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From DallasVoice.com Texas Johnson has been an advocate for LGBT rights for decades; Fort Worth girl stood up to high school administrators
Johnson, who represents Texas's District 30, which includes Dallas, will receive the Profile Award, an honor that marks a community leader's use of his or her position to improve the lives of LGBT people. "I'm extremely pleased to be recognized as an advocate for equality by this distinguished group," Johnson said. "My core goal as an elected official is to open doors and offer opportunity to everyone. I believe strongly in democracy and that every citizen in the country is part of that democracy. "So each of us deserves equal rights," Johnson added. The representative is one of only two Texas legislators who scored perfectly on the Human Right's Campaign equality scorecard for the last three sessions of Congress. She has also worked to combat HIV and school bullying because of sexual orientation. Plus, she was the first to carry anti-hate crime legislation in Texas for LGBT people. Johnson's interest in fighting for LGBT rights first came about while she was in college. There she studied homosexuality in nursing school and, "knew it wasn't something people requested for themselves, so it shouldn't be held against them." Since then she has had several close friends, employees, campaign volunteers and colleagues who are lesbian or gay. And as her interaction with the LGBT community has grown, so has her advocacy for the group.
In addition to her legislative work, Johnson is a spokesperson for Black HIV/AIDS Awareness, and was one of the members of Congress who took a public HIV test last year on Capitol Hill to encourage people to get tested. This passion is also rooted in her nursing background and her work serving on a city board for health and human services in 1981. "One of the leaders in the gay community brought it up, so then I tried to find out everything I could," she said. "Even though everybody was saying then that the disease just affected gays, I knew from nursing that there's not a single virus or type of bacteria that looks for sexual preference before it strikes." Since then, she has worked extensively with the LGBT community in getting the word out about the disease. "I've always been grateful that the gay community has been on the forefront and hasn't backed off about AIDS. I think that's the only reason the rest of society paid it any attention, and I've thanked them publicly because now we see the majority of new infections are among heterosexual women of color," she said. Dennis Coleman, regional director for the South Central regional office of Lambda Legal, is happy to have Johnson's corporation with the community. "Having someone like Congresswoman Johnson as an ally brings another voice to our movement," he said. "It's a voice that easily could be silent, but chooses not to remain silent and to fight on our behalf and make sure everyone is treated fairly." Saturday night, the national organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of LGBT people and those living with HIV, will also present dual Lawrence and Garner Courage Awards to transgender teen Rochelle Evans of Fort Worth and her mother, Lenora Felipe. In April, Evans was suspended from Fort Worth's Eastern Hills High School and charged with disorderly conduct after an assistant principal demanded she remove a wig and high heels. With the support of Felipe, Evans complained about the charge and eventually won the right to use a single-stall bathroom, rather than the boys' or girls restroom, and the right to be identified as she, not he. "It was just a huge ordeal that kept escalating and escalating," Felipe said. "It was horrible to go through, but afterward my daughter did a 360. It was like a huge burden was lifted off of her shoulders." Looking back on the incident now, Felipe is stunned that she is being honored for fighting the school. "I'm so honored, but it amazes me because people say wow, how can you do this. But I'm dumbfounded by it," she said. "I'm just here to love my child and support her. Of course I did, that's my job. That's my obligation in life to support my child." The awards dinner will start at 6:30 p.m. at 2801 Swiss Ave. E-mail briscoe@dallasvoice.com This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition, June 29, 2007. © Copyright by DallasVoice.com |
