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WHEREAS, Sue Kerr was born on October 22, 1970, in West Mifflin, PA, and earned an MSW from the University of Pittsburgh and a BA in Political Science from Marymount University; and
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WHEREAS, Sue became a resident of Pittsburgh in 2005 when she moved in with her wife, Laura Dunhoff, with whom she has fostered over 25 cats in the Northside; and
WHEREAS, Sue is a gifted writer and in 2005, established the award-winning blog, Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents which acts as a messenger of many local LGBTQ stories to her, in particular, documenting the campaign of terror targeting trans neighbors through a series of over 250 memorial posts honoring the victims’ lives and acknowledging their deaths; and
WHEREAS, she established the #ProtectTransKids projects in 2022 in response to the harassment of a Black trans teenage girl by a neighbor; and
WHEREAS, in 2020, Sue cofounded the Pittsburgh MasQUe ProjecT to support the queer and trans community during the pandemic, distributing tens of thousands of face masks and other supplies throughout the region; and
WHEREAS, in 2021, Sue worked with community leaders to develop and establish Pittsburgh LGBTQ Charities to raise community awareness and promote grassroots engagement for neighborhood quality of life, animal welfare, anti-poverty, and LGBTQ+ issues in Western Pennsylvania and currently serves as the Board President; and
WHEREAS, in 2021, she was elected unanimously as one of three inaugural co-chairs of the LGBTQIA+ Commission which advises city government on issues pertaining to the Pittsburgh LGBTQIA+ community and which acts as a resource to create dialogue by elevating LGBTQIA+ voices and advancing communication between the LGBTQIA+ community and city government; and
WHEREAS, Sue was an outspoken critic of the decision of eight Pittsburgh radio stations to air a 60-second anti-transgender ad targeting youth, and worked with advertisers and community members to pull the ads from seven of the eight stations; and
WHEREAS, she was named one of 12 “People of the Year” by The Advocate, a prestigious national publication serving the LGBTQ community since 1967, which uses its annual People of the Year issue to honor "the LGBTQ+ change-makers and culture-shifters that have had the most influence on the world; and
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the City of Pittsburgh thanks Sue Kerr for being a fierce, passionate life-long advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community, for working tirelessly to amplify the voices of the LGBTQIA+ individuals, and for being a constant source of support for many vulnerable communities; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Pittsburgh does hereby declare Saturday, December 10, 2022 to be “Sue Kerr Day” in the City of Pittsburgh.