Kye Allums, a former Division I guard for the George Washington Colonials women’s basketball team, struggled with bullies in high school. Students made fun of Allums, who now identifies as a man, for not being a “normal girl,” and would even knock food out of his hands at lunch. But now Allums is a full-time public speaker, traveling the country to address K-12 schools, colleges and corporations about acceptance and inclusion for transgender people. He sits down with bullies and their victims at schools to help them better understand each other. Once, he even received an email from a student thanking Allums for helping the student realize how his actions affected the classmate he was bullying. “That was one of the best days of my life,” Allums told TakePart. “Nobody deserves to be hurt just because you don’t understand them.” While traveling, Allums is also sharing others’ stories for the organization I Am Enough, which supports people through their transition to another gender. Allums funds all of the expenses for the project out of his own pocket and with a Go Fund Me fundraising page; he hopes it will increase visibility and awareness for the LGBT community. “Anyone can be an advocate: Simply stand up and speak out against injustice. Show anyone who is ignorant and unkind that it’s not OK.”
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