138 LGBTQ Organizations "join together again to say #BlackLivesMatter and commit ourselves to the action those words require."

This was posted on Friday May 29, 2020 on the Equality Florida website:


“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” Those words, written over 30 years ago by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, remind us that indifference can never bridge the divide of hate. And, today, they should serve as a call to action to all of us, and to the Movement for LGBTQ equality.

This spring has been a stark and stinging reminder that racism, and its strategic objective, white supremacy, is as defining a characteristic of the American experience as those ideals upon which we claim to hold our democracy — justice, equality, liberty.

We listened to the haunting pleas of George Floyd for the most basic of human needs — simply, breath — as a Minneapolis police officer kneeled with cruel indifference on his neck.

We felt the pain of Breonna Taylor’s boyfriend as he called 9-1-1 after plainclothes Louisville police kicked down the door of their home and shot her eight times as she slept in her bed.

We watched the shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery by white vigilantes in Brunswick, GA, aware that they evaded the consequence of their actions until the video surfaced and sparked national outrage.

We saw the weaponizing of race by a white woman who pantomimed fear in calling the police on Christian Cooper, a Black gay man bird-watching in Central Park.

We have heard and read about the killings of transgender people -- Black transgender women in particular — with such regularity, it is no exaggeration to describe it as an epidemic of violence. This year alone, we have lost at least 12 members of our community: Dustin Parker, Neulisa Luciano Ruiz, Yampi Méndez Arocho, Monika Diamond, Lexi, Johanna Metzger, Serena Angelique Velázquez Ramos, Layla Pelaez Sánchez, Penélope Díaz Ramírez, Nina Pop, Helle Jae O’Regan, and Tony McDade.

All of these incidents are stark reminders of why we must speak out when hate, violence, and systemic racism claim — too often with impunity — Black Lives.

The LGBTQ Movement’s work has earned significant victories in expanding the civil rights of LGBTQ people. But what good are civil rights without the freedom to enjoy them?

Many of our organizations have made progress in adopting intersectionality as a core value and have committed to be more diverse, equitable, and inclusive. But this moment requires that we go further — that we make explicit commitments to embrace anti-racism and end white supremacy, not as necessary corollaries to our mission, but as integral to the objective of full equality for LGBTQ people.

We, the undersigned, recognize we cannot remain neutral, nor will awareness substitute for action. The LGBTQ community knows about the work of resisting police brutality and violence. We celebrate June as Pride Month, because it commemorates, in part, our resisting police harassment and brutality at Stonewall in New York City, and earlier in California, when such violence was common and expected. We remember it as a breakthrough moment when we refused to accept humiliation and fear as the price of living fully, freely, and authentically.

We understand what it means to rise up and push back against a culture that tells us we are less than, that our lives don't matter. Today, we join together again to say #BlackLivesMatter and commit ourselves to the action those words require.

