Endorsed by PROMO - Fighting for LGBTQ Rights

Yesterday I received the PROMO MIssouri PAC endorsement. With this endorsement, I feel it’s important to talk about my past work with the LGBTQ community.When my parents found out I was queer at 17, I was kicked out of my family that night and found myself suddenly homeless. Being LGBTQ was not a safe thing to be in rural MO and KS at the time. I had transferred schools and slept in my car or at friends’ houses until I was able to rent an apartment with income from my part-time job. During that time, I held my first protest in Harrisonville in attempt to stop the anti-gay marriage amendment. Driving the hour to KC, I volunteered for PROMO knocking doors and traveled to Jefferson City to lobby with them. I started a successful GSA at my high school in the face of constant death threats and protests. We were braver than our bullies and we persevered.

For my work in rural KS and MO I was awarded the Creating Change Award by the National LGBTQ TaskForce. Shortly after, I was invited on the Soulforce Equality Ride, a 2-month-long bus trip in the spirit of the Freedom Rides to conservative religious colleges which banned or discriminated against LGBTQ students. We had to do 6 months of intensive Bible study to go on the trip, and on the campuses we talked to students about inclusive theology and how it is okay to be LGBTQ and Christian.For years as the President of EQUAL, I mentored LGBTQ youth, organized the yearly Day of Silence, the annual Youth Empowerment Summit, spoke at the ACLU, networked high school SGA’s, held protests against KC-based ex-gay churches, and founded the first public trans support group in Kansas City. At UMKC I served as President of the UMKC Queer Alliance, bringing queer activists and authors like Kate Bornstein as well as a huge number of new events to the campus. I hosted the UndocuQueer activists in Kansas City to call attention to the issues facing the undocumented LGBTQ community. I received the UMKC “Building Bridges” Award and the Youth Leadership Award from the KCMO Civil Rights/Fair Housing Summit and was named the best activist in Missouri by the Pitch for my work.

As a librarian, I have spoken nationally on LGBTQ issues. As part of the campaign, we have been highlighting LGBTQ book bans, hosting drag storytimes and standing up against legislative oppression. As a member of the American Library Association's Stonewall Book Award Committee I presented the Stonewall Award in Literature in San Francisco during Pride the year gay marriage was legalized.I have testified against the anti-trans laws frequently and have shown up consistently for PROMO and our community for years. This is just my work within the LGBTQ community. Over the following weeks, we’ll be highlighting how much of my life I’ve dedicated to making the world a better place for ALL of us, so you understand how passionately I will advocate for our district in Jefferson City.I will put in the work and as the first nonbinary State Representative in Missouri, I will stand up for all of us who have been marginalized by society.