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☔Showers with highs in the 40s. Sunset tonight is at 7:17 p.m.

Today we’re bringing you a conversation with trans young adults from Greater Boston. They talk about the things that worry them, the things that bring them hope and how their face-to-face interactions differ from the hatred they often see online.

For more than a year now, GBH’s Alexi Cohan has been talking to young people about politics, as part of our Politics IRL series. If you have a few minutes to spare, I’d recommend checking out previous conversations about how President Donald Trump has shaped young men’s views on masculinity and about how young women think about positions of power.


Four Things to Know

Trump protests: What brought thousands of people to the Boston Common Saturday for protests against President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk? “We are here to protect our immigrant neighbors, to protect transgender family kin, and to really say we believe in true democracy,” said Claire Carl Miller, who helped organize Boston’s protest as part of the Unitarian Universalist Mass Action Network. Other protestors who spoke to GBH News said they wanted to speak out against cuts to social security and Medicaid; oppose slashing of scientific research funding; and push for support for veterans. You can read more and see photos from the protest here. 

Ukrainian refugees, in Massachusetts and around the country, got an email saying their legal immigration status was revoked and telling them to leave the U.S. immediately — but officials from the Department of Homeland Security soon told GBH News the emails were sent in error. The email began with the words “It is time for you to leave the United States” and went on to say “Do not attempt to remain in the United States — the federal government will find you.” But that wasn’t the case: “Their parole is not turned off and neither is the U4U [Uniting for Ukraine] parole program,” Department of Homeland Security officials said in a statement. Some background: federal officials have vacated extensions of legal status for migrants coming from Venezuela and Haiti.

Some Harvard professors are calling their university’s leaders to say no to the Trump administration’s demands. A presidential task force sent the university a letter last week demanding changes to campus policies and threatening to revoke $9 billion in multi-year grants from the university. The university’s endowment reached $53.2 billion last year. “Just think about any schoolyard bully,” said Ryan Enos, a professor of government at Harvard. “This is how they operate. They do not stop coming back for your lunch money just because you handed it over to them once. And so, Harvard or anywhere else is not going to do itself any favors if it thinks it can get out of Donald Trump’s cross hairs just by going along with these authoritarian demands he’s making.”

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu announced that she’s officially running for a second term. Her challengers: president of the New England Patriots Foundation Josh Kraft and activist Domingos DaRosa. “In this space and for generations across our city, Boston has always been in the middle of the battle for freedom and for our future,” she said at a kickoff event on Saturday.


Politics IRL: Massachusetts offers protection for trans people, but young adults say it’s not enough

By Alexi Cohan, GBH News:

When I sat down with four transgender young adults from the Boston area to talk about the current political climate, I knew it was a big ask. Putting yourself out there on camera can be nerve-wracking, especially in an era where people in power have targeted trans rights . But several of the participants told me they really wanted to speak, and that silence is more harmful than anything else. The panelists knocked it out of the park in ways that exceeded my expectations.

They noted that trans people are often discussed in the media and in politics, but those stories frequently talk about trans people, not to trans people. This was an opportunity to hear directly from them.

The guests — Julie Shapiro, Ethan Einhorn, Gabriel Joy Reid and Feeb Om — covered a ton of ground talking about bathroom access, sports bans, Massachusetts’ “blue bubble” (or lack thereof) and support for the trans community.

Ethan said that although it can seem like everyone is against the trans community at times, he believes most people choose to be kind, especially in person. It reminded me of the vast differences in the ways people interact online versus in person.

I asked the participants who they felt had their back these days, especially when it comes to our elected officials. They said neither Democrats nor Republicans fully support them, but they do feel like they can lean on each other. I was heartened to see that the group seemed to bond instantly, and felt comfortable with each other, often breaking out into laughter. Three of the participants were friends already, and I think that helped. They seamlessly welcomed the fourth person in. Shoutout to Gabriel, a former GBH intern, who helped tremendously by asking their friends to participate.

After more than a year of running this project, I am still blown away by how young voters step up to talk about difficult issues. We will be continuing the project monthly. Are you or a young person in your life between the ages of 18-30 interested in sharing your opinions about politics? Reach out to me at alexi_cohan@wgbh.org .