Episode Transcript
[00:00:09] Speaker A: Welcome back to now. No opportunity wasted. I'm your host, Angelica Ross. Today is July 29, 2024, and we are going to set the tone with a word from Buddhism day by day. Wisdom for modern life by Daisaku Ikeda.
Compassion is the very soul of Buddhism. To pray for others, making their problems and anguish our own. To embrace those who are suffering, becoming their greatest ally.
To continue giving them our support and encouragement until they become truly happy.
It is in such humanistic actions that Nichiren Buddhism lives and breathes, end quote. This is why I will never stop showing compassion for anyone who's suffering. And I'll never stop doing whatever I am able to do to be a true ally, to support and encourage people as much as I can every single day. And today's guest gives me that same energy. They are a current student at Harvard and were named Vogues. 20 under 20. Lee Gordon is a young advocate and activist who talks to me about their journey and the challenges that they faced as a black queer and trans person with disabilities. Take a listen.
[00:01:43] Speaker B: So, welcome to now, Lee Gordon.
[00:01:46] Speaker A: How are you?
[00:01:47] Speaker C: I am doing so amazing. How are you?
[00:01:50] Speaker B: I'm doing great. You know, despite all of the challenges and, you know, that's going on in the world, I actually feel sort of, like, awakened, in a sense, and, like, by the challenge, because, you know, who are we as leaders if we aren't challenged with our leadership and with, you know, our advocacy and our activism? And you seem to be coming right out the gate as a young person doing all this advocate being named. You were named 20 under. Was it 20 under 20?
[00:02:27] Speaker C: Yeah, it was 20 under 20, yeah.
[00:02:29] Speaker B: And how old are you now?
[00:02:30] Speaker C: I just turned 20 on April 6.
[00:02:33] Speaker B: Oh, my goodness. So you are, you know, because when it comes to the youth, I believe, like Whitney Houston, the children are the future. And so I seen folks like yourself being named the 20 under 20. And also, am I correcting that? You're working on your. Is it master's degree?
[00:02:56] Speaker C: Oh, bachelor's degree.
[00:02:58] Speaker B: Bachelor's degree.
[00:02:58] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:02:59] Speaker B: You're working on your bachelor's degree. And what are you studying?
[00:03:02] Speaker C: Sociology and statistics now.
[00:03:05] Speaker B: Okay, daughter, what do you want to do? What do you want to do?
What are you planning to do with this knowledge? Cause I feel like you've got a plan.
[00:03:15] Speaker C: Oh, okay. I. Okay, so here's, like, here's the tea. I have, like, jumped around a lot from, like, different fields. I was studying higher education and, like, critical race theory for a minute. Then I went into, like, criminal justice reform, and so now I'm thinking of going into, like, movement lawyering and focusing on black queer and trans liberation community organizing, and, like, using my sociology and statistics, like, like, double major to understand how human behavior and human interactions are influenced by systemic oppression and institutionalized racism, and figuring out ways to dismantle it.
[00:03:55] Speaker B: Within that whole framework. How do you yourself identify.
[00:04:00] Speaker C: Ooh, so, like, my identity and, like, yeah, yeah.
[00:04:04] Speaker B: Like, yeah. How are you coming into the space? How are you coming into now? Like, how do you identify now? Gosh.
[00:04:10] Speaker C: So the full thing, I am, like, a generational, african american, non binary femme, and I'm queer, and I identify myself as part of the trans community.
And I think for me, especially existing in a predominantly white institution like Harvard, it is really interesting, like, navigating those identities as someone who also has disabilities and who was also neurodivergent on top of all of those things. But that's one of the reasons why I feel like working with queer youth assemble, working with black feminist Future and so many other organizations that I've been really just grateful to be in community with have just allowed me to have the framing I need to move through those other types of spaces that aren't built for people like us.
[00:05:04] Speaker B: Well, speaking of systems that aren't built for people like us. So that's great that you are able to so confidently, you know, tell me who you are and all the intersections of who you are. Was that a challenge, getting to that understanding for yourself?
Oh, my gosh.
