♪ ("COAT OF MANY COLORS" BY DOLLY PARTON PLAYING) ♪
♪ Back through the years I go wonderin' once again ♪
♪ Back to the seasons Of my youth ♪
(CHILDREN LAUGHING AND CHATTERING)
GIANNA TOBONI: Hi, Kai! How you doin'?
-Good. -GIANNA: Good to see you.
-Can I have a hug? -Yeah.
-GIANNA: How's everything? -KAI SHAPPLEY: Good.
GIANNA: Kai is now seven years old,
and living in Pearland, Texas with her younger brother
and her mom, Kimberly.
KIMBERLY SHAPPLEY: What jacket do you want?
You want your coat that Uncle David made?
KAI: Uh-huh.
♪ ...in the fall ♪
♪ Momma sewed the rags together Sewin' every piece with love ♪
♪ She made my Coat of many colors ♪
♪ That I was so proud of ♪
GIANNA: So, tell me about the sweater you're wearing.
-GIANNA: You like Dolly Parton? -Mm-hmm.
GIANNA: (LAUGHS) Why? Do you listen to her too much?
Uh...
GIANNA: You want to grow up to be like them?
Momma says I might grow up to be the President.
-GIANNA: Yeah? -Mm-hmm.
GIANNA: What would you change about the world
if you were President?
Um... Let trans people be free
and go to the bathroom they want to go to.
GIANNA: Are you able to use the girls bathroom at school?
No, and now they just put security guards up
for the bathroom security or whatever.
GIANNA: Kai, I can tell you're getting a little emotional.
What's making you sad?
I don't know.
GIANNA: Is it sometimes hard to be brave?
It's very hard. Sometimes it's very hard.
GIANNA: Kai is obviously a tough cookie.
But how was she affected by the staff removing her
from the girls bathroom?
This has been even more challenging
than her kindergarten year was.
She comes home crying a little bit more often.
You know, she told me that she was going to use
the girls bathroom, and I told her that
whatever she decided was the right thing to do,
that she could do it
and that she would definitely not get in trouble at home
if she got in trouble at school.
She's just not backing down.
KIMBERLY: Don't kick that, okay?
Kick. (GIGGLES)
KIMBERLY: Her challenges this year
are different, of course.
Her desk at school had her birth name on it.
KIMBERLY: She's constantly being outed
and constantly, she has to reexplain.
How have discussions with the school board
evolved over the last year since we were here?
KIMBERLY: When the first episode with you guys aired,
it showed the superintendent got up and walked out
while I was speaking and didn't return
until I was finishing.
A high school senior at Pearland ISD saw that segment
and encouraged him to run for school board and he won.
An 18-year old just pulled off an upset win
to get a seat on the Pearland school board.
GIANNA: Looking ahead to future elections,
Mike Floyd is now organizing more like-minded candidates
to run on a platform
for a more inclusive school district.
MIKE FLOYD: This board has not just discriminated
against trans kids but they've
gone after Muslim kids.
-We saw that very recently. -Mm-hmm.
They've gone after African-American kids,
we saw that as well, so...
It's really time to flip this board.
We have a lot of different pieces
of the community represented.
Pearland is ground zero for the bathroom bill,
that kind of thing,
a lot of that emanates from here.
-We need to come together. -MAN: Okay.
And vote together.
GIANNA: But until voters elect a more inclusive board,
Pearland is ultimately losing a family in its community.
SCOTT FEULESS: As you may know,
Kimberly Shappley has found a new job
and is moving her family to a school district
that will put the needs of her children
before the politics of religious extremism.
We have taken a brilliant, friendly,
and completely harmless little girl
and driven her and her family from our city.
You are on the wrong side of history on this,
and you are embarrassing our city.
There are many other transgender students in Pearland ISD,
some that you know about and some that you don't.
This issue is not going away. Thank you.
GIANNA: So how have the last few days been?
KIMBERLY: Lots of emotions.
I feel like we're in a position now where,
you know, it's just not safe.
This is my child, like, I have to look at her at night
and say, "Please Lord, protect her."
Like, she's in the highest, most likely rate
to be murdered in a hate crime in our country.
She's in the highest risk group
for committing suicide in our country.
She's not at higher risk because she's trans.
She's at higher risk because we're allowing
this bigotry and prejudice to continue.
This trend is spreading across Texas,
where both local and statewide elections
have become a battleground for LGBTQ protections.
Last year, Texas, home to the second largest
transgender population in the country,
introduced more anti-LGBTQ bills than any other state.
We spoke to the former mayor of Houston, who in 2015
experienced firsthand the powerful backlash
against trans protections.
GIANNA: When you were mayor of Houston,
you attempted to pass
an anti-discrimination ordinance.
What happened there?
I worked with the LGBT community and others to bring forward
a comprehensive non-discrimination ordinance.
