Nikai David, a Black Trans woman was murdered in Oakland. The Build Back Better Act includes tax refunds for LGBTQ couples married back in 2004. The upcoming Star Wars TV series “The Acolyte” has a Queer co-creator and set to star Amandla Stenberg. It will be the Queerest Star Wars ever.
Show Notes
00:00 – Welcome & Intro
00:29 – The Kaya Kollection Ad
01:05 – Intro Music
01:46 – Nikai David, a Black Trans woman was murdered in Oakland
03:22 – The Build Back Better Act includes tax refunds for LGBTQ couples married back in 2004
04:44 – The upcoming Star Wars TV series “The Acolyte” has a Queer co-creator and set to star Amandla Stenberg
05:31 – Anna’s Got a Word
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An intersectional approach to a daily news podcast where race & sexuality meet politics, entertainment and culture. Tune-in to reporting which centers & celebrates all of our lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer & comrade communities. Hosted by Anna DeShawn. 7 minutes a day, 5 days a week, ready by 9 a.m.
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Transcript
Family, this is your favorite Queer radio personality Anna DeShawn here with our Queer news from today.
Nikai David, a Black Trans woman was murdered in Oakland. The Build Back Better Act includes tax refunds for LGBTQ couples married back in 2004. The upcoming Star Wars TV series “The Acolyte” has a Queer co-creator and set to star Amandla Stenbert. It will be the Queerest Star Wars ever.
Our leading story for today is a sad one family. Nikai David, a Black trans woman, was murdered last week in Oakland. She was 33 years old and had just celebrated her birthday. Nikai was a model and influencer looking to open her own clothing store one day. Her family and friends remember her as a really sweet, considerate & fun loving person. Nikai, we speak your name today.
We know this has been the deadliest year on record for our Trans siblings. It’s being reported that Nikai is the 50th Trans person murdered this year. I must say and continue to reiterate that the increase is not just happenstance or a coincidence. It comes at a time where the most anti-trans & anti-lgbt legislation has been introduced & passed in state legislatures across the country. We are also living in a time where anti-trans rhetoric is amplified not just inside the walls of the state legislature but in the media as well; i.e. the Dave Chappelle comedy special and the subsequent social media diatribe of hate and misinformation. We must protect our Trans fam and if you don’t know how here is my sage advice. I believe in time, treasure, and talent. If you have time, volunteer at Trans-led &/or LGBTQ organizations. If you have money, give to those same organizations. You have talent, we all do. Offer it up to these same organizations who are doing the work. We don’t have to always reinvent the wheel, help build up what already exists family.
Our next story is about the Build Back Better Act. Yea try saying that three times fast, okay. If you’re into politics you’ve of course heard of it as its another big ticket initiative of the Biden administration. By big ticket I mean it’s a trillion dollar initiative with key points such as child care funding for children under 6, expanding pre-K to 3 & 4 year olds for free, money to fight climate change and taxing the rich. It would be landmark legislation which has working folks at the heart of it. One piece of the act that doesn’t get a lot of press is the opportunity for LGBTQ couples to get tax refunds dated back to 2004. Allow me to explain, for LGBTQ couples who were legally married in 2004 before the federal measure passed would be eligible to amend past returns for every year they were married and receive those benefits aka money back. According to Steve Wamhoff, the director of federal tax policy at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, “This is a fair thing to do”… “People were married, but the federal government wasn’t recognizing their marriages.” Steve I couldn’t agree more and hopefully those who can benefit have the resources to amend their returns and get what they deserve. Of course all of this withstanding that this point remains in the legislation as it makes its way through the Senate. We will see.
In entertainment news today, Star Wars is Queering out in an upcoming TV series called The Acolyte which is set to begin production in 2022. Co-creator Lesyle Headland is first Queer person at the healm of an on-screen Star Wars production and she said, “In the same way that the original Star Wars film, A New Hope, is about a young man living in Modesto, [California], who doesn’t want to take over his dad’s hardware store… there’s just no way that me being a queer woman is not going to be reflected in my work. … “I could try not to do it, but why would I? It just feels like a natural extension of what I do.” If that wasn’t enough Amandla Stenberg, one of our fav Black Queer actors on the scene, will be starring it in as well. So you’ve got two Queer reasons to be on the lookout for this series.
Now it’s time for our word of the day. Ya’ll know Anna’s always got a word. In my affirmation journal this weekend it read, “I give thanks for the duality of life, the feminine & masculine and the numerous ways in which I express them in my life.” I did a double take on this one because this duality isn’t something I always gave thanks for. There are still moments when I go to put on a suit that I have slight anxiety on how I will be seen in the world. Oh but to give thanks for being exactly who I was created to be is a freeing revelation again and again. It never gets old. May we continue to tap into the courage it takes to be exactly who we are created to be. Till tomorrow family, peace.
Sources
LGBTQ Nation
Black trans woman who is a “beloved community member” is shot to death
