Culture of Inclusion
Endures in Baldwin County:
Juneteenth and LGBTQ Pride
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LGBTQ Rights in the Crosshairs |
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You can ban a kids’ book about two guys raising chickens from library shelves. You can paste a warning label on it.
You can forbid teachers from talking about same-sex parents. You can block transgender kids from the kind of medical care they need.
You can regulate who uses the bathroom where and exclude transgender students from sports.
You can run an onslaught of spiteful political TV ads scapegoating transgender people.
You can fold your hands, close your eyes and try to pray the gay away.
But that isn’t going to stop one person from being who they are. All it will do is make life harder for folks already facing a tough time finding their way to selfhood.
“Censorship of the word does not end on paper, but on the skin of human beings,” quoted author Jarrett Dapier in a letter to Spanish Fort City officials this spring.
Dapier’s childrens’ book Mr. Watson’s Chickens was at the center of the latest skirmish between the forces that be in Spanish Fort and local LGBTQ advocate Elizabeth Denham.
With this year’s Pride Month upon us, Baldwin County’s LGBTQ community finds itself in the crosshairs of ever-escalating right-wing culture wars.
Alabama lawmakers this spring passed a duo of bills that would criminalize gender affirming care for minors. The new laws mandate teachers and counselors call parents if a student questions their gender identity. They bar classroom discussion on gender identity or sexual orientation for kindergartners through fifth graders. Kids must use the bathroom or locker room aligned with the gender that is assigned on their birth certificate.
Worst of all, the state threatens jail time for doctors, parents, and anyone else who help transgender kid get care.
Gov. Kay Ivey signed it all into law, saying she believes “very strongly that if the Good Lord made you a boy, you are a boy, and if he made you a girl, you are a girl.”
“There are very real challenges facing our young people, especially with today’s societal pressures and modern culture,” Ivey said.
That may be true. But, for folks in the LGBTQ community, pointless measures and conservative political posturing only pile on those pressures.
“Alabama is a hard enough place to grow up trans. This bill just made it a whole lot worse,” said Corey Harvard, spokesperson for Prism United, a Mobile group providing programming for Bay area LGBTQ youth and the people who care for them.
SB 184, criminalizing the provision of gender-transitioning medical care to minors, is mercifully on hold under a United States Justice Department challenge claiming the bill “denies necessary medical care to children based solely on who they are.”
The United States’ complaint alleges that SB184 violates the Equal Protection Clause by discrimination based on sex and transgender status. The complaint joins another lawsuit filed by four Alabama parents of transgender teens filed in April.
“Even if the medical parts of the bill never go into effect, the other aspects of it will still have devastating consequences on the mental health of trans youth,” Harvard said.
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Nobody Wants This
Transgender young people in Baldwin and Mobile counties bear witness to the cruelty of the latest spate of discriminatory state decrees. They are going by first names to avoid further harassment.
No one wants to be called slurs, says Adrian. Nobody likes to be jumped in school halls. Or to lose a job, or a chance to go to college.
“But when you’re terrified about your own safety going to the doctor, that’s a completely different issue. As a trans person, I feel like I don’t know what’s going on with me. And I don’t know if this person’s going to lie to me or not,” he said.
Tyler said gender-affirming medical care saved his life.
‘It’s an uphill battle,” he said. “But this is a downslide for making it easier for future generations of young people.”
When it comes to sexual identity, It’s not up to doctors to tell clients what’s right for them, says Dr. Brian Upton, a Mobile clinical psychologist. And it’s certainly not the place of government. That’s the job of the licensing boards that regulate medical ethics and practices, he said.
“The licensing boards that regulate how we practice are in favor of gender affirming services. Period. Full stop,” Dr. Upton said.
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Trickle Down Intolerance
If there’s one arena where trickle-down theories embraced by Republicans actually bear out, we can see intolerance seeping down from the state hall to saturate local schools, libraries and workplaces. (Or does it siphon up?)
Elizabeth Denham made news in 2017 when she challenged a right-leaning reading list for an Advanced Placement Government class at Spanish Fort High School. The case drew national press attention when her blog was published on Huffington Post, one of the web's most popular sites.
This year, the Spanish Fort library board considered either banning or putting a special “LGBTIQ friendly” label on Dapier’s story about two men in a relationship and their comically touching escapades raising chickens.