Affirmations, Dave Garcia, Executive Director
AIDS Foundation of Chicago, Aisha N. Davis, Director of Policy
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Anthony D. Romero, Executive Director
Arkansas Transgender Equity Collaborative, Tonya Estell, Board of Directors
A Wider Bridge, Alan Schwartz, CEO & Board Chair
BAGLY, Inc. (Boston Alliance of LGBTQ Youth), Grace Sterling Stowell, Executive Director
Basic Rights Oregon, Nancy Haque, Executive Director
Bi Women Quarterly, Robyn Ochs, Editor
Campaign for Southern Equality, Rev. Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, Executive Director
Campus Pride, Shane Windmeyer, Executive Director
Capital Pride Alliance, Ryan Bos, Executive Director
Cathedral Of Hope UCC, Rev. Dr. Neil G Thomas, Senior Pastor
Center on Halsted, Modesto Valle, CEO
CenterLink: The Community of LGBT Centers, Denise Spivak, CEO
Community Education Group, A.Toni Young, Executive Director
Congregation Beit Simchat Torah, Sharon Kleinbaum, Senior Rabbi
Curve Magazine, Merryn Johns, Editor-in-Chief
Diocese of Southern Ohio, Rev deniray mueller, Legislative Liaison
Equality Arizona, Michael Soto, Executive Director
Equality California, Rick Chavez Zbur, Executive Director
Equality Delaware, Mark Purpura and Lisa Goodman, Board Chairs
Equality Federation, Rebecca Isaacs, Executive Director
Equality Florida, Nadine Smith, Executive Director
Equality Illinois, Brian Johnson, CEO
EqualityMaine, Matt Moonen, Executive Director
Equality Nevada, Chris Davin, President
Equality New Mexico, Adrian N. Carver, Executive Director
Equality New York, Amanda Babine, Executive Director
Equality North Carolina, Kendra R Johnson, Executive Director
Equality Ohio, Alana Jochum, Executive Director
Equality Texas, Ricardo Martinez, CEO
Equality Virginia, Vee Lamneck, Executive Director
Fair Wisconsin, Megin McDonell, Executive Director
Fairness Campaign, Tamara Russell, Board Member
Family Equality, Denise Brogan-Kator, Chief Policy Officer
FORGE, Inc., Loree Cook-Daniels, Policy and Program Director
Freedom for All Americans, Kasey Suffredini, CEO & National Campaign Director
Freedom Oklahoma, Allie Shinn, Executive Director
FreeState Justice, Mark Procopio, Executive Director
GAAMC, Gordon Sauer, President
Garden State Equality, Christian Fuscarino, Executive Director
Gay City: Seattle's LGBTQ Center, Fred Swanson, Executive Director
Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC), Kelsey Louie, CEO
Gender Rights Maryland, Sharon Brackett, Board Chair
Gender Spectrum, Joel Baum, Senior Director
Genders & Sexualities Alliance Network (GSA Network), Geoffrey Winder & Ginna Brelsford, Co-Executive Directors
Georgia Equality, Jeff Graham, Executive Director
GLAAD, Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO
GLBT Alliance of Santa Cruz, Gloria Nieto, Board Member
GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), Janson Wu, Executive Director
GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ Equality, Hector Vargas, Executive Director
GLSEN, Eliza Byard, Executive Director
GLSEN Southern Nevada, Trevor Harder, Co- Chair
GSAFE, Brian Juchems, Co-Director
Henderson Equality Center, Chris Davin, Executive Director
Hetrick-Martin Institute, Thomas Krever, CEO
Hetrick-Martin Institute: New Jersey, Lillian Rivera, Executive Director
Hudson Pride Center, Elizabeth Schedl, Chief Operations Officer
Human Rights Campaign, Alphonso David, President
Hyacinth AIDS Foundation, Kathy Ahearn-O'Brien, Executive Director
Immigration Equality, Aaron C. Morris, Executive Director
Ingersoll Gender Center, Karter Booher, Executive Director
It Gets Better Project, Brian Wenke, Executive Director
Lambda Legal, Kevin Jennings, CEO
Lesbians of Color Symposium Collective, Inc., Shaunya Thomas, Co - Founder / President
LGBT Caucus of the California Democratic Party, Tiffany Woods and Lester Aponte, Co-Chairs
LGBT Community Center of the Desert, Mike Thompson, CEO
LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland, Phyllis Seven Harris, Executive Director
LGBT Life Center, Stacie Walls, CEO
LGBTQ Center OC, Peg Corley, Executive Director
