JACKSON — Mississippi Republican Gov. Tate Reeves signed into law today HB1125, a bill banning health care treatments for gender dysphoria for transgender youth, prohibiting doctors from providing such care and stripping parents of the right to guide medical decisions for their own children.

The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Mississippi issued the following statement:

“This is a devastating development for transgender youth in Mississippi and heartbreaking for all of us who love and support them. This care was already difficult to access across the state for transgender people of any age, but this law shuts the door on best-practice medical care and puts politics between parents, their children, and their doctors. But this fight is far from over — we are determined to build a future where Mississippi is a safe place to raise every child. Our politicians continue to fail trans youth, so it is up to each and every one of us to rise against their fear and ignorance and surround these young people with strength, safety, and love.”

Mississippi is the fifth state in the country and the third state in the past month to ban gender-affirming care for transgender youth after Utah and South Dakota passed similar bans. Similar laws in Alabama and Arkansas are currently enjoined by federal courts.

“Barely two months into the year, lawmakers in three states have made it their priority to deny transgender and nonbinary youth the ability to access best-practice medical care that many rely on to simply lead happy, healthy lives,” said Kasey Suffredini (he/him pronouns), Vice President of Advocacy and Government Affairs at The Trevor Project. “Decisions around medical care should be made between parents, patients, and doctors — not by politicians. While this news is heartbreaking, we want to remind trans and nonbinary young people in Mississippi that The Trevor Project has your back. We will continue working with our partners and advocates on the ground to challenge these laws and fight for a world where all young people feel safe, supported and seen for who they truly are.”

According to The Trevor Project’s new polling, 86% of transgender and nonbinary youth say recent debates about state laws restricting the rights of transgender people have negatively impacted their mental health. When asked about new policies that will ban doctors from providing gender-affirming medical care to transgender and nonbinary youth, 74% of transgender and nonbinary youth said it made them feel angry, 59% felt stressed, 56% felt sad, 48% felt hopeless, 47% felt scared, 46% felt helpless, and 45% felt nervous.

Reeves said he signed the bill, which bars puberty blockers, hormone therapy and surgery for minors, because “there is a dangerous movement spreading across America today.”

“It’s advancing under the guise of a false ideology, and pseudo science is being pushed onto our children through radical activist, social media and online influencers, and it’s trying to convince our children that they are in the wrong body,” Reeves said at a news conference after he signed the bill.

NBC News reported that after he signed the bill, Reeves invited Matt Walsh, a commentator for the right-wing news outlet Daily Wire, to speak. Walsh has increasingly criticized hospitals, particularly Vanderbilt University Medical Center, for their treatment of transgender youth.

Matt Walsh is a self-described “theocratic fascist.” Of course Reeves welcomed him. https://t.co/Rrkck15ehr

— Michael Foley (@michaelnfoley) February 28, 2023

JACKSON – The National AIDS Memorial has joined forces with the Southern AIDS Coalition to stage a series of art exhibitions and educational forums to honor Black and Brown people in the South who have been lost to HIV/AIDS.

The initiative, titled Change the Pattern, began in Jackson, Miss., on Wednesday with curated quilt exhibitions, displays, educational forums, advocacy, storytelling and quilt-making, according to a press release from the National AIDS Memorial. A $2.4 million grant from the biopharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences, Inc., funded Change the Pattern.

More than 500 hand-stitched quilt panels from the area were featured in what the National AIDS Memorial says is “the largest display of the AIDS Memorial Quilt ever” in Mississippi.

“By creating an empowering message and safe spaces for conversation, we can uplift, inspire and make progress toward ending the HIV epidemic, challenge cultural stigmas and continue the legacy of advocacy that the quilt represents,” said National AIDS Memorial CEO John Cunningham in the release. 

Change the Pattern was announced in honor of Southern HIV/AIDS Awareness Day during the Southern AIDS Coalition’s annual Saving Ourselves Symposium that took place in August. 

The conference, which was heavily attended by LGBTQ activists from the South, featured 100 quilt panels, and attendees participated in quilt-making workshops to make new quilt panels representing their loved ones.

Interested LGBTQ advocacy organizations in the South were invited to apply for funding to support local quilt-making workshops in their communities so as to ensure that the legacies of Black and Brown people are captured through newly-sewn panels on the quilt through the Memorial’s Call My Name program, according to the National AIDS Memorial press release. 

The application process opened on Sept. 15 with up to 35 eligible organizations receiving as much as $5,000 to support hosting local workshops. 

The first major Change the Pattern Quilt was founded 35 years ago as a visual representation of the need to end stigma and provide equitable resources to communities most impacted by HIV/AIDS, according to Southern AIDS Coalition Executive Director Dafina Ward.

