If you are a member of Maines’s Passamaquoddy Tribe or if your transgender student attends Decatur Public School in District 61, you can rest easy. Both school boards now have transgender board members to look after your child’s safety.

Geo Soctomah Neptune, (They/Them), a Two Spirit educator, Master basket Maker, and Idle No More activist of the Passamaquoddy Tribe was elected to the Indian Township school board Wednesday. September 9th, 2020. According to records, Neptune is the first non-binary trans person to be elected in the state of Maine and possibly the nation.

WCIA reports that Alana Banks became the first black trans-binary woman to be elected to a school board in the entire country.

“It’s always a big focus for Alana to champion LGBT rights for students,” said childhood friend and campaign aid Anay Hunt. “Within that age range, it is so important to look at someone like them that is out there making a positive change.”

Banks, a binary transgender woman, ran on policies such as safely returning to school, establishing permanent e-learning options and being open about mental health and one’s identity.

One of her campaign aids, Astrid Prater, believes it is the first step among many towards acceptance and equality for the LGBT community.

“I think we need to look at this moment with Alana to know that our community can change, it can grow and it can get better,” Prater said.

The post Black Trans woman elected to a School Board the First in the Nation appeared first on Planet Trans.