LGBTQ Victory Fund & LGBTQ Victory Institute, Mayor Annise Parker, President & CEO
Los Angeles LGBT Center, Lorri L. Jean, CEO
Louisiana Trans Advocates, Peyton Rose Michelle, Director of Operations
Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition, Tre'Andre Valentine, Executive Director
MassEquality, Tanya V. Neslusan, Executive Director
Matthew Shepard Foundation, Jason Marsden, Executive Vice President
Movement Advancement Project, Ineke Mushovic, Executive Director
National Black Justice Coalition, David Johns, Executive Director
National Center for Lesbian Rights, Imani Rupert-Gordon, Executive Director
National Center for Transgender Equality, Mara Keisling, Executive Director
National Equality Action Team (NEAT), Brian Silva, Founder & Executive Director
National LGBT Bar Association and Foundation, D'Arcy Kemnitz, Executive Director
National LGBTQ Task Force, Rea Carey, Executive Director
National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance (NQAPIA), Glenn D. Magpantay, Executive Director
New York City Anti-Violence Project, Beverly Tillery, Executive Director
NMAC, Paul Kawata, Executive Director
North Dakota Human Rights Coalition, Barry Nelson, Organizer
North Jersey Pride, C.J. Prince, Executive Director
Oakland LGBTQ Community Center, Joe Hawkins, CEO
OCTOPUS LLC (Organizing Communities Transgender Outreach Promoting United Support), Kimberly Sue Griffiths, Executive Director
Out & Equal Workplace Advocates, Erin Uritus, CEO
One Colorado, Daniel Ramos, Executive Director
One Iowa, Courtney Reyes, Executive Director
One Orlando Alliance, Jennifer Foster, Executive Director
Our Family Coalition, Sam Ames, Interim Executive Director
Out & Equal Workplace Advocates, Erin Uritus, CEO
OutFront Minnesota, Monica Meyer, Executive Director
OutNebraska, Abbi Swatsworth, Executive Director
Pacific Center for Human Growth, Michelle Gonzalez, Executive Director
Palm Beach County Human Rights Council, Rand Hoch, President and Founder
PFLAG National, Brian K. Bond, Executive Director
Point Foundation, Jorge Valencia, Executive Director & CEO
PRC, Brett Andrews, CEO
Pride at Work, Jerame Davis, Executive Director
PROMO, Stephen Eisele, Executive Director
Rainbow Community Center of Contra Costa County, Kiku Johnson, Executive Director
Reformed Catholic Church, Chris Carpenter, Presiding Bishop
Resource Center, Cece Cox, CEO
Sacramento LGBT Community Center, David Heitstuman, CEO
San Francisco AIDS Foundation, Joe Hollendoner, CEO
San Francisco Community Health Center, Lance Toma, CEO
SF LGBT Center, Rebecca Rolfe, Executive Director
SAGE, Michael Adams, CEO
SAGE Jersey City , Gordon Sauer, Affiliate Leader
San Diego LGBT Community Center, Cara Dessert, CEO
Sero Project, Sean Strub, Executive Director
Silver State Equality, André C. Wade, State Director
Stonewall Columbus, Gerry Rodriguez, President of the Board of Trustees
Stonewall Democratic Club, Ryan Basham Vice President
Tennessee Equality Project, Chris Sanders, Executive Director
The Diversity Center, Sharon E Papo, Executive Director
The Gala Pride and Diversity Center, Michelle Call, Executive Director
The Lesbian, Gay Bisexual and Transgender Community Center, Glennda Testone, Executive Director
The LGBTQ Center, Long Beach, Porter Gilberg, Executive Director
The LGBTQ Center, NYC, Reg Calcagno, Senior Director of Government Affairs
The Pride Center of Maryland, Mimi Demissew, Executive Director
The Pride Network, Jacob Rudolph, Executive Director
The Source LGBT+ Center, Brian Poth, Executive Director
The Trevor Project, Amit Paley, CEO
Transgender Education Network of Texas (TENT), Emmett Schelling, Executive Director
Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF), Andy Marra, Executive Director
TransOhio, James Knapp, Chair & Executive Director
True Colors United, Gregory Lewis, Executive Director & CEO
Truth Wins Out, Wayne Besen, Executive Director
Uptown Gay & Lesbian Alliance (UGLA), Carl Matthes, President
Waves Ahead & SAGE PR, Wilfred Labiosa, Executive Director
Woodhull Freedom Foundation, Ricci Levy, President & CEO
Wyoming Equality, Sara Burlingame, Executive Director