“Change the Pattern is a call to action and change in the South,” said Ward. “Quilt-making has such a deep cultural connection in the Black community and in the South. The sharing and telling of these powerful stories through the quilt, coupled with advocacy and open dialogue, can help end HIV-related stigma and bring the stories of those we’ve lost to light.”

As the Change the Pattern initiative occurs, conversations about how to handle health epidemics within LGBTQ communities of color have become national topics, especially with the prevalence of monkeypox cases amongst Black gay men.

Despite earlier panic about the disease, the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention in a report released on Wednesday said that individuals who were vaccinated against the disease were less likely to be affected over the summer compared to those who weren’t. 

The effectiveness and duration of immunity after a single dose, however, is not known, and few individuals in the current outbreak have completed the recommended two-dose series, according to the report. 

The most recent CDC data reports that 25,509 monkeypox cases have thus far been confirmed in the U.S. Only one death has been reported.

By Molly Minta | OXFORD – The Oxford Mississippi Police Department released a statement Friday afternoon that the killing of Jimmie “Jay” Lee, a Black student who was well-known in the town’s LGBTQ community, is an “isolated incident” that does not reflect a broader threat to queer people in Mississippi. 

The statement comes three days after a Lafayette County judge determined there was probable cause for police to arrest Sheldon Timothy Herrington Jr., a 22-year-old Ole Miss graduate, for Lee’s murder, and that he should be held without bond. 

“Based on the information collected to date, our investigators believe this crime represents an isolated incident stemming from the relationship between Jay Lee and Tim Herrington,” the release states. 

Members of the LGBTQ community in Oxford have been asking police to release more information about the nature of the case ever since Herrington was arrested three weeks ago. Many members said more transparency from police would help them make decisions about how to stay safe. 

Police nodded to this perspective in the release: “More broadly, we want to stress that our agencies are committed to doing all that we can to maintain a safe environment for everyone in our community.”

Members of the LBGTQ community are more likely to be the victim of physical harm from domestic and intimate partners. This is especially true for Black queer people who face compounded discrimination due to homophobia and racism — a routine threat of violence that is personal and systemic, with roots much deeper than any one case.

The release also follows a story Mississippi Today published earlier this week based on accounts from 11 LGBTQ students, faculty and University of Mississippi alumni who said they no longer felt safe in Oxford. At least one community member is afraid to leave their house, said Jaime Harker, the director of the Sarah Isom Center for Women and Gender Studies at UM and the owner of Violet Valley, a feminist bookstore near Oxford. 

After Ole Miss student’s killing, many LGBTQ students no longer feel safe

Harker said she felt that OPD’s silence contributed to harrowing rumors in the community about the nature and reason for Lee’s killing. 

“I think people are filling the void with what their biggest fears are,” she said. 

Lee, 20, was a well-known member of Oxford’s LBGTQ community who regularly performed at Code Pink, a local drag night. An open, confident person, Lee ran for homecoming king last year to promote a platform of “self love and living your truth.” He repeatedly spoke out about the harassment received for wearing women’s clothing. 

For many people in the community, Lee’s outspokenness made his disappearance all the more terrifying. 

Lindsey Trinh, a senior journalism student at Ole Miss, told Mississippi Today that after weeks of receiving no information about Lee’s killing, she decided she was too fearful and anxious to return to classes in person. She wrote an email to the university provost and her professors explaining how Lee’s case had affected her. 

“At the time and because of the unknown of why this has happened to Jay and the whereabouts of his body, I have decided that I cannot physically come back to Oxford for my last semester this Fall,” Trinh wrote in her email. “I fear for my safety and well-being as an outspoken and proud gay person of color.”

Authorities believe that Lee’s body, still missing, is somewhere in Lafayette or Grenada County. But the circumstantial evidence that police have so far gathered was enough to bring charges, Lafayette County Assistant District Attorney Tiffany Kilpatrick argued in court on Tuesday. 

“In 2022 you do not need a body,” Kilpatrick said. “It’s not the 1870s.” 

During the preliminary hearing, Kilpatrick alleged that Herrington’s casual relationship with Lee was unknown to his friends and family. She said that early in the morning on July 8, Herrington “lured” Lee to his apartment, strangled him, and then “staged a cover up” by driving Lee’s car to Molly Barr Trails, a student housing complex. 

Herrington then picked up a box truck belonging to his moving company, Kilpatrick said, and drove it to his parent’s house in Grenada where he retrieved a long-handle shovel and wheelbarrow. 

Kilpatrick argued that Herrington should have been denied bond because his charge – first-degree murder – will likely be elevated to capital murder as police uncover more evidence; some of which is still being processed at a private crime lab. Kilpatrick also argued Herrington was a flight risk, noting that a forensic search of his MacBook showed he had searched for flights from Dallas to Singapore. 

