THE CATALYST Volume 4 Issue 2

Vol. 4 Issue 2 • June 30, 2025

ERSKIN JENKINS SAY HIS NAME

LUBBOCK, Texas • $FREE.99

SPOTLIGHT ON LINDSEY BRUNER KIM GONZALEZ: THIS IS NOT TV GAY BARS IN LUBBOCK RAINBOW SIT-IN #RANCHWATERGATE RIOT, RINSE, REPEAT

NO KINGS

Editorial

UPPER LEFT

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EAR READERS, IT IS OUR PRIDE, PUN INTENDED, TO PRESENT YOU WITH VOLUME 4, Issue 2 of THE CATALYST. A great deal has happened in fair Lubbock, where we lay our scene, since we were last able to grace your eyes. From “No Kings” protests at Tim Cole, to anti-DEI crusades in Texas schools, to an attempt on the life of our esteemed lead editor, the temperature is rising across the South Plains. But heat isn’t a problem for us — more heat often helps in chemical changes that involve a CATALYST, and with relentless attacks on the LGBTQ community, change is needed now more than ever.

LEAD EDITOR | Gil Caley ART DIRECTOR | Marcello Burdis

THE CATALYST is an agent for making change. We take the cause of liberation to the press by covering news and perspectives you may not find in the establishment media. We strive to illuminate truth and present Lubbock’s real diversity, even if it offends or embarrasses the irresponsible powers that be.

FLUNKIES | P.earl, Tracey Benefield, Friend of Dusty, Lindsey Bruner, Kimberleigh Gonzalez

This Pride Month, we invite you to remember: “there is no freedom for some of us without liberation for all of us,” and Pride has always been a protest.

Queer Love Forever.

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ERSKIN JENKINS: . . . A N D T H E N , SAY. HIS. NAME. T H E R E W A S O N E —editor

Spectrum

June 21, 2025

Family, community members still seek answers in deputy-involved killing of Tech student

April 8, 2025

(Or more like a half of a) “gay bar” in Lubbock, Texas

by Gil Caley • CATALYST

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FAMILY FROM THE Woodlands is still seeking answers after their son, Erskin Jenkins, was shot and killed by a Lubbock County Sheriff’s Deputy last November.

Erskin, 20-years-old at the time of his death, was a sophomore at Texas Tech studying psychology; according to a GoFundMe started by Erskin’s mother, Sharon Jenkins, Erskin “planned to use his love for animals and career path to enhance the lives of children with disabilities.”

Seven months after the incident, the Jenkins family told The Catalyst that they have very little information about what happened—beyond what the Lubbock County District Attorney's Office made publicly available.

When EverythingLubbock.com made a records request to the county, Lubbock County refused, claiming that “Lubbock County reasonably believes that there is a substantial threat of physical harm to the officers involved in the shooting of Erskin Charles Jenkins based on public statements made by Sharon Jenkins and representatives of the NAACP.” The Lubbock NAACP, the Lubbock Coalition of Black Democrats, BLM Grassroots, and Erskin Jenkins’ family held a vigil on June 20, followed by a press conference the day after.

During this, despite the county’s refusal to release furhter information related to the case, they were able to identify the deputy who shot Erskin as recently promoted Sgt. Stephen Amador.

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Erskin Jenkins. Photo courtesy of Erskin’s Heart.

The press conference, and accompanying statements from each group, renewed calls for accountability and justice for Erskin, demanding that Amador be publicly identified, removed, and prosecuted and that Lubbock County District Attorney Sunshine Stanek and Sheriff Kelly Rowe either resign or be removed from office— officials who, according to the Lubbock Coalition of Black Democrats, are “actively participating in the cover-up of Erskin Jenkins’ unjust death.”

“The Lubbock Coalition of [Black] Democrats will not rest until justice is served for Erskin Charles Jenkins and his family,” Stuart Williams, chair of the Coalition, said when he took the podium. “We stand united as concerned community members and as black voters and taxpayers in America and in this county who are demanding accountability, transparency, and most importantly justice.

Together we will continue to shine a light on this case [...] and advocate for the rightful resolutions our community and the Jenkins family deserve.”

“My beautiful son was taken from me by the very people who are supposed to protect and serve,” said Sharon Jenkins, Erskin’s mother. “[...] To every mother out there who’s had to bury her child when they brought them to this university, you need to speak up. Don’t let anyone push you down so hard that you won’t fight for your child.”

