Today we’d like to introduce you to Grey James.
Hi Grey, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My name is Grey James, and I am a gay trans man in Glendale, California. I also am with the group glendaleOUT, the grass-roots organization dedicated to building, evolving, and moving forward queer voices in the narrative that is Glendale.
At the moment, glendaleOUT is dedicated to PROJECT:PRO+ECT. This is a long-term commitment to our LGBTQIA+ student community in the Glendale Unified School District in response to the recent proliferation of hate here.
For several years now, and still, what has been unfolding nationally around the queer/trans community has also been unfolding here in Glendale. It peaked June 6, 2023 when an internationally televised riot broke out at the Board of Education meeting poised to declare June as Pride Month – just as it peacefully had for several years prior.
Local agitators had already been attacking and harassing educators, community members, and yes: students. One educator was forcefully removed from her classroom due to death threats; students brave enough to speak up were mocked on social media accounts; community members became social media fodder, and in person were verbally and physically harassed. These efforts attracted the Proud Boys, J-6ers, and other outside haters and the anti-queer/trans rhetoric was carefully fed and stoked until the inevitable fire erupted.
Many of the hatemongers ran for local offices. Community rallied in the best of ways and both board of education candidates, the city council candidate, and the Congressional candidate were defeated.
Some dust settled, enough to re-focus the need: There are about 25,000 students in the Glendale Unified School District dispersed amongst about 34 schools. Eight of the schools have some form of a GSA Club, the national network of Gender and Sexualities Alliances. They exist in elementary through high schools. ALL GUSD schools have queer and questioning students coming onto themselves while watching this hate unfolding in their back yards.
PROJECT:PRO+ECT is a joint community effort with parents, queers, and community specifically designed to convey to those queer and questioning GUSD students they live in a city that sees them, accepts them, respects their journey, and will fight for their place at the table in Glendale and La Crescenta.
For our PROJECTS we’ve been fortunate enough to forge relationships with community partners to offer our queer youth safe spaces and experiences. Some past PROJECTS included Junior High Los Angeles, LA Derby Dolls and Free Mom Hugs. Together we’ve collected clothes and created safe space for kids to try on whatever they wanted. We’ve continues our art roots. Sometimes we just buy pizzas for GSA lunch meetings. Our most recent PROJECT was with @taylorpaschalcosmo, who volunteered her day off to give affirming haircuts to our community. You wouldn’t think this is a big deal, but it is – to be a woman who can’t walk into a salon for basic needs? Absolutely. The GSA’s are just wrapping up their annual Solidarity Week. This year 5 schools participated. Their chalk-bombing was WAY better than the cards we made for them, and we had a ringer for the glittering!
We remain forever grateful to our friends/partners at both GUSD Parents for Public Schools and Glendale Extremist Network, both our constant allies from the beginning.
The language of hate was new to learn, to navigate. People are showing up and there is a new narrative happening. From all this I am certain of two things. DO NOT MESS WITH MOM ARMIES, LOL, and: the volume of hate in Glendale is loud, but the demonstration of love has longevity.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Glendale Board of Education had been demonstrably united against hate from the beginning and the marathon of their unified front went a long way in eventually shutting down haters. Two of five Glendale City Councilmembers, including our current mayor, have aligned themselves with the hate group. He actively spreads the lies and disinformation that, as we all know, feeds the hysteria that generates the danger to the safety of the very community that’s in his charge. His family actively engages in this endeavor as well, running their own social media campaigns, targeting specific community members to keep the flames of hate stoked and at the ready.
We have a pending election season where, based on all the jockeying that’s going on, we’ve still a haul. Also we have healing; we still have 25,ooo kids who are listening – to the tone of their town, to what their leaders are saying, DOING, to show them this community reality is not only heard but acknowledged and tended to.
Lastly, the most unsexy challenge of them all: funding.
Because we are a grassroots organization, we are limited to the generosity of our neighbors (v. corporate donations to non-profits). PROJECT:PRO+ECT is able to achieve what it can afford to achieve. For several years now we’ve been proud to be able to maintain our annual $1,000 Scholarship awarded to a college-bound graduating senior with a qualifying GPA who is being recognized for their work and actions as an LGBTQIA+ student or ally. We have our Annual Queer Family Picnic in the Park. Our events are lo-fi and intimate. We endeavor to boost local voices over bling and show. Neighbors show up, and this is everything.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
endeavoring safe space for queer and questioning kids in a hostile environment and ambivalent town.
If you had to, what characteristic of yours would you give the most credit to?
stamina, focus, knowing who you are when everyone is telling you you aren’t or shouldn’t be. And if you don’t know who you are stick around anyway, it pisses off all the right people.
Pricing:
- Venmo – @glendaleout
Contact Info:
- Website: https://glendaleout.org
- Instagram: @glendaleout
- Facebook: @glendaleout
- Twitter: @glendaleout
- Youtube: @glendaleout
Image Credits
all photos by glendaleOUT
