An 18-year-old transgender student and freshman at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln spoke at a human rights conference in Los Angeles Nov. 15.
The conference, Voices for Justice L.A., sponsored by by Human Rights Watch, hosted the student, Thomas Lewis, to honor him for speaking out about human rights.
Lewis, a Russian and global studies major from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, came out as a transgender male March 13, 2015, at a Youth Pride event.
Lewis was originally invited to talk about a South Dakota transgender bathroom bill he fought against. He publicly spoke against the bill passed by lawmakers, which prohibited transgender students from using bathrooms not corresponding to their biological sex. Lewis spoke about the bill on CNN and even wrote an op-ed for the Washington Post in late February. Eventually, the bill was vetoed by South Dakota’s governor.
But Lewis instead spoke to the crowd of more than 700 people about how the results of the presidential election have affected the LGBT community.
“After the election, there were people who would talk about ‘beating all the trannies,’ and I was afraid that they were actually going to do it,” Lewis said. “So now, I actually put on a pair of sunglasses and pull up my hoodie to go to class because for the first week after the election, I felt almost threatened because I had no idea what people were going to do, what they were going to act on. I kind of stepped back into the closet a little bit. But I’ve come to realize you have to step out.”
Throughout the speech, Lewis stressed that overcoming hate and being who you are is important.
“I’m not going to hide in the closet just because you don’t want me out,” Lewis said.
Lewis was chosen as a youth speaker for the conference, and he was one of the youngest to attend. He said he thought he was just doing his duty by speaking out, but at the conference, he learned how proud people are of his work.
Although the election’s results have caused concern in the LGBT community, Lewis thinks members should stay true to themselves.
“If you’re out and trans, or if you know you’re trans but haven’t come out, just don’t be scared because there’s someone who was elected by the people who says that you’re not an OK thing, an OK person,” Lewis said. “You still have to be you. There will still be people who love you and support you for who you are.”