To date, Texas Tech University has not commented or made any public statement regarding the matter.

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A float dedicated to Erskin Jenkins for Lubbock’s Juneteenth parade. Photo courtesy of Erskin’s Heart.

THE CATALYST

by P. Earl • CATALYST

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N A COLD, WEST TEXAS night not long ago, I joined my friends to gather around the warmth of a lighted dance floor with a mirrored disco ball hanging from above, moving to the tubthumping of a 2000watt speaker, while drinking in the traditional and not so traditional spirits of the “gay bar.”

The lines between gay and straight nightlife have maintained a significant split as long as bars have existed here in Lubbock. But living in the second most conservative city in the United States (according to a 2006 poll), those that selfidentify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or queer, find slim pickings these days for an open night on the town.

Anyone looking for a place to meet knows where to go for nightlife to find something different, out of the ordinary, and authentic to themselves.

The gay bar is the place to be if you find yourself not fitting in.

Straight folx I know, who find themselves at the gay bar, go there for the music, lights, specials, and freedom. Through this mix of communities, the lines of judgment seemingly blur. This small circle of people is a real, living, breathing example of community, if only for a night.

These days, people I talk to about the history of “gay bars” in Lubbock, don’t believe me when I say Lubbock was the place to go for gay nightlife.

Beginning with the back room of a steakhouse and a ware-

house during the 60’s and 70’s, to the big boom of brick-andmortar buildings of five – possibly six, depending on if there was a name change – in the 80’s, then back to slim pickings of the 90’s, the Lubbock bar scene was filled with queers and straights alike.

In 1999, I personally had experienced my first gay bar ever in Lubbock, Texas. Before the bar, there were small private house parties. But what if you were not “in the know,” how would you meet people like you? Unfortunately, your only choices were either a church or a bar.

In 2010, the last two gay bars in Lubbock (distinguished by their myriad displays of rainbows, drag queen shows, and motley of queer patrons) decided to host “straight nite.”

It was even advertised on local radio. On alternating Friday and Saturday nights you suddenly found people being turned away at the gay bars simply because they “looked gay.”

In my naive lesbian heart, I like to think the “ten-percent rule,” or the idea that 10% of the population is gay, is alive in Lubbock. If it were, then at least 20,000 people in Lubbock County are LGBTQ+.

But realizing that this rule has since been debunked nationwide, I am still left wondering: where is everybody?

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VOL 4 ISSUE 2

Opinion

GONZALEZ: THIS IS NOT TV, IT’S REAL LIFE

#RANCHWATERGATE June 17, 2025

“Can it!”—Drunk Lubbock man attacks Catalyst editor, LGBTQ community leaders

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June 19, 2025

by Kimberleigh Gonzalez

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ET’S CALL IT WHAT IT IS: corpse abuse.

Adriana Smith was declared brain-dead in Georgia, but doctors kept her body going just to grow her baby a few more weeks. She was gone. But instead of being laid to rest, her body was used like a machine.

No consent. No choice. Just a law that cared more about her womb than her life.

This sounds like The Handmaid’s Tale, but it’s not fiction anymore. It’s happening right here. Her body wasn’t hers —not even in death. That’s not medicine. That’s control.

When laws say a dead woman must carry a pregnancy no matter what, we’ve crossed a terrifying line. It’s the end result of treating people’s bodies like they belong to the state. First it’s no abortion. Then it’s no say in miscarriage. Now? Not even death stops them from using you.

This isn’t just about one case.

It’s about a system that sees people as vessels, not humans.

And if we stay quiet, it will only get worse.

We should be angry. We should be loud. Because no one should have to fight for basic dignity—not in life, and sure as hell not in death.

If this shakes you, don’t scroll past it. Share Adriana’s story.

Talk about it. Call your reps.

Vote like someone’s freedom depends on it—because it does.

The only way to stop this is to show up, speak out, and refuse to be silent.

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The weapon used in the attack: a can of Karbach Ranch Water Hard Seltzer (lemon-flavored).

Original photo courtesy of Facebook/Gil Caley.

Kim Gonzalez. Photo provided by author.

EDITOR’S NOTE In this opinion article, Kimberleigh Gonzalez writes about Adriana Smith, a Georgia woman who was declared brain dead, but had a fetal heartbeat detected.

The hospital opted not to end her life support, and told the family it would violate Georgia’s six-week abortion ban. The baby was born via C-section on June 13, and Smith was taken off of life support four days later.

