School District Fights Back Against the Right’s Attacks on the LGBTQ+ Community

School districts nationwide, including here in California, have been up against right-wing activists who have been pushing back against the LGBTQ+ community in education. While this is nothing new, in recent years there has been an uptick in activists pushing misinformation, strategically electing right-wing leaders to school boards, and passing discriminatory policies in our schools.  

San Bernardino City Unified School District board member, Abigail Medina, joins Angela Chavez, communications director at Courage California, to discuss how the growing right-wing attacks against LGBTQ+ have taken shape in her community and the work being done in San Bernardino to counter the attacks, protect their students, and provide safe spaces for all. 

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Transcript

[00:00:00] Angela: This year has seen a steady stream of rights and freedoms being attacked and limited by the right wing, from bans to discriminatory policies and rulings and. Impacting the health, education and safety of individuals throughout the country. California is no stranger to these attacks and neither is our guest today.

On top of being a San Bernardino City Unified School district Board member, Abigail Medina is a director of Inland Empire Civic Leadership Pac, and former executive director of the Inland Region Equity Network. Which advocates on behalf of the region's lgbtq plus community. Welcome to the show, Abigail.

It's nice to have you.

[00:00:38] Abigail: Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited to be on,

[00:00:41] Angela: so I saw like kind of your resume and when I was preparing for this interview and I was like, there's so much to talk about. I wanna know everything, but, I have it in front of me. Just a few questions to get us started and then if you wanna share everything, you're more than welcome to.

[00:00:55] Abigail: of course.

[00:00:55] Angela: So I wanna start by asking you about the Inland Region Equity Network. [00:01:00] What compelled you to found it in 2018?

[00:01:03] Abigail: So it's Inland Region Equality Network. And it was founded by several board members that were fighting for For equality, basically with marriage. And so that's how they organized it. I was recruited on to be the executive director during that time that would help out with bringing in funds as well as doing advocacy work in the region, which was really needed during that time.

And, and it still seems like it's really needed. Now today, I know that there's different organizations out there that are continuing the work. There is Equality California that also has several individuals that are doing work there in the inland region. But it's, it's needed. It's needed. We need to make sure that people understand the needs of our L G B T Q community, but it's not just the L G B T communities intersectional aspect of it.

so that's how I was able to join in.

[00:01:52] Angela: So can you share with us a little bit about how since the Inland Region Equality Network was [00:02:00] founded, how have you seen the lgbtq plus community? In your region grow or evolve.

[00:02:06] Abigail: One of the areas is of course, The education portion. I know that's with the school board. I mean, I've seen more acceptance in, in, in the region. But at the same time now, it feels like within the last maybe three years or so there's been a huge pushback in several types of communities that are highly conservative, which is, you'll see that in, certain areas in Riverside County as well as San Bernardino County.

And those impacts have started to grow, unfortunately, in ways that they've been pushing misinformation, disinformation with the intent to do harm. And in reality for us is to educate those folks in understanding you know, the, the true issues that we have at hand and, and really understand that, you know, we are no different being L G B T Q I A.

Is no different than than your needs. And, and [00:03:00] so it's just making us look more human, more identifiable that they're not pushing it back with discrimination. So it's, it's, it's been getting there. I know with our school district we've been doing a lot of work and making sure that people are educating themselves.

Um, Also students are also organizing in ways with GSAs and school sites. Our teachers, making sure our teachers and staff are also feeling included and, and better educating our staff and the understandings of biases and so forth. So it's, it's, it's been gaining momentum in our area, but I know that right now there's been a huge push against L G B T Q I A in education in surrounding districts, and I think that's I've been blessed in the area that I've, I am in.

And the, the amount of board members that are also in support of it. And I think that's why it's so important to educate and also elect like-minded board members as well.

[00:03:59] Angela: Now, can you [00:04:00] share with me a little bit about how you all function in the inland region when it comes to educating the community and getting the word out and really just connecting and changing the narrative? What ways have you worked to do that?

