This is without a doubt,
a turning point in American history.
"We are everywhere!"
After decades of struggle,
a lot has been gained by the LGBTQ community,
but many fear this vital ground could be lost.
And we're not the only ones.
As the new administration takes power,
the nation feels more divided than ever,
with many communities feeling threatened.
So, we want to see what is at stake,
and what people are fighting for,
from the nation's capital to the heartland of America.
And we're here to explore how people are responding,
people's acts of resistance,
and what people's plans are for the next four years.
- Synced and corrected by chamallow - - www.addic7ed.com -
A lot has happened since Donald Trump became President,
and Ian and I wanted to see how his actions
would affect LGBTQ people,
and in turn, how the community was responding.
So, we started our journey in Washington, D.C.,
a few days before Trump's inauguration.
There is definitely tension in the air, helicopters...
Security, there's a military presence.
There are a lot of Trump supporters,
and a lot of protesters.
But right now, we're in an area that's, like, blocked off,
so the streets are pretty... pretty quiet,
but you see a lot of protesters here
who are ready to start the fight,
who are coming together in solidarity,
or forming a new community
and including one another in the conversation,
coming together and there is this energy
of people coming out and coming in
from all sorts of different states.
And a lot of people for the very first time.
People who have never come to a demonstration,
people who've never really thought that much
about activism before,
and a lot of people have been motivated
to be a part of a resistance movement.
We wanted to first get the perspective
from someone who worked within the previous administration.
Aditi Hardikar is a former LGBT liaison for the White House,
a position that doesn't currently exist.
What were your feelings on election night?
Going into election night,
there was a little bit of fear, that things could go wrong,
but I think for the most part, people were excited.
Things started to feel a little bit strange as the night went on,
and, you know, by 10:00 p.m., people were pretty morose.
The predictions didn't show it, the modeling didn't show it,
and it took everyone by surprise,
including Donald Trump.
"U.S.A."
Thank you.
Thank you very much, everybody.
And how are you feeling about all this personally?
Yeah. I mean, it's... it's... it's almost like an existential
crisis almost, you know?
You think about all the work
that you did over the last eight years,
and how hard we worked,
and how far we've come in terms of the rights
that we are able to exercise and enjoy.
And to hear, you know, Donald Trump from
the campaign say that he would nominate Supreme Court justices
that were opposed to marriage equality.
And then, having a Vice President
who thinks it's okay for businesses
to discriminate against LGBT people,
who thinks conversion therapy is okay.
The list sort of goes on.
It feels like we are going back
in a really dangerous way when it feels like the country and
most Americans support the rights of LGBT people.
So, it just seems so out of touch.
What do you think about this idea that it took...
it took a while for Obama to get to this place, right?
It took several years for this... this...
- to even happen. - I totally get that,
but what I say in response to that is
President Obama has always been supportive of LGBT people.
So for instance, he made it easier
for trans people to get passports
that had their actual gender listed on their passport.
That was just in the first year.
The administration supported the equality act,
which would amend the civil rights act of 1964
to include gender identity and sexual orientation as protected classes.
When you contrast that between an administration
that is outwardly and vocally against LGBT people,
that has disastrous effects on people and their self-worth.
I think that's something that we have to continue to think about,
we can't normalize marginalization.
Whether it seems small or large,
we have to take to the streets
and we cannot for a second let people think that
what we're experiencing is normal.
Two days before inauguration,
young queer people took to the streets near D.C...
We decided to move out of the way.
... where Work For Peace twerked outside the home of Mike Pence.
Listen up, please!
We will make this intersection our party!
Are you ready?
Let's do it!
Mike Pence has shown
through legislation he's passed in his home state
that he does not stand for LGBT communities,
and by us dancing upon his house,
and his street, it really shows him
that we're gonna be fiercely paying attention.
It's about coming into the streets
to assert that as queer and trans individuals,
we are queer, we are here, and we will dance.
Ian and I went to meet with the organizer
and some fellow activists
who opened up their apartment that week
- for people needing a place to crash. - Come on in.
- I'm Ellen. - Hi.
We're sending a very clear message.
We're setting a precedent for what we expect,
but we're also having a great time doing it.
We're loving ourselves,
we're connecting with one another.
Those affirmations allow us to not only shed light
on the issues in our politics, but also to
shed light on what we really look for in an ideal society.
Sometimes I come across people
who are doing really great work,
but they'll say, "Oh, I'm not an activist."
