If there were a quantitative tool to show the level of crisis for LGBTQ people in our state and in our country, the numbers would be spiking right now.
Alarming news cycle: Over the last couple of weeks, a deplorable white supremacy march took place in Nashville soon after the city’s new rainbow crosswalk was vandalized. Under far Right activist pressure, Tractor Supply abandoned support for DEI, LGBTQ, and climate causes. A Clarksville City Council Member demonized Pride celebrations. The President released a stigmatizing position on aspects of gender-affirming care for trans youth. And we find the looming presidential election on shakier ground than it was before. All this has happened in the wake of a state legislative session in which we had to fight with all we had.
Need for engagement: It is not enough to hear “You are seen and loved” or to tell ourselves that we are resilient. We need to make our engagement specific to meet the moment. That can take a variety of forms, but one thing we must not do is abandon the public sphere that is supposed to be shared by all of us. We must be part of the conversation. Right now that means tough conversations. Real conversations. Asking questions and making our positions clear can help. Allies can help with this, too!
Asking Questions
Here are some questions you can ask to keep the pressure on and to start some constructive engagement with those in power. You can ask them at any time. For elected officials and candidates, ask regardless of their party affiliation. We cannot assume those in power or those seeking power are with us. Your engagement helps to elevate our issues to greater prominence.
To companies/businesses: What are you doing to increase your support of your LGBTQ employees and customers beyond Pride month?
To school board candidates: What programming and policies do you endorse to support LGBTQ students, faculty, and staff in our school district?
To state legislative candidates: Will you pledge to vote against and speak against legislation that targets the LGBTQ community? Feel free to ask candidates and sitting state legislators about their stances on proposed bills or existing laws.
To federal candidates (U.S. Senate/U.S. Congress): Do you pledge to support the Equality Act? Will you oppose efforts to attach discriminatory riders to bills?
Making Our Positions Clear
One old-fashioned way to make your voice heard is to write a letter to the editor when you see a story in your local or regional paper that moves you. Many people read every story and opinion piece. Yours might just give some people hope that they are not alone. Your letter could shape the views of key decision makers. You can increase engagement by sharing the link to your letter on social media. If you submit a letter and it is published, send us the link at [email protected] .
The Tennessean (Nashville area): https://static.tennessean.com/letter-editor/
The Commercial Appeal (Memphis area): https://static.commercialappeal.com/submit-letter/
The Daily Memphian (Memphis area): "The Daily Memphian welcomes a diverse range of views and invites readers to submit Letters to the Editor at [email protected]. Submissions should be fewer than 250 words in length. Preference will be given to letters addressing local issues. Writers must provide their name, city where they reside, email address and phone number. Letters that are published will include the writer’s name and city. Anonymous submissions will not be considered."
The Knoxville News Sentinel (Knoxville area): https://static.knoxnews.com/submit-letter/
Chattanooga Times Free Press (Chattanooga area): https://www.pressreader.com/usa/chattanooga-times-free-press/20190217/282926681663332
Clarksville Leaf Chronicle (Clarksville area): https://static.theleafchronicle.com/submitletter/
Daily News Journal (Murfreesboro area): https://static.dnj.com/submitaletter/
Johnson City Press (Northeast TN): https://www.johnsoncitypress.com/site/forms/online_services/letter_editor/
The Jackson Sun (West TN): https://static.jacksonsun.com/submit-letter/
Cookeville Herald-Citizen (Upper Cumberland): [email protected] . Read previous letters to get a sense of the typical word count of letters.
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Chris Sanders published this page in Blog 2024-07-07 23:42:03 -0500