IGNITE's Blog

In the few weeks since 2023 began, over 100 pieces of legislation have been introduced in state legislatures that target and discriminate against members of the LGBTQ+ community. Transgender students are being barred from participating in sports. Drag shows are being banned. Restrictions on gender-affirming care have tightened even further.

Much of this discriminatory legislation effectively strips individuals of their bodily autonomy, a worrying trend we continue to see. With the overturning of Roe v Wade, many state legislatures have passed laws that infringe on our privacy and bodily autonomy rights. These laws tend to disproportionately impact cis and trans BIPOC women, transgender men, and nonbinary people.

And yet, through it all, activists in the LGBTQ+ community and their allies continue to push for change.

The excerpt below was originally published in Ms. Magazine. Click here to view the full piece. 

I’m an Asian American woman who serves on the city council in Eastvale, Calif. I’ve served as mayor there. I’m also a survivor of intimate partner violence, and it’s time for me to talk about it. Here’s why.

Yesenia Baldivia-Zarate is the IGNITE Detroit Fellow. She is a movement politics organizer with Michigan United and Michigan People's Campaign. Yesenia is also a DACA...

Whichever way you voted, there’s some good news for women in American politics. In a year when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against women’s control over their own bodies, overturning Roe v. Wade, voters in the 2022 midterm elections sent a record number of women to the next Congress. It happened on both sides of the aisle. American voters also elected a record number of women Governors.

Kevin McCarthy survived a 15-round ordeal of repeated votes to win the speaker's seat. All I can think about is there's no way we'd give him such grace to lose so often if he were a woman-identifying or non-binary person. And that has big implications for how we raise the next generation and how gender continues to influence how we view leadership.

Courtney brings extensive political communications experience as well as in-depth knowledge of digital marketing platforms, strategies, and innovations. She has worked...

LaSandra has dedicated over 20 years to social justice and anti-violence work. Passionate about advancing equity, access, and the quality of life for underserved groups,...

Georgians headed to the polls on Tuesday and elected Rev. Raphael Warnock to a full term to the U.S. Senate. It was reminiscent of two years ago when Warnock first won in a run-off election. The young voters of Georgia flexed their political power in 2020, posting the fourth highest youth turnout rate amongst southern states and trailing only Virginia, North Carolina, and Florida. However this time around, things were much different for voters.

Leesa Hogan is IGNITE’s Bay Area Fellow. She is a graduate and returned student of Merritt Community College in Oakland, CA, with two associate degrees in African...

My name is Faith Rasmussen and I’m the IGNITE Fellow for Washington state! I feel lucky to be a Fellow because I’ve been given the opportunity to advocate for issues important to my community and create impactful change. For the upcoming election, I’m igniting the vote in several ways.