Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Alabama responded to reports of disturbing anti-transgender flyers being circulated in a Dothan, Ala., neighbourhood. They appear to have been distributed by the Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan as a recruiting tool.
The Dothan Police Department notified the FBI, as the flyer’s message could promote hate crimes against the transgender community.
“This crude and vile message from a notorious hate group does not represent Alabama values,” said HRC Alabama State Manager Eva Walton Kendrick. “Transgender people continue to be one of our most vulnerable and marginalised groups, and want nothing more than to live without fear and discrimination. Elected officials promoting anti-LGBT legislation need to take note of how their actions feed extremists, further compromising the safety of transgender people they were elected to serve and protect.”
Kendrick continued, “We urge all Alabamians to stand up and make clear that these messages of hatred have no place in our society. We are so much stronger when we work together to make sure that Alabama is a state that welcomes everyone.”
This year, an unprecedented 44 anti-transgender bills have been introduced in 17 states. North Carolina has the terrible distinction of becoming the first state in the country to enact a law attacking transgender students; similar proposals were rejected across the country this year, including one in Oxford, Ala., that was quickly rescinded after national outcry. Despite claims to the contrary by anti-LGBT activists who have preyed on misinformation and ignorance, extending equal protections to transgender community is not a threat to public safety. This fear-mongering puts transgender people at an increased risk of violence by fostering hate and misunderstanding.
To learn more about HRC’s work on transgender equality visit hrc.org/transgender.
In 2014, HRC launched Project One America, an initiative geared towards advancing social, institutional and legal equality in Mississippi, Alabama and Arkansas. HRC Alabama continues to work to advance equality for LGBT Alabamians who have no statewide protections in housing, workplace, or public accommodations; and legal state recognition for their relationships and families. Through HRC Alabama, we are working toward a future of fairness every day—changing hearts, minds and laws toward achieving full equality.
Photo By Image Editor (Flickr: 08KKKfamilyPortrait) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Two children wearing Ku Klux Klan robes and hoods stand on either side of Dr. Samuel Green, Ku Klux Klan Grand Dragon, at an initiation ceremony in Atlanta, Georgia. July 24, 1948.
