It’s a rare opportunity to meet the pope. It’s even rarer if you’re a transgender Catholic. However, on November 19, in Torvaianica, Italy, a community of transwomen, many whom are sex workers, were welcomed and seated in a vast auditorium with over a thousand other
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. (Psalm 139:13-14 NIV) Society has a problem with gender differences. People whose
Whether it’s National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, World AIDS Day or any other day set aside for us to confront this epidemic, one sad fact remains startlingly true: HIV/ADS remains an overwhelmingly Black disease in the United States. I remember reading a report this time
[The passing of former Pope Benedict XVI] marks what is, I hope, the end of a long, painful era for LGBTQIA+ Catholics, our families, and the entire church. (DignityUSA Executive Director Marianne Duddy-Burke) Pope Benedict XVI, who served as pope from 2005 until his historic
Preparing for the Thanksgiving holiday reminds me of the autumnal harvest time’s spiritual significance. As a time of connectedness, I pause to acknowledge what I have to be thankful for. Also, I reflect on the holiday as a time of remembrance — historical and present.
In the pantheon of slain Americans who have furthered civil rights gains of a marginalized group, Rita Hester, an African-American transgender woman, is among them. There had been several transgender murders prior to Rita’s — including that of Chanelle Pickett in Watertown, Mass., in 1995,
bell hooks died on December 15, 2021, at 69 in Kentucky. As a Black Appalachian, she was inarguably one of the nation’s prominent feminist scholars and authors and a friend to everyone she met. Last year, Time‘s “100 Women of the Year” called our sister-friend
Halloween is America’s “gay” holiday. In the words of lesbian poet and scholar Judy Grahn, Halloween is “the great gay holiday.” Back in the day, Halloween — the night before All Hallows’ Day (All Saints‘ Day) — was linked to the ancient Celtic festival Samhain
The long-awaited justice for R. Kelly’s survivors finally came last month when a New York federal jury found him guilty of racketeering and sex trafficking. For nearly 30 years, underage black girls and their families have tried to bring Kelly to justice. Now the question