archive

Agi Jallow
She/Hers/They/Theirs
Fourth-Year Animation Major and Philosophy Minor

E-Mail: NJ16050@uga.edu

How/Why I Got Involved With Impact:

I first learned about Impact when it was suggested to me as a potentially fun spring break alternative. I was skeptical about it because I had never done any service work before and I didn’t know much about issues surrounding social justice either. I decided to give it a shot anyway and became a participant on the Youth Empowerment trip in Greenville, South Carolina. The experience completely changed my perspective on service work and definitely helped me discover myself. I realized that I was not as powerless as I thought, but rather that all the power I needed to bring positive change to my community was already inside of me. I got involved with Impact because of this – you get to go witness the beauty of different communities and learn how to help people in difficult situations while expanding your own perspective on the world with fellow classmates who end up being close friends by the end of the trip. It’s pretty dope.

Why LGBTQ+ Awareness and Advocacy:

I am motivated by the injustices I witness both around the world and within my community when it comes to LGBTQ issues. As a queer black woman myself, I’ve experienced the prejudice and lack of understanding that can arise from the lack of awareness and advocacy for the LGBTQ community. Facts -- like the majority of homeless youth being LGBTQ, or the life-expectancy of the average trans black woman 35 due to the amount of violence perpetrated against them -- are why I am interested in my trip focus. I truly believe that advocacy and awareness of the LGBTQ community is essential to stopping these injustices and bringing about understanding and love. I also want to gain more knowledge of the LGBTQ community to cultivate better representation within the media when I become a full-fledged Animator. I am very excited to explore both the various aspects of the LGBTQ community and learn about how to empower those within this community for the better of the world.

FUN FACT!!!:
I am also a LGBT Resource Center Ambassador here at UGA! Come check us out at Memorial Hall!

Kelsey Cunningham
Third-Year Entertainment and Media Studies & Film Studies Minor
She/Hers
E-Mail: kkc19498@uga.edu

How I Got Involved with IMPACT:
I had heard about the IMPACT program through a few friends that had gone on trips years prior, and they had nothing but great things to say about the program. I knew I wanted to explore and do something over my first-year of college spring break, so I decided to try IMPACT out. I spent this break in Memphis, TN, on a HIV/AIDS IMPACT trip and had the BEST time. I discovered how intersectional all social justice foci are and how I can be a better advocate and ally for my fellow community members. Because of that, I decided to stay with the program and am now leading my second IMPACT trip!

Why LGBTQ+ Awareness and Advocacy?
This particular focus lies near and dear to my heart. I’ve been surrounded by queer people my entire life (My brother is queer and has been with his partner for TEN years!) and have never quite understood why equal rights were such a struggle for our community. At first apprehensive to lead a trip that I am so closely affiliated with, I saw this as an opportunity to educate myself on queer topics I am not as familiar with. I wanted to become a better ally for all transgender, agender, and non-binary people, as well as other members of the community that are too often looked over. I’m hoping that this knowledge can translate to the films I create -- hopefully one day we’ll see this type of representation both on screen and behind the camera.

Fun Fact:
During my freshman year of college, I was walking to Snelling when it started to downpour. I was so drenched by the time I got there that Ms. Nancy gave me a towel to dry off :')

