https://mjwebster-png.github.io/for-us-hub/ 2026-05-16T21:38:45Z Policy, news, and culture updates from the hub. https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/05/trump-gorka-counter-terrorism-transgender-antifa-docuiment/#May 6, 2026 2026-05-06T00:00:00Z

The Trump administration's 2026 Counterterrorism Strategy, released May 6, explicitly lists groups holding 'radically pro-transgender' ideology among domestic terrorism threats, alongside Islamist organizations. NSC senior director Sebastian Gorka publicly described trans activists as 'transgender killers.' The Trans Journalists Association published newsroom guidance warning that this framing creates a chilling effect on trans organizing and risks legitimizing surveillance and harassment of tra

https://www.thetrevorproject.org/blog/breaking-down-the-data-what-does-the-2025-u-s-national-survey-say-about-transgender-health-care/#May 7, 2026 2026-05-07T00:00:00Z

The Trevor Project's 2025 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ+ Young People — which polled 16,667 respondents, including over 10,000 trans, nonbinary, and genderqueer respondents — found that trans youth who wanted hormone therapy but could not access it were nearly twice as likely to attempt suicide in the past year (15% vs. 8% among those with access). Only 44% of trans youth who wanted hormones could access them. With 26 states now banning some form of gender-affirming care for

https://btac.blacktrans.org#2025-04-22 2025-04-22T00:00:00Z

The Black Trans Advocacy Coalition held its 12th National Black Trans Advocacy Conference April 22–27, 2025, in Dallas, Texas, drawing over 500 participants under the theme 'Redefining Our Resilience: I Am UnErasable.' The multi-day gathering included education, policy advocacy, leadership development, and the annual Black Trans Advocacy Awards Gala celebrating activists advancing Black trans equality. The 13th Annual conference is planned for New Orleans in April 2026.

https://19thnews.org/2025/10/no-one-was-helping-black-transgender-youth-so-these-parents-stepped-in/#2025-10-15 2025-10-15T00:00:00Z

The 19th profiled Rainbow in Black, a new nonprofit launched in 2025 by Black parents of transgender and nonbinary youth to fill a gap in culturally relevant support. The organization offers virtual community spaces, training workshops for schools and families, and referrals to legal and healthcare providers — explicitly centering Black family experiences at a time when nearly 1,000 restrictive bills had been introduced nationally. The Trevor Project and Human Rights Campaign data cited in the p

https://nbjc.org/nbjc-mourns-the-stolen-life-of-daquane-dream-johnson/#2025-07-14 2025-07-14T00:00:00Z

The National Black Justice Collective mourned Dream Johnson, a 28-year-old Black trans woman shot and killed on July 5, 2025 in Washington, D.C. Witnesses reported three men approached her, called her a slur, and opened fire. A D.C. man, Edgar Arrington, was later arrested and charged with first-degree murder with a hate crime enhancement based on gender identity. NBJC called for community action and noted a $25,000 reward for information.

https://www.blaqueout.com/blaqueoutonline/transmurders2025#2025-07-10 2025-07-10T00:00:00Z

Blaque/OUT Magazine — a Black LGBTQ outlet — documented that of at least 11 transgender people murdered in the United States through mid-2025, 10 were Black trans women and all were people of color. The article profiles victims including Kelsey Elem (25, St. Louis, killed by a partner), Karmin Wells (37, Detroit, beloved ballroom community member shot in her home), Dream Johnson (28, Washington D.C., gunned down by three men who hurled slurs), and Laura Schueler (47, Cincinnati). The publication

https://19thnews.org/2025/11/trans-day-of-remembrance-anti-trans-rhetoric/#2025-11-20 2025-11-20T00:00:00Z

The 19th reported on Trans Day of Remembrance 2025, noting 27 violent deaths and 21 suicides of trans people in the U.S. over the past year. Human Rights Campaign data (tracking since 2013) shows that most trans people violently killed are people of color killed by firearms. Advocates called out the Trump administration's anti-trans executive orders as fanning the flames of hate and driving trans people further to the margins.

https://transequality.org/news/a4te-releases-2025-trans-day-remembrance-report#2025-11-13 2025-11-13T00:00:00Z

Advocates for Trans Equality released their annual Remembrance Report ahead of Trans Day of Remembrance, documenting 58 known trans deaths since November 2024, including 27 violent deaths. Of those killed by violence, 63% were Black trans women — a devastating illustration of how anti-trans violence disproportionately targets Black trans communities. The report also recorded 21 suicides, with 61% of those under age 24.

https://btac.blacktrans.org/conference/btac26-big-easy-new-chapter/#2026-01-08 2026-01-08T00:00:00Z