[00:04:17] Abigail: So it is important and it's crucial to try to build relationships with nonprofit organizations, organizations that are doing the work. We have labor unions, we. Have environmentalists or organizations, environmental organizations, we have you know, when it comes to healthcare for all, so there's different groups that are organizing.

A great example is I United, I, United has been instrumental in making sure that we are working collaborative amongst um, several nonprofit organizations, like-minded organizations. They're all fighting for e equality, fighting for better pay and so forth. So I think this is uh, that's been a great way for us to organize here in the region.

And when, for instance, [00:05:00] there was several years ago back in. I would say back in 20 18 or or 17 there was a lot of anti-immigration that was going on during that time. And so for us, we were looking at building a safe zone resolution within our school district and how do we do that when there's been a large pushback in other areas surrounding cities that were punishing city councils for trying to bring in protections for immigrants.

In the region. And so what we ended up doing um, it was a board member and I is really connecting with the nonprofit organizations and really connecting with our allies and start organizing and, and bringing people in to speak in public comments and addressing some of the important issues and, and support of a resolution to support our immigrant students.

But it wasn't just immigrant students, it was immigrant, families. It was L G B T Q I A. It was um, ensuring all the different. Marginalized groups were protected as well,

[00:05:57] Angela: So there's a bit of a intersectionality [00:06:00] when it comes to. Coalition building as

[00:06:01] Abigail: right? Exactly. And that's what you need.

[00:06:04] Angela: that's great. That's great. So, you know, kind of speaking of present day, I am. I assume that that is still going on today in terms of fighting against a lot of the rhetoric and attacks that are coming from the right wing activists at this moment.

And for those who aren't too familiar, there's been a lot of right-wing activists who have been targeting school districts in the Inland Empire by strategically electing people to school boards and passing book bans and anti-trans policies. So I am curious, you know, you're there on the ground. So what have you been seeing in San Bernardino?

[00:06:43] Abigail: No, no, it's a reality. We see this in surrounding areas and for some reason because I am, I'm very vocal and several of us board members have been in support that there hasn't been as much in this area we just had, um, in the end of May, we had [00:07:00] our first ever pride event in our school district. And actually, I believe it's our first, it's the first one in the whole state. That pertains to, in the education system, it was on a Saturday. We had many local community nonprofits as well as resources.

We had live music, we had family. Family and students come down. We had staff and their families come down as well. So it was a wonderful event, but because it was you know, L G B T Q oriented, of course, we had pushback and we had individuals trying to organize against it. And so what we did was you know, for me personally, we wanna make sure that sure, safety is a priority but without making it so visible that we have, you know, backup in the, in the area.

So we wanted to make it as, Safe and welcoming at the same time. So we were very lucky that we had many of those nonprofit organizations that had these relationships and were on guard just in case you know, in, in making sure that we had a safe and [00:08:00] welcoming environment. So it, it went fairly well.

 but we did know that there was gonna be some pushback. You know, they came to the board meeting, And you know, they, they, they spoke at our board meeting, but we had already organized several individuals to come down as well to speak on behalf of it. So the whole important part of that piece is to make sure that the board members.

We have a great board. We are seven board members, but you never know, sometimes they may get pushback or, or get the negative messaging on their end. So we wanna make sure that they're also hearing. Thank you so much for bringing this to our to my, to my family, or thank you for bringing this to our, our staff.

Thank you for bringing this in general because we see that you, you understand how important it is to be treated with dignity and respect. And the board members unanimously made sure that we all voiced how proud we were of our school district in pushing this forward. So I think that's where it's important that we kind of organize and building those relationships with coalitions [00:09:00] and um, community leaders as well, to make sure there, there's positive notes on that.

[00:09:05] Angela: So that's great. So this kind of goes in line with my next question is just in general, how are you supporting parents who wanna ensure that the schools are safe spaces for LGBTQ plus kids and their families?