Kim Gonzalez is a Lubbock resident and current member of the Texas State Democratic Executive Committee for District 19, which includes Lubbock.

HE HEAT IS GETTING TO everyone in Lubbock, Texas.

That’s certainly true of a drunk Lubbock man who lobbed a can of hard seltzer at our lead editor in a parking lot last night.

Gil Caley, 26, was standing in front of St. John's Methodist Church and chatting with board members of PFLAG Lubbock when the very inebriated man began shouting obscenities and threw the ranch water. Luckily it whizzed past our beloved editor and exploded on the ground several yards away, spewing precious lemony liquid all over the asphalt. Caley, in a post on Facebook, wrote about

the attack saying, “he called me a ‘fucking punk’ and threw his beer at me (but he missed because homophobes can't aim).” Thankfully, nobody was hurt in the incident, except perhaps the ego of the aspiring assassin.

The assailant is still at large and was last seen traveling south near the 1600 block of University Avenue.

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If you have any tips on his whereabouts, The Catalyst editorial staff asks that you call 248-434-5508.

From page 2, “...And Then There Was One” WHERE ARE WE NOW? Sitting on the largest mesa in the United States, the Llano Estacado, you can feel like you are the only person on earth.

Our big, exposed sky invites you to reach up and grab it. The flat plains give you room to stretch and grow. The sun and wind can test you to your core.

OUTwest Lubbock, the virtual

LGBTQ+ community center, is working to chronicle the history, culture, and personal narratives of our LGBTQ+ community.

While we are using various collections across Lubbock and the State of Texas for our research, we want to hear from you, the people who have lived and worked in Lubbock.

Help us add your story/memory to our history project.

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Did or do you still frequent the “gay bar”? Want to help edit our list for more accuracy? Do you have personal papers, posters, and memorabilia you would like to share? Do you have articles, newspapers, etc., that you have saved and want to share? Let's go down memory lane together. Just send an email to contact@outwestlubbock.org.

Diane’s Steakhouse (early 1960s), 1801 19th St Back room reserved for those “in the know,” but commonly known as a gay restaurant, no drag shows but some customers were comfortable coming in drag The Plaid Door (early 1970s), corner of 4th and University Dorothy’s (early 1970s), corner of 50th and Q The Place (1970s), 2492 Main St David’s Warehouse (mid to late 1970s), 2400 block of Marshall St Possibly gay-owned. Commonly staked out by police officers to arrest men in the parking lot.

Hilltop (late 1970s to early 1980s), N University Ave Opened while David’s Warehouse was still open. Primarily women customers.

Peaches (f/k/a Pinocchio’s, before 1977) (late 70’s to late 80’s), 510 N. University Ave. Located down from Hilltop on University Avenue. “Stunningly beautiful bar/club.”

Just Magic (1980s), 40th and Chicago, off Brownfield Hwy (now Marsha Sharp Fwy), Lesbian-owned.

Pandora’s Box (mid 1980s to late 1980s), in North Lubbock, off Avenue Q, Mostly women customers.

Papillons (briefly open in late 1980s), 1204 Broadway, basement of present-day Pioneer Hotel Backgammon tables, bar, dance floor.

Uncle Charlie’s (1988 to 1991), location unknown Owned by Tino Calderon and Ray McDermett, who owned gay bar ‘Bout Time II in North Austin Captain Hollywood’s (mid 1990s), 13th and University The Bar (1990s to early 2000s), 2401 Main St Played top 40, Tejano, and country music. Had one large bar and two pool tables.

Murphy’s Pub (2005 to 2009), 3502 Slide Rd, Great food and drinks. Lesbian-owned.

Belly’s Café (2009 to 2013), 1406 Ave Q, present-day location of Flippers Tavern Great food and drinks. A space to host gay-themed fundraisers. Lesbian-owned.

Club PINK (2015-2016), 510 N University Ave, Hosted drag shows. Played top 40 and Tejano music.

Heaven Night Club (“Gay Night”) (2016 to 2019), 1928 Buddy Holly Ave Rewind Lounge (2019 to 2023), 1802 Buddy Holly Ave, drag shows. LubbockPRIDE Block Party.

An evening at Club Rewind in 2023. Photo courtesy of P. Earl.

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Club Luxor (1998 to present), 2211 Marsha Sharp Fwy, Lubbock’s premier and legendary alternative lifestyles nightclub.

