SF Trans Activist, Ivory Nicole Smith, Found Dead
#158
Welcome to Third Cultured, a newsletter about Queer people in diplomacy, politics, and war from the perspective of Kyle Borland (he/they). My goal is to highlight all the ways today is different (and not so) from yesterday.
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This edition:
Opinion Essay
A List of LGBTQ+ Wins
Anti-LGBTQ+ Hate, Laws & Violence Around the World
Extra Links, Quotes & Gay Shit
Opinion Essay
The San Francisco queer community lost one of our brightest stars.
Ivory Nicole Smith – one of SF’s most prominent trans activists and former program associate of the Transgender District – was found dead on Tuesday night. According to the District on Instagram, “The SFPD investigation is ongoing, but their preliminary assessment has ruled out foul play and homicide.” It’s a relief to hear since three other trans people have already been violently killed in 2023: Jasmine “Star” Mack in DC, KC Johnson in North Carolina and forest defender Tortuguita by Atlanta police while protesting Cop City.
The Transgender District is the first of its kind in the world, founded in 2017 “to create an urban environment that fosters the rich history, culture, legacy, and empowerment of transgender people and its deep roots in the southeastern Tenderloin neighborhood.”
Originally named after the first documented uprising of transgender and queer people in United States history, the Compton’s Cafeteria Riots of 1966, the district encompasses 6 blocks in the southeastern Tenderloin and crosses over Market Street to include two blocks of 6th street. In 2016, the City of San Francisco renamed portions of Turk and Taylor to commemorate the historic contributions of transgender people, renaming them “Compton’s Cafeteria Way” and “Vikki Mar Lane” respectively.
This urban region of the city’s Tenderloin District has held a documented, ongoing presence of transgender residents since as early as the 1920s- with the Tenderloin known as a “gay ghetto” during the 1930s to the 1960s- prior to the birth of the internationally renowned Castro District in San Francisco. This area is home to the city of San Francisco’s first LGBT bar, and various community spaces, gathering sites, and hotels with cultural significance for the broader transgender and queer community in the Tenderloin.
The local news has yet to cover the story of Smith’s death, but the community is rallying together to celebrate her. The District will host a candle-lit vigil on Friday, January 27 to honor Ivory Nicole Smith at 6pm on the corner of Turk and Taylor.
Stay vigilant and healthy, beautiful people.
As always, thanks for reading.
Kyle (@kgborland)
PS – Sign up for “Coming Out in the Shadow of the Holocaust” with Dr. Jake Newsome and the Invisible Histories Project on International Holocaust Remembrance Day (January 27, 2020) – tomorrow! – at 6pm CST.
A List of LGBTQ+ Wins
Biden’s Health Department Appeals Ruling on LGBTQ Bias Policy (Bloomberg Law)
Cambodia positioned to fully integrate LGBT people into society (United Nations)
Connecticut to Launch New Statewide LGBTQ Group (NBC Connecticut)
Church of England apologizes for treatment of LGBTQ people (AP)
Dutch Constitution to be amended banning LGBTQ+ discrimination (LA Blade)
How comics changed queer Americans’ lives — and why bans might backfire (The Verge, WashPost)
LGBTQ people, allies dodge $1,500 fines in North Dakota (ABC News, WashPost)
Pope criticizes anti-gay laws, says ‘being homosexual is not a crime’ (LGBTQ Nation)
Rainbow Railroad to participate in new US refugee resettlement program (Washington Blade)
“We are excited to see the impact of this program, which will empower communities of care — LGBTQI+ Americans supporting LGBTQI+ refugees. This program will help at-risk LGBTQI+ people get to safety across the United States,” said Rainbow Railroad in a press release. “As an organization with extensive experience and expertise in private sponsorship, including in Canada, Rainbow Railroad was proud to be a consultative partner in the development of this new U.S. program, advocating for a model that will support LGBTQI+ persons at risk.”
“We are excited to be recognized as a private sponsorship organization by the U.S. consortium which is going to be operating this private sponsorship program,” added the organization. “This is an important moment for global LGBTQI+ rights and the advancement of refugee support in the United States, and we look forward to the opportunity to get more at-risk LGBTQI+ people to safety through this new program.”