But unlike every other major city in America,
we were writing an ordinance from scratch.
Houston had no non-discrimination ordinance
that protected anybody.
This was about providing protections for all Houstonians,
and all the opposition was directed strictly
at the transgender community.
FEMALE NARRATOR: Any man at any time
could enter a woman's bathroom
simply by claiming to be a woman that day.
Even registered sex offenders could follow women
or young girls into the bathroom.
Protect women's privacy.
Vote no on the Proposition 1 bathroom ordinance.
They had started a steady drumbeat
of "This is about predators
attacking our women and our children."
And the voices got louder and louder...
And so, when it came time to be on the ballot,
that just erupted in this spew of puss
across the community.
I don't want men going in the restroom with women. Period.
NEWS ANCHOR: Voters overwhelmingly rejected HERO,
61 to 39 percent.
GIANNA: In the fall of 2015, the people of Houston voted
on whether they were in favor of HERO,
which prohibits discrimination based on 15 characteristics,
including sex, race, sexual orientation,
and gender identity.
The sick homophobic right was empowered by the win
in Houston, and they use it to spread the infection
in other places.
GIANNA: In the years since, this rhetoric has become
the playbook for anti-trans bills across the country.
To find out what it's like to live without
local protections, we spoke to Dana,
who came out as a transwoman in her workplace in 2015.
GIANNA: How long have you been taking the bus?
I've been riding the bus more or less regularly
since February of 2017.
Do people give you weird looks?
-Sometimes. -Yeah.
I don't exactly pass for... a biological female.
GIANNA: For more than 40 years, Dana was known at work
as Woody, a successful, well-paid technician
for engineering and construction companies.
Who were you before you were Dana?
That's hard to answer,
because I really don't know who I was.
GIANNA: I don't know the best way to say it,
but, like, this person is like a guy's guy,
carrying a big gun, wearing camo.
I lived most of my life trying to be
what people expected me to be.
I was a six-foot-two, two-hundred pound,
outside linebacker.
And so, yes, I was "guy-guy."
Have you ever been discriminated against for being a transwoman?
I am recovering from a stroke. I have had my car re-possessed.
I have almost no money, I live on social security,
and I can trace that back to one decision.
I-- I-- I came out at work.
The chief operating officer, the head of human resources,
they said, "We're gonna meet with the principal partners,
and they're gonna decide whether you can come out or not."
And what did they decide?
Five said okay, two said no.
GIANNA: Dana claims that some members of her team
weren't comfortable with her transition,
and that that's the main reason she was fired
the following year.
And I admit it, it was my fault. I-- I blew a deadline.
But that was like I gave them an excuse.
GIANNA: Dana's former employer said they couldn't comment
because of privacy concerns, except that the recollection
of events was different.
If I hadn't come out, I'd still be there.
And I'd still have a car,
and I'd still have my medication,
I would never have had a stroke,
and we wouldn't be having this conversation,
because my story really wouldn't be all that interesting.
How would your life be different
if the HERO ordinance was law in Houston today?
The whole point behind
the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance
was there was a city agency to which you could file
your complaint, and they would investigate.
I went from being on the top rung
of the privilege ladder to being one from the bottom.
The only person below me in the privilege ladder
is a transwoman of color.
GIANNA: We're in Dallas,
at the biggest black trans conference in the country
to talk to people in this community
about what they're dealing with day-to-day,
which in many cases are issues that go way beyond
the bathroom debate.
GIANNA: Long-time trans rights advocate
Monica Roberts, talked about their recent fight
against SB6, a state bill that would have required people
to use the bathroom that matches the gender
on their birth certificate.
We beat back SB6 twice.
We're tired of the debate being about bathrooms, period.
We're wanting employment,
we're wanting the discrimination to stop.
We're wanting the murders of black trans people to stop.
GIANNA: In 2017, a reported 28 trans people were killed,
most of them were trans women of color.
So far this year,
that death toll is already up to 16.
Dee Dee Watters organizes vigils to raise awareness
about anti-trans violence.
You hosted the first day of remembrance
for the transgender community in Texas.
Why did you start that day?
My goal was to make sure people understood the sadness
that was needed. And know that, you know what,
yes, there is a possibility I could be murdered
because I'm trans. Yes, there is that possibility.
But at the end of the day, before I am murdered,
those that were murdered before me,
I want to make sure that they have a voice still.
Do you know anybody who's been killed for being trans?
Mm-hmm. I know multiple people
that have been killed for being trans.
And a prime example would have been
one of my really good friends, which was NeNe.
DEE DEE WATTERS: Back here is where NeNe was murdered,
inside the fence behind the dumpster.
She was shot in the head.
That's pretty much all that we knew.