THE CATALYST

VOL 4 ISSUE 2

by Tricia J

Spectrum

EDITOR’S NOTE

LINDSEY BRUNER MUSIC SPOTLIGHT June 19, 2025

How I’m Blazing a Trail With Southern Soul & Sapphic Fire

by Lindsey Bruner

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ORN IN DALLAS AND raised on grit and gut-level honesty, I’ve always carried a sound that didn’t quite fit into one box. It took me years to stop fearing my own truth and be relentlessly vulnerable with the world as to who I truly am! Now I freely give my raw emotions through words and belting vocals in hopes that it reaches even one person who just needs a little reassurance that they are uniquely beautiful and perfect.

With my debut album Fire & Lace, I’m finally giving that sound its full expression—a blend of modern country and blues, charged with heat, heartbreak, and a distinctly sapphic soul.

This project is deeply personal.

Every track tells a story of desire, defiance, and emotional complexity—especially for women who love women. I’ve always been drawn to the tension between fire & vulnerability, and this upcoming album lives in that space, housing music that lives outside the margins and doesn’t ask permission.

In parallel, I’ve also been telling queer stories in film. My full-

This feminist zine, “Riot, Rinse, Repeat,” is cropped to fit. We did our best to keep adjacent art visible while keeping the text legible, but still, a lot of Tricia J’s awesome visual art was cut off. If you’d like a PDF version, you can request it by email: editor@texascatalyst.com.

length short & lesbian romance film, “Off Script,” (that I directed & acted in) is going to resonate with its viewers through raw emotions, taking on toxic culture, age gap complexities, and asking the question: what would you sacrifice for love and authenticity? It’s going to leave a mark in the LGBTQ+ community.

The song “Sapphic Poison,” which I created to serve as the film’s score, anchors one of the most complex experiences seen in any toxic relationship—you know you shouldn’t but you just have to—and is full of unspoken tension. For me, whether in song or on screen, the goal is the same: to make space for sapphic longing, sensuality, and complexity without compromise.

With Fire & Lace, I’m not just releasing songs; I’m building a world. Whether it’s song or film, it’s all part of a larger vision: to tell the kinds of stories I never got to see growing up, never thought I would get to be a part of, and to do it with elegance, honesty, and heat.

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ADVERTISE IN THE CATALYST

YOUR AD HERE

Lindsey Bruner. Photo courtesy of Lindsey Bruner Music.

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Do you have no sense of propriety? Trying to reach a local audience of troublemakers and ne’er-do-wells? Advertise in THE CATALYST! Reach out to us for more information at advertising@texascatalyst.com.

THE CATALYST

VOL 4 ISSUE 2

(CONTINUED FROM “RIOT, RINSE, REPEAT,” PG. 5)

WORKS CITED The Lesbian Avenger Handbook. Lesbian Avengers, https://www.lesbianavengers. com/ handbooks/Lesbian_Avenger_handbook3.shtml.

Nast, Condé. “The Radical History of the Lesbian Avengers and the Dyke March.” The Cut, 25 June 2021, https://www.thecut.com/2021/06/lesbian-avengers-and-the-dykemarch.html.

“Reconsidering the Sexual Politics of Fascism.” Historical Materialism, https://www. historicalmaterialism.org/reconsidering-the-sexual-politics-of-fascism/.

Harkness, Sara. “Fantifa: Feminist Antifascist Counterpublics and Intersectional Antifascism.” Journal of Lesbian Studies, vol. 28, no. 2, 2024, https://www. tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10894160.2024.2359281#d1e133.

Butler, Judith. “Nature and Culture.” Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity, Routledge, 1990, pp. 35–44.

Meyer, Elizabeth J. “The Acultural Assumptions of Empiricism: Revisiting the Gendered Science of ‘Gendered’ Behavior.” Educational Researcher, vol. 37, no. 9, 2008, pp.

460–462. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X08327398.

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THE CATALYST

VOL 4 ISSUE 2

Resource

JANE’S DUE PROCESS KITS Jane’s Due Process delivers free repro kits in Lubbock and the surrounding area. Each kit includes 2 emergency contraceptives (aka plan b), 2 pregnancy tests, condoms, and an info zine. To request a kit, text the Jane’s Due Process Hotline (866-999-5263).

The volunteer who replies will ask you for a safe address and time window to deliver the kit.

Deliveries typically take 12-48 hours.

For more info, visit: https://janesdueprocess.org/blog/how-to-getfree-ec-in-texas/

Not in Lubbock? The Texas Free Plan B Map (right) shows other projects across Texas that also provide free emergency contraceptives!