[00:05:21] Speaker C: Just like, so many stories, I think so. When I was in, like, high school, I remember being queer and navigating my gender identity and often experiencing homophobia from teachers and students and just struggling with that. When I took my gap year right after high school, after developing a very serious physical disability, it took a lot of time for me to come to terms with who I am and a lot of the trauma that I faced in my school system. And so I was really thankful to, like, go to Nashville and, like, study there and to work with a lot of OG black community organizers in groups like Southern Movement Committee in Nashville and Black Nashville assembly and others. And they really helped me see that there were black trans elders who existed, who were happy, who were thriving, and that I had a future in that work. Because, like, I, as you know, like, all the wonderful, amazing work that you do, oftentimes the pathways that are outside of the standard, like, political, like, tracks, right. Or, like, just going into, like, Congress or just going into other things, but, like, how do we serve our community? Those types of questions aren't often asked, and they're often rarely ever answered. And so they kind of showed me how to work with people around me. They taught me just the importance of prioritizing community and of serving community because, you know, like, again, I come from, like, a long line of folks who are black and southern, and my mother and a lot of my family members were very, very poor growing up. And my mother was the first person in my family to go to college, first person to get a degree, the first person to create kind of a foundation financially for my family. And so working in community, organized and working in activism was not something that my mother was like, okay, this is something that you should do, especially coming from an adventist background. And so when I started, you know, navigating things in Nashville and working with a lot of, like, my chosen family members, just so many wonderful people, and they taught me how I can construct my own pathway to actually work with people.
It just allowed me to get, like, the mindset and the framing and just, like, the greater understanding that I could really work in community organizing.
[00:08:07] Speaker B: And just, I think it makes the world of a difference when you can. Obviously, they say sometimes if you can't see it, it's hard to kind of, like, believe and see that for yourself. So, you know, one, I'm just so grateful for you that you had that opportunity for someone to be able to show you that these pathways are real for you. You also, though, mentioned that you went through a period where you were. You were dealing with a disability. And what's, what I. What I want to point out there as well is that, you know, we live in a very ableist society, and so when and when we're trying to go after and do the things that we're trying to do, many times our culture programming situations are not really understanding of what we're trying to overcome. But what I love still about these situations and hearing about things like this is, you know, there's so many of us dealing with a disability that is seen or unseen, but to see you, how did you push through this time? Did you feel defeated in this moment? And how did you. Did you ever feel defeated? And how did you get past that feeling of defeat if you did feel any kind of down in that process?
[00:09:24] Speaker C: So I developed, like, postural orthostatic tricardia syndrome pots. And when I first started developing it, I couldn't walk. I could barely, like, read.
I struggled with, like, a lot of brain fog symptoms, and I had to, like, again, like, drop out of high school and enter home and hospital instruction and my parents helped me through that and helped me get the treatments I needed, but I had to relearn how to walk and relearn how to learn. Actually, it was very, very hard for me to even get my high school diploma because that was how sick I was.
And so over time, through my family, through my friends, through my godmother, who is an organizer and who is in Nashville, I really carefully regained those skills.
But it was really discouraging because I didn't know if I was even going to be able to go into college, quite frankly. And even now, it is hard to navigate different spaces in higher education. You know what it is like. It's just hard to navigate all those things when you still have all of these other conditions that just aren't accommodated or even acknowledged. But I will say that having a disability, having multiple disabilities, has definitely given me the opportunity to understand what servicing need actually looks like, because so often there space isn't created for me and for the other people I know who have special needs. And I. I think having the understanding that we need to, like, meet people where they are, especially working with queer youth, assemble and asking people directly, like, what do you need? How can we directly help you?
Has definitely helped me become and continue to learn how to be a better organizer. I don't know if I phrased that the best.
[00:11:45] Speaker B: Oh, no, let me tell you something. You phrased it so perfectly because this podcast is kind of contextualized within, you know, my buddhist practice, Nichiren Buddhism. We chant like, Tina Turner, Nam Yoho rengekyo, and like, you know, and so, you know, with Buddhism, there's a lot of belief in, you know, reincarnation. And part of our, that belief with that is that as Nichiren Buddhists, we believe, not only we don't believe that we're trying to practice and get to this enlightenment so that we can be like, whew, finally I don't have to ever get back on that wheel of life. That's a hot mess. Earth is ghetto. You know what I mean? We don't do that. What we do is we say, you know what? That was fun. Now I'm ready to go back on. And this time, and because of this, because the human spirit is in endless aspiration of what we can be, of our higher selves, and just our greatest manifestation of what we can be in our environments, beyond labels, beyond definitions. And what's so wonderful about this play is, I always say, like, you know, I try to explain to people as well, like, being trans is karma. And. But the thing is, is that people who are not buddhists or who don't really know what these terms really mean might say that karma is good or bad, and that's not what karma is. Karma is just cause and effect. It's just. This is where my life, my energy is at right now, and my mission is right now in this body. My karma as a trans person in a world that has been oppressive to feminine energy for centuries, in this carnation, in my trans body, this is the work that I'm doing to not just advocate, because it's great that I can be an advocate, but to become just an example of what it looks like to know thyself, to know yourself, to know your value, to know what you have to contribute. So when I hear you talk about understanding even these moments of disability, to give you something that you now. That can now, again, give you context to the journey that you're on and how you can motivate, even from. I mean, you're just getting started at 20. You know what I mean? Like, motivating folks but not looking at the challenges of your life.
