Trans Day of Remembrance & Welfare Justice Campaign Launch Tomorrow

Come out tomorrow for the Trans Day of Remembrance to honor the trans and gender non-conforming people in our community. There will also be an update about the welfare justice campaign (click here to learn more and sign the petition).

WHEN: Tomorrow, November 20th
6-8pm for the Trans Day of Remembrance
8-11pm for the Welfare Justice Launch party

WHERE: The Audre Lorde Project / 85 South Oxford Street in Brooklyn
(Directions to ALP can be found here.)

This event is being organized by: Audre Lorde Project/TransJustice, Housing Works, Queers for Economic Justice, and Sylvia Rivera Law Project.

Read More

Support the 4th Annual NYC Trans Day of Action for Social & Economic Justice

Irish Queers has signed on as allies of the 4th Annual Trans Day of Action. Though we are probably most well known for our 17 year (and counting) stand-off on Fifth Avenue over the St. Patrick's Day Parade with the bigots of the Ancient Order of Hibernians (and FDNY & NYPD), we are active on a variety of social justice issues. Unlike most of the NYC Irish/Irish American community, we hold in our hearts a reading of Irish history that champions resistance and fights oppression against all odds. For this reason, we see standing with TransJustice and all Trans and Gender Non-Conforming People of Color as not only an expression of our loyalty and solidarity to our queer community, but also as an expression of what being Irish truly means to us. Please stand with us and support this important march @ City Hall Park @ 3pm on Friday, June 27 to kick off Pride weekend.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

The 4th Annual NYC Trans Day of Action for Social and Economic Justice

Points of Unity

Initiated by TransJustice of the Audre Lorde Project, a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Two-Spirit, Trans and Gender Non-Conforming People of Color Center for Community Organizing

We call on our Trans and Gender Non-Conforming (TGNC) community and on all of our allies from many movements to join us for the 4th Annual Trans Day of Action for Social and Economic Justice. We as TGNC People of Color (POC) recognize the importance of working together alongside other movements to change the world we want to see. We live in a time when people of color, immigrants and poor people are disproportionately underserved, face higher levels of discrimination, heightened surveillance and experience increased violence at the hands of the state. It is critical that we unite and work together towards dismantling the transphobia, racism, classism, sexism, ageism, ableism, homophobia and xenophobia that permeates throughout our movements for social justice. Let’s come together to let the world know that TGNC rights will not be undermined and together we will not be silenced! These are the points of unity, which hold together the purpose of this important march:

*We demand that TGNC people have equal access to employment and education opportunities. We are outraged by the high numbers of TGNC people who are unemployed. Many TGNC people continue to face blatant discrimination and harassment from employers due to systemic transphobia. Few TGNC people have access to opportunities for learning in a safe school environment. TGNC people demand that all employers and educational institutions implement non-discrimination policies that respect the rights of all workers and students and that they comply with the NYC Human Rights Law that prohibits discrimination against gender identity and expression!

*We demand that all people receiving public assistance entitlements including TGNC People of Color, be treated with respect and dignity. We stand in solidarity with all people living on public assistance. The NYC agency responsible for the administration of public welfare, the Human Resources Administration (HRA), continues to ignore our demands to address the systemic problems that exist internally and perpetuate the transphobia and harassment faced by TGNC people of color when applying for benefits such as welfare, access to shelters, access to culturally competent and sensitive healthcare, drug treatment programs, adult protective services, eviction prevention, and other essential services. We demand that the NYC HRA: conduct an internal investigation of these incidents; follow NYC ‘Guidelines Regarding Gender Identity Discrimination’ and develop means of enforcement; implement mandatory cultural competency training on gender identity/expression; implement a fully accessible process for reporting incidents of discrimination; and, commit to prioritize hiring of TGNC employees.

