J. Manny Santiago

Last updated

J. Manny Santiago is an American Baptist pastor from Puerto Rico and executive director of the Washington State LGBTQ Commission since October 2019. [1] [2] [3] As of October 31, 2022, he was a member of the board of trustees at Tacoma Community College. [4]

He was born and raised in Puerto Rico. He has said one of the reasons for him leaving Puerto Rico for the mainland United States was due to homophobia in Puerto Rico. [5] Santiago graduated from Andover Newton Theological School in Newton, Massachusetts with a Master of Divinity. [6]

A gay man, [7] he is an advocate of LGBTQ rights within Christianity. [8] In 2023, he spoke at "Love, Equally", an exhibit in Olympia, Washington which celebrated the legalization of same-sex marriage in the state, [9] and has criticized states which have banned gender-affirming care for transgender people. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human Rights Campaign</span> LGBTQ civil rights advocacy group

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is an American LGBTQ advocacy group. It is the largest LGBTQ political lobbying organization within the United States. Based in Washington, D.C., the organization focuses on protecting and expanding rights for LGBTQ individuals, including advocating for same-sex marriage, anti-discrimination and hate crimes legislation, and HIV/AIDS advocacy. The organization has a number of legislative initiatives as well as supporting resources for LGBTQ individuals.

The Log Cabin Republicans (LCR) is an organization affiliated with the Republican Party which advocates for equal rights for LGBT+ Americans, by educating the LGBT+ community and Republicans about each other.

<i>Seattle Gay News</i> LGBTQ newspaper in Seattle, Washington, U.S.

The Seattle Gay News is a weekly newspaper aimed at the Seattle and Puget Sound area LGBT community in the U.S. state of Washington. It was founded in 1974 by Jim Tully and Jim Arnold. As of 2023, the SGN was distributed to every library in the King County Library System, Seattle Public Library System, and Pierce County Library System, as well as roughly 115 other locations in Seattle, Tacoma, Bellingham, Spokane and Ocean Shores.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBT rights in the United States</span>

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in the United States are among the most advanced in the world, with public opinion and jurisprudence changing significantly since the late 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBTQ Victory Fund</span> United States political action committee

LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, commonly shortened to Victory Fund, is an American political action committee dedicated to increasing the number of out LGBTQ+ public officials in the United States. Victory Fund is the largest LGBTQ+ political action committee in the United States and one of the nation's largest non-connected PACs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBT rights in Puerto Rico</span>

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Puerto Rico have most of the same protections and rights as non-LGBT individuals. Public discussion and debate about sexual orientation and gender identity issues has increased, and some legal changes have been made. Supporters and opponents of legislation protecting the rights of LGBT persons can be found in both of the major political parties. Public opposition still exists due, in large part, to the strong influence of the Roman Catholic Church, as well as socially conservative Protestants. Puerto Rico has a great influence on the legal rights of LGBT citizens. Same-sex marriage has been legal in the commonwealth since July 2015, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges that same-sex marriage bans are unconstitutional.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBT rights in India</span>

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in India have expanded in the 21st century, although Indian LGBT citizens still face legal and social challenges not experienced by non-LGBT people. Much of India's advancements on LGBT rights have primarily come from the judiciary and not the legislature.

Pedro Julio Serrano is a gay and HIV+ human rights activist and president of Puerto Rico Para Todes, a non-profit LGBTQ+ and social justice advocacy organization founded in 2003. He is a former advisor to former New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark Viverito and former San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz. He served, for more than three years, as executive director of Programa Vida and Clínica Transalud of the Municipality of San Juan. He now works as Director of Development at Waves Ahead.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laurie Jinkins</span> American politician from Washington

Laurie A. Jinkins is an American politician, attorney, and public health official from Tacoma, Washington who serves as a member of the Washington House of Representatives from the 27th district. A Democrat, she has served as Speaker of the House since January 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBT rights in Washington (state)</span>

The state of Washington is seen as one of the most progressive states in the U.S. in regard to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights; with jurisprudence having evolved significantly since the late 20th century. Same-sex sexual activity was legalized in 1976. LGBT people are fully protected from discrimination in the areas of employment, housing and public accommodations; the state enacting comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation regarding sexual orientation and gender identity in 2006. Same-sex marriage has been legal since 2012, and same-sex couples are allowed to adopt. Conversion therapy on minors has also been illegal since 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBT in Puerto Rico</span> Overview of LGBT in Puerto Rico

