Growing up, I was taught there are things you don’t talk about. The daughter of Mexican immigrants, I learned that subjects not meant for polite conversation were many and varied. Topics such as mental health, sexual orientation, and familial hardships were off the table. It is a generational silence, passed down from generation to generation, transported across borders and finding new soil in the United States. It is a silence that kills. One example of where this silence has profoundly...
A few weeks ago, I got an unexpected Facebook notification. My high school had newly formed an alumni association, and they were reaching out to me to gauge my interest in speaking at my high school about my life and career. I was excited – my high school was a Title I school and most of us who attended were low-income and disadvantaged. Despite that, the school had an International Baccalaureate program for some students to earn early college credits. That program’s rigor made me...
Bailey Henderson (He/him) – Legal Assistant After graduating from U.C. Berkeley with degrees in Political Science and Global Studies, Bailey Henderson was motivated to work for NCLR because of his desire to improve LGBTQ equity. He’s excited to both make an impact and learn more about law in his position. Where do you currently reside? Oakland, CA What is your educational background? I went to UC Berkeley for my B.A.s in Political Science and Global Studies Where did you work...
NCLR’s Legal Director Shannon Minter testified in a U.S House of Representatives hearing on medical care for transgender youth, urging members to respect the freedom of parents of transgender youth to obtain essential medical care for their children. Shannon was joined by Myriam Reynolds, the mother of NCLR’s 2022 Courage Awardee, Cameron Wright. NCLR Legal Director Shannon Minter in the United States House of Representatives Judiciary Committee Hearing Room In his statement, Shannon helped...
In 2020, Trump used the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic to invoke Title 42 – an existing public health law – to severely restrict migrants’ entry into the United States. This means that Title 42 was legislation created in the past, but what exactly does it do or why was it created? Title 42 is part of a public health emergency law enacted in 1944 called the Public Health Service Act. The law was enacted to prevent the spread of communicable diseases and allows health authorities to deny individuals...
Ana Garcia (she/her) – Philanthropy Assistant As a UC Berkeley alumni, Ana Garcia comes to NCLR after working for the Pacific School of Religion. She’s committed to working on issues that concern youth development and is inspired by the legal work that NCLR does on behalf of LGBTQ kids. Where do you currently reside? Oakland, CA What is your educational background? Graduated from UC Berkeley with a BA in English and Religious Studies, and the University of San Francisco with an MA...
On June 30, 2023, the United States Supreme Court ruled that certain businesses that involve customized expressive messages may turn away same-sex couples or other customers. The ruling came in the case 303 Creative v. Elenis, in which the Court addressed whether a website designer in Colorado could refuse to design wedding websites for same-sex couples. Watch this webinar with Executive Director Imani Rupert-Gordon, Legal Director Shannon Minter, and Federal Policy Director Julie Gonen for a...
Juneteenth commemorates the anniversary of Union General Gordon Granger’s belated announcement of freedom from slavery in Texas on June 19th, 1865, delivered over two years after Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. In directing Confederate states to “recognize and maintain the freedom” of formerly enslaved Black Americans, and to refrain from repressing “any efforts they may make for their actual freedom,” President Lincoln understood that he could not impart actual freedom...
We invite you to join NCLR today as we honor the 49 lives lost – and the countless others forever changed – at the tragedy at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, FL on June 12, 2016. On the anniversary of that horrific night when so many of our community were murdered in a senseless act of gun violence, we not only remember those taken from us, we also join those who pledge to Honor Them With Action. As a young queer Latino and Orlando native who frequently visited Pulse, the nightmare of that...
“An Exercise in Politics, Not Good Medicine” This year, in a coordinated attack on the LGBTQ community, legislators in states across the country have passed scores of laws that threaten and endanger LGBTQ people, their families, and their communities. NCLR has been at the forefront of the fight against anti-LGBTQ laws for decades, but we have never seen such an aggressive campaign against LGBTQ youth and their families. NCLR will keep fighting these unconstitutional laws,...
Equality Florida is the largest civil rights organization dedicated to securing full equality for Florida’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community. We’re changing Florida through lobbying, grassroots organizing, education, and coalition building — so that no one suffers harassment or discrimination on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.
Come Out With Pride
The mission of Come Out With Pride Orlando is to cultivate visibility, authenticity, and acceptance by curating inclusive experiences that celebrate and embody the spirit of queer resilience.
Orlando Youth Alliance
Since 1990, the Orlando Youth Alliance (OYA) has been providing safe spaces for LGBTQ youth in Central Florida. Their coverage area includes metro Orlando, but also spans out to include the rural counties surrounding Orlando. In 2008, they created a chapter in Lakeland, Florida (Polk County). OYA oversees the highly successful Polk Pride Festival which attracts over 6,000 people annually.
Southern Legal Counsel
Southern Legal Counsel, Inc. (SLC) is a Florida statewide not-for-profit public interest law firm that is committed to the ideal of equal justice for all and the attainment of basic human and civil rights. SLC developed its Transgender Rights Initiative to fill a gap in access to justice for Florida’s transgender community, including in areas such as access to legal authenticity, access to safe and affirming school and work environments, access to medically necessary healthcare, and more. SLC’s Trans Rights Initiative protects the rights of Florida’s LGBTQ+ community utilizing federal impact litigation, policy advocacy, and individual representation. SLC has litigated many of the recent federal cases against the state of Florida, and has successfully overturned the Medicaid Ban on gender-affirming care (Dekker v. Weida); permanently enjoined the medical care bans for minors and restrictions for adults created by SB 254 and the Boards of Medicine rules (Doe v. Ladapo); preliminarily enjoined the pronoun ban for transgender teachers in Florida’s public schools; and more.
Joy Metropolitan Community Church
Joy MCC is the spiritual home to a multi-cultural, inclusive, and diverse community of faith. We are rooted in the life, ministry, and teachings of Jesus. We experience a vibrant spirituality that is positive, practical, and progressive. We’ve always been a totally open and affirming church. We welcome the full participation of people of allraces, cultures, ages, abilities, spiritual backgrounds, sexual orientations, and gender identities. We share a deep sense of community where our diversity is celebrated, not merely tolerated.
ACLU of Florida
The mission of the ACLU of Florida is to protect, defend, strengthen, and promote the constitutional rights and liberties of all people in Florida. We envision a fair and just Florida, where all people are free, equal under the law, and live with dignity.
QLatinx
QLatinx is a grassroots community-led racial, social, and gender justice organization dedicated to the advancement and empowerment of Orlando’s LGBTQ+ Latinx community. QLatinx is committed to building a supportive infrastructure, addressing inequity, promoting inclusionary QLatinx aims to deepen the political consciousness of LGBTQ+ and Latinx individuals about intersections and complexities of institutional, interpersonal, and internalized forms of oppression. This work includes empowering local LGBTQ+ leadership to become cognizant of gender and racial inequities with the LGBTQ+ community and in relation to cisgender populations.
Community Spring
Community Spring is a grassroots organization dedicated to economic justice. The two pillars of our work are income and power: income to meet people’s needs and power to reshape the systems that keep them down.
Pride Community Center of North Central Florida
The Pride Community Center of North Central Florida offers safe spaces, resources, services and events to foster and enhance the well-being and visibility of LGBTQ+ people in North Central Florida. Visibility changes minds. Here in North Central Florida, LGBTQ+ people deserve access to safe spaces where they can not only express themselves, but where they can also be a part of a community. Come join us.