Herrington’s defense attorney, state Rep. Kevin Horan, disputed that Herrington, who has $1,910 in his bank account, could afford to flee the state. In his closing statement, Horan said the prosecution’s case amounted to “suspicion, conjecture and speculation.” 

Horan called four witnesses who testified, in an effort to obtain bond for Herrington, to his character and connections to the community in Grenada. The witnesses included Herrington’s mother, an elder at his church, one of his teachers, and ??Emily Tindell, the principal of Grenada High School. 

Tindell said that Herrington and his family have “the best of character in Grenada County.”

In her closing statement, Kilpatrick said that Herrington was not the same person that his teachers and family described. 

“They don’t know this other Tim Herrington, his double life,” she said. “They don’t know the Tim Herrington who lives in anonymity. This Tim Herrington, your honor, is the Tim Herrington who killed Jay Lee.”

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Molly Minta, a Florida native, covers higher education for Mississippi Today. She works in partnership with Open Campus, a nonprofit news organization focused on higher education. Prior to joining Mississippi Today, Molly worked for The Nation, The Appeal, and Mother Jones.

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The preceding article was previously published by Mississippi Today and is republished with permission.

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TUPELO, Ms. – In a city known as the birthplace of Elvis Presley, it is also headquarters to a leading national anti-LGBTQ+ group,  The American Family Association, (AFA) listed by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a ‘Hate’ group for its lies and propaganda about LGBTQ+ rights and expression, pornography, and abortion.

One ‘division’ of the AFA is the notorious One Million Moms headed by AFA’s Monica Cole who this past week sent out a newsletter attacking the Pizza Hut BOOK IT! Program, that encourages reading for grades PreK-6 young people, which for LGBTQ+ Pride Month this year featured a book titled Big Wig.

Big Wig by Jonathan Hillman is about a magic wig and a child who dresses in drag to compete in a neighborhood costume competition.

Cole, echoing earlier attacks by some right-wing conservatives on Twitter earlier this month as reported by Newsweek, wrote in her newsletter:

Pizza, Hut, the once kid-friendly family restaurant, is saturated in absolute filth, exploiting America’s children to be “groomed” by wokeness. Pizza Hut is now promoting a book about drag kids for its “Book It!” reading incentive program to indoctrinate children into transgenderism and homosexuality.

It has been added this month for Gay Pride Month. The book is geared towards children in pre-kindergarten up to third grade. Obviously, the goal is to normalize the LGBTQ lifestyle and indoctrinate young children.

The “Book It!” website features the book Big Wig, which is described as a “wonderful, read-aloud book that “celebrates the universal childhood experience of dressing up and the confidence that comes with putting on a costume.”

The description of Big Wig states, “In the spirit of Julián Is a Mermaid, this irrepressible picture book celebrates drag kids, individuality, and self-confidence from the perspective of a fabulous wig!”

The goal is to “groom” the next generation. It is disgusting what is being done in our culture against children. Evidently, Pizza Hut and other woke companies are seeing how much conservatives will, or in this case, will not put up with regarding their LGBTQ agenda.

It is outrageous that a family restaurant is marketing and normalizing gender dysphoria to young children. If you eat at Pizza Hut, you are also supporting child exploitation, which this corporation apparently contributes to and endorses.

The corporation of YUM! Brands owns Pizza Hut, as well as KFC, Taco Bell, and The Habit Burger Grill. 1MM, let us urge Pizza Hut to no longer promote Drag Queen storybooks such as Big Wig in their “Book It!” incentive reading programs.

There are plenty of other reading programs for children to participate in that do not encourage kids to read books about other kids’ sexuality. Families also have numerous other pizza restaurants available to choose from besides Pizza Hut.

TAKE ACTION: Sign our petition urging Pizza Hut to no longer promote Drag Queen storybooks such as Big Wig in their “Book It!” incentive reading programs.

The right-wing anti-LGBTQ+ outrage over the Pride-themed book for kids is the latest in a series of assaults by conservatives on the ability to inform and sensitise young persons about the LGBTQ+ community.

In March of this year Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis signed that state’s ‘Don’t Say Gay bill’, into law which dictates that public school teachers may not instruct on sexual orientation or gender identity in grades kindergarten through third grade.

“Pizza Hut has gone full woke, now we must make them full broke,” said Brigitte Gabriel, founder of anti-Muslim advocacy group Act for America.

Pizza Hut has gone full woke, now we must make them full broke.

— Brigitte Gabriel (@ACTBrigitte) June 3, 2022

Conservative political commentator and author Nick Adams tweeted, “Boycott Pizza Hut, order from Papa John’s instead. Better ingredients. Better pizza. No wokeness.”

Papa John’s has and always will be better than Pizza Hut.

Pizza Hut has gone woke, now they must go broke.

