Being told to find Jesus is not the kind of response someone calling for a lawyer wants. But in his lecture “Beyond Equality,” the fifth annual Matthew Shepard Lecture, Seattle University professor Dean Spade, JD, discussed the discrimination that still exists towards people of sexual minorities.
“Lots of services either close their doors or only let people in if they stop being themselves,” he said. “What this leads to is criminalization. I had lots of trans people that wouldn’t get lawyers calling them back, just telling them to find other kinds of help or Jesus.”
The Matthew Shepard Lecture series began in 2005 and is funded by an anonymous donor. It is put on by Whitman GLBTQ in conjunction with the Department of Politics.
Spade works for the rights of not only gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender peoples, but for all minorities underserved by the socioeconomic system. He wants not only to prevent violence against minorities, but also to consider the actions against minorities that lead to premature death.
“I want to think about all the ways people’s lives are shortened due to subjection and oppression,” said Spade. “Poverty, homelessness, and all the factors that lead to marginalization.”
Even on Whitman’s liberal campus, Spade offered a unique voice in the fight for equal rights.
“Dean Spade was chosen because he is a central voice in the discussion around transgender rights,” said Assistant Professor of Politics Susanne Beechey. “I thought he would be a nice addition to the history of the Matthew Shepard Lectures. We wanted someone who would inspire students to care about the topic.”
Spade’s lecture provoked students’ thoughts on rights and systemic change.
“It reminded [people that] the question is not how to work within the system which is inherently sexist but it’s how to disrupt the system,” said first-year Dena Wessel. “The argument of trans and LGB people in the pursuit of equal rights even though the pursuit of equal rights will strengthen the system which oppresses them. I think we have to examine the system in which we want change.”
“I thought it was really interesting,” said sophomore Drake Skaggs. “I liked how he talked about how capitalism is intentionally linked into oppression. The Sylvia Rivera Law Project is also pretty sweet.”
Spade founded The Sylvia Rivera Law Project to help people who self-determine their gender identity and expression regardless of race or class. It provides legal services, trainings and community organzing support, allowing people to avoid harassment they would face in other social programs.
“The majority of social programs are closed to us,” said Spade. “Because they are sex classified, you might be punished or not allowed in at all. We want social movements that would change this.”
The lecture was aimed at making everyone rethink their views.
“I really appreciated the fact that Spade’s viewpoint about the effectiveness and desirability of equal rights legislation was so different from the general consensus here at Whitman and in the broader LGBT community,” said junior Liam Mina, co-president of the Coalition Against Homophobia. “Spade’s lecture presented a challenge to traditional models of thinking about problems of injustice and hopefully got people to think a little more about the ways in which the mainstream LGBT movement does or does not address the needs of the most disenfranchised people in our society.”