Introduction to LGBTQ Education
Defined Key Terms
-LGBTQ: An acronym for “lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer”
-Sexual Orientation: The type of sexual, romantic, physical, and/or spiritual attraction one feels for others, often labeled based on the gender relationship between the person and the people they are attracted to; often mistakenly referred to as a “sexual preference”
-Lesbian: A woman who is emotionally, romantically, sexually, affectionately, or relationally attracted to other women
-Gay: Refers to sexual and romantic desire between men. At times, this definition is used to refer to all LGBT people, regardless of gender
-Bisexual: A person who is attracted to two sexes or two genders, but not necessarily simultaneously or equally
-Pansexual: Describes someone who has the potential for emotional, romantic or sexual attraction to people of any gender though not necessarily simultaneously, in the same way or to the same degree
-Ally: A person who is not LGBTQ but shows support for LGBTQ people and promotes equality in a variety of ways
-Asexual: Doesn’t experience sexual desire for others. Not the same as celibacy, as celibacy is chosen while this sexuality is not
-Transgender: Umbrella term for transgender, transsexual, genderqueer, non-binary, trans man, or trans woman identities and expressions
-Cisgender: One who identifies with the gender they were assigned at birth
-Gender Expression: External appearance of one's gender identity, usually expressed through behavior, clothing, haircut or voice, and which may or may not conform to socially defined behaviors and characteristics typically associated with being either masculine or feminine
-Queer: Originally derogatory, “this term” has recently been used as a term inclusive of people who are not heterosexual
-Homophobia: Fear and hatred of or discomfort with people who love and sexually desire members of the same sex. There are different forms of homophobia: internalized, interpersonal, institutional, and cultural
-Transphobia: The fear and hatred of, or discomfort with, transgender people
-Closeted: Describes an LGBTQ person who has not disclosed their sexual orientation or gender identity
-Coming out: For most people who are LGBTQ, the process of self-acceptance that continues throughout one’s life and the sharing of information with others. There are many different degrees of being out

LGBTQ Facts
-UGA was the first large university in the southeast to hold an event for the gay community
-While only 38 percent of the United States population identify as people of color (non-white and/or “Hispanic”), the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Program study found that 60 percent of survivors of anti-LGBTQ and anti-HIV hate crimes identified as such. 90 percent of LGBTQ homicide victims were people of color. They also found that 72 percent were transgender women and 67 percent were trans women of color.
-Georgia is 1 of 5 states that doesn’t have a civil rights law protecting people from discrimination in public spaces
-Approximately 7% of the U.S. adult population identifies as LGBT
-There are roughly 9 million LGBTQ people in the US and more than 650,000 same-sex couples
-19% of same-sex couples are raising children according to the US Census Bureau's 2011 American Community Survey
-42% of people who are LGBT report living in an unwelcoming environment
-One in five youth in the juvenile justice system identify as LGBTQ, 85 percent of whom are people of color.
-6 in 10 LGBT students report feeling unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation
-Black transgender people face severe rates of poverty, with 34% living in extreme poverty compared to just 9% of non-transgender Black people.
-While non-LGBT students struggle most with school classes, exams, and work, their LGBT peers say the biggest problem they face is unaccepting families
-LGBT people of color face high rates of unemployment: 15% of African American LGBT adults are unemployed, as are 14% of Latinx LGBT adults and 11% of Asian/Pacific Islander LGBT adults—compared to 8 percent unemployment for the general population.
-Nearly half (48%) of trans people under 26 said they had attempted suicide, and 30% said they had done so in the past year, while 59% said they had at least considered doing so

What does LGBTQ life look like in Athens and Georgia?
-Athens is still very conservative. When a potential amendment to the Georgia Constitution banning gay marriage was brought up to vote in Athens-Clark county in 2007, 52% voted for it. However, ten years later, things are looking up for the LGBT community. After multiple testimonies claiming 15 downtown bars had allegedly discriminated against students, the ACC commission passed the resolution to combat discrimination in Athens nightlife in late 2016.
-Local music legends like The B-52s and R.E.M. were queer-friendly way ahead of their time. The B-52s put out music with often specifically queer subject matter and helped land Athens on the musical map. This began a wave of other Athens bands, such as the well-known R.E.M, to embrace and liberate the LGBTQ community through music.
-There are a number of resources in Athens to promote community, fellowship, and support for LGBTQ issues, such as Trans Support Group and Athens Pride Youth. However, Athens’ growing acceptance of the LGBTQ community isn’t perfect with the recent murders of trans women and still reports of discrimination among the community.
-The gay marriage ban was voted for in favor by 76 percent in Georgia in 2007. Of course, this is no longer a valid amendment since the Supreme Court declared same-sex marriage legal in all 50 states in 2015.
-Georgia is 1 of 5 states that doesn’t have a civil rights law protecting people from discrimination in public spaces. Explicit non-discrimination protections would make Georgia an even better place to live and raise a family—regardless of one’s faith, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity or military status.
-Atlanta, GA has the third highest LGBT concentration in a major US metropolitan city (12.8%)

LGBTQ+ Advocacy and Awareness