Among the series of executive orders President Trump issued last week are policies rolling back DEI initiatives and federally recognizing only two genders. Ann Arbor’s pioneering LGBT organization, the Jim Toy Community Center, is preparing to address these challenges.
The Jim Toy Community Center has seen a growing number of local LGBT residents voicing concerns about their rights and livelihoods in the past week.
President Joe Halsch says the center’s reopening earlier this month couldn’t have come at a better time.
He says now is the time for the LGBT people to come together to tackle governmental adversity once again.
"We are a resilient group of people, and that is baked into our DNA. Whether it be the AIDS crisis, whether it be Stonewall, whether it be the executive orders, we survive. And we survive through community."
Halsch says it’s crucial for Ann Arbor’s LGBT community to extend support across the county, especially to individuals living in rural areas.
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