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29/3/21 | @lilnasx

help

I wish I knew about men like these growing up, I wish I knew that trans men could be successful after a lifetime of never seeing anyone ‘like me’ excelling in life. So here are some trans men - some that you may have heard of, some that you may not - that are successful in a range of careers. Never let being trans hold you back, never think you can’t do something, never think there is not a place for you.

Ben Barres American neurobiologist for Stanford University and advocate for women in science. Barre’s research on the interactions between glial cells and neurons changed the way that we understand the brain and opened up a whole new field of research.

Stephen Whittle Professor of equalities law. Founder of FTM Network in 1989 and Press for Change in 1992. Whittle has been heavily involved in trans activism since joining the Self Help Association for Transsexuals in 1979. His research and activism has been instrumental in ensuring the rights of trans people in the UK.

Michael D Cohen Actor, teacher and coach. Making his break in award-winning Nickelodeon sitcoms Harvey Danger and Danger Force he was the first series regular actor to publicly come out as transgender. Cohen has a BSc in cell biology and a masters degree in adult education, teaching at his own acting studio and providing workshops.

Chris Mosier American triathlete and award-winning coach. Six time member of Team USA in both duathlon and triathlon, Mosier also won two national championships in racewalking and was the first transgender athlete to qualify for the Olympic trials to compete against other members of his gender.

Yance Ford African-American film producer and director. Ford received an Emmy for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking and was nominated for an Oscar for his part in producing and directing the documentary Strong Island which follows the death of his brother.

Kael McKenzie Canadian judge. Serving in the Canadian Armed Forces for several years, McKenzie later attended law school and and worked as a lawyer before being appointed as a judge to the Provincial Court of Manitoba in 2015. 

Shane Ortega Native American former flight engineer in the US army, former marine and professional bodybuilder. Throughout his career Ortega has served in Iraq and Afghanistan in over 400 combat missions. He has a long history of advocating for the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and the recent banning on transgender service members in the US army. 

Drago Renteria Chicano photojournalist and deaf and LGBT activist. Renteria founded the Deaf Queer Resource and is CEO of DeafVision - a webhosting and development company run by deaf people and the founder of the National Deaf LGBTQ Archives. Renteria has been instrumental in both creating and hosting many online deaf/queer spaces online along with being heavily involved in real-world activism for decades.

“They are killing us like birds or chickens, even in our homes.”

Just because it’s not being reported on tv. Just because you don’t see it on your timeline. It hasn’t stopped. People are dying every day, in the worst ways to have something a lot of us take for granted. 

Once again, police officers decided to use excessive force in a situation that didn’t have to end so terribly.

A robbery suspect was being pursued by the police. They jumped into Daisha Smalls’ car, with her baby, Legend Smalls in the backseat. The suspect was told to drop their pistol and put their hands up. They didn’t comply.

And INSTEAD of doing ANYTHING ELSE to defuse the situation, despite Daisha Smalls refusing to leave the car because HER BABY WAS IN THE BACKSEAT, something she screamed at the top of her lungs to tell the police, they fired shots into her vehicle.

One shot hit Legend in the right side of his head. Doctors had to remove a part of his skull to relieve the swelling, but they couldn’t remove all the fragments. He remains in the ICU to this day. This incident happened on March 3.

The negligence is disgusting and honestly? The fact that the officer that shot this poor baby was just put on ‘administrative leave’ is terrible. The title of this post is true but even if the baby wasn’t black, this would still be so utterly inexcusable. If the police want more respect from the communities they claim to protect, something needs to change about how they respond to situations like these.

A gofundme was set up for Legend though! Even if you can’t donate, reblogging this would be helpful too :)

https://gofund.me/1ab7f102