Like, "I'm not an activist, I'm a writer.
I'm not an activist, I'm a researcher.
I'm not an activist, I'm a journalist."
Whoever you are,
you don't have to list activist as your first thing,
but you have to think about
what your relationship to activism is.
I just kind of want to wrap my head around
everyone coming together and what drives you all here.
Everyone coming just to protest the inauguration?
Yeah. And the women's march.
And to be in the women's march.
For me personally, it's this
idea of standing in solidarity with others.
He was going after Mexicans, he was going after Muslims,
he was going after the "urban poor" black people,
and so I think for me being here,
it's more so to say that this will not be normalized.
I want to make sure that my presence
and my voice is also accounted for,
because the way that history is retold is often skewed,
and certain voices are left out,
so I'm gonna be, like, writing poetry,
and make sure that shit gets into the archives
so that I know I was here.
I know for me, I went through this once before, um,
because I'm Syrian. When you have to come to terms with, like,
losing your country
and you have to get used to that,
and I think at this point,
because of the way things are, it's like,
"Can I ever travel back into the country again?"
So, that's a pretty tangible fear.
I would say the difference between the Obama administration
and the Trump administration was that
in the Obama administration,
I wasn't afraid that he would defund Planned Parenthood,
or that he would screw up the education system.
Um, as marginalized people really rely on those things,
and so now that is, like, an extra level of fear,
that all these services that our communities rely on
are just gonna get defunded.
One thing that might be being left out here
is that this is not just an isolated event.
We've lived this fear for so long,
and now it's just becoming very, very tangible.
Certain groups of people that maybe
had the privilege to not see it before are feeling it,
- and they're free. - Come pick your box
- that you will make into your sign. - Do you think I should rip this in half?
Um, yeah, I think you could make two out of that, right?
- Sturdier. - I need scissors.
Okay, so what's the first sign?
I was gonna do, I think maybe,
- Arabs for trans rights or something. - I definitely think
someone should go the traditional route
and make a dump Trump poster.
Okay, well, let's do it.
On a serious note,
let's kind of deconstruct the idea of,
like, painting these,
carrying them on the street, and just being present,
like what you feel like that actually does.
You know, the last time we had someone
who was extremely conservative
and did a lot of damage to the queer community,
we're talking about Reagan...
- Mm-hmm. - ... we're talking about the AIDS crisis.
Thousands of people died because of such regressive policies,
but when you think about the way
that our community came together
when that was going on, it does make me hopeful
that that's gonna be something that happens again.
I think I'm done with mine,
although mine is sort of counterintuitive, right?
You know they're doing, like, the inaugural balls,
there's, like, a DeploraBall, a gay DeploraBall.
- Oh, my God. - I'm sorry, we're going.
- Crashing that scene. - Oh, that's why y'all
are getting nice and dressed up for?
Like, if you were at the deplorable ball, what would you do?
Because I'm a little bit confused on what to say.
Part of me wants to say that
I would try to have a conversation with these people
and try to understand where they're coming from,
because I feel like at least we have the base level
of, like, our pure identities, but I know realistically
that it wouldn't be a conversation that would get very far,
I would just get really mad.
The pro Trump DeploraBall
was one of the most controversial events that week.
So controversial that there was a wall of police
protecting attendees from protesters rallying
against the ultra nationalist gathering.
Chaos in D.C.
And Ian and I were invited.
The week of Trump's inauguration,
Ian and I went to Washington, D.C.,
and we were invited to the DeploraBall,
an unabashed celebration of Donald Trump,
attended by his most ardent supporters.
Hey. How's it going? How's it going?
Our host for the night was Lucian Wintrich,
an up-and-coming reporter for a conservative blog,
the Gateway Pundit,
who was just named the site's first White House Correspondent.
He's an unlikely poster child for the conservative party,
one who first gained notoriety
for a photo series called Twinks for Trump.
My entire Twinks for Trump project,
it was a multi-faceted trolling.
I was trolling evangelicals
who are ruining the conservative party
and bringing in all this anti-gay legislation,
and at the same time, I wanted to troll the left,
who has been parading around these images of
Trump supporters as these obese Midwesterners
who don't read the paper, and they're like, "Uh, yeah,
I saw Trump on 'The Apprentice, ' so I'm gonna vote for him."
I saw that as accomplishing both of those goals. And come on.
It's kind of funny, right?
