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[00:00:00] There’s no place like the [00:00:30] Qube.

Queer News, Queer News.

Family, it’s your favorite queer radio personality, Anna Deshawn, and this is Queer News, your favorite weekly news pod where race and sexuality meet politics, culture, [00:01:00] and entertainment. At the top of the show was Asher Havan singing the mess of the world. Out of unbreak my heart on The Voice last Tuesday, after 25 seasons of The Voice, Asher became the first out LGBTQ winner.

Yes, he did. He clinched the win with singing Last Dance by Donna Summer and I Will Always Love You by Whitney Houston. Yes, he did. Congratulations, [00:01:30] Asher.

Family, don’t forget the Queer News tip line is open and it stays open. I want to report on the stories that don’t make the news or a blog, things that are happening in your local communities. A link is in the show notes. Q Crew! What’s going on? Thank you for helping me to financially sustain this podcast.

I appreciate y’all so, so much. And if you don’t know, the Q Crew helps us supplement the costs of hosting, editing, marketing, PR, and marketing. [00:02:00] Travel. It’s a lot here. Okay. It takes a lot to produce this weekly podcast. So if you believe in the work we do, if you believe LGBTQ stories need to be amplified, if you love and respect how I report on the news and tell our stories, join the Q crew.

A link is in the show notes. Oh, and family don’t forget. To subscribe to our YouTube channel at E the number three radio, okay? E3 radio and turn on the notification so you don’t miss a thing. Now for the news, two more black [00:02:30] trans women were murdered. We remember Tay and Michelle today. In politics, Minnesota passes a law to protect queer books.

And South Carolina passes more anti trans policies. In culture and entertainment, Ziya and Dwayne Wade take their trans advocacy to the tech world, while the National Park Service has been busy banning the queers. But then they reversed it? Yeah, let’s get into it. Let’s go! Family, for our top news stories today, [00:03:00] we remember two black trans women.

First, let us remember Taye Dior Thomas. She was 17 years old, family, just 17, 17. She was shot in Alabama. Carl Washington Jr., 20 years old, has been charged with murder. And also charged with shooting into an occupied or unoccupied building or vehicle. Now reports are saying that Carl and Tay [00:03:30] were actually in a relationship.

So is this murder domestic violence? Is this a DV incident? Activists in Alabama are looking for it to be deemed a hate crime. And Tay’s grandmother said this, that she always had a huge smile on her face showing her dimples. And that she loved doing her hair, would help anyone. She also went on to say that she was shy, but also so fearless with a natural [00:04:00] leadership ability.

Karmarian Anderson, HRC’s State Director for Alabama, she said, In speaking with Tay’s family, it is clear how deeply she was loved and cared for. Her death is a massive loss. It’s for everyone who had the privilege of knowing her and for those who had not yet had the chance to do so. We speak Tay’s name today, family.

We also have to remember Michelle Henry, a 25 year old black trans woman who was murdered in Seattle. [00:04:30] San Francisco of all places. She was strangled. She was staffed and the police have Raymani Osashi in custody. She’s a 33 year old woman, and she’s being charged with the unlawful killing of a human being with malice aforethought.

We don’t know why Raymani killed Michelle. No reports are saying what happened. What was her motivations? But what we do know is that Michelle was really active in the San [00:05:00] Francisco LGBT Center’s youth program. And as Honey Mahogany, director of San Francisco’s Office of Transgender Initiatives said, Michelle was a treasured, member of their community.

They held a vigil for Michelle last week and San Francisco police department does have a tip line and they are asking for additional information. So if you have any, the number is 415 575 4444. Or you can text a tip to tip [00:05:30] TIP411 and begin the text message for the San Francisco police department, Michelle, we speak your name today in politics.

We’re going to celebrate a win coming out of Minnesota. They’re following the lead of California, Illinois, and Maryland to fight back against this huge push to ban books across the country and not just any books. Y’all already know books by queer folks, books by black and [00:06:00] Brown folks. Books that go against right wing propaganda.

And so last week, Minnesota governor Tim Walz, he signed a new law banning K through 12 schools, colleges, and public libraries from complying with removal requests, quote, solely based on the viewpoint, content, message, idea, or opinion conveyed. This is what I’m talking about. This is the type of [00:06:30] legislation we need.

I was so proud of Illinois when we passed such legislation because the people who are fighting against these books are a mighty few. They just don’t represent the majority. And honestly, in my opinion, if these are books, you don’t want your children to read, then you should be putting your children in private school or homeschooling them because public education is public education, but I digress.

Governor Tim Walz [00:07:00] of Minnesota said this, censorship has no place in our libraries. As a former teacher, I’m clear. We need to remember our history. Today I signed a bill into law putting an end to book bans based on ideology in Minnesota. I love this win in Minnesota and we need to see this trend happening across the country in states that are democratically led to send a message that we won’t stand for these book bans.

We need more of this. And less [00:07:30] of what’s happening in states like South Carolina that just banned gender affirming care for minors and it even limits access for adults. Why can’t they just let people live? I just don’t understand. And these bills have such awful names. They’re so misleading. This bill in South Carolina is called the Help Not Harm Bill.

Who are you helping? And please tell me who are you not harming because you are harming the mess out of every [00:08:00] LGBTQ citizen in your state. This bill also prohibits nurses, teachers, and school administrators from withholding information about a minor’s transgender identity from their parents, including requests to use pronouns that don’t align with their birth sex.

