Father’s Day regrets about my Dad’s obituary

My father died in February of this year. I was unable to provide him a traditional rite of passage – an obituary in our local daily paper. I clung to that void with a firm grip, turning it over in my mind to determine why it troubled me. Sadness that he was denied that final […]

PublicSource is launching a new gender and identity newsletter

Lots of news from PublicSource –  As PublicSource celebrates its 10th anniversary, the organization announces the promotion of Halle Stockton to the role of editor-in-chief. Stockton has named Rich Lord as managing editor. I’ve contributed several pieces to PublicSource. I’ve been a long-time fan of Rich Lord’s reporting. He left the City Paper for the Post-Gazette […]

How do you queer outreach?

I’ve been a bit busy this month with the #ManchesterCatTrap project so I didn’t participate in any Pride activities, until the end when I had the opportunity to say something. So I did. First was the chance to write an essay for PublicSource ‘Right kind of gay, wrong kind of queer’: Navigating LGBTQ discrimination in Pennsylvania […]

Behind the essay: How writing about SSDI took a toll on my mental health

Sue Kerr trauma

Content Note: trauma, neglect, disability, Social Security Administration, mental health On October 28, I sent a draft essay to PublicSource to inquire about their interest in the topic. The final version was published on February 10, 2020. That’s over 100 days. I share this because I want to emphasize how much energy and time goes […]

Congratulations to Winners of the 2019 Golden Quill Awards, Especially The Pittsburgh Current and PublicSource – Yay!

GOlden Quill Pittsburgh Current Chris Potter

I was pleased to see so many familiar names (and media pieces) among the winners of the 2019 Golden Quill awards. The Golden Quills recognizes professional and student excellence in print, broadcast, photography, videography and digital journalism in Western PA and nearby counties in Ohio and West Virginia. A very special shout-out to my colleagues […]

Mon Valley Catholics Worried About Losing Church Building, No Mention of Grand Jury Report: My Response

Catholics Sex Abuse Scandal Pittsburgh

On August 16, 2018 – just days after the release of the Grand Jury Report detailing the sexual victimization of more than 1000 children and youth by nearly 300 Pennsylvania priests – the investigative journalism site PublicSource published an in-depth piece on another failure of the Diocese of Pittsburgh. They chose to scrutinize how the […]

Local LGBTQ Links We Are Reading – August 10, 2018

This is an occasional feature we run, curating news links related to the LGBTQ community and the Pittsburgh region. One of the ugliest examples of local white hate and bigotry I’ve found in the Letters to the Editor section in a long time was published on July 14 via the TribLive. Kathleen Bollinger of Fawn […]