Trolling aside, what's he gonna do now
that he has a seat at the table?
To be honest, I don't really know how
I'm going to be a part of the press core.
Ideally I'm... I'm not gonna be just reporting propaganda.
I'm going to be reporting what's actually happening,
and if it is in line with the interest of the American people.
I'm just thinking of you in a photograph next to
Mike Pence, and I'm just trying to think of what that means to you,
because in the LGBTQ community,
Mike Pence is not a friend.
I think that's... that's actually kept a lot of gay people out
of the conservative movement in general,
and Mike Pence and the vast majority of other
Vice Presidents, they really don't have a lot of power.
I mean, Joe Biden has a great smile,
but name one policy that he's pushed forward.
What Donald Trump has allowed gay people to do,
and given space for, is pushing back
against some of these antiquated evangelical notions.
- Can we talk about Trump for a second... - Yes.
... in terms of being anti-LGBT,
because I think one thing that's important to remember is that,
you know, undocumented immigrants are LGBT,
and asylum seekers can be LGBT,
and the rhetoric coming out of,
you know, Donald Trump's mouth,
everything leading up to him being elected
was so horrible and xenophobic and...
I don't believe any of that.
How can you not believe it when you read his quotes?
When you read isolated quotes...
... framed by "The Huffington Post" absolutely,
if that's all I read, I would totally agree with you.
I don't understand why you wouldn't want to have a dialogue
with the administration rather than attacking them.
- What do you mean, how... - I just don't think people
feel like there's any room to have a conversation.
I don't feel like there's... I don't feel like people feel like
there's a possibility, right?
We have the privilege of having the conversation,
because we have the platform to have it.
I think that there is such a divide,
there is anger, and there is confusion,
I think there's, like, actual rage.
There's a real resistance that's forming,
and we would clearly put you on
the other side of that resistance,
and I'm just wondering what you think that we do.
I would personally like to hold you responsible,
because you are on the inside, right?
You have inside power, you have inside influence,
and I think that's where I'm coming from.
I don't think I would hold you so accountable,
but I saw you at the party,
and I saw so many people coming up to you, and you enjoyed it,
and you enjoyed the glory of it, as you should.
Take a picture! What the...
First of all, I'm not a policy maker obviously.
I'm going to be just reporting.
If you show me oppression
that I can help eradicate through, um,
the platform that I have, tell me and I will...
and we will fight it together.
Lucian is part of the LGBTQ community
and a reminder that each person who came to D.C.
that week had their own unique experience.
Just before inauguration,
we met with filmmaker Michael Moore.
He predicted Trump's victory
and has now created a framework for resistance
for those who want to rally in opposition.
As bad as we all think it's gonna be,
- it's gonna be worse. - Mm.
It's not hyperbole. It's not...
I'm not trying to shock anybody, I'm not.
I just think people should really be ready,
because he wants to get in that building
and start signing executive orders
to undo everything Obama did.
Um, maybe you could talk about the hundred days of resistance
that you've been talking about.
- Yeah. - You know, a guide for those who
aren't entirely sure what to do.
Okay, well, number one,
everybody definitely needs to feel like we're not alone.
We are the majority.
Number two, everybody has to now act every day,
you have to do a little something.
If we actually understood the real power that we had,
and have...
whew.
Watch out.
I'm confident that this is gonna happen,
but it's gonna take everybody to act.
Nobody can sit this one out.
It's everybody off the bench.
Everybody in the pool,
because if we all get in the pool,
there's more of us than there are of them.
That's just an empirical fact.
Know that, know that in your friggin' heart,
that... that we will never go back to the hate.
How are you feeling about today?
Uh, kind of overwhelmed, but at the same time,
it's really just exciting to see
so many people banding together, um, resisting.
And have you always been involved in activism?
Is this something new? What sort of began your...
- your individual activism? - For me, it was probably a few years ago.
I mean, Trayvon Martin,
so I got involved with a lot of Black Lives Matter stuff
in D.C. and Northern Virginia.
We've been doing this for over 500 years.
It's just now that America is actually seeing it, you know?
Did you come from Standing Rock today?
- We came from Standing Rock, yeah. - Wow.
How are you feeling after that experience?
Seeing all these people here...
makes me feel good and gives me hope
that America will listen and that they will unite,
and their voice, you know, can save America.
Please raise your right hand and repeat after me.
I, Donald John Trump, do solemnly swear...
... that I will faithfully execute...
