For many people, there’s nothing more personal than their name — and when it's said wrong or doesn’t fit someone’s identity, they can feel deeply disturbed. A 32-foot mobile unit is travelling the country, aiming to help LGBTQ+ community members navigate a more challenging legal landscape when it comes to issues such as name and gender marker changes.
The "Caravan of Hope" recently visited Charlotte on its national tour and aims to bring hope to residents at a challenging time. The white RV sat behind Time Out Youth’s center on Monroe Road in east Charlotte. Inside was Aster Newman of Charlotte.
Newman sat next to Angelia Giampolo and her dog Niko. Giampolo is a lawyer based in Philadelphia. Newman says they came to see Giampolo because of the concerns about how they would be seen by others when trying to change their name.
“I was really nervous to go into the courthouse looking visibly queer, and I just didn’t want people to say negative things to me,” Newman said.
Newman, who has a swath of pink hair, is legally named Hana Virginia Newman.
“I'm named after my grandmother and my great-grandmother, and I love them very much, but it no longer feels like it suits me,” Newman said. "I feel like something that I was given as an identity for who something when I was younger.”
Newman says part of the reason for wanting the name change is tied to how they are perceived.
“At first, I wasn’t searching out the legal name change, but every single time I have to get a new job, and I have to, you know, tell the people, disclose that yes, I’m trans, I go by a different name, there’s also that opportunity people don’t respect that,” Newman said.
Last year, President Trump issued an executive order that defines gender strictly as male or female based on biological sex at birth. A North Carolina law passed last year did the same thing. In February, Kansas revoked the driver's licenses of trans people who had changed their gender information.
Waiting outside the caravan for other community members was Giampolo with Niko, the Chihuahua. Giampolo says she brought the Caravan of Hope to help the LGBTQ+ community navigate some of those challenges.
“The current political climate ... The torture, the pain and unnecessary strife that this administration is putting LGBTQ+ folks through,” Giampolo said.
Giampolo is taking the caravan and offering free legal services to 17 cities in 31 days. This is not the first time the lawyer has wheeled out the caravan. Giampolo says members of the LGBTQ+ community reached out to her in 2016. The Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide in the Obergefell v Hodges case in 2015. A year before Trump was first elected.
“In Trump 1.0, folks were worried about Trump taking away the right, LGBTQ rights in general,” Giampolo said. "Over the years, the right to marry is on the chopping block, and things have gotten worse over the years, the makeup of the Supreme Court, so folks are worried about their rights being taken away.”
Giampolo says there’s a reason why most people she sees are keen to change personal information like their names.
"At its core, a name is part of your identity. You grow up with it, and a lot of people who grew up with their name and their identity don't like that past,” Giampolo said.
Near the caravan was Regina Tucker. Tucker stood near a group of community members with Lowe’s who were building a shed. Tucker waited nearby for her daughter, who was in the caravan and interested in changing their name.
"I’ve been telling her for years, change your name legally," Tucker said. "If this is who you want to be, change your name legally.”
Tucker's daughter is African American and part of the LGBTQ+ community. When her daughter came out, Tucker felt loss.
“It started out, I was fearful, fearful, disappointed,” Tucker said.
But that quickly changed.
“We’re all human beings and have free will,” Tucker said. “And the thing is, you love your children unconditionally. And if this what makes her happy and is not hurting anyone else. Why not?”
Tucker says there were several reasons behind that initial fear.
“Just because the world is not totally accepting of anyone being different,” Tucker said. "And with that, people are attacked for trying to be their true selves. So, you know, it makes you a little fearful that people don’t accept for who you are.”
Tucker says she still has hope.
“I’m hopeful change will come,” Tucker said. "And not necessarily through this administration, but once everything rolls over.”
Tucker says one reason for that hope: The caravan that’s rolling across the country to help people define their identity.