[00:09:20] Abigail: It, it's just making sure that our, our principals administration at our school sites our school police, everyone is well trained and to really understand, 'cause you know, it there, even within our school system, you, you're, you know, there's individuals. That don't support it, period. And they're in leadership roles or they're in the high position roles, but we wanna make sure that, you know, if you feel a certain way, it will not be reflected onto our, our students, our families, and the school staff.

So we take those things seriously. So if we do hear. Any issues and we try to address it then and there and they know, and, and so it's, it comes from the district, comes from the board, it comes from the superintendent [00:10:00] to make sure that everyone understands we will not tolerate being discriminated or, or not feeling safe at the school site.

[00:10:08] Angela: So. I'm also wondering what, I guess with all the rhetoric and the news and the headlines we're seeing these days, how has it been, you know, inside the schools, outside of the schools, just in general, in the community, in what you're hearing from kids, from students, from families. Are there any, you know, other concerns or fears that you're hearing about?

[00:10:36] Abigail: Um, One of the areas that I you know, students, there's a, organization I C U C. Which is Indian Congregations United for Change. And there there's. A youth group there that are really active in advocating and ensuring that, you know, there, there's no school to prison pipeline and there's better access to mental health and, and so forth.

And they also [00:11:00] have you know, support with L G B T Q I A. They've been really involved and they, they have uh, spoken to us board members. They meet with us several times a year to really. Let us understand that there are teachers that are, treating them a certain way, or there has been staff members treating them a certain way.

And so we take those cases very seriously. And so when we hear those things happening, then we want to of course make sure that this is exactly what's happening and then what can we do to help prevent that from happening the next time. So you know, I think it's also important we talk about, you know, nonprofit organizations, but it's also looking at student groups.

Really hearing from students themselves and at different levels. It, it's not necessarily just high school. We wanna hear from middle school students and we wanna hear from even the older elementary school students to see what we can help support in them And 

 we have contracts with outside organizations that help us do better as well for our, trans males, trans females, all those within the school district [00:12:00] and non-binary. We wanna make sure that we're doing better for them. Through counseling through our counselors to also better understand 'cause it's not, it's, we look at teachers, we look at staff, but counselors are a big aspect of it as well.

And how they are communicating and making sure that our students feel safe. Even when they don't feel safe at home, how can they feel safe with us in the school district. um, you know, it's kind of scary when you hear about. districts you know, making parents aware in unsafe environments and and, and we have to be real.

There's parents that do, are, are violent once they hear the word that their child came out or that they're trans or so forth. Uh, This misunderstanding, and that's what's kind of scary is the, the malformation, the disinformation, all of this information that's being spread out there. Confuses those that might have good intentions, and then treating them with, with I don't wanna say necessarily hatred, but really do, they're, [00:13:00] they're, they're having this anger inside them and they take it out on the children.

And we have to make sure that we protect anyway we can, our students in the district.

[00:13:09] Angela: Right. it's a. Very much a very strategic community effort that requires just everybody to kind of be on the same page in protecting

students. 

[00:13:21] Abigail: And we we're looking at L G B T Q I A, but. It seems that there's always someone to discriminate against. You know, there, like I mentioned earlier, how we started off was with our immigrant community. There's a, a Asian Pacific Islanders that have been discriminated. You know, we have our Muslim community brother and sisters that have been, so it seems like there's always this.

This era of different groups. Who are we gonna attack now? Who are we gonna put down now? And that's what we have to make sure that we're, we're what's helping support L G B T Q students are helping support everyone. You know, when we try to be supportive of the Black Lives Matter as well within our school district, we understand [00:14:00] that you know, these are our communities here, we're Salmon Bernardino.

So Salmon Bernardino signified is one of the. Biggest diverse areas when it comes to Latinos, African American low income, you know, really, really addressing the needs of poverty. And not only that, it's the, the environmental impacts from all the warehouses. So there's so many things going on.

How do we you know, do better?

