• Equality
  • Community
    • Health
    • Youth
    • Seniors
  • Voices
    • From the CEO
    • Take Five
    • Why I Give
  • About the Center
  • Galleries
  • Calendar
Facebook Twitter Instagram
Trending
  • ‘Introspections’: The Los Angeles LGBT Center Celebrates Senior Artists in a Special Exhibition
  • Bridging Communities While Honoring the Diversity of AANHPI Month: Emiko Kenderes’ Journey at the Los Angeles LGBT Center
  • Mpox Resurgence: What You Should Know
  • Pamela Anderson Shares Words of Wisdom at Center Gala: ‘Love Relentlessly’
  • Keke Palmer Celebrates Her Queerness, the LGBTQ+ Community at Center Gala
  • An Unstoppable Force: Center CEO Joe Hollendoner Touts Successes in the Face of Adversity
  • Easter Sunday Drag March Draws Thousands to Protest Against Anti-LGBTQ+ Legislation
  • Big Freedia Offers Words of Inspiration to LGBTQ+ Youth at The Future Is Black: Renaissance
Twitter Facebook Instagram YouTube
LGBT News Now
Learn about career opportunities at the Center
  • Equality
  • Community
    • Health
    • Youth
    • Seniors
  • Voices
    • From the CEO
    • Take Five
    • Why I Give
  • About the Center
  • Galleries
  • Calendar
LGBT News Now
You are at:Home»Voices»Why I Give»Why I Give: Justin Tranter

Why I Give: Justin Tranter

0
By on December 5, 2018 Why I Give

Being queer is my favorite thing about myself. It informs my art, my heart, and my activism.

Of the songs I’ve written, I think Centuries by Fall Out Boy is the one that speaks most strongly about the LGBTQ community. I came up with the main lyric “you’ll remember me for centuries” while I was watching online interviews about Marsha P. Johnson, the late trans activist who was instrumental in the Stonewall riots. The song went on to be certified platinum five times over, became a theme song for ESPN college football, and was even heard during the Super Bowl. Now, every time it’s played, I like to think that Marsha was singing for all of them.

The first time I came to the Los Angeles LGBT Center was the day after the shocking 2016 election. I read online that U.S. Congressman Adam Schiff and the Center’s CEO Lorri L. Jean were going to speak in the courtyard of The Village at Ed Gould Plaza. I made my way there with 10 friends, and it gave me a sense of exactly what I needed: community and hope.

Earlier this year, I toured the Center to learn about the services it offers. One of my tour hosts mentioned that the Youth Center had launched The Music Fellowship, an initiative designed to connect youth with established musicians to discover pathways into music. I decided to collaborate with the Fellowship by teaching a songwriting workshop because I truly believe everyone has a responsibility to pay it forward, and because I like to put my money and my experience where my mouth is whenever I possibly can. I’m honored to share my experience and make music with LGBTQ youth. I wish someone in the music industry who identifies as queer would have been a loud and proud example for me when I was young. I always assumed the only way to succeed in music was to be a superstar, but I’ve realized there are so many ways to thrive in this magical business.

The most rewarding aspect of working with the Center’s youth members is experiencing their talent. These young folks are good! Watching them slowly come out of their shells and freestyle some crazy melodies or flawless lyrics is beyond beautiful.

If there’s one message I can convey to our community and allies, it’s that we have to do everything we possibly can to make our LGBTQ youth feel safe. When I came out at 14 years old in 1994, I felt so safe at home that I had no fear about flaunting my femme personality out into the world. No matter how badly I was bullied, I felt fearless because I had the privilege of safety at home. But safety should not be a privilege. It should be a right.

The midterm elections will take place in November. One way to ensure young people’s security is to vote for candidates who are our allies and will fight for us in Sacramento or in D.C. If you don’t vote, you don’t care. That’s the truth. With the most aggressive anti-LGBTQ federal administration in modern history, we have to do everything we can to vote in these midterms to balance the power and make sure we don’t take one step backwards.

Undoubtedly, Marsha would have wanted us to do this.

Activist and Grammy Award-nominated songwriter Tranter has written numerous hits for music artists, including Justin Bieber, Kelly Clarkson, Britney Spears, Imagine Dragons, and Gwen Stefani. He also serves as a board member of GLAAD.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)

Related Posts

Ariadne Getty: A Visionary With a Heart of Gold

Why I Give: Alyson Stoner

Center Volunteer and Donor Frank Galassi is Taking Care of His Generation

Comments are closed.

Upcoming Events

Apr 29
April 29 - June 24

A New Brain

May 13
May 13 - June 12

The Bottoming Process

Jun 9
5:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Youth PRIDE Prom!

View Calendar
About Us

LGBT News Now

LGBT News Now is a publication of the Los Angeles LGBT Center. Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2019, the Center is the largest LGBT organization in the world, dedicated to building a world where LGBT thrive as healthy, equal, and complete members of society. Learn more at lalgbtcenter.org.