National Democratic leadership and fundraisers are sending out appeals to support local librarians as Republicans turn their attacks onto public libraries in advance of midterm elections. Virginia Gov. Youngkin made banning books a key promise of his campaign.
“This disgusting censorship is a blatant ploy to silence the voices of LGBTQ Americans,” warns a recent email from Project Ameripac, a Political Action Committee that raises money to elect Democratic leaders to Congress.
“Republicans are attacking public libraries to force bans on any book dealing with race, LGBTQ+ rights, or anything else the GOP simply doesn’t like,” the email says.
Banning books like Mr. Watson’s Chickens won’t make gay people in your town – or anywhere else – exist any less, Dapier says.
“But it will turn them into targets of belittlement, violence, and hate. That is unacceptable, unloving, and inhuman,” he said.
That’s exactly what happened when Denham confronted school and library authorities five years ago. After that episode, students physically turned their backs on her son – who is openly gay and now in college - as he walked through halls of Spanish Fort High. The Denham family moved to a new church since the church they attended did not accept their son.
Once again, Denham prevailed and reason ultimately reigned in Spanish Fort. The book stayed on the shelf with no warning label after neighbors wrote letters and spoke up at a public hearing. The city attorney recommended leaving Mr. Watson’s Chickens where it was after reviewing relevant case law.
“If my child had seen a book that represented him, how much more normal would he have felt? When you don’t see anybody who looks like you, you are made to feel like an outcast,” she said.
Denham pushes back on those who say a book with two men living together as central characters sexualizes children. She sees it the other way around.
In elementary school, her son tells her, he felt “kind of different” but didn’t know what it was. By middle school he had figured it out. By high school he had accepted it as who he was. It took another couple of years to come out.
“You’re putting a sexual connotation on them before they are able to have one,” Denham said in her podcast with Dapier (who is not gay) and book illustrator Andrea Tsurumi (who is).
“Actually, I’m kind of offended that you are putting this sexual connotation on kids who aren’t old enough to handle it. “
Domino Effect Discrimination
With Roe v. Wade about to collapse after standing as precedent to protect women’s reproductive health rights for five decades, many fear a rollback of recent gains granting gay rights in the workplace and marriage.
It’s not lost on local LGBTQ rights advocates that Judge Samuel Alito, in his draft opinion, specifically referenced same-sex marriage rights as it poised to destroy women’s right to choose. Jim Obergefell, the lead plaintiff in the landmark marriage equality case and now a candidate for an Ohio House seat, said in a statement that it is “concerning” that some on the Supreme Court are eager to lump them all together.
“The sad part is in both these cases, five or six people will determine the law of the land and go against the vast majority of Ohioans and Americans who overwhelmingly support a woman’s right to make her own health decisions and a couple’s right to be married,” he said.
“This is a sad day, but it’s not over.,” Obergefell said. “We have fought the good fight for too long to be denied our rights now.”
Complete information about Color Fairhope with Pride celebration below.
By Robyn Monaghan.
BCD Newsletter Editor
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Fairhope Pride Fest Sat June 18
The Second Annual Color Fairhope With Pride Festival will take place Saturday, June 18th from 1-5pm in South Beach Park (the grassy park beside the pier).
Like last year, the Festival will have buckets of sidewalk chalk set up along the water-front sidewalk and invite supporters from Baldwin County and beyond to come chalk messages of Love and Pride. But this year, organizers have rented the entire park and are busy planning a fantastic afternoon of entertainment. Local businesses and organizations are also invited to join in the celebration. Interested parties should Site Director Sarah Fischer at [email protected] as soon as possible to reserve a spot.
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Juneteenth:
Our Other Independence Day
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It was two and half years after President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation ended slavery that, on June 19th, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger landed at Galveston, Texas with word that the enslaved were now free.
What took so long?
Until General Lee surrendered, there were no Union troops in Texas to enforce the new Executive Order, according to historical accounts on the Juneteenth website. Folklore has it one messenger bringing news of freedom was murdered on his trip to Texas. Some believe enslavers went mum on emancipation to keep people working on the plantations. Others say federal troops stood down so slave owners could reap one last cotton harvest of free labor.
Juneteenth is not just for blacks, said Jermaine Washington, local event organizer.