We have our moments. You know, it's okay to have our moments, but to end up on the other side and say, this is not going to stop me.
That is perfectly phrased. It's a wonderful gift being someone who is now a voting age, I think, is this gonna. Is this gonna be. Now, listen. Okay. So is this the first time that you're gonna be. The first question is, is this the first time that you're gonna be eligible to vote?
[00:14:48] Speaker C: So, no, technically, I did vote when I was 18 in, like, a local Maryland election.
[00:14:59] Speaker B: And you voted? Yes, I did vote.
[00:15:01] Speaker C: I did vote.
[00:15:02] Speaker B: Okay, good.
[00:15:03] Speaker C: But this is, like, the first presidential election I've been able to participate.
[00:15:07] Speaker B: Okay. And so now I'm just gonna ask you, because, you know, I feel like sometimes when it comes to the culture, when it comes to the wave of change and a lot of these things, the problem that America and the world has faced and is not having their ear close enough to the ground where the youth is and really taking us to it in direction that's antiquated, that's dying, that's, you know, what have you. And so I love having the opportunity and the chance to talk to someone with fresh eyes and fresh perspective. So, as you see it, like, how do you see the current landscape for LGBTQ youth and politics right now?
[00:15:53] Speaker C: Hmm.
Gosh, I think right now, a lot of the things that I have seen and experienced, both for folks that are working in k through twelve and in college is kind of the. The struggle of addressing what alt right conservatives have deemed, like, the front line attack in front and what the core issues and needs of our community are.
I have had a lot of conversations with a lot of organizers and to be like Frank, a lot of the current dialogue concerning LGBTQ existences. And I think what the youth movement has become surrounding bathrooms, surrounding pronouns, while very important and critical, are nothing actually at the root of what our people are facing, especially black, queer, and trans folk, because housing is something that is not talked a lot about in the movement, particularly with youth.
Voter disenfranchisement is not talked a lot about, particularly with incarceration and about how a lot of people with, like, youth detention centers and all these things and how it impacts gender expansive black and brown youth who are queer and trans. That's not talked about. And so I think figuring out how to change those narratives while protecting our people, who are fighting both fights, who are experiencing both things, I think, has become something that a lot of queer youth are experiencing. And that is.
[00:18:02] Speaker B: Do you think that part of protecting that narrative, because part of me feels like that's going to happen, need to happen through an inside outside strategy. I think that what's happening is in good faith. We, as liberals, you know, have been trying to educate under the guise of education.
We have been giving information that has also been arming our adversaries with ways to use our own, you know, just for them to just figure out ways to use things that they don't understand against us, to create talking points that sound, things that are easy to parrot, you know? And so, you know, what I. And I want to get your opinion on this. You know, what I. Where I'm at right now with things is I feel like it's important for us to motivate and encourage people to understand the importance of what it means to be counted. Even in a corrupt system, there are people who are working to make sure that your vote is counted and to make sure things are counted. So at the very least, we need you to do your part so that that can be done. But we're. None of us are in this sort of, like, delusion around.
That is what's going to completely, like, fix everything and, you know, change everything, especially in our immediate circumstances, when systems are failing us. So when I talk about an inside outside strategy, what I'm thinking is that community care, which we know so much about in trans and queer and lgbt communities, Audre Lorde and, excuse me, Assata Shakur talking about, it's our duty to love and protect each other and that we have nothing to lose but our chains. It really is a situation where I think we're going to start to be on a need to know basis, you know, of, like, if you are a part of this community, then there are doctors. There are, you know, there are people who can give you the information you need to know.
Outside of that, you know, I know. I feel like it's a very hard line to toggle because we do still need to educate people. But how much is that education informing our adversaries and our enemies?