Within minutes of taking the oath of office,
Trump and his advisors went to work.
Among other things, he signed an executive order
as a first step to repeal the Affordable Care Act,
and the White House website removed its page on LGBT rights,
civil rights, climate change,
and the site's Spanish translation,
and nearly 100 days later, they're still not up.
So, four hours ago, Donald Trump
was sworn in as President of the United States,
and people are really rioting in the streets right now in D.C.
You can taste and smell tear gas...
... and it feels like some shit's really going down.
History does not repeat, but it definitely rhymes,
and what we're seeing today is the common people once again
having to fight a very small group of people
who have all the power.
People will look around, and it's like,
"Oh, things are worse than they've ever been before."
No, things are more right than they've ever been before.
We have fertile social ground, really, to...
to plant new seeds in and to grow an incredible
new garden of diversity and justice.
We are in this community together because we believe in each other,
we believe in what we can do together,
and so why not truly do believe
in betterment of us as a species?
And that's why I'm an activist,
because I believe so much in people.
Courage is an activist who is one of the founding members
of the Two Spirit camp at Standing Rock.
Well, I think my world has to teach your world, if I will,
is balance in all things,
and respect for all things,
because if there's one thing the colonial word
does not understand to this day
is balance and respect and inclusion.
Are there sort of specific issues that you're here to
talk about or to be vocal about?
Obviously the indigenous movement,
the LGBTQ movement...
- All of the above. I mean, - Yeah.
Trump, I don't think there really is any issue
that he does not affect,
but what I see in Trump is a president
that America was asking for.
Everything that is wrong with this country,
big money having all the power, corporate media,
an unacknowledged history in America
of slavery and genocide,
where in schools all we teach is
the history of the conquerors,
you have all of those things happen,
and then boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, you know,
we have someone like Trump in office.
But ironically, he is an...
an instigator that I felt,
maybe, that we've always needed.
He is uniting everybody against him
in everything that he represents.
There is so much to be fixed.
We now see it so clearly.
Will you join me in standing for this, in working for that?
That's what I see at this point,
but, of course, it comes at a great cost.
Downtown Washington, D.C.,
erupted in protests during inauguration,
but on the other side of town,
an organization has been fighting every day
to provide support for those in need.
Casa Ruby is a place that offers support services
to the most vulnerable in the LGBTQ community,
and we wanted to know if things had changed
since Trump's election.
The number-one thing that has changed
since a few weeks back is that we lock the doors.
Before, we were a little bit more free,
but we have had hate messages on our voicemail,
hate messages on our Facebook page,
so what I have done to take care of people
is that we lock the doors.
Could you maybe tell us the...
the origin of Casa Ruby and how this came to be?
Well, Casa Ruby is really the response to violence,
HIV, and poverty.
And how did you personally get involved?
I came to D.C. when I was 16,
and I am 47. I was homeless then,
not because I didn't want to work,
but because society wasn't willing to give me a chance
simply for being who I am,
a transgender woman, a woman of color,
being undocumented many years ago,
short, heavyset, HIV positive,
and so my dream was to one day have a shelter
and support services for people like me.
We are a local organization in Washington, D.C.,
but we are addressing a national problem.
This is the drop-in center.
It's open from 12:00 to 6:00.
TV for the clients. We provide food.
Our donation center is right here.
As you can see, donations go on this wall right here.
Donated clothes, shoes, blankets,
pretty much anything, food over in here.
Right here we have a hypothermia shelter.
These are cots, we have one, two, three,
four, five, six, seven, eight cots.
Zero tolerance for violence.
No to violence.
Basically what we're trying to do is reach out
to transgender youth and give them some options
and some decision making choices
that they can live their best life,
because the bottom line in these difficult times
we feel that if we act as a family,
then others will respect us as individuals.
Casa Ruby took me off the streets
and showed me some life
with these beautiful ladies here.
I'm glad that my lifetime has seen that,
because I've been through the storm.
Like they said, it gives us the opportunity
to be who we are,
and a lot of people don't understand, like,
what we mean by when we say be who we are,
because a lot of people don't understand.
Trump is the President of the United States of America.
And what's been going through your mind?
How have you been feeling, and what do you think is...
is gonna change for you?
I don't know. I'm kind of scared
when it comes to Trump, because, like,
I just started transitioning last year,
so once you learn how to take medication,
you learn the, like, different types of, like,
hormones and stuff, I don't even really know how I can
say that in a couple of months, Trump might
make the prices go up, or he might even just say no more.