“It’s like the Fourth of July. It celebrates freedom and equality,” he said.
“It’s not just black history. This is American history.”
Economic Emancipation
This year’s Juneteenth celebration – Baldwin County’s third – will showcase small black-owned business. This year’s commemoration shines a spotlight on economic freedom, Washington said.
There will be an outdoor food court full of food trucks and restauranteurs. The Black business community will supply a bouncy house, waterslides and free horseback rides for kids. There’ll be locally-made arts and crafts. Even the porta potties are rented from black providers. The health department will be on hand with Covid vaccines and booster shots
The Juneteenth festivities – actually on June 18 - this year moves to Fairhope. Last year’s event in Daphne drew nearly 300 even though it had to be rescheduled because of rain.
“Everybody is invited,’ Washington said. “This is not just for black people.”
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It's rich, Baldwin County Juneteenth organizers say, that this year’s celebration of African American freedom, achievement, and heritage, comes amid Conservative efforts to slap a gag order on black history.
“It’s important we know and celebrate the histories of all races in the melting pot of our country,” said Maurice Horsey, chair of Baldwin County’s Eastern Shore Democrats. “People need to know what happened in history, so we never repeat those mistakes.”
America is not a third world country where education is not available to all citizens, Horsey says in response to right-wing culture assaults built on uninformed ideas about Critical Race Theory.
“Planning the future without knowing about our past is like trying to plant a garden with cut flowers,” Horsey said.
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Traditions Revived
The Fairhope Juneteenth festivities will revive traditions that evolved as freed African American families broke away and migrated to neighboring Southern states or to the north. Juneteenth continued to be highly revered in Texas for decades, with many former slaves and descendants making an annual pilgrimage back to Galveston on this date. It was a time for reconnecting and reassuring each other. Rodeos, fishing, barbecuing, and baseball became hallmarks of gatherings.
Juneteenth almost always focused on education and self-improvement. People made a point to dress up because they were forbidden to wear “white” clothes when they were enslaved. During the earliest days of emancipation celebrations, there are stories of former slaves tossing ragged garments into creeks and rivers.
Juneteenth Celebrations ebbed in the early 1900’s. Textbooks and classrooms replaced family teachings - and they skipped the chapter about the lives of former slaves. Classroom textbooks proclaimed Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863, as the date signaling the ending of slavery. How many of us remember anything from history class about General Granger coming to Texas on June 19th or anything about a holiday?
The Civil Rights movement of the 50’s and 60’s brought a resurgence of Juneteenth commemorations. Atlanta civil rights protestors in the early 1960’s wore Juneteenth freedom buttons. In1968, Juneteenth was the day of the Poor Peoples March, a historic demonstration in Washington D.C. to support the poor. Activists there took Juneteenth home with them and launched their own celebrations honoring African-American freedom and accomplishment all across the country.
On January 1, 1980, Juneteenth became an official Texas state holiday through the efforts of Al Edwards, an African American state legislator. Last year President Joe Biden made it a national holiday.
Emancipation Came to Baldwin County?
It comes as no surprise that local accounts of how word of Emancipation came to Baldwin County are nowhere to be found. Baldwin County histories flow from Spanish forts to Confederate battles and various incarnations of county government.
Try finding anyone who can tell you when Union soldiers clip-clopped across the Lillian Bridge or anchored in Perdido Bay to tell the enslaved of Baldwin County they were free to go. Where did everybody go that day or week? Did they gather in the woods to sing spirituals around barbeque pits? Did the enslavers try to stop them?
Posing this kind of question will get some pretty humorous responses.
A “say what?” emoji in motion
“Emancipation has come to Baldwin County?”
“When?”
Eric Leisenring, who considers himself a history buff, said he heard nothing about the Tulsa massacre or General Granger in public schools.
“White washing of history exists and it is disturbing,” he said. “We were definitely withheld very important information.”
Washington graduated from a Historically Black College and University, but he learned nothing about when or how Emancipation came to Baldwin County or even to Alabama. He figures there were a lot of happy people who didn’t know where they were going to lay their heads that night. Raised for generations to be dependent, he imagines ancestors who had no relationship to the concept of money.
“There were still a lot of hard times ahead,” Washington reflects. “But it was a start. It was starting to dig out of a hole.”
