Transgender and LGBQ Community Take Action at Allegheny County Jail; Met With Pittsburgh Police in Riot Gear

Allegheny County Jail Transgender

Thursday evening, dozens of activists gathered outside the Allegheny County Jail to address the poor treatment of transgender inmates, particularly transgender women. Brought together by SisTers Pgh and BlaQK OPS, protestors maintained a presence along Second Avenue. Police responded in riot gear. Of course they did. That same evening, the District Attorney was all over […]

Jodi Hirsh: “I started this fundraiser as a response to the terrible actions of the federal government. And people stepped up in a massive way.”

On October 21, 2018, a friend of mine named Jodi Hirsh decided to use the Facebook birthday fundraiser tool to resist the announcement by the Federal Government that they plan to roll back acknowledgements of gender identity. She chose the Transgender Law Center as the recipient. She wrote “I wasn’t going to do one of […]

Pittsburgh Public School Board Votes Unanimously to Disaffiliate with Pittsburgh Marathon Over Chick-fil-A Sponsorship

Tonight, the entire School Board voted unanimously in favor of a resolution that disavows the sponsorship role of Chick-fil-A in the Pittsburgh Marathon. This means no Pittsburgh public school will officially participate in marathon activities or the Kids of Steel year round programming. No employee can participate in an official capacity. And no one will […]

Vote ‘No’ on the Allegheny County Children’s Fund

Vote No Referendum

In addition to the various critical elections facing us on November 6, there is also a critical referendum item – the ‘Allegheny Children’s Fund’ referendum asking for a voluntary 5% property tax hike to pay for early learning, after-school programs and healthy meals for kids. I hope it goes without saying that I believe that […]

The extra bff

When I was a child, the other girls in my neighborhood were firmly cemented into best friend pairs – Amy & Julie, Laurie & Darlene, Sherry & Meg, etc. My role was to be a back-up friend. Sometimes, I was included in group activities. Sometimes, I was called upon if the BFF was unavailable. And […]

Tomorrow is my birthday. I’ll be 48. 

Tomorrow is my birthday. I’ll be 48. Last night, I dreamed about being homeless, cast away, and shunned because of my flaws. I woke up several times choking, unsure if it was due to allergies or stress. I’m exhausted and dismayed. Birthdays in the sense that they are indicators of getting older do not bother […]

Pittsburgh City Council Unanimously Calls for Pittsburgh Marathon to Remove Chick-fil-A Sponsorship

On Wednesday, October 17, all nine members of Pittsburgh’s City Council signed a request to the Dick’s Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon organizers (P3R) requesting that they remove Chick-fil-A as a title sponsor. We, the undersigned, are writing to respectfully request that P3R remove Chick-Fil-A as the title sponsor of the 2019 Pittsburgh Kids Marathon. The […]

Pittsburgh Public School Board Proposes Terminating Official Involvement in Pgh Marathon Because of Chick-fil-A Sponsorship

Wednesday evening, the Pittsburgh Public School Board met for a Special Legislative and Agenda session. One of the topics was a proposed resolution explained by District Solicitor Ira Weiss as follows “The District will not support, officially, the Children’s Marathon so long as those sponsors are involved. The schools will not be authorized to participate officially, […]

AMPLIFYing LGBTQ History Month: Q&A with David DeAngelo

To date, the AMPLIFY project has published over 270 Q&A’s from the Western Pennsylvania region. These stories capture important moments in LGBTQ History, from the current day and extending as far back as the Kennedy Administration in terms of lived experiences of LGBTQ people.  I’ve asked some folks to weigh in on the impact of this project […]

I recently learned that I am experiencing a trauma reaction, stemming from the complex trauma I experienced as a child and young adult. I knew the trauma happened, but I had a tendency to minimize it as something not as serious as depression or anxiety. The cumulative impact of the Grand Jury Repory on Sexual […]