BOOK REVIEW
may 2014 newspaper
senseless tearing apart of LGBTQ people’s communities.
The Elephant of Surprise by Brent Hartinger In the fourth installment of the Russel Middlebrook series, we’ve once again brought back to Goodkind High and going along with Russel as he meets a new guy Wade; Min, who know something is up with her girlfriend Leah, but not exactly what it is; and Gunnar in his wonderful heterosexual eccentricity. This is a LGBT Teen series, but is also enjoyed by adults. The book opens with a brief synopsis of the first three books (Geography Club, The Order of the Poison Oak, and Double Feature: Attack of the SoulSucking Brain Zombies/Bride of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies (also published as Split Screen)), so it is not 100% necessary to read them before reading this one, but I do recommend that you do go back and read them so you will have the whole story. This series has characters we can relate to, and situations we may be familiar with. I started this series while I was still on the street and am extremely happy to be able to continues it during my incarceration. I am anxiously awaiting any further installments to this wonderful series. Indy
BLACK AND PINK ENDORSES #NOT1MORE Among the two million immigrants deported by the Obama administration—1,100 people deported every day, and 34,000 people caged in immigration detention centers every single night—are countless LGBTQ individuals and their family, friends, and loved ones. Under the current system of detention and deportation, LGBTQ immigrants, especially transgender women of color, often experience horrific treatment within immigration detention centers, including violence, deprivation of necessary medical care, dehumanization and assaults on basic dignity, psychological torture in solitary confinement, and rape. A recent study demonstrated that transgender women survivors made up 20% of substantiated sexual assault claims in immigration detention. Many detained LGBTQ immigrants simply give up and accept deportation rather than continue to fight for the asylum that they qualify for under existing law because their detention conditions are so unbearable. Too many of our deported community members then end up facing the violence and sometimes murder that they had originally come to the United States to flee. The current immigration detention and deportation crisis harms us deeply, and we call on President Obama to act within his powers to end the cruel and
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We also call on President Obama to end Secure Communities and other programs which funnel immigrants into the deportation machinery through local law enforcement, particularly those that experience biased policing based on race, sexual orientation, and/or gender identity. Too many of our community members end up in deportation proceedings because they are arrested after calling police for help in a domestic violence situation because the officer made assumptions about what intimate partner violence looks like. Too many transgender women of color are deported because of pretextual arrests for drug possession or sex work leading to criminal charges being immediately dropped and transfer to immigration detention. President Obama has the power to stop these programs so that our non-citizen community members do not live in fear that any minor interaction with police could lead to their deportation. As those living and working in the intersections of LGBTQ and immigrant identities, we join immigrant activists across the country to say that two million deportations is two million too many and to call on President Obama to act immediately for Not One More Deportation! http://transgenderlawcenter.org/archives/10129
Title: Liberation Not Deportation Artist: Zuleica Zepeda Description: The hummingbird is a symbol of peace, love and happiness. To many indigenous people, the hummingbird believed to represent the physical form of a spirit helper and guide. Inspired by my ancestors deep spirituality, I used the hummingbird as a symbol to communicate dreams, thoughts, her/ his-tory and movement. Website: www.zuleicazepeda.com ¡EL PERIÓDICO DE BLACK AND PINK AHORA DISPONIBLE EN ESPAÑOL! / BLACK AND PINK NEWSPAPER NOW AVAILABLE IN SPANISH! La policia, los tribunales, y el sistema de prisiones en los Estados Unidos acosa a gente de color, particularmente a gente negra, latin@, arabe, o indígena. Casi 1 al 3 de los prisioneros hablan español como lengua materna. Queremos que nuestro periódico sea lo más disponible posible para cualquiera persona quien quiera leerlo. Somos una familia más fuerte cuando más gente nos pueden entender.
Por favor, avisen a todos sus amigos lesbiana, gay, bisexual, transgenero, o kuir/queer quisieran recibir un periódico en espanol. Pueden escribir a: Black and Pink - Spanish Newspaper 614 Columbia Rd. Dorchester, MA 02125
The US police, court, and prison system targets people of color, particularly Black, Latin@, Arab, and Indigenous/American Indian people. Nearly 1 in 3 prisoners’ first language is Spanish. We want our newspaper to be as available as possible to everyone who wants to read it. We are a stronger family when more people can understand us.
Please tell all your Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and/or Queer friends who would like a newspaper in Spanish to write to: Black and Pink - Spanish Newspaper 614 Columbia Rd. Dorchester, MA 02125
SEND US YOUR HEADER ART! Black and Pink wants to use your art as a newspaper header! We’ll feature a different artist each month! Send us a drawing that says, “Black & Pink” or “Black and Pink.” Images should be no bigger than 10 inches in length and 3.5 inches in height. Smaller or larger images may be resized to fit. This month’s header is by Adam in Indiana!