The 13th National Black Trans Advocacy Conference & Awards Gala is headed to New Orleans, April 21-26, 2026, marking 15 years of BTAC service. Theme: 'Rooted Liberation: The Big Easy Journey to Peace Within & Freedom Together.' Week includes welcome brunch, interfaith ceremony, TransManifest Live, Black Trans International Pageants, the Black Trans Advocacy Awards Gala, and the Black Diamond Ball. Registration: $325 full conference.

https://www.lemkininstitute.com/red-flag-alerts/red-flag-alert---anti-trans-genocide-in-the-usa---%233#2026-03-11 2026-03-11T00:00:00Z

The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention — an internationally recognized body — issued its third escalating Red Flag Alert for anti-trans persecution in the United States. The alert documents the systematic dismantling of legal protections, healthcare access, and recognition for trans people, drawing parallels to early-stage genocide indicators. The Institute noted the Bureau of Prisons conversion therapy policy as a key escalation.

https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/eeoc-upholds-restrictions-gender-affirming-care-coverage-federal-workers-2026-03-26/#2026-03-24 2026-03-24T00:00:00Z

The Republican-controlled EEOC ruled that restricting gender-affirming care from federal health insurance plans is not discrimination, overturning its own 2024 ruling. The decision used language like 'sex-rejecting services' and cited the Skrmetti ruling. Affects FEHB plans covering millions of federal employees, retirees, and families. Commissioner Kotagal dissented, saying the ruling 'relegates transgender individuals to second-class status.'

https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/idaho-passes-legislation-criminalizing-transgender-use-public-bathrooms-2026-03-27/#2026-03-27 2026-03-27T00:00:00Z

Idaho's legislature passed a bill criminalizing trans people's bathroom use not just in government buildings but in all private businesses. First offense: misdemeanor, up to 1 year in jail. Second offense within 5 years: felony, up to 5 years in prison. Penalties are harsher than Idaho's first-time DUI. Governor expected to sign. Idaho is the first state to extend criminal bathroom penalties to the entire private sector.

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/05/trump-gorka-counter-terrorism-transgender-antifa-docuiment/#2026-05-06 2026-05-06T00:00:00Z

Released May 6, 2026, the Trump administration's 2026 Counterterrorism Strategy explicitly lists groups with 'radically pro-transgender' ideology among domestic terrorism threats, alongside Islamist groups. NSC senior director Sebastian Gorka publicly referred to trans activists as 'transgender killers.' The Trans Journalists Association issued newsroom guidance warning that the framing creates a chilling effect on trans organizing, advocacy, and journalism, and risks legitimizing surveillance a

https://www.advocate.com/news/judge-boasberg-ftc-wpath-endocrine-society#May 8, 2026 2026-05-08T00:00:00Z

On May 8, 2026, U.S. District Court Chief Judge James Boasberg granted preliminary injunctions to both the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) and the Endocrine Society, blocking the Federal Trade Commission from enforcing investigative civil demands against the two medical organizations. WPATH and the Endocrine Society had argued the FTC investigations into their gender-affirming care guidelines were politically motivated and violated their First Amendment rights. The

https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2026/04/20/gov-lee-tenncare-gender-transition-ban/89644580007/#April 16, 2026 2026-04-16T00:00:00Z

Governor Bill Lee signed this measure into law on April 16, 2026. It bars TennCare — Tennessee's Medicaid program — from covering any gender transition treatments, surgeries, or hormone therapies. Removes coverage for thousands of low-income trans Tennesseans who rely on TennCare for primary care. Stacks with Tennessee's existing youth gender-affirming care ban (upheld in Skrmetti) and the pending SB 676 trans healthcare data tracker.

https://www.advocate.com/politics/states/tennessee-republicans-transgender-attacks#April 22, 2026 2026-04-22T00:00:00Z

Passed the Tennessee legislature in April 2026 and awaits Governor Lee's signature. Expands an existing Tennessee law by adding honorifics to the list of titles that public school teachers and public employees cannot be required to use. In practice, this targets Mx., they/them pronouns, and gender-neutral honorifics — protecting employees who refuse to respect a trans student's, colleague's, or community member's stated identity.

https://www.advocate.com/politics/states/tennessee-republicans-transgender-attacks#April 22, 2026 2026-04-22T00:00:00Z

Passed both chambers in late April 2026 and on Gov. Lee's desk. SB 936/HB 1271 requires state and local governments to revise policies so that references to sex or gender are defined as 'immutable' characteristics determined at birth, and bars new policies using a different definition after July 1, 2026. The bill would override local non-discrimination protections in Nashville, Oak Ridge, and other Tennessee cities. (Note: the housing/shelters/detention provisions are a separate bill — HB 571/SB

https://www.aclumontana.org/press-releases/montana-supreme-court-blocks-law-barring-transgender-people-from-updating-identity-documents/#April 14, 2026 2026-04-14T00:00:00Z

