Today is the 53rd anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising. Because of the heroes who bravely fought for LGBTQIA+ rights all those years ago, it is also my wedding anniversary. Today, Julie and I celebrate 8 years of marriage, and we owe our freedom and happiness to those who came before us. 

As Pride Month comes to an end (though we believe in Pride all year long), we ask that you make a donation today so we can use the power of true storytelling to keep our freedoms alive. 

This should be a day of celebration, but like many of you, I have spent the last few days in shock; dissociating from this new reality the Supreme Court has imposed upon us. Though many of us saw it coming – it still feels impossible to be moving backward in time at warp speed. We’re moving into a place our country has known, where people who can get pregnant are robbed of autonomy over their bodies and their futures; and history has let us know that some will die because of this decision. At the same time, we are entering new territory, where personal information is being sold, period tracking apps are being used as weapons, and Google searches are being used to investigate people who are looking for abortion services. It’s a futuristic nightmare. 

This decision impacts us all. It is not only about abortion; it is about ownership over bodies, over sexuality, over autonomy to plan our own futures; and it’s largely a move for those in power to decide the futures of others so they can maintain that power, which they believe to be their God-given right.

Yesterday, I listened to an episode of The Daily, Inside Four Abortion Clinics the Day Roe Ended.  Abortion providers in states where it became illegal relayed true stories of what it was like to go into work the day the decision was announced. Listening to the personal accounts reminded me why sharing stories is so crucial right now. We are so numb to the news cycle, the mass tragedy, the powerlessness sparked by the impending doom of it all. But, a true story – a true experience told by the person who lived it – it’s impossible not to listen. We can’t help but let it in and allow it to soften us. We can’t help but want to mobilize and take action when our hearts are open.  

The stories I heard yesterday started to break through my dissociation, and on the other side was heartbreak and a strong desire to do something. TMI Project is committed to taking action, to make sure we gather and amplify the stories most impactful at sparking that flame for people, and we will always partner our work with tools to make taking action as easy and straightforward as possible.

Here are a few things we have in store for our near future:

• Stories for Choice – a new collection of true stories about navigating the health care system in this new reality, especially those from LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC communities, which will be produced on what would have been the 50th anniversary of Roe v Wade: January 22, 2023.
• Black Trans Stories Matter –  a collection of true stories to speak truth to power and to dismantle the white supremacist systems that hold racism, homophobia, and transphobia in place.
• Black Freedom Fighters –  a collection of true Black liberation resistance stories focused on communities coming together, strategizing, and victoriously fighting to make change.

I ask you to support TMI Project’s programming and to give the gift of a story. It’s what the world needs to fuel a future full of more freedom, more love, and more life.  

I give thanks to you for your support, and to all the past freedom fighters, activists, and bold change-makers who never gave up in the face of inequity and injustice.

May we all harness the power they had in our days to come. 

With much love,

Eva