This is one in a series of profiles marking the 60th anniversary of the ACLU of Kentucky’s founding. Each week through December 2015 we will highlight the story of one member, client, case, board or staff member that has been an integral part of our organization’s rich history.
T Gonzales
T Benicio Gonzales is a community activist and organizer with a focus on immigrants’ rights, working for racial justice and queer liberation. In 2014, he helped to convene Louisville Trans Man, a peer-led support group intended to provide safe-space for Louisville’s transmasculine and questioning community.
T has been drawn to work with the ACLU-KY over the years in an effort to enhance community organizing and activism with the ACLU’s legal acumen and expertise in policy. In his short time on the ACLU-KY board, T accepted the Equity Chair position and led the effort to develop a racial equity value statement for the affiliate. T has also been instrumental in ACLU-KY efforts to engage Kentucky’s transgender community. He has appeared on panels, and has been part of listening tours to help determine the issues the ACLU-KY can have the greatest impact on for trans* Kentuckians.
T was a member of the Better Together Southern Cohort working with other activists across the South on issues of racial justice and LGBT equity, and is a close ally to the students of the Kentucky Dream Coalition: FIRE. Currently, T is a Community Health Specialist at the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness Center for Health Equity and focuses on the social and economic conditions which impact the public’s health.