Powell Speaks for LGBTQ Refugees | This Way Out Radio Episode #1956
- This Way Out
- 19 hours ago
- 7 min read
With seven years experience as CEO of Rainbow Railroad, Global LGBTQI+ Human Rights Fellow at the Carr-Ryan Center at Harvard and Refugee Council USA board member Kamahli Powell is uniquely qualified to discuss the world’s refugee crisis and specifically how LGBTQ people are disadvantaged in seeking help when their countries, communities and sometimes even their homes are unsafe (interviewed by David Hunt).
Plus: gay novelist, screenwriter, playwright and actor Truman Capote (September 30,1924 - August 25, 1984) reads from “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” (courtesy of Pacifica Radio Archives).
And in NewsWrap: 61 members of Congress call on U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to restore LGBTQ-specific data to the State Department’s annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Aka.) lead a bipartisan effort to reinstate a specialized LGBTQ youth service for the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, Pope Leo XIV clarifies that his stance on inclusion for LGBTQ people excludes same-gender marriage, the Trump administration appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court to enforce its denial of “X” gender passports, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) stops medical care for transgender detainees at a facility in Aurora, Colorado, Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Jerry Greenfield resigns because he says his progressive activism is being silenced by the ice cream company’s Unilever multinational corporate owners, and more international LGBTQ+ news reported this week by Tanya Kane Parry and David Hunt (produced by Brian DeShazor).
All this on the September 22, 2025 edition of This Way Out!
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Complete Program Summary
for the week of September 22, 2025
Powell Speaks for LGBTQ Refugees
NewsWrap (full transcript below): Sixty-one members of Congress are calling on U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to restore LGBTQ-specific data to the State Department’s annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices … U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Aka.) lead a bipartisan effort to reinstate a specialized LGBTQ youth service for the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline … Pope Leo XIV clarifies that his stance on inclusion for LGBTQ people excludes same-gender marriage, echoing many of the teachings of his predecessor, Pope Francis … the Trump administration appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court to enforce its denial of “X” gender passports … U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) stops medical care for transgender detainees at a facility in Aurora, Colorado … Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Jerry Greenfield has announced his resignation, saying he can no longer remain part of a company that has silenced his activism (written by LUCIA CHAPPELLE and DAVID HUNT, produced by BRIAN DeSHAZOR, and reported this week by DAVID HUNT and TANYA KANE-PARRY).
Feature: War, famine, the climate crisis – all together they’ve led to more people being displaced today than at any time in human history. Those persecuted for their sexual orientation, gender identity and sex characteristics are among the most vulnerable. However, even as the number of refugees skyrockets, countries once considered safe are rolling up the lavender welcome mat. One of the strongest advocates for queer immigrants gained some notoriety several years ago, and This Way Out’s DAVID HUNT looked Kamahli Powell up for an update (with intro music by GREGORY PORTER FT. COMMON, and internal music by SEMO, LOUIS ISLAND, and THE RALLIES).
Feature: We take a moment this week to remember openly gay American novelist, screenwriter, playwright and actor Truman Capote. Born September 30,1924 Capote’s works include The Grass Harp, Other Voices, Other Rooms, and In Cold Blood. Our TANYA KANE-PARRY narrates Truman reading from perhaps his best-known works, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, courtesy of the Pacifica Radio Archives. Happy Birthday Truman. (Truman Capote, April 7, 1963 from the Poetry Center NYC courtesy of Pacifica Radio Archives).
NewsWrap
A summary of some of the news in or affecting
LGBTQ communities around the world
for the week ending September 20, 2025
Written by Greg Gordon and Lucia Chappelle,
reported this week by DAVID HUNT and TANYA KANE-PARRY,
and produced by BRIAN DeSHAZOR
Sixty-one members of Congress are calling on U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to restore LGBTQ-specific data to the State Department’s annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. The demand comes after the department released its 2024 report in August with entire sections on abuses against women, LGBTQ people, and other groups removed.
In a letter to Rubio dated September 9, the representatives said the State Department reports are a critical tool for human rights advocates, asylum seekers, and LGBTQ Americans traveling abroad. The reports have been mandated by law since 1974. They serve as key evidence in asylum cases and help lawmakers oversee foreign policy.
