The National Black Justice Collective (NBJC) issued a press release mourning the death of Cameron Jamal Miikquise Thompson, a 16-year-old Black transgender girl. On Dec. 16, she was shot and killed in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. A juvenile suspect has been arrested and charged, and Thompson’s family believes the shooting is a hate crime. “My heart breaks hearing about the death of Cameron,” said NBJC Director of Public Policy and ProgramsVictoria Kirby York “She was still a teenager, with so much life ahead of her, so many dreams she will no longer get to accomplish. Trans young people have become the punching bags of political bullies and uncaring adults in this country.” Thompson became the 31st trans, non-binary, or gender nonconforming person to have been killed in the U.S. in 2024. Her aunt, Tara Matthews, started a GoFundMe campaign to help the family with burial expenses but has since disabled new donations, having raised more than $9,000.
Bobbie Simpson—the first out transgender school board member in California history—was sworn in at Shasta County’s Gateway Unified School District, LGBTQ Nation noted. “I am proud to serve my community and create a future where every student can thrive, no matter who they are,” Simpson said in a statement. On Nov. 5, Simpson won the election with more than 56% of the vote, beating incumbent Elias Haynes, who served on the school board alongside wife Lindsi Haynes.
In New Haven, Connecticut, more than 20 representatives from HIV/AIDS nonprofits sent a letter to Mayor Justin Elicker, criticizing the city for changing how it handles the federal grant program known as Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program Part A, The New Haven Independent noted. APNH Executive Director Chris Cole and Yale School of Medicine HIV/AIDS Care Program Director Merceditas Villanueva led a coalition in writing a press release and a letter to Elicker, criticizing what they feared would be a harmful shakeup to how the Health Department handles Ryan White Part A funds. The Health Department has responded by correcting a mistake regarding who funds eligibility and by arguing that centralizing oversight with city government is necessary to bring this program into compliance with federal requirements.
Philadelphia will be losing one of its oldest, most respected HIV/AIDS organizations: AIDS Fund, Philadelphia Gay News reported. Representatives from AIDS Fund announced during its monthly GayBINGO event that the organization would halt operations effective Dec. 31. Philadelphia nonprofit Action Wellness will carry on the tradition of AIDS Fund’s GayBINGO and Black-Tie GayBINGO fundraising events. AIDS Fund said, in part, “Although our work is concluding, the pursuit of Getting to Zero: Zero Stigma, Zero New Infections, and Zero Deaths, remains a vital task that requires ongoing commitment and resources. 18,658 of our friends, family and neighbors in Philadelphia are currently living with HIV disease, many of whom lack stable housing. It is our hope that local leaders—in government, non-profits, and industry—will put greater effort and resources into supporting this vulnerable community.”
Nissan (which has begun merger talks with Honda) has become the latest company to fold its DEI efforts in U.S. operations, per Carscoops. Again, conservative activist Robby Starbuck is taking credit for a company’s anti-DEI change; he stated that he had engaged with Nissan prior to the announcement, following a pattern similar to recent negotiations with Walmart and Caterpillar Inc., per Bloomberg. The Japanese brand recently informed local employees it would stop participating in surveys and activities from outside organizations aimed at political activism; one of these is the Human Rights Campaign’s annual survey that evaluates more than 1,300 companies in its annual equality measures for LGBTQ+ people.
The Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled that Nasdaq can’t require diversity on the boards of companies that list on the exchange, the AP noted. The decision comes more than three years after the Securities and Exchange Commission approved Nasdaq’s proposal to increase the number of women, racial minorities and queer people on U.S. corporate boards. “We maintain that the rule simplified and standardized disclosure requirements to the benefit of both corporates and investors,” per a Nasdaq statement. “That said, we respect the Court’s decision and do not intend to seek further review.”
NCAA President Charlie Baker told a Senate panel there are fewer than 10 transgender athletes he is aware of who currently compete in college sports—mitigating an issue that mainly Republicans claim is a national problem, The Hill reported. When U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin asked Baker how many total athletes there are, the former Republican Massachusetts governor replied, “Five hundred and ten thousand.” Transgender inclusion in women’s sports has become a hot topic, dividing the nation and playing an increasingly critical role in political campaigns.
And speaking of athletes, Outsports ran an article on 10 LGBTQ+ Christian athletes who have come out. Some of them include the recently retired trans and non-binary WNBA player Layshia Clarendon (who has said, “I identify as black, gay, female, non-cisgender and Christian. I am an outsider even on the inside of every community to which I belong”); gay soccer player Ross Furbush, who became the first out teacher at a Christian Scientist school; gay adventurer Mikah Meyer, who has visited all 417 national parks and monuments in the country; and former NFL defensive end Esera Tuaolo, who played with the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Carolina Panthers and other teams.
President-elect Donald Trump named Richard Grenell as an envoy for special missions primarily involving foreign policy challenges—a newly created position that will not require Senate confirmation, according to LGBTQ Nation, citing the AP. Grenell, who is gay, was the ambassador to Germany and acting director of national intelligence during Trump’s first term. Sources told Politico that Grenell’s business dealings in foreign countries and reputation as a “prickly” and “less than diplomatic” demeanor may have sunk his chances of getting the secretary of state job he wanted; Trump nominated Marco Rubio for that position instead.