Graphic courtesy of Jane’s Due Process, Lubbock.

FOR YOUR INFO Plan B, also known as the morning-after pill, is an emergency contraceptive that can prevent pregnancy after unprotected sex. It contains the hormone levonorgestrel and is most effective when taken within 72 hours after the incident. It is not intended for regular use as a contraceptive method.

Spectrum

THE POWER OF A PRIDE FLAG June 4, 2025

Wrap up and stay taut

by P. Earl

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T’S A FEW DAYS INTO JUNE a.k.a. Pride Month in Lubbock, Texas. Queers and Allies, Citizens of Lubbock, are wondering will this be the year that our city leadership recognizes the many economic, social, and cultural contributions we have made to the growth of our fair “hub city”? Will the mayor and city Council members sign and read the proclamation at Lubbock PRIDE on June 28?

As long as the Aryan Brotherhood, the Ku Klux Klan and other hateful white supremacist organizations have existed in this part of Texas, queer people have also lived, worked, and died trying to navigate a climate literally and figuratively that test you to your core and makes you ask why am I still here?

El Paso, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, or just a small few of the cities and municipalities that have raised the pride flag to honor June as pride month this

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year. Here in Lubbock, we’re back to be recognized as H-UM-A-N. We know we have a long way to go before we will ever see a flag on the pole at City Hall. But here we are! And in honor of this year’s Lubbock PRIDE Fest theme: “We’re Not Going Anywhere.”

Why a flag you may ask? To answer that question, let’s start with Texas and Texans.

Ask any native-born Texan living abroad, traveling out of state, living out of state, what their response would be if they caught a glimpse of a piece of fabric that was red, white, and blue with a lonely single star and how that makes them feel. It’s called pride.

Texas is known as a “sticky state.” Of the roughly 21 million people who are born Texans, a little over 17 million of them still to this day live in Texas—about 82%. Texas is a culture, a way of life that people worldwide have grown to love or hate.

I’ve felt that “Texan Pride” too.

Being abroad and at a crosswalk in London I heard the word “y’all” and found myself drawn to that voice to say hello. Even though we were from opposite ends of the state back home, we felt like neighbors in London.

There is also an arrogance that comes with native Texans.

It’s something I have witnessed and felt firsthand. I try and stay clear of that Texan-ness but lately I can’t unsee or unhear some of the hate masked as Texas Pride from the 89th State Legislature leadership. More on that to come.

To continue to answer the question, what’s in a flag, we need the second part of this piece which has to do with P-RI-D-E. Looking through online National PRIDE merchandise’s this year, I came across trucker hats with the bald eagle in flight with the inclusion rainbow spread throughout the wings with the slogan “these colors don’t run.” I know what the meaning is for the slogan “these colors don’t bleed” (literally, as I have my share of accidentally dyed-white T-shirt’s in my laundry to represent the rainbow). But what does it really mean for PRIDE this year to use “run” instead of “bleed”?

Taking the message quite literally Kelly Robinson, President of the Human Rights Campaign THE CATALYST

says: “This year we’re making one thing clear. These colors don’t run—and they never will.

The pride flag is more than fabric; it carries the weight of generations who refuse to be erased in the fire of those still rising. With world PRIDE here in the nation’s capital our visibility has never mattered more—and neither has our strength. That’s why it matters that HRC is now 3.6 million strong it’s the largest base of support we’ve ever had and it’s growing in direct response to the attacks on our community. This is not just a number—it’s a movement, a mandate, and a promise: we’re not backing down. we’re building a future where every LGBTQ+ person can live bold safe and free.

To really feel this year’s theme both set forth by the National and local organizations, we need to remind ourselves of the history behind the evolution of the PRIDE flag.

The rainbow flag is a symbol of LGBTQ plus pride commonly used at events worldwide. The colors reflect the diversity of the community in addition to the spectrum of human sexuality and gender over the years. The flag has been updated and changed to be more inclusive of individuals in their allies.

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WRITE FOR US! Do you have any writing you’d like to volunteer for a future issue of The Catalyst? Or a particular story you want to to cover? Have art you’d like to show off? Contact editor@texascatalyst.com with your submissions or ideas. We accept news, investigative reports, short stories, poems, art, & more.

