What Does Blogging for Justice Accomplish?

I’ve been strangely ambivalent about the #PghBlog4Justice project and unable to put my finger on why. I’ve been part of more than a dozen different blog events over the past years and typically enjoy a group think approach to a topic. Maybe its because to my knowledge there are no people of color participating? I […]

Dear UPMC – I Am Not “Other”

I’ve been at UPMC Shadyside since 6 AM as Ledcat is having some routine procedures. Like many others, I awoke early, dealt with an already crowded parking garage and sent my better half off to “the back” with a wee bit of anxiety. Just another family member. Except UPMC says I’m not. According to their […]

Facebook Responds – They DO Hate Jags

Yesterday, I reported on the interesting (to me at least) situation of Facebook refusing my money to promote a pretty great picture of LGBTQ community leader, Rick Allison wearing a God Hates Jags shirt. I took the photo so I’m the best person to determine if its great, right? Facebook said “NO” and I filled […]

Philadelphia Trans Woman, Diamond Williams, Murdered & Further Violated by the Media

UPDATED Last week, Diamond Williams – a trans woman living in Philly – was brutally murdered and dismembered by Charles Sargent, then dumped in a vacant lot  in the Strawberry Mansion neighborhood. Sargent is in jail and has been charged. Sadly, the mainstream media added another atrocious twist to this gruesome story by making repeated […]

My Thoughts on LGBT Outreach

The folks at OutreachU, a local business supporting non-profits with tools for advocacy and outreach efforts, asked me to talk with them about the outreach successes in the LGBTQ community. Here’s my first video. To keep it “real” we were able to record the video in one of the offices at the Gay and Lesbian […]

Disrupting Injustice As Usual for Trayvon Martin – A Call To Action for Pgh’s LGBTQ Community

To get caught up on the details of how queer organizers at New Voices Pittsburgh are leading the local response to the verdict in the trial of the murder of Trayvon Martin, click here (I’ll return to that later.) Here’s what’s coming up:   Wednesday, July 17, 12p Press Conference Allegheny County Courthouse 436 Grant […]

Tampons, Texas and Tears – Sister Supplies

The meme about the Texas State Legislature banning state resident from bringing tampons or pads into the General Assembly buildings during a heated debate on abortion really got me thinking. On its face, this is patently absurd – have you ever tried to throw a tampon at anyone? Or a pad? Even drenched in water, […]

Thursday Marriage Equality Round-Up (and More)

To help you stay current: The judge for the federal lawsuit has been named (via the PG) Profiles of some of the local couples involved in the lawsuit (via the PG) Patch.com has a story, too. The background story (and quotes from me!) via the PG A nice profile of one of the couples involve […]

ACLU Files Federal Lawsuit for Marriage Equality in Pennsylvania

By now, you’ve probably heard the big news – the ACLU has filed suit in federal court on behalf of 11 plaintiffs, challenging the constitutionality of the Pennsylvania DOMA. Six of the plaintiffs are PA couples who cannot marry in their state of residence and 5 are couples or individuals who married out of state […]

Pittsburgh Black Pride July 2013

Pittsburgh Black Pride is one of the oldest Pride Celebration in the country that serves the needs of LGBTQ community members of color.  While it is important to acknowledge the struggle of all LGBTQ people in our society today, people of color are particularly impacted by long-standing structural barriers such as racism, poverty, underrepresentation, and […]