*We demand the full legalization of all immigrants. TGNC people deserve the right to access competent and respectful immigration services. We demand that the consulates of all countries respect and honor our identities and issue passports and other documentation that accurately reflects who we are. We oppose the guest worker program, the Real ID Act, enforcement provisions to build more walls and give greater powers to the Department of Homeland Security, increased barriers for asylum seekers, the HIV ban and other anti-immigrant policies that continue to divide our communities.

*We stand in solidarity with all prisoners, especially the many TGNC people behind the walls who are often invisible even within prisoner’s rights movements. We call attention to the under-reported accounts of severe violence and rape that our community faces at the hands of correction officers and other prisoners. We demand an end to the torture and high level of discrimination TGNC prisoners face. We demand that all TGNC prisoners receive competent and respectful healthcare. We oppose the continued growth of the prison industrial complex that continues to target our communities, yet we recognize that TGNC people need access to services and facilities that lessen our vulnerability to violence within the present jails and prisons. We are opposed to the closing of the “gay and Trans housing” unit on Rikers. We call attention to the criminal injustice system that increasingly puts POC, immigrants, TGNC people and poor people behind bars - further criminalizing our communities and our lives.

*We demand that TGNC people have access to respectful and safe living spaces. Many TGNC people face severe discrimination from landlords and housing administrators displacing us from our homes due to gender identity or expression. A disproportionate number of TGNC people have been or are currently homeless. However, many homeless TGNC people continue to face discrimination when trying to access shelters and other assisted living programs. NYC law and the Department of Homeless Services (DHS) state that people will be placed in shelters according to that person’s gender identity and that discrimination based on gender identity will not be tolerated. We demand that all DHS shelter administrators continue to provide adequate Trans sensitivity trainings for all personnel and enforce clear non-discrimination policies that respect the dignity of all homeless people.

*We demand that all children and youth, under the jurisdiction of the Administration of Children Services (ACS) and Private Foster Care Agencies, have the right to the freedom of gender expression and identity. In the 2002-landmark case Jean Doe v. Bell, it was established that children in NYC’s foster care system cannot be discriminated against for being transgender and cannot be forced to only wear clothing associated with their birth gender. Government institutions like ACS and private foster care agencies must be accountable for the health of people under their care, and recognize that this responsibility must include TGNC people and Trans related health care. We demand that ACS initiates a full investigation of all the incidents of misallocation of personal funds and the violations of confidentiality issues that have negatively affected the lives of children and youth under their care.

*We oppose the Bush Administration’s “War on Terrorism” as an excuse to legitimize the expansion of the U.S. as a imperial super power and to justify a national security strategy that is really meant to militarize our boarders and heighten surveillance and control over people living in the U.S., separating our communities by fostering feelings of hate, xenophobia, and violence. Every day we see more and more of our basic human rights like healthcare, jobs, education, housing, privacy, self-determination and the right of dissent slipping away from all of us. We must stand up now to demand the immediate removal of all U.S. troops from all countries under occupation and demand an end of use of U.S. dollars to cultivate and sponsor wars against people in the U.S. and abroad.

*We demand justice for the many TGNC people who have been beaten, assaulted, raped, and murdered yet these incidents continue to be silenced, misclassified or blamed on the victim. The police and the media continue to criminalize us even when we try to defend ourselves. An increase in hate crime laws will not solve the problem but will give increased power to the state to put more people in jail. Instead we call for a unified effort for all of us to look deeper into the root causes of why these incidents happen. As a society that seeks social justice we seek to find ways of holding people accountable and coming to a joint understanding of how we can make our communities safer for all of us. Like many other oppressed communities like communities of color, immigrants and the poor, TGNC people are also targeted, profiled and brutalized by the police. We demand an end to the profiling, harassment, arrest, brutality and murder that occurs at the hands of the police! These incidents of violence do not occur in isolation, and are aggravated by racism, sexism, classism, xenophobia, misogyny, ageism and damaging strict heterosexist values.