###

I'm a guy with a blog for kids and teens, one book out, and a few more on the way. I'm not an organization. But I'm adding my name to this call for justice and action. #BlackLivesMatter, and I commit myself to the action those words require.

I hope you'll add your name and commitment, too.

The light in me recognizes and acknowledges the light in you,
Lee

Trevor Noah on our Society's Broken Contract with Black People

This 18 minute video by Trevor Noah, speaking from his heart about the events of the last week, George Floyd's murder, Amy Cooper's villainy, the disproportional toll of Coronavirus on Black communities, and the protests that have risen up around the country (and the world), is so important.

"Try to image how it must feel for Black Americans when they watch themselves being looted every single day. Because that's what's fundamentally happening in America. Police in America are looting Black bodies." —Trevor Noah

Watch the full video here.

The light in me recognizes and acknowledges the light in you. Stay safe,
Lee

The Parker Inheritance - A Middle Grade Mystery (with an LGBTQ main kid character)

The Parker Inheritance by Varian Johnson

When Candice finds a letter in an old attic in Lambert, South Carolina, she isn't sure she should read it. It's addressed to her grandmother, who left the town in shame. But the letter describes a young woman. An injustice that happened decades ago. A mystery enfolding its writer. And the fortune that awaits the person who solves the puzzle.

So with the help of Brandon, the quiet boy across the street, she begins to decipher the clues. The challenge will lead them deep into Lambert's history, full of ugly deeds, forgotten heroes, and one great love; and deeper into their own families, with their own unspoken secrets. Can they find the fortune and fulfill the letter's promise before the answers slip into the past yet again?

Add your review of "The Parker Inheritance" in comments!

A Home for Goddesses and Dogs - Middle Grade about Loss, and Family, and Love... and "the world's best bad dog"

A Home for Goddesses and Dogs by Leslie Connor

It’s a life-altering New Year for thirteen-year-old Lydia when she uproots to a Connecticut farm to live with her aunt following her mother’s death.

Aunt Brat and her jovial wife, Eileen, and their ancient live-in landlord, Elloroy, are welcoming—and a little quirky. Lydia’s struggle for a sense of belonging in her new family is highlighted when the women adopt a big yellow dog just days after the girl’s arrival.

Wasn’t one rescue enough?

Lydia is not a dog person—and this one is trouble! He is mistrustful and slinky. He pees in the house, escapes into the woods, and barks at things unseen. His new owners begin to guess about his unknown past.

Meanwhile, Lydia doesn’t want to be difficult—and she does not mean to keep secrets—but there are things she’s not telling...

Like why the box of “paper stuff” she keeps under her bed is so important...

And why that hole in the wall behind a poster in her room is getting bigger...

And why something she took from the big yellow dog just might be the key to unraveling his mysterious past—but at what cost?

Add your review of "A Home for Goddesses and Dogs" in comments!

PS - thanks to the unknown commenter on this blog's The Middle Grade Bookshelf post for the heads-up on this one!

My Latest TikTok Video Celebrates Christine Jorgensen!

Christine Jorgensen became world famous in 1952 for transitioning her body to match who she knew herself to be.

@leewind Christine Jorgensen became world famous in 1952 for transitioning her body to match who she knew herself to be. ##transpride ##gaypride ##lgbtq
♬ This Is Me - Alan Walker Relift (From "The Greatest Showman") - Keala Settle & The Greatest Showman Ensemble

Knowing our Queer history is so empowering! (And I love this song from The Greatest Showman soundtrack.)

The light in me recognizes and acknowledges the light in you,
Lee

True Letters from a Fictional Life - Soccer, A Sort-Of Girlfriend, A Secret Crush, And Letters That Are The Only Place James Gets To Be Himself

True Letters from a Fictional Life by Kenneth Logan

If you asked anyone in his small Vermont town, they’d tell you the facts: James Liddell, star athlete, decent student, and sort-of boyfriend to cute, peppy Theresa, is a happy, funny, carefree guy.

But whenever James sits down at his desk to write, he tells a different story. As he fills his drawers with letters to the people in his world—letters he never intends to send—he spills the truth: he’s trying hard, but he just isn’t into Theresa. It’s his friend, a boy, who lingers in his thoughts.

James’s secret letters are his safe space—but his truth can’t stay hidden for long. Will he come clean to his parents, his teammates, and himself, or is he destined to live a life of fiction?

Add your review of "True Letters from a Fictional Life" in comments!

The Fascinators - Teenage Sam Deals With Magic and Being Gay In His Small, Conservative Town

The Fascinators by Andrew Eliopulos

Living in a small town where magic is frowned upon, Sam needs his friends James and Delia—and their time together in their school's magic club—to see him through to graduation.

But as soon as senior year starts, little cracks in their group begin to show. Sam may or may not be in love with James. Delia is growing more frustrated with their amateur magic club. And James reveals that he got mixed up with some sketchy magickers over the summer, putting a target on all their backs.

With so many fault lines threatening to derail his hopes for the year, Sam is forced to face the fact that the very love of magic that brought his group together is now tearing them apart—and there are some problems that no amount of magic can fix.

Check out this Q&A with the Andrew in Publishers Weekly, where he speaks about what it was like to bring magic to a small town like the one he grew up in, and imagining, "what it would have looked like if a person was out, but still dealing with the pressures of a conservative, religious town."

