AAYP 2019 Youth Ambassadors Scholarship

Shannon Li

As a queer woman of color, bringing light to the LGBT community and fighting for the rights of the queer community is more important than ever. It remains as the venerable and vulnerable reminders of who I am, how far I have become, and who I will become. Lack of inclusion, intersectionality, and diversity remain as a very problematic issue across the nation, whether it is in regards to our schools systems, the workforce, discimination, the military, political climate, and our everyday life. LGBT individuals have for a long time —in the past and present— continue to face discrimination, violence, hate crime, invalidation of their gender & sexuality.

Growing up with parents that are immigrants, I am very fortunate to live in a country and a state that, for the most part, recognizes who I am, values my sexuality, and allows me to live comfortably in my own skin. However, this is not the same around the world and is in fact, worse. LGBT individuals face death, marginalization, violence simply for being who they are and for loving. Even so, today, transgender folks are not allowed to serve in the military, our current administration are against the LGBT community, and every state is not granted with equal rights and access to healthcare, education, resources for LGBT folks. To say that I am disappointed would merely be an understatement. Being able to live freely and be who I am while my queer family across the world are unable to love freely, it’s important for me to combat this issue and ensure every LGBT individual achieve equal treatment and the human rights they deserve. To me, the struggles the LGBT individuals face has endured remains as a testament to the bravery and resilience of the community that only continue to become stronger.

We need to implement a more LGBT-inclusive curriculum into the education system that includes LGBT history, sex education that includes LGBT folks, and simple things such as gender neutral bathroom as well as politicial, economic, and social representation for the LGBT community. For too long, we have been excluded and overshadowed in the dialogue, and we need to have a more open discussion that includes LGBT folks, learning from their struggles and developing empathy for the greater good of society. Tackling the root of the systemic problem revolving around the LGBT community requires political reformation and enforcing a more inclusive environment for all. We need to teach those around us the importance of allyship as well as the saying the correct pronouns that one chooses the identify with, validating people’s gender & sexuality, valuing people’s intersecting identity, and providing a safe space for people to be open & express their individuality. The solution is to educate the public about the LGBT history, the struggles that the community deal with, and the ways in which they can invest in the well-being of those who identify within the LGBT community. Due to the lack of investment on creating an LGBT inclusive curriculum, it leads to the lack of empathy and creating a society that is more prone to discriminate others due to the lack of education about the issue. Investing in educating people about the issue by making our curriculum much more LGBT-inclusive, investing in grassroot organizations that are fighting endlessly for justice & equity, working to change our political, economic, and social system is imperative to breaking down the barriers, and allowing others to be who they are and not be invalidated.

I strongly believe that we must not only fight for our rightful seat at the table, but to build our own table. Being lucky to love, to be loved, and to love freely, I want everyone to feel loved, to be loved, and love all. I am not free unless everyone around me is free.