Human rights advocates and former officials also condemned the changes. Jessica Stern, a former U.S. special envoy for LGBTQI+ human rights, called the omissions a “deliberate erasure.” Human Rights Watch stated the report was an “exercise of whitewashing and deception” that undermines U.S. credibility.
The State Department, which delayed the report for months, said the changes were needed to align with the Trump administration's “view and vision.”
A bipartisan effort is underway in Washington, D.C., to restore a vital mental health service for LGBTQ youth. Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin and Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska have introduced a bill to reinstate a specialized service for the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
The Trump administration cut the service, which specifically supported LGBTQ young people, in July as part of broader budget cuts. The specialized service, known as the 'Press 3' option, connected distressed young people with counselors trained to support them.
Baldwin, who is the first out gay U.S. senator and wrote the original legislation creating the 988 lifeline, called the move to end the service unjustified.
She stated, “Mental health does not see partisan lines or geography, and I’m proud to be working with Democrats and Republicans to do what’s right.”
The 988 lifeline has received over 17 million contacts since it launched in 2022. Suicide prevention groups like The Trevor Project say the specialized service is crucial, noting that LGBTQ youth are more than four times as likely to attempt suicide as their peers.
In his first few months as pontiff, Pope Leo XIV has clarified his stance on the LGBTQ community, echoing many of the teachings of his predecessor, Pope Francis, while forging his own path.
In a recent interview with the online newspaper Crux, the Pope stated that LGBTQ individuals “aren’t bad people.” He emphasized a message of inclusion, saying “everyone's invited in” to the Church and stressing the importance of accepting and respecting people who are different or make different life choices.
However, the 267th pontiff, who was elected in May, also drew a clear line regarding Church doctrine. He reiterated that the Church's teaching on marriage as a solemn commitment between a man and a woman will continue as it is. He defined the traditional family as a father, mother, and children, calling it the basic building block of society where people first learn to love and live with one another.
The Pope criticized emerging rituals in Northern Europe for blessing same-sex couples, stating that they go against Church doctrine. He stated that attitudes must change before any change in doctrine can even be considered, which he views as “highly unlikely” in the near future.
The Trump administration continues to intensify its campaign against transgender rights on multiple fronts, challenging court rulings and altering federal policies. The administration has now filed an emergency appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court to enforce its controversial passport policy.
The policy, established by an executive order, would require passport applicants to select their sex assigned at birth and would ban "X" gender markers.
Lower courts in Boston and Maryland have consistently blocked the policy, with one judge calling it “based on irrational prejudice toward transgender Americans.” However, the administration's Solicitor General argues that citizens cannot force the government to use what he calls “inaccurate sex designations.” This marks the administration's 26th emergency appeal to the high court in just nine months.
Meanwhile, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, has ended protective policies and medical care for transgender detainees at a facility in Aurora, Colorado. A memo ended a 2022 directive that guaranteed gender-affirming care and required safe housing protocols for trans detainees.
Rights groups say the removal of these standards sends a message that “abuse can be carried out with impunity.”
Adding to the pressure, right-wing lobbyists from Project 2025 are urging the FBI to classify “trans ideology” as a domestic terror threat. This, despite the fact that the vast majority of extremist violence in the U.S. is committed by right-wing individuals.
Finally … for nearly 50 years, Ben & Jerry’s has been about more than just frozen desserts. For many in the LGBTQ community, it offered the sweet taste of allyship. Now, co-founder Jerry Greenfield has announced his resignation, saying he can no longer remain part of a company that has silenced his activism.
In a statement posted by his business partner of 47 years, Ben Cohen, Greenfield said the company’s independence is gone. That independence was the “very basis” of their sale to parent company Unilever back in the early 2000s. It allowed them to speak out for peace, justice and human rights.
And speak out they did. Ben & Jerry's was one of the first major brands to support marriage equality. In 2009, the company renamed its Chubby Hubby flavor to "Hubby Hubby" in their Vermont shops to celebrate the legalization of same-sex marriage in the state.
Greenfield notes his resignation comes at a time when the "current administration is attacking civil rights, voting rights, the rights of immigrants, women, and the LGBTQ community.”
He believes Ben & Jerry's has been “silenced, sidelined for fear of upsetting those in power.” Unilever denies the allegations.
Greenfield concluded his statement by saying, “It was always about more than just ice cream; it was a way to spread love and invite others into the fight for equity, justice and a better world."