I'm 61 years old,
so I've lived through some really trying times,
civil rights period, Ronald Reagan.
The sad reality is that transgenders
and LGBTQ population
has often been the most disenfranchised,
and Trump's message makes me somewhat paranoid.
Even though this seems to be a difficult time,
the possibilities are still open,
and I hope this country is put at notice
that we're here, and we're here to stay.
While the Affordable Care Act
has not been repealed or replaced yet,
Casa Ruby's clients rely on lifesaving services
that are maintained through government funds
and private donations.
Money, it's important,
but community is more important.
They can sign all the documents that they want.
They can't take away our community, our pride.
I think the politicians,
they need to find some love within themselves,
because there is no way how you can hate the LGBT community
if love is in your heart.
Let's make America love again.
It's huge, right?
Since filming, Casa Ruby has been the target
of multiple violent attacks,
a trend that's increased since Trump's election.
I don't think it's surprising that after
Trump was elected, there were people showing up
in community health centers that needed
suicide prevention counseling, because they said, "Well,
how am I supposed to get my hormones,
and how am I supposed to afford care as a...
as a queer young person
who doesn't have access to a job," or whatever it is?
And I'm really worried about people in our community that...
that have relied on these types of changes in laws
that President Obama worked so hard to secure.
I wish it were a year ago,
because I could give you a West Wing tour.
Aw.
Oh, and I would show you the gender neutral bathroom.
It used to be Dick Chaney's office.
- Ah. - Really?
Maybe it'll be Mike Pence's office now.
I think there's some debate that the Vice President
doesn't really have much power,
that maybe he doesn't have that much influence,
but I think we're understanding that Pence
is a real symbol for the entire movement.
I'm from Indiana, and we know
all the things that Mike Pence put into place there,
religious liberty laws, and things of that nature.
What can we learn from Indiana,
and do you think that... that what happened there
can actually influence things in a bigger way?
Now that Mike Pence is in power, sure, I mean,
I... I think you could see that happen on,
you know, in terms of an executive order,
I think you could see that in terms of a federal bill
that could be passed, since
Republicans have control of both the House
and the Senate, and certainly,
I think he's going to be the person that
the White House will dispatch
to help push along the priorities of conservatives.
In the short time Trump has been in office,
Mike Pence has shown a capability for immense influence,
so could his actions as governor of Indiana
be reflected on a national scale?
We're off to Ian's home state to find out.
Surprisingly,
Donald Trump is the first Republican President
to publicly claim support for the LGBTQ community.
As your President, I will do everything in my power
to protect our LGBTQ citizens from the violence
and oppression of a hateful foreign ideology.
But his actions speak louder than his words.
Throughout his campaign, he capitalized on the fears
and beliefs of an ultra-conservative movement,
and has gone on to appoint their top politicians to his cabinet,
many of which are anti-queer and trans.
Most notably, Mike Pence,
who in the name of God has built a career
lobbying against LGBTQ equality.
I know from first-hand experience
that strong Republican leadership
can bring about real change,
just like we've seen in the Hoosier state.
And as governor, he left Indiana
with almost no state-wide protections
against LGBTQ discrimination.
So as the President looks to Mike Pence
- for advice on legislation... - Thank you to Mike Pence, thank you.
... Ian and I came to Indiana,
to see what it's been like for the community here.
We're first going to meet with Katie Blair
of the local ACLU,
a woman who has been fighting Pence
long before he was Vice President.
Pence has been on record saying he's a Christian first
and a legislator second, and that's how he rules.
My joke around...
Because I never thought these people would win,
and so my joke was, like, "Mike Pence,
he's everyone's problem now,"
but now he's everyone's problem.
How much power do you think Pence actually has?
The executive orders that we've already seen come out
are straight from his playbook.
Everything that we've seen come out of there are things
that we've fought already here in Indiana.
What are you fighting for right now,
and what are your worries for the next four years?
I am scared to death for Planned Parenthood and...
- Which Mike Pence defunded in Indiana. - Mike Pence defunded,
and that's something that we all need to know.
He's willing to go to the mat on his issues.
He tried to ban Syrian refugees from Indiana,
and then to see him go to the White House
and have that behavior celebrated instead of condemned,
it's really scary and disheartening.
The trend is towards accepting the LGBTQ population,
but, um, you know, what we saw in November really scares me.
