In the U.S., mass incarceration is an LGBT issue. The U.S. incarcerates people at a higher rate than nearly every other nation in the world — poor LGBT people and LGBT people of color are disproportionately affected. 

According to Lambda Legal, nearly one in six transgender Americans — and one in two black trans people has spent time behind bars. Once locked up, they face the constant threat of sexual assault and discrimination.

This week, Our Fund Foundation will host Critical Mass, Mass Incarceration in the LGBTQ Community. It’s an important panel discussion addressing the critical needs of LGBT people who find themselves trapped in the criminal justice system.

Mark your calendars: the virtual discussion is Thursday, Feb. 25 from 6:30 – 7:30 p.m.

The discussion is moderated by Florida State Senator Shevrin Jones. The panelists are Marq Mitchell, CEO and founder of Chainless Change and Scott Greenberg, executive director and founder of LGBTQ Freedom Fund.

“We post bond for LGBT folks who are in pretrial and immigration detention and pretrial,” Greenberg said. “The idea of it is that you post bond and you're able to secure these people safely from all the dangers of detention. LGBT individuals are often targeted, especially trans individuals are often targeted and sexually assaulted or sexually abused when they're in detention. And then also by getting them out of detention, you put them in a place to better fight their immigration case or the charge that they're facing in the pretrial system.” 

To register for the informative talk, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or click on this Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82432913039?pwd=RE5zcjczZ0ViTXdGeUtVMHk4Zyt2dz09#success. The passcode is 890550.