Philadelphia Gay News noted that a local jury could not reach a verdict in the murder trial for Akhenaton T. Jones, who allegedly killed trans woman Dominique “Rem’mie” Fells four years ago, leading Common Pleas Judge Charles A. Ehrlich to declare a mistrial. However, jurors convicted Jones of a misdemeanor—abuse of a corpse—according to court records. In June 2020, Jones allegedly fatally stabbed Fells inside his residence, then dismembered her corpse with a jigsaw and deposited her remains in the Schuylkill River. Jones (who acted as his own attorney, although there was a stand-by lawyer) maintained his innocence, claiming another person killed Fells—but no other person has been charged in the crime.
Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy Joseph Benza III agreed to plead guilty on federal civil rights charges in connection to the violent beating of transgender man Emmett Brock in 2023, according to Them. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison. Under the terms of the agreement, Benza admitted to all allegations of excessive force and obstruction of justice made against him, but will only face the single felony charge. After Brock flipped off Benza, the officer followed him and eventually punched Brock “multiple times” in the head and face, per the plea agreement; as a result of the assault, Brock “sustained serious bodily injury, including suffering a concussion,” bruising, vomiting and head pain,” prosecutors stated. Also, Benza admitted to making false statements to investigators and falsifying his incident report after assaulting Brock.
An Ohio school district paid a $450,000 settlement to teacher Vivian Geraghty, who had to resign after refusing to address two students by their gender-affirming names and personal pronouns, LGBTQ Nation noted. Geraghty was an English teacher at Jackson Memorial Middle School in Stark County from August 2020 through August 2022. Geraghty, a Christian, reportedly neither faced any kind of complaint or disciplinary action about her work and did not openly discuss her religious beliefs while at school, her lawyers (from the Christian nationalist legal advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom) said. In 2022, a Christian teacher won a $95,000 settlement after misgendering a student for “religious” reasons.
Ohio LGBTQ+-rights advocates criticized a bill that would require schools to notify parents if the child identifies as queer as well as allow parents to opt out of so-called “sexuality” content, calling the measure “homophobic,” News 5 Cleveland reported. State Reps. D.J. Swearingen (R-Huron) and Sara Carruthers (R-Hamilton) introduced a bill that would require schools and teachers to notify parents about any changes to their child’s mental, physical or emotional being—including if they identify as LGBTQ+. “If people are out and they don’t have supportive parents—there is an epidemic of LGBTQ youth homelessness,” TransOhio’s Dara Atkinson said. “[There are] parents who don’t affirm their children and then decide that they would like them to not be their children.” Carruthers denied that her bill is homophobic, saying in a floor speech that it would keep parents informed about their kids.
There’s scrutiny surrounding 81-year-old anti-LGBTQ+ U.S. Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas). Granger’s congressional office denied she is in memory care after a report in the Dallas Express said she has not been in Washington in months and that she had been found at Tradition-Clearfork in Fort Worth, which offers assisted living and memory care, CBS News noted. Tradition-Clearfork declined to comment, but Granger’s son confirmed to the Dallas Morning News that she was a resident—but he added that she’s in the independent living wing, not the memory care area of the facility. According to VoteSmart, Granger has consistently voted against the LGBTQ+ community, rejecting the Respect for Marriage Act and the LGBTQI+ Data Inclusion Act.
Relatively new social-media platform Bluesky is dealing with its most significant controversy yet: user backlash against journalist and media personality Jesse Singal joining the platform, per NBC News. Singal—who has reported on people who reversed their gender transitions, among other topics pertaining to trans people—hosts a podcast that critiques perceived left-wing biases in media. GLAAD included Singal in its Accountability Project that documented “anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and discriminatory actions” by public figures.
The House Ethics Committee found “substantial evidence” former U.S. Rep. (and one-time Trump pick for attorney general) Matt Gaetz engaged in “prostitution, statutory rape, illicit drug use” and obstruction of Congress, per Yahoo! News. Gaetz—who has denied having sex with a minor—made a last-minute effort in federal court to prevent the release of the committee’s report into allegations that have hounded the Florida Republican for years. “There is a reason they did this to me in a Christmas Eve-Eve report and not in a courtroom of any kind where I could present evidence and challenge witnesses,” Gaetz wrote on X.
Officials in Louisiana held meetings in October and November, telling Department of Health staff that the state would no longer allow them to promote COVID, flu and mpox vaccinations, according to LGBTQ Nation, citing NPR. The new policy would be implemented quietly and would not be put in writing, four anonymous health department employees told NPR. The policy change can be traced back to anti-vax Republican Gov. Jeff Landry, who served as the state’s attorney general during the COVID pandemic; and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a Landry ally and Donald Trump’s pick to head the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The post NATIONAL Trans girl’s death, school board member, HIV/AIDS news, Nissan appeared first on Windy City Times.