GIANNA: Police publicly identified NeNe using her birth name,
and described her as "A man who dressed and lived as a woman."
Court documents later revealed that the perpetrator
murdered NeNe after discovering that she was trans.
What is the life expectancy for a transwoman for color?
(SCOFFS) The average life expectancy
(SCOFFS) for a transwoman of color
is anywhere in between around about 30 and 35.
GIANNA: While there are no official estimates,
that's the average age range for transwomen of color
who are killed.
-How old are you? Wow. -I'm 32.
And every single day, I have to worry about
whether or not I'm going to make it to see the next day.
Up until the day that laws are changed,
people are always gonna kill trans people and feel like
they can get away with it because it's being justified.
GIANNA: One of the most critical areas
where the trans community struggles to find allies
is in law enforcement.
When Brandi Seals was murdered last year,
Houston Police Department was criticized
for misgendering her and for mishandling the case.
The fact that we've got a young man
who's clothed in women's clothing,
the speculation is that he's out here
walking the street.
POLICE OFFICER: Attention!
GIANNA: Houston's police department is attempting to fix
this problem with a new sensitivity training
for their officers and cadets.
At the Montrose Center, a local LGBTQ organization,
community organizer, Kennedy Loftin,
teaches them Transgender 101.
The queer community has a very interesting history with HPD.
We had a cross-dressing ordinance,
and that was a way our transgender community
was criminalized.
The highest criminalized population by percentage
is transgender women of color.
KENNEDY LOFTIN: LGBTQ institutions like the Montrose Center,
are kind of tucked back,
kind of hidden away, in neighborhoods.
The reason why is because of a history of bombings
and other issues.
Do you feel any differently about the bathroom bills
than you did before the presentation?
As a police officer, we can't have personal opinions,
let's just say, because we have to do
whatever policy and general order is.
Like I said, I've never had a problem
with transgender people, but I can see how some people
would have a problem with it, and some people die.
GIANNA: While the Houston Police Department
is taking a pragmatic approach to law enforcement,
lawmakers nationwide put forth 115 anti-LGBTQ bills this year,
that's on top of the 129 bills introduced last year.
And as we approach the midterms,
some candidates are adopting the identical rhetoric
that was used to take down the HERO ordinance.
But this year, the other side has a fierce response.
LGBTQ candidates are running for office in record numbers.
More than 50 candidates threw their hat in the ring
in Texas alone.
What happens in November will have a dramatic effect
on the lives of trans people across the country.
We've been filming
with a seven-year-old transgender girl prevented
from using the girls' bathroom at her school.
Do you think she'll face discrimination
-when she grows older? -Absolutely.
I grew up in a time, where even though segregation
was not legal, it was still happening.
The kids are the most vulnerable ones,
and when you make a kid-- you can't go into that restroom,
you gotta go to this one way over here,
and you're the only one that goes there,
you're putting a brand on them that says, "Other, different."
GIANNA: So how are you gonna decorate your room?
Petals. Tiaras. Um, roses. Um, my beautiful bed.
Mommy said it might be king size or queen.
Kai. I have something for you.
Yeah! My new birth certificate.
I don't know what the heck that is.
Check it out. What does that say?
-I'm a female. -It says you're a female.
What do you think about that?
♪ (CHEERY MUSIC PLAYS) ♪
GIANNA: By filing a petition in court,
Kimberly was able to get Kai a new birth certificate,
officially changing both her gender and her name,
marking a new day for their family to celebrate.
Happy Name Change!
(CHUCKLES)
The fifth birthday, we went to a Chuck E. Cheese,
I searched all over Target,
and the only boy thing was the wizard outfit,
so, I got the wizard outfit and he goes,
"I wanna give you a hug because you bought me my first dress."
So, ever since then,
I'm not-- I'm not gonna buy her anything else
that is even considered a boy toy.
GIANNA: Some of Kimberly's family has slowly
come around to accepting Kai,
even though they sometimes find themselves
on opposite ends of the political spectrum.
-Did you vote for Trump? -DAVID COOKE: Yes, I voted for Trump.
There's no way in God's green Earth
I would've voted for Hillary Clinton,
but when it gets down towards...
you know, gay rights and all that stuff,
yes, I think Kai should...
She has every right that everybody else does.
And it is right now, to me, in the Constitution.
GIANNA: As the trans community holds out hope
for federal support,
Kai is enjoying a new school with a new bathroom policy.
How is this school different from your old school?
Well, here it treats me better,
it lets me use the girls bathroom.
They actually make everything that says my name,
"Esther Kai Shappley" 'cause I changed my birth certificate.
GIANNA: How does that make you feel?
KAI: Happy!
Kai is just a kid here.
Even people knowing that she's transgender
doesn't make a difference.
I'd rather her just to enjoy the privilege
of living in a land where she's just a person
with basic human rights.
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