A school board member from Indiana has been caught on camera telling LGBTQ activists who were fighting against transgender suicide to “cry me a river,” according to the Illinois Eagle.
The board member, Ann Ennis, was in a meeting of the Evansville-Vandeburgh County School Corporation on Monday (November 25)—a meeting attended by ten LGBTQ activists from the Tri-State Alliance (TSA). The activists were at the meeting to discuss the needs of transgender students that were not being met by a school in the district.
After the meeting, Ennis approached these activists. In a video posted to Facebook, one of the TSA members said to her: “When you met with us, you were so transphobic.” She replied by backing away while saying “cry me a river” and making a violin-playing gesture.
Evansville Indiana School Board member on LGBTQ student suicides: ‘CRY ME A RIVER'. Our activists confronted EVSC School Board about LGBTQ with emphasis on transgender student suicides @ their Nov. 25th mtg. Member Ann Ennis response? “Cry Me a River”Contact Ann: anna.ennis@evsck12.com or 812-483-5671Support our fight & Southern Indiana/Tri-State LGBTQIA youth: donate @ http://tsagl.org/donate.html OR send a check to- TSA Youth Group, 501 John Street Suite 5, Evansville, IN 47713 OR msg us for volunteer opportunities with our youth & trans support groups! ✊
Posted by Tri-State Alliance on Tuesday, November 26, 2019
“Cry me a river?” one activist responded. “Kids commit suicide, you don’t care.”
According to Meaww, the Evansville-Vandeburgh County School Corporation prevents discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation but has yet to protect students based on gender identity. The third-highest cause of death among 10- to 14-year-old Indianans is suicide, yet the activism organization said they have still received no support in protecting young transgender students who may be even more prone to suicide.