Daniel Quasar, 2018 Progress flag (trans colors)

BIPOC inclusion Philadelphia, 2017 Original design Gilbert Baker, 1978 Progress flag + intersex flag Valentino Vecchietti, 2021

VOL 4 ISSUE 2

N O KINGS

Spectrum

B O Y

June 14, 2025

by Gil Caley • CATALYST

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No Kings protestors on the sidewalk in front of the Tim Cole Memorial. Photo courtesy of P. Earl.

Rob Juno, one of the organizers of the protest, said. “We are out here, there is no need to whisper that you're a Democrat. There are thousands of others like you.”

“The second thing I wanted to do is to form a place where people could go to be informed of local events.” Juno pointed out that many participants in this year’s protests had no common forum for finding these events. “So I started the ACT/Americans Crushing Tyranny Facebook page.”

Lubbock resident Marla McCoy, 64, who also attended the rally, explained her reason for attending: “I don't want to go backwards. I want my kids, my grandkids, to have a better life than I had. I don't want some king, some tyrant telling them

what they can and can't do. He's taking away everything that's going to help our planet.”

As for Trump, she pointed out that “he doesn't have anybody now [to stand up to him]; they all kiss his ass, and I'm afraid of where our country's going to go.

He's talking about a third term.”

According to LPD, roughly 600 to 700 people were present at the peak of the protest. Meanwhile, across the street, a massive throng of eight (8) MAGA supporters mounted their opposition on the green of Texas Tech.

The American Civil Liberties Union also noted that over 5 million people participated in the nationwide protests which were the largest protests against any U.S. president in history.

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Spectrum

RAINBOW SIT-IN June 24, 2025

Third annual sit-in calls on city council to recognize June as LGBTQ+ Pride Month

by Gil Caley • CATALYST

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AINBOW-CLAD MEMBERS of the LGBTQ+ community and allies packed the normally yes-men-filled chamber of Lubbock City Council for the third year in a row.

“Our main goal is for the City of Lubbock to recognize our LGBT community,” said Tiffany Frias, Vice President of LubbockPRIDE. “We’re taxpayers, we’re homeowners, we work in the city, we are Lubbock [...] so there’s no reason why the city can’t just recognize that we exist.”

Local non-profit organizations like LubbockPRIDE, OUTwest Lubbock, and PFLAG were also present at the sit-in. Each of these groups had also participated in a related “Pride Proclamation” letter-writing campaign, and LubbockPRIDE, Frias said, even offered a platform to a member of City Council for speaking at their 2025 Pride Fest.

James Dees, Entertainment Coordinator for LubbockPRIDE, highlighted the important issues facing the LGBTQ community in Texas: the ending of the

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June 18, 2025

by Tracey Benefield • CATALYST USED TO PROUDLY CALL him, but I did worry. I worried myself a “boy mom.” My first about teasing, about bullying, child was rough and tumble, wild about how hard life might be and loud, and I loved every for a boy who didn’t fit into second of it. I had been a everyone else’s idea of what a tomboy growing up, more boy “should” be.

One of my closest friends is comfortable in the dirt than in a dress, and it felt like fate that I trans, and she often came over had a son I could wrestle and for game nights at our house.

One evening, my child turned to run wild with.

When I was pregnant with my me and asked, “Mommy, is your second child, I felt relieved to be friend a boy or a girl?”

It was the first time I having another boy. I didn’t know the first thing about styling hair explained what it means to be or playing with makeup or transgender. I told him that the gender Barbies. I wasn’t “girly” at all, and sometimes, honestly, I was scared I wouldn’t someone is assigned at birth know how to connect with a doesn’t match who they truly daughter. But the moment I met are inside. And when that my little one, all I felt was joy. As happens, some people choose he grew, I got to know his heart: to live as the gender they truly funny, mischievous, brave, and feel.

He nodded thoughtfully and most of all, deeply caring. back to playing, Around the age of three, he went started carrying around a baby unbothered.

A few days later, his tone doll he named Peter. One day, I casually asked what he wanted changed. With his head down to be when he grew up. Without and eyes avoiding mine, he missing a beat, he said, “A softly asked, “Mommy… what mommy who takes care of does it feel like to be a girl?”

I froze for a moment. “I don’t babies.”

I chuckled and said, “Well, how really know,” I admitted. “I don’t know what it feels like to be a about a daddy?”

His smile vanished. He looked boy either, so I can’t say for sure. down and simply said, “No.” But sometimes being a girl is Over the next couple of years, I started noticing things. He hard because people expect loved the movie Trolls, especially you to act a certain way, or like Princess Poppy, “because she certain things and Mommy’s likes glitter and hugs, like me,” he never been very ‘girly.’”

