In the South and especially in the state of Mississippi, people who classify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning or queer face many challenges. Despite politicians’ resistance to change, the region continues to show surprising signs of progress and acceptance; however, laws that prohibit the legal recognition of same-sex marriage and deny same-same sex couples the right to adopt children still stand in the state.
Several organizations like the Gay-Straight Alliance Network are working to strengthen the LGBTQ community across the nation.
The Gay-Straight Alliance is a LGBTQ Racial Justice organization focused on youth leadership at the local and national levels.
Anna Davis, the Southeastern Regional Organizer for the Gay-Straight Alliance Network, is working to develop youth leaders in the organization through trainings, mentorships and event support.
Davis stressed the importance of these organizations, as they play a crucial role in the school and community environment.
Three in 10 Mississippi adults identify as LGBTQ, according to Davis, which is higher than any other region in the country. She said this statistic gives organizations like the Gay-Straight Alliance a huge role in the state. Most Gay-Straight Alliances offer services to teachers, faculty and staff at their schools around cultural competency.
Oxford High School has a Gay-Straight Alliance that is student led and open to any student who feels that harassment or discrimination against LGBTQ people, their friends or families is wrong.
Davis joined the Gay-Straight Alliance after becoming a student at the University of Southern Mississippi. She quickly took leadership roles, and worked to build more support for students on campus and within the community.
“I went from being a fairly reserved and shy person to feeling like I had a voice,” Davis said. “I also grew to love my home-state not for its faults, but for its people and communities that show such warmth and openness. The work that I do today is in hopes of creating more opportunities like these for young people across the state.”
The Gay-Straight Alliance Network was founded in 1998 in California to empower youth activists to fight homophobia and transphobia in their schools and has since expanded to 39 states and territories. The Gay-Straight Alliance Network works directly with schools and young people ranging in age from 13-24 in California. They work with state-based groups as a part of their national work.
This week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit denied a stay on the ruling that banned same-sex couples from marrying in the state of Alabama, giving them the opportunity to marry as soon as Feb. 9 of this year.
Furthermore, the city of Oxford unanimously passed an LGBT-inclusive diversity resolution last March making it one of seven Mississippi cities with non-discrimination resolutions.
“Like so many cities across America, Oxford, Mississippi, has made clear that all its residents deserve to be treated with dignity, respect and equality, regardless of who they are or who they love,” said Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign, in response to the resolution.
Visiting Assistant Professor of English and faculty affiliate at Sarah Isom Center for Women’s and Gender Studies Dr. Jaime Cantrell believes that there is hope within our region for LGBTQ equality.
Unfortunately, Starkville’s decision to pass the LGBTQ anti-discrimination resolution made last year was repealed last month. Elected officials in Starkville also rescinded a policy that extended same-sex health benefits to domestic partners of city employees.
“These actions did more than set back the city’s pro-LGBTQ measures,” Cantrell said. “They symbolically illustrate the daily struggle for dignity and equality the LGBTQ Southerners face.”
