How to do it:

Gender non-conforming voices we recommend:

Erin in the Morning is a transgender journalist who covers legislation nation-wide, track research into transgender girls and sports (spoiler: no advantage!), and explains issues you might be afraid to ask about. She’s the person to follow for news and understanding! Her substack includes links to social media presence.

Trystan Reese was one of the first transgender men to publicly discuss his experience bearing a child. He does extensive education work, including a Moth episode about his experience. He is a longstanding gender activist and public figure, and if you’re struggling with gender-neutral language around issues like reproduction, his story is a good place to start.

Hannah Gadsby is best known as an autistic comedian, but they’re talking publicly about being non-binary, too. Their 2024 Netflix special “Hannah Gadsby’s Gender Agenda” is a fun introduction to a number of genderqueer performers you may not have seen before.

Alok Vaid-Menon is a non-binary entertainer with biting wit and a sense of fun. If gender representation that doesn’t fall neatly into either/or categories makes you uncomfortable, Alok’s performances — not quite standup, but not exactly presentation either — are a great way to break the ice. Look for interviews and writing for more directed gender criticism.

Black voices we recommend:

Shay Stewart-Bouley is a Black author living in Maine. She brings a fresh perspective rooted in being a minority in one of the whitest places in America. She offers racial commentary as well as updates on local politics and national issues. She has a personal site: https://blackgirlinmaine.com, a Substack, and a FB page.

Pru Pru is an online activist from Atlanta, GA who went viral when her writing was mis-attributed to Liz Cheney. She brings a Black woman’s perspective directly to bear on emerging events with compassion but no coddling. She is not on our list of “calm voices” but she is incisive, acerbic, and careful. If you’re trying to make sense of how this moment hits for people in different cultures, follow her on Facebook and Substack.

Michael Harriot is the author of Black AF History. Here is the blurb from his own site: “Combining unapologetically provocative storytelling with meticulous research…Harriot removes the white sugarcoating from the American story, placing Black people squarely at the center.” Read his book, or follow him on Facebook and Substack.

Jackie Summers is an author, activist and award-winning entrepreneur. He writes essays designed to get you past despair and into motion, including fictional allegories that get the truth across better than any fact can. Follow him on Facebook and Substack.

NPR Code Switch is a group focused on “the overlapping themes of race, ethnicity and culture, how these things play out in our lives, and how all of this is shifting.”

The Black Wall Street Times covers news from a Black perspective.

Jewish voices we recommend:

Sarah Tuttle Singer is an American Jew who made Aliyah to Israel and writes about the humanity of Israelis, Palestinians, and other communities in the region. She is consistently humanizing and is known for her stories of the connection and strain of peoples with conflicting histories in the region. She’s on Facebook and writes for The Times of Israel.

Rabbi Angela Buchdahl is a Korean-American Jew who brings a perspective steeped in Jewish history but seasoned with the modern era. She has a facebook presence, and her writing is published in various places. Her teachings are collected on the Central Synagogue web site, for those interested in learning more about Judaism as a religion and culture, entertwined.

Dara Horn wrote our favorite book about Jewish culture, “Everyone loves Dead Jews.” It’s a complex read that won’t be accessible to everyone, but worth the effort. She has many other books about Jewish culture, or reflecting it listed on her web site, and many essays published worldwide.

Modi is a gay, orthodox, Israeli, raised-in-NY comedian who lambasts Jewish culture lovingly. If you think Seinfeld’s self-deprecating lean into neurotic stereotypes is “Jewish humor” let Modi show you Jewish humor for Jews. He’s unabashed about all the seemingly contradictory parts of who he is.

Tablet is a Jewish magazine that I love as often as I hate. You’ll find a wide variety of content, with articles often directly contradicting each other, as is the Jewish way.

[We will add other minority groups over time.]

This post illustrated with an image from UnSplash (https://unsplash.com/license) or Wikimedia Commons (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)