Bethany (Beth) Sousa is the Senior Policy Counselor for Planned Parenthood, an organization that focuses on reproductive health and advocacy for gender affirming care and bodily autonomy. This care is of high quality and focuses on people with lower incomes, making this a very accessible way of receiving healthcare. Beth was drawn to this line…
Sylvie, my Citizen Action Project partner, and I arrived at St. Vartan Park in Manhattan at roughly 6:30 p.m. for a protest fighting for the rights of trans kids. There was already a crowd forming, with people holding signs and flags. Many of the signs had notable phrases: “New York is Helping Fascists Follow Their…
Sylvie, my Citizen Action Project partner, and I watched a documentary titled “The Fight for Gender-Affirming Care.” This documentary was hosted by Arielle Duhaime-Ross, a trans journalist who fights for the rights of trans people. The documentary focused on specific stories, laws, and statistics in the United States about gender affirming care. They opened with…
All eighth graders in LREI went to the Museum of the City of New York, where we learned about topics such as the Civil Rights Movement, the Women’s Liberation Movement, and the Trans Liberation Movement. I was specifically drawn to the Trans Liberation section, since not only did it relate to my Citizen Action Project,…
My citizen action project partner, Sylvie, and I attended the People’s March (formerly the Women’s March). We marched to show our support for all oppressed communities all over the United States who will be affected negatively by Donald Trump’s presidency and/or republican leaders in the US. We arrived in Foley Square at around 9:40 a.m.,…
Sylvie, my citizen action project partner, and I have been thinking about creating a safe space for trans and non-binary individuals since 7th grade. Although we are running a Gender and Sexuality Affinity group, we found that many trans people didn’t feel comfortable sharing their experiences to cisgender people. That idea made our current trans…
My CAP partner, Sylvie, and I walked into the learning lab nervously. As we started the meeting, we saw Paul’s face on our screen. When we realized that the Zoom meeting’s audio and video were barely working, we had to log onto a different computer and restart the interview. Once we finally got started, the…
An interview with Ava Dawson, one of LREI’s school nurses. Sylvie, my Citizen Action Project partner, and I walked into the learning lab and prepared ourselves for an interview with Ava Dawson, a school nurse working at LREI. As we got onto the Zoom meeting, I started to relax. Ava was kind and welcoming, which…