We stand in solidarity with the family of Sean Bell, who are still tirelessly working towards justice after the police were later acquitted of charges. We stand in solidarity with the Jersey 4, 4 Lesbian women arrested in the West Village for defending themselves from a man that assaulted them. We stand in solidarity with Miriam, a transgender woman who was pushed out the window of her 4th floor apt and left for dead. We commemorate the memory of Amanda Milan, Sakia Gunn, Ruby Ordeñana, Gwen Araujo, Erika Keels, Victoria Arellano, Lawrence King, Saneesha Stewart and the many other brave souls we have lost, who struggled and lived their lives fearlessly day in and day out, being true to who they were. They keep the fire of struggle burning within all of us.

On June 27, 2008, TGNC People of Color and allies will take on the streets of New York City once again and demand justice to let the world know that the Stonewall rebellion is not over and we will continue fighting for social and economic justice, raising our voices until we are heard. We call on all social justice activists from communities of color, the LGBT movement, immigrant rights movement, the anti-war movement, the reproductive rights movement, youth and student groups, trade unions and worker organizations, religious communities and HIV/AIDS and social service agencies, both local and organizations around the country to endorse this call to action and to build contingents to march in solidarity together on June 27, 2008.

Click here for more information about TransJustice.

Read More

On Gay Marriage & Gavin Newsom...

After reading Cahir O'Doherty's May 29th Irish Voice article titled, Newsom Applauds Gay Marriage Ruling, we couldn't help but make a few comments.

It's great to see the Irish Voice covering LGBT issues! Not all Irish/Irish Americans are hardcore homophobes, and it's nice to see an Irish paper profiling issues pertaining to those of us Irish folks that fall outside of an ultra-conservative Catholic world view.

While it is positive that Gavin Newsom, an Irish Catholic heterosexual man from a privileged family, has stood by the affluent sector of the LGBT community in the fight for marriage equality, it is important to remember that Newsom is not a friend to all sectors of the LGBT community.

In the city of San Francisco, Newsom was responsible for Care Not Cash (Proposition N), a paternalistic program designed to cut cash grants given to homeless people in general assistance programs in exchange for encouraging them to enter shelters and seek other social services. This program limited the autonomy of homeless people and attempted to keep them off the street and out of sight, and was also meant to ensure any cash issued was not being used to buy drugs or alcohol.

In another attempt to "improve the quality of life" in San Franciso, Newsom also sponsored Proposition M, known as the "aggressive anti-panhandling measure." This measure defined "aggressive panhandling" as touching, following or threatening people and banned all forms of begging near ATMs, parking lots, check-cashing businesses, median strips, highway ramps, and on public transportation. (This measure even made it so that Girl Scouts could no longer peddle their cookies in Safeway supermarket parking lots.)

(And that's just a bit on two of Newsom's policies. Really, we could go on and on.)

We point this out because contrary to stereotypes, not all LGBT people are rich & white. Our community is every community - Black, Asian, Indigenous, Latino, white, multi-racial, multi-ethnic, rich, poor, working class, middle class....you get the picture. The gay marriage ruling in California is a step forward, and it is commendable that Governor Paterson here in NY is seeking to recognize same-sex marriages from other states, but it is crucial that LGBT folks stay active on issues beyond gay marriage. To us, Gavin Newsom cannot be considered a hero to the LGBT community when he has such a strong record on "quality of life" issues that criminalize poor folks, which includes LGBT folks.

So again, kudos to the Irish Voice for covering more Irish/Irish American LGBT issues, but we can't in good conscience join in on any Gavin Newsom admiration. But blogs were made for this very reason, to debate and voice other opinions. And in our case, our opinions always veer to the left and are always tied to a human rights for all framework.