Legislative decisions made by Pence
have had real-life repercussions for the LGBTQ community,
and his efforts to defund Planned Parenthood in the state
led to one of the worst HIV epidemics in the nation's history.
There's almost a fatigue,
especially for those of us who had to fight for funding
for HIV and AIDS back in the early days,
and now we're doing it again with
trying to keep whatever rights we have,
and make sure our transgender friends can
live normal lives. It's just that ongoing,
constantly fighting, it gets tiring.
Mark Lee is a photographer
who has been documenting the fight
for LGBTQ equality in Indiana
- for over 30 years. - So this is Sam Reous.
This is one of my first friends who died of AIDS.
Um, and this is the very first person I ever met that...
that died.
They threatened to take away Ryan White funding,
so we had to put people on a waiting list,
we couldn't bring any more people into the program,
and we were having trouble paying for the medication,
so we all went to Washington, D.C.,
and that's where this picture was taken,
to lobby Congress to try to get them to re-enact
the Ryan White Act,
because people were gonna die if they didn't have it, so...
And it was scary, because I mean, to me,
I... I can see that happening again.
- Mm. - So...
- And that worked? - It did work, and I hope
if we have to do it again, I hope it works again. So, yeah.
One of the things we learned is we can't do it by ourselves.
I mean, we need our allies,
we need people that are willing to fight with us,
and that's what Harvey Milk said about coming out
and letting people know that you're gay or lesbian,
or letting people know what you're facing
is so important, especially now.
A few weeks into his vice presidency,
Mike Pence cast a historic tie-breaking vote
to confirm Betsy DeVos as Education Secretary,
dispelling any idea that he would have little power
as Trump's number two.
DeVos, whose family foundations
have donated millions to anti-LGBT groups,
is now shaping the formative years
of the nation's youth.
- I'm Ellen. - Hi.
- Nice to meet you. - Hey, I'm Ian.
We're visiting Dan, a 14-year-old
who just started presenting as a boy
in school a few weeks ago,
and despite a difficult environment,
he's trying to come out and educate people around him.
How are you able to get information?
Did you know people in the LGBT community or... ?
I used to watch a lot of YouTube videos.
I used to, like, question myself, like, on Google so many times and
try to find answers. Or sometimes I would get on my phone
in search of "Who am I?"
Are you out at school now?
I'm only out to my teachers and a couple of friends,
but that's really all who knows.
And what is it like for you at... at school?
What do you experience?
A lot of people,
like, when I tell them things,
they kind of make fun of me.
I tried to do a presentation for people,
but my teachers denied it, because people think
that they were gonna, like, harass me and bully me,
and they didn't want that to happen.
In the presentation, what would you... what would you say?
Just, "This is how I want to present myself,
- this is who I am?" - Yeah, and help them understand,
like, what I go through,
because if I'm going to, like,
high school and I get, like, testosterone or something,
that they won't know how that happened,
because they'll know me as a female,
so I wanted to, like, help educate them on
what changes, and, like,
what things can help me to be myself more.
What would you say to other people to support them
and encourage them to be who they are?
Well, a lot of people have taught me that
you are valid and no one can break you,
even though they try to
and you shouldn't live up to their expectations,
because you are who you are.
People think that I'm more like an adult than a child,
because after I cry, I get stronger.
People know how strong I am
in spite of being broken down so many times.
Shortly after we met with Dan,
Trump withdrew federal guidance
which protected transgender students
from discrimination under Title 9,
confirming unequivocally that the new administration
is not supportive of LGBTQ rights as they may claim.
So, this is my first time in Indiana.
- Yeah. - It feels special to me
- because it is where you're from. - Right.
But I am wondering in this current political climate,
what does it feel like to be back here?
You know, the initial reaction when you get off of the plane
is that you're, like, happy to be home.
You know, it's not that much different
than from when I was a young kid,
and the conservative values of
the state really do have an affect on
the way that people feel about themselves.
There are limited resources
for queer youth in Indiana,
and the state has the second highest rate
of teens who attempt suicide.
And for a population that's already at risk,
LGBTQ youth centers like IYG
are even more valuable.
- Hey, everybody. - Hi, how's it going?
On Friday nights, nearly 100 kids
from across the state come here.
How do you feel that your Governor Pence
is now Vice President of the United States?
Let's read the vibes.
And also maybe raise your hand if you can vote.
And those who can't vote,
does it frustrate you that you can't vote?