[00:20:34] Speaker C: Yeah. No, I'm so glad you brought up this point, because it reminds me of something that, while not directly dealing with LGBTQ youth, is something that has been happening at Harvard with the attack on DEi. Right. And what the all right. Has.
[00:20:51] Speaker B: Oh, it's all linked. It's all linked.
[00:20:54] Speaker C: Yes, all linked in picking apart it and using it to discredit black women in higher education. And a lot of folks on campus have been like, well, you know, we do need Dei and Ii. And I agree with that. I think there are a lot of holes in, you know, Dei and things.
[00:21:13] Speaker B: Of that nature, but I think there's holes. I think there's holes in Dei because it's a white created solution. You understand what I'm saying? Like, I don't feel like. Yes. Okay. Cause when we complained and said that certain things needed to change, I think it was their solution to say, okay, diversity, equity, and inclusion, and we're gonna do x, y, and z. And so it is necessary, you know, and so we need people to have the right talking points around the. Why. Diversity, actual diversity, actual equity, actual inclusion are very much valuable and needed. But the current applications and solutions as provided to us by white institutions might not be the answer.
[00:21:59] Speaker C: And that. No, exactly. Cause it's a neoliberalist front. Right. It's not actually used to get at the core of what it was supposed to be, which is in providing anti racism and, like, greater institutions and so on that topic. Right. I think when we're discussing, like, the inside outside strategy, I think it is absolutely important to talk about greater education and to provide that for just the general public. But I think that we do have to start having more centered conversations about how we can educate our own folks, because the anti racism like dialogues and workshops that we might be hosting, they need to have a very different feel, a very different objective when we're talking to white, queer, and trans youth. And we need to talk about, like, community care and mutual aid and other greater discussions around, like, economic justice and around what it looks like to actually be in the movement and to preserve our people when we're talking to black and brown, queer and trans youth. And so I absolutely do believe that we can get to a place where we're more united on that front so that we can continue to fight against the powers that be and other things. But we have to have, like, real conversations first about what we're not doing.
And absolutely, I think that we are by focusing, I think, too much of the movement. And again, to be frank, a lot of the LGBTQ movement is driven by minors because that's just what's happening.
And so, like, we don't want to put too much emotional, physical labor on young folks either, because that's. That's also what's happening, correct?
[00:23:54] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:23:54] Speaker C: But working with our elders, working with just other experts in, like, academia and other places, I think that we could start to have those more nuanced conversations about what change actually needs to happen and what we're leaving out.
[00:24:15] Speaker B: Do you know. Do you know Marlee Davis?
[00:24:19] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:24:20] Speaker B: You do? Like, I just. I just interviewed her. She. On the podcast. She's so bright and just, like, you know, I didn't know she identifies as queer. She. You know, and she is just as vocal as, you know, and I'm just like, what is in the water with the kids? Because, like, they coming out swinging? I did not. And again, I think, yeah, it was a little bit of a different time, you know, coming up 30 something years ago, but, like, I just couldn't imagine coming out of the gate like that. So the question I want to ask you is, what do you call this thing? You know, some people call it soul. Some people call it spirit. Some people call it energy.
You know, as a Buddhist, we.
You know, whether it's actually. We use all the terminologies, but one of the main things that we use really, is life condition to describe that internal environment in that internal space. How is my life condition? And we chant in order. Is a practice to engage that life condition. And if it's low, bring it to a higher place. If it's negative, bring it to a more positive space and have an understanding.
What is the dialogue that you have with yourself and your spirit? What terminology do you use? What framework do you use to support yourself?
[00:25:50] Speaker C: This is a whole conversation.
[00:25:53] Speaker B: That's what we're here for.
[00:25:57] Speaker C: So I practice a yoruba based religion.
[00:26:02] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:26:02] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:26:03] Speaker C: Defa.
And so a lot of I'm still learning.
I'm still a beginner, as we all.
[00:26:11] Speaker B: Are, even as a one thing that Maya Angelou said, which I will never forget, even though I do identify as a Buddhist. But she would say, you know, I would talk to people, and they would say, I identify. I'm a Christian or I'm a Buddhist or I'm a dissent. She would say already, like, just. Just meaning, like, you're always learning, and we're always arriving at that space. So I do get in the habit of saying I practice Buddhism. Yes, I am a Buddhist. I do take that, and I wear that very proudly. But I do also want to stay in the mindset that I'm practicing this.