[00:14:25] Angela: right. When opening this podcast, it was, you know, there's rights and freedoms being attacked and there are rights and freedoms that everybody across the board deserves regardless of who you are, what community you're in. And I think that's really the message that we're always pushing back on somebody trying to take those from a community member, from a region.

From region. Yeah. It's, it's just non-ending story

[00:14:50] Abigail: It's, and it's intersectional, 

[00:14:51] Angela: Yeah. 

[00:14:52] Abigail: it's all aspects. And I, and I believe that by, even for those that come and speak in our school district, we[00:15:00] have. We give individuals five minutes to speak on whatever issues they have, as long as it's not violating some of the rules and so forth.

But we also give individuals the opportunity to voice their concerns. And sometimes it's venting. It may be negative and maybe not something that we do not agree with, but we're giving them the opportunity to be listened to. And sometimes those, those forums, just to have them speak. I think that's also been beneficial for our school district.

Because we do give them the opportunity to vent and speak and really address what they're feeling, because then you have to hear what is the underlying message, what is the true fear? Why are they expressing it? Maybe in a certain way that doesn't seem correct, but at the end of the day, there's some type of fear, some worry that they're having, that we can try to really listen to and um, really, address in a different way.

And then even when we had. Parents come and speak or come in groups to speak maybe against [00:16:00] something that we're trying to support. we get the opportunity as board members to also, when we speak and educate, we're also letting those parents that might've come with misinformation or, or disinformation, and this gives us an opportunity to correct it.

And let them know what, what is really happening. And I will see as, as I'm looking back, I will see many of the parents realize, wait, is this what's going on? I didn't know about this because they were only hearing one side. And I think that's why it's also important for board members during their, their comments if they can address some of these concerns or maybe correct uh, clarify. And making sure that those that are there really understand what's 

going on. 

[00:16:42] Angela: Right everybody. Just wants to be heard, listened to, understood. So yes, that makes total sense. before I go any further in this conversation, I wanna make sure to give you a moment for us to hear where we can follow you for more information if we wanna follow support, the work that [00:17:00] you're doing in the community.

[00:17:02] Abigail: So you can follow more of the work that I'm doing. Um, it's www dot i e c l pac uh, dot com and you can also find me on uh, Instagram, through two different ways, which is one at. Vote Abigail m as well as at I E C L P A C.

[00:17:22] Angela: So I kind of wanna start thinking about the future now. So what do you see as the next frontline battle for LGBTQ plus communities?

[00:17:33] Abigail: I know that we should also be on ACA five, which is what's, what's being proposed to add into the um, the ballots. And um, that's gonna be crucial because the messaging that we give now, and it really is, and I've spoke on it, is the disinformation. We have to really organize and look at what the other groups are doing.

What are these extremist groups doing? They're organizing. um, and they're [00:18:00] organizing effectively. We have to acknowledge that. We have to look at what they're doing. when it comes to organizing, many of us that are from the grassroots know how to organize.

We've been doing the grounds work of communicating with, with voters, communicating with community members, engaging our, our residents. And I think we have to really go back and doing that, uh, and really talking to folks and creating these forums of understanding and um, demystifying all these. these.

Negative or malformation out there, we have to really start speaking to groups that we are providing the accurate information in a way that they can feel compassionate about. They understand, you know? Yes, that's true. Yes. Maybe it might not be impacting me directly now, but it may impact me later on.

So it's important that we 

organize now 

[00:18:50] Angela: Can you tell our listeners what a c a five is?

[00:18:53] Abigail: so a c a five, which is an assembly constitutional amendment. five. And so basically it is to [00:19:00] include the fundamental right to marry. And I'm gonna read what it has here. So it's, the measure would be to approve, would be approved by voters, would amend the California constitution to include the fundamental right to marry as furthering the rights to enjoy life.

Liberty, safety, happiness, and privacy, and the rights to equal protections and due process. I mean, it's simple. It's, it's what all of us deserve. So it shouldn't be isolated only to a few. It should be everyone's right. And so I think this is a great important um, and amendment to the state constitution in support of this. So I'm really excited to help in any way I can um, with, the resources I have as well. 

