:00.359 --> 0:20:05.120 De Santis's statements as he is signing anti LGBTQ plus legislation, 0:20:05.520 --> 0:20:08.080 that they are one and the same, right, that this 0:20:08.760 --> 0:20:13.080 desire for white supremacy is at the hands of sis 0:20:13.560 --> 0:20:18.560 white hetero men in this country. And so, what do 0:20:18.640 --> 0:20:23.400 you think or how can you tell us how these policies, 0:20:23.400 --> 0:20:29.119 how this rhetoric that has now transformed into violence is 0:20:29.160 --> 0:20:33.880 affecting LGBTQ plus people. What has the Trevor Project been 0:20:33.920 --> 0:20:37.119 able to uncover over the past couple of years in 0:20:37.200 --> 0:20:42.280 terms of where things are trending for the community. So 0:20:42.320 --> 0:20:44.560 I'm glad we started there because the truth of the 0:20:44.640 --> 0:20:47.280 matter is that this year we've seen a record number 0:20:47.359 --> 0:20:49.840 of anti LGBTQ bills, and right now, I want to 0:20:49.880 --> 0:20:52.600 be clear that we're at tracking more than two hundred 0:20:52.600 --> 0:20:56.240 and forty bills that are sweeping the nation. It's a 0:20:56.280 --> 0:21:00.960 broad wave of anti LGBTQ rhetoric that even targets trans 0:21:00.960 --> 0:21:03.480 in our binary youth as Stata before. But also want 0:21:03.520 --> 0:21:05.480 to be clear, it's it's to your point, it is 0:21:05.520 --> 0:21:09.280 also things that expand the gamut. Right. So, of course 0:21:09.320 --> 0:21:12.080 we do have these bills that you see the restrictability 0:21:12.480 --> 0:21:15.640 of trans folks to play sports, receive gender framing care, 0:21:16.119 --> 0:21:22.040 access bathrooms, and really be representing classrooms, discussions, and curriculums. 0:21:22.080 --> 0:21:25.640 But we also see many of these same bills discussing 0:21:25.760 --> 0:21:29.959 things like critical racing and other things that are related 0:21:30.040 --> 0:21:34.080 to systemic racism too. And so that actually is backed 0:21:34.119 --> 0:21:36.600 up by some of the data that we've seen in 0:21:36.720 --> 0:21:39.480 so far as the people who we see are experiencing 0:21:39.520 --> 0:21:42.880 a lot of mental health challenges and negative mental health 0:21:42.880 --> 0:21:47.120 outcomes are LGBTQ people of color. So in early May, 0:21:47.280 --> 0:21:50.360 the Trevor Project put out it's twenty twenty two National 0:21:50.720 --> 0:21:55.480 Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental health. In particular, what we 0:21:55.520 --> 0:21:58.600 saw as a racial disparity that worsens the mental health 0:21:58.640 --> 0:22:03.919 impacts of and on bipod LGBTQUTH so that's black, Indigenous 0:22:03.920 --> 0:22:07.360 and other people of color. To provide some data, we're 0:22:07.400 --> 0:22:10.560 really excited because this year we surveyed nearly thirty four 0:22:10.680 --> 0:22:14.280 thousand LGBTQ young people and that was across the entire 0:22:14.400 --> 0:22:17.920 United States. It is also one of our most diverse 0:22:18.000 --> 0:22:22.040 samples to date, and that forty five percent of respondents 0:22:22.240 --> 0:22:27.119 were LGBTQUTH of color and nearly fifty percent were trans 0:22:27.200 --> 0:22:31.960 or non binary. What we also saw was alarming and 0:22:32.040 --> 0:22:37.080 sobering statistics that had trended upward for suicidal thoughts among 0:22:37.160 --> 0:22:41.360 lgbtquth as well as well as focused on key barriers. 