— Nick Adams (@NickAdamsinUSA) June 3, 2022

Since 1984, the Pizza Hut BOOK IT! Program has been dedicated to encouraging reading in schools  nationwide and is partnered with Every Child a Reader, the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, Lucasfilm, Ltd., and book publishers such as HarperCollins Children’s Books.

HERNANDO, Ms. – Former Mississippi State Representative Robert Foster, a Republican who had served from January 5, 2016 until January 7, 2020 representing House District 28 in Northwestern Mississippi approximately 23 miles south of Memphis, Tennessee, tweeted out last week that it was his conviction that transgender people and their allies need to be shot dead by firing squad.

Although Twitter deleted the post, (pictured above) and Foster’s reply in the thread, he has continued to tweet ad hominem transphobic remarks.

Foster, who campaigned for the governor’s chair in 2019 lists himself on his Twitter bio as a “Man of Faith, and Constitutional Conservative.”

Then, two days after the initial tweet Foster tweeted:

Spencer Ritchie, the former executive director of the Mississippi Republican Party from 2014 to 2017 and who is now on the Mississippi Ethics Commission, criticized Foster’s tweet and expressed his distaste with Foster’s blatant transphobia:

Mississippi Free Press journalist Ashton Pittman noted; Foster, who runs Cedar Hill Farm, an agritourism business in DeSoto County, Miss., served as a state representative from 2016 until 2020, where he authored the state’s current death penalty law in 2017, allowing for executions by gas chamber, electrocution and firing squad. He placed third in the 2019 Republican primary for governor after making national headlines for refusing to allow women journalists to ride along in his truck on the campaign trail despite allowing male journalists to do so.

The Mississippi Free Press requested an interview with Foster about Thursday’s tweet, but he sent a message declining the invitation.

“I said what I said,” he wrote, adding to what he had tweeted. “The law should be changed so that anyone trying to sexually groom children and/or advocating to put men pretending to be women in locker rooms and bathrooms with young women should receive the death penalty by firing squad.”

Pittman also reported that Foster’s tweet followed anti-trans remarks from other Republicans in the state and across the country. Less than three hours before Foster’s tweet, his former opponent, Gov. Tate Reeves, mocked President Joe Biden and his U.S. Supreme Court nominee, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, for not answering a question related to gender and transgender issues.

In 2021, Gov. Reeves signed a bill into law banning transgender students from participating on school sports teams that match their gender. 

JACKSON, Ms. – The Mississippi state House of Representatives last week passed a bill that would prohibit incarcerated individuals from requesting a name change or updating their gender marker in what advocates say is a direct attack on Trans people in the state. 

H.B. 1099, or the “Real You Act,” passed the House last Thursday in a 84-30 vote largely along party lines. The legislation now heads to the state Senate, which is already considering a similar bill. 

In its original form, the House version would have also banned minors from legally changing their gender marker. However, the bill was amended to limit its reach to just incarcerated individuals. 

“This bill does nothing to address any of the actual issues being experienced by incarcerated transgender people and instead places another hurdle in front of them,” said Rob Hill, state director of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the country’s largest LGBTQ+ rights organization, in Mississippi. “Our elected leaders must do better.”

Under the bill, state officials would not be able to permit a name or gender marker change unless one was filed by a district attorney, a county sheriff, the commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Corrections or a department chaplain on behalf of the incarcerated individual.

Mississippi state Rep. Jeff Hale (R-24) didn’t immediately respond to the Blade’s request for comment. 

According to the HRC, the legislation follows the direct recommendations of a 2015 policy paper by the Family Research Council, an evangelical activist group that opposes and lobbies against LGBTQ+ rights. 

“Ideally, the law would forbid government recognition in any way (whether on birth certificates, driver’s licenses, passports, or any other government-issued identification) of any change in an individual’s biological sex as identified at birth,” the paper reads. 

Hill accused Mississippi state Representatives of making “Mississippi an innovator in anti-transgender discrimination.”

“This legislation is being pushed by anti-equality forces in the state house and not addressing any actual problem – it’s an exceptionally shameful example of politicians trying to score political points on the backs of some of the most vulnerable individuals in our society,” said Hill.

RIDGELAND, Ms. – When Tonja Johnson, the executive director for the Madison County Library System, reached out to Ridgeland Mayor Gene McGee after failing to receive the City’s first quarterly payment of 2022 for funding- the mayor informed her that no payment was forthcoming. 

“He explained his opposition to what he called ‘homosexual materials’ in the library, that it went against his Christian beliefs, and that he would not release the money as the long as the materials were there,” Johnson said.

The director then explained to the mayor that the library system, as a public entity, was not a religious institution. “I explained that we are a public library and we serve the entire community. I told him our collection reflects the diversity of our community,” Johnson said.