Read More

Race for Economic Justice this Saturday 5/17

This Saturday Queers for Economic Justice (QEJ) will be holding its Amazingly Queer Race for Economic Justice. This city-wide event will bring together a multitude of social justice organizations, celebrities, businesses and local and national community members to raise awareness of and gain support for QEJ and to further the necessary, unique and groundbreaking social and political work we do for low-income New Yorkers. This event will be comprised of 100 people, working in pairs as 50 teams, competing in a skill-based race/scavenger hunt throughout the city. Each team will be sponsored by family, friends, community members, organizations and businesses.

If you are interested in participating, please visit their MySpace page by clicking here. Please support this event by either volunteering or making a donation.

Queers for Economic Justice (QEJ) is a progressive non-profit organization committed to challenging the systems that create poverty and economic injustice in our communities and promoting an economic system that enhances sexual and gender diversity. They work with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people who are homeless, are on public assistance and/or are immigrants.

Read More

Marching for economic justice......

....is a beautiful thing.


Jay Toole from QEJ speaking at the rally

Read More

March for Economic Justice TODAY

Join Irish Queers today as we join Queers for Economic Justice in their day of action for economic justice.

The Rally - 3pm in Union Square Park

The March down Broadway - 4-5pm

Community Dinner/Celebration - 5-7:30pm at Judson Memorial Church

See you there!

April 17th Economic Justice Day of Action – Points of Unity

The Economic Justice Day of Action is an initiative of the Welfare Warriors, a project of Queers for Economic Justice. We are a group of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Gender Non-conforming (LGBTGNC) people with experience of poverty, who organize to make the welfare system accountable to low-income LGBTGNC people, and to improve the benefits available for all low-income people. Through direct action, community education, and coalition-building with other progressive organizations we seek to empower our communities, and to connect our struggle for welfare rights to larger struggles for social justice.

On April 17th, 2008 LGBTGNC people facing issues of poverty will have the opportunity to give voice to our struggles in a rally, march and community event. Despite the dominant media images of gay, white, affluent men, innumerable queer, trans and gender nonconforming people of color and white people survive high levels of poverty and economic based violence on a daily basis.

Classism and the Mainstream LGBT Movement
For too long our voices have been stifled by a homophobic/transphobic society. Moreover, because of racism and classism, our issues are overlooked and thereby not part of the mainstream LGBT-rights agenda.

Prior to the gay marriage movement, numerous LGBT organizations were busy fighting hate crimes by using conservative, tough-on-crime tactics of increased jail time, instead of progressive alternatives.

Today the fight for state-sanctioned marriage has completely eclipsed other attempts to address more pressing issues faced by poor LGBTGNC people such as, homelessness, unemployment, inadequate healthcare, immigrant-rights, police brutality, etc.

Poor LGBTGNC people are frequently profiled and pushed out of LGBT spaces that should be open us. All too often our behaviors are policed and we are labeled as being too poor, uneducated/unqualified, “acting ghetto”, too ethnic, or simply not exhibiting characteristics stereotypically linked to a white, middle-class upbringing.

We urge economically privileged Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender people to challenge this policing against our community and work hard to ensure that it is not reproduced within spaces they control.

Welfare Rights

Since the 1996 welfare reform act we have seen the steady erosion of welfare rights and benefits, which has led to increased homelessness and hunger in NY. We fight for the guarantee of economic security both because it is fundamental to our personal well-being, as well as critical for our ability to collectively organize in our communities, instead of just surviving.

We demand that the Human Resources Administration (HRA) comply with NYC Human Rights Law, which protects trans and gender non-conforming people from discrimination.
We condemn current welfare policies that:

• increase proof of citizenship requirements for Medicaid applicants and denial of health coverage to non-citizens or people who can not prove citizenship.


• relegate poor people to low-skilled jobs, through welfare programs like the Work Experience Program, where we are not offered living wages, benefits and/or opportunities to learn new skills.


• cut States’ welfare funding if they fail to plug enough poor people into low-paying, dead-end jobs.


