Some context for the upcoming discussion of trans rights, presented by American Public Square
Lots of background context in this post. Click here to skip to my criticism of the “Exploring Gender and Identities” panel.
American Public Square logo
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First impressions can be misleading. I recently became
aware of American Public Square (APS) through a social media post by Kansas City Public Television announcing an upcoming discussion on the issue of trans rights. When I went to the APS website, I was surprised to see that the panel at that time consisted of 3 cisgender lesbian women critical of trans people, and two people speaking on behalf of trans people’s well-being and safety. When I went to the APS event page, I only saw the three critics, and one person listed in support. In the last week, one of the supporters has dropped out and been replaced by someone else. While I still have concerns about this speaker lineup, I’m also trying to go beyond first impressions to get a better understanding of APS at Jewell.
Is William Jewell College religious?
I was also concerned that there might be an undeclared religious agenda. As a native Kansas Citian, I recognized William Jewell College as a Baptist institution. Looking now, I see that Jewell became nonsectarian in June 2003 (pdf), no longer affiliated with the Missouri Baptist Convention. While still embracing their protestant Christian origin, they are broadening support for spiritual exploration and different traditions. Looking at their website, I see that they have a DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) focus, including their Racial Reconciliation Commission and Slavery, Memory, and Justice Project. They also have student groups for feminism, LGBT+, and even Catholics.
Who is American Public Square?
American Public Square (APS) was founded in 2015 by Allan Katz, ambassador to Portugal for 3 years during the Obama administration. Claire Bishop, who is executive director, started in April of 2019. In September 2019, APS moved to William Jewell.
APS panels in 2023
American Public Square held two other panel discussions in 2023. This past week, I watched both of them. I’m focused on the scope of the discussion, and the balance of panelists in relationship to that scope. I then look at the Gender and Identity panel with a similar focus, in preparation for the event.
“Canceled, Censored, Banned.”
On March 21, APS presented a discussion titled “Canceled, Censored, Banned.” You can watch the broadcast of the event here: Kansas City Week in Review | Canceled, Censored, Banned | Season 30 | Episode 32 | PBS (aired 4/7/2023).
The panelists were:
John “Jay” Ashcroft, Missouri Secretary of State. Ashcroft made a content rule for libraries which receive funding through his office. He maintained that his policy has not yet resulted in any book banning, but his policy puts that power in the hands of parents.
Sally Bradshaw, bookstore owner in Tallahassee, Florida, with a background in Republican politics. Spoke against censorship.
Micah W. Kubic, Executive Director of the ACLU in Kansas. Spoke against censorship, especially censorship of books for LGBTQ youth.
Michael F. Ryan, journalist and author of a book on Viktor Frankl. Mainly spoke about liberal cancel culture on college campuses.
Scope of discussion: The scope was a bit broad for the participants. Ashcroft has a new rule, which will impact access to books for people in Missouri. While I applaud Ashcroft for putting himself in a panel discussing censorship, a more focused scope would have helped me better learn about the issue which will soon impact me.
Participants: Ashcroft, Kubic, and Bradshaw talked about censorship. Ryan’s focus on campus culture was an outlier.
Who would I have liked to see on the panel? People impacted by Ashcroft’s new rule. Missouri librarians, Missouri parents, etc.
“Reparations in Kansas City”
On 6/7/2023, APS held a panel discussion titled “Reparations in Kansas City.” Discussion was around efforts to make reparations for harms caused to African-Americans by Kansas City. You can watch the broadcast of the event here: Kansas City Week in Review | Reparations in KC | Season 30 | Episode 39 | PBS (aired 6/16/2023).
Participants in the panel were:
Melissa Robinson, Kansas City Third District Councilwoman, who was influential in establishing a Mayor’s Commission for Reparation in Kansas City.
Micky Dean, currently a member of the KC Reparations Coalition. This group is responsible for promoting a local reparations initiative for Kansas City.
Robin Rue Simmons, Founder and Executive Director of FirstRepair, a not-for-profit organization that informs local reparations, nationally. Previously, Rue Simmons was the 5th Ward Alderman for the City of Evanston, IL, when she led, in collaboration with others, the passage of the nation’s first government-funded Black reparations legislation.
Pete Mundo, local talk radio host.
Jack Cashill, a Kansas City resident and author. He wrote “Untenable, The True Story of White Ethnic Flight from America’s Cities.”