The LGBTQ+ Communty is the Final Barrier Preventing Israel's Fall to the Dark Forces (Haaretz)
Time for Japan to legalize same-sex marriage (The Mainichi, Unseen Japan)
Top India court backs gay lawyer's appointment over govt objections (Reuters)
Anti-LGBTQ+ Hate, Laws & Violence Around the World
Another Young Gay Man Missing After Bar Hopping In Hell’s Kitchen (Instinct)
Arizona Gay Couple Has Pride Flag Vandalized, HOA Then Demands It Removed (The Advocate)
Comment: Conservatives love to spew "Freedom of Speech" when it comes to defending blatant bigotry but god forbid someone does something *they* don't like! I hate that this gay couple is having to deal with this, but so glad they're standing their ground and telling their HOA to kick rocks.
Christian nationalist wants to ban kids with same-sex parents from Christian schools (LGBTQ Nation)
DeSantis blasts ‘Queer Theory’ in African American Studies course (Orlando Sentinel, The Advocate)
Feds accuse man of hate crime in trying to run over Idaho women (Bay Area Reporter)
Florida teachers told to remove books from classroom libraries or risk felony prosecution (Popular Information)
George Santos says LGBTQ+ families “create troubled individuals” in homophobic tirade (LGBTQ Nation)
In Pakistan, trans men search for inclusion, visibility (AP)
Indiana GOP introduces slate of anti-LGBTQ+ bills including two Don’t Say Gay bills (them)
Iowa Republicans must drop harmful LGBTQ bills (The Gazette)
Laws Restricting Drag Shows Should Scare Everyone Who Believes in Free Expression (PEN America)
More than half of LGBTQ+ parents in Florida are considering moving out of state (LGBTQ Nation)
Nepal has mixed record on LGBT rights (The Himalayan Times)
New Poll Emphasizes Negative Impacts of Anti-LGBTQ Policies on LGBTQ Youth (The Trevor Project)
North Dakota Could Jail Librarians Who Don’t Comply with Anti-LGBTQ+ Book Bans (them)
Peru Is Threatening Human Rights Education (Human Rights Watch)
A 2019 government survey showed that Peruvians perceive lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) people as being the most discriminated against in the country, which the Inter-American Court of Human Rights highlighted when it found in Azul Rojas Marín v. Peru in 2020 that these populations face high levels of structural and institutional discrimination.
But Law No. 31498’s insidious effects could extend beyond information on gender and sexuality. The law states that parental organizations can effectively veto learning materials related to “personal development, citizenship and civic education, social sciences, world discovery, and science and technology.” In Peru’s politically polarized context, parents could use the law to restrict information on any other number of controversial human rights issues in the country, such as accountability for past abuses, rule of law, and freedom of expression. In this sense, it threatens the development of critical and reflective thinking of the students, so essential to consolidate a more democratic society.
Putin's Kremlin targets Russian LGBT in new crackdown (BBC)
"In what kind of a Russia can you imagine wanting to live?" I ask him.
"A free Russia," he tells me, thinking about the question carefully. "One that doesn't undermine the most basic human rights that every person should have. Because I think my orientation is my right from birth, and no-one has the right to cancel, ban it, or prosecute me for it."
Queer and trans elders find overwhelming barriers and discrimination in search of safe housing (Prism)
Rights groups warn against anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in SC, seek discrimination protection (The State)
Utah, Mississippi, and Florida Race To Ban Care For Trans Youth (Erin in the Morning)
Wisconsin Republicans Find a Roundabout Way To Bring Back Conversion Therapy (The Mary Sue)
Why a Possible Drag Queen Past Won’t Loosen the GOP Grip of George Santos (TIME)
"Why Am I Here?" Anti-trans Witness Questions Herself In Missouri After Seeing Trans Kid During Grueling 9 Hour Hearing (Erin in the Morning)
Why the new game ‘Hogwarts Legacy’ is roiling the LGBTQ community (WashPost)
"Would This Ban Pride? Probably." Arkansas Anti-trans Drag Bill Passes Senate (Erin in the Morning)
Extra Links, Quotes & Gay Shit
A Doll That Wears Sunglasses With Attitude? Oh, ‘M3gan’ Is a Gay Movie. (NYTimes)
Aleksandar Hemon Sets a Gay Love Story Amid the Great War (NYTimes)
Hot, Cute, and a Little Bit Punk: Mina Seçkin on Exploring the World of Pokémon (LitHub)
‘I felt like we were in “Goodfellas’’’: How George Santos wooed investors for alleged Ponzi scheme (WashPost)
J. Edgar Hoover is a conflicted, flawed human in new biography (Washington Blade)
LGBT Adults Aged 50 and Older in the US During the COVID-19 Pandemic (Williams Institute)
The Death of Friends (Georgia Voice)
The Renaissance of Feminist Bookstores (Ms. Magazine