Apparently, the mayor was unmoved. “He told me that the library can serve whoever we wanted, but that he only serves the great Lord above,” she finished.

The lack of funds would significantly negatively the library’s services and even cause a likely lay off its employees, Johnson told local media outlets as the story spread. Undeterred by the mayor’s blatant homophobia and coupled with the ongoing battle to receive its promised funding, the library set up a crowd fundraiser through its ‘Ridgeland Friends of the Library,’ volunteers group.

Initially the group set a modest goal of only a few thousand dollars with the posted message of; The Ridgeland Friends of the Library is a fundraising and support organization for the Madison County Library, especially the branch here in Ridgeland.  We are welcoming donor support in this difficult and trying time for the library. If the Mayor doesn’t relent, the library will see its funding cut. We believe that the public library is for the entire public. Help us prepare for the worst and send a message that the library budget should not be held hostage to these un-American views. All donations will be used to benefit the library and the people it serves.”

The response, however, was overwhelming. The group had then readjusted its goal upwards to $75,000.00 with an end date of Valentines Day, February 14 and as of Thursday, February 3, the group was within a few hundred dollars of reaching that goal with $74,380.00 raised.

 “We are amazed and humbled by the overwhelming support and generosity you have shown. Please know that your donations will be used to help ensure that our library’s collections and programs continue to reflect the diversity of our community and will remain uncensored. Thank you,” read a message from Teresa Gerald, the President of the Friends of the Ridgeland Library.

In the meantime the battle over the library’s funding continues. Whatever authority the mayor intends to serve, it’s unclear if his action is legally defensible.

“This is taxpayer money that was already approved by the board of aldermen,” Johnson explained. “It was included in the city budget for 2021-2022. It’s the general-fund appropriation that the City of Ridgeland sends every year for daily operation of the library. That money goes to everything from purchasing materials to supporting programs and staff salaries.”

Without the support of the board of aldermen, it is unclear if the mayor will be able to maintain the funding hold for long. Moreover, the mayor’s action may well violate basic constitutional rights, based on earlier court cases on the subject of LGBTQ book bans, including Sund v. City of Wichita Falls.

By Nick Judin | RIDGELAND, MS. – Ridgeland Mayor Gene McGee is withholding $110,000 of funding from the Madison County Library System allegedly on the basis of his personal religious beliefs, with library officials stating that he has demanded that the system initiate a purge of LGBTQ+ books before his office releases the money.

Tonja Johnson, executive director for the Madison County Library System, told the Mississippi Free Press in an afternoon interview that she first reached out to Mayor McGee after failing to receive the City of Ridgeland’s first quarterly payment of 2022.

Johnson said the mayor informed her that no payment was forthcoming. “He explained his opposition to what he called ‘homosexual materials’ in the library, that it went against his Christian beliefs, and that he would not release the money as the long as the materials were there,” the library director said.

The director then explained to the mayor that the library system, as a public entity, was not a religious institution. “I explained that we are a public library and we serve the entire community. I told him our collection reflects the diversity of our community,” Johnson said.

Apparently, the mayor was unmoved. “He told me that the library can serve whoever we wanted, but that he only serves the great Lord above,” she finished.

McGee’s office did not respond to several requests for an interview from the Mississippi Free Press before press time, though he did speak with this reporter on Wednesday morning, acknowledging that he was withholding the funds from the library system. Nor did he attend a Tuesday board meeting at 5 p.m. at Ridgeland Library, which addressed the matter firmly in defense of the library system’s current collection. The board voted unanimously to bring the issue to the board of aldermen before seeking legal remedies.

At the meeting, attendees asked Bob Sanders, counsel for the library board, if the mayor had any legal authority to override the contract with the library system and the decision of the aldermen.

“Uh, no.” Sanders said flatly.

Ward 1 Alderman Ken Heard told the Mississippi Free Press in a brief evening interview that he had not been made aware of any plans to withhold money from the library system on the part of the mayor, and could not comment on the dispute until he learned more.

‘Adult Materials’

Based on the conversation she had with the mayor, Johnson explained that the targets of McGee’s demands are mostly books that touch on homosexual identities, themes and stories. The list includes books about incidentally queer family members such as children’s stories intended to provide representation to gay, lesbian and transgender individuals.

In the conversation, Johnson relayed that, among all other “homosexual materials,” McGee specifically demanded the removal of “The Queer Bible,” a series of essays by LGBTQ+ figures including Elton John, Munroe Bergdorf, and Tan France on other queer luminaries such as David Bowie, George Michael and Susan Sontag.

But the mayor’s order, the director believes, is the culmination of a spate of homophobic activism intended to censor other queer literature, especially children’s books.

One of the books that previous complaints have specifically targeted is “Grandad’s Camper,” a children’s book by author Harry Woodgate, who is nonbinary. Grandad’s Camper is the story of a young girl learning about her late grandfather by taking a road trip with her surviving grandparent.