• do not recognize non-biological lesbian mothers as family


• force LGBTGNC substance users, who are addicted and seek public assistance, into homophobic/transphobic treatment programs, where they sometimes drop out and are denied benefit


• enable discrimination and harassment of LGBTGNC people at welfare centers and/or workfare sites, which eventually compels us drop out and earn a living in ways that are criminalized by the State.


• enforce heterosexual marriage by allocating $100 million for marriage promotion and $50 million for “responsible fatherhood” programs.


• deny homeless LGBTGNC youth, who have been thrown out of their homes by homophobic/transphobic guardians, access to benefits because they can not provide letters from parents attesting to their independence

Housing/ Homeless Crisis in NYC
We are witnessing the crystallization of a comprehensive strategy to displace low-income people from New York. Corrupt and undemocratic political structures, such as the Rent Guidelines Board, erode affordable housing and fail to hold irresponsible landlords accountable for code violations and illegal evictions. At the same time the homeless population is increasingly criminalized through selective law enforcement that protects the “quality of life” of economically privileged New Yorkers. We oppose the concerted effort to gentrify and privatize public spaces homeless people call home, which typically leads to intensified targeting of poor and homeless people by the NYPD. The struggle, led by poor queer youth, to maintain public access to and use of the piers in the West Village, perfectly illustrates what happens when a previously public park with long LGBTGNC history is privatized. We commend the efforts of FIERCE! for fighting to maintain public access to public land and support the efforts of Harlem Tenants Council, CAAAV: Organizing Asian Communities & Movimiento en el Barrio in resisting gentrification in communities of color.

We applaud the Gender Identity Project, Sylvia Riviera Law Project, and other organizations that worked along side Queers for Economic Justice in successfully lobbying the Department of Homeless Services (DHS) to recognize gender self-determination in the New York City shelter system. We eagerly anticipate the full implementation of trans-sensitive policies, which would hopefully include comprehensive sensitivity trainings for staff at intake/assessment shelters.

We demand that:

• NYC develops truly affordable housing and, in particular, develops housing for people living with AIDS and other special needs.


• DHS acknowledge the violence LGBTGNC shelter residents face and make tangible steps to ending it/control of housing policy is returned to NYC through the repeal of the Urstadt Law, which took away home rule and brought rent-regulated housing under the control of an unaccountable state legislature.


• the city enforces its own maintenance codes which protect the well-being of tenants, instead of targeting the most vulnerable New Yorkers by enforcing classist “quality of life” initiatives.

Immigrant Justice

As Immigrants we are forced to leave our homes because of U.S. imperialist policies that strip us of our rights, ravage our land, pollute our air and waters, and corrupt our governments. Undocumented residents of the U.S. must survive the violence of poverty without access to welfare, or obtain jobs that pay below minimum wage and work under deplorable conditions. And even though all immigrants pay taxes either through paid work, sales tax, and other taxes, we are categorically denied access to many tax funded services. We condemn the racist and xenophobic “immigration debates” currently occurring in congress, and oppose indefinite and mandatory detention of non-citizens, as well as the mass incarceration of people of color and low-income communities in the U.S. more broadly.

As documented or undocumented residents in the US we:

• demand full access to ALL public benefits, genuine legalization and opportunities to adjust status for all undocumented immigrants, and the repeal of the HIV ban.


• oppose heightened policing and criminalization of immigrant communities, including the increased militarization of the border and the use of city and state agencies to enforce federal immigration law.
  

Police and State Violence

Poor and working class LGBTGNC people are constantly targeted by the NYPD and other law enforcement officials. We demand an end to the classist, racist, transphobic, and homophobic attacks by the NYPD and oppose any attacks that further funnel our community into the Prison Industrial Complex, which does not provide real safety for our communities. We applaud the Safe Outside the System Collective & Critical Resistance for the work they do to provide real accountability that does not rely on prisons, police or jails.

We call on all poor and working class people, as well as anti-poverty allies in NYC to endorse this call to action, build contingents to march together in solidarity on April 17th, 2008 & demand economic justice for our communities!

Read More