His face lit up. “That’s like would explain. For Christmas, the only thing on his list was me!” he said. “Because people Wonder Woman. He called her say I can’t like Princess Poppy because I’m a boy, but YES I his “independent woman.”

He mimicked the dance moves CAN!” I think that was the moment I he saw women doing on YouTube, and while the other knew we were heading down a cousins were outside playing in path I hadn’t expected. My child the mud, he stayed in to brush was starting to question their gender, and I had no idea what his baby cousin’s hair.

I began to wonder if my child lay ahead. was simply more in touch with his feminine side than I’d Turn to page 8 expected. I never discouraged

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Lubbockites join national protests UNDREDS OF LUBBOCK residents gathered under scorching sun this June in protest of the Trump administration—the latest in a protest movement sweeping across all fifty states in the U.S. This installment was called "No Kings," embodied in its primary image of a crossed-out crown.

The June 14th demonstration coincided with Flag Day, the U.S. Army's 250th anniversary, and President Trump's birthday military parade.

Protestors carried signs and flags as diverse as the crowd, including Lubbockites young and old. Many criticized Immigration and Customs Enforcement's role in mass detentions and deportations that have targeted even documented citizens, legal residents, and political dissidents like Mahmoud Khalil and Rümeysa Öztürk—without due process.

“The first thing I wanted to do was let other Democrats know that they aren't alone,”

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national LGBTQ youth suicide hotline, the closure of diversity offices at Texas Tech and other universities, the governor’s call to have CPS investigate families that affirm their trans children for child abuse.

“All of this is compounded by the harmful rhetoric that was put forward last year, in which City Council said that all drag queens are sexually assaulting minors just by wearing a costume,” said Dees. “And we should know that 7 pedophiles were just arrested—7 residents of Lubbock. Zero of them were drag queens.”

As in previous years, the activists were again ignored by their representatives, who instead focused on other urgent business, such as streetlamp banners—the ones that advertise student housing on Glenna Goodacre—and having a Christian pastor proselytize about humility and the devil while singing the mayor’s praises.

Kim Gonzalez, community member, also pointed out that other mostly conservative cities

like Fort Worth, San Marcos, New Braunfels, and others issued proclamations regarding Pride Month.

The silent protest aside, the City Council did not try to even feign interest in the just two citizen comments that were presented.

Despite them, Glasheen and others seemed to have more important Council business to attend to on their phones.

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THE CATALYST

Below: LGBT community members and allies, dressed in Pride flag colors, stand outside City Council chamber. Photo courtesy of Kim Gonzalez.

VOL 4 ISSUE 2

in the

July 2025

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Immigration Protest at Tim Cole Memorial

6 P.M. - 9 P.M.

Vent Together Poetry Slam at First Unitarian Universalist Church

6:30 P.M.

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No War Protest at Tim Cole Memorial

10 A.M. - 12 P.M.

From page 6, “The Power of a Pride Flag” In addition to the rainbow, there are many other flags and symbols used to communicate specific identities within the community.

The early days of the pride flag was designed by artist Gilbert Baker at the request of San Francisco city supervisor and first openly, gay elected official in the history of California, Harvey Milk. The original colors included eight with bright pink and deep purple flanking the other colors in the prism. The original flag made its debut at the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day PRIDE celebration on June 25, 1978. After the assassination of Harvey milk in November 1978 the demand for the flag greatly increased. Baker dropped the hot pink strip from the flag as that particular color was not readily available. In 1979 he modified it again to become the six-stripe rainbow flag that is still used today in addition to many other renditions.

Fast forward to June 2017 under the leadership of Amber Hikes the Philadelphia office of LGBT affairs unveiled the “more colors more pride“ flag. This version of the pride flag includes a black stripe and a brown stripe to draw attention to underrepresented people of color within the community.

The following year, the progress pride flag would appear by designer Daniel Quasar, and follow with the intersex inclusive pride progress flag designed by Valentino Vecchietti of Intersex Equality Rights in the UK. This design built off Quasar’s design by adding a yellow triangle and purple circle as a tribute to the 2013 intersex flag designed by Morgan Carpenter, Australian bioethicist, and researcher.

P I T C H

As is with most inclusive movements, the naysayers will always make accusations of being intolerant to straight people by displaying the pride flag. I have news for them, there is a flag for those who do not identify in the LGBTQ plus community. It’s called the Ally Flag. You can also be part of the rainbow, but you must commit with love.

