2017 Issue 5 Sep/Oct - Focus Mid-South Magazine

lgbt youth
GEORGE
BOYINGTON
by Melinda Lejman | photos by Joan Allison
George Boyington doesn’t look sick. Recently
elected as parliamentarian to the Shelby County
Young Democrats, and a Focus Trailblazer
Award nominee, Boyington appears fresh and
alert in a summer suit and browline eyeglasses.
However, recent threats to Obamacare weigh
heavy on his mind. Born and raised in Memphis,
Boyington has battled a rare brain disorder since
childhood and requires ongoing medical care.
Recently, his Facebook post went viral when he
learned that the house had voted to repeal the
Affordable Care Act (ACA). “I don’t appear to
be ill, and I wanted to share my testimony,” says
Boyington of his motivation to post on social
media.
“We need to get together and
stop this. Health insurance is
life for many of us.”
Boyington has always
been politically minded. By
day he works as a political
consultant and spends much
of this time in and around city
hall. He chose public service
because he believes it’s the one
career path that touches on
everything else. An only child,
Boyington was homeschooled
during high school due to his
health. “My life is really tied
into having access to care, and
that fact that they would want
to take that from anyone, it’s
fundamentally wrong.”
Using his voice and “getting
on his soapbox” is just one way
Boyington works to resist the
threats to health care, as well as
LGBT issues. In 2014, he served
on Mayor Wharton’s LGBT
Task Force which gave him
substantive experience in LGBT
policy. “You’d be surprised at
what we can do and what we
can’t do,” says Boyington. “A
lot of what a local government
can do is tied by how restrictive
Republicans in Nashville are,
but just the same, there are
a lot of things we can do.”
Specifically, Boyington points
to the appointment of Davin
Clemmons to serve as LGBTQ
liaison to the Memphis Police
Department, and a formal
policy written to address
transgender city employees
during their transitioning.
It’s not simply about public
service, however. Boyington’s
ex-wife is a transgender woman
who called him in tears the
day Trump was announced the
winner of the 2016 presidential
election. “The first thing I said
was, ‘Go get your passport, go
get your documents, go get
everything in order, because
you might not be able to get
these things later.’” Refusing
to so much as acknowledge
Gay Pride month in June,
Trump appears to be amping
up anti-LGBTQ sentiment with
his recent ban on transgender
military service. After the
election, Boyington remembers
the reluctant hopefulness
of many in the community.
“Everybody was like, ‘It
might be ok, just wait and
see,’” recalls Boyington. “But
sometimes you have to take
people at their word. He said
he was going to come for us,
and he’s been very consistently
coming.”
At a time when the
Democratic party across
national, state, and local
levels are planning for a
sustained resistance, Boyington
advocates for ongoing and
consistent action. “Vote early
and vote often,” he says. “Local
government is the foundation
of everything that goes on
nationally
If we had people there every
day to hold government’s
feet to the fire, they would be
afraid of us,” says Boyington.
“Right now, I don’t think they
are, because we’re not there
in those numbers every week
to let them know we will hold
them accountable.”
According to Boyington,
representatives aren’t being
held accountable at the ballot
box, and points to low voter
turnout in the last presidential
election. In addition to voting,
Boyington stresses the
importance of getting involved
in your issues. “I am at city
council and county commission
meetings almost every time
they are held, and one thing
I notice is the regulars, the
lobbyists, elected officials,
those with something on the
agenda, and nobody else.”
However, the resistance is
sprouting up in grassroots
activism more and more
often. “One thing I’ve been
encouraged to see is that
people have been out there in
the streets,” says Boyington,
referring to recent ICE raids in
Memphis and his role on the
rapid response team. “I was so
proud of people for mobilizing
and getting engaged,” says
Boyington. “This is an example
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