Let’s hope this year’s Juneteenth Celebration in Fairhope will bring families together to celebrate successes and share tales that might save for posterity the stories of what happened in their communities on Emancipation Day.
Event organizers would like to recognize Ole Bay Consulting, Fairhope Unite, Trinity Presbyterian Church and Lampro Aster as presenting sponsors. Join in the festivities from 11am to 6pm on June 18th at 19128 Young St., Fairhope.
By Robyn Monaghan
BCD Newsletter Editor
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Each month, the BCD Newsletter offers up an overview of the most newsworthy highlights from county commission meetings and actions. Watch this space to stay in the loop on just what our commissioners are up to.
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Democrat Alec Barnett will face long-time incumbent Charles "Skip" Gruber for District 4 County Commissioner in November.
Gruber defeated Republican challenger Chris Crawford in the May 24 primary election by a margin of about 3,000 votes -15,418 to 12,384.
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QUOTE OF
THE MONTH
"Mental health - it can strike anyone anytime..."
Skip Gruber, at the May 3 County Commission meeting during a commemoration for Mental Health Awareness Month
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Lillian Turns Out
En Masse to Block
Horton Housing
More than 100 Lillian area neighbors turned out early in May to block a new subdivision near the corner of Highways 98 and 91.
After hearing more than four hours of objections from residents, the Baldwin County Planning and Zoning Board voted not to recommend the D R Horton zoning changes to the Baldwin County Board of Commissioners. Approval would have paved the way for a likely nod from the county board to move ahead with a subdivision located north of U.S. Highway 98 just east of County Road 91near Lillian.
Despite the denial to recommend, the county commissioners still have the final say at an upcoming meeting slated for June 21. Lillian area residents voiced their opposition to the plan in no uncertain terms. Lack of infrastructure for traffic, water and sewer, inadequate law enforcement, loss of farmland and a myriad of other concerns that come with, what some called“unchecked sprawl.”
The project location is in Baldwin County District 4, represented by County Commissioner Charles “Skip” Gruber. Gruber did not return requests for comment on the issue in his district.
Other local politicians, including Chris Crawford and Alec Barnett, both candidates in the May primary, were quick to comment on the issue. As of press time, the results of that primary were unknown.
The request to the zoning board was on behalf of D.R. Horton and Swift Timber, LLC to rezone 31.66 +/- acres from B-4 Major Commercial to RSF-4 Single Family. The plan calls for over 90 homes for the 30-plus acre site just off U.S. 98, a two-lane highway that already charts its own set of traffic issues.
Chris Crawford, defeated in last month's primary by Skip Gruber, said he would uphold the Planning and board’s recommendation.
“I would fight to keep our growth controlled and dealing with the proper infrastructure. We have to address the traffic and roads especially on HWY 98,” Crawford said.
Gruber did not offer his position and did not return calls for comment.
Alec Barnett, also challenging Gruber for county commissioner in District 4, says this kind of "uncontrolled, poorly planned" development is just the kind of thing he's running to prevent. County officials need to demand that sewage and other infrastructure is in place before new developments get a green light to build.
"You can't just kiss 'em and leave 'em, which is what county commissioners usually do to the folks they’re supposed to be serving," Barnett said.
Insurance Issues
NBC news has reported that attorneys for homeowners in a class action lawsuit allege their DR Horton homes built between 2015 and 2021 are at risk of not meeting the "Gold Fortified" standards set by insurance carriers.
“The lawsuit filed November 10th says these new homes have shown significant building code violations, everything from the use of substandard materials to improper foundation construction.
Homeowners think they are safe and they are not, and they are also getting a 55 percent discount on their insurance and that 55 percent discount would probably go away. I don’t know what will happen when the insurance companies find out about this," Houston attorney David Sheller, representing homeowners, said in the news report,
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Don’t miss out on the Eastern Shore Democrats 6th Annual Blood Drive.
This is a wonderful opportunity to reach out to our neighbors and show them what we are all about - community!
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NAACP Freedom Fund Banquet
Where;
Foley Civic Center
407 E Laurel
Foley, Al 36535
Date: August 6, 2022
Time: 6-8 pm
How Much? $35 each, $300 for a table of eight
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P.O. Box 73
Fairhope, AL 36533
(251) 210-8343
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