Add your review of "The Fascinators" in comments!

Gay Tribal Elder with Dr. Donald Kilhefner - a New Podcast About Intergenerational Queer Community

Don Kilhefner is a mentor and elder in my life, and he's launched a new podcast that deserves the spotlight:

Gay Tribal Elder

This blog is really all about Youth (books, culture, politics, all with LGBTQ kids and teens in mind) - but, as Don so rightly understands and shares, we need Adults to be there for Youth. And Elders to be there for Adults and Youth. And, in a way I'm still learning about, we need to know our Ancestors are there for us at every stage of our lives. Until, I suppose, we become ancestors, too.

It's heady, and important, and Don is the perfect intergenerational guide for the journey. I hope you'll listen, and share, and continue to grow along with me.

You can listen to the first episode here.

And if you'd like to be added to Don's newsletter, you can email him at donkilhefner (at) sbcglobal (dot) net.

The light in me recognizes and acknowledges the light in you,
Lee

Friend and Ally and Daughter of Two Moms Susan Yeagley On One Thing That Could Make Our World Better

With Mother's Day just past, this post by the wonderful Susan Yeagley is well-worth watching.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Susan Yeagley (@sukiyeagley) on May 8, 2020 at 7:37am PDT

She's so right!

We're cheering you on, Susan.

The light in me recognizes and acknowledges the light in you,
Lee

The Psionics series - A YA Science Fiction Series with a Lesbian Main Character in Book 1 and a Nonbinary Main Character in Books 2-4

I am the Storm (The Psionics Book One) by Tash McAdam

Keep your head down. Don't look anyone in the eye. Never even think about technology if one of those ghostly, grey cars is sliding silently down the road. They'll see the thoughts inside you, if you let them.

Sam's a technopath, able to control electronic signals and manipulate technology with his mind. And so, ever since childhood, his life has been a carefully constructed web of lies, meant to keep his Talent hidden, his powers a secret. But the Institute wants those unusual powers, and will do anything to get a hold of him and turn him into one of their mindless slaves.

Sam slips up once. Just once, but that's enough. Now the Institute is after him in full force. Soldiers, telekinetics, and mind readers, all gunning just for him.

Newly qualified soldier, Serena, doesn't even know she's chasing a person, all she knows is that she has to find whatever the Institute is after before they do. But tracking an unknown entity through an unfamiliar city, with inaccurate intelligence, unexpected storms, and Gav Belias, people's hero of the Watch, on the prowl, will she even survive? Will she get to Sam before the Institute does? His special skills could provide the rebellion with an incredible advantage, but not if they can't get out of the city, and over the huge wall that stands between them and freedom.

We are the Catalyst (The Psionics Book Two)

Kidnapped and imprisoned, telepathic children are forced to gather military intelligence. Repeatedly stripped of their memories, they live in ignorance of the world above. You can't tell anyone a secret if you don't remember it. It's not child abuse if no one knows you exist.

Epsilon 17 appears to be just another mindless tool, empty of thought. But it's a lie. The carefully constructed shell she hides behind protects her from their mind wipes. One day she will destroy the Institute. All she needs is a chance.

That chance could be Toby, if he doesn't die first. He should never have left the safety of the suburbs, but cornered in an alley by a gang, he's out of options. Of course, if he realized he had superpowers, he probably wouldn't have been so worried. Unfortunately, they come at the cost of a finger, and his old life. Injured and panicked, he would have stayed on the dirty ground until the Institute came for him, if it wasn't for Serena. Name-taking, ass-kicking Serena. She can punch through walls and practically fly, surely she can keep him safe...

But the Institute is sending Epsilon 17 to hunt him down, and she's never lost a trail.

Can ARC, the mysterious group Serena works for, protect him? He has to get his powers in order, fast. It's time for Toby to stand up for himself. An underground war is raging, and Toby's just been drafted.

They Are the Tide (The Psionics Book Three)

After escaping from two very different prisons, Toby and Epsilon 17 finally have a chance to live for themselves. Helping to build a new city in the wake of the destruction of the Institute should be all they're worrying about, but Epsilon 17 has a horrific secret that's getting harder and harder to hide. Cassandra isn't dead, she's locked up in the deepest, darkest corner of E17's mind. Pushing E17 to the brink of madness, Cassandra is determined to take over E17 entirely and destroy the rebellion.