On April 14, 2026, the Montana Supreme Court issued a landmark 5-2 ruling declaring that 'transgender discrimination is, by its very nature, sex discrimination,' and that transgender people constitute a suspect class under the state's equal protection clause. Justice Laurie McKinnon wrote that any Montana law singling out transgender people will now face strict scrutiny — the same standard applied to laws that discriminate based on race. The ruling blocks SB 458 (a 2023 binary sex definition law

https://www.fire.org/news/victory-fire-supported-campus-speech-bill-signed-law-tennessee-governor#May 1, 2026 2026-05-01T00:00:00Z

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed SB 1741/HB 1476 — the 'Charlie Kirk Act' — into law on May 1, 2026. The law reshapes how public colleges and universities regulate campus speech and protests. It provides special protections for speakers opposing 'transgender' identities, limits protests, and restricts university authority over controversial speakers. Affects Tennessee public universities including HBCUs like Tennessee State University, where Black trans students would face increased exposure to pr

https://sacramento.newsreview.com/2026/04/21/trump-wants-data-on-californias-trans-and-abortion-care-can-the-state-stop-him/#April 16, 2026 2026-04-16T00:00:00Z

California Assembly Bill 1930, co-sponsored by Attorney General Rob Bonta, would prohibit medical providers from complying with federal subpoenas seeking abortion or gender-affirming care data without first notifying the state attorney general, patients, and affected providers. Providers must inform the AG within 7 days of receiving a legal demand; the AG has 30 days to review before compliance. Violators face civil penalties up to $15,000 per violation. The bill responds to Trump administration

https://mjwebster-png.github.io/for-us-hub/#person-layleen-polanco-xtravaganza# 2026-05-16T21:38:45Z

Afro-Latina trans woman, mother in the House of Xtravaganza, beloved ballroom figure — Layleen Polanco Xtravaganza was a mother in the legendary House of Xtravaganza, one of the founding houses of the New York ballroom scene. Within the house she mentored younger members and was widely loved for her warmth and her style. She died at Rikers Island on June 7, 2019 at age 27, held on a $

https://mjwebster-png.github.io/for-us-hub/#person-sandra-caldwell# 2026-05-16T21:38:45Z

Black trans woman actress and singer who spent decades building a career before publicly coming out in 2017, featured in Disclosure — Sandra Caldwell built a decades-long acting and singing career — with recurring roles on Canadian series Little Men and The Book of Negroes and US film appearances — before publicly coming out as a trans woman in 2017 when cast in the lead role of Chicago's production of Charm, playing Black trans e

https://mjwebster-png.github.io/for-us-hub/#person-dominique-jackson# 2026-05-16T21:38:45Z

Black trans woman actress, author, and activist; fled anti-trans persecution in Trinidad to build a career in New York — Dominique Jackson built her career across fashion and advocacy in New York before her breakout as Elektra Abundance on FX's Pose — a role she described as autobiographical in its themes of family rejection and survival. Born in Scarborough, Trinidad and Tobago, she fled persecution as a trans woman

https://mjwebster-png.github.io/for-us-hub/#person-indya-moore# 2026-05-16T21:38:45Z

Afro-Taíno trans nonbinary actor, model, and activist; star of Pose; first trans person on the cover of U.S. Elle — Indya Moore built their career from Bronx foster care to starring as Angel Evangelista in FX's Pose, and in doing so became one of the most prominent nonbinary trans actors of color in global media. In May 2019 they became the first trans person to appear on the cover of U.S. Elle magazine. Time nam

https://mjwebster-png.github.io/for-us-hub/#person-michaela-jae-rodriguez# 2026-05-16T21:38:45Z

Black trans woman actress and singer, first trans actress to win a Golden Globe, star of Pose — Michaela Jaé Rodriguez built her career through years of New York stage work before landing the lead role of Blanca Evangelista in Ryan Murphy's FX series Pose (2017–2021), the largest cast of trans actors in a scripted series in television history. In 2021 she became the first openly trans woman no

https://mjwebster-png.github.io/for-us-hub/#person-ashton-mota# 2026-05-16T21:38:45Z

Black and Afro-Latino trans man youth advocate, face of Massachusetts' landmark transgender rights ballot victory — Ashton Mota became a public face of Massachusetts' 'Yes on 3' campaign at age 14 — the first statewide ballot-box victory explicitly protecting transgender rights in US history (2018) — and has since become one of the most visible young Black trans men in national advocacy. He introduced President B

https://mjwebster-png.github.io/for-us-hub/#archive-nyc-trans-oral-history-project# 2026-05-16T21:38:45Z

The NYC Trans Oral History Project collects and archives oral history interviews with trans and gender non-conforming people in New York City, with a significant proportion of interviewees being people of color, including Black trans women and Latinx trans women. The archive is housed at the New York Public Library and freely available online. It includes interviews with figures involved in the ba

https://mjwebster-png.github.io/for-us-hub/#archive-trans-women-of-color-collective-twocc-legacy-archive# 2026-05-16T21:38:45Z

