On Episode 54 of the Activist Files, Bertha Justice Fellow Zee Scout speaks with Ashley Diamond, a civil rights activist, who made a pivotal choice on the eve of her trial in January against the Georgia Department of Corrections for Eighth Amendment violations of inadequate healthcare and sexual assault due to officials placing her in a male prison: She voluntarily dismissed her case to focus on healing. Since then, however, Ashley has struggled to access healthcare, therapy, and housing, because all of these necessities are inherently more challenging to obtain as a Black trans woman in the Southeast. Though her lawsuit is done, Ashley needs more support than ever - as many queer, trans, intersex, and gender nonconforming people do while state legislatures and reactionary judiciaries accelerate their attacks on trans civil rights. In typical Ashley fashion, though, she sings through the pain (including by debuting a new song during the podcast!).

Resources:
Diamond v. Ward case page, client bio, resource page, and press release
Ashley's op-ed in them
Articles in them, Xtra*, and Pink News
TGI Justice Project
Ashley's fundraiser