Kirkus Review described the book as an effective learning tool for helping children discuss lost family members. “Caregivers, especially older ones, may see this book as an opportunity to talk about departed loved ones and introduce their happy memories to a younger generation,” a review of the book explains. “Many a family will find themselves pulling out photo albums to relate their own origin stories.”

Johnson explained that all library patrons have access to a form that allows them to challenge materials deemed unsuitable for inclusion in the library’s collection. The library previously received complaints about books including “Grandad’s Camper” demanding they be reclassified as “adult” materials and kept out of reach of children.

But these challenges, Johnson said, did not proceed through the formal system, and were instead verbal or written complaints without followup. “I think that’s probably where the mayor’s objections are coming from. Perhaps they reached out to him instead of back out to the library,” she guessed.

‘Sexual Whatever You Want To Call It’

On Wednesday morning, Mayor McGee returned the Mississippi Free Press’ request for an interview. McGee confirmed in a short phone conversation that he was holding the funds from the library, and asserted that he had done so because of citizen complaints.

“We’re holding (the money) right now because we found a large number of citizens who have complained about displays of sexual, whatever you want to call it, content. We’re just responding to those citizens’ complaints, and that’s the position we’re in.”

McGee then declined to address the content of the books presented at last night’s board meeting, and whether or not sexual content was an appropriate term.

The mayor acknowledged that the board of aldermen had approved the library system’s budget for the year, but argued that any contractual obligations were dated, although he did not clarify if that gave him the ability to withhold the funds indefinitely. “The last contract that was signed with the Madison County Library System was signed in 2009. There’s never been a new contract going forward,” McGee said.

This reporter asked McGee if he actually possessed the authority to keep the money from the library system. The mayor responded that he didn’t know: “That’s a legal question. I don’t know that I do or do not. But right now we’re holding the money. I’ll ask my attorney to address that.”

But the mayor’s position that his move is an attempt to force the library board to respond to citizen complaints conflicts with the board’s description of the scattered pushback. This reporter asked McGee how the board could have responded to objections over content in the collection without any formal requests for reconsideration.

“I can’t speak to that,” McGee said. “That’d be hearsay on my part.” The mayor then added that he’d said his part, and left to attend a meeting.

What little the mayor and the board seem to agree on is that the issue will likely be adjudicated at the upcoming meeting of the board of aldermen.

Taxpayer Money Withheld

Whatever authority the mayor intends to serve, it’s unclear as of press time if his action is legally defensible.

“This is taxpayer money that was already approved by the board of aldermen,” Johnson explained. “It was included in the city budget for 2021-2022. It’s the general-fund appropriation that the City of Ridgeland sends every year for daily operation of the library. That money goes to everything from purchasing materials to supporting programs and staff salaries.”

While the city’s aldermen may have approved the funds, Johnson said it was the mayor alone who is withholding it. “I asked the mayor specifically on the phone call if this had been decided by the board of aldermen. And he told me no, but (that) he could have them make that decision,” she said.

That $110,000 represents roughly 5% of the annual budget of the entire Madison County Library System, the removal of which could have far-reaching consequences beyond the City of Ridgeland itself.

“It would definitely impact services,” Johnson said. “I can tell you that there’s a potential for staff members to lose their positions if the board is not able to move funding from something else to keep those positions open.”

Without the support of the board of aldermen, it is unclear if the mayor will be able to maintain the funding hold for long. Moreover, the mayor’s action may well violate basic constitutional rights, based on earlier court cases on the subject of LGBTQ book bans, including Sund v. City of Wichita Falls.

‘I Firmly Believe In The Power of Books’

Harry Woodgate, author of the children’s book Grandad’s Camper, one of the titles that sparked the complaints against Ridgeland Library’s collection, told the Mississippi Free Press in a statement that the story’s intent was to represent the full spectrum of LGBTQ+ individuals, especially queer elders, who are rarely depicted in fiction.

“From the beginning it was important to me that (Grandad’s Camper) featured truly meaningful LGBTQ+ representation whilst also speaking to broader universal themes such as the beauty of restorative intergenerational relationships, the joy of shared adventures and the experience of losing a loved one.” 

“One of the key things I wanted to address was a lack of older LGBTQ+ characters in children’s literature, particularly picture books where they’ve been historically overlooked. I was also keen to include incidental representation, wherein a character’s sexual orientation or gender identity – or indeed any protected characteristic at all – isn’t a narrative obstacle but simply the way things are.”

Woodgate added that LGBTQ+ censorship was a familiar, persistent ignorance, and commended the activists and board members who resisted it. “It is saddening that we’re still seeing LGBTQ+ titles featured on banned book lists, and I think this not only represents the extent to which such prejudices remain underexamined and underchallenged by so many of our institutions and elected officials, but also a fundamental misunderstanding of children and children’s literature,” they wrote. 

