Dustin Lance Black, the creator of When
We Rise, the ABC miniseries that follows 40 years of the modern
LGBT rights movement, has called on President Donald Trump to protect
transgender students.
The Trump administration last month
decided to revoke Obama-era guidance from the Department of Education
that instructed public schools to allow transgender students to use
the bathroom of their choice.
(Related: Trump
rescinds Obama-era guidance on transgender students.)
In an interview with ABC's Nightlight
to promote When We Rise, interviewer Elizabeth Vargas noted
the political climate in which the series was aired.
“You could not have possibly
anticipated that we would be in this time that we're in when your
miniseries would air,” Vargas said.
“Not exactly this position, no,”
Black
answered.
“I can't believe we're living in a
country right now where you can attack schoolchildren. These are
schoolchildren … And now they're being bullied by their
government.”
“I say loud and clear to President
Trump and to Vice President [Mike] Pence, you are fathers. Imagine
if your daughters were sent to school and were told they had to go to
the boys restroom. You would fight like hell to stop that from
happening; to keep them safe. And that's what we're going to do,”
he added.
When We Rise is available to
stream from several outlets, including ABC.com
and Hulu.