So, yes, I do very much understand. It's okay that you're practicing. You know, that you're new and you're learning.
[00:26:51] Speaker C: I appreciate it because I'm still learning, like, all the different aspects, but it's really given me a lot of grounding, especially here.
And one thing for me that I have, I continue to try to refine and to strengthen is my sense of ancestral connection and honoring the mothers before me and nurturing, like, my spirit. And there's different selves with any fathers, like, your different higher selves and your connection to God, which we call Ludamare.
But I do consider, just when I'm working in activism and when I'm working with others on ground, just how I can stick to and honor that higher self, because spirituality does mean, like, a lot to me. And every day, like, for me personally, I do my prayers and I do, like, my morning rituals, and it really allows me to just feel connected to everything around me because it's.
[00:28:10] Speaker B: I gosh.
[00:28:12] Speaker C: And another thing.
[00:28:13] Speaker B: I mean, we believe that you are, when you say, connected to everything around you, we believe. We have a concept called oneness in environment, and it basically just means that there is no separation from you and your environment, and that there is a connection and an actual reflection. So something that's happening in your environment. You know, we say, if you want to change your environment, the quickest way to do that is to change yourself.
[00:28:35] Speaker C: Yeah, no, it. Very similar. Very similar. There's. There's this belief in any fa. About destiny and about this idea that destiny isn't something that is something you can.
That is set in stone or that is unavoidable, but that is something that you can choose to tap into and that is guided for you through your ancestors, through those that came before you, in order for you to fulfill your purpose in this life. And I don't know, one thing that you kind of just, like, reminded me of is that my own connection to spirituality and to, you know, Ifa has allowed me to understand how important collective power is in the movement.
I think a lot of times, success and liberation and just the ways that we define joy is very individualized. And I just have been able to understand how much my own existence and my own peace are inextricably linked to those around me.
[00:30:04] Speaker B: That's one of the reasons I had left the Hollywood environment, is because I am an actor. I'm a creative. I love doing all the things, but I can't do that in separation of community. I can't do that in a way that has me telling y'all, oh, it'll get better, you know, and not really being anywhere close to the situation, you know? So it's like I had to understand that my liberation is collective in a sense that, like, that's why I'm so involved in my buddhist community and at least introducing people to the kind of practice of engaging with yourself in a way, because I want you to see. I want other people to see this is not a privilege thing about any what meaning, like, that Hollywood stuff was about a privileged thing, and if they picked me and casted me and all those different things. But I will show you my life going forward. This is about how you show up as your best self to every opportunity that you have, and we.
We have to do this. It's not like even like Obama used to say, you know, he would be like, yes, you know, that it was great to vote for him as the first black president, but he would be like, this is going to take all of us, and we all have to be involved in that. But when we are so constantly through capitalism that capitalism is going to be the solution to your problems, we end up having charismatic leaders and folks who end up sacrificing people in the movement for their own liberation.
[00:31:37] Speaker C: Absolutely. Absolutely.
One example that this kind of made me think of on campus.
So I have been really honored to help out where I can with pro palestinian efforts on campus.
And when October 7 happened, it was a very emotional and horrifying time for a lot of people here.
A lot of my close friends then and since then have been doxxed, have been harassed and threatened, and the greater university has not fully acknowledged nor protected a lot of those folks. But for me and I think for a lot of organizers on campus who do a variety of things, our communal success, our sanctity, our ability to just exist here throughout all the pain and all the things that we have experienced in the trans community, in the black community, and just so many of the other spaces has, have been through relying on each other.
Because when I would, at one point, when I was struggling to pay my bills or I was struggling to afford food, I remember reaching out to black organizers on campus and being like, hey, look, where can I go? Because I don't have anything else. Or when I know other folks are at their, like, what's ends? And they're working on all of their projects, but they can't make it. And they're worried about filling out because they've been working on their activism and they've been fighting against the administration. The community has come together and be like, we can help you through this. And it's just been all of these things that when I'm like, we're talking about community power and we're talking about the importance of valuing and understanding and acknowledging what we can accomplish as a collective, I just feel like those types of stories aren't always told.
But I, especially throughout this year, even have realized how much it has enabled me to still be here as a person.
