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Sharing His Story at the White House A teen mentor uses his voice to support transgender visibility and rights In June, Ashton Mota ’23 had the honor of introducing President Joe Biden at a Pride Month ceremony at the White House. He shared something powerful: his own story. “I’m a 16-year-old, Black, Afro Latino high school student from Lowell, Massachusetts,” he said, introducing himself. “I also happen to be transgender.” From the podium, Ashton recalled how his family, especially his mother, affi med his identity when he came out to them on his 12th birthday. “She told me that she loved me, that I was her child, and that she would support me so I could be the person I was meant to be,” he said. Many transgender youth aren’t as fortunate, Ashton acknowledged, noting the difference that love and affi mation have made for two of his siblings, young transgender women of color who are part of the foster care system and, now, part of his family. “It’s simple,” he said. “When children are loved, we thrive.” Ashton used the platform to advocate for the Equality Act, a bill that would ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. He said the legislation would “give LGBTQ+ people like me the opportunity to walk into the world as our true, authentic selves without having to worry about discrimination just because of who we are or who we love.” As his poise on the national stage might suggest, Ashton is not new to advocacy. He has been promoting transgender rights since he came out in 2016, as a Human Rights Campaign Foundation youth ambassador and in other ways. In 2018, at 14, he became politically active in the “Yes on 3” campaign, which resulted in Massachusetts becoming the first U.S. state to uphold legal transgender p otections. “The thought of that bill not being upheld was very scary for me,” Ashton says. “It’s what makes me so passionate about the Equality Act. Knowing that there are young people who have to worry every single day because they’re in a state that doesn’t provide those protections—that’s what motivates me.” A little over two years ago, Ashton joined the GenderCool Project, a storytelling campaign led by transgender and
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nonbinary youth. “We share our stories to help replace negative opinions with positive experiences,” he says. “A lot of people may think, mistakenly, that they don’t know a transgender or nonbinary person. You might not understand until you meet us that we’re just like everyone else.” In 2021, Ashton co-authored a children’s book called A Kids Book About Being Inclusive, part of a series intended to bring clarity and positivity to the national conversation about difference and belonging. When Ashton’s work with the GenderCool Project resulted in the opportunity to speak at the White House, he presented the president and first lady with a set of the books
