I'm old-school, so I have it on here, as well.
Um.
Thank you so much,
for this amazing Inspiration Award.
I am completely humbled and honored.
And I want to thank Melissa and Lone, and also Jada
for presenting this affirming introduction for me.
My gratitude also goes to GLSEN.
And its board and its staff.
And the amazing supporters and student ambassadors
for making this inspiring event possible.
When I was first approached to accept the Inspiration Award, I immediately thought of
three inspirations in my own life.
I thought of the people who came before me.
I thought of Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson.
I thought of Audre Lorde--
[Applause]
and Miss-- and Miss Major Griffin-gracy
I thought of Bayard Rustin and James Baldwin.
[Cheers]
Without their audacity to be seen and heard, without their work,
I would not exist as a visible, vocal, young trans woman writer of color.
And I also thought of an inspiration that is the fierce collective of GLSEN student ambassadors.
They need a round of applause, please.
[Cheers]
They are the ones doing the pioneering, daily access work.
They are the ones who have the courage to be themselves, to share their stories, to change the minds--
and therefore the lives--
of their peers and their teachers.
They deserve our unwavering support.
[Applause]
Finally, I thought about my enduring source of inspiration:
the young people who didn't make it through school.
The ones who are just as courageous as these fierce ambassadors.
The ones who are taunted and teased and attacked.
Pushed out and forced out of hostile homes,
and intolerant institutions.
I think of the girls I grew up with
who were told at every entry way,
at every single entry way,
that this one would remain closed for you.
I think of Larry Leticia King, a gender non-conforming eighth grader who was murdered,
in class, in 2008 because of their gender identity and sexual orientation.
Little Leticia was actually the inspiration and the reason why--she was a catalyst into which I came out and told my story in Marie Claire.
And she burns an unflickering, fierce light inside of me,
reminding me every single day,
that these young people,
the ones who don't make it through school,
are also worthy of resources, attention, and our care.
And much of my work is about story-telling.
It's about using words, to educate, to enlighten, maybe entertain a little bit
and to shift conversations:
about gender and sexuality--about oppression and privilege--about young people's agency to proclaim, to declare, and to define who they are
and to chart the course of their own lives.
Tonight--
[Applause]
Yes! It deserves a round of applause, yes.
[Cheers]
Tonight, I share this award with my parents, with my five siblings,
[laughs]
with my beloved Aaron, who wasn't able to make it here tonight.
But, um, all of whom have affirmed and loved me unconditionally.
I share this with my best friend, Wendy.
[Applause]
Who--
[Applause]
Without whom, I would not have come out in the seventh grade--
so thank you for making me stand up to my truth.
[Laughs]
I share this with Farrington High School, my beloved Alma Mater,
who won the award last year for GSA of the Year.
Woot woot!
[Cheers]
And particularly, Alison Colby at the teen center there,
for advocating for me daily,
um, and ensuring that school was a refuge for me,
not a hindrance.
A space of possibility for me,
where all students could thrive
And I share this with Sarah Branham--
my literary editor at Atria Books in Simon and Schuster.
And I share this with Ryan Harbage, my literary agent who made it possible for a girl from Kalihi, Hawaii--
to--who found endless possibility in the bound pages of books--to come out and to share her story in her own words
and to become a New York Times bestselling author, mind you.
[Laughter; cheers]
[Laughs]
[Applause]
And finally, I share it with my comrades, the ones that I fight alongside today.
Like GLSEN, and the unrecognized thousands who will never receive such an award or an honor,
but whose work will live on, enduring and ensuring that another girl like myself can stand on such a stage
and accept such an honor.
You all leave me inspired and humbled.
Thank you so much.
[Applause]