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Puerto Rico have gained some legal rights in recent years. Same sex relationships have been legal in Puerto Rico since 2003, and same-sex marriage and adoptions are also permitted. U.S. federal hate crime laws apply in Puerto Rico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBT employment discrimination in the United States</span>

LGBT employment discrimination in the United States is illegal under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity is encompassed by the law's prohibition of employment discrimination on the basis of sex. Prior to the landmark cases Bostock v. Clayton County and R.G. & G.R. Harris Funeral Homes Inc. v. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (2020), employment protections for LGBT people were patchwork; several states and localities explicitly prohibit harassment and bias in employment decisions on the basis of sexual orientation and/or gender identity, although some only cover public employees. Prior to the Bostock decision, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) interpreted Title VII to cover LGBT employees; the EEOC determined that transgender employees were protected under Title VII in 2012, and extended the protection to encompass sexual orientation in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBT culture in New York City</span>

New York City has been described as the gay capital of the world and the central node of the LGBTQ+ sociopolitical ecosystem, and is home to one of the world's largest and most prominent LGBTQ+ populations. Brian Silverman, the author of Frommer's New York City from $90 a Day, wrote the city has "one of the world's largest, loudest, and most powerful LGBT communities", and "Gay and lesbian culture is as much a part of New York's basic identity as yellow cabs, high-rise buildings, and Broadway theatre". LGBT travel guide Queer in the World states, "The fabulosity of Gay New York is unrivaled on Earth, and queer culture seeps into every corner of its five boroughs". LGBT advocate and entertainer Madonna stated metaphorically, "Anyways, not only is New York City the best place in the world because of the queer people here. Let me tell you something, if you can make it here, then you must be queer."

The National LGBTQ Wall of Honor is a memorial wall in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City, dedicated to LGBTQ "pioneers, trailblazers, and heroes". Located inside the Stonewall Inn, the wall is part of the Stonewall National Monument, the first U.S. National Monument dedicated to the country's LGBTQ rights and history. The first fifty nominees were announced in June 2019, and the wall was unveiled on June 27, 2019, as a part of Stonewall 50 – WorldPride NYC 2019 events. Five honorees will be added annually.

Bárbara "Soraya" Santiago Solla was a pioneer of the transgender community in Puerto Rico as well as the first person in Puerto Rico to change the gender designation on their birth certificate following gender reassignment surgery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ingersoll Gender Center</span> American non-profit organization

Ingersoll Gender Center is an American non-profit organization based in Seattle that provides peer-led support groups, advocacy and community organization for transgender and gender non-conforming people in the Puget Sound region. It is one of the oldest organizations serving said community in the United States.

Marsha C. Botzer is a Seattle based activist and non-profit administrator who has been working in the Transgender rights movement since the mid-1970s. Botzer is a trans woman herself. She founded Ingersoll Gender Center in Seattle in 1977, making it the oldest non-profit organization working in the space of transgender rights. Botzer was also an early member of Hands Off Washington and a founding member of Equality Washington, as well as Out in Front Leadership Project.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edificio Comunidad de Orgullo Gay de Puerto Rico</span> United States historic place

The Gay Pride Community Building, also known as Casa Orgullo, is a historic site and former LGBT community center located in Río Piedras Pueblo in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

References

  1. Sailor, Craig (October 26, 2019). "State's new commission head is ready to help LGBTQ citizens know their rights". Archived from the original on October 29, 2019. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  2. Eichenbaum, A. V. (August 5, 2022). "A human virus, not a Gay virus: Community leaders convene to address MPV misinformation, course of action". Seattle Gay News . Vol. 50, no. 31.
  3. "Leader of Washington state's new LGBTQ commission says he has 3 main goals". The Seattle Times . October 26, 2019.
  4. "Tacoma Community College Welcomes J. Manny Santiago to the Board of Trustees – The Suburban Times". The Suburban Times . November 7, 2022.
  5. 1 2 Alfonseca, Kiara (June 11, 2023). "'Genocidal': Transgender people begin to flee states with anti-LGBTQ laws". ABC News .
  6. "J. Manny Santiago". HuffPost .
  7. "Mentors and Friends". COMING HOME TO EVANGELICALISM AND TO SELF (PDF). Human Rights Campaign. July 2018. p. 10.
  8. Yorulmaz, Ilgin (15 June 2017). "Why These Fierce Faith Leaders Are Marching for LGBTQ Rights". Auburn Seminary .
  9. Ftikas, Jr, George (February 16, 2023). "'Love, Equally' public exhibit celebrates marriage equality". Lynnwood Times.