[00:19:41] Angela: People could say, but everyone already has the right to marry here in California. Why is this necessary? Why is it important? I.

[00:19:50] Abigail: because we don't know what the government will do in the federal government, and I think that's what's scary. A, a great example is when we had [00:20:00] um, there was a big push on anti-immigration, it was on immigrants. And so we had to look at how do we protect, so if the national government is pushing something that's not what we believe in, then um, how do we protect here in the state?

Those that can be vulnerable to that. And, and for uh, marriage equality is one of those areas where we can be vulnerable in the future if someone decides to change, make those changes. so that's why I believe here in California we're innovating, we're doing things that is needed. And I'm really proud.

I'm really proud that we're looking at ways to protect and um, this is a great way to do that. 

[00:20:39] Angela: Why should people who aren't in the lgbtq plus community care so much about this?

[00:20:47] Abigail: I mean, that's a great question. what we've noticed in in past history, history does tend to repeat itself in ways that we need to learn from. And so when we look at when one, one group is [00:21:00] ostracized and their rights are taken away, I. other groups are soon to follow and because they're looking at ways on how do we dismantle this, they were effectively able to dismantle this area.

And it could be, you know, women's reproductive rights. It could be L G B T Q rights, then who's next? And that's, and that's the scary thing, because once they figured out how they can do it, And people have started to follow that. then we can't even imagine the other areas of where they start to dismantle and, and really tear down our personal rights.

it could be your religious freedoms, it could be as it's happening already in the state of Florida textbooks uh, and limiting, um, type of history that's taught unauthentic history, you know? And because of fear. Because of fear. And so I believe that. We all need to really be engaged and, and really um, pushing for equality, for uh, marriage. Because that's just the, that's just the beginning here in California. I mean, they're [00:22:00] looking at one way to try to tear down and this is just the beginning for them. So we have to really join together, all of us in really fighting this. 

[00:22:09] Angela: Right. So by passing ACA five, it's defending California and what we believe, our freedoms, our rights, and making it part of our 

constitution. 

[00:22:22] Abigail: Exactly. Exactly, So I'm uh, you know, it's something that we need to really start also opening up the messaging. Um, and this is where organization can start taking note, okay, how can we really help others understand, you know, I. Going to our la Latino community, going in our African American communities or Asian Pacific Islander communities and really helping them going into churches, you know people think that uh, you know, everyone is in, in hatred of this.

They just have to realize we have to start talking about it. and even if it's just the opportunity to hear half individuals speak and we listen. It gives [00:23:00] individuals that that, okay, they're listening. We ne may not necessarily agree, but now I understand why this is so important because then it's just a domino effect for other groups as well.

So um, we have to start somewhere and I think that's a great way to start. 

[00:23:14] Angela: So thinking about the future, Also thinking about California as a whole. Has long been at the forefront of the lgbtq plus movement. So what can California voters be doing ahead of the 2024 election to advance the movement?

[00:23:31] Abigail: Talking with their families, educating folks getting connected with, um, like-minded organizations that are doing the work right now at, in every city there is at least one or two organizations, and if there's not then, you know, try to. To reach out to larger ones here in the state that can help support and then getting that information speaking at different maybe school sites, talking about the importance of, of what's needed within our communities.

And, [00:24:00] and also going into, areas that may not necessarily be L G B T Q, it could be environmental organizations. it can be in, um, The unions and, and trying to, trying to educate folks on how and why this is so important. so talking to your neighbors, I mean, it's, it's about really getting the word out there and in order to support, otherwise, it's, it's, we risk losing a lot if we're really not communicating and reaching out to as many people as we can.

[00:24:32] Angela: Because rights are rights, freedoms are freedoms, and everybody should be able to enjoy the same ones. I thank you, Abigail, for joining me today and. As a reminder, you can connect with Courage California using at courage ca or emailing us at info@couragecalifornia.org.