“To suggest that limiting access to diverse literature will somehow prevent or dissuade queer children from being queer is simply preposterous, let alone deeply, thoroughly cruel. I take great heart in everyone whose tireless dedication to challenging these bans and similar anti-LGBTQ+ legislation across the globe is making such a positive difference to young people and their communities. I firmly believe in the power of books and libraries to change lives so am incredibly thankful for all that they do and anyone who champions and defends them.”

‘We Have To Understand Each Other’s Stories’

In a conversation with the Mississippi Free Press, Johnson seemed at a loss as to what actions might mollify the mayor. But participating in the LGBTQ+ purge was not something she was willing to consider. “Ultimately it is up to the (Madison County Library) Board, but I do not think they will make that decision,” Johnson said.

She explained her reasoning. “As a library, our mission is to serve our community and to provide everyone in the community with the information and resources that they need … Anyone can walk into a library and find something that they don’t agree with,” Johnson said. “But the book that’s not quite right for you is exactly what someone else needs. And my job is to make sure that (everybody) has access to that.

“And I think it’s important to understand that LGBTQ+ books and materials are not just for the LGBT community. Those books are for all of us: whether we can see ourselves reflected in those materials or so that we can develop understanding, empathy and respect for someone else.”

This advancement of human understanding, Johnson said, is the job of a librarian. “We all live in this world together,” she said. “We sit next to people in church, we work with people, we live next door to people, our children go to school with children who don’t look like us and don’t have the same experiences. If we’re going to be together, we have to at least understand each other’s stories.”

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The preceding article was previously published by Mississippi Free Press and is republished by permission.

FLOWOOD, Miss. — A Venezuelan man with AIDS died in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody on Oct. 1.

An ICE press release notes Pablo Sánchez Gotopo, 40, died at Merit Health River Oaks in Flowood, Miss., which is a suburb of Jackson, the state capital. The press release notes the “preliminary cause of death was from complications with acute respiratory failure, Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), pneumonia, acute kidney failure, anemia and COVID-19.”

ICE said U.S. Border Patrol took Sánchez into custody near Del Rio, Texas, on May 17. He arrived at the Adams County Detention Center in Natchez, Miss., four days later.

“Upon arrival to an ICE facility, all detainees are medically screened and administered a COVID-19 test by ICE Health Service Corps (IHSC) personnel,” said ICE in its press release. “Sánchez’s test results came back negative.”

The press release notes Sánchez on July 28 received another COVID-19 test after he “began showing symptoms of COVID-19.” ICE said he tested negative, but Adams County Detention Center personnel transferred him to a Natchez hospital “for additional advanced medical care.”

ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations staff in its New Orleans Field Office, according to the press release, “coordinated with hospital staff to arrange family visitation” after Sánchez’s “health condition deteriorated.” Sánchez was transferred to Merit Health River Oaks on Sept. 25.

“ICE is firmly committed to the health and welfare of all those in its custody and is undertaking a comprehensive agency-wide review of this incident, as it does in all such cases,” says the press release.

Venezuela’s political and economic crises have prompted more than 10,000 people with HIV to leave the country, according to the New York-based Aid for AIDS International.

Activists and health care service providers in Venezuela with whom the Los Angeles Blade has spoken in recent years have said people with HIV/AIDS in the country have died because of a lack of antiretroviral drugs. Andrés Cardona, director of Fundación Ancla, a group in the Colombian city of Medellín that works with migrants and other vulnerable groups, told the Blade last month that many Venezuelans with HIV would have died if they hadn’t come to Colombia.

The Blade has not been able to verify a Venezuelan activist’s claim that Sánchez was gay. It is also not known why Sánchez decided to leave Venezuela and travel to the U.S.

ICE detainee with HIV described Miss. detention center as ‘not safe’

Activists and members of Congress continue to demand ICE release people with HIV/AIDS in their custody amid reports they don’t have adequate access to medications and other necessary medical treatment.

Two trans women with HIV—Victoria Arellano from Mexico and Roxsana Hernández from Honduras—died in ICE custody in 2007 and 2018 respectively. Johana “Joa” Medina Leon, a trans woman with HIV who fled El Salvador, died in 2019, three days after ICE released her from a privately-run detention center.

The Blade in July 2020 interviewed a person with HIV who was in ICE custody at the Adams County Detention Center. The detainee said there was no social distancing at the privately-run facility and personnel were not doing enough to prevent COVID-19 from spreading.

“It’s not safe,” they told the Blade.