Scope of discussion: The discussion felt quite well scoped. It’s a Kansas City issue, and participants spoke to specifics as well as public concerns.
Participants: The panelists were well-aligned to the scope. 2 panelists are actively involved in reparations discussion. One panelist successfully implemented reparations in another city. The talk radio host was able to speak to concerns of citizens. The author felt a bit out of place, as he mainly spoke about his book, which looks at city impacts on white residents.
Who would I have liked to see on the panel? Nobody. I think the people that were there represented the topic well.
“Exploring Gender and Identities”
On 9/26/2023, APS is presenting “Exploring Gender and Identities.” I anticipate that the event will be aired on KC Public Television a couple of weeks later. I’ll put the link here when that’s available. [Update: the event was cancelled]
Description: “Issues of gender identity and gender expression have become increasingly divisive in American culture. While the transgender community is being targeted by legislation in both Kansas and Missouri that aims to restrict their rights and access, communities are struggling with how to balance rights and access for all, especially when it comes to impacts on women and minors.”
Panelists:
Jamie Reed, BA, MS Clinical Research, former case worker – Washington University Transgender Center, which has recently closed due to a Missouri law aimed at gender-affirming care for children. Reed gained national attention with her claims that the clinic lacked due diligence
Kara Dansky, speaker, writer and consultant committed to protecting the sex-based rights of women and girls.
Monica Harris, author, attorney and advisory board member with the Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism.
Justice Horn, chair of the City of Kansas City’s LGBTQ Commission and former board director of the Jackson County Government’s Children’s Services Fund.
Alex Pearson, attorney – Missouri Kansas Queer Law.
Proposed scope of discussion: the scope of the panel is that of balancing rights of trans people with protecting women and children in the context of anti-trans laws in Missouri and Kansas. This scope is bad because it pits trans rights against the needs of women and children. We need to go deeper. As Luigi Giussani wrote, “what is common to different ideologies is the humanity of the men and women who carry those ideologies as banners of hope or as an answer” (Journey to Truth Is an Experience, 132). What’s at stake for both sides is the health and well-being of children, women, and men. The medical establishment and trans advocates believe that this is accomplished through gender-affirming care, while critics are afraid that trans people are losing something essential to their humanity.
Participants: The three critical speakers, Reed, Dansky, and Harris, are all lesbian women. Reed felt that trans care lacked due diligence. Dansky is a self-proclaimed Trans-Exclusive Radical Feminist (TERF), with ideological objections to trans women. Harris’s issue seems to be that she tried to publish a blog post saying that trans-women should be excluded from women’s sports, but that it was blocked by Medium, her blogging platform, as hate speech, and spoke out about this on Fox News. Horn and Pearson are both local advocates for LGBTQ people. Having an all-LGBTQ panel discussing trans rights is a bit niche for the topic which refers to laws in Missouri and Kansas. Reed is an appropriate person for the panel, as she does have experience with working with trans people in Missouri. Dansky is a national ideological figure, whose ideas don’t seem particularly influential on anti-trans legislation. Harris’s public involvement with transgender issues seems pretty limited.
Who would I have liked to see on the panel? I would have liked to have seen some lawmakers involved in writing anti-trans laws, or conservative religious leaders who are influential in supporting these laws. Having an all-LGBTQ panel discussing trans rights seems a bit niche for the scope of the issue. It makes the issue look like LGBTQ people fighting among themselves, instead of the broader issue that it actually is. I would also have liked to see trans people or parents on the panel. I know that one parent had to withdraw due to a conflict, but I don’t know if any legislators responsible for anti-trans laws were invited to the discussion. And I totally get that trans people are tired of having to defend their existence in public. I get that APS and KC PBS are on a tight schedule to present timely issues for discussion. APS could build credibility and public good will by using the journalist tactic of sharing the scope of people invited, as well as naming public officials who declined. Public accountability is part of being a lawmaker, and it’s unfortunate that APS couldn’t find anyone responsible for these laws to put themselves at stake in public discussion.
In lean engineering, there’s the idea of an andon cord, a way for the team working on a project to stop the process when there’s a serious issue of quality that needs to be addressed in order to maintain high customer satisfaction. I don’t expect that APS has this ability as part of their process. I’m disappointed that I won’t hear from people writing and influencing anti-trans laws. I can only hope that when I attend this event, the trans advocates will do a good job of showing their concern for all people, especially children.