[00:34:15] Speaker B: Yeah, I could only imagine it must be challenging because, you know, I'm. I'm a woman of a certain. I'm one of your elders, you know, and I feel sometimes like that young person in college who is just seeing the world for what it is, and it's like, no, but you gotta, this is wrong, and we have to change this and everything, you know, and sometimes not seeing the longevity of how history has operated and how many things we have gone through and change and how long change has taken. But I just have some weird audacity to think that it don't have to take that long, that we don't, you know, we don't have to wait for liberation, that we don't have to do these things. So I know it must be challenging when you, especially when you haven't yet developed the certain resources in life tools to support you while you're doing, like, you're in a place where you're supposed to be focusing. Yeah. On learning and focusing on getting them grades. That's your job.
[00:35:13] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:35:14] Speaker B: And sometimes, you know, depending on what the privilege level is, you know, you got to have another job. Maybe at the bookstore or maybe at the McDonald's or maybe at, you know, coding or whatever the group, the people have figured out these days. But, you know, but then to let me ask you this, because this is what I feel like I feel, and I'm an adult.
I feel that the reason why I'm now saying, okay, I got to start to prepare to get into politics is because I thought growing up that the adults were taking care of things and then only to find out not only are they not, but I'm kind of smarter than some of these Bobarts and Santosin, Margaret Margaery. I mean, like, it's like, wait, what? These are the ones in charge. So, like, you know, I grew up in time watching Dave Chappelle and the Dave Chappelle show, and I loved it. You know, I'm black. I love the black culture and the jokes we make and the different things, you know, and then you grow up and you find out some of the jokes were not, were problem, were problematic at the least to put it lightly. And I'm then looking as Dave Chappelle is, joking, being R. Kelly and talking about peeing on people.
I'm like, I realized how old I was at that time and this just that I was not really old enough to fully grapple and understand what was going on. But then I'm thinking, but, but the adults did. No, no. So it's, for me, it's not just about the people in political positions of power or corporate power, but the people at the heads of our families, our churches, and just in our community that.
Do you have faith in the evolution that's been happening of our, of adults becoming aware of what their responsibilities are? Because I feel like kids are. I feel like the youth are stepping up and trying to push us out the way because they are losing faith in us.
[00:37:31] Speaker C: I think that once need is met, all things are possible.
I think that the issue, it's not exclusively an adulthood issue, nor is it exclusively a youth issue.
I think a lot of people have been restricted.
I think a lot of people are tired. I think a lot of folks have dreams for their people. I'm not talking about everybody. I'm not talking about the Margarita Greens.
[00:38:07] Speaker B: And none of that. Right, right.
[00:38:09] Speaker C: But I think a good number of folks, adults, youth, do have dreams for their community. And I think over time, something that I have seen just on college campuses is that people get burnt out. They're tired of fighting alone. They're tired. Black women are tired of fighting alone. They're tired of being on the front lines and continuously having to fight against the people that are supposed to be on their side and the people that are on the opposite it, you know, wall. And I think.
I think that I have faith in.
I have faith that once we continue to gather our own folks. And for me, as someone who focuses on black and brown freedom, focusing on gathering our people together and focusing on making sure that we're kept safe and secure and that we're seen, I think that we can actually create change, but I don't necessarily think that it is an adulthood issue. I think that a lot of people who are adults have led things astray. I think that we can see that. We can feel that we see it in legislation. We see it through all of the gender affirming caravans.
But I think this is just a general trend towards apathy and hate and fascism that is pervasive.
And I think that once we continue to uplift and uproot narratives truthfully, like talking about freedom, dreams, and access, I think change will happen in all generations.
[00:40:15] Speaker B: Listen from your lips to God's ears what you know. So, I mean, you are very inspiring and, you know, just so powerful and intelligent.
[00:40:28] Speaker A: What.
[00:40:31] Speaker B: Would you say to LGBTQ youth who are in some of these rural areas where there's not the local LGBTQ clubs and different things, or, you know, maybe they're in these. In these areas that. Where the policies and the people are making it very unsafe for LGBTQ people? And, you know, there's this conversation with a lot of folks around, people being faced with having to pick up and leave and move, but not a lot of conversation around the privilege of also being able to pick up your life and move. For those who maybe don't have, do or don't have that option, what are some advice or words of encouragement that you can have to LGBTQ people in this movement who are in this fight with us?
[00:41:26] Speaker C: Give me a second to think on this.
[00:41:27] Speaker B: Yeah. I love that you think about the questions for the answer. I love it.
