Hero. #harveymilk #lgbt #icon #activist #sf #bayshore #equality #hope #peace #love #gay #rights

Gay” became a code word in the homosexual subculture in the United States as a way to identify other homosexuals without attracting the attention of heterosexuals. (1900 CE–1930)
Source: Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice, Second Edition, Routledge, 2007

When My 8-Year-Old Gay Son Taught His Class About Harvey Milk

Me: ”Baby, back when Harvey Milk was a little boy, everyone thought gay people were bad.”
Son: ”All gay people aren’t bad.”
Me: ”No, all gay people aren’t bad, but that’s what people used to think.”
Son: ”That’s stupid.”

Me: ”Harvey Milk told gay people to come out of the closet and show everyone that gay people were good people too.”
Son: ”All the gay people were in closets?”
Me: ”Not real closets, baby. That’s just what we call it when gay people pretend they aren’t gay.”
Son: ”Why would they do that?”

Me: ”Then Dan White shot and killed the mayor of San Francisco and Harvey Milk.”
Son: ”Did he go to jail forever?”
Me: ”No, honey, he didn’t. Mr. White said he shot them because he ate too many Twinkies.”
Son: ”What are Twinkies?”

“On this day in a second-grade classroom in the Midwest, Harvey Milk was on the same stage as Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth and Elizabeth Cady Stanton: an important civil rights leader in our country, someone everyone should learn about.”

Divided we stand, united we fall. 

It’s Friday!!! Ryan with Alexis and Dollii, talking about the division within the LGBTQ community.

 

Greg and Alexis 

IS YOUR SCHOOL BEHIND THE TIMES? DO YOU WISH YOUR SCHOOL WAS MORE INCLUSIVE OF LESBIAN-GAY-BISEXUAL-TRANSGENDER-QUEER PEOPLE? 

Have Ryan Cassata present at your school!  

 - The Transgender 101 presentation consists of Ryan Cassata’s personal coming out story from lesbian to transgender man along with the battles Cassata faced in High School. Ryan shares his story through words and through original song.  This workshop will also include a detailed explanation of transgender key terms. -


Presentation Topics Include:

• creating positive change in your school/community 
• coming out to parents/friends/family 
• coming out in school 
• gender dysphoria 
• bullying and it’s negative affects 
• struggles as a trans* student & how to overcome 
• surgeries & hormones & legal name change  
• transgender & the media 
• suicides in the LGBT community 
• Q&A session 
• original music 
• trans* vocabulary & terms

 

GOALS: The goals of this presentation are to educate and inform others about the transgender and gender variant community. This workshop will provide insight to what it’s like to be transgender. This presentation will inspire others to stand up against bullying. Audience members  will be provided with enough information to clearly explain gender difference to those who do not understand it. This will help the transgender community in the fight for equality. Lastly this workshop will help transgender people to come out and gain the confidence they need to succeed. This workshop will give all people (trans or not) hope to make positive change and live a happier and healthier life. 

Who is Ryan Cassata?  

Ryan Cassata, age 19, has dedicated his life to bring equality to the transgender community. Ryan believes that by educating and by being open about his personal story he could successfully raise awareness for the transgender community and bring peace closer. Cassata has been speaking at schools and conferences since the young age of fourteen. Since then Ryan has shared his story with thousands, written music for film, played the world’s biggest lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender music festivals, and  appeared on the Larry King Live Show & The Tyra Banks Show. Ryan Cassata was selected to speak at the biggest transgender conference in the US, the Philadelphia Trans-Health Conference, becoming the youngest speaker to ever take the keynote role. Cassata won the Harvey Milk Memorial Award for the positive change he made in his high school and community. 

Offical Website
Facebook Page

This is my friend, Paul. He’s an amazing LGBT activist. =] 

I told this kid that he shouldn’t use the word “gay” as another word for “stupid.” This was his automatic response. I never said anything about him being hateful. People these days… 

Just stop using the word “gay” in a negative way!

minneapolis - gay marriage 

1980’s 

Harvey Milk 

Hudson Valley Pride 2012.

Photos by Meg Dahlgren

People joining hands while I was singing “Hands of Hate” at Long Island PrideFest

Upcoming Festivals.