Winners from Des Moines, WA, Jacksonville, FL and Kerman, CA
With National Coming Out Day on Sunday, the Colin Higgins Foundation is proud to announce its 20th Annual Youth Courage Award winners including Kendall (17), Michael Piña (20) and Elias Riyad Joseph (20). The award recognizes extraordinary leadership and advocacy on behalf of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) youth and includes a $15,000 award.
The 2020 Youth Courage Award Winners:
- Kendall is 17 years old and is from Des Moines, WA. When Kendall was a baby, her mother passed away from complications related to cancer. Kendall grew up in a place that was not very accepting of their identity or of their activism. Kendall had the courage to lead the Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) at their single-gender Catholic school. As a GSA leader since 2018, Kendall has brought community resources to school to help connect LGBTQ+ students with creative, supportive outlets and adult role models.
- At 20-years-old, Elias Joseph is a Brown, transgender organizer from Jacksonville, Florida. Elias, who also goes by Yasmeen, struggled with their gender identity as a teen and their queerness was often met with harassment and discrimination at school and friction at home. Elias lives with a chronic illness that impacts their mobility. But it hasn’t stopped them from wanting to be involved in the community.
- Michael is 20 years old and was born and raised in the small, conservative, farming community of Kerman, CA. Growing up in a Latinx household in California’s conservative Central Valley, Michael experienced harassment, discrimination and was subjected to a lot of trauma. She even battled her own high school administration that was attempting to censor her quote that referenced her sexual orientation in her senior yearbook – a battle that she won. Michael has since established her own non-profit organization that gives out scholarships to other Latinx queer students in the Central Valley.
“When we live in a world where politicians rule by fear, it’s amazing to see LGBTQ+ youth activists with immense courage to stand up and say enough is enough,” said James Rogers, board president of the Colin Higgins Foundation. “This year marks the 20th anniversary of our Youth Courage Awards and Colin Higgins would be so proud that today’s youth expect and demand to be treated equally and will not be silenced. We need our youth activists now more than ever.”
Hollywood filmmaker, Colin Higgins established the Foundation in 1986 to support his humanitarian vision, with special focus on the LGBTQ community. Since his death in 1988, the Colin Higgins Foundation has awarded more than 600 grants totaling more than $5 million and since 2000 has honored more than 65 Courage Award winners.
About Colin Higgins Foundation / Youth Courage Awards
Colin Higgins is best known as the screenwriter of the classic films Harold and Maude and as the co-writer and director of 9 to 5 and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. The Youth Courage Awards were established in 2000 to further the spirit and lifework of Colin Higgins. All his films celebrate courage and integrity in the face of adversity: Harold and Maude find love despite the objections of family and society, the brave heroes of 9-5 find fulfillment and save the company by learning to appreciate their individual talents and differences, and the shunned madam of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas transforms the lives of many through her kindness and generosity.
Youth Courage Award Winner Bios
Kendall (Preferred Pronouns: They/Them)
Kendall is 17 years old and is from Des Moines, WA. When Kendall was a baby, her mother passed away from complications related to cancer. Kendall grew up in a place that was not very accepting of their identity or of their activism.
Luckily, Kendall found a chosen family at their single-gender Catholic school where they had the courage to lead the Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) True Colors group since 2018. As a GSA leader, Kendall has brought community resources to school to help connect LGBTQ+ students with creative, supportive outlets and adult role models.
Based on the strength of their academic performance, Kendall has already been accepted into several four-year colleges and universities – many with honors. Kendall wants to turn their passion for activism into a lifelong career that would impact and inspire future queer student activists. Kendall also has a production company called Third Charm Films, and produced a miniseries called Hetero that they also wrote and directed.
Elias Riyad Joseph (Preferred Pronouns: They/Them, Xe/Xir) At 20-years-old, Elias Joseph is a Brown, transgender organizer from Jacksonville, Florida. Elias, who also goes by Yasmeen, struggled with their gender identity as a teen and their queerness was often met with harassment and discrimination at school and friction at home.
Elias lives with a chronic illness that impacts their mobility. But it hasn’t stopped them from wanting to be involved in the community. As an organizer, they have worked with the Genders and Sexualities Alliance (GSA) Network since 2015. Elias has assisted with social justice programming for queer and trans youth ages 14-24, they coordinated events and have worked their way up into the Board of Directors as Co-Chair. Plus, they have also held positions as lead organizer for both the Coalition for Consent and Jacksonville Palestine Solidarity Network where they have led actions and built relationships with their community using an intersectional lens towards a liberated future.
Elias is currently a senior at the University of North Florida studying diverse human services and they hope to further their work for the trans community, especially trans communities of color.
Michael Piña (Preferred Pronouns: He/Him or She/Her)
Michael is 20-years-old and was born and raised in the small, conservative, farming community of Kerman, CA. Growing up in a Latinx household in California’s conservative Central Valley, Michael experienced harassment, discrimination and was subjected to a lot of trauma. She even battled her own high school administration that was attempting to censor her quote that referenced her sexual orientation in her senior yearbook – a battle that she won.
Through it all, Michael still graduated high school as the valedictorian of her class and was accepted to UC Berkeley. As a first-generation college student, Michael was from a low-income household so needed help to pay for college. Applying for scholarships as a poor, Latinx, LGBTQ+ student, in a community in which few people went to college, inspired her to start her own non-profit organization called Central Valley Scholars. The non-profit organization specifically gives scholarships for LGBTQ+ students in the Central Valley.
As a queer, Latinx, and fem identifying person, Michael continues to persevere and hopes Central Valley Scholars creates an educational space in which all students are supported, celebrated and respected. Michael’s work is driven by love, community, friendship, family and a passion to make a positive change. Michael is currently a senior at UC Berkeley, majoring in sociology and is considering law school after she graduates in May 2021.