[00:41:34] Speaker C: I think I would say to them that there are so many people all across the country, all across the world who I think truthfully and unconditionally love them as they are, even when they're fighting against everyone around them. And that when you look around your community or your town and you're struggling to find kinship and camaraderie and the affinity that you need, I would say don't underestimate the power of digital organizing.
I think a lot of social media has, not to use this word, but, like, bastardized the actual, true potential of.
[00:42:37] Speaker B: Yes. Of the connection of social media. Yeah. And we were getting there. We were so close. And then Elon Musk bought Twitter.
[00:42:44] Speaker C: Exactly. Exactly. All of the things that they're continuing to do to silence folks on ground. But there are a lot of resources out there to connect you to queer and trans organizers.
There's groups like. I mean, I've mentioned this a few times, but, like, query the symbol.
There's groups like the National LGBT Task Force. There are resources out there for you to be with your people. And also this really important point, there are a lot of mutual aid programs offered to you if you ever find yourself in a place where you need to seek sanctuary, because people are out here to help you, because you are seen and you are heard and you are loved.
And I've just had so many conversations with so many people where. And, gosh, I, like, I don't want to cry or anything, but I've talked to a lot of folks who are 1617, even 18, who are like, I came out to my family, and now I'm on the street, and I don't know where to go, and I'm on my own, and I don't know if I'll ever be able to go to college. I don't. I don't know what's gonna happen with my family members, what's gonna happen sometimes with their children.
And I need help. And I want to reassure those folks that so many people, so many organizations that I even have used when I was in need will help you through those times and.
Yeah. That.
I don't want to sound cliche, but that it really will be okay.
[00:44:25] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:44:26] Speaker B: Yeah, I think, you know, I really do think that, you know, what you just said, that it really will be okay.
That's a. That's the truth one, you know, in the sense of. In so many different ways, even.
But it's a spiritual space, you know, to know that even when things are bad, you know, even things. When things are difficult, you know, it can be okay. You know, you can be okay.
[00:44:50] Speaker A: What do you want?
[00:44:51] Speaker B: And before. Before I let you go, you know, what do you want your name, Lee Gordon.
And your legacy to be associated with? What are you building towards?
[00:45:12] Speaker C: Gosh, you know, before I answer your question, I just want to say how amazing it feels to, like, just be in a place where I'm safe and I can have my chosen name be recognized.
And I don't know, I just. When you said that, it really just made me think a lot about my own struggles with my identity and coming to terms with that and what I want to create for other people.
I feel like I say the term liberation a lot, but I really do want my legacy to be about international, black, queer and trans liberation.
I'm a pan africanist first, I believe that all of our people should be free from commercial systems of oppression, and I believe that we should not focus and hunker down the fight the movement just in the United States and in the western world and think about what's happening in Nigeria and Ghana, Brazil.
[00:46:36] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:46:37] Speaker C: In all of these places. And I really. As I continue to grow, as I continue to learn, as I continue to rely on and take guidance from my elders, my peers, from everybody that I meet as an organizer, as a student, as a researcher, I truthfully hope that I can work with folks to teach others how to create the change and the resistance that they need to foster longevity and joy generationally.
[00:47:18] Speaker B: And so it is, you know, because I believe that.
Well, one. Because I am doing that for me, is what I feel like my legacy, I want mine to be, is that. Listen, out of anything else, I want you to remember that I help people get free. You know, that I help somebody feel free.
And just know that, like you said to the youth that there are people out there who love them and support them. You know, count me among that circle with you, you know, in the sense that now that I know you, meaning in the. That of you in the universe, and that you, of course, I want to see the vision that you have for yourself in this world come true, because we need more folks like you being able to do what you. Your heart is calling you to do. So just know that I'm here to uplift, support, amplify. Yeah. I'm always sharing stuff on my stories and just doing all the different things, so just know that Auntie Angelica is in your corner.
And is there anything else you want to. Just want people to know before we go, just about you or the work that you're doing?
[00:48:26] Speaker C: Yes, actually.
So one thing as part of queer. The symbol, which I am head of justice at. Come on.
[00:48:36] Speaker B: Head of justice. Thank you.
[00:48:38] Speaker C: I appreciate it. We're having a queer unity march in October. It's going to be in all 50 states, in different cities, different towns, and we're looking always to have new people organizers, even if you don't have an organizing background, even if you're just like, I really, really care about this, and I want to fight against anti LGBTQ legislation. Please join us.
