I’m a Pediatrician Who Treats Trans Youth. Alabama Could Soon Put Me in Jail (them.) 

Morissa Ladinsky writes about the potential criminalization of treating trans youth: “I am a pediatrician today. But my state may soon brand me a felon for doing my job. I co-lead the Youth Multidisciplinary Gender Team at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, one of 55 subspecialty partnerships nationally that provide affirming care to pediatric patients. But a rapidly advancing bill in my state—Senate Bill 10—would criminalize doctors for providing this care, and it’s one hearing away from reaching Governor Kay Ivey’s desk.” Read more.

Being “Anti-Racist” Isn’t Enough. The Violence of Whiteness Itself Must Be Exposed. (Truthout) 

George Yancy asks us to confront the violence of whiteness: “Even if the movement for reparations someday transforms the profound economic disparities that fall along racial lines in this country—addressing income disparities, the wealth gap, housing and health care inequities, and unemployment disparities—a fundamental problem of anti-Black racism still won’t be solved. What remains is a fundamentally ontological problem: the reality of the being of whiteness, and its denial of Black humanity within white racist America.” Read more.

Teen Parents Need Access and Support, Not Shame and Scorn (Rewire News Group) 

Caroline Reilly urges us to offer teen parents access and support, rather than shame and scorn: “Much of the discourse surrounding pregnancy prevention and abortion access for young people comes at the cost of stigmatizing teen parents. Policy discussions about the need for better access to contraceptives and abortion for young people quickly devolve from it’s their choice to we don’t want teens to become parents! But it’s impossible to say minors are mature enough to make the abortion decision on their own, while simultaneously maligning those who choose to parent. This perpetuates harmful stigmas that marginalize pregnant and parenting teens. Teen pregnancy, like teen access to abortion, is about choice.” Read more.

Why Body Cameras Can Still Fail to Hold Police Accountable (Mother Jones) 

Nathalie Baptiste explains why body cameras can fail to hold police accountable: “On April 21, while attempting to serve a warrant, North Carolina police shot and killed Andrew Brown Jr., a 42-year-old Black man in Elizabeth City. The entire incident was recorded, since the officers involved were wearing body cameras. But actually seeing the footage of the shooting has been a challenge for Brown’s family, lawyers, and the wider public. Body-worn cameras are intended to provide transparency into policing. But they stop being a tool to protect the public from police brutality when the only people who end up with protection appear to be the cops who did the shooting, as seems to be the case with the officers who killed Brown.” Read more.

I’m An Autistic Sex Worker, And Here’s Why It Works For Me (The Huffington Post) 

Hayley Jade shares her experience of being an autistic sex worker: “While dating in my civilian life gives me extreme anxiety, when I’m working as Hayley I know exactly what to do and when. I greet clients at the door in lingerie and a robe, take their coat and their cash, excuse myself while I count and put it away―and then join them on the couch for refreshments I’ve laid out. [...] For me, it’s the perfect job for someone with ADHD and autism because there’s a routine but there’s also variety in my clients and how we spend our time.” Read more.

‘It Tears Families Apart’: Lawmakers Nationwide Are Moving to End Mandatory Sentencing (The Appeal) 

Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg discusses ending mandatory sentencing: “In New Jersey, a Black person is more than 12 times more likely to be imprisoned than a white person, according to a 2016 report by the Sentencing Project—the highest racial disparity rate in the nation. Eliminating mandatory minimums for certain nonviolent offenses will help reduce this disparity, according to the state’s sentencing commission’s 2019 annual report. The commission did not include data on the number of people serving a mandatory minimum sentence broken down by race, but it cited a National Academy of Sciences 2014 report that concluded racial disparities are ‘partly caused and substantially exacerbated’ by mandatory minimums.” Read more.

We'd love to connect with you! Find us on LinkedIn. You'll receive updates, business opportunities, job and volunteer opportunities, and connections to like-minded folks and companies. Follow us!