TWOCC's organizational website includes a documented legacy section tracing its founding in the aftermath of Islan Nettles' 2013 murder, built by thirteen trans women of color including Lourdes Ashley Hunter. While not a formal archive, TWOCC preserves the organizational history and founding documents of one of the most significant Black trans-led organizations in contemporary history, and serves

https://mjwebster-png.github.io/for-us-hub/#archive-house-of-gg-griffin-gracy-educational-and-historical-center# 2026-05-16T21:38:45Z

Founded and led by Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, the House of GG (Griffin-Gracy Educational and Historical Center) is a center for healing and leadership development for transgender women and men of color in the US South, currently based in Little Rock, Arkansas. While not primarily an archive in the traditional sense, it functions as a living repository of Black trans elder knowledge and history, and

https://mjwebster-png.github.io/for-us-hub/#event-wave-of-state-anti-trans-legislation-sustained-assault#2024–2026 2026-05-16T21:38:45Z

Beginning in 2021 and accelerating sharply from 2023 onward, state legislatures across the United States passed hundreds of bills targeting transgender people — restricting gender-affirming care, banning trans youth from sports, removing trans people from public accommodations, and mandating classroom erasure of trans identity. The scope and speed of this legislation represents the most sustained

https://mjwebster-png.github.io/for-us-hub/#event-raquel-willis-publishes-the-risk-it-takes-to-bloom#November 2023 2026-05-16T21:38:45Z

Raquel Willis published her memoir The Risk It Takes to Bloom: On Life and Liberation in November 2023 — the story of growing up Black, queer, trans, and Southern, and building a life of resistance and joy. The book joins a tradition of Black trans memoir and testimony that insists on the full humanity of Black trans women. Willis co-founded the Gender Liberation Movement the same year, continuing

https://mjwebster-png.github.io/for-us-hub/#event-michaela-jae-rodriguez-wins-golden-globe-first-trans-actor#January 2026-05-16T21:38:45Z

On January 9, 2022, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez became the first openly transgender actor to win a Golden Globe, receiving the award for Best Actress in a Television Drama for her portrayal of Blanca Evangelista in Pose. She had already become the first trans woman nominated for a lead Emmy in 2021. Both milestones were achieved by a Black trans woman of Puerto Rican heritage — a fact that matters in t

https://mjwebster-png.github.io/for-us-hub/#event-tony-mcdade-killed-by-tallahassee-police#May 2026-05-16T21:38:45Z

On May 27, 2020 — three days after George Floyd's murder — Tony McDade, a 38-year-old Black trans man, was shot and killed by a Tallahassee Police Department officer. McDade's death amplified demands that the Movement for Black Lives explicitly center Black trans people, not just cisgender Black men. Early media reports repeatedly misgendered McDade as a woman. Over 100 LGBTQ organizations signed

https://mjwebster-png.github.io/for-us-hub/#2026-05-15 2026-05-15T00:00:00Z

Added 17 more Black trans, Black trans masc, and Black queer people to the History section, including TS Madison, Imara Jones, Cherno Biko, Kylar Broadus, Sean Saifa Wall, Michaela Jaé Rodriguez, Indya Moore, Dominique Jackson, Layleen Polanco, and others. The People list now has 50 entries.

https://mjwebster-png.github.io/for-us-hub/#2026-05-15 2026-05-15T00:00:00Z

Added 10 timeline entries spanning 1992 through 2022 — including Tyra Hunter's death (1995), the founding of Black Lives Matter by Black queer women (2013), the first White House meeting focused on trans women of color (2015), and Mj Rodriguez's Golden Globe (2022). Timeline now has 39 entries.

https://mjwebster-png.github.io/for-us-hub/#2026-05-15 2026-05-15T00:00:00Z

Added 6 archives including the National Museum of African American History LGBTQ+ Collection (Smithsonian), the OUTWORDS oral history archive, the TransGriot archive of Monica Roberts' Black trans journalism, House of GG's educational and historical center, the TWOCC legacy archive, and the NYC Trans Oral History Project.

https://mjwebster-png.github.io/for-us-hub/#2026-05-15 2026-05-15T00:00:00Z

Each History entry now has its own permalink, and the People and Timeline sub-sections have category filter chips so visitors can browse by identity, role, era, or theme instead of scrolling 50+ cards linearly.

https://mjwebster-png.github.io/for-us-hub/#2026-05-15 2026-05-15T00:00:00Z

Standardized lifespan formats across all 50 People entries (b. YYYY for living, YYYY–YYYY for deceased, c. prefix for approximate). Re-framed Layleen Polanco's bio to lead with her life in the House of Xtravaganza rather than her death.