I mean, it's really frustrating,
especially for someone who's 16.
You know, I see it all on Facebook,
I'm watching the newscasts, but
without the ability to vote, it's kind of like
everyone's making the laws for you,
but you don't really have any say.
And do you see it, maybe, reflected just
in the culture in general?
Like, do you see sort of an uptick of negativity
from just people out and about,
towards the queer community or towards yourselves?
I come from downtown Indianapolis,
where it's not okay to be me
and I get hate all day, every day.
So, I mean, this place is just,
like, a lifesaver.
What would you want to say to those who...
who don't understand?
I think more so being where Pence is from,
it's kind of either black or white.
Both sides are so strong.
One side wants you to accept defeat,
and then the other side refuses to be defeated.
And it's just really heartwarming to come to a place where
everybody is like that,
everybody wants to fight.
I definitely would have to agree with her,
basically just coming to a place like IYG,
everyone's just like, "Yeah, let's go kick some ass!
And let's go tear down this bad government
that we have going on right now!"
This election made me decide to go into constitutional law,
because I want to be a senator someday.
- That's awesome. - I'm just having this vision
- of you all leading the revolution, right? - I hope so.
You all are fired up, and you have something to say,
and I think it's so interesting that we can now look at
these young people in Indiana who've been through it.
Like, what can we really learn from you?
- Resilience. - Yeah.
- Hands down.
Truth is, these kids are not always
represented politically here.
Lifelong Hoosier Dana Black tried to change that,
by running for a seat in the Indiana House.
She didn't win, but that hasn't stopped her
from raising the voice of the community.
I feel like I've heard a lot of young people saying,
"I'm gonna run for office," or other people being
interested in that, but you did it, you know.
- Yeah. - And maybe you could
offer some inspiration to people who are interested in doing that, too.
It's only four years, right?
In two years, we can change the face of our Congress.
This is not the worst America has been through.
If we can survive the Trail of Tears and Wounded Knee,
we can survive four years of Donald Trump, but
we have the power to change it.
What are your thoughts on just sort of
the White Supremacist influence on our country right now?
We're looking at the people that Trump's putting in place.
- This ain't new. - Yeah.
This ain't new. And guess what.
They are always on the wrong side of history, right?
Every time they try to pull it back and...
and try to take control, what happens?
We get the 1964 Civil Rights Act,
and the 1965 Voting Rights Act,
we get Title 9 in the '70s.
All the things that you try to do
and try to harness and keep democracy
and liberty from everybody, it always backfires in your face.
We may not all have the exact same interest
or the exact same concerns,
but we are all in this boat together,
so if you are concerned about women's issues,
I need you to be concerned about Black Lives Matter.
If you're concerned about Black Lives Matter,
I need you to be concerned about LGBT issues.
If you're concerned about LGBT issues,
I need you to be worried about veteran's issues.
We're all in this thing together.
- So glad we could connect. - Thank you so much.
- Yes. Thank you. - So awesome.
Thank you. I owe you guys a cocktail.
- No, no, no. - You come to my home,
- I've got to get you a drink. - All right.
Since it's our last night in Indiana,
we're checking out one of the area's most popular gay bars,
and we invited a very special guest to join us.
Mom, quit looking at the camera.
Well?
Don't be nervous.
What was Ian like as, like, a little kid?
Well,
um, I knew Ian was gay.
- Oh, you're going right in! - Oh, yeah!
From a very, very early age.
What else was I like?
Did I have any personality traits or like... ?
Ian was very bright, he was always busy.
You know, I know he was born in Boston
- and then you lived in a small town... - But, yeah, yeah, right.
... southern Indiana, and so feeling like,
anticipating that your son was,
- you know, gay or... - At one point in my life...
I have to admit this, and it's... and it's kind of hard.
At one point, I said to myself,
I better never have a gay child.
Um...
- Why did you think that? - I don't know. I don't know why.
Maybe because I thought
it would be such a hard world to live in.
As a mother, I didn't want that for my son,
because I knew what was gonna happen.
What has actually happened?
- Prejudice, it was... - Right.
It was being made fun of.
This is a painful idea, I think,
because I never have heard that,
um, because I think when you say that it's about
just you feeling
worried about me, I don't think it's just that.
You know, I think you're not sure
if you had your own prejudice.
I think I may have at some point.
- Yeah. - Yeah.
And I don't mean that against you...