Follow Us on Instagram

lalgbtcenter

The Los Angeles LGBT Center is building a world where LGBT people thrive as healthy, equal, and complete members of society.

Los Angeles LGBT Center
This year, we celebrate #Pride with a fierce sense This year, we celebrate #Pride with a fierce sense of urgency. We are the world’s largest direct service provider to LGBTQ+ people—so take it from us when we say Pride is a necessity. Our community is still being impacted by hatred, anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, religious zealots, and institutions who discriminate against us. At the Center, we are Proud 365 days a year—because that’s the amount of days per year our doors are open. Happy #PrideMonth, and Happy Pride Always from the 800 employees, service providers, and frontline workers of the Los Angeles LGBT Center. We will always be here for you. 

🎥: 
@laurenfisherstudio @kazziechameleon @mad_maninc @mjlat
The Center was so proud to be a supporter of last The Center was so proud to be a supporter of last week’s incredible Trans Protest Prom, a pop-up party and performance organized by a group of transgender youth from all over the country. As a direct response to 475+ pieces of anti-LGBTQ legislation—many of them targeting trans kids and their families—hundreds of transgender youth flocked to DC in their finest regalia to let our elected officials have it. We are grateful to our friends at @gucci for sponsoring some of the Center’s incredible youth and allowing them to be a part of this historic occasion. To learn more about the action, head on over to @voguemagazine. 📷 @liaclay
The Center is thrilled to be the official communit The Center is thrilled to be the official community partner of @thebroadmuseum’s Keith Haring: Art Is For Everybody, the first-ever comprehensive retrospective of the artist’s work in Los Angeles. The exhibit is a review of Haring’s work to democratize art, and to use his art as both a tool of personal and political expression. Spanning his catalogue from the late ‘70s as a student to the late ‘80s, when his work focused more deliberately on HIV/AIDS and his own mortality, this is one Los Angeles experience any LGBTQ+ person will not want to miss. Head on over to @thebroadmuseum to pick up your tickets—and get a glimpse of our partnership by checking out our float at LA Pride!
Our Sisters are in the @latimes, fresh off their w Our Sisters are in the @latimes, fresh off their win off the baseball field. “We do have a serious responsibility. Let’s live up to that and give people the truth of our hearts as well as the glitter and humor.” —Sister Unity(May 2023) 
📷 @erik_carter
Today we mourn the loss of a true icon, the legend Today we mourn the loss of a true icon, the legendary Tina Turner. We honor and celebrate her life as an artist, incredible performer, an inspiration to many,
and an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community. We will forever be proud of Ms. Turner and her love for all of us. 

#TinaTurner #RestInPeace
With 2023’s record-breaking anti-trans legislati With 2023’s record-breaking anti-trans legislative push, trans youth across the U.S. are pushing back: by celebrating their joy. Proud to support the first-ever #TransProm at the nation’s Capitol. You can learn more and take action at TransProm.org. #TransJoy
We stand with the @ladragnuns! Today, the @dodgers We stand with the @ladragnuns! Today, the @dodgers apologized and reinstated their invitation to honor the Sisters at Pride Night. Our CEO, @joe.hollendoner, welcomes this step in the right direction and emphasizes the impact of standing together in the face of anti-LGBTQ bias. We're grateful to our community for rallying behind the Sisters and holding our corporate partners accountable.
Time to go [base] balls to the wall! The Center’ Time to go [base] balls to the wall! The Center’s Resistance Squad is launching an email action TODAY to stand with @ladragnuns and apply pressure to the @Dodgers. Join us by following the instructions in the slides (swipe thru), and forwarding this message to your networks. You can also support us by sharing this post to your Story or Instagram grid. 

Let’s show them #LA is for everyone! #CenterYourPride

#Dodgers #PrideNight #Sisters #SistersOfPerpetualIndulgence #HateHasNoPlace #NotInLA
Yesterday, the @dodgersfoundation rescinded their Yesterday, the @dodgersfoundation rescinded their invitation to recognize the @ladragnuns at next month’s Pride Night. In return, the Los Angeles LGBT Center is demanding the Dodgers cancel their Pride Night unless they rectify this error. “Any organization that turns its back on LGBTQ+ people at this damning and dangerous inflection point in our nation’s history should not be hoisting a rainbow flag or hosting a ‘Pride Night,’” says our CEO, @joe.hollendoner. “We want the Dodgers’ allyship to be consistent with our experience partnering with them over the past years.”

#Dodgers #PrideNight #Sisters #SistersOfPerpetualIndulgence #HateHasNoPlace #NotInLA
Load More... Follow on Instagram
Stay Connected
Subscribe
Copyright © 2022 Los Angeles LGBT Center
  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy
  • Contact Us

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.