This milestone anniversary comes at a time when legislative attacks against the trans community, particularly at the state and local level, are reaching all-time highs. In the opening episode debuting today, bestselling author ALOK and founder of TransLash Media, Imara Jones, discuss current realities for trans and nonbinary people in America on International Transgender Day of Visibility. You can listen to the episode wherever you get your podcasts or at the link HERE.
Today, the National LGBTQ Task Force – the country’s oldest LGBTQ+ advocacy organization – launched a new limited podcast series in honor of their 50th anniversary. Movement Moments: The National LGBTQ Task Force at 50 will span 6 episodes and feature deep discussions on topical issues facing the LGBTQ+ community today, including attacks on the trans community and the role of faith in the movement while also reflecting on key moments throughout National LGBTQ Task Force history.
“Our deep history of activism alongside our trans family guides us as we fight forces who would refuse the right to their very existence,” said Kierra Johnson, Executive Director of the National LGBTQ Task Force. “We can’t stop at visibility. We need to take action. In this episode, we are so proud to highlight the voices of two visionaries, ALOK and Imara Jones, who are doing just that.”
Trans Day of Visibility, celebrated annually on March 31st, is a day to honor trans, nonbinary, and gender non-conforming people around the world. In Movement Moments, ALOK and Imara discuss both the importance and also the limitations of visibility, and how we need to prioritize action to drive progress for trans people in America.
On the topic of visibility, ALOK shared, “I’m not sure that visibility worked out for us the way we thought it would. We were promised that if we became more visible then there would be more control of rights and recognition, but in fact there’s just been more retaliation and we’re dealing with some of the most extreme and vehement pushback ever.”
ALOK also discusses the need to stay cautiously optimistic about progress for queer communities, saying, “I’m into this thing called ‘hope, I guess.’ And it’s important the record says ‘hope, I guess,’ not just hope.”
Throughout Episode 1 of Movement Moments, Founder of TransLash media Imara Jones talks about the power of storytelling, saying: “When I became a journalist, I began to move towards my own gender identity, to remove the calcified layers that I had developed to survive and the limitations that society put on me, mainly through the stories that they told about people like me. As I began to remove those, I understood the power that I had in combining my own personal experience with the power of storytelling to be able to move and shape the world around me.”
New episodes of Movement Moments will be released each month, with upcoming guests including Reverend Nicole Garcia, Mandy Carter, Joe Zuniga, Tanya Domi, and National LGBTQ Task Force Executive Director Kierra Johnson.
CONTACT:
Cathy Renna, Communications Director, National LGBTQ Task Force, 917-757-6123, [email protected]
The National LGBTQ Task Force advances full freedom, justice, and equality for LGBTQ people. We are building a future where everyone can be free to be their entire selves in every aspect of their lives. Today, despite all the progress we have made to end discrimination, millions of LGBTQ people face barriers in every aspect of their lives: in housing, employment, healthcare, retirement, and basic human rights. Those barriers must go.
