Pgh Lesbian Correspondents

As you may know, Pittsburgh LGBTQ Charities has been working with a local family and their neighbors to distribute yard signs throughout the community. The signs read ‘Protect Trans Kids’ and are intended to send that direct message. The idea was planted in mid-June, the first 50 signs delivered to us on June 24, and here we are 20 days later – we’ve ordered 500 signs total and have requests coming in each day (along with donations.)

Pittsburgh LGBTQ Charities is a completely separate entity from this blog. I do serve as Board President, but the blog is just acting as an advocate like the many other community partners working on this project. Opinions I express on the blog about this project do not reflect any official position by PLC.

We hoped to find spaces for the original 50 so this is absolutely wonderful even though the impetus is absolutely awful. Still, this is a simple constructive and positive gesture – so we have no plans of stopping. As long as financial donations and requests for signs come in, we will work with Commonwealth Press to continue production.

500 signs in 20 days! That’s absolutely responding to hate speech with more speech.

This is an all-hands-on-deck effort to resist the insidious transphobia and racism that is such a real and present threat to our neighbors and perhaps, our own families. It is a threat to all of us when someone thinks harassing a 15-year-old kid vis a vis a nine foot sign outside of their bedroom window is ever acceptable for any reason. That diminishes everyone.

So, over 150 signs are in the community. We received and began distributing another batch of 250 today and placed yet another order for 100 signs this afternoon. That’s 500. Hopefully, they will all be up and about in the coming days, thanks to many wonderful volunteers.

{{{Kristyn}}}

Please continue to spread the word – there is no charge to request a sign, but we do ask those who can afford it to help us cover the costs. The signs average $12. We can order a batch of 50 signs for $580 and a batch of 250 signs for $2500. This is not a fundraiser. PLC invested the initial $580, but every penny (after donation site fees) is going back to produce more signs.

You can find more information including some links to Ke’Juan telling her story in her own words here.

We will continue to order new signs as long as we have requests (and donations.)

We appreciate our organizational donors who help us provide large batches of signs.

• PFLAG Pittsburgh
• PFLAG Greensburg
• Pittsburgh Councilperson Bobby Wilson
• Pittsburgh Councilperson Anthony Coghill
• Pittsburgh Councilperson Erika Strassburger
• The Scott Noxin Fund through the Pittsburgh Foundation
• Steel City Stonewall Democrats

And a big thank you to Commonwealth Press for their in-kind support. PLC is proud to work with a locally-owned, union shop on this project.

Request a sign bit.ly/ProtectsTransKidsSigns

Donations can be made via

• GoFundMe bit.ly/YardSignsFund **Preferred
• Venmo @PittsburghLGBTQ
• Paypal.me/PittsburghLGBTQ
• Checks made payable to ‘Pittsburgh LGBTQ Charities’ and mailed to 1439 W. North Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15233

Thank you. Here we go …