[00:49:03] Speaker B: And I also said October.
[00:49:04] Speaker C: October. Yes.
[00:49:06] Speaker B: So that's going to be. That sounds perfectly timed before the election.
[00:49:10] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:49:11] Speaker B: You know what I mean? Like, I think this is a time for the queer youth to hit the streets. So please send me all the information, and I will be amplifying the heck out of that, because I need. I need to support the youth in that movement, for sure.
[00:49:25] Speaker C: We would love it. We would love it.
We want to make sure that the message gets spread out.
And we're just really excited to get this going. And I think the second thing that I wanted to mention is just, well, actually, this is just for you. I have loved your work for such a long time. I have looked up to you as an auntie, even before I met you.
[00:49:52] Speaker B: Oh, my goodness. Thank you.
[00:49:55] Speaker C: It means so much to be with you in this space and to just have you in community and just here. So thank you for having me.
[00:50:05] Speaker A: Really, thank you.
[00:50:07] Speaker B: And I will tell you this, just to offer this to you. You know, the way that life works is nothing is coincidence.
Nothing is just happenstance. Every moment is not only a moment to sort of like win or lose in the battle over yourself and, you know, showing up in the situations, but also every moment is a reflection. And so you gotta get good at clear seeing yourself and seeing others clearly. And so thank you for what you say because I'm bouncing that back as being the mirror to you right now in this moment of reflection. And just that everything that you see and feel in this experience with me is something that's already in you and that someone is going to experience on the other side with you as well.
So thank you for keeping the kindling of this kind of community alive.
[00:51:03] Speaker C: Thank you so much. I really appreciate that.
[00:51:05] Speaker B: Absolutely. Yes. We'll be right back, y'all.
[00:51:08] Speaker A: It's folks like Lee Gordon that let me know that the kids are all right.
[00:51:14] Speaker C: I.
[00:51:15] Speaker A: Now, before we go, I'm gonna drop another buddhist breadcrumb. By now you've probably heard it a thousand times. You might have been, you know, singing and chanting along with me in our podcast theme song. So today I want to actually explain what does Nam yo ho renge kyo actually mean?
Nichiren Daishonin states quote of the five characters of Myoho Renge Kyo do not represent the sutra text, nor are they its meaning. They are nothing other than the intent of the entire sutra. So even though beginners in buddhist practice may not understand their significance, by practicing these five characters, they will naturally conform to the sutra's intent.
And that's from the writings of Nitra and Daishonin, volume one, page 788. Now, so, to break it all down, myo means mystic or wondrous. And ho, in this case, means law together. Myoho is basically translated as mystic law. It's the fundamental law of the universe. Which is difficult to understand, hence why it's mystic. Renge means lotus flower, which symbolizes the wonderful characteristics of the mystic law. So let me explain this. So, the lotus flower, it's basically the central symbol of our buddhist practice. And that's because the lotus flower has to grow in mud, basically in water, in murky, muddy water, and it has to find its way to the surface and blossom unsullied by the environment that it grew up in. When you see these lotus flowers sitting on top of the water, you know, they're so beautiful, they're so pristine. They have such a beautiful fragrance that's very unique to the lotus flower.
So imagine that each and every single one of us has this unique fragrance or essence to who we are. And the whole purpose of life is to be able to carry that essence intact through the most challenging childhood, adolescent, adulthood, circumstances, and still smile and still blossom and still bring that unique fragrance that only you were meant to bring to the world. Kyo means sutra, which basically refers to the lotus sutra. And that is the teaching that goes so deep into revealing just how wonderful and mystic the nature of life is. And it also represents our voice that's able to convey and teach and share. So lastly, nam comes from the sanskrit word namas, meaning bow or reverence. So, putting that all together, it basically means that I bow with reverence to this wonderful, mystic law that is difficult to understand but is revealed to us through the lotus sutra. So again, as Nitran stated, this chant doesn't represent the actual text of the lotus Sutra, nor does it represent, like, its entire meaning. But what's so beautiful and profound about it is that these words, nam yo ho renge kyo, are nothing other than the intent. The intent of the entire sutra, which is to reveal that everyone, no matter who you are, no matter where you come from, is a Buddha, and therefore you are worthy of living a happy and valuable life on your terms. So this week, I want you to create some peace and happiness for yourself and for somebody else.
No opportunity wasted.