- But people can overcome that. - A lot of people are going through that.
People can overcome their prejudices.
It's a journey. You have to take that together.
I feel like we have, in many ways.
Has... has it always been easy?
- No. Yeah. - Hell no.
As a mother, you realize
you are always gonna love your child,
no matter what, it doesn't matter.
I think that everything
like that happens for a reason,
and do we have to suffer through it sometimes?
Yes, we do, and it's hard,
but then you're gonna fly.
You're gonna open up your wings, and you're gonna fly.
- You think I'm flying? - Yeah, I do.
Hell yeah!
Get it, girl.
Ian's mom shows us
that no matter where people are coming from,
everyone has the capacity to change.
And that bringing your mom to a gay bar
is always a good idea.
She's just like pop, got a big mouth,
if she believes in something.
- If he believes in something. - Yeah.
Ian and I are with Randy, Dan's dad,
who is learning in real time
about transgender issues with his son.
I used to be a hateful man,
- I ain't gonna lie. - What were you angry about?
What I grew up with was my grandfather,
he was tough, World War II, you know,
"I don't smoke cigars, I eat them," type guy.
Mm-hmm.
So I was just... I was that way, and
I've done a lot of changing in my life.
But this is the final touch, what happened here.
To say, "You know what? It's all good now."
Dan's teaching you about what all this is, and how...
I'm a little kid. I'm a little tough guy, kid, okay?
Anything, everything I can do,
you know, is... I'm gonna make it happen,
because I have resources.
I have an author that I've been talking to.
She sent me something
that really got to me, to say we need to take this to another level,
was the suicide rate of
- unhappy kids of this age. - Mm-hmm.
That ain't gonna happen here, we're gonna fix this deal.
- Mm-hmm. - Do you worry about Dan?
Some of the things he might face as he goes into high school?
What I'm worried about is the things she won't tell me
that's going on in her mind that makes her...
makes him want to go home and cry.
That breaks my heart.
What have been your biggest struggles in all this?
I mean, just in your daily life?
Oh, absolutely pronouns, you've seen that,
but it's gonna happen. I'll learn. I'm not... I'm not stupid.
What would you say to,
you know, parents who are really struggling,
or parents who've kicked their kids out of their home
and don't understand the severe consequences and
repercussions of that?
Education. You need to educate yourself.
You need to stand behind your children.
Everybody wants to think they know what's wrong with America.
You know, look at the youth,
they need parents to say, "You know what?
There's a problem, we're gonna fix this thing."
You know? I mean, come on, seriously.
That old-school crap, it's got to go.
- Mm-hmm. - Mm-hmm.
Dan's everything to me.
I mean, Dan does not need to fear anything in front
because I'm right behind,
and he's gonna take this thing to the top.
Thank you for all the support you've done.
We got you.
Don't you fear nothing.
You're gonna make it.
We're not only gonna make it, we're gonna prosper, right?
Yep.
- You guys are awesome. - Really, yeah.
All right, we'll do a group hug.
- All right. Yeah. - Come here.
I'm a big fan of these group hugs.
- Goodbye. - Later.
Be in touch.
I don't think there's anything much more moving than that, and
hearing directly from Dan,
and his experience and witnessing his strength, and then
the fact that Randy is who he is
and has become who he is, is a lifesaver,
I mean, literally. It's just an...
it's an absolutely beautiful thing to witness.
Yeah, for a lot of people, that is brave and bold, and hella risky,
right, to even share that you're having these feelings of
wanting to be your true self,
or experiment with that, that's a major risk,
and so actually just sharing the story
is, like, major activism right now.
It's the day after the inauguration
and we're at the women's march.
There is an enormous amount of people,
the vibe is amazing,
and we're gonna go join the masses.
Any of you can be an activist.
Any of you can be an organizer.
We have to listen to each other and know
that we always have more to learn.
I ask you to stand and continue
to keep your voices loud.
That instinct that said, "I've got to get on a bus,
a plane, a train, no matter what,"
that feeling, take it back with you
to wherever it is that you came from today!
Women's marches across the country
made it the largest single day of demonstration
in United States' history.
Yes, we are in a time of uncertainty and division,
but let's keep looking to
and learning from the history of struggle
and solidarity movements
that continue on because of brave activists of today.
And remember that we all have to be willing to unite...
because we are proof of the power we have
when we stand together.
The people united will never be divided.
- Synced and corrected by chamallow - - www.addic7ed.com -