Gender Justice League trusts, believes, and supports BIPOC when they share their experiences of racism and harm. We stand in solidarity with the Ingersoll Staff and Former Staff Collective (the Collective) and support the demands for accountability and improvement from Ingersoll Gender Center.

We urge Ingersoll Gender Center’s leadership to take to heart the experiences shared by the Collective in their petition, acknowledge their pain and the ways Ingersoll Gender Center has caused and exacerbated it, and to take accountability. We urge Ingersoll Gender Center to meet the Collective’s clear demands, taking the necessary steps to address their patterns of anti-Blackness, racism, ableism, sexism, and misogyny. We support the Collective’s demands for:

1. The immediate resignation or firing of the Directors: Karter Booher, Jonathan (Lee) Williams, and Louis Mitchell
2. A complete re-envisioning of the Board to reflect community
3. A solid accountability process to address recent harms and prevent future ones

We also acknowledge the structural and systemic roots underneath these issues. The nonprofit industrial complex as a whole creates, perpetuates, and survives on systemic anti-Blackness and racism, which must be addressed. In their petition, the Ingersoll Staff and Former Staff Collective write, 

“The non-profit industrial complex is a system that frequently siphons labor (both physical and emotional) talent, vision, and social capital from BIPOC folks and leaves them exploited & disillusioned from the stated mission and values of an organization.” 

Gender Justice League acknowledges our place and role within these same systems. We know how challenging it can be to identify, acknowledge, and address the influence of anti-Blackness, racism, ableism, sexism, and misogyny in our work. Yet it is vitally important if we want to truly support the trans community. 

Ingersoll Gender Center has a decades-long history of being an important resource for the trans community that is incredibly valuable. We expect Ingersoll Gender Center to do the right thing and take on the necessary work to change their internal structures which have created and perpetuated significant harm, and negatively impacted our community. This work must be done in order for Ingersoll Gender Center to continue to be a powerful resource for the trans community for decades to come.

For more information, or to contact the Collective, visit ingersollcollectiveaction.carrd.co

We don’t have to tell you how trying the year 2020 was. However, through it all, many of us have found or reconnected with our purpose. At Gender Justice League, ours is creating a Washington state where all people can live safely, truly, and freely. 

Through all the ups and downs of the past year, GJL has continued to stay on the front lines of resilience and resistance. Thanks to the ongoing support of givers, volunteers, and supporters, here is a little taste of what we accomplished in 2020: 

• Passed the Nikki Kuhnhausen Act, a bill outlawing the use of "trans panic" defense in a court of law, working with Justice 4 Nikki, the Washington State Legislature, and other community leaders
• Hosted Trans Pride completely virtually, creating an online performance and workshop extravaganza for trans and gender diverse people alongside our friends at TRACTION, WA Black Trans Task Force, and Heartspark Press
• Co-hosted a second town hall for trans women and femmes, bringing together community members in Thurston County to talk about real life issues and collectively organize to show up for one another 
• In collaboration with the City of Olympia, passed a resolution protecting trans and gender diverse BIPOC, and established a seat for our community in the city’s social justice work 
• Delivered food and toiletries to 60+ trans and gender diverse families in Thurston County during the first wave of COVID
• Served 37 clients through Safe House, a GJL program that provides shelter and direct service to survivors of gender-based violence in (primarily) King County 
• Provided more than $18,000 in direct cash assistance to community members 

Whether you’re just joining us or have stuck by us through this tumultuous year: thank you. We cannot do it without each other. Support the continued work towards the communities we deserve by giving today. 

We are wishing you a new year filled with healing, warmth, and joy.

We know the holidays can feel especially isolating and draining for our communities, especially after a year ripe with grief and other challenges. To help get through this time, we've compiled a few resources that have given us relief, nurturing, and healing in times of need: 

• This care package from Transgender Law Center offers us much needed moments of stillness, peace, and joy. 
• Connexions (QTPOC) offers space to queer and trans people of color to connect, heal, process, and share resources every Monday from 6-7:30 PM PST. 
• Ingersoll Peer Support Groups provide space for trans and gender diverse people to come together every Wednesday from 7-9 PM PST. 
• TransFamilies Support Groups offer various groups for trans and gender diverse youth, with separate groups for parents of trans youth. 
• Pizza Klatch Support Groups provide weekly support for LGBTQ+ youth and allies. 
• Trans Lifeline, a peer support phone service run by and for trans people, welcomes calls any time if you need someone trans to talk to, even if you’re not in crisis.
• The Science Based Approach to Dealing with Family Over the Holidays by them. offers practices that "can make unpleasant family interactions bearable—and even healing."

This season, remember to consider others in your communities who are also having a difficult time. Reach out, and ask yourselves: what can we accomplish together? One way to make a difference is to give to Gender Justice League. Your support has and will continue to make real life impacts by providing shelter and financial support for community members, and allowing us to continue to push for the policy changes we all need in order to survive and thrive. 

Please, take care of yourselves and one another. 

The Olympia City Council voted unanimously in favor on Tuesday of adopting city polices aimed at protecting BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) transgender and non-binary people from harm.

Hi, my name's Tobi Hill-Meyer. I'm one of the co-executive directors of Gender Justice League, and I'm a commissioner for the Washington State LGBTQ Commission representing Thurston County. This has been a difficult year to celebrate Pride. Isolation has always been a challenge for trans people, and many of us have struggled to connect with community during the stay-at-home order.

Earlier this month, the remains of transgender teenager Nikki Kuhnhausen were found, and this week a suspect has been arrested with her murder.

We recently found out that an anti-trans organization has booked an event at the Seattle Public Library with the express purpose of arguing to take away legal rights for trans people.