Can Epsilon 17 overcome their hidden enemy and learn to trust the people around them? Unwilling to wait for Cassandra to force their hand, Epsilon 17 decides to take control: to go to a city where the Institute still holds sway, and try to destroy them once and for all. Toby, forbidden from joining the mission, has to find his own path forward. Their connection is as strong as ever, but the distance between them keeps growing.

This is the Circle (The Psionics Book Four)

In the middle of two wars, including one that they didn't want and didn't ask for, the Psionics of ARC struggle to turn back the Eaters. The Institute is still waiting for an opportunity to regain control of the city, but right now there are more pressing concerns. Outside the Wall, chaos reigns, and the slums are overrun. Citizens and dwells alike are panicked and rioting. Cassandra hides in Epsilon 17's body, convincing those closest to her that everything is normal as she pieces together plans to escape in the confusion.

But when the Eaters take her, Thea manages to regain control. The tables have turned. Now she has to pretend to be Cassandra to survive--but fortunately her time in the Institute prepared her well. If she tries to flee, she'll be killed, but if she stays with the cannibal hordes she's bound to be discovered. Escape seems impossible, but help--and friendship--comes from an unlikely source.

Toby and Serena have their hands full fighting the invading Eaters and trying to track down leads on where Thea could be. Cut off from his twin, Toby's relationships with ARC deepen and grow, but he's consumed by his guilt and his need to find Thea.

The cannibal threat looms ever closer, and with one of their best weapons either lost or disabled, ARC has to decide what their priorities are. Should they try to kill her, or save her?

Add your review of any of all of the books in The Psionics series in comments!

The May 2020 Lee Wind Video Newsletter - Queer History Really Is Everywhere... Even On TikTok!

Hi Community!

Here's my May 2020 Lee Wind Video Newsletter:



The Transcript:

**
Hi Community! I'm Lee Wind. It's May, 2020, day 50-something of sheltering-in-place here in California, and I hope you and yours are well.

I'm doing a different kind of eNewsletter because everything feels different, and that feels right.

I wanted to share with you something really cool that I've been doing that came about from taking a personal branding workshop with Jeniffer Thompson. This was through my day job at IBPA. And I had this insight, taking the class, that while my blog, and the books that I write are really directed at kids and teens, my social media has always been about reaching other adults, and sort of the allies of LGBTQ teens.

And I really challenged myself on that, and I thought, 'hmm. Maybe I should be thinking about doing some sort of outreach, via social media to my actual readers, to teens.'

So when I told my teenage daughter that I was thinking about getting a TikTok account, her response was, "Oh, no! Please promise me it won't be you dancing!"

I assured her it would not be me dancing. And so we put together - with the help of my daughter and husband as sort of a family project - I put together my first five TikTok videos, which use really fun famous songs that kids are really into now, to do little snippets, little pieces of Queer history.

So, here's an example. Here's the very first one I did, on Abraham Lincoln being in love with Joshua Fry Speed.

[play Abraham Lincoln and Joshua Fry Speed TikTok video, which you can see and read more about here: https://www.leewind.org/2020/03/my-first-tiktok-video-celebrates-love.html]

So I was really excited, because after doing that, I realized that I really was starting to reach teenagers directly, these kids that have these TikTok accounts. So, then, I was very excited and I wanted to do the next one:

[play Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena Hickok TikTok video, which you can see and read more about here: https://www.leewind.org/2020/03/eleanor-roosevelt-and-lorena-hickok-2.html]

Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena Hickok - that's a story not a lot of people know. But what's so exciting to me is that even if they don't come back to my blog, even if they don't read my books, there are that many more kids - hundreds and hundreds of teenagers - now know that, well, at least somebody thinks that Eleanor Roosevelt was in love with Lorena Hickok. That's really exciting!

So then I did William Shakespeare!

[play William Shakespeare "Bi Pride" TikTok video, which you can see and read more about here: https://www.leewind.org/2020/04/william-shakespeare-bi-pride-3-keys-to.html]

And then the Pharaoh Hatshepsut!

