Over the decades, the anti-LGBTQ establishment has used “protecting youth,” marriage equality, military service, and bathroom bills as wedge issues to divide our country, to drive radical anti-LGBTQ folks to the polls, and even to divide our own community. They failed. We’ve made progress. Their new targets center again on our trans siblings, in particular our trans youth with regards to participation in athletics and access to gender-affirming health care.
The ongoing attacks emphasize the necessity for our community to turn out to the polls. This Super Tuesday, LGBTQ voters comprised about 10% of voters, making our community a vital part of the election process, and yet we know that about 1 in 5 LGBTQ people who are eligible to vote isn’t even registered, meaning we can do even better!
Beyond voting, how we work to support and uplift our trans, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming youth through our year-round LGBTQ youth programs is more important than ever. We have seen an unprecedented amount of anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ political attack ads which most severely impact our youth.
Here at Pride, we’ve taken the GUTC pledge (Grantmakers United for Trans Communities) and encourage others to do the same, which means intentionally increasing funds to support our trans community. Last year we were able to increase our giving to trans-serving and trans- lead organizations to nearly $75,000 to 19 organizations. Those funds support projects and programs like the Trans Day of Empowerment and the Tracie Jada O’Brien Trans Student Scholarship, which has provided $33,500 to 53 trans students, supporting their attendance at trade schools, SDSU, and even Harvard University.
Our collective fight against anti-LGBTQ issues and policies doesn’t always mean direct confrontation. It can mean showing up to support our most vulnerable and marginalized so we can help them and our collective community be that much stronger. United we stand, divided we fall, and Together We Rise.
With Pride,
Fernando Zweifach López
Pronouns: They/Them/Theirs
Executive Director
San Diego Pride
P.S. We’ve had more trans students apply for the scholarship than ever before. If you are able, please consider a gift to this program and help us support as many trans students as possible. 100% of your gift will go directly to help a trans student build a better future. Donate here
Fernando Lopez was the Executive Director of San Diego Pride. Lopez’s years of LGBT advocacy, nonprofit management, public education, diversity consulting, media relations, guest lectures, and organizing have made them a consistent presence ensuring the struggles of the LGBT community are ever visible.
