Catholic school tells trans student he must wear girl's uniform or he won't walk at graduation
St. Pius X Catholic High School in Albuquerque color-codes graduation attire for its students based on gender: white caps and gowns for girls, black robes for boys.
Damien Garcia’s friends, family and teachers recognize him as a man. But because he’s transgender, his school says he must wear the graduation uniform designated for women or he won’t walk with his class.
The school superintendent told KRQE the school determines graduation dress code by the gender listed on the student’s birth certificate. Although Garcia’s birth certificate now contains his legal male name, his gender is still listed as female, since New Mexico requires a medical affidavit and proof of legal name change before amending gender on a birth certificate.
A pair of young Quaker brothers in Albuquerque heard about Garcia’s story and launched a petition on Change.org calling for St. Pius to let Garcia walk in men’s regalia for graduation. The petition, addressed to St. Pius principal Barbara Rothweiler, currently has more than 24,000 signatures.
Garcia’s family, who supports his male identity, said they don’t expect the parochial school to make an exception before graduation, but hope the school will consider doing away with gendered graduation gowns altogether in the future.
First off, what’s the benefit of having different graduation attire for men and women anyway? But more importantly, this is outrageous and hurtful in a lot of ways. Sign the petition and maybe the school will take note and wake up.
“Trans inclusion will be a legislative priority over my dead body.” —
Elizabeth Birch, Human Rights Campaign Executive Director, 1995-2004
figured now would be a good time to remind everybody exactly who these people are and exactly how much they value trans people
(yes, I realize Birch is no longer with the organization, but this is not because they found her ideas repellant—it’s because she retired)
Hrc, trans inclusion
(via neoliberalismkills)
O_O this is really fucking important to be aware of
(via pewpewlasernipples)
New York City: Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, veterans of the Stonewall Rebellion and founders of STAR (Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries), march in the 1973 Pride Parade.
i think people do not really understand how POWERFUL these two were. in the early 70’s they became house mothers and revolutionaries for trans* people, especially TWOC.
and now they barely get a blurb because they weren’t nice to their oppressors and called their shit out and weren’t “nice t-words” like how cis gay white men wanna think of people like Christine Jorgensen or others. They didn’t want to be erased and shut up. They didn’t wanna sit in jail and wait for motherfuckers to help them in patronizing, erasing ways. They didn’t shut up about the violence against them.
just like…fuck anyone who doesn’t think they’re awesome. They inspire me everyday to get up and kick ass, even as a cis woman of color.
Dowling Duncan and redesigning the American Dollar:
Why the size?
We have kept the width the same as the existing dollars. However we have changed the size of the note so that the one dollar is shorter and the 100 dollar is the longest. When stacked on top of each other it is easy to see how much money you have. It also makes it easier for the visually impaired to distinguish between notes.Why a vertical format?
When we researched how notes are used we realized people tend to handle and deal with money vertically rather than horizontally. You tend to hold a wallet or purse vertically when searching for notes. The majority of people hand over notes vertically when making purchases. All machines accept notes vertically. Therefore a vertical note makes more sense.Why different colors?
It’s one of the strongest ways graphically to distinguish one note from another.Why these designs?
We wanted a concept behind the imagery so that the image directly relates to the value of each note. We also wanted the notes to be educational, not only for those living in America but visitors as well. Each note uses a black and white image depicting a particular aspect of American history and culture. They are then overprinted with informational graphics or a pattern relating to that particular image.$1 – The first African American president
$5 – The five biggest native American tribes
$10 – The bill of rights, the first 10 amendments to the US Constitution
$20 – 20th Century America
$50 – The 50 States of America
$100 – The first 100 days of President Franklin Roosevelt. During this time he led the congress to pass more important legislations than most presidents pass in their entire term. This helped fight the economic crises at the time of the great depression. Ever since, every new president has been judged on how well they have done during the first 100 days of their term.ok but can we talk about how cool these look like fuck yea
i’m really opposed to changing traditional stuff but hello this is the coolest idea ever
the other cool thing about them is that it looks like they’re different sizes, which will help blind/visually impaired people distinguish which bills are which. that’s one of the major flaws of the current US bill system.
Awesome.
And that was already said in the main comment…but my stacks will look funny and if i get all 1s everyones gonna know its all 1s and not just a lotta bills fuck this besides that fact this is awesome
Lourdes Leon photographed by Amira Rosenbush
She looks so much like her mother!
Nineteen-year-old Tarikuwa Lemma is a survivor, of an international adoption scandal. When she was 13, she was effectively sold from her native Ethiopia to an American family. The corrupt “adoption agency” convinced her father, who was a widow, that Tarikuwa and her younger sisters were headed to the U.S. as part of an educational exchange program, and that they would return home every summer and on holiday breaks. Little did he know, his daughters had been placed with adoptive couples in the U.S., never to return. Tarikuwa’s name was changed against her will, and she was forbidden by her American “family” from speaking her native language. The issue of transnational adoption, its evangelical Christian component, and the exploitation of communities that sometimes results, is the subject of the book, The Child Catchers: Rescue, Trafficking and the New Gospel of Adoption by Kathryn Joyce, who appeared, along with Tarikuwa, on last Sunday’s “Melissa Harris Perry” show on MSNBC. Below is Tarikuwa’s satirical look at the “rescue” of children from her home country, to “better lives” in America.
Stop ‘Rescuing’ African Children Through Corrupt Adoptions
Tarikuwa Lemma appearing on Melissa Harris Perry Show April 28, 2013.
From The Grio — Nineteen-year…
Doesn’t seem to matter the background of the child, the methods of colonialism and assimilation haven’t changed.