0:22:41.359 --> 0:22:44.320 And we know the reasons why we're seeing these increases 0:22:44.400 --> 0:22:48.960 suicidal thoughts among others is because of these wave of 0:22:49.119 --> 0:22:54.000 unprecedented and coordinated attacks on LGBTQUTH. You know, it is 0:22:55.720 --> 0:22:58.320 it is almost as if I believe, and let me 0:22:58.359 --> 0:23:01.199 not put words in your mouth, I believe that it 0:23:01.359 --> 0:23:04.720 is a coordinated attack. I believe that they absolutely are 0:23:04.800 --> 0:23:10.040 going for our mental and emotional well being as well 0:23:10.080 --> 0:23:14.159 as our physical safety. And so you know as you 0:23:14.320 --> 0:23:18.439 all are you digging through these over two hundred and 0:23:18.480 --> 0:23:22.720 forty plus pieces of legislation, what do they have in common, Preston, 0:23:22.920 --> 0:23:26.400 and what do you perceive to be the ability to 0:23:26.440 --> 0:23:29.520 work around Like, what are we missing on our side 0:23:30.600 --> 0:23:34.600 that they have been able to replicate, replicate, replicate across 0:23:34.640 --> 0:23:39.199 the country. One of the things that we're consistently seeing 0:23:39.280 --> 0:23:44.280 quite frankly, albeit misguided policies, but they really do help 0:23:44.359 --> 0:23:46.879 in particular election years. And so that is some of 0:23:46.880 --> 0:23:49.160 the things that we're seeing, you know, while so while 0:23:49.160 --> 0:23:52.440 we have elected officials who are continuing to target LGBTQ youth, 0:23:52.840 --> 0:23:55.520 our polling data in particular has found a majority of 0:23:55.560 --> 0:23:58.960 adults reject this government overreach that we are seeing across 0:23:59.000 --> 0:24:02.919 the country. Even though there are still some consistency in 0:24:03.080 --> 0:24:06.560 some popularity if we want to use that language among 0:24:06.680 --> 0:24:09.800 certain communities, among certain and elected officials, we know that 0:24:09.880 --> 0:24:13.399 written large, the general public reject them. And so, but 0:24:13.440 --> 0:24:17.320 the things that are coordinated right are banning books, censoring 0:24:17.359 --> 0:24:21.959 school curriculums, intervening in medical care decisions that we know 0:24:22.040 --> 0:24:26.080 our best left to doctors and patients. And so those 0:24:26.119 --> 0:24:28.560 are some of the coordinations that we're seeing. We're also 0:24:28.640 --> 0:24:31.680 seeing this attack. You know, to the point earlier around 0:24:31.720 --> 0:24:35.080 systemic racism, that it is rare that in most of 0:24:35.080 --> 0:24:37.400 these bills, we're going to find an example where they're 0:24:37.400 --> 0:24:41.679 attacking book bands and school curriculums and also not attacking 0:24:42.080 --> 0:24:44.440 things like critical race theory. I want to be clear, 0:24:45.280 --> 0:24:47.720 I'm a lawyer. I went to law school, and I 0:24:47.760 --> 0:24:51.159 didn't take critical race theory until I went law school 0:24:51.160 --> 0:24:54.120 and almost graduate. Are you sure are, Preston, it wasn't 0:24:54.160 --> 0:24:58.280 part of your kindergarten first grade curriculum? You sure? Positive? 0:24:59.119 --> 0:25:01.639 Absolutely positive? Right? And so I think that is the 0:25:01.760 --> 0:25:05.280 part for many of us that becomes quite frustrating, particularly 0:25:05.320 --> 0:25:08.919 when we are black and queer or Latin X and queer, 0:25:09.080 --> 0:25:12.120 or indigenous and queer, right, those of us who have multi, 0:25:12.440 --> 0:25:15.280 multi faceted lives, and you know, we don't live single 0:25:15.320 --> 0:25:18.720 issue struggles or lives for that matter, right, true to 0:25:18.920 --> 0:25:22.640 our proogle word and even hearkening in Kimberly Crenshaw, and so, 0:25:22.760 --> 0:25:25.480 you know, when we see people are attacking every facet 0:25:25.600 --> 0:25:28.720 of who we are, right, we know that we start 0:25:28.800 --> 0:25:32.879 to then internalize, right, we