[play Hatshepsut TikTok video, which you can see and read more about here: https://www.leewind.org/2020/04/the-latest-tiktok-1-key-to-unlock.html]

And then, Gandhi and Hermann Kallenbach. So everybody knows Mahatma Gandhi, but hardly anybody knows that the love of his life was this German Jewish architect, Hermann Kallenbach.

[play Gandhi and Kallenbach TikTok video, which you can see and read more about here: https://www.leewind.org/2020/04/mohandas-gandhi-and-hermann-kallenbach.html]

When I was a kid, Hirschfeld was this man who did these amazing caricatures of Broadway stars, and he would do them in the New York Times. And he would always put a number next to his signature, and it would signify how many hidden "Nina"s – Nina was his daughter's name – and he would hide her name in the drawings. It was really fun, and it was something I really enjoyed.

So as a sort of homage to that, in every TikTok video, I'm including a certain number of keys to unlock the hidden history, unlock the secrets. So that's been really fun, too. And hopefully will bring some of those viewers on TikTok and Instagram over and have them come to my blog, and maybe become more interested in learning more... where I have books and stuff that they can read! Anyway, it's been very fun.

What's really exciting is to think that between TikTok and Instagram, over 3,700 viewers have seen these stories, these little 15 second things that let them know that, yes, Lincoln was in love with another man, and so was Gandhi, and Eleanor Roosevelt was in love with Lorena Hickok, and William Shakespeare was in love with a guy and a girl, and the Pharaoh Hatshepsut changed their gender - how they presented their gender - over the course of 22 years of ruling Egypt. These are really empowering stories, and they're just encapsulated in these fun 15 second animations, live animations, and that is just really, really satisfying.

So, if you have teens in your life, please let them know.

[TikTok link: https://www.tiktok.com/@leewind]

And I hope you and yours stay well and safe,

and until next time,

the light in me recognizes and acknowledges the light in you.

Thanks.
Bye,


**

Stay safe,
Lee

Want to Be An Ally to the Disability Community? First Step, Let's Listen To Them and Respect How They Identify

I do want to be an ally, and to empower allyship across and amongst queer and other marginalized identities.

My friend Karol (author of the amazing Schneider Family Book Award-winning YA novel Cursed) and I recently discussed this, and she shared this article by Ryan Theodosia with me, How person-first language isolates disabled people.

I was really struck by this line,

"When deciding how to treat disabled people, the disabled people’s opinions should always outweigh those of able-bodied people."

Yes. That makes total sense.

And wanting to do the right thing and having the information to actually do the right thing are distinct. I've used the phrase "people with disabilities" before, not knowing any of this. I won't use that expression going forward, to respect my disabled friends and their community.

I encourage you to read the full piece here.

The light in me recognizes and acknowledges the light in you,

Stay safe,
Lee

Blood Sport - Jason, A Trans Male Teen, Tries To Solve His Sister's Mysterious Death

Blood Sport by Tash McAdam

Jason is sure his sister, Becca, was murdered, but he's the only one who thinks so. After finding a photograph Becca kept hidden, he decides to infiltrate a boxing gym to prove that she didn't die accidentally. As a transgender kid, Jason's been fighting for as long as he can remember, and those skills are going to come in handy as he investigates. Quickly invited into the inner circle, Jason must balance newfound friendships with the burning hate that drives him. Jason soon feels torn between two worlds, determined to discover what happened to his sister but struggling with the fact that this is the first time he's ever felt like he belonged somewhere.

This #OwnVoices novel got a starred review from School Library Journal, who called it "a rip-roaring read..." Add your review of "Blood Sport" in comments!

Camp Brave Trails Campers Tell Us: "What Do LGBTQ+ Youth Need Right Now"

Love this post from Camp Brave Trails Instagram.

Love Camp Brave Trails.

Love our LGBTQAI2+ Teens.

The light in me recognizes and acknowledges the light in you,
Stay safe,
Lee

Nature's Pride Flag - Quarantine Edition

Walking in my Los Angeles neighborhood, this past week, Spring has sprung. So many birds. So many flowers! Such a great balance to all the stress and uncertainty of this global pandemic.

So I challenged myself to focus on the colors, and see if I could put together a diversity pride flag...

Black

Brown

Red

Orange

Yellow

Green

Blue

Purple

And here they are, all together...

Flower Pride!

Stay safe, and don't forget the beauty in our world... including YOU!

The light in me recognizes and acknowledges the light in you,Lee