As history tends to repeat itself, we are not blind to the fact that we are facing the same old hateful tropes & messages.

The “anti’s” have nothing new to use or say against us. They are floundering, grasping at anything and anyone that will hate alongside them. But we do have small celebrations from this hatefulness, shown by many of our state GOP legislators this past session.

The Texas House LGBTQ+ Caucus, founded in 2019, held strong against hateful bills, messages, and vitriol. They represented LGBTQ+ Texans by speaking out, speaking truth to power, struck down misinformation, and educating through promoting and producing logical bills.

We say thank you to all the Representatives and a special shout out to the new executive board; Jessica Gonzalez (chair), Venton Jones (vice-chair), and Josey Garcia (secretary).

In this time, in this month, and in this year, just as our colors will not run, we will not run from hateful rhetoric we have been subjected to, we will not run from the old tropes being used as new, but instead we will run towards and power through to safely live our authentic lives, as our authentic selves, as we were meant to do. We are not going anywhere!

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From page 7, “Boy Mom” The following year, while shopping for back-to-school clothes, my kiddo excitedly picked out a few Princess Poppy shirts. My stomach tied itself in knots.

Every instinct in me wanted to say no. Not because I thought it was wrong, but because I was scared. I was scared he’d get teased. Scared he’d stand out.

Scared he’d be hurt. I didn’t want my child to feel “othered” before he even had a chance to find his place.

But more than anything, I didn’t want him to think he had to hide who he was to be accepted. I wasn’t going to let my fear become his shame.

So I bought the shirts. And I braced myself for what came next.

Buying those shirts felt like the single most nerve-wracking decision I had ever made. It wasn’t just about clothes, it was about identity, self-esteem, and my child’s mental health.

What if wearing them made him a target? What if he never made friends? What if he started to spiral under the weight of feeling different?

What if it broke him? I couldn’t stop the fears from piling up. I didn’t know what this road would look like, or if I was strong enough to walk it with him.

But I did know this, I had to love the child in front of me.

That part was non-negotiable.

Over the next year, he started wearing more feminine clothes.

He got some funny looks. A few kids said stupid, hurtful things.

But we practiced comebacks together. We said daily affirm ations. I reminded him every

Mayor - Mark McBrayer Dist. 1 - Christy Martinez-Garcia Dist. 2 - Gordon Harris Dist. 3 - David Glasheen Dist. 4 - Brayden Rose Dist. 5 - Dr. Jennifer Wilson Dist. 6 - Tim Collins

WHAT DO I SAY? OUTwest Lubbock provides a sample proclamation and letter online at: outwestlubbock.org/home/procl amation

3. SEND THEM A LETTER The best way to send your letter is by mail.* You can use the address below: [Representative name] City of Lubbock 1314 Avenue K Lubbock, Texas 79401

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single day that he was brave, and he was awesome.

And then he met a teacher who changed everything.

She became his advocate. She was kind, protective, and safe. She made sure he felt supported and seen at school when I couldn’t be there. In many ways, she helped carry some of the fear I couldn’t speak out loud.

The following year, my baby boy told me she wanted to be my daughter instead. She asked if we could start using different pronouns and if she could choose a new name.

I said yes. Of course I said yes.

We held a naming celebration at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Lubbock, a space that had always felt safe and full of grace. Everyone who had known her by her old name showed up with love, intention, and effort calling her by her new name, using the right pronouns, making space for her to shine.

She stood there, surrounded by people who truly saw her.

And for the first time in a long time, I saw something else, peace in her eyes. Relief. Joy. She knew she was loved.

What I’ve learned from raising this incredible child is this: you can’t let fear of a future that

I N

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1. FIND YOUR DISTRICT

hasn’t happened yet stop you from loving the person standing right in front of you.

I know my daughter will face obstacles. The world isn’t always kind to kids like her. But I also know she’s not facing it alone. She’s backed by an army of people who love her fiercely.

She may stumble. She may fall. But my job isn’t to shield her from every storm, it’s to arm her with courage, confidence, a few good comebacks, and the unshakable knowledge that I will always, always be in her corner.

And to every LGBTQ+ kid who needs to hear this, I’m cheering for you too.

You are enough. Exactly as you are. You are brave, brilliant, and worthy of love in every possible way.

Find your people. Build your community. Surround yourself with those who lift you up and see you clearly.

You are not alone. You’ve got this.

And we’ve got you.

★

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