then start to think differently 0:25:32.880 --> 0:25:36.520 about ourselves and who we are, and that is actually 0:25:36.560 --> 0:25:39.600 rooted in so much data and science, and so that 0:25:39.720 --> 0:25:42.760 is why, even if it's not intentionally focused and targeted 0:25:42.960 --> 0:25:46.920 on our mental health, we inherently start thinking negative thoughts 0:25:46.920 --> 0:25:49.200 about who we are, about our own history because all 0:25:49.200 --> 0:25:51.560 we know is a rature right, and so that is 0:25:51.560 --> 0:25:55.280 what we're trying to combat every single day. So tell us, like, 0:25:55.520 --> 0:25:58.440 what are some of the ways in which you are 0:25:58.800 --> 0:26:02.440 tackling this moment that feels like preston. It's so difficult 0:26:02.440 --> 0:26:05.320 to wrap our arms around, right, Like, how are you 0:26:05.400 --> 0:26:09.919 able in this role to be able and the organization 0:26:10.000 --> 0:26:12.840 as a whole to be able to tackle what feels 0:26:12.920 --> 0:26:17.000 like everest at this moment? It does and many I 0:26:17.040 --> 0:26:20.280 mean listen, you know, working obviously in like avoccing government 0:26:20.320 --> 0:26:23.040 affairs and even in media in comms, one of the 0:26:23.119 --> 0:26:25.440 things that we see is it feels like everything is 0:26:25.520 --> 0:26:28.119 drinking from a fire hose. Right, There's so many things 0:26:28.160 --> 0:26:31.399 happening all across the spectrum that you don't know how 0:26:31.440 --> 0:26:33.919 to prioritize. And so one of the things that we 0:26:33.960 --> 0:26:36.479 really wanted to get comfortable with was what does it 0:26:36.520 --> 0:26:39.359 mean to prioritize the health and well being of LGBTQ 0:26:39.520 --> 0:26:42.880 youth because we know our research in particular has found 0:26:42.960 --> 0:26:46.960 that lgbtqth who lived in an accepting community and had 0:26:47.080 --> 0:26:51.320 access to these LGBTQ affirming schools and are felt high 0:26:51.440 --> 0:26:55.560 social support from family and France reported significantly lower rates 0:26:55.600 --> 0:26:58.879 of attempting suicide in the past year. And so for us, 0:26:58.920 --> 0:27:03.640 what that means is prioritizing safety by schools, prioritizing safety 0:27:03.920 --> 0:27:06.879 and communities figuring out if you have any alliances in 0:27:07.000 --> 0:27:10.160 your universities or your high schools or your middle schools, 0:27:10.520 --> 0:27:14.200 and really figuring out how do we provide resources not 0:27:14.240 --> 0:27:17.199 only to LGBTQ youth, but to their parents and to 0:27:17.280 --> 0:27:19.800 their other family members and to their friends who are 0:27:19.800 --> 0:27:21.800 really trying to understand a little bit more about what 0:27:21.840 --> 0:27:24.280 that looks like. Right, And we know that some of 0:27:24.320 --> 0:27:27.639 this has shifted because of COVID, So you know, mental 0:27:27.680 --> 0:27:30.399 health challenges did not take place because of COVID, but 0:27:30.440 --> 0:27:34.000 they certainly exacinate it. It's already in reality for people 0:27:34.000 --> 0:27:37.280 pre COVID, and so for us, it's about resources. It's 0:27:37.320 --> 0:27:40.440 about creating these affirming environment right, and it's on all 0:27:40.480 --> 0:27:44.159 of us to create these safer, more accepting world for 0:27:44.320 --> 0:27:47.720 LGBTQ youth, right, Like, I always try to think of 0:27:48.040 --> 0:27:50.280 who I was and who I did not want to 0:27:50.280 --> 0:27:53.760 be when I was younger, right, And so by that end, right, 0:27:53.800 --> 0:27:56.639 I'm comfortable now, I'm confident, now, I'm securing who I 0:27:56.640 --> 0:28:00.520