And of course, Like all of their legislation, this law took effect immediately. And now this is a perfect time for us to take a quick break. When we get back, we’re going to jump into [00:08:30] culture and entertainment. Hey Queer News fans, it’s Derek from E3 Radio here to tell you all about our latest show, Queer Open Mic.

One of our missions is to uplift and support the incredible talent within the LGBTQ plus community, and that’s exactly what we set out to do with this monthly showcase. Queer Open Mic will feature talents such as musicians, DJs, poets, and more. Head over to our YouTube channel at E3 Radio to catch the latest episodes.

And before you go, make sure to hit that subscribe button, turn on your notifications and share, share, share. That’s it for [00:09:00] me. And thank you for joining us in celebrating queer talent. Peace family. I’m Darren and I’m Esther. And this is Second Sunday, a podcast about black queer folk finding, keeping, and sometimes losing faith.

This season’s full of candid conversations. We’re talking to theologians, artists, activists, and community members living at the intersections of faith and Faith, spirituality, and identity. The saints ain’t ready for this, but we’re still going to talk about it. Second Sunday, find it wherever you get podcasts.[00:09:30]

Second Sunday is a Qube original podcast and is part of the PRX big questions project.

Family, welcome back to the show. And let’s just jump into culture and entertainment. My top story for today is about the Wade family. Okay. And I, I love them. I love them. Okay. Their power and celebrity is being used for good as it pertains to our community. And I love to see it. Recently, Dwayne and Ziya announced a new app called Translatable.[00:10:00]

It’s being backed by the Trevor Project and the Human Rights Campaign. Dwayne acknowledges that this is Ziya’s baby. Translatable is an online resource for trans youth and their families, especially those of color, because Ziya wanted to provide a space. Where they could get the information that they needed.

They acknowledge their own privileges and they said, everyone doesn’t have access. So we wanted to make it easy for people to have the access to the information that they need during that time. I am here [00:10:30] for all of this. Okay. At a time where there’s over 500. Anti LGBTQ bills, right, being presented across legislatures.

Yes, we need voices that are loud, that are powerful, that support our community. And the Wades have definitely been that. So if you or if you know somebody who needs these resources, visit translatableproject. com. Our next [00:11:00] story is about the National Park Service. They released a statement saying that their employees could not attend Pride dressed in their uniform.

Ooh, Chile. Little did they know the queers weren’t gonna have that because the queers love to camp, okay? The queers love to climb mountains. The queers love being outside. I am not one of those queers. I want to be very clear about that, but I know the queers that do okay. And Patagonia, she’s a popular drag performer and also an [00:11:30] advocate of climate justice, went to, went to the Instagram, okay, made a huge deal of this because she has had partnerships with the national park service.

So for them to seemingly take such a different approach really took people off guard. They began to censor their rationale around this policy that says that NPS employees cannot wear the uniform to events that would construe support for, quote, a particular issue, position, or political party. But Chile, [00:12:00] the queers was like, LGBTQ pride is not about an issue, position, or political party.

It’s about identity. It’s about diversity. Get them right all together, please. Okay. This is not about politics. This is about identity. This is about diversity. This is about equity. And it wasn’t two days later that the secretary of the interior, Deb Highland, reversed the entire policy. She sure did. She wrote in the message, [00:12:30] I want to ensure that every employee has the opportunity to thrive in a safe, inclusive and respectful environment.

That’s what she said. I don’t know where the messages got crossed, but she went about fixing it and she fixed it quickly, especially after the people raised all types of hails across the socials. But it’s good to see. That when we raise our voices and we have allies on the inside that they will reverse policy and reverse course When they see that something is not right So well done [00:13:00] National Park Service, but big ups big ups to the people Okay, and the queers that love being outside and we’re gonna stand for this period way to go Y’all

family now, it’s time for Anna’s got a word because Anna’s always got a word and As I was preparing for this week’s episode, I came across this story about Peggy Moore and Hope Wood. They are a power lesbian couple out of California who unexpectedly passed away in a car [00:13:30] accident together. They were in love for decades and made huge impacts on the politics in California, some major elections.

And the word that stood out to me over and over again, as I learned more about these powerful and impactful women was legacy. It was legacy. It was all the things that they were leaving behind because of the impacts that they had made. And I know people say life is short, but life can also be very long.

And so as we are still here, you know, walking on this planet, I want y’all to [00:14:00] think about what y’all legacy is going to look like. What will people say about you? What will be the sentiments left behind about who you were in the world? We’re coming off Memorial Day where we remember the veterans who gave their lives to protect the freedoms of.

This country, the legacy that they have left behind, right? The impact that they have had on you. And so I challenge you to think about the impact that you want to leave. And if what you’re doing [00:14:30] today and does not align with the legacy you want to leave, I challenge you to change it. You’ve got the power to change it.

Do it before it’s too late. Yeah. Till next week, family. Peace.[00:15:00]

If you’ve enjoyed what you heard, rate and review us inside your favorite podcasting app. This podcast is written and produced by me, Anna DeShawn. Podcast editing by Ryan Woodhall, and brought to you by E3 Radio and distributed on the Qube. We are Queer News Done Right.