I'd like to clarify that while I was among the early voices ASKING about Mr. Jenkins ties to The Bible Chapel (July 2), the first person to report out from Friday's meeting was Ciora Thomas, director of SistersPGH on her Facebook page immediately after she left the meeting.
I have spoken with or contacted 11 people who claim that they were at this meeting. I've heard reports of up to 30 individuals. But those specifics remain unclear.
Ciora deserves acknowledgement for bringing these facts to light first. With permission, I've published her original comments and those of 7 other attendees in a collective format.
Excellent letter. I would also add Persad Center to the list as they have been working for years with local, state and federal public safety departments and are well-versed in these matters.
It should also be noted that the City does not have any openly trans employees across a workforce of 3200 people (and fewer than five openly cis queer employees), does not offer trans health insurance options and has received zero points on trans indicators from the HRC Municipal Equality Index. There's A LOT of work to do. The conversation between the City and the trans community doesn't need self-appointed intermediaries. It needs a transparent commitment by Mayor Peduto to identify best practices.
The Post-Gazette is now requiring trans women to use their legal names in order to be included in stories. This flies in the face of their quoting a queer cis woman a few days earlier under a pen name and their own award nominated series which quoted multiple trans folks using names that are real, but not legal.
So my contributing blogger Trish Mifflin can't respond IN the PG to a post about her actual life. I published her response because I know she's a real person.
Thank you, Charlie. Lest we forget how close to home this hits, just two weeks ago - London Chanel, a 21 year old trans woman of color, was murdered in Philadelphia. Since 2013, two women in Philly and six trans women in Ohio have been murdered. In 2015, eight trans women of color have been murdered nationwide. And it was just this past December, that a young trans man died by suicide in Pittsburgh. This epidemic of violence (and self harm) is propped up by ignorance and fear. http://www.pghlesbian.com/2015/05/london-c…
Alex - do you have a list of which groups were invited to the meeting and who was in attendance? I'm concerned that there is no mention of QTPOC, but I realize you have limited space. Betty's comment about the police needing to understand different perspectives is spot on.
Recent Comments
I have spoken with or contacted 11 people who claim that they were at this meeting. I've heard reports of up to 30 individuals. But those specifics remain unclear.
Ciora deserves acknowledgement for bringing these facts to light first. With permission, I've published her original comments and those of 7 other attendees in a collective format.
http://www.pghlesbian.com/2018/07/anger-di…
Sue Kerr
Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents
@pghlesbian24
It should also be noted that the City does not have any openly trans employees across a workforce of 3200 people (and fewer than five openly cis queer employees), does not offer trans health insurance options and has received zero points on trans indicators from the HRC Municipal Equality Index. There's A LOT of work to do. The conversation between the City and the trans community doesn't need self-appointed intermediaries. It needs a transparent commitment by Mayor Peduto to identify best practices.
So my contributing blogger Trish Mifflin can't respond IN the PG to a post about her actual life. I published her response because I know she's a real person.
http://www.pghlesbian.com/2015/06/meanwhil…