At Civil Rights Forum, Gavin Grimm Says Fight for Trans Equality Is 'Bigger Than Me'
It is unclear if any Republicans attended the hearing organized by the House Committee on Education and the Workforce
Gavin Grimm, the Virginia teen whose case against his school board has made him one of the faces of the fight for transgender equality, spoke Thursday before a congressional forum on civil rights in the era of President Donald Trump.
| Tweets about #StandWithGavin #ProtectTransKids |
Under Trump, the Departments of Education and Justice in February dropped a guidance that instructed schools to protect LGBTQ students under Title IX, including by allowing transgender kids use the facilities that corresponded to their gender identity, rather than their biological sex.
Grimm--whose lawsuit against the Gloucester County school board for blocking his use of the boys' bathroom was punted by the U.S. Supreme Court after Trump's policy reversal--testified at a hearing convened by Democrats on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, where he slammed the Trump administration's decision.
"The guidance had a very simple message: treat trans students with dignity and respect them for who they are," Grimm said Thursday. "Treating trans students with dignity and respect should not be controversial."
"The decision to withdraw the guidance sent a terrible message to some of the most vulnerable people," he said. "That President Trump--the leader of our country--and his administration do not care about protecting you from discrimination."
Grimm testified feeling "so disappointed" by the policy change and said "actions speak far louder than words, and the message sent with this action could not have been more damaging for trans youth."
"My case will not be resolved until after I graduate, but this fight is bigger than me," he said Thursday.
The House committee convened the forum to "examine the appointments, polices, and orders undertaken in the first 100 days of the Trump administration in order to help foster an agenda for the protection of civil rights." It acknowledged that "minority communities have been justifiably concerned about the continuing role of the federal government in protecting their civil rights."
Its ranking member Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) was joined by Congressional Black Caucus chair Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.), House Judiciary Committee ranking member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.), Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.), and other members of Congress. It is unclear if any Republicans attended.
The forum took place just after the Trump administration nominated two controversial lawyers for key roles in the Education Department--one who represented Florida State University during a sexual assault case and one who accused Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential campaign of enabling sexual predators--raising concerns that the agency may drop civil rights protections in schools.
"The posts are among the most high profile in the department," the New York Times wrote this week. "Staffing in the Office for Civil Rights has been a source of concern for civil rights advocates ever since the Trump administration rescinded protections for transgender students as one of its first education policy moves."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Gavin Grimm, the Virginia teen whose case against his school board has made him one of the faces of the fight for transgender equality, spoke Thursday before a congressional forum on civil rights in the era of President Donald Trump.
| Tweets about #StandWithGavin #ProtectTransKids |
Under Trump, the Departments of Education and Justice in February dropped a guidance that instructed schools to protect LGBTQ students under Title IX, including by allowing transgender kids use the facilities that corresponded to their gender identity, rather than their biological sex.
Grimm--whose lawsuit against the Gloucester County school board for blocking his use of the boys' bathroom was punted by the U.S. Supreme Court after Trump's policy reversal--testified at a hearing convened by Democrats on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, where he slammed the Trump administration's decision.
"The guidance had a very simple message: treat trans students with dignity and respect them for who they are," Grimm said Thursday. "Treating trans students with dignity and respect should not be controversial."
"The decision to withdraw the guidance sent a terrible message to some of the most vulnerable people," he said. "That President Trump--the leader of our country--and his administration do not care about protecting you from discrimination."
Grimm testified feeling "so disappointed" by the policy change and said "actions speak far louder than words, and the message sent with this action could not have been more damaging for trans youth."
"My case will not be resolved until after I graduate, but this fight is bigger than me," he said Thursday.
The House committee convened the forum to "examine the appointments, polices, and orders undertaken in the first 100 days of the Trump administration in order to help foster an agenda for the protection of civil rights." It acknowledged that "minority communities have been justifiably concerned about the continuing role of the federal government in protecting their civil rights."
Its ranking member Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) was joined by Congressional Black Caucus chair Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.), House Judiciary Committee ranking member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.), Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.), and other members of Congress. It is unclear if any Republicans attended.
The forum took place just after the Trump administration nominated two controversial lawyers for key roles in the Education Department--one who represented Florida State University during a sexual assault case and one who accused Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential campaign of enabling sexual predators--raising concerns that the agency may drop civil rights protections in schools.
"The posts are among the most high profile in the department," the New York Times wrote this week. "Staffing in the Office for Civil Rights has been a source of concern for civil rights advocates ever since the Trump administration rescinded protections for transgender students as one of its first education policy moves."
Gavin Grimm, the Virginia teen whose case against his school board has made him one of the faces of the fight for transgender equality, spoke Thursday before a congressional forum on civil rights in the era of President Donald Trump.
| Tweets about #StandWithGavin #ProtectTransKids |
Under Trump, the Departments of Education and Justice in February dropped a guidance that instructed schools to protect LGBTQ students under Title IX, including by allowing transgender kids use the facilities that corresponded to their gender identity, rather than their biological sex.
Grimm--whose lawsuit against the Gloucester County school board for blocking his use of the boys' bathroom was punted by the U.S. Supreme Court after Trump's policy reversal--testified at a hearing convened by Democrats on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, where he slammed the Trump administration's decision.
"The guidance had a very simple message: treat trans students with dignity and respect them for who they are," Grimm said Thursday. "Treating trans students with dignity and respect should not be controversial."
"The decision to withdraw the guidance sent a terrible message to some of the most vulnerable people," he said. "That President Trump--the leader of our country--and his administration do not care about protecting you from discrimination."
Grimm testified feeling "so disappointed" by the policy change and said "actions speak far louder than words, and the message sent with this action could not have been more damaging for trans youth."
"My case will not be resolved until after I graduate, but this fight is bigger than me," he said Thursday.
The House committee convened the forum to "examine the appointments, polices, and orders undertaken in the first 100 days of the Trump administration in order to help foster an agenda for the protection of civil rights." It acknowledged that "minority communities have been justifiably concerned about the continuing role of the federal government in protecting their civil rights."
Its ranking member Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) was joined by Congressional Black Caucus chair Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.), House Judiciary Committee ranking member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.), Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.), and other members of Congress. It is unclear if any Republicans attended.
The forum took place just after the Trump administration nominated two controversial lawyers for key roles in the Education Department--one who represented Florida State University during a sexual assault case and one who accused Hillary Clinton during the 2016 presidential campaign of enabling sexual predators--raising concerns that the agency may drop civil rights protections in schools.
"The posts are among the most high profile in the department," the New York Times wrote this week. "Staffing in the Office for Civil Rights has been a source of concern for civil rights advocates ever since the Trump administration rescinded protections for transgender students as one of its first education policy moves."