Elisabeth Grant-Gibson, a Natchez resident who supports ICE detainees and their families, on Wednesday told the Blade that she was able to visit the Adams County Detention Center and other ICE facilities in the Miss Lou Region of Mississippi and Louisiana from November 2019 until the suspension of in-person visitation in March 2020 because of the pandemic.

“Medical neglect and refusal of medical care has always been an issue in the detention center at Adams County,” said Grant-Gibson. “After the facilities were closed to public visitation, those problems increased.”

Grant-Gibson told the Blade she “worked with a number of families and received phone calls from a number of detainees, and I was told again and again that detainees were being refused the opportunity to visit the infirmary.”

“When they did visit the infirmary, they were given virtually no treatment for the issues they were presenting with,” said Grant-Gibson.

ICE in its press release that announced Sánchez’s death said fatalities among its detainees, “statistically, are exceedingly rare and occur at a fraction of the national average for the U.S. detained population.” ICE also noted it spends more than $315 million a year “on the spectrum of healthcare services provided to detainees.”

“ICE’s Health Service Corps (IHSC) ensures the provision of necessary medical care services as required by ICE Performance-Based National Detention Standards and based on the medical needs of the detainee,” notes the ICE press release. “Comprehensive medical care is provided from the moment detainees arrive and throughout the entirety of their stay. All ICE detainees receive medical, dental, and mental health intake screening within 12 hours of arriving at each detention facility, a full health assessment within 14 days of entering ICE custody or arrival at a facility, and access to daily sick call and 24-hour emergency care.”

An ICE spokesperson on Wednesday pointed the Blade to its Performance-Based Detention Standards from 2011, which includes policies for the treatment of detainees with HIV/AIDS.

A detainee “may request HIV testing at any time during detention” and ICE detention centers “shall develop a written plan to ensure the highest degree of confidentiality regarding HIV status and medical condition.” The policy also states that “staff training must emphasize the need for confidentiality, and procedures must be in place to limit access to health records to only authorized individuals and only when necessary.”

“The accurate diagnosis and medical management of HIV infection among detainees shall be promoted,” reads the policy. “An HIV diagnosis may be made only by a licensed health care provider, based on a medical history, current clinical evaluation of signs and symptoms and laboratory studies.”

JACKSON – A 25-year-old Trans male resident of the Mississippi capital city died from multiple gunshot wounds this past Monday. Sam Brown, a spokesperson for the Jackson Police Department told media outlets that the victim had been shot several times and managed to drive to Merit Health Hospital collapsing as he exited the vehicle.

Mel Groves was transferred to the University of Mississippi Medical Center, where he died from his injuries. “Police are trying to determine where the shooting took place, as well as the motive and potential suspects,” Brown said. Jackson Police are treating this as an active Homicide investigation.

Groves was misgendered and deadnamed in most of the local media coverage, although the Clarion-Ledger, which has the largest daily circulation in the state issued a correction, noting “This story has been updated to correct the identification of the victim.“

The Knights & Orchids Society (TKO) a Selma, Alabama headquartered Southern states grassroots startup founded and led by black, queer, transgender, and gender non-conforming people supporting gender justice and LGBTQ visibility expressed its outrage and sadness over Groves’ murder.

In a Facebook post the group said, “The motive is unknown, but we know the violence that happens to trans people in our communities. Mel had even shared that he feared for his life because he was trans in Jackson.

He was the chosen family of our Executive Director Quentin Bell, former TKO Youth Ambassador(formerly known as the anchor program), and farmer for TKO Society’s garden program. He was a Plant Soil Scientist from TU who loved agriculture and animals.

TKO leadership is in Jackson, Mississippi trying to find real answers. Help us. Please contact Mississippi media outlets and demand that they stop misgendering him.

We are offering a reward for any leads and information.”

The National Black Justice Coalition, in a statement, also decried the misgendering and deadnaming Groves, in addition to his being the 39th Trans, nonbinary, or gender-nonconforming person to die by violence in the U.S. this year. That’s approaching last year’s record of 44, and that’s not counting all the deaths not reported because of misgendering the NBJC said.

“The violence this year seems never-ending, and I am devastated each time I hear of another trans sibling lost,” Victoria Kirby York, deputy executive director of the NBJC, said in the statement. “What is even more heartbreaking is the fact Mel expressed fear for his life because he was trans living in Jackson. Trans people should not have to fear violence simply because of their identity, but that is our country’s current reality. This has to do with the prevalence of transphobia in our daily lives and the inaction around the epidemic of violence against the trans community.

“How many times do advocates have to demand legislation that protects the trans community before lawmakers introduce and pass laws that do so? How many times must we point out that misgendering and deadnaming in police reports and news coverage damages the investigations? How many times must we highlight the need for training and action from public safety officials addressing and preventing the violence against the